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Cornell University Library
DC 198.R39A3 1880
Memoirs of Madame df Remusat 180^^^^
3 1924 024 335 865
AS
MEMOIRS
MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
1802-1808.
WITH A PEEFACE AND NOTES BI HEE GRANDSON,
PAUL DE EEMUSAT,
SENATOK.
TBAmLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY
MES. CASHEL HOEY and JOHN LILLIE.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.
NEW YORK:
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
1, 3, AKD 5 BOND STREET.
1880.
COPTRIGHT BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
1879.
3'v3 97S
c
COI^TElsTTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGB
POBTBAITS AHD ANECDOTES ....... 1
BOOK I.
CHAPTEK I.
(1802-1803.)
Family Affairs— My First Evening at Saint Cloud— General Moreau— M. de E6-
musat is made Prefect, and I, Lady of the Palace — Habits of the First
Consul and of Mme. Bonaparte— M. de Talleyrand— The Family of the
First Consul— MUos. Georges and Duchesnois— Mme. Bonaparte's Jeal-
ousy .......... 37
CHAPTER II.
(1803.)
A Eeturn to the Customs of the Monarchy — M. do Fontanos— Mme. d'Houdo-
tot — Eumors of War — Meeting of the Corps L^glslatif— Departure of the
English Ambassador — M. Maret — Marshal Berthier — Journey of the First
Consul to Belgium — A Carriage Accident — The Amiens Fetes . . 65
CHAPTER III.
(1803.)
Continuation of the Journey to Belgi am— Opinions of the First Consul on
Gratitude, on Glory, and on the French- Ghent, Malinos, and Brussels—
The Clergy— M. de Eoquelaure— Eetum to Saint Cloud— Preparations for
an Invasion of England— Marriage of Mme. Loclero— Journey of the
First Consul to Boulogne— Illness of M. de E^musat^— I rejoin him— Con-
versations with the First Consul . . . . , .80
CHAPTER IV.
(1803-1804.)
Continuation of the First Consul's Conversations at Boulogne — Beading of
the Tragedy of "Philippe Auguste" — My New Impressions — Eeturn to
Parish— Mme. Bonaparte's Jealousy — Winter Fetes of 1804 — M. de Fon-
tanes — M. Fouoh^— Savary — ^Pichegru — Arrest of General Moreau . 101
iv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
PACK
The Arrest of Georges Cadoudal — The Mission of M. de Caulaincourt to
Ettenheim— The An-est of the Due d'Enghien— My Distress and my
Urgency with Mme. Bonaparte — An Evening at Malmaison — The Death
of the Duo d'Enghien — Eemarkable Words of the First Consul . . 120
CHAPTER VI.
(1804.)
The Impression produced in Paris by the Death of the Due d'Enghien — The
First Consul's Efforts to dispel it — Performance at the Opera House —
Death of Pichegru — ^Breach between Bonaparte and his Brother Lucicn
— Project of adopting the Young Napoleon — Foundation of the Empire . 140
CHAPTER VII.
Effects and Causes of the Accession of Bonaparte to the Imperial Throne —
The Emperor converses — The Grievances of Mme. Murat — The Character
of M. de E^musat— The New Court . . ' . . . .168
CHAPTER VIII.
(1804.)
The Trial of General Moreau — Condemnation of MM. de Polignac, De Ei-
vito, etc.— Pardon of M. de Polignac — A Letter from Louis XVIII . 179
CHAPTER IX.
. (1804.)
Plans for the Invasion — An Article in the "Moniteur" — The Great Offi-
cers of State — The Ladies-in-Waiting — The Anniveraary of July 14th —
Beauty of the Empress— Projects of Divorce— Preparations for the Coro-
nation .........'. 103
CHAPTER X.
The Pope's Arrival in Paris— The Plebisoitum— The Marriage of the Em-
press Josephine- The Coronation Fetes in the Champ de Mars, at the
Op^ra, etc. — The Comt of the Empress ..... 214
CHAPTER XI.
(1807.)
The Emperor in Love— Mme. de X .-Mme. de Damas— The Empress con-
fides in me— Palace Intrigues— Miirat is raised to the Bank of Prince . 229
CONTENTS. V
BOOK II.
CHAPTER XII.
(1805.)
Opening of the Session of the Senate — M. de Talleyrand's Eeport — Letter from
the Emperor to the King of England — Union of the Crown of Italy to the
Empire — Mme. Baooioohi teeomes Princess of Piombino — Performance
of " Athalie " — The Emperor goes to Italy — His Dissatisfaction — M. do
Talleyrand — Prospect of War with Austria ..... 248
CHAPTER Xin.
(1805.)
Petes at Verona and Genoa — Cardinal Maury— My Eetired Life in the Coun-
try— Mme. Louis Bonaparte — "Les Templiera" — The Emperor's Return
— His Amusements — The Marriage of M. de Talleyrand — War is declared. 206
CHAPTER XIV.
(1805.)
M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouoh^ — The Emperor's Speech to the Senate —
The Departure of the Emperor— The Bulletins of the Grand Army — Pov-
erty in Paris during the War — The Emperor and the Marshals — The Fau-
bom'g St. Germain — Trafalgar — Journey of M. de K^musat to Vienna . 284
CHAPTER XV.
(1805.)
The Battle of Austerlitz — The Emperor Alexander — Negotiations — Prince
Charles — M. d' Andre — M. deE^musat in Disgrace — ^Duroo — Savary — The
Treaty of Peace .... ... 303
CHAPTER XVI.
(1805-1806.)
State of PaiTS during the War— Camhac4res — Le Bran— Mme. Louis Bona-
parte— Marriage of Eug(5ne de Beauhamais — ^Bulletins and Proclamations
— ^Admiration of the Emperor for the Queen of Bavaria — Jealousy of the
Empress — M. de Nansouty — Mme. de . — Conquest of Naples — Posi-
tion and Character of the Emperor ...... 321
CHAPTER XVII.
(1806.)
The Death of Pitt— Parliamentary Debates in England— Public Works— In-
dustrial Exhibition— New Etiquette— Perfoi-manccs at the Opera House
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
and at the Com^die Frangaise — Monotony of the Coui-t — Opinions of the
Empress— Mme. Louis Bonaparte— Mme. Murat— The Bourbons— Now
Ladies-in-Waiting- M. Mol^Mme. d'Houdetot— Mme. de Barante . 341
CHAPTER XVIII.
(1806.)
The Emperor's Civil List— His Household and its Expenses — Dress of the
Empress and of Mme. Murat — ^Louis Bonaparte — Prince Borghcse — Fetes
at Court — The Empress's Family — Marriage of Piincess Stephanie —
Jealousy of the Empress — Theatricals at Malmaison . . . 3G5
CHAPTER XIX.
The Emperor's Court— His Eoolesiastioal Household — His Military Household
— The Marshals — The Ladies — Delille — Chateauhriand — Mme. de Genlia
— Eomanees — Literature — Arts ...... 387
CHAPTER XX.
(1806.)
Serwius-Consultum of the 30th of March — Foundation of Monarchies and
Duchies — Queen Hoi-tonse . . . . . . .419
CHAPTER XXI.
(1806.)
I go to Cauterets — The King of Holland — Factitious Tranquillity of France
— M. de Mettornich — The New Catechism— The Germanic Confedera-
tion— Poland — Death of Mr. Fox — ^War is declared — Departure of the
Emperor — M. Pasquier and M. Mol4 — Session of tlie Senate — The Open-
ing of Hostilities — The Court — Eeccption of Cardinal Maury . . 439
CHAPTER XXII.
(1806-1807.)
Death of Prince Louis of Prussia — Battle of Jena — The Queen of Prussia
and the Emperor Alexander — The Emperor and the Eevolution — Court
Life at Mayenee— Life in Paris — Marshal Brune — Taking of Lubeck —
The Princess of Hatzfeld— The Auditors of the State Council- Suffer-
ings of the Army — The King of Saxony— Battle of Eylau . . .403
CHAPTER XXIII.
(1807.)
The Eetum of the Empress to Paris — The' Imperial Family — Junot — ^Fouciii
— The Queen of Holland — Levy of the Conscripts of ISOS — Theatricals at
CONTENTS. vii
PAGE
Court — Letter from the Emperor — Siege of Dantzio — ^Death of the Em-
press of Austria — Death of Queen Hortense's Son — ^M. Decazes — The
Emperor's "Want of Eeeling . . . . . . .486
CHAPTER XXIV.
(1807.)
The Duke of Dantzio— EouehiS's Police— Battle of Ericdland— M. de La-
mcth — Treaty of Tilsit — Eetum of the Emperor — M. de Talleyrand —
The Ministers— The Bishops . . . . . . .505
CHAPTER XXV.
(1807.)
Vexations at Court — Eriendsliip with M. do Talleyrand — General Eapp — ^Gen-
eral Clarke — Session of the Legislative Bodies — The Emperor's Speech —
Fetes of the 15th of August — ^Marriage of J&'ome Bonaparte — ^Death of Le
Brun — The Abbe Delille — M. de Chateaubriand — Dissolution of the
Tribunate — The Court removes to Fontainebleau .... 5l'3
CHAPTER XXVI.
(1807.)
The Power of the Emperor — Eesistanoe of the English — The Emperor's
Life at Fontainebleau — Plays — Talma — ^King Jerome — The Princess of
Baden— The Grand Duchess of Berg — Princess Borghese — Oambaofo^s
— Foreign Princes — Spanish Affairs — Previsions of M. de Talleyrand —
M. de E^musat is made Superintendent of Theatres- The Fortunes and
the Difficulties of the Marshals ...... 543
CHAPTER XXVir.
(1807-1808.)
Projects of Divorce ........ 5S0
CHAPTER XXVni.
(1807-1808.)
Eetum from Fontainebleau — The Emperor's Journey in Italy— The Youth of
M. de Talleyrand — Fetes at the Tuileries — The Emperor and the Artists
— The Emperor's Opinion of the English Government — The Marriage of
Mile, de Tascher — Count Eomanzoff— Marriage of Marshal Berthier —
The University — Affairs of Spain ...... 603
CHAPTER XXIX.
(1808.)
The War with Spain — The Prince of the Peace— The Prince of the Aaturias
— The Abdication of King Charles IV.^The Departure of the Emperor
Yiii CONTENTS.
TAGE
—His Sojourn at Bayoime— Letter of the Emperor — Amval of the
Princes in France— Bii-th of the Second Son of the Queen of Holland —
Abdication of the Prince of the Asturias . . . . 631
CONCLUSION 649
POSTSCEIPT 665
NOTES 677
PREFACE
My father bequeathed to me the manuscript of the me-
moirs of my grandmother, who was lady-in-waiting to the
Empress Josephine, accompanied by an injunction that I
should publish them. He regarded those memoirs as ex-
tremely important to the history of the first portion of the
present century, and had frequently contemplated publishing
them himself ; but he was always hindered from -doing so,
either by his other duties, by his many labors, or by certain
scruples. He deferred the moment at which the public was
to be made acquainted with these valuable reminiscences of
an epoch — recent, indeed, but respecting which the present
generation is so ill informed — precisely because that epoch
was recent, and many persons who had been involved in its
important events were still living. Although the author of
these memoirs can not be accused of intentional malice, she
passes judgment upon persons and things very freely. A cer-
tain consideration, which is not always consonant with the
verity of history, is due, not only to the living, but to the
children of the dead ; the years passed on, however, and the
reasons for silence diminished with the lapse of time.
About 1848 my father would perhaps have allowed this
manuscript to see the light ; but the empire and the Emperor
returned, and then the book might have been regarded either
as a piece of flattery tendered to the son of Queen Hortense,
who is very gently handled by the writer, or as a direct insult,
on other points, to the dynasty. Circumstances had thus
given a polemic character — an aspect of actuality, as the
iv PREFACE.
phrase goes — to a work which should be regarded as a candid
and impartial history, the narrative of a remarkable woman,
who relates with simple sincerity that which she witnessed
at the court and during the reign of the Emperor, and who
records her estimate of him as an individual. In any case, it
is probable that the book would have been prosecuted, and
its publication interdicted. I may add, lest any should con-
sider these reasons insufficient, that my father, who was al-
ways willing that his politics, his opinions, and his personal
conduct should be discussed by the critics and the press, who
lived in the full glare of publicity, yet shrank with great re-
luctance from placing names which were dear to him before
the public. That they should incur the slightest censure,
that they should be uttered with any severity of tone, he
dreaded extremely. He was timid when either his mother
or his son" was in question. His love for his mother had been
the " grand passion " of his life. To her he ascribed all the
happiness of his youth, every merit which he possessed, and
all the success of every kind that had come to him through-
out his whole existence. He derived from her his qualities
alike of heart and mind ; he was bound to her by the tie of
close similarity of ideas, as well as by that of filial affection.
Her memory, her letters, her thoughts occupied a place in
his life which few suspected, for he seldom spoke of her, pre-
cisely because he was always thinking of her, and he would
have feared imperfect sympathy from others in his admira-
tion of her who was incomparable in his eyes. Who among
us does not know what it is to be united by a passionate,
almost fierce affection to one who is no more ; ceaselessly to
think of that beloved one, to question, to dream, to be always
under the impression of the vanished presence — of the silent
counsels ; to feel that the life gone from us is mixed up with
our own life, every day, not only on great occasions, and in
all our actions, whether public or private ; and yet, that we
can not bear to speak to others of the ever-present occupant
of our thoughts— no, not even to our dearest friends — and
PREFA GR V
can not even hear the dear name uttered without secret pain
and disquiet? Karely, indeed, can even the sweetness of
praise lavished upon that name by a friend or a stranger
avail to soothe our deep, mysterious trouble, or render it
endurable.
"While, however, a proper and natural sentiment dictates
that memoirs should not appear until a considerable time has
elapsed, it is equally desirable that their publication should
not be delayed until all trace of the facts related, of the im-
pressions made, or of the eye-witnesses of events has passed
away. In order that the accuracy, or at least the sincerity
of memoirs may not be disputed, each family should be in a
position to substantiate them by its own recollections ; and it
is well that the generation which reads them should follow
that which they depict. The records they contain are all the
more useful because the times which they chronicle have not
yet become altogether historic. This is our case at the pres-
ent moment, and the great name of Napoleon is still a party
battle-cry. It is interesting to introduce a new element into
the strife which rages around.that majestic shade. Although
the epoch of the First Empire has been much discussed by
the writers of memoirs, the inner life of the imperial palace
has never been handled freely, and in detail ; and for this
good reasons have existed. The functionaries or the fre-
quenters of the court of Napoleon I. did not care to reveal
with entire unreserve the story of the time they had passed
in his service. The majority, having joined the Legitimist
ranks after the Restoration, were humiliated by the remem-
brance that they had served the usurper, especially in oflSces
which are generally held to be ennobled only by the heredi-
tary greatness of him who confers them ; and their descend-
ants would have been disconcerted had such manuscripts
been left to them, by their authors, with the obhgation of
giving them to the world. It would, perhaps, be difficult to
find another editor, also a grandson, who could publish such
a work so willingly as I. The talent of the writer and the
vi PREFACE.
utility of her book affect me much more than the difference
between the opinions of my grandmother and those of her
descendants. My father's life, his renown, the political creed
which is his most precious bequest to me, absolve me from
any necessity for explaining how and why it is that I do not
necessarily adopt all the views of the author of these Me-
moirs. On the contrary, it would be easy to find in this
book the first traces of that liberal spirit which animated
my grandparents in the first days of the Revolution, which
was transmitted to and happily developed in their son. It
was almost being liberal already not to regard the principles
of political liberty with hatred at the end of the last century,
when so many people were ready to lay crimes which tar-
nished the Kevolution to the charge of that liberty, and to
pass judgment, notwithstanding the true admiration and the
deep gratitude with which they regarded the Emperor, on
the defects of his character and the evils of despotism.
Such valuable impartiality was rare indeed among the
contemporaries of the great Emperor, nor have we met with
it in our own time among the servants of a sovereign far less
likely to dazzle those who approached him. Such a senti-
ment is, however, easy at the present day. Events have
brought France into a state in which she is ready to receive
everything with equanimity, to judge every one with equity.
We have observed many changes of opinion concerning the
early years of the present century. One need not have
reached a very advanced stage of life to recall a time when
the legend of the Empire was accepted even by the enemies
of the Empire ; when it might be admired with impunity ;
when children believed in an lEmperor, who was at once a
grand personage and a good fellow, somewhat like the notion
of God entertained by Beranger, who indeed turned both
God and IsTapoleon into heroes for his odes. The most de-
termined adversaries of despotism, those who were them-
selves destined to undergo persecution by a new Empire,
brought ba,ck to France the mortal remains of Napoleon the
PREFACE. vii
Great — his " ashes," as, lending an antique coloring to a mod-
ern ceremony, it was the fashion to say just then. At a later
date, experience of the Second Empire opened the eyes, even
of those who do not admit passion into politics, to the truth
respecting the first. The disasters brought upon France in
1870, by Napoleon III., have reminded us that it was the
other Emperor who commenced that fatal work; and an
almost general malediction rises to the lips of the nation at
that name — Bonaparte — which was once uttered with re-
spectful enthusiasm. So fluctuating is the justice of nations!
It is, however, allowable to say that the justice of France
to-day comes nearer to true justice than at the time when,
swayed by the longing for rest and the dread of liberty, she
surrendered herself to the passion for military glory. Be-
tween these two extremes how many modes of opinion have
arisen, and gone through their several phases of triumph and
decline ! It will be evident to all readers, I hope, that the
author of the following Memoirs, who came to the Court in
her youth, regarded those problems which were then and still
are in debate, although General Bonaparte thought he had
solved them, with an entire absence of prejudice. Her opin-
ions were formed by degrees, like the opinions of France
itself, which was also very young in those days. She was at
first dazzled and aroused to enthusiasm by the great genius of
the age, but she afterward recovered the balance of her judg-
ment by the aid of events and of contact with other minds.
More than one of our contemporaries may find in these Me-
moirs an explanation of the conduct or the state of mind of
some persons of their kin whose Bonapartism or Liberalism
at different epochs has hitherto appeared inexplicable to them.
And also — not their least merit in my eyes— these Memoirs
will reveal to the reader the first germs of a remarkable tal-
ent, which was developed in the writer's son to a supreme
degree.
A brief summary of the life of my grandmother, or at
least of the period which preceded her arrival at Court, is
viii PREFACE.
indispensable to the reader's comprehension of the impres-
sions and the remembrances which she brought thither. My
father had frequently projected a complete biography of his
parents, and had, indeed, sketched out some portions of the
work. He did not leave any of it in a finished condition ;
but a gi-eat number of notes and fragments written by his
own hand, concerning the members of his family, his own
youthful opinions, and persons whom he had known, render
it easy to narrate the incidents of my grandmother's early
years, the feelings with which she entered upon her life at
Court, and the circumstances that led her to write her Me-
moirs. It is also in my power to add some comments upon
her by her son, which will lead the reader to know and es-
teem her. It was my father's strong desire that her readers
should be inspired with kindly sentiments toward the object
of his own devoted love and admiration ; and I believe that
the perusal of her reminiscences, and especially of her cor-
respondence, which is also to be given to the public in due
time, can not fail to secure the realization of his wish.
II.
Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Yergennes was bom
on the 5th of January, 1T80. Her father was Charles Gra-
vier de Vergennes, Counselor to the Parliament of Bur-
gundy, Master of Requests,* afterward Intendant of Auch,
and finally Director of the Vingtiemes. f My great-grand-
father was not, therefore, as it has been frequently but erro-
neously stated, the minister who was so well known as the
Comte de Yergennes. That minister had an elder brother
who was called " the Marquis," the first of the family, I be-
lieve, who bore such a title. This marquis had quitted the
* An officer in Fiance, whose duty it is to report petitions to the Council of
State.
f The Vinffiihne was a tax imposed, under the ancien regime, on land and
house property, and which amounted to a twentieth of the revenue.
PREFACE. ix
magistracy to enter upon a diplomatic career. He was act-
ing as minister in Switzerland in 17T7, when the French
treaties with the Helvetian Republic were renewed. After-
ward he was given the title of ambassador. His son, Charles
G-ravier de Yergennes, who was bom at Dijon in 1751, mar-
ried Adelaide Frangoise de Bastard, born about 1760. This
lady's family came originally from Gascony, and a branch of
it, whose members distinguished themselves at the bar and
in the magistracy, was settled at Toulouse. Her father,
Dominique de Bastard, born at Laffitte (Haute-Garonne), had
been one of the counselors to the parliament, and was the
senior counselor at the time of his death. His bust is in the
Salle des lUustres in the Capitol. He took an active part in
the measures of Chancellor Maupeou. His daughter's hus-
band, M. de Yergennes, being a member of the legal pro-
fession, bore, as was the custom under the old regime, no
title. It is said that he was a man of only ordinary ability,
who took his pleasure in life without much discrimination,
but also that he had good sense and was a useful official. He
belonged to that administrative school of which MM. de
Trudaine were the leaders.
Madame de Yergennes, of whom my father constantly
spoke, was a person of more individuality of character ; she
was both clever and good. When he was quite a child, my
father was on most confidential terms with her, as grandsons
frequently are with their grandmothers. In his bright and
kindly nature, his pleasant raillery, which was never mali-
cious, he resembled her ; and from her he also inherited his
musical gifts, a good voice for singing, and a quick memory
for the airs and couplets of the vaudevilles of the day. He
never lost his habit of humming the popular songs of the old
regime. Madame de Yergennes had the ideas of her time —
a touch of philosophy, stopping short of incredulity, and a
certain repugnance to the Court, although she regarded Louis
XYI. with affection and respect. Her intellect, which was
bright, practical, and independent, was highly cultivated ;
X PREFACE.
her conversation was brilliant and sometimes very free, after
the manner of the period. Nevertheless, she gave her two
daughters, Claire and Alix,* a strict and indeed rather soli-
tary education, for it was the fashion of that day that parents
should see but little of their children. The two sisters studied
in a large, tireless room, apart from the rest of the house,
under the inspection of a governess, and were instructed in
what may be called the frivolous arts — music, drawing, and
dancing. They were seldom taken to see a play, but they
were occasionally indulged with a visit to the opera, and now
and then with a ball.
M. de Vergennes had not desired or foreseen the Eevolu-
tion ; but he was neither displeased nor alarmed by it. He
and his friends belonged to that citizen class, ennobled by
holding public offices, which seemed to be the nation itself,
and he can not have found himself much out of his place
among those who were called "the electors of '89." Tie
was elected a member of the Council of the Commune, and
made a major in the National Guard. M. de Lafayette,
whose granddaughter was to become the wife of M. de Ver-
gennes's grandson, forty years after, and M. Eoyer-CoUard,
whom that grandson was to succeed at the French Academy,
treated him like one of themselves. His opinions were more
in accordance with those of M. Eoyer-Collard than with those
of M. de Lafayette, and the French devolution soon shot far
ahead of him. He did not, however, feel any inclination to
emigrate. His patriotism, as well as his attachment to Louis
XVI., led him to remain in France ; and thus he was unable
to elude that fate which, in 1793, threatened all who were in
positions similar to his and of the same way of thinking.
He was falsely accused of intending to emigrate, by the
Administration of the Department of Saone et Loire; his
property was placed under sequestration ; and he was arrest-
ed in Paris, at the house in the Eue "Saint Eustache which
* Some years later, Mademoiselle Alix de Vergennes married General de
Nansouty.
PREFACE. xi
he liad inhabited since 1788. The man who arrested him
had no warrant from the Committee of Public Safety except
for the arrest of M. de Vergennes's father. He took the son
because he lived with the_father, and both died on the same
scaffold on the 6th Thermidor (24:th July, 1794), three days
before the fall of Eobespierre.*
M. de Vergennes's death left his unhappy wife and daugh-
ters unprotected, and in straitened circumstances, as he had
sold his estate in Burgundy a short time previously, and its
price had been confiscated by the nation. There remained
to them, however, one friend, not powerful, indeed, but full
of zeal and good will. This was a young man with whom
M. de Vergennes had become acquainted in the early days
of the Eevolution, whose family had formerly been of some
importance in the commercial world, and also in the civic
administration of Marseilles, so that the younger members
were taking their places in the magistracy and in the army,
in short, among " the privileged," as the phrase then went.
This young man, Augustin Laurent de Eemusat, was bom
at Valensoles, in Provence, on the 28th of August, 1762.
After having studied, with great credit, at Juilly, the former
seat of that Oratorian College which still exists near Paris,
he was nominated, at twenty years of age, advocate-general
to the Cow des Aides and the Charribre des Convptes Heunies f
of Provence. My father has sketched the portrait of that
young man, his arrival in Paris, and his life in the midst of
the new society. The following note tells, better than I
could, how M. de Eemusat loved and married Mademoiselle
Claire de Yergennes :
" The society of Aix, a city in which nobles dwelt and a
parliament assembled, was of the brilliant order. My father
lived a great deal in society. He was of aii agreeable pres-
* For the text of the accusation against M. de Vergennes, see Appendix.
f These obsolete institutions have no English equivalents. They are, re-
spectively, the auxiliary and superior courts established for the examination of
the accounts of the receivers of the money of the state.
xii PREFACE.
ence, had a great deal of pleasant humor, fine and polished
manners, high spirits, and a reputation for gallantry. He
sought and obtained all the social success that a young man
could desire. Nevertheless, he attended sedulously to his
profession, which he liked, and he married, in 1783, Made-
moiselle de Sannes, the daughter of the Procnireur-General
of his Compagnie. This marriage was dissolved by the death
of Madame de Eemusat, who died shortly after the birth of
a daughter.
" The Eevolution broke out ; the supreme courts were
suppressed ; and the settling of their business was a serious
and important affair. In order to carry it through, the
Cour des Aides sent a deputation to Paris. My father was
one of the delegates. He has often told me that he then
had occasion to see M. de Mirabeau, deputy for Aix, on the
business of his mission ; and, notwithstanding his prejudices
as an adherent of the old parliaments, he was charmed with
Mirabeau's pompous politeness. My father never told me
details of his manner of living, so that I do not know
what were the circumstances under which he went to the
house of my grandfather Yergennes. He passed through
the terrible years of the Revolution alone and unknown in
Paris, and without any personal mishaps. Society no longer
existed. His company was therefore all the more agreeable,
and even the more useful to my grandmother (Madame de
Vergennes), who was involved in great anxieties and mis-
fortunes. My father used to tell me that my grandfather
was a commonplace sort of man, but he soon learned to ap-
preciate my grandmother very highly, and she conceived a
liking for him. She was a wise, moderate-minded woman,
who entertained no fancies, cherished no prejudices, and
gave way to no impulses. She distrusted everji;hing in
which there was any exaggeration, and detested affectation
of every kind, but she was readily touched by solid worth
and by genuine feeling ; while her clear-headedness and her
practical, somewhat sarcastic turn of mind preserved her
PBEPAOE. xiii
from everything that lacked prudence or morality. Her
head was never betrayed by her heart ; but, as she had suf-
fered from the neglect of a husband to whom she was supe-
rior, she was disposed to make inclination and choice the
ruling motives of marriage.
"Immediately after the death of my grandfather, a
decree ^as issued, by which all nobles were ordered to quit
Paris. Madame de Yergennes retired to Saint. Gratien, in
the valley of Montmorency, with her two daughters, Claire
and Alix ; and she gave my father permission to follow her
thither. His presence was precious to them. His bright
and cheerful nature, his amiabiHty, and careful attentions to
those he loved, made him a charming companion. His taste
for a quiet life, the country, and seclusion, and his cultivated
mind, exactly fitted him for a family circle composed of in-
telligent persons, and in which education was always going
on. I can . not believe that my grandmother did not early
foresee and acquiesce in that which was destined to happen,
even supposing there was not at that time anything to read
in the heart of her daughter. It is certain, for my mother
says so in several of her letters, that, although she was then
only a child, her prematurely serious turn of mind, her sen-
sitive and emotional nature, her vivid imagination, and
finally, the combined influences of intimacy, solitude, and
misfortune, all united to inspire her with an interest in my
father, which had from the first all the characteristics of a
lofty and abiding sentiment. I do not think I have ever
met a woman in whom so much moral strictness was com-
bined with so much romantic sensibihty as in my mother.
Her youth, her extreme youth, was, as it were, steadied by
those fortunate circumstances which bound her to duty by
ties of passion, and procured for her that rare combination,
peace of soul and the delightful agitation of the heart.
" She was not tall, but her figure was elegant and well
proportioned. She was fair and plump ; indeed, it used to
be feared that she would grow too fat. Her eyes were fine
xiv PREFACE.
and expressive, black, like her hair ; her features were regu-
lar, but rather too large. Her countenance was grave, al-
most imposing ; but the intelligent kindliness of her glance
tempered the gravity of her features very pleasantly. Her
strong, well-trained, fertile intellect had certain virile quali-
ties, with which the extreme vividness of her imagination
frequently clashed. She possessed sound judgment and
keen powers of observation, and she was entirely unaffected
in her manners and in her modes of expression, although
she was not without a certain subtlety of ideas. In reality,
she was profoundly reasonable, but she was headstrong ; her
intellect was more reasonable than herself. In her youth
she lacked gayety and probably ease, may liave appeared to
be pedantic because she was serious, affected because she was
silent, absent-minded, and indifferent to almost all the small
things of every-day life. But, with her mother, whose
cheerful moods she sometimes crossed, with her husband,
whose simple tastes and easy temper she never crossed, she
was not wanting in richness and freedom. She had even a
kind of gayety of her own, which developed as she grew
older, when, having been very absent and absorbed in her
own thoughts while she was very young, she became more
like her mother. I have often thought that, if she had lived
long enough to share the house in which I am writing to-
day, she would have been the merriest of us all."
My father wrote these lines in 185Y, at Laffitte (Haute-
Garonne), where aU those whom he loved were assembled,
and we were gay and happy. In quoting them I am some-
what outrunning my narrative, for he speaks here of his
mother as of a woman and not as of a young girl, and Claire
de Vergennes, when she married, early in the year 1796, was
hardly sixteen years old.
M. and Mme. de E6musat — for thus I shall designate
them henceforth, for the sake of clearness in my story —
lived sometimes in Paris, and sometimes in a modest country
house at Saint Gratien, a residence which had two strong
PBEFAGE. XV
reeommendatioBS — tlie beauty of the landscape and the at-
traction of the neighborhood.
Nearest and pleasantest of neighbors were the owners of
Sannois, with whom Madame de Vergennes was very inti-
mate. Jean Jacques Kousseau's " Confessions," Madame
d'Epinay's " M^moires," and a hundred works of the last
century as well, have made the place and the persons known
to the world. Madame d'Houdetot (Sophie de Lalive) had
lived peacefully, in her old age, throughout the troublous
time of the Eevolution in that country house, in the society
of her husband and of M. de Saint Lambert.* Between the
famous trio and the young couple at Saint Gratien so close
an intimacy was formed that, when the house at Saint Gra-
tien was sold, my grandparents hired one within a shorter
distance of the residence of their friends, and a way of com-
munication was made between the gardens of their respective
abodes. By degrees, however, M. de Remusat got into the
habit of going to Paris more and more frequently ; and, as
the times became quieter, he began to think of emerging
from obscurity, and from the narrow circumstances to which
he was reduced by the confiscation of the property of his
wife's father and the loss of his own place in the magistracy.
As is always the case in France, it was of employment in
some public function that he thought. He had no relations
with the Government, or even with M. de Talleyrand, who
was then Foreign Minister, but he directed his efforts toward
that department, and obtained, if not exactly a place, at least
an occupation, which was likely to lead to a place, in the
office of the solicitors to the Ministry.
Besides the agreeable and intellectual relations which
they maintained with Sannois, M. and Mme. de Remusat
had formed an intimacy no less close, but which was destined
to exercise a much greater influence over their fortunes,
with Madame de Beauharnais, who, in 1796, became the
wife of Bonaparte. When her friend had acquired power
* See Appendix.
xvi PREFACE.
through her all-powerful husband, Madame de Vergennes
applied to her on behalf of her son-in-law, who wished to
enter the Council of State or the Administration. The
First Consul, however, or his wife, had a different idea of
what ought to be done. The consideration and respect in
which Madame de Vergennes was held, her social station,
her name — ^which was allied both to the old regime and to
the new ideas — gave a certain value to the relations of her
family with the consular palace, which at that time had but
little intercourse with Parisian society. Quite unexpectedly,
M. de Eemusat was appointed Prefect of the Palace, in
1802 ; and shortly afterward Madame de Remusat became
Lady-in-Waiting {Dame pour Accompagner) to Madame
Bonaparte, a title which was soon changed into the better
sounding one of Lady of the Palace {Dame du Palais).
III.
Persons of the way of thinking of M. and Mme. de
Eemnsat had no sacrifice to make in casting in their lot
with the new regime. They had neither the extravagant
sentiments of the Poyalists, nor the austerity of the Eepub-
lieans. No doubt their attitude of mind approached more
nearly to that of the Eoyalists than to that of the Republi-
cans, but their royalism reduced itself to pious veneration
for Louis XYI. The misfortunes of that unhappy prince
rendered his memory sacred, and his person had always been
regarded in the family of M. de Yergennes with peculiar
respect ; but " Legitimacy " had not yet been invented, and
those persons who most deeply deplored the fall of the old
regime, or rather that of the ancient dynasty, did not hold
themselves under any obligation to believe that everything
done in France in the absence of the Bourbons was null and
void. Pure an'd unalloyed admiration was inspired by the
young general who was reestablishing material, if not moral
order, with such brilliant success, in a society which was dis-
PREFACE. xvii
turbed after a fashion very different from that of those suc-
cessive later times, in which so many worthless " saviours "
have turned up.
Public functionaries in those days adhered to the opinion
which was very natural under the old regime, that an official
is responsible only for what he does, and not for either the
acts or the origin of the Government. The sense of " soli-
darity " does not exist in absolute monarchies. The parlia-
mentary regime has happily rendered us more sensitive, and
all honest people now admit the collective responsibility of
all the agents of a power. One could not nowadays serve a
government whose tendency and general poL'cy one did not
approve ; but it was otherwise in former times. My father
— who had more right than any one else to be strict in these
matters, and who, perhaps, owed somewhat of his extreme
political scrupulousness to the difficult position in which he
had seen his parents placed during his own childhood, be-
tween their private impressions and their official duties —
explains these shades of difference in an unpublished letter
to M. Sainte Beuve, to whom he had communicated certain
biographical details for an article in the " Kevue des Deux
Mondes."
" It was not as a pis aller, from necessity, weakness, or
as a temporary expedient, that my parents attached them-
selves to the new regime. Of their free will and with entire
confidence they united themselves with its fortunes. If you
add to that all the pleasures of an easy and prominent posi-
tion to be stepped into from one of poverty and obscurity,
the curiosity which a court of so novel a kind inspired, the
incomparable interest of the spectacle of a man like the
Emperor at an epoch when he was irreproachable, young,
and still amiable, you can easily conceive the attraction
which induced my parents to overlook all that was in reality
opposed to their tastes, their reason, and even their true in-
terests in this new position. At the end of two or three
years, they had learned too well that a court is always a
xviii PREFACE.
court, and that all is not pleasure in the personal service of
an absolute master, even though he may charm and dazzle.
But this did not prevent their being for a long time well
enough satisfied with their lot. My mother especially was
much amused with all that passed before her eyes, and she
was on very good terms with the Empregs, who was ex-
tremely kind and generous, while she enthusiastically ad-
mired the Emperor. He treated my mother with flattering
distinction. She was almost the only woman with whom he
ever talked. My mother would sometimes say, after the
Empire had ceased to exist :
' Va, je t'ai trop aim6 pour ne pas te hair ! ' "
Of the impressions made by the new Court upon the
new Lady of the Palace we have no record. The security
of the Post-ofiice was very doubtful. Madame de Yergennes
burned all her daughter's letters, and the correspondence of
the latter with her husband does not commence until some
years later, during the Emperor's journeys in Italy and Ger-
many. Ifevertheless, we can perceive from her Memoirs,
although they do not aboimd in personal details, how strange
and novel everything seemed to so very young a woman,
transplanted all of a sudden into this palace, and an eye-
witness of the private life of the glorious chief of an un-
known government. She was very serious, as, when they
are not very frivolous, the young are apt to be, and much
disposed to observation and reflection. She seems to have
had no taste for display, no great solicitude about external
things, no turn for gossip or the running down of other peo-
ple, no love of talking or display. "What was thought of her
at that time ? We can not tell. We only know, from cer-
tain passages in sundry letters and memoirs, that she was
considered clever, and that people were a little afraid of her.
Probably, however, her companions thought her pedantic
rather than dangerous. She had a considerable " success,"
especially at first ; for in its early days the Court was not
PRE FADE. xix
numerous — there were few distinctions or favors to be
schemed for, rivalry was not very brisk or ardent. Little by
little, however, this little society became a real court. Now,
courtiers are always afraid of intellect, and especially of that
disposition, unintelligible to them, which clever people have
to interest themselves in a disinterested manner, so to speak,
in knowing things and judging characters, without even
thinking of turning their knowledge to their own advantage.
Courtiers always suspect that every opinion has a hidden aim.
Persons of quick intellect are very strongly impressed by the
spectacle of human affairs, even when they are merely look-
ing on at them. And that faculty is the most incomprehen-
sible to those who do not possess it, and who attribute its
effects to some personal motive, or interested calculation.
They suspect intrigue or resentment every time that they
observe a movement in any direction, but they have no idea
of the spontaneous and gratuitous action of the mind. Every
one has been exposed to mistrust of this kind, which is more
to be dreaded when a woman, endowed with excessive ac-
tivity of imagination, and drawn on by her intelligence to
form opinions on matters out of her sphere, is in question.
Many persons, especially in that somewhat coarse society,
would detect egotism and pretension in her life and conver-
sation, and accuse her unduly of ambition.
That her husband was entirely devoid of ambition, and
free from any disposition to intrigue, was evident to all.
The position in which the favor of the First Consul had
placed him did not suit him ; he would, no doubt, have pre-
ferred some laborious administrative function to one which
demanded nothing of him but suavity and a graceful de-
meanor. From the " Memoirs," from his own letters, and
from my father's account of him, we gather that M. de
E^musat was a man of discreet conduct, with keen wits, and
a cheerful and even temper — ^not at all a person calculated
to make enemies. Indeed, he would never have had any,
but for a certain shyness, which, little as it seems to harmo-
XX PREFACE.
nize with conversational powers and an agreeable manner, is,
nevertheless, occasionally allied with them. His taste for
quiet life, and some indolence and timidity of character, had
impelled him more and more toward retirement and isola-
tion. Modesty and self-esteem mingled in his nature ; and,
without rendering him insensible to the honors of the post
which he had obtained, they sometimes made him ashamed
of the solemn trifles to which that very post forced him to
devote his life. He believed himself to \e made for better
things, but he did not care for toiling in search of that which
did not come to him of itself. He took but little pleasure
in expressing the art, in which he was probably not deficient,
of managing men. He did not love to put himself forward,
and his indolent temperament induced him to let things take
their chance. He afterward became a hard-working prefect,
but he was a negligent and inactive courtier. He employed
his skill simply to avoid disputes, and he discharged his offi-
cial functions with quiet good taste. After having had many
friends, and entered into numerous relations, he let them
drop through, or at least he never seemed to do anything to
retain them. Unless great care be taken, ties are loosened,
recollections are efliaced, rivalries are formed, and all the
chances of ambition escape one's grasp. M. de Kemusat had
no skill in playing a part, forming connections, bringing
people together, or contriving the opportunities of fortune
or success. He seems never to have regretted this. It
would be easy for me to trace his motives — ^to depict his
character in detail, and to narrate his errors, his grievances,
and even his sufferings ; for was he not my grandfather ?
The first severe trial which M. and Mme. de Remusat
had to endure in their new position was the murder of the
Due d'Enghien. How profound was the grief which they
felt when the man whom they ardently admired, as the ex-
press image of power and genius, and whom they strove to
love, stained his hands with innocent blood, and they were
forced to recognize that such a deed was simply the result of
TREFAGE. xxi
a cold and inhuman calculation, the following narrative wiU
prove. It will, indeed, be seen that the impression made
by the crime upon all honest persons at the Court was even
deeper than that which it produced outside among the gen-
eral public, who had become almost indifferent, through cus-
tom, to deeds of this kind. Even among the Royalists, who
were absolutely inimical to the Government, the event caused
more sorrow than indignation, so perverted had the public
mind become in^political matters and respecting State ex-
pedients ! "Where could the men of that day have acquired
principles ? Was it the old regime or the Terror which could
have instructed them ? A short time afterward, the Sover-
eign Pontiff came to Paris, and, among the reasons which
made him hesitate to crown the new Charlemagne, it is very
doubtful whether this one was ever even weighed for a mo-
ment. The press was dumb, and men must be possessed of
information before they are aroused to anger. Let us hope
that civilization has now made so much progress that a
repetition of similar incidents would be impossible. "We
should, however, be restrained from optimism on this point
by the remembrance of what we have witnessed in our own
time.
The following Memoirs are an exact record of the life of
the author, and the history of the early years of the present
century. They show us what changes the establishment of
the Empire effected at the Court, and how life there and its
relations became more diificult and embarrassing; how by
degrees the prestige of the Emperor declined, in proportion
as he misused his great gifts, his power, and his chances.
Mistakes, reverses, and failures were multiplied ; and at the
same time the adhesion of the earliest admirers of the Em-
peror became less fervent, and the manner of serving re-
flected the mode of thinking. Two parties, the Beauhar-
nais and the Bonapartes, disputed the favor of the sovereign
master with each other ; and M. and Mme. de E^musat were
regarded as belonging to the former, by reason of their natu-
xxii PBEFAOE.
ral feelings and their family relations. Their position was
consequently affected in no small degree by the downfaU and
departure of the Empress Josephine. Everything was, how-
ever, much changed, and, when her lady-in-waiting followed
her into her retirement, the Emperor seems to have made
but little effort to detain Mme. de Eemusat. Perhaps he
was glad that a person of good sense and quick intelligence
should watch over his forsaken and somewhat imprudent
wife ; but it must also be taken into account that my grand-
mother's delicate health, her love of quiet, and her distaste
for all festivities, had isolated her almost entirely from court
life.
Her husband, wearied and disgusted, gave way every day
more and more to his discontent, and to his inability to lay
himself out to please the great personages who were either
cold or hostile to him. He neglected his functions as Cham-
berlain in order to concentrate himself on his duties as " Ad-
ministrator of Theatres," but the latter he fulfilled admirably.
A great part of the actual organization of the Th^^tre Fran-
gais is due to him. My father, born in 1797, and very young
when his father was Chamberlain to the Emperor, was re-
markable as a child for his intelligence and his observation,
and he retained a very distinct recollection of that period of
discouragement and ennui. He has told me that he frequent-
ly knew his father to return from Saint Cloud utterly worn
out, and tried beyond his patience by the burden which the
arbitrariness and the ill temper of the Emperor laid upon all
who approached him. That the child was an eye- and ear-
witness of his complaints at those moments in which re-
straints are cast off is evident, for, when he was more master
of himself, he was fain to represent himself as satisfied with
his master and his position, and he endeavored to conceal his
vexations from his son. Perhaps he was better calculated to
serve the simple, tranquil, sober, intellectual Bonaparte, while
still a novice in the pleasm-es of sovereignty, than the ilase
and intoxicated Napoleon, who exhibited the worst taste
PREFAOE. xxiii
possible on all State occasions, and became more exacting
every day in the matter of ceremonial and adulatory observ-
ance.
An apparently trifling circumstance, wbose gravity was
not at first perceived by those vrhom it concerned, increased
the difficulties of the situation, and hurried on the inevitable
catastrophe. Although the history of the affair is insignifi-
cant, it will not be read without interest, and it sheds a light
upon times now happily far removed from us, and which
Frenchmen, if the lessons of the past are to avail, will not
suffer to return.
The celebrated Lavoisier was very intimate with M. de
Vergennes. He died, as every one knows, on the scaffold on
the 19th Floreal, year 2 (9th May, 1794). His widow, who
contracted a second marriage with M. Rumford, a German
savcmt, or at least a commercial man aiming at science — for
he was the inventor of the Prussian stoves, and also of the
thermometer that bears his name — ^remained on terms of
close friendship with Madame de Vergennes and her family.
This second marriage had not been happy, and compassion
was, very justly, excited on behalf of the ill-treated wife, who
was compelled to invoke the protection of the law against
unendurable tyranny and exaction. As M. Rumford was a
foreigner, it was in the power of the police to procure infor-
mation respecting him from his own country, to reprimand
him severely, and even to oblige him to leave France. This,
I believe, was eventually done, and it was at the request of
my grandmother that M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouche took
up the matter. Madame Eumford was anxious to evince
her gratitude to those personages, and the following is my
father's account of the results of her vpish :
"My mother consented to invite Madame Kumford to
dinner, to meet M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouche. Surely,
it was not an act of opposition to entertain the High Cham-
berlain and the Minister of Police at her table ! Neverthe-
less, that meeting — so naturally brought about, the motive of
xxiv PREFACE.
whicli was as insignificant as it was harmless, but which was,
I acknowledge, nmisual, and nsver occurred again— was rep-
resented to the Emperor, in the reports that were sent out to
him in Spain, as a political conference, and the proof of an
important coalition. Although I do not contend that it was
impossible for M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouch^ to have
taken advantage of the opportunity of talking together ; or
deny that my mother, perceiving the respective inclinations
of the two, or put upon the scent by something that was said
by M. de Talleyrand, might have regarded the occasion as a
favorable one for bringing about an interview which amused
herself at the same time that it was useful to one of her
friends, I have not the slightest reason for supposing that
such was the case. I am, on the contrary, perfectly certain
of having heard my father and mother quote this incident,
when reverting to it some years afterward, as an instance of
the unexpected importance which may be assumed by a for-
tuitous and insignificant matter, and say, smilingly, that Ma-
dame Rumford little knew what she had cost them.
" They added that on that occasion the word ' triumvirate '
had been uttered, and my mother had said, laughingly, ' My
dear, I am sorry for it ; but your lot could only be that of
LepiduB.' My father also said that certain persons of the
Court, not enemies of his, had sometimes spoken of ' the
Conference' to him as a fact, and had said, though with-
out any hostile intention, 'Now that it is all over, tell
us what it was about, and what it was you really meant
to do?'"
This narrative gives us an insight into the Kfe of Courts^
and also testifies to the intimacy of my grandparents with
M. de Talleyrand. Although the former Bishop of Autun
does not seem to have been actuated in this particular in-
stance by that kind of feeling which he habitually carried
into his relations with women, he both liked and admired
Mme. de E^musat. I have found amusing evidence of liis
sentiments in a sketch of her which he wrote, on the official
PREFACE. XXV
paper of the Senate, during the leisure time of a sitting at
which he presided as "Yice-Grand Elector," probably in
1811:
" Conservative Senate, )
" LuiEMBonKCf, April 29tli. )
" I have a fancy for commencing the portrait of Clari.
She is not what the world calls a beauty, but every one
agrees in pronouncing her an agreeable woman. She is
twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, and she is neither
more nor less blooming than she ought to be at twenty-eight.
Her figure is good, her carriage is graceful and unaffected.
Clari is not thin ; she is only slight and refined. Her com-
plexion is not brilliant, but she has the special charm of look-
ing fairer in proportion as she is in a stronger light. To de-
scribe Clari in a sentence, let me say that the better she is
known the more amiable she appears.
" Clari has large, black eyes ; their long lids give an ex-
pression of mingled tenderness and vivacity which is striking,
even when her mind is inactive and she does not want to.
express anything. Those occasions are, however, very rate.
Lively ideas, quick perception, a vivid imagination, exquisite
sensibility, and constant kindness are expressed in her glance.
To give an idea of that, it would be necessary to paint the
soul which depicts itself in it, and then Clari would be the
most beautiful of beings. I am not sufficiently well versed
in the rules of drawing to know whether Clari's features are
quite regular. I believe her nose is too thick ; but I know
that she has beautiful eyes, lips, and teeth. A great part of
her forehead is generally hidden by her hair, and that is a
pity. Her smile is rendered as arch as it is sweet by her two
dimples. Her dress is often careless, but never in bad taste,
and she is scrupulously neat. That neatness forms part of
the system of order and decorum from which Clari never
deviates. Clari is not rich, but as she is moderate in her
tastes and abo^e caprice and fancy, she despises extravagance,
and has never perceived that her fortune is limited, except
xxvi PREFACE.
when she has been obliged to restrain her benevolence. Bnt,
besides the art of giving, she has a thousand other ways of
conferring kindnesses. Always ready to commend good
deeds and to excuse faults, her mind is always bent on
beneficent purposes. Clari affords us a striking proof of
how much superior a kindly wit is to talent which produces
only severity, criticism, and satire. She is more ingenious
in her manner of passing favorable judgments than ever was
malignity in the art of suggesting the false and suppressing
the true.
" Clari always vindicates those whose part she takes, but
without offending those whom she confutes. Clari has a
large and cultivated mind. I know no one who can talk
better than she ; but she exhibits her superior information
only when she is giving one a proof of her confidence and
friendship. Clari's husband knows that he possesses a trea-
sure, and has the good sense to appreciate it. Clari is a good
mother ; that is her reward."
The Emperor was displeased at the intimacy between, the
Grand Chamberlain and the First Chamberlain, and these
Memoirs will show that he tried more than once to set the
two at variance. He even succeeded for a time in alienating
them. But their intimacy was unbroken when M. Talley-
rand fell into disgrace.
It is well known that honorable motives on his part led
to a violent altercation between himself and his imperial
master in January, 1809, at the period of the Spanish war,
which was the beginning of the misfortunes of the empire,
and the result of the Emperor's errors. Both M. de Talley-
rand and M. Fouche predicted, or at least foreboded, that
public disapprobation and suspicion would be aroused.
"Throughout the whole empire," writes M. Thiers,* "hate
was beginning to take the place of love." This change was
taking place among officials as well as citizens. Moreover,
M. de Montesquiou, a member of the Legislature, who sue-
* "Histoire du Consulat et de I'Empire," vol. xi., p. 312.
PREFACE. xxvii
ceeded M. de Talleyrand in his place at court, was a less
important personage than the latter, who had relegated to
the First Chamberlain not only the troublesome portions of
the duties of his post, but also those which were agreeable,
and which conferred distinction. It was a " come-down " to
lose a chief whose own importance enhanced that of the
position next below him. Truly this was a strange time !
Talleyrand, though in disgrace as a minister, and as the
holder of one of the highest posts at Court, had not forfeited
the Emperor's confidence. The latter would send for him
every now and then, and freely disclose the secret of the
question or the circumstance on which he desired his advice.
These consultations went on to the end, even at those times
when the Emperor was talking of sending M. de Talleyrand
to Vincennes. In return, M. de Talleyrand would enter into
his views, and advise him with perfect frankness ; and so
this strange intercourse was carried on as if nothing had
happened between them.
State policy and the greatness of his own position afford-
ed certain privileges and consolations to M. de Talleyrand
which were beyond the reach of a chamberlain or a lady-in-
waiting. Those who are in close contact with absolute power
do not foresee that the day must come when their feelings
will clash with their interests, and some of their duties with
others. They forget that there are principles of government
which must be guarded by constitutional guarantees. They
yield to the natural desire to be " somebodies " in the state,
to serve the established authority; they .do not study the
nature and conditions of that authority. So long as it exacts
nothing agaiast their conscience, they serve it in the sphere
to which it has appointed them. But the hour comes when,
without exacting anything new from them, it carries extrava-
gance, violence, and injustice to such a height that it becomes
hard to obey it, even in things of no moment ; they remain,
nevertheless, bound to obedience, while in their inmost soul
they are full of indignation and of pain. Then comes actual
xxviii PREFACE.
desire for its fall. It may be said that their course is simple ;
let them resiga. But they are afraid of giving rise to rumor
and scandal, of being neither understood nor approved by
public opinion. Moreover, no contract binds the servants of
the state to the conduct of the chief of the state. Having
no rights, they vrould seem to have no duties. They are
powerless for prevention, and are, therefore, not afraid of
having to expiate errors. Thus people thought in the reign
of Louis XIY., and thus they still think in a great part of
Europe ; it was thus they thought under Napoleon, and per-
haps they will be of the same opinion again. So shameful
and wretched a thing is absolute power ! It paralyzes both
the honest scruples and the real duties of honest men.
IT.
Traces of these convictions, or at least of their germ, may
be discerned in the correspondence of M. and Madame de
K^musat, and all things contributed to confirm them. Direct
communication with the Emperor became more and more
infrequent, and his charm of manner, though still powerful,
failed to weaken the impression made by his policy. The
divorce of the Empress restored to Madame de Remusat, in
great part, her freedom of judgment and the disposal of her
time. She attached herself to the Empress Josephine in her
disgrace, a proceeding not calculated to raise her in the esti-
mation of the Court. Her husband soon after retired from
the post of Keeper of the Wardrobe, under circumstances
which are detailed in these Memoirs, and the coolness in-
creased. I use the word " coolness " advisedly, because in
certain pamphlets written against my father it was alleged
that his family had been guilty of grave offenses, at which
the Emperor was much incensed. That this was quite
untrue is amply proved by the fact that although M. de
Remusat resigned the post of Keeper of the "Wardrobe, he
continued to be Chamberlain and Supervisor of Theatres.
PREFACE. xxix
He merely gave up the most troublesome and most onerous
of his offices. No doubt those habits of intimacy and con-
fidence which arise in common every-day life were weak-
ened by his relinquishment of that post ; but, on the other
hand, he gained greater freedom and more frequent inter-
course, both with his family and with society, and, as they
were no longer restricted to the drawing-rooms of the Tuile-
ries and St. Cloud, both hiisband and wife were enabled to
bring more clear-sightedness and independence of judgment
to bear upon the policy of their sovereign. Before the final
disasters, aided by the advice and predictions of M. de Tal-
leyrand, they foresaw the fall of the Empire, and were ena-
bled to choose between the possible solutions of the problem
then in course of working out. There was no hope that the
Emperor would be satisfied with a peace more humiliating to
himself than to France, and indeed Europe was no longer in
the humor to gratify him even to that extent.
The public mind turned naturally toward the return of
the Bourbons, notwithstanding certain drawbacks, which
were but dimly apprehended. The salons of Paris, without
being actually Royalist, were anti-revolutionary. At this
epoch the plan of making the Bonapartes heads of the Con-
servative and Catholic party had not yet been invented.
To bring back the Bourbons was a very momentous reso-
lution, and it was not adopted without struggles, anx-
ieties, and apprehensions of all sorts. My father regarded
the painful recollection which he always retained of . the at-
titude of his family in ISli — a family so simple, so honor-
able, and so unpretending — as a useful political lesson, one
which contributed, as much as his own refiections, to lead
him to believe that simplicity and straightforwardness are
the truest policy. He records in the following words his
own observations on the state of feeling that prevailed at
the fall of the Empire :
" Policy alone reconciled ray family to the Restoration.
My father never for a moment regarded his own acquiescence
XXX PREFAOE.
otherwise than as an absolute necessity, of which he volun-
tarily accepted the consequences. It would have been foolish
to conceal the' nature of those consequences, or to have en-
deavored to avoid them altogether; but they might have
been more firmly resisted, or at least some effort might have
been made to reduce their proportions. My mother, as a
woman, was influenced by the sentimental aspect of Bour-
bonism, and allowed herself to be carried away by the en-
thusiasm of the moment. In every great political movement
there is a fascination, unless one is preserved from it by party
spirit ; and this sympathy, combined with the national taste
for declamation, has a large share in the absurdities which
accompany every change of government. My mother was,
however, disgusted from the first by the exaggeration of sen-
timent, of opinion, and of ridiculous language, that prevailed.
The humiliating and insolent side of the Kestoration, as in-
deed of every restoration, is what shocks me the most ; but,
if the Koyalists had not gone too far, a great deal would have
been overlooked. The things of this kind which sensible
folk will endure are surprising. I still feel grateful to my
father because, in the very first days of the Monarchy, he
somewhat sharply rebuked a person who was advocating in
our salon the extreme doctrines of Legitimacy. IS'everthe-
less, we had to accept this Legitimacy under a more politic
form. The word itself was, I believe, sanctioned by M. de
Talleyrand, and thence ensued an inevitable train of conse-
quences which speedily developed themselves."
This is not merely an historical judgment of my father's ;
at that time he was beginning, notwithstanding his youth,
to think for himself, and to guide, or at least to influence, the
political opinions of his parents. As I shall soon be in a
position to publish the reminiscences of his youth, I will not
dwell upon them here. I must, however, mention him in
connection with the memoirs of his mother, as he had more
to do with them than might be supposed.
I have not hitherto alluded to one of the most character-
PREFA OE. xxxi
istic traits of her whose life I have undertaken to narrate.
She was a tender, careful, and admirable mother. Her son
Charles, bom on the 24th Ventose, year 5 (March 14, 1797),
cheered her from his childhood with the hopes which he af-
terward realized, and, as he grew in years and intelligence,
aroused in her intellectual tastes similar to his own. Her
second son, Albert, was born five years later than Charles,
and died in 1830. His faculties were never completely de-
veloped ; he remained a child until the end. She had tender
compassion for him, and lavished upon him care so unceasing
and devoted that it was admirable even in a mother. But
her great love was for her first-born, and never was fihal or
maternal affection founded on more striking resemblance in
mind and character. Her letters are full of her maternal
tenderness. The following is addressed to her beloved son,
when he was just sixteen. I think it will convey a favorable
impression of both, and throw a light on the history of their
after hves :
Vichy, July 25, 1813.
" I have been suffering from a severe sore throat for th^
last few days, and time has hung heavily, my child ; to-day
I feel a little better, and I am going to amuse myseK by
writing to you. Besides, you have been scolding me for my
silence, and reproaching me too often with your four letters.
I will no longer be behindhand with you, and this letter, I
think, will entitle me to scold you in my turn, if an oppor-
tunity offers. My dear boy, I follow you step by step in all
your studies, and I see you are full of work during this
month of July, which I am passing so monotonously. I
know pretty well, too, all you say and do on Thursdays and
Sundays. Madame de Grasse * tells me of your httle talks,
and amuses me with it all. For instance, she told me that
* Madame de Grasse was the widow of an emigr'e, who lived in my grand-
mother's house and was very intimate with her. Her son, Count Gustave de
Grasse, was a lieutenant-colonel in the Koyal Guard, and lived on terms of the
3
xxxii PREFACE.
the other day you had praised me to her, and said that when
you and I talk together you are sometimes tempted to think
me too clever. But you need not be checked by any fear of
that, for you, my dear child, have at least as much wit as I.
I teU you so frankly, because' that gift, although an advan-
tage, needs many other things to support it, and therefore
you may take my words rather as warning than as praise.
If my conversation with you often takes a serious turn, you
must impute it to the fact that I am your mother, and have
not relinquished that rdle ; - to my discovery of some wise
thoiTghts in my own head, and wanting to put them into
youi's ; and to my desire to make good use of the quickly
passing time that will soon bear you far from me. When I
need no longer advise and warn you, we shall talk together
quite at our ease, interchanging our reflections, our remarks,
and our opinions on everything and everybody quite frankly,
without fear of vexing one another ; in fact, with all that
sincere and intimate friendship which, I believe, may per-
fectly well exist between a mother and a son. There are
not so many years between us as to prevent me from sym-
pathizing with your youth, or sharing some of your feelings.
Women's shoulders wear young heads for a long time, and
in the head of a mother one side is always Just the same age
as her child's.
" Madame de Grasse told me also that you want to amuse
yourself during these holidays by writing some of your no-
tions on various subjects. I think you are right. It wiU be
interesting for you to read them again in a few years. Your
father would say I want to make you a scribbler like myself
— for he does not stand on ceremony with me — ^but I do not
care. There can be no harm in setting down one's thoughts
in writing for one's self alone, and I think both taste and
style may be formed in this way. It is just because your
father is lazy, and only writes one letter a week ; true, it is
closest friendship with my father until his death in 1859, notwithstanding the
wide dissimilarity of their opinions and habits.
PREFACE. xxxiii
a very pleasant one, but still that is not much. . . . But
there ! I must not run on about him.
" During my retirement I thought I should like to draw
your portrait, and if I had not had a sore throat, I would
have tried to do so. While I was thinking it over, I found
that in order not to be insipid, and, indeed, to be correct, I
should have to point out a few faults, and I do believe the
hard words have stuck in my throat and given me quinsy.
While planning this portrait, I assure you I took you to
pieces very carefully, and I found many good qualities well
developed, a few just beginning to bud, and then some
slight congestions which hinder certain others from exhibit-
ing themselves. I beg your pardon for using a medical ex-
pression ; it is because I am in a place where nothing but
congestions and the way to get rid of them is talked about.
I will explain all this some day when I am in the vein, but
to-day I will touch only on one point — ^your behavior to
others. You are polite — more so, indeed, than is customary
at your age : you have a pleasant manner in addressing
people, and you are- a good listener. Do not let this last quali-
ty sHp. Madame de Sevigne says that an appreciative silence'
is a mark of superior sense in young people. ' But, mother,
what are you driving at % You promised to point out a fault,
and hitherto I see nothing like one. A father's blow turns
aside. Let us come to the fact, my dear mother.' So I will,
my son, in one moment ; you forget that I have a sore throat,
and can only speak slowly. Well, then, you are polite. When
you are asked to do something which will gratify those you
love, you consent willingly ; but, when an opportunity of so
doing is merely pointed out to you, natural indolence and a
certain love of self make you hesitate ; and, when left to
yourself, you do not seek such opportunities, for fear of the
trouble they might entail. Can you understand these subtile
distinctions ? While you are still partly under my authority,
I can influence and guide you : but you will soon have to
answer for yourself, and I should wish you to think a little
xxxiv PREFACE.
about other people, notwithstanding the claims of your own
youth, which are naturally engrossing. I am not sure that
I have expressed myseK clearly. As my ideas have to find
their way through a headache and all my bandages, and for
the last four days I have not sharpened my wits by contact
with those of Albert, the quinsy may possibly have got into
mj discourse.
" You must make the best of it. At any rate, it is a fact
that you have polished manners, in other words, you are kind.
Kindness is the politeness of the heart. But enough.
" Your little brother makes a good figure at the village
dances. He has become quite a rustic. In the morning he
fishes and takes long walks about the country. He under-
stands more about trees and agriculture than you do. In the
evening he shines among our big Auvergne shepherdesses, to
whom he shows off all those little airs and graces which you
know so well.
" Adieu, my dear son ; I leave off because I have come
to the end of my paper. Writing all this- to you relieves me
a little of my ennui, but 1 must not quite overwhelm you by
pouring out too much at a time. My respects to Griffon,
and best compliments to M. Leclerc." *
In this confidential strain the mother and the son carried
on their correspondence. One year later, in 1814, the son
left school, destined to fulfill all the promise of his childhood,
and to hold thenceforth a more important place in the life
and occupations of his parents. His infiuence soon began to
tell on theirs, the more so that there existed no absolute di-
vergence in their opinions. Eut he was more positive and
bolder than his parents, because he was not fettered by the
ties of old memories and old affection. He felt no regret for
the Emperor, and, although deeply moved by the sufferings
* Griffon was a little dog. M. Leclerc was a member of the Institute and
Dean of the Faculty of Letters. He died a few years ago. At that tirtie he was
a professor at the Lyo6e NapolSon, and gave lessons to my father.
PREFACE. XXXV
of the French army, he witnessed the fall of the Empire, if
not with joy, at least with indifference. To him, as to most
talented young men of his time, it came as an emancipation.
He eagerly embraced the first notions of constitutional order,
which made their reappearance with the Bourbons. But he
was struck by the ridiculous side of Royalist society. Many
of the revived fashions and phrases * seemed to him to be
mere foolery ; he was disgusted by the abuse lavished upon
the Emperor and the men of the Empire, but neither his
parents nor he, althoxigh still a little suspicious of the new
order of things, was seriously opposed to it. Neither the
personal vexations which resulted from it, such as the depri-
vation of employment, the necessity of selling to great disad-
vantage a library which was the delight of my grandfather,
and which lives in the recollection of lovers of books, nor a
thousand other annoyances, could prevent their experiencing
a sense of relief. They almost verified a celebrated saying
of the Emperor, who, when at the zenith of his power, once
asked those surrounding him what would be said after his
death. They all hastened to answer in phrases of compli-
ment or of flattery. But he interrupted them by exclaiming,
" What ! you are at a loss to know what people will say ?
They will say ' Ouf ! ' "
V.
It was difiicult to attend to personal interests in those
days ; one could hardly help being diverted from them, and
engrossed solely by the spectacle of France and Europe.
Curiosity would naturally outweigh ambition in a family
such as we are depicting. My grandfather did nevertheless
think of entering the administration, and once more revived
his project, hitherto doomed to disappointment, of gaining
admittance to the Coimeil of State; but he was as supine
about it as before. Had he entered the administration, he
would only have been following the example of the majority
* For a note by Count de R^musat, see Appendix.
xxxvi PBEFAOE.
of the former officials of the Empire, for the Bonapartist Op-
position did not come into existence until the latter days of
the Monarchy. The members of the Imperial family lived
in constant and friendly intercourse with the new regime, or
rather the reinstated old regime. The Empress Josephine
was treated with great respect, and the Emperor Alexander
frequently visited her at Malmaison. She wished to take up
a dignified and fitting position, and she confided to her lady-
in-waiting that she thought of asking the title of High Con-
stable for her son Eugene, showing thereby that she scarcely
understood the spirit of the Eestoration. Queen Hortense,
who afterward became the bitter enemy of the Bourbons,
and was concerned in numerous conspiracies, obtaiaed the
Duchy of Saint Leu, for which she intended to return thanks
in person to Louis XVIII. All projects of this kind had,
however, to be abandoned ; for the Empress Josephine was
suddenly carried oS. by malignant sore throat in March, 1814,
and the last link that bound my kinsfolk to the Bonaparte
family was sundered for ever.
The Bourbons seemed to make a point of annoying and
depressing those very persons whom their Government
should have endeavored to conciliate, and by slow degrees
a belief gained ground that their reign would be of short
duration, and that France, just then more in love with equal-
ity than with liberty, would demand to be placed once more
under the yoke which had seemed to be shattered ; in fact,
that the days of Imperial splendor and misery would return.
It was, therefore, with less amazement than might be sup-
posed that my grandfather learned one day from a friend
that the Emperor had escaped from Elba and landed at
Cannes. Historical events seem more astounding to those
who read of them than to eye-witnesses. Those who knew
Bonaparte could readily believe him capable of again putting
France and Frenchmen in peril for the sake of a selfish
scheme. His return was, however, a tremendous event, and
every one had to think not only of the poHtical future, but
PREFACE. xxxvii
also of his own. Even those who, like M. de Eemusat, had
not publicly taken any political side, and who only wanted
to be left in repose and obscurity, had everything to lose,
and were bound to provide against eventualities. The gen-
eral suspense did not last long ; even before the Emperor's
entry into Paris, M. il6al came to announce to M. de Eemu-
sat that he was sentenced to exile together with twelve or fif-
teen others, among whom was M. Pasquier.
An event still more serious than exile, and which left a
deeper trace in my father's memory, occurred between the
first news of the return of Napoleon and his arrival at the
Tuileries. On the day after that on which the landing was
publicly announced, Mme. de ISTansouty hurried to her sister's
house, full of dismay at all that she had been told of the per-
secution to which the opponents of the vindictive and all-
powerful Emperor were about to be exposed. She told my
grandparents that a rigorous inquisition by the police was
to be put in action ; that M. Paaquier apprehended molesta-
tion, and that everything in the house which could give rise
to suspicion must be got rid of. My grandmother, who
might not otherwise have thought of danger, remembered
with alarm that a manuscript highly calculated to com-
promise her husband, her sister, her brother-in-law, and her
friends, was in the house. Eor many years, probably from
her first appearance at Court, she had been in the habit
of taking notes daily of the events and conversations which
came under her notice, while her memory of them was fresh.
She had recorded nearly everything she saw and heard, at
Paris, at St. Cloud, and at Malmaison. For twelve years she
had transferred, not only events and circumstances, but
studies of character and disposition, to the pages of her jour-
nal. This journal was kept in the form of a coiTespondence.
It consisted of a series of letters, written from Coiu"t to a
friend from whom nothing was concealed. The author well
knew all the value of these fictitious letters, which recalled
her whole life, with its most precious and most painful
xxxviii PREFACE.
recollections. Ought she to risk, for what would appear to
others only literary or sentimental selfishness, the peace, the
liberty, nay, even the life of those she loved ? No one was
aware of the existence of this manuscript, except her hus-
band and Mme. Charon, the wife of the Prefect of that
name, a very old and attached friend. Her thoughts turned
to this lady, who had once before taken charge of the dan-
gerous manuscript, and she hastened to seek her. Unfor-
tunately Mme. Cheron was from home, and not hkely to
return for a considerable time. What was to be done ? My
grandmother came back, greatly distressed, and, without
further reflection or delay, threw her manuscripts into the
fire. My father came into the room just as she was burn-
ing the last sheets, somewhat cautiously, lest the flame should
reach too high. He was then seventeen, and has often de-
scribed the scene to me — the remembrance of it was most
painful to him. He thought at first that his mother was
merely destroying a copy of the memoirs, which he had
never read, and that the precious original manuscript was
safely concealed. He threw the last sheets into the fire with
his own hand, attaching but little importance to the action.
" Few deeds," he used to say, " after I learned all the truth,
have I ever so bitterly regretted."
From the very first, the author and her son so deeply
lamented what they had done — for they learned almost im-
mediately that the sacrifice was uncalled for — that for years
they could not speak of it between themselves or to my
grandfather. The latter bore his exile with much philosophy.
He was not forbidden to dwell in France, but only in Paris
and its neighborhood, and it was decided that they should all
await the passing of the storm in Languedoc, where he pos-
sessed an estate which he had bought back from the heirs of
M. de Bastard, his wife's grandfather, and which had long
been neglected. The family removed, therefore, to Laflitte,
where my father afterward passed so many years, now in the
midst of political agitation, again in quiet study. In after
PREFACE. xxxix
days he again came thither from exile ; for the sufferings of
good citizens from absolute power were not to be restricted
to the year 1815, and Napoleons have returned to France
from a greater distance than the Isle of Elba.
My grandfather started for Laffitte on March 13th, and
his family Joined him there a few days afterward. At Laf-
fitte they passed the three months of that reign, shorter but
stiU more fatal than the first, which has been called " The
Hundred Days." There my father entered upon his literary
career, not as yet producing original works, but translating
Pope, Cicero, and Tacitus. His only original writings were
his songs. The family lived quietly, unitedly, and almost
happily, waiting the end of a tragedy of which they foresaw
the denoiument, and at Laffitte they received the news of
"Waterloo. They heard at the same time of the abdication of
Napoleon, and that M. de Remusat was appointed Prefect
of Haute-Garonne, by a decree of July 12, 1815. This ap-
pointment was quite to the taste of my grandfather, for it
placed him once more in office, without involving him in the
parade of a court ; but it was less pleasing to his wife, .who
regretted Paris and her old friends there, and who dreaded
the disturbances at Toulouse, at that time a prey to the vio-
lence of southern Eoyalism — " the White Terror," as it was
then called.
The new Prefect immediately set out for Toulouse, and
was greeted on his arrival with the news that General Eamel,
notwithstanding that he had hoisted the white flag on the
Capitol, had been assassinated. Such are the injustice and
violence of party spirit, even when victorious; nay, espe-
cially when victorious !
But, however interesting this episode of our national
troubles may be, it is not necessary to dwell on them here.
The principal personage in these Memoirs is not the Prefect,
but Mme. de E6musat. My grandmother, anxious about
the course of events, and perhaps afraid of the vehemence
of her son's opinions, which were little suited to his father's
xl ^ PREFACE.
official position, sent him back to Paris, to his great satis-
faction.
Then ensued a correspondence between them which will
mate both of them known to us, and will perhaps depict the
writer of these Memoirs more clearly than do the Memoirs
themselves;
As, however, the latter work only is in question at pres-
ent, it is not necessary to give in detail the history of the
period subsequent to 1815. The administration of the de-
partment, which commenced under such gloomy auspices,
was, for a period of nineteen months, extremely difficult.
While the son, mixing in very Liberal society in Paris,
adopted the opinions of advanced constitutional Eoyalism,
which did little more than tolerate the Bourbons, the father,
amid totally different surroundings, underwent a similar men-
tal process, and placed himself by word and deed in the front
rank of those officials of the King's Grovemment who were
the least Koyalist and the most Liberal. He was a just and
moderate man, a lover of law, neither an aristocrat nor a
bigot. The people of Toulouse were all that he was not ;
nevertheless he was successful there, and left behind him a
kindly memory, which lapsed as the men of his time disap-
peared, but of which my father has more than once found
traces. These early days of constitutional liberty, even in a
province which did not afterward put its theories boldly in
practice, are curious to contemplate.
The light of that liberty illumined all that the Empire
had left in darkness. Opinions, ideas, hatred, passions, came
to life. The Grovemment of the Bourbons was represented
by a married priest, M. de Talleyrand, and a regicide Jaco-
bin, M. Fouche ; but even they could not oppose the reac-
tionary tendency of the time, and the Liberal policy did not
triumph until the accession of MM. Decazes, Pasquier, Mole,
and Poyer-Collard to the ministry, and the passing of the
famous decree of the 5th of September. The new policy
was of course advantageous to those who had practiced it be-
PREFACE. xli
forehand, and there could be no ill wiU toward the Prefect
on account of the failure of the Liberal party in the elec-
tions of Haute-Garonne. So soon as the ministry was firm-
ly established, and as M. Laine had succeeded M. de Vau-
blanc, my grandfather was appointed Prefect of Lille. My
father records in a letter already quoted the effect of these
events on the mind of Mme. de Eemusat :
" The nomination of my father to Lille brought my mo-
ther back into the midst of the great stir of public opinion,
which was soon to declare itself as it had not done since 1789.
Her intelligence, her reason, all her feelings and all her con-
victions, were about to make a great step in advance. The
Empire, after awakening her interest in public affairs and
enabling her to understand them, subsequently directed her
mind toward a high moral aim, by inspiring her with a hor-
ror of tyranny. Hence came her desire for a government
of order, founded on law, reason, and the spirit of the na-
tion ; hence a certain leaning toward the forms of the Eng-
lish constitution. Her stay at Toulouse and the reaction of
1815 gave her such a knowledge of social realities as she
could never have acquired in the salons of Paris, enlighten-
ing her as to the results, and the causes of the Revolution,
and the needs and sentiments of the nation. She under-
stood, in a general way, on which side lay true help, strength,
life, and right. She learned that a new France had been
called into existence, and what it was, and that it was for
and by this new France that government must be carried
VL
My grandmother's stay at Lille was occasionally varied
by visits to her son in Paris. The pleasures of society were
but a prelude to the literary success that he achieved a few
months later ; and indeed he was already practicing compo-
sition in his frequent letters to his mother on polities and
literature. Mme. de Eemusat had more leisure at Lille than
xlii PREFACE.
in Paris, and, although her health was still delicate, she in-
dulged her taste for intellectual pursuits. Hitherto she had
written nothing but the Memoirs that she had afterward de-
stroyed, and a few short tales and essays. In the leisure of
a country life she now attempted a romance in the form
of letters, called " Les Lettr^s Espagnols, ou I'Ambitieux."
While she was working at this with ardor and success, the
posthumous work of Mme. de Stael, " Considerations sur la
Revolution Frangaise," came out in 1818, and made a great
impression on her. ISTow that sixty years have elapsed, it is
difficult for us to realize the extraordinary effect of Mme. de
Stael's eloquent dissertation on the principles of the Revolu-
tion. The opinions of the author, then quite novel, are now
merely noble truisms obvious to all. But in the days that
immediately followed the Empire they were something more.
Everything was then new, and the younger generation, who
had undergone twenty years of tyranny, had to learn over
again that which their fathers had known so well in 1789.
My grandmother was especially struck by the eloquent
pages in which the author gives somewhat declamatory ex^
pression to her hatred of Napoleon. Mme. de Remusat felt
a certain sympathy with the author's sentiments, but she
could not forget that at one time she had thought differently.
People who are fond of writing are easily tempted into ex-
plaining their conduct and feelings on paper. She conceived
a strong desire to arrange all her reminiscences, to describe
the Empire as she had seen it, and how she had at first loved
and admired, next condemned and dreaded, afterward sus-
pected and hated, and finally renounced it. The Memoirs
she had destroyed in 1815 would have been the most accu-
rate exposition of this succession of events, situations, and
feelings. It was vain to think of rewriting them, but it
was possible, with the help of a good memory and an tip-
right intention, to compose others which shoiild be equally
sincere. Full of this project, she wrote to her son (May 27,
1818) :
PBEFAOE. xliii
" I have taken up a new notion. You must know that I
wake every morning at six o'clock, and that I write regularly
from that hour until half-past nine. Well, I was sitting up
with the manuscript of my ' Lettres Espagnols ' all scattered
about me, when certain chapters of Mme. de Stael's book
came into my head. I flung my romance aside, and took up
a clean sheet of paper, bitten with the idea that I must write
about Bonaparte. On I went, describing the death of the
Duke d'Enghien and that dreadful week I spent at Malmai-
son ; and, as I am an emotional person, I seemed to be living
all through that time over again. Words and events came
back of themselves; between yesterday and to-day I have
written twenty pages, and am somewhat agitated in conse-
quence."
The same circumstance which reawakened the recollec-
tions of the mother aroused the literary tastes of the son ;
and while he was publishing an article on Mme. de Stael in
the " Archives," * his first appearance in print, he wrote as
follows to his mother on the same date, May 27, 1818. Their
respective letters crossed on the road :
" ' All honor to the sincere ! ' This book, my dear mother,
has renewed my regret that you have burned your Memoirs,
and has made me most anxious that you should retrieve that
loss. You really owe this to yourself, to us, to the interests
of truth. Head up the old almanacs ; study the ' Moniteur '
page by page ; get back your old letters from your friends,
and go over them, especially those to my father. Try to
remember not only the details of events, but your own im-
pressions of them. Try to resuscitate the views you formerly
held, even the illusions you have lost ; recall your very er-
rors. Show how you, with many other honorable and sensi-
ble people, indignant and disgusted with the horrors of the
* " Archives Philosopbiques, Politiques et Litt^raires," vol. v., Paris, 1818.
My father reprinted thia article in the collection entitled " Critiques et ^fitudes
Litt^raires, ou Pass6 et Present," par Ch. de R^musat. 2 vola., 12mo. Paris,
IBS'?.
C
xliv PREFACE.
Eevolution, were carried away by natural aversions, and be-
guiled by enthusiasm for one man, whicb was in reality bigli-
ly patriotic. Explain how we had all of us become, as it
were, strangers to political life. We had no dread of the
empire" of an individual; we went out to meet it. Then
show how this man either became corrupt, or else displayed
his true character as his power increased. Tell how it un-
fortunately happened that, as you lost one by one your illu-
Bions concerning him, you became more and more dependent,
and how the less you submitted to him in heart, the more
you were obliged to obey him in fact ; how at last, after hav-
ing believed in the uprightness of his policy because you
were mistaken in himself, your discovery of his true charac-
ter led you to a correct view of his system ; and how moral
indignation finally brought you by degrees to what I may
call a poliUcal hai/red of him. This, my dear mother, is
what I entreat of you to do. Yon see what I mean, do you
not ? and you will do it."
Two days after, on the 30th of May, my grandmother re-
plied as follows :
" Is it not wonderful how perfectly we understand each
other ? I am reading the book, and I am as much struck by
it as you are. I regret my poor Memoirs for new reasons,
and I take up my pen again without quite knowing whither
it wiU lead me ; for, my dear child, this task which you have
set me, and which of itself is tempting, is also formidable.
I shall, however, set about reviving my impressions of cer-
tain epochs, at first without order or sequence, just as things
come back to me. You may trust me to set down the very
truth. Yesterday, when I was alone and at my desk, I was
trying to recall my first meeting with this wretched man.
A tide of remembrance rushed over me, and that which you
so justly call my political hatred was ready to fade away and
give place to my former illusions."
A few days later, on the 8th of June, 1818, she dwells
on the difficulties of her task :
PREFACE. xlv
" Do you know that I need all my courage to do as you
tell me ? I am, like a person who, having spent ten years at
the galleys, is asked to write an account of how he passed his
time. My heart sinks when I recall old memories. There is
pain both in my past fancies and in my present feelings. Ton
are right in saying I love truth ; but it f oUows that I can not,
like so many others, recall the past with impunity, and I assure
you that, for the last week, I have risen quite saddened from
the desk at which you and Mme. de Stael have placed me. I
could not reveal these feelings to any one but you. Others
would not understand, and would only laugh at me."
On the 28th of September and the 8th of October of the
same year, she writes to her son :
" If I were a man, I should certainly devote a part of
my life to studying the League; being only a woman, I
confine myself to verbal utterances about you know whom.
"What a man ! what a man ! It terrifies me to retrace it
all. It was my misfortune to be very young when I was
placed near him; I did not reflect on what passed before
me ; but now that we are both older, I and the generation
to which I belong, my memories move me more than did
events at that time. If you come ... I think you will
find that I have not lost much time this summer. I have
already written nearly five hundred pages, and I am going
to write much more ; the task lengthens as I work at it.
Afterward much time and patience vsdll be required to put
all this material in order. Perhaps I shall never have either
one or the other ; if so, that will be your business when I
shall be no longer here."
" Your father," she writes again, " says that he does not
know of any one to whom I could show what I am writing.
He declares that no one excels me in ' the talent for being
true ' as he expresses it. So, therefore, I write for nobody
in particular. Some day you will find my manuscripts among
my effects, and you can do what you like with them."
On the 8th of October, 1818, she writes : " There is a
xlvi PREFACE.
thought that sometimes troubles me. I say to myself, ' Sup-
pose some day my son publishes this, what will be said of
me ? ' Then the fear seizes me that I shall be held to have
been malicious, or at least ill-natured, and I rack my brain
for something to praise. ' But this man (Bonaparte) was such
a ruthless destroyer of all worth and we were brought so
low that I am straitened by the demands of truth, and I
grow quite disheartened."
These fragments of her letters indicate the spirit in which
the Memoirs of Mme. de Eemusat were written ; and it was
not that of a literary pastime, nor a pleasure of the imagina-
tion. Her motive was neither ambition to be an author, nor
the desire to put forward an apology. The love of truth,
the pohtical spectacle before her eyes, and the influence of a
son who became day by day more strongly confirmed in those
Liberal opinions which were destined to be the dehght and
the honor of his life — these things gave her courage to per-
severe in her task for more than two years. She understood
that noble policy which places the rights of man above the
rights of the State. ]tTor was this all. As often happens to
persons deeply engaged in intellectual work, her task became
plain and easy, and she led a more active life than at any
previous time. In spite of failing health, she constantly
traveled from Lille to Paris ; she acted the part of Elmire in
" Tartuffe " at M. Mole's house at ChampMtreux ; she com-
menced a work on the Women of the Seventeenth Century,
which she afterward expanded into her " Essai sur I'Educa-
tion des Ferames " ; she supplied Dhpuytren with material
for a panegyric on Corvisart, and she even published a tale
in the " Lycee Frangais." *
In the midst of the happiness which she derived from
her quiet life and her busy mind, from her husband's official
and her son's literary success, her health failed. First came
a weakness of the eyes, which, without actually threatening
* " Lyc6e Frangais, ou Melange de Litt^rature et de Critique," t. iii., p. 281
(1820).
PRBFAOE. xlvii
her sight, occasioned her both pain and inconvenience ; then
followed a general delicacy of the system, in which the
stomach was chiefly affected. After alternate changes for
the better and the worse, her son brought her to Paris on
the 28th of November, 1821, in a suffering condition, which
was alarming to those who loved her, but did not appear to
the doctors to indicate immediate danger. Broussais, how-
ever, took a desponding view of her case, and my father was
then first struck by the power of induction to which the
discoveries and the errors of that eminent man are alike due.
Notwithstanding her illness, she occupied herself on her re-
turn to Lille with literary and historical work, and received
company, including a great number of poHtical personages.
She was still able to feel interested in the fall of the Duke
Decazes, and she foresaw that the coming into power of M.
de Yillele — that is to say, of the ultras or reactionaries, as
they are now called — would render it impossible for her
husband to retain the Prefecture of Lille ; and, in fact, he
was superseded on the 9th of January, 1822. Before this
occurred, Mme. de Pemusat was no more. She expired sud-
denly in the night, December 16, 1821, aged forty-one years.
She bequeathed to her son a lifelong sorrow, and to her
friends the memory of a remarkable and charming woman.
Not one of those friends is now living ; M. Pasquier, M.
Mole, M. Guizot, and M. Leclerc have recently passed away.
I render her memory the truest homage in my power by the
publication of these unfinished Memoirs, which, with the
exception of a few chapters, she was unable to read over or
correct. The work was to have been divided into five parts,
corresponding with five distinct epochs. She completed only
three, which treat of the interval between 1802 and 1808 ;
that is to say, from her first appearance at Court to the
breaking out of the war in Spain. The unwritten portions
would have described the period that elapsed between that
war and the divorce (1808-1809), and the five following
years, ending with the fall of the Emperor. I am well
xlviii PREFACE.
aware that a work of tlie nature of this one is calculated to
bring down upon both its author and its editor much blame,
many insinuations, and a great deal of political animosity.
Its apparent contradictions will be held up to observation,
rather than the interesting analogy of the opinions of three
generations which it sets forth, and the difference in the
times. It will be a theme for wonder that any man could
be a chamberlain and any woman a lady-inywaiting, and yet
that both could be so far from servile, so liberal, so little
shocked by the 18th Brumaire, so patriotic, so much fasci-
nated by that man of genius, Bonaparte, and so severe upon
his faults, so clear-sighted respecting the majority of the
members of the Imperial family, so indulgent or so blind
with regard to others who have left an equally fatal impress
on our national history. It will, however, be difficult to
avoid doing justice to the sincerity, the honesty, and the
intelligence of the author, or to read the book without de-
riving from it an increased aversion to absolute power, a
keener perception of its sophistry, and the hoUowness of the
apparent prosperity with which it dazzles public opinion.
These impressions I have especially derived from it, and I
desire to retain them. It would have been sufficient preface
to this book had I written only those words which my father
uttered, sixty years ago, when, on reading Mme. de Stael,
he asked his mother to tell him the story of the cruel years
of the First Empire : " All honor to the sincere ! "
PAUL DE EEMUSAT.
MEMOmS OF
MADAME DE E^MTJSAT.
INTEODUCTION.
POETEAITS AND ANECDOTES.
Now that I am about to commence these Memoirs, I
think it well to precede them by some observations on the
character of the Emperor, and the various members of his
family respectively. These observations will help me in the
difficult task I am about to undertake, by aiding me to recall
the impressions of the last twelve years. I shall begin with
Bonaparte himself. I am far from saying that he always
appeared to me in the light in which I see him now ; my
opinions have progressed, even as he did ; but I am so far
from being influenced by personal feelings, that I do not
think it is possible for me to deviate from the exact truth.
Napoleon Bonaparte is of low stature, and rather ill-
proportioned ; his bust is too long, and so shortens the rest
of his figure. He has thin chestnut hair, his eyes are grayish
blue, and his skin, which was yellow while he was slight,
became in later years a dead white without any color. His
forehead, the setting of his eye, the line of his nose — all that
is beautiful, and reminds one of an antique medallion. His
mouth, which is thin-lipped, becomes agreeable when ho
laughs; the teeth are regular. His chin is short, and his
2 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
jaw heavy and square. He has well-formed hands and feet ;
I mention them particularly, because he thought a good deal
of them.
He has an habitual slight stoop. His eyes are dull, giv-
ing to his face when in repose a melancholy and meditative
expression. When he is excited with anger his looks are
fierce and menacing. Laughter becomes him ; it makes him
look more youthful and less formidable. It is difficult not
to like him when he laughs, his countenance improves so
much. He was always simple in his dress, and generally
wore the uniform of his own guard. He was cleanly rather
from habit than from a liking for cleanliness; he bathed
often, sometimes in the middle of the night, because he
thought the practice good for his health. But, apart from
this, the precipitation with he did everything did not admit
of his clothes being put on carefully ; and on gala days and
full-dresp occasions his servants were obliged to consult to-
gether as to when they might snatch a moment to dress him.
He could not endure the wearing of ornaments ; the
slightest constraint was insupportable to him. He would
tear off or break anything that gave him the least annoy-
ance ; and sometimes the poor valet who had occasioned him
a passing inconvenience would receive violent proof of his
anger. I have said there was a sort of fascination in the
smile of Bonaparte ; but, during all the time I was in the
habit of seeing him, he rarely put forth that charm. Gravity
was the foundation of his character ; not the gi-avity of a
dignified and noble manner, but that which arises from pro-
found thought. In his youth he was a dreamer ; later in life
he became a moody, and later still an habitually ill-tempered
man. When I first began to know him well, he was exceed-
ingly fond of all that induces reverie — Ossian, the twilight,
melancholy music. I have seen him enraptured by the mur-
mur of the wind, I have heard him talk with enthusiasm of
the moaning of the sea, and he was tempted sometimes to
believe that nocturnal apparitions were not beyond the bounds
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 3
of possibility ; in fact, he had a leaning to certain supersti-
tions. When, on leaving his study in the evening, he went
into Mme. Bonaparte's drawing-room, he would sometimes
have the candles shaded with white gauze, desire us to keep
profound silence, and amuse himself by telling .or hearing
ghost stories ; or he would listen to soft, sweet music exe-
cuted by Italian singers, accompanied only by a few instru-
ments lightly touched. Then he would fall into a reverie
which all respected, no one venturing to move or stir from
his or her place. When he aroused himself from that state,
which seemed to procure him a sort of repose, he was gen-
erally more serene and more communicative. He liked then
to talk about the sensations he had experienced. He would
explain the effect music had upon him ; he always preferred
that of Paisiello, because he said it was monotonous, and
that impressions which repeat themselves are the only ones
that take possession of us. The geometrical turn of his mind
disposed him to analyze even his emotions. 'Eo man has
ever meditated more deeply than Bonaparte on the " where-
fore " that rules human actions. Always aiming at some-
thing, even in the least important acts of his life, always lay-
ing bare to himself a secret motive for each of them, he
could never understand that natural nonchalance which leads
some persons to act without a project and without an aim.
He always judged others by himself, and was often mistaken,
his conclusions and the actions which ensued upon them both
proving erroneous.
Bonaparte was deficient in education and in manners ; it
seemed as if he must have been destined either to live in a
tent where all men are equal, or upon a throne where every-
thing is permitted. He did not know how either to enter or
to leave a room ; he did not Imow how to make a bow, how
to rise, or how to sit down. His questions were abrupt, and
BO also was his manner of speech. Spoken by him, Italian
loses all its grace and sweetness. Whatever language he
speaks, it seems always to be a foreign tongue to him ; he
i MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMUSAT.
appears to force it to express his thoughts. And then, as
any rigid rule becomes an insupportable annoyance to him,
every liberty which he takes pleases him as though it were a
victory, and he would never yield even to grammar. He
used to say that in his youth he had liked reading romances
as well as studying the exact sciences ; and probably he was
influenced by so incongruous a mixture. Unfortunately, he
had met with the worst kind of romances, and retained so
keen a remembrance of the pleasure they had given him that,
when he married the Archduchess Marie Louise, he gave her
"Hippolyte, Comte de Douglas," and "LesContemporains,"*
so that, as he said, she might form an idea of refined feeling,
and also of the customs of society.
In trying to depict Bonaparte, it would be necessary, fol-
lowing the analytical forms of which he was so fond, to sepa-
rate into three very distinct parts his soul, his heart, and his
mind ; for no one of these ever blended completely with the
others. Although very remarkable for certain intellectual
qualities, no man, it must be allowed, was ever less lofty of
soul. There was no generosity, no true greatness in him.
I have never known him to admire, I have never known him
to comprehend, a fine action. He always regarded every in-
dication of a good feeling with suspicion ; he did not value
sincerity ; and he did not hesitate to say that he recognized
the superiority of a man by the greater or less degree of
cleverness with which he used the art of lying. On the oc-
casion of his saying this, he added, with great complacency,
that when he was a child one of his uncles had predicted
that he should govern the world, because he was an habitual
liar. " M. de Metternieh," he added, " approaches to being
a statesman — he lies very well."
All Bonaparte's methods of government were selected
from among those which have a tendency to debase men.
He dreaded the ties of affection ; he endeavored to isolate
* " Les Contemporains " waa a romance, or rather a series of stories or por-
traits, by Betif de la Bretonne.
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 5
every one ; he never sold a favor without awakening a sense
of uneasiness, for he held that the true way to attach the
recipients to himself was by compromising them, and often
even by blasting them in public opinion. He could not
pardon virtue until he had succeeded in weakening its effect
by ridicule. He can not be said to have truly loved glory,
for he never hesitated to prefer success to it ; thus, although
he was audacious in good fortune, and although he pushed
it to its utmost limits, he was timid and troubled when
threatened with reverses. Of generous courage he was not
capable ; and, indeed, on that head one would hardly ven-
ture to tell the truth so plainly as he has told it himself, by
an admission recorded in an anecdote which I have never
forgotten. One day, after his defeat at Leipsic, and when,
as he was about to return to Paris, he was occupied in col-
lecting the remains of his army for the defense of our fron-
tiers, he was talking to M. de Talleyrand of the ill success
of the Spanish war, and of the difficulty in which it had in-
volved him. He spoke openly of his own position, not with
the noble frankness that does not fear to own a fault, but
with that haughty sense of superiority which releases one
from the necessity of dissimulation. At this interview, in
the midst of his plain speaking, M. de Talleyrand said to
him suddenly, " But how is it ? You consult me as if we
had not quarreled."
Bonaparte answered, " Ah, circumstances ! circumstances !
Let us leave the past and the future alone. I want to hear
what you think of the present moment."
" Well," replied M. de Talleyrand, " there is only one
thing you can do. Tou have made a mistake : you must say
so ; try to say so nobly. Proclaim, therefore, that being a
King by the choice of the people, elected by the nations, it
has never been your design to set yourself against them.
Say that, when you began the war with Spain, you beheved
you were about to deliver the people from the yoke of an
odious minister, who was encouraged by the weakness of his
6 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BMUSAT. i
prince ; but that, on closer observation, you perceive that the
Spaniards, although aware of the faults of their King, are
none the less attached to his dynasty, which you are there-
fore about to restore to them, so that it may not be said you
ever opposed a national aspiration. After that proclamation,
restore King Ferdinand to liberty, and withdraw your troops.
Such an avowal, made in a lofty tone, and when the enemy
are still hesitating on our frontier, can only do you honor ;
and you are still too strong for it to be regarded as a coward-
ly act."
" A cowardly act ! " replied Bonaparte ; " what does that
matter to me ? Understand that I should not fail to com-
mit one, if it were useful to me. In reality, there is nothing
really noble or base in this world ; I have in my character
all that can contribute to secure my power, and to deceive
those who think they know me. Frankly, I am base, essen-
tially base. I give you my word tljat I should feel no re-
pugnance to commit what would be called by the world a
dishonorable action ; my secret tendencies, which are, after
all, those of nature, opposed to certain affectations of great-
ness with which I have to adorn myself, give me iniinite
resources with which to baffle every one. Therefore, all I
have to do now is to consider whether your advice agrees
with my present policy, and to try and find out besides," he
added (says M. de Talleyrand), with a satanic smile, " wheth-
er you have not some private interest in urging me to take
this step."
Another anecdote which bears on the same characteristic
will not be out of place here. Bonaparte, when on the
point of setting out for Egypt, went to see M. de Talley-
rand, then Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Directory.
" I was in bed, being ill," said M. de Talleyrand. " Bona-
parte sat down near me, and divulged to me all the dreams
of his youthful imagination. I was interested in him be-
cause of the activity of his mind, and also on-account of the
obstacles which I was aware would be placed in his way by
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 7
secret enemies of whom I knew. He told me of the difiS-
culty in which, he was placed for want of money, and that
he did not know where to get any. ' Stay,' I said to him ;
' open my desk. You will find there a hundred thousand
francs which belong to me. They are yours for the present ;
you may repay the money when you return.' Bonaparte
threw himself on my ueck, and I was really delighted to
witness his joy. When he became Consul, he gave me back
the money I had lent him ; but he asked me one day, ' What
interest could you have had in lending me that money ? I
have thought about it a hundred times since then, and have
never been able to make out your object.' ' I had none,' I
replied. ' I was f eehng very ill : it was quite possible I
might never see you again ; but you were young, you had
impressed me very strongly, and I felt impelled to render
you a service without any afterthought whatsoever.' ' In
that case,' said Bonaparte, ' and if it was really done without
any design, you acted a dupe's part.' "
According to the order I have laid down, I ought now to
speak of Bonaparte's heart ; but, if it were possible to believe
that a being, in every other way similar to ourselves, could
exist without that portion of our organization which makes
us desire to love and to be loved, I should say that in his cre-
ation the heart was left out. Perhaps, however, the truth
was that he succeeded in suppressing it completely. He was
always too much engrossed by himself to be influenced by
any sentiment of affection, no matter of what kind. He al-
most ignored the ties of blood and the rights of nature ; I do
not know that even paternity weighed with him. It seemed,
at least, that he did not regard it as his primary relation with
his son. One day, at breakfast, when, as was often the case.
Talma had been admitted to see him, the young Napoleon
was brought to him. The Emperor took the child on his
knee, and, far from caressing, amused himself by slapping
him, though not so as to hurt him ; then, turning to Talma,
he said, " Talma, tell me what I am doing ? " Talma, as
8 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R&MUSAT.
may be supposed, did not know what to say. " You do not
see it," continued the Emperor; "I am slapping a King."
ISTotwitlistanding his habitual hardness, Bonaparte was
not entirely without experience of love. But, good heav-
ens ! what manner of sentiment was it in his case ? A sen-
sitive person forgets self in love, and becomes almost trans-
formed ; but to a man of the stamp of Bonaparte it only
supplies an additional sort of despotism. The Emperor de-
spised women, and contempt can not exist together with love.
He regarded their weakness as an unanswerable proof of
their inferiority, and the power they have acquired in socie-
ty as an intolerable usurpation — a result and an abuse of the
progress of that civiUzation which, as M. de Talleyrand said,
was always his personal enemy. On this account Bonaparte
was under restraint in the society of women ; and, as every
kind of restraint put him out of humor, he was always awk-
ward in their presence, and never knew how to talk to them.
It is true that the women with whom he was acquainted
were not calculated to change his views of the sex. We
may easily imagine the nature of his youthful experiences.
In Italy morals were utterly depraved, and the general licen-
tiousness was augmented by the presence of the French
army. When he returned to France society was entirely
broken up and dispersed. The circle that surrounded the
Directory was a corrupt one, and the Parisian women to
whose society he was admitted were vain and frivolous, the
wives of men of business and contractors. When he became
Consul, and made his generals and his aides-de-camp marry,
or ordered them to bring their wives to Court, the only
women he had about him were timid and silent girls, newly
married, or the wives of his former comrades, suddenly with-
drawn from obscurity by the good fortune of their husbands,
and iU able to conform to the change in their position.
I am disposed to believe that Bonaparte, almost always
exclusively occupied by politics, was never awakened to love
except by vanity. He thought nothing of a woman except
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 9
while she was beautiful, or at least young. He would prob-
ably have been willing to subscribe to the doctrine that, in a
well-organized country, we should be killed — just as certain
kinds of insects are destined by nature to a speedy death, so
soon as they have accomplished the task of maternity. Yet
Bonaparte had some affection for his first wife ; and, if he was
ever really stirred by any emotion, it was by her and for her.
Even a Bonaparte can not completely escape from every influ-
ence, and a man's character is composed, not of what he is
always, but of what he is most frequently.
Bonaparte was young when he first made the acquain-
tance of Mme. de Beauharnais, who was greatly superior to
the rest of the circle in which she moved, both by reason
of the name she bore and from the elegance of her manners.
She attached herself to him, and fiattered his pride ; she pro-
cured him a step in rank ; he became accustomed to associate
the idea of her influence with every piece of good fortune
which befell him. This superstition, which she kept up
very cleverly, exerted great power over him for a long time ;
it even induced him more than once to delay the execution of
his projects of divorce. "When he married Mme. de Beau-
harnais, Bonaparte believed that he was allying himself to a
very great lady ; his marriage, therefore, was one conquest
the more. I shall give further details of the charm she exer-
cised over him when I have to speak more particularly
of her.
Notwithstanding his preference for her, I have seen him
in love two or three times, and it was on those occasions
that he exhibited the full measure of the despotism of his
character. How irritated he became at the least obstacle!
How roughly he put aside the jealous remonstrances of his
wife ! " It is your place," he said, " to submit to all my
fancies, and you ought to think it quite natural that I should
allow myself amusements of this kind. I have a right to an-
swer all your complaints by an eternal I. I am a person
apart ; I will not be dictated to by any one." But he soon
10 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RSMUSAT.
began to desire to, exercise over tlie object of his passing
preference an authority equal to that by which he silenced
his wife. Astonished that any one should have any ascen-
dancy over him, he speedily became angry with the auda-
cious individual, and he would abruptly get rid of the object
of his brief passion, having let the public into the transpa-
rent secret of his success.
The intellect of Bonaparte was most remarkable. It
would be difficult, I think, to find among men a more power-
ful or comprehensive mind. It owed nothing to education ;
for, in reality, he was ignorant, reading but little, and that
hurriedly. But he quickly seized upon the little he learned,
and his imagination developed it so extensively that he might
easily have passed for a well-educated man.
His intellectual capacity seemed to be vast, from the
number of subjects he could take in and classify without
fatigue. "With him one idea gave birth to a thousand, and a
word would lift his conversation into elevated regions of
fancy, in which exact logic did not indeed keep him com-
pany, but in which his intellect never failed to shine.
It was always a great pleasure to me to hear him talk, or
rather to hear him hold forth, for his conversation was com-
posed generally of long monologues ; not that he objected to
replies when he was in a good humor, but, for many reasons,
it was not always easy to answer him. His Court, which for
a long time was entirely military, listened to his least word
with the respect that is paid to the word of command ; and
afterward it became so numerous that any individual under-
taking to refute him, or to carry on a dialogue with him, felt
like an actor before an audience. I have said that he spoke
badly, but his language was generally animated and brilliant ;
his grammatical inaccuracies sometimes lent his sentences
an unexpected strength, very suitable to the originality of
his ideas. He required no interlocutor to warm him up.
He would dash into a subject, and go on for a long time,
careful to liotice, however, whether he was followed, and
POBTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 11
pleased with those who comprehended and applaiided him.
Formerly, to know how to listen to' him was a sure and easy
way of pleasing him. Like an actor who hecomes excited
by the efEect he produces, Bonaparte enjoyed the admiration
he watched for closely in the faces of his audience. I re-
member well how, because he interested me very much when
he spoke, and I listened to him with pleasure, he proclaimed
me a woman of intellect, although at that time I had not
addressed two consecutive sentences to him.
He was very fond of talking about himself, and criticised
hunself on certain points, just as another person might have
done. Kather than fail to make the most out of his own
character, he would not have hesitated to subject it to the
most searching analysis. He used often to say that a real
politician knows how to calculate even the smallest profits
that he can make out of his defects ; and M. de Talleyrand
carried that reflection even further. I once heard him say,
" That devil of a man deceives one on all points. His very
passions mislead, for he manages to dissemble them even
when they really exist." I can recall an incident which will
show how, when he found it useful, he could pass from the
most complete calm to the most violent anger.
A little while before our last rupture with England, a
rumor was spread that war was about to recommence, and
that the ambassador. Lord "Whitworth, was preparing to leave
Paris. Once a month the First Consul was in the habit of
receiving, in Mme. Bonaparte's apartments, the ambassadors
and their wives. This reception was held in great pomp.
The foreigners were ushered into a drawing-room, and when
they were all there the First Consul would appear, accompa-
nied by his wife. Both were attended by a prefect and a
lady of the palace. To each of them the ambassadors and
their wives were introduced by name. Mme. Bonaparte
would take a seat ; the First Consul would keep up the con-
versation for a longer or a shorter time, according to his con-
venience, and then withdraw with a slight bow. A few
12 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
days before the breacli of the peace, the Corps Diplomatique
had met as usual at the Tuileries. "While they were wait-
ing, I went to Mme. Bonaparte's apartment, and entered the
dressing-room, where she was finishing her toilet.
The First Consul was sitting on the floor, playing with
little Napoleon, the eldest son of his brother Louis. He
presently began to criticise his wife's dress, and also mine,
giving us his opinion on every detail of our costume. He
seemed to be in the best possible humor. I remarked this,
and said to him that, judging by appearances, the letters the
ambassadors would have to write, after the approaching audi-
ence, would breathe nothing but peace and concord. Bona-
parte laughed, and went on playing with his little nephew.
By-and-by he was told that the company had arrived.
Then he rose quickly, the gayety vanished from his face, and
I was struck by the severe expression that suddenly replaced
it : he seemed to grow pale at will, his features contracted ;
and all this in less time than it takes me to describe it. " Let
us go, mesdames," said he, in a troubled voice ; and then he
walked on quickly, entered the drawing-room, and, without
bowing to any one, advanced to the English ambassador.
To him he began to complain bitterly of the proceedings of
his Government. His anger seemed to increase every min-
ute ; it soon reached a height which terrified the assembly ;
the hardest words, the most violent threats, were poured
forth by his trembling lips. No one dared to move. Mme.
Bonaparte and I looked at each other, dumb with astonish-
ment, and every one trembled. The impassibility of the
Englishman was even disconcerted, and it was with difficulty
he could find words to answer.
Another anecdote* which sounds strange, but is very
* The Abb6 de Pradt relates that on one occasion, after a violent scene, the
Emperor came to him and said : " You thought me terribly angry ? Undeceive
yourself; with me anger never goes beyond this." And he passed his hand
across his throat, thus indicating that his passion never rose high enough to
disturb his head.
PORTRAITS AND ANE0D0TE8. 13
characteristic, proves how completely he could command
himself when he chose to do so.
When he was trayeling, or even during a campaign, he
never failed to indulge in gallantries which he regarded as
a short respite from business or battles. His brother-in-law
Murat, and his grand-marshal Duroc, were charged with the
task of procuring him the means of gratifying his passing
fancies. On the occasion of his first entry into Poland,
Murat, who had preceded him to Warsaw, was ordered
to find for the Emperor, who would shortly arrive, a young
and pretty mistress, and to select her from among the nobil-
ity. He acquitted himself cleverly of this commission, and
induced a noble young Polish lady, who was married to an
old man, to comply with the Emperor's wishes. IS.0 one
knows what means he employed, or what were his promises ;
but at last the lady consented to go in the evening to the
castle near Warsaw, where the Emperor was lodged.
The fair one arrived rather late at her destination. She
has herseK narrated this adventure, and she acknowledges,
what we can readily believe, that she arrived agitated and
trembling.
The Emperor was in his cabinet. The lady's arrival was
announced to him ; but, without disturbing himself, he or-
dered her to be conducted to her apartment, and offered
supper and a bath, adding that afterward she might retire to
rest if she chose. Then he quietly went on writing until a
late hour at night.
At last, his business being finished, he proceeded to the
apartment where he had been so long waited for, and pre-
sented himself with all the manner of a master who disdains
useless preliminaries. Without losing a moment, he began a
singular conversation on the political situation of Poland,
questioning the young lady as if she had been a police agent,
and demanding some very circumstantial information respect-
ing the great Polish nobles who were then in Warsaw. He
inquired particxdarly into their opinions and their present in-
14 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EEMUSAT.
terests, and prolonged this extraordinary interrogatoiy for a
long time. Tlie astonishment of a woman twenty years of
age, who was not prepared for such a cross-examination, may
be imagined. She answered him as well as she could, and
only when she could tell him no more did he seem to remem-
ber that Murat had promised, in his name, an interview of a
more tender nature.
This extraordinary wooing did not, however, prevent the
young Polish lady from becoming attached to the Emperor,
for their liaison was prolonged during several campaigns.
Afterward the fair Pole came to Paris, where a son was
born, who became the object of the hopes of Poland, the
rallying point of Polish dreams of independence. .
I saw his mother when she was presented at the Imperial
Court, where she at first excited the jealousy of Mme. Bona-
parte ; but after the divorce she became the intimate friend
of the repudiated Empress at Malmaison, whither she often
brought her son. It is said that she was faithful to the Em-
peror in his misfortunes, and that she visited him more than
once at the Isle of Elba. He found her again in Erance
when he made his last and fatal appearance there. But,
after his second fall (I do not know at what time she became
a widow), she married again, and she died in Paris this year
(1818). I had these details from M. de Talleyrand.
I will now resume my sketch. Bonaparte carried self-
ishness so far that it was not easy to move him about any-
thing that did not concern himself. He was, however, oc-
casionally surprised, as it were, into impulses of tehderness ;
but they were very fugitive, and always ended in ill humor.
It was not uncommon to see him moved even to the point of
shedding a few tears ; they seemed to arise from nervous ir-
ritation, of which they became the crisis. "I have," he
said, " very unmanageable nerves, and at these times, if my
blood did not always flow slowly, I think I should be very
likely to go mad." I know, indeed, from Corvisart, that his
pulse beat more slowly than is usual for a man's. Bonaparte
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 15
never felt what is commonly called giddiness, and he always
said that the expression, " My head is going round," con-
veyed no meaning to him. It was not only from the ease
with which he yielded to all his impulses that he often used
language which was painful and distressing to those whom
he addressed, but also because he felt a secret pleasure in
exciting fear, and in harassing the more or less trembling
individuals before him. He held that uncertainty stimulates
zeal, and therefore he rarely displayed satisfaction with
either persons or things. Admirably served, always obeyed
on the moment, he would still find fault, and keep every-
body in the palace in dread of his displeasure about some
small detail. If the easy flow of his conversation had estab-
lished for the time a sense of ease, he would suddenly imag-
ine that it might be abused, and by a hard and imperious
word put the person whom he had welcomed and encouraged
in his or her place — that is to say, in fear. He hated repose
for himseK and grudged it to others. "When M. de Eemusat
had arranged one of those magnificent ffetes where all the
arts were laid under contribution for his pleasure, I was
never asked whether the Emperor was pleased, but whether
he had grumbled more or less. His service was the severest
of toil. He has been heard to say, in one of those moments
when the strength of conviction appeared to weigh upon
him, " The truly happy man is he who hides from me in
the country, and when I die the world will utter a great
'Ctf/./'"
I have said that • Bonaparte was incapable of generosity ;
and yet his gifts were immense, and the rewards he bestowed
gigantic. But, when he paid for a service, he made it plain
that he expected to buy another, and a vague uneasiness as to
the conditions of the bargain always remained. There was
also a good deal of caprice in his gifts, so that they rarely ex-
cited gratitude. Moreover, he required that the money he
distributed should all be expended, and he rather liked peo-
ple to contract debts, because it kept them in a state of de-
16 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
pendence. His wife gave him complete satisfaction in the
latter particular, and he would never put her affairs in order,
so that he might keep the power of making her uneasy in his
hands. At one time he settled a considerable revenue on M.
de Eemusat, that we might keep what is called open house,
and receive a great many foreigners. We were very exact
in the first expenses demanded by a great establishment. A
little while after, I had the misfortune to lose my mother,
and was forced to close my house. The Emperor then re-
scinded all his gifts, on the ground that we could not keep
the engagement we had made, and he left us in what was
really a position of embarrassment, caused entirely by his
fugitive and burdensome gifts. I pause here. If I carry
out the plan I have formed, my memory, carefully consulted,
will furnish me by degrees with other anecdotes which will
complete this sketch. What I have already written will suf-
fice to convey an idea of the character of him with whom
circumstances connected the best years of my life.
Bonapaete's Mother.
Mme. Bonaparte {nee Kamolini) was married in 1767 to
Charles Bonaparte, who belonged to one of the noble fami-
lies of Corsica. It is said that there had been a liaison be-
tween her and M. de Marbeuf, governor of the island ; and
some went so far as to allege that Napoleon was the son of
M. de Marbeuf. It is certain that he always showed kind-
ness to the family of Marbeuf. However that may have
been, the governor had ISTapoleon Bonaparte included among
the number of noble children who were to be sent from Cor-
sica to France, to be educated at a military school. He was
placed at that of Brienne.
The English having become masters of Corsica in 1790,
Mme. Bonaparte, a rich widow, retired to Marseilles with
her other children. Their education had been much neg-
lected, and, if we are to accept the recollections of the Mar-
seillais as evidence, her daughters had not been brought up
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 17
under the strict rule of a scrupulous morality. Tlie Em-
peror, indeed, never pardoned the town of Marseilles for
having been aware of the position his family occupied at
that period, and the disparaging anecdotes of them impru-
dently repeated by certain Provengals seriously militated
against the interests of the whole of Provence.
The widowed Mme. Bonaparte established herself at
Paris on her son's attainment of power. . She Kved a retired
life, amassing as much money as possible ; she meddled in
no public matters, and neither had nor wished to have any
influence. Her son overawed her, as he did all the rest of
the world. She was a woman of very ordinary intelligence,
who, notwithstanding the rank in which events placed her,
never did anything worthy of praise. After the fall of the
Empire she retired to Pome, where she lived with her brother,
Cardinal Fesch. It is said that he, in the first Italian cam-
paign, showed himself eager to profit by the opportunity of
founding his fortune which then presented itseK. He ac-
quired, received, or even took, it is said, a considerable quan-
tity of pictures, statues, and valuable articles, which have
since served to decorate his various residences. "When he
afterward became a Cardinal and Archbishop of Lyons, he
devoted himself wholly to the duties of his two great offices,
and in the end he acquired a most honorable reputation
among the clergy. He often opposed the Emperor while
his disputes with the Pope were pending, and was not one
of the least obstacles to the execution of Bonaparte's wishes
on the occasion of the futile attempt to hold a council at
Paris. Either for political reasons or from religious motives,
he made some opposition to the divorce ; at least, the Em-
press Josephine believed him to have done so. I shall go
more into details on this subject hereafter. The Cardinal
has, since his retirement to Rome, preserved the unvarying
favor of the Sovereign PontiflE.*
* Mme. Bonaparte, born in 1750, died in 1839. Cardinal Fesch, born at
Ajaccio the 3d of .January, 1763, died at Kome the 13th of May, 1839. — ^P. R.
18 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE UMUSAT.
Joseph Bonapaete.
Joseph Bonaparte was born in 1Y68. He has a hand-
some face, is fond of the society of women, and has always
been remarkable for having gentler manners than any of his
brothers. Like them, however, he affects astute duplicity.
His ambition, although less developed than that of Napo-
leon, has nevertheless come out under certain circumstances,
and he has always shown capacity enough to be master of the
situations in which he has been placed, difficult though they
have often been. In 1805 Bonaparte wished to make Joseph
King of Italy, requiring him, however, to renounce all claim
to the succession to the throne of France. This Joseph re-
fused to do. He always adhered tenaciously to what he
called his rights, and believed himself destined to give the
French repose from the turmoil in which they were kept by
the over-activity of his brother. He understood better than
^Napoleon how to carry a point by fair means, but he failed
to inspire confidence. He is amiable in domestic life ; but
he did not exhibit much ability, either on the throne of
Naples or on that of Spain. It is true he was permitted- to
reign only as if he were Napoleon's lieutenant, and in nei-
ther country did he inspire personal esteem or arouse ani-
mosity.*
His wife, the daughter of a Marseilles merchant named
Clary, is the simplest and the best woman in the world.
Plain, common-looking, timid, and silent, she attracted no
attention, either at the Emperor's Court, or when she suc-
cessively wore those two crowns which she has apparently
lost without regret. There are two daughters by this mar-
riage. The family is now established in America. The sis-
ter of Mme. Bonaparte was married to General Bernadotte,
now King of Sweden. She, who was not a commonplace
person, had before her marriage been very much in love with
Napoleon, and appears to have always preserved the memory
* Joseph Bonaparte died at Florence, the 28th of July, 1844. P, R.
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 19
of that feeling. It has been supposed that her hardly
extinguished passion caused her obstinate refusal to leave
France. She lives in Paris at present, where she leads a
very retired life.*
LUCIEN BONAPAETE.
Lucien Bonaparte has a great deal of ability. He dis-
played a taste for the arts and for certain kinds of literature
at an early age. As a deputy from Corsica, some of his
speeches in the Council of the Five Hundred were remarked
at the time ; among others, that which he made on the 22d
of September, 1798, the anniversary of the foundation of
the liepublic. Pie there defined the oath that each member
of the Council ought to take — to watch over the constitution
and liberty, and to execrate any Frenchman who should en-
deavor to reestablish royalty. On General Jourdan's express-
ing some fears > relative to the rumors that the Council was
menaced with a speedy overthrow, Lucien reminded them of
the existence of a decree which pronounced outlawry on all
who should attack the inviolability of the national repre-
sentation. It is probable that all the time he had a secret
imderstanding with his brother, and was awaiting like him
the approach of the hour when they might lay the founda-
tion for the elevation of their family. There were, however,
some constitutional ideas in Lucien' s head ; and, perhaps, if
he had been able to preserve any influence over his brother,
he might have opposed the indefinite growth of arbitrary
power. He succeeded in sending information to Napoleon
in Egypt of the state of affairs in France ; and, having thus
hastened his brother's return, he aided him effectually, as is
well known, in the revohition of the 18th Brumaire, 1799.
Lucien afterward became minister of the interior, then
Ambassador to Spain, and in both capacities he gave offense
to the First Consul. Bonaparte did not like to remember
* The Queen of Sweden died a few years ago, after having long lived in
Paris, in the Eue d'Anjou, Saint Honor6.
D
20 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
services whicli had been rendered to him, and Lucien was in
the habit of reminding him of them in an aggressive manner
during their frequent altercations.
While he was in Spain he became very intimate with the
Prince of the Peace, and assisted to arrange the treaty of
Badajoz,* which on that occasion saved Portugal from inva-
sion.
He received a sum which has been estimated at five hun-
dred millions of francs as a reward for his services. This
was paid partly in money, and partly in diamonds. At this
time he also formed a project of marriage between Bona-
parte and an Infanta of Spain ; but Napoleon, either from .
affection for his wife, or from fear of exciting the suspicions
of the republicans, with whom he was still keeping on terms,
rejectfed the idea of this marriage, which was to have been
concluded through the agency of the Prince of the Peace.
In 1790 Lucien Bonaparte, who was then keeper of the
military stores near Toulon, had married the daughter of an
innkeeper, who bore him two daughters, and who died a few
years later. The elder of these two girls was in after years
recalled to France by the Emperor, who, when he saw his
affairs going badly in Spain, wished to treat for peace with
the Prince of the Asturias, and to make him marry this
daughter of Lucien's. But the young girl, who was placed
under her grandmother's care, too frankly imparted in her
letters to her father the impression she received at her uncle's
Court ; she ridiculed the most important personages, and her
letters, having been opened, so irritated the Emperor that he
sent her back to Italy.
In 1803 Lucien, now a widower and entirely devoted to
a life of pleasure, to which I might indeed give a harsher
name, fell suddenly in love with Mme. Jouberthon, the wife
of a stock-broker. Her husband was promptly sent to Saint
Domingo, where he died, and then this beautiful and clever
woman managed to make Liicien marry her, despite the op-
* June 6, 1801.— p. R.
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 21
position of the First Consul. An open rupture took place be-
tween the two brothers on that occasion. Lucien left France
in the spring of 1804, and established himself at Kome.
It is well known that since then he has devoted himself
to the interests of the Pope, and has adroitly secured his
protection ; so much so that even now, although he was re-
called to Paris at the period of the fatal enterprise of 1815,
he was permitted to return, after the second restoration of
the King, to the Eoman States, and live quietly with those
members of his family who had retired thither. Lucien was
bom in 1775.*
Louis BONAPAETE.
Louis Bonaparte, bom in 1778, is a man concerning
whom opinions have differed widely. His assumption of a
stricter morality than that of other members of his family,
his odd opinions — ^based, however, on daring theories rather
than on solid principles — have deceived the world, and made
for him a reputation apart from that of his brothers. With
much less talent than either Napoleon or Lucien, he has a
touch of romance in his imagination, which he manages to
combine with complete hardness of heart. Habitual ill
health blighted his youth, and has added to the harsh mel-
ancholy of his disposition. I do not know whether, had he
been left to himself, the ambition so natural to all his family
would have been developed in him; but he has, at least,
shown upon several occasions that he considered himself en-
titled to profit by the chances which circumstances have
thrown in his way. He has been applauded for wishing to
govern Holland in the interests of the country, in spite of
his brother's projects, and his abdication, although it was due
to a whim rather than to generous feeling, has certainly done
him honor. It is, after all, the best action of his life.
Louis Bonaparte is essentially egotistical and suspicious.
In the course of these Memoirs he will become better known.
* Lucien Bonaparte died at Viterbo, June 30, 1840. — ^P. R.
22 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EMUSAT.
Bonaparte said of him one day, " His feigned virtues give
me almost as much trouble as Lucien's vices." He has re-
tired to Rome since the downfall of his family.
Madame Josephine Bonapaetb and hee Familt.
The Marquis de Beauharnais, father of the general who
was the first husband of Mme. Bonaparte, having been em-
ployed in a military capacity at Martinique, became attached
to an aunt of Mme. Bonaparte's, with whom he returned to
•France, and whom he married in his old age.
This aunt brought her niece, Josephine de la Pagerie, to
France. She had her educated, and made use of her ascen-
dancy over her aged husband to marry her niece, at the age
of fifteen years, to young Beauharnais, her stepson. Al-
though he married her against his inclination, there is no
doubt that at one time he was much attached to his wife ;
for I have seen very loving letters written by him to her
when he was in garrison, and she preserved them with great
care. Of this marriage were born Eugene and Hortense.
When the Eevolution began, I think that Beauhamais's love
for his wife had cooled. At the commencement of the Ter-
ror M. de Beauharnais was still commanding the French
axmies, and had no longer any relations with his wife.
I do not know under what circumstances she became ac-
quainted with certain deputies of the Convention, but she
had some influence with them ; and, as she was kind-hearted
and obliging, she used it to do as much good to as many peo-
ple as possible. From that time her reputation for good
conduct was very much damaged ; but her kindness, her
grace, and the sweetness of her manners could not be dis-
puted. She served my father's interests more than once
with Barrere and Tallien, and owed to this my mother's
friendship. In 1793 chance placed her in a village on the
outskirts of Paris, where, like her, we were passing the sum-
mer. Our near neighborhood led to some intimacy. I re-
member that Hortense, who was three or four years younger
POBTBAITS AND ANECDOTES. 23
than I, used to visit me in my room, and, while amusing her-
self by exam.ining my little trinkets, she would tell me that
all her ambition for the future was to be the owner of a simi-
lar treasure. Unhappy woman ! She has since been laden
with gold and diamonds, and how has she not groaned under
the crushing weight of the royal diadem !
In those evil days when every one was forced to seek a
place of safety from the persecution by which all classes of
society were beset, we lost sight of Mme. de Beauharnais.
Her husband, being suspected by the Jacobins, had been
thrown into prison in Paris, and condemned to death by the
Kevolutionary Tribunal. She also was imprisoned, but es-
caped the guillotine, which preyed on all without distinction.
Being a friend of the beautiful Mme. Tallien, she was intro-
duced into the society of the Directory, and was especially
favored by Barras. Mme. de Beauharnais had veiy little
. fortune, and her taste for dress and luxury rendered her de-
pendent on those who could help her to indulge it. With-
out being precisely pretty, she possessed many personal
charms. Her features were delicate, her expression was
sweet; her mouth was very small, and concealed her bad
teeth ; her complexion was rather dark, but with the help of
red and white skillfully applied she remedied that defect ;
her figure was perfect ; her limbs were flexible and delicate ;
her movements were easy and elegant. La Font^e's line
could never have been more fitly applied than to her :
" Et la grace, plus belle encore que la beauts."
She dressed with perfect taste, enhancing the beauty of
what she wore ; and, with these advantages and the constant
care bestowed upon her attire, she contrived to avoid being
eclipsed by the youth and beauty of many of the women by
whom she was surrounded. To all this, as I have already
said, she added extreme kindness of- heart, a remarkably even
temper, and great readiness to forget any wrong that had
been done to her.
2i MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EMUSAT.
She was not a person of remarkable intellect. A Creole,
and frivolous, her education had been a good deal neglected ;
but she recognized her deficiencies, and never made blunders
in conversation. She possessed true natural tact ; she readily
found pleasant things to say ; her memory was good — a use-
ful quality for those in high position. Unhappily, she was
deficient in depth of feeling and elevation of mind. She
preferred to charm her husband by her beauty, rather than
the influence of certain virtues. She carried complaisance
to excess for his sake, and kept her hold on him by conces-
sions which, perhaps, contributed to increase the contempt
with which he habitually regarded women. She might have
taught him some useful lessons; but she feared him, and
allowed him to dictate to her in everything. She was
changeable, easy to move and easy to appease, incapable of
prolonged emotion, of sustained attention, of serious reflec-
tion ; and, although her greatness did not turn her head,
neither did it educate her. The bent of her character led
her to console the unhappy ; but she could only dwell on the
troubles of individuals — she did not think of the woes of
France. The genius of Bonaparte overawed her : she only
criticised him in what concerned herself personally ; in
everything else she respected what he called " the force of
his destiny." He exerted an evil influence over her, for he
inspired her with contempt for morality, and with a large
share of his own characteristic suspicion ; and he taught her
the art of lying, which each of them practiced with skill and
effect.
It is said that she was the prize of his command of the
army of Italy ; she has often assured me that at that time
Bonaparte was really in love with her. She hesitated be-
tween him, General Hoche, and M. de Caulaincourt, who
also loved her. Bonaparte prevailed. I know that my
mother, then living in retirement in the country, was much
surprised on learning that the widow of M. de Beauharnais
was about to marry a man so little known as Bonaparte.
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 25
When I questioned her as to what Bonaparte was like in
his youth, she told me that he was then dreamy, silent, and
awkward in the society of women, but passionate and fasci-
nating, although rather an odd person in every way. She
charged the campaign in Egypt with having changed his
temper, and developed that petty despotism from which she
afterward suffered so much.
I have seen letters from Kapoleon to Mme. Bonaparte,
written at the time of the first Italian campaign. She ac-
companied him to Italy, but he sometimes left her with the
rearguard of the army, until a victory had secured the safe-
ty of the road. These epistles are very singular. The writ-
ing is almost illegible ; they are ill spelt ; the style is strange
and confused. But there is in them such a tone of passion-
ate feeling ; the expressions are so animated, and at the same
time so poetical ; they breathe a love so different from mere
" amours," that there is no woman who would not have prized
such letters. They formed a striking contrast with the grace-
ful, elegant, and measured style of those of M. de Beauhar-
nais. How strange it must have been for a woman to find
herseK one of the moving powers of the triumphant march
of an army, at a time when politics alone governed the ac-
tions of men ! On the eve of one of his greatest battles,
Bonaparte wrote : " I am far from you ! It seems to me
that I am surrounded by the blackest night ; I need the lurid
light of the thunderbolts which we are about to hurl upon
our enemies to dispel the darkness into which your absence
has thrown me. Josephine, you wept when I parted from
you — you wept ! At that thought all my being trembles.
But calm yourseK : Wurmser shall pay dearly for the tears
I have seen you shed." And on the morrow Wurmser was
beaten.
The enthusiasm with which General Bonaparte was re-
ceived in beautiful Italy, the magnificence of the fetes, the
fame of his victories, the wealth which every officer might
acquire there, the unbounded luxury in which she lived,
26 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R&MTJSAT.
accustomed Mme. Bonaparte from that time forth to all the
pomp with which she was afterward surrounded ; and she
acknowledged that nothing in her life ever equaled the
emotions of that time, when love came (or seemed to come)
daily, to lay at her feet a new conquest over a people enrap-
tured with their conqueror. It is, however, plain from these
letters that Mme. Bonaparte, in the midst of this life of
triumph, of victory, and of license, gave some cause for
uneasiness to her victorious hushand. His letters, some-
times sullen and sometimes menacing, reveal the torments
of jealousy; and they abound in melancholy reflections,
which betray his weariness of the fleeting delusions of life.
It may have been that these misunderstandings, which out-
raged the first very keen feelings Bonaparte had ever ex-
perienced, had a bad effect upon him, and hardened him by
degrees. Perhaps he would have been a better man if he
had been more and better loved.
When, on his return from this brilliant campaign, the
conquering general was obliged to exile himself to Egypt, to
escape from the growing suspicion of the Directory, Mme.
Bonaparte's position became precarious and difficult. Her
husband entertained serious doubts of her, and these were
prompted by Joseph and Lucien, who dreaded the powerful
influence that she might exercise through her son, who had
accompanied Bonaparte. Her extravagant tastes led her
into reckless expense, and she was harassed by debts and
duns.
Before leaving France, Bonaparte had directed her to
purchase an estate ; and as she wished to live in the neigh-
borhood of Saint Germain, where her daughter was being
educated, she selected Malmaison. There we met her again,
when we were residing for some months at the chateau of
one of our friends, * at a short distance from Malmaison.
* Mme. de Vergennes was very intimate with M. Chanorier, a wealthy and
intelligent man living at Croiasy, on the bank of the Seine, and who waa one of
the first to introduce the merino sheep into France. It waa from Croissy that
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 27
Mme. Bonaparte, who was naturally unreserved, and even
indiscreet, had no sooner met my mother again than she
talked to her very freely about her absent husband, about
her brothers-in-law^n fact, about a host of people who
were utter strangers to us. Bonaparte was supposed to be
almost lost to France, and his wife was neglected. My
mother took pity on her; we showed her some attention,
which she never forgot. At that time I was seventeen years
of age^ and I had been married one year.
It was at Malmaison that Mme. Bonaparte showed us an
immense quantity of pearls, diamonds, and cameos, which at
that time constituted the contents of her jewel-case. Even
at that time it might have figured in a story of the " Arabian
Nights," and it was destined to receive immense accessions.
Invaded and grateful Italy had contributed to these riches,
and the Pope also, as a mark of his appreciation of the re-
spect with which the conqueror treated him by denying him-
self the pleasure of planting his flag upon the walls of Home.
The reception-rooms at Malmaison were sumptuously deco-
rated with pictures, statues, and mosaics, the spoils of Italy,
and each of the generals who figured in the Italian campaign
exhibited booty of the same kind.
Although she was surrounded with all these treasures,
Mme. Bonaparte was often without moTiey to meet her every-
day expenses ; and, to get out of this difficulty, she trafiicked
in her influence with the people in power at the time, and
compromised herself by entering into imprudent relations.
Dreadfully embarrassed, on worse terms than ever with her
brothers-in-law, supplying too much reason for their accusa-
tions against her, and no longer counting on the return of
her husband, she was strongly tempted to give her daughter
in marriage to the son of Eewbell, a member of the Direc-
tory ; but Mile, de Beauharnais would not consent, and her
she and her daughters made a neighborly visit to Malmaison, and resumed with
Mme. Bonaparte their former intimacy with Mme. de Beauharnais.
28 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RSMUSAT.
opposition put an end to a project whose execution would
doubtless have been highly displeasing to Bonaparte.
Presently a rumor of Bonaparte's arrival at Frejus arose.
He came back with his mind full of the evil reports that
Lucien had repeated to him in his letters. His wife, on hear-
ing of his disembarkation, set out to join him ; she missed
him, had to retrace her steps, and returned to the house in
the Eue Chantereine some hours after his arrival there. She
descended from her carriage in haste, followed by her son
and daughter, and ran up the stairs leading to his room ; but
what was her surprise to find the door locked ! She called to
Bonaparte, and begged him to open it. He replied through the
door that it should never again be opened for her. Then she
wept, fell on her knees, implored him for her sake and that
of her two children ; but all was profound silence around her,
and several hours of the night passed over her in this dread-
ful suspense. At last, however, moved by her sobs and her
perseverance, Bonaparte opened the door at about four o'clock
in the morning, and appeared, as Mme. Bonaparte herself
told me, with a stern countenance, which, however, betrayed
that he too had been weeping. He bitterly reproached her
with her conduct, her forgetfulness of him, all the real or
imaginary sins of which Lucien had accused her, and con-
cluded by announcing an eternal separation. Then turning
to Eugene de Beauharnais, who was at that time about twenty
years old — " As for you," he said, " you shall not bear the
burden of your mother's faults. You shall be always my
son ; I will keep you with me."
" No, no. General," replied Eugene ; " I must share the .
ill fortune of my mother, and from this moment I say fare-
well to you."
These words shook Bonaparte's resolution. He opened
his arms to Eugene, weeping ; his wife and Hortense knelt
at his feet and embraced his knees; and, soon after, aU was
forgiven. In the explanation that ensued, Mme. Bonaparte
succeeded in clearing herself from the accusations of her
POBTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 29
brother-in-law ; and Bonaparte, then burning to avenge her,
sent for Lucien at seven o'clock in the morning, and had him,
without any forewarning, ushered into the room where the
husband and wife, entirely reconciled, occupied the same bed.
From that time Bonaparte desired his wife to break with
Mme. TaUien and all the society of the Directory. The 18th
Brumaire completely severed her connection with those indi-
viduals. She told me that on the eve of that important day
she observed, with great surprise, that Bonaparte had loaded
two pistols and placed them beside his bed. On her ques-
tioning him, he replied that a certain event might happen in
the night which would render such a precaution necessary.
Then, without another word, he lay down, and slept soundly
until the next morning.
When he became Consul, the gentle and gracious quali-
ties of his wife, which attracted many persons to his Court
whom his natural rudeness would have otherwise kept away,
were of great service to him. To Josephine he intrusted the
measures to be taken for the return of the emigres. Nearly
all the " erasures " * passed through the hands of Mme. Bona-
parte ; she was the first link that united the French nobility
to the Consular Government. We shall learn more of this
in the course of these Memoirs.
Eugene de Beauharnais, bom in 1780, passed through all
the phases of a sometimes stormy and sometimes brilliant
life, without ever forfeiting his title to general esteem.
Prince Eugene, sometimes in camp with his father, some-
times in all the leisure and luxury of his mother's house,
was, to speak correctly, educated nowhere. His natural in-
stinct led toward what is right ; the schooling of Bonaparte
formed but did not pervert him ; the lessons taught him by
events — all these were his instructors. Mme. Bonaparte was
incapable of giving sound advice ; and therefore hfer son, who
loved her sincerely, perceived very early in his career that
it was useless to consult her.
* See Appendix.
30 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
Prince Eugene did not lack personal attractions. His
figure was graceful ; he was skilled in all bodily exercises ;
and he inherited from his father that fine manner of the old
French gentleman, in which, perhaps, M. de Beauhamais
himself gave him his earliest lessons. To these advantages
he added simplicity and kindheartedness ; he was neither
vain nor presumptuous ; he was sincere without being in-
discreet, and could be silent when silence was necessary.
Prince Eugene had not much natural talent ; his imagination
was not vivid, and his feelings were not keen. He was al-
ways obedient to his stepfather ; and, although he appre-
ciated him exactly, and was not mistaken with regard to
him, he never hesitated to observe the strictest fidelity to
him, even when it was against his own interests. Never
once was he surprised into showing any sign of discontent,
either when the Emperor, while loading his own family with
honors, seemed to forget him, or when his mother was re-
, pudiated. At the time of the divorce Eugene maintained a
very dignified attitude.
Eugene, as colonel of a regiment, was beloved by his sol-
diers. In Italy he was held in high honor. The sovereigns
of Europe esteemed him, and the world was well pleased
that his fortunes have survived those of his family. He had
the good fortune to marry a charming princess, who never
ceased to love him, and whom he rendered happy. He pos-
sessed'in perfection those qualities which make the happi-
ness of home life — sweet temper, and that natural cheerful-
ness which rises above every ill, and was perhaps due to
the fact that ho was never profoundly moved by anything.
When, however, that kind of indifference toward the inter-
ests of other people is also displayed in one's own personal
troubles, it may fairly be called philosophy.
Hortense, Prince Eugene's younger sister (she was born in
1783), was, I think, the most unhappy person of our time,
and the least formed by nature to be so. Cruelly slandered
by the Bonapartes, who hated her, included in the accusa-
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 31
tions whicli the public delighted to bring against aU who be-
longed to that family, she was not strong enough to contend
against such a combination of ills, and to defy the calumnies
that blighted her life.*
Mme. Louis Bonaparte, like her mother and brother, was
not remarkable for intellect ; but, like them, she possessed
tact and good feeling, and she was more high-minded and
imaginative than they. Left to herself in her youth, she es-
caped the contagion of the dangerous example of evil. At
Mme. Campan's select and elegant boarding-school she ac-
quired accomplishments rather than education. While she
was young, a brilliant complexion, beautiful hair, and a iine
figure rendered her agreeable to look upon; but she lost
her teeth early, and illness and sorrow altered her features.
Iler natural instincts were good ; but, being absolutely igno-
rant of the world and the usages of society, and entirely given
up to ideal notions drawn from a sphere which she had cre-
ated for herself, she was unable to rule her life by those
social laws which do not indeed preserve the virtue of
women, bat which procure them support when they are ac-
cused, without which it is impossible to pass through the
* There are few things in these Memoirs which will be rea,d with greater
surprise than the pages relating to Queen Hortense. My grandmother lived and
died in the conviction that in speaking thus she was strictly adhering to the
truth. The contrary opinion has, however, prevailed ; and itjhas been confirmed
by the conduct of her son, Napoleon III., who rendered marked honors to the
Duke de Morny. Very likely that, as often happens, all was true according to
the epoch — in youth, innocence, and sorrow ; afterward, consolation. It is un-
necessary to say that on this point I preserve the exact text of the Memoirs, as
they were written by the hand of their author. I have only thought it right to
suppress comments of an opposite nature on certain ladies of the Court. The
reader will, perhaps, be surprised to find no mention in these portraits of the
family of either Queen Caroline or Princess Pauline Bonaparte. I leave out
certain matters in relation to them which have no bearing on the Emperor him-
self. My father particularly desired that the text of his mother's Memoirs
should be scrupulously respected. It seemed to me, however, that on this point
I might fairly depart from the rules of strict editing. Habits, tastes, customs
become modified by time, and much that seemed natural to a clever woman in
high life at that period would give scandal in our more punctilious day.
6
32 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMUSAT.
world, and which the approbation of conscience can not re-
place. It is not suflBcient to lead a good life in order to
appear virtuous ; women must also obey those rules which
society has made. Mme. Louis, who was placed in circum-
stances of extreme difficulty, never had a guide ; she under-
stood her mother, and could not venture to place any confi-
dence in her. As she held firmly to the principles, or rather
to the sentiments, her imagination had created, she was at
first very much surprised at the lapses from morality in
which she detected the women by whom she was surrounded,
and was still more surprised when she found that these faults
were not always the result of love. Her marriage cast her
on the mercy of the most tyrannical of husbands ; she be-
came the resigned and dejected victim of ceaseless and un-
remitting persecution, and sank under the weight of her sor-
row. She yielded to it without daring to complain, and it
was not until she was on the point of death that the truth
became known. I knew Mme. Louis Bonaparte very inti-
mately, and was acquainted with all the secrets of her do-
mestic life. I have always believed her to be the purest, as
she was the most unfortunate, of women.
Her only consolation was in her tender love for her
brother ; she rejoiced in his happiness, his success, his amia-
ble temper. How many times have I heard her say, "I only
live in Eugene's life ! "
She declined to marry Eewbell's son, and this reasonable
refusal was the result of one of the errors of her imagination.
From her earliest youth she had persuaded herself that a
woman, if she would be virtuous and happy, should marry
no man unless she loved him passionately. Afterward, when
her mother wished her to marry the Comte de Mun, now a
peer of France, she again refused to obey her.
M. de Mun had emigrated ; Mme. Bonaparte obtained
permission for his return. He came back to a considerable
fortune, and asked for the hand of Mile, de Beauharnais in
marriage. Bonaparte, then First Consul, had little liking
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 33
for this union. Mme. Bonaparte would, however, have had
her own way about it, only for the obstinate resistance of
her daughter. Some one said before her that M. de Mun
had been, while in Germany, in love with Mme. de Stael.
That celebrated woman was in the imagination of the young
girl a sort of monster, whom it was impossible to know with-
out scandal and without taint. M. de Mun became odious to
her, and thus he missed a great match and the terrible down-
fall that was to ensue. It was a strange accident of destiny,
thus to have missed being a prince, perhaps a ting, and then
dethroned.
A little while after, Duroc, then one of the Consul's
aides-de-camp, and in high favor with him, fell in love with
Hortense. She was not insensible to his passion, and thought
she had at length found that other half of her being which
she sought for. Bonaparte was in favor of the marriage ;
but this time Mme. Bonaparte was inflexible. " My daugh-
ter," she said, " must marry a gentleman or a Bonaparte."
Then Louis was proposed. He had no liking for Hortense,
he detested the Beauharnais family, and despised his sister-in-
law : but, as he was taciturn, he was supposed to be amiable ;
as he was severe in his judgments, he was supposed to be a
good man. Mme. Louis has since told me that when she
first heard of this arrangement she suffered terribly. Not
only was she forbidden to think of the man she loved, but
she was also to be given to another, whom she instinctively
distrusted. However, as this marriage was in accordance
with her mother's wishes, as it would cement the family ties,
and might advance her brother's interests, she yielded her-
self a submissive victim ; nay, she did even more. Her im-
agination was full of the duties imposed on her ; she deter-
mined to make every sort of sacrifice to the wishes of a hus-
band whom she had the misfortune not to love. Too sincere
and too reserved to feign sentiments she did not feel, she was
gentle, submissive, fall of deference, and more anxious per-
haps to please him than if she had loved him. The false and
34 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE MMUSAT.
suspicious disposition of Louis Bonaparte led him to regard
the gentle deference of his wife as affectation a,nd coquetry.
" She practices on me," he said, " to deceive me." He be-
Keved that her conduct was dictated by the counsels of her
experienced mother ; he repelled the eiforts she made to
please him, and treated her with rude contempt. Nor was
this all. He actually divulged to Mme. Louis all the accu-
sations which had been brought against her mother, and,
after having gone as far in that direction as he could go,
he signified his pleasure that confidential relations between
his wife and her mother should cease. He added, " You
are now a Bonaparte. Our interests should be yours ;
those of your own family no longer concern you." He ac-
companied this cruel notification with insulting threats, and
a coarse expression of his disdainful opinion of women ; he
enumerated the precautions he meant to take in order, as he
said, to escape the common fate of all husbands, and declared
that he would not be the dupe either of her attempts to es-
cape his vigilance or of the tricks of pretended doeUity by
which she might hope to win him over.
The effect of such a declaration upon a young woman
full of fancies may easily be conceived. She conducted
herself, however, as an obedient wife, and for many years
only her sadness and her failing health betrayed her suffer-
ings. Her husband, who was hard and capricious, and, like
all the Bonapartes, selfish — worn and embittered besides by
a painful disease which he had contracted during the Egyp-
tian campaign — set no limit to his exactions. As he was
afraid of his brother, while at the same time he wanted to
keep his wife away from Saint Cloud, he ordered her to say
it was by her own wish that she seldom went thither, and
forbade her to remain there a single night, no matter how
much her mother might press her to do so. Mme. Louis
became pregnant very soon after her marriage. The Bona-
partes and Mme. Murat, who were displeased at this mar-
riage, because, as Joseph's children were guls, they foresaw
PORTRAITS AND ANECDOTES. 35
that a son of Louis, who would also be a grandson of Mme.
Bonaparte, would be the object of natural interest, spread
the outrageous report that this pregnancy was the result of
an intimacy between the First Consul and his stepdaughter,
with the connivance of Josephine herself. The public was
quite ready to believe this scandalous falsehood, and Mme.
Murat repeated it to Louis, who, whether he believed it or
not, made it a pretext for every kind of conjugal tyranny.
The narrative of his cruelty to his wife would lead me too
far at present ; I shall return to the subject hereafter. Her
servants were employed as spies upon her ; the most trifling
notes addressed to or written by her were opened ; every
friendship was prohibited; Louis was jealous even of Eu-
gene. Scenes of violence were frequent; nothing was
spared her. Bonaparte was not slow to perceive this state
of afEairs, but he was grateful to Mme. Louis for her silence,
which put him at his ease, and exempted him from the ne-
cessity of interference. He, who never esteemed women,
always professed positive veneration for Hortense, and the
manner in which he spoke of and acted toward her is a for-
mal contradiction of the accusations which were brought
against her. In her presence his language was always care-
ful and decent. He often appealed to her to arbitrate be-
tween his wife and himself, and he took rebukes from her
that he would not have listened to patiently from any one
else. " Hortense," he said more than once, " forces me to
believe in virtue."
BOOK I,
CHAPTER L
(1802-1803.)
Family affaire — liy first evening at Saint Cloud — trcnti-ai Moraau — M. de E^musat
is made Prefect, and I, Lady of the Palace — HaMu cf the First Consul and of
Mme. Bonaparte — ^M. de Talleyrand — The lamUy of the Fu'st Consul — Miles.
Georges and Duchesnois — Mme. Bonaparte's jealousy.
NoTwrrHSTANDma the date of the year in which I under-
take this narrative, I shall not seek to excuse the motives
which led my husband to attach himseK to the person of
Bonaparte, but shall simply explain them. In political
matters justifications are worth nothing. Certain persons,
having returned to France only three years ago, or having
taken no part in pubKc affairs before that epoch, have pro-
nounced a sort of anathema against those among our fellow
citizens who for twenty years have not held completely
aloof from passing events. If it be represented to them
that nobody pretends to pronounce whether they were right
or wrong to indulge in their long sleep, and that they are
merely asked to remain equally neutral on a similar question,
they reject such a proposition with all the strength of their
present position of vantage ; they deal out unsparing and
most ungenerous blame, for there is now no risk in under-
taking the duties on which they pride themselves. And
yet, when a revolution is in progress, who can flatter himself
that he has always adopted the right course ? Who among
us has not been influenced by circumstances ? Who, indeed.
FAMILY AFFAIRS. 37
can venture to throw the first stone, without fear lest it re-
coil upon himself ? Citizens of the same country, aU more
or less hurt by the blows they have given and received,
ought to spare each other — they are more closely bound to-
gether than they think ; and when a Frenchman mercilessly
runs down another Frenchman, let him take care — ^he is put-
ting weapons to use against them both into the hands of the
foreigner.
Not the least evil of troubled times is that bitter spirit of
criticism which produces mistrust, and perhaps contempt, of
what is called pubHc opinion. The tumult of passion enables
every one to defy it. Men live for the most part so much
outside of themselves, that they have few opportunities of con-
sulting their conscience. In peaceful times, and for common
ordinary actions, the judgments of the world replace it well
enough; but how is it possible to submit to them, when
they are ready to deal death to those who would bow to
them ? It is safest, then, to rely on that conscience which
one can never question with impunity. Neither my hus-
band's conscience nor my own reproaches him or me. The
entire loss of his fortune, the experience of facts, the march
of events, a moderate and legitimate desire for easier circum-
stances, led M. de Remusat to seek a place of some kind in
1802. To profit by the repose that Bonaparte had given to
France, and to rely on the hopes he inspired, was, no doubt,
to deceive ourselves, but we did so in common with all the
rest of the world.
Unerring prevision is given to very few ; and if, after
his second marriage, Bonaparte had maintained peace, and
had employed that portion of his army which he did not
disband to line our frontiers, who is there that would have
dared to doubt the duration of his power and the strength
of his rights ? At that time both his power and his rights
seemed to have acquired the force of legitimacy. Bonaparte
reigned over France with the consent of France. That fact
only blind hatred or foolish pride can now attempt to deny.
38 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMUSAT.
He reigned for our misfortune and for our glory : the alli-
ance of those two words is, in the present state of society,
more natural than it seems, at least when military glory is in
question. When he became Consul, people breathed freely.
At first he won public confidence ; when, afterward, causes
of disquiet arose, the country was already committed to him.
At last he frightened all the minds who had believed in him,
and led true citizens to desire his fall, even at the risk of loss
to themselves. This is the history of M. de K^musat and
myself ; there is nothing humiliating in it. We too were re-
lieved and confident when the country had breathing space,
and afterward we desired its deliverance before all things.
N^o one will ever know what I suffered during the later
years of Bonaparte's tyranny. It would be impossible for
me to describe the absolute sincerity with which I longed
for the return of the King, who would, as I firmly believed,
restore peace and liberty to us. I foresaw all my personal
losses ; and M. de E^musat foresaw them even more clearly
than I did. That wMch we desired would ruin the fortune
of our children. But the loss of that fortune, which we
could have preserved only by the sacrifice of our convictions,
did not cost us a regret. The ills of France cried too loud
then — shame to those who would not listen to them ! We
served Bonaparte, we even loved and admired him ; and it
costs me nothing to make this avowal. It seems to me it is
never painful to avow a genuine feeling. I am not at all
embarrassed because the opinions I held at one time are op-
posed to those which I held at another ; I am not incapable
of being mistaken. I know what I have felt, and I have
always felt it sincerely ; that is sufiBcient for God, for my
son, for my friends, for myself.
My present task is, however, a difficult one, for I must
go back in search of a number of impressions which were
strong and vivid when I received them, but which now, like
ruined buildings devastated by fire, have no longer any con-
nection one with another.
MT FIRST EVENING AT SAINT CLOUD. 39
At tlie commencement of these Memoirs I shall pass as
briefly as possible over all that is merely personal to our-
selves, up to the time of our introduction to the Court of
Bonaparte ; afterward I shall perhaps revert to still earlier
recollections. A woman can not be expected to relate the
political life of Bonaparte. If he was so reserved with those
who surrounded him that persons in the next room to him
were often ignorant of events which they would indeed learn
by going into Paris, but could only comprehend fully by
transporting themselves out of France, how much more im-
possible would it have been for me, young as I was when I
made my entry into Saint Cloud, and during the first years
that I hved there, to do more than seize upon isolated facts
at long intervals of time? I shall record what I saw, or
thought I saw, and will do my best to make my narrative as
accurate as it is sincere.
I was twenty-two years old when I became lady-in-waiting
to Mme. Bonaparte. I was married at sixteen years of age,
and had previously been perfectly happy in a quiet life, full
of home affections. The convulsions of the Kevolution, the
execution of my father in 1Y94, the loss of our fortune, and
my mother's love of retirement, kept me out of the gay
world, of which I knew and desired to know nothing. I
was suddenly taken from this peaceful solitude to act a
part upon the stage of history ; and, without having passed
through the intermediate stage of society, I was much
affected by so abrupt a transition, and my character has
never lost the impression it then received. I dearly loved
my husband and my mother, and in their society I had been
accustomed to follow the impulses of my feelings. In the
Bonaparte household I interested myself only in what moved
me strongly. I never in my life could occupy myself with
the trifles of what is called the great world.
My mother had brought me up most carefully ; my edu-
cation was finished under the superintendence of my husband,
who was a highly cultivated man, and older than I by sixteen
40 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtlMUSAT.
years. I was naturally grave, a tendency which in women is
always allied to enthusiasm. Thus, during the early part of
my residence with Mme. Bonaparte and her husband, I was
full of the sentiments which I considered due to them. Their
well-known characters, and what I have already related of
their domestic life, rendered this a sure preparation for many
mistakes, and certainly I did not fail to make them.
I have already mentioned our friendship with Mme.
Bonaparte during the expedition to Egypt. After that we
lost sight of her, until the time when my mother, having ar-
ranged a marriage for my sister with a relative of ours,* who
had returned secretly, but was still included in the list of the
proscribed, addressed herself to Mme. Bonaparte in order to
obtain his " erasure." f The matter was readily arranged.
Mme. Bonaparte, who was then endeavoring, with much tact
and kindness, to win over persons of a certain class who stiE
held aloof from her husband, begged that my mother and M.
de E6musat would visit her one evening, in order to return
thanks to the First Consul. It was not possible to refuse,
and accordingly, one evening, shortly after Bonaparte had
taken up his abode there, we went to the Tuileries. % His
wife told me afterward that on the first night of their sojourn
in the palace, he said to her, laughing, " Come, little Creole,
get into the bed of your masters."
"We found Bonaparte in the great drawing-room on the
ground floor ; he was seated on a sofa. Beside him I saw
General Moreau, with whom he appeared to be in close con-
versation. At that period they were still trying to get on
* M. Charles de Ganay, son of a sister of M. Charles Gravier de Tergcnnes,
and first cousin of the author of these Memoirs. He was a deputy and colonel
of the Koyal Guard under the Restoration. I do not know what prevented his
marriage with Mile. Alix de Vergennes, who shortly after married General Nan-
souty. The friendship between the two branches of the family was not disturbed
by this affair, and it is happily perpetuated. — P. K.
\ See Appendix.
X It was on the 19th of February, 1800 (30th Pluviosc, year 8), that the First
Consul took possession of the Tuileries. — P. E.
QENERAL MOREAU. 41
togetlier. A very amiable speech, of Bonaparte's, of a grace-
ful kind unusual with him, was much talked of. He had
had a superb pair of pistols made, with the names of all
Moreau's battles engraved on the handles in gold letters.
" You must excuse their not being more richly ornamented,"
said Bonaparte, presenting them to him ; " the names of your
victories took up all the space."
There were in the drawing-room ministers, generals, and
ladies. Among the latter, almost all young and pretty, were
Mme. Louis Bonaparte ; * Mme. Murat, who was recently
married, and who struck me as very charming ; and Mme.
Marat, who was paying her wedding visit, and was at that
time perfectly beautiful. Mme. Bonaparte received her
company with perfect grace ; she was dressed tastefully in a
revived antique style which was the fashion of the day.
Artists had at that time a good deal of influence on the cus-
toms of society.
Bonaparte rose when we courtesied to him, and after a
few vague words reseated himself, and took no more notice
of the ladies who were in the room. I confess that, on this
occasion, I was less occupied with him than with the luxury,
the elegance, and the magnificence on which my eyes rested
for the first time.
From that time forth we made occasional visits to the
Tuileries ; and after a while it was suggested to us, and we
took to the idea, that M. de Eemusat might fill some post,
which would restore us to the comfort of which the loss of
our fortune had deprived us. M. de Eemusat, having been
a magistrate before the Eevolution, would have preferred oc-
cupation of a legal character. He would not grieve me by
separating me from my mother and taking me away from
Paris, and therefore he was disposed to ask for a place in the
Council of State, and to avoid prefectures. But then we
really knew nothing of the structure and composition of the
* Hortense de Beauhamais had married Louis Bonaparte on the 4th of Janu-
ary, 1802.
42 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
Government. My mother had mentioned our position to
Mme. Bonaparte; who had taken a liking to me, and was
also pleased with my husband's manners, and it occurred to'
her that she might place us near herself. Just at this time
my sister, who had not married the cousin whom I have men-
tioned, married M. de ISTansouty, a general of brigade, the
nephew of Mme. de Montesson, and a man very much es-
teemed in the army and in society. This marriage strength-
ened our connection with the Consular Government, and a
month afterward Mme. Bonaparte told my mother that she
hoped before long M. de Eemusat would be made a Prefect
of the Palace. I will pass over in silence the sentiments
with which this news was received in the family. For my
own part, I was exceedingly frightened. M. de Eemusat
was resigned rather than pleased ; and, as he is a particularly
conscientious man, he applied himself to all the minute de-
tails of his new occupation immediately after his nomination,
which soon followed. Shortly afterward I received the fol-
lowing letter from General Duroc, Governor of the Palace :
" Madame : The First Consul has nominated you to at-
tend upon Mme. Bonaparte, in doing the honors of the pal-
ace. His personal knowledge of your character and of your
principles satisfies him that you will acquit yourself of this
duty with the politeness which distinguishes French ladies,
and with dignity such as the Government requires. I am
happy to have been made the medium of announcing to you
this mark of his esteem and confidence.
" Receive, madame, my respectful homage."
Thus did we find ourselves installed at this singular Court.
Although Bonaparte would have been angry if any one had
seemed to doubt the sincerity of his utterances, which were
at this period entirely republican, he introduced some novel-
ty into, his manner of life every day, which tended to give
the place of his abode more and more resemblance to the
HABITS OF TEE FIRST CONSUL. 43
palace of a sovereign. He liked display, provided it did not
interfere with his own particular habits ; therefore he laid
the weight of ceremonial on those who surrounded him. He
believed also that the French are attracted by the glitter of
external pomp. He was very simple in his own attire, but
he required his officers to wear magnificent uniforms. He
had already established a marked distance between himself
and the two other Consuls ; and just as, although he used the
preamble, "By order of the Consuls," etc., in the acts of
government, his own signature only was placed at the end,
so he held his court alone, either at the Tuileries or at Saint
Cloud ; he received the ambassadors with the ceremonial used
by kings, and always appeared in public attended by a nu-
merous guard, while he allowed his colleagues only two
grenadiers before their carriages; and finally he began to
give his wife rank in the state.
At first we found ourselves in a somewhat difficult posi-
tion, which, nevertheless, had its advantages. Military glory
and the rights it confers were all-in-all to the generals and
aides-de-camp who suiTounded Bonaparte. They seemed to
think that every distinction belonged exclusively to them.
The Consul, however, who liked conquest of all kinds, and
whose design was to gain over to himself all classes of society,
made his Court pleasant to persons belonging to other profes-
sions. Besides this, M. de Eemusat, who was a man of in-
tellect, of remarkable learning, and superior to his colleagues
in conversational powers, was soon distinguished by his mas-
ter, who was quick at discovering qualities which might be
useful to himself. Bonaparte was glad that persons in his
service should know, for his purposes, things of which he
was ignorant. He found that my husband knew all about
certain customs which he wanted to reestablish, and was a
safe authority on matters of etiquette and the habits of good
society. He briefly indicated his projects, was at once un-
derstood, and as promptly obeyed. This unusual manner of
pleasing him at first gave some offense to the military men.
M MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E&MUSAT.
They foresaw that they would no longer be the only persons
in favor, and that they would be required to alter the rough
manners which did well enough for camps and fields of bat-
tle ; therefore our presence displeased them. For my own
part, although I was so young, I had more ease of manner
than their wives. Most of my companions were ignorant of
the world, timid and silent, and they were either shy or
frightened in the presence of the First Consul. As for me,
I was, as I have already said, very quick and lively, easily
moved by novelty, fond of intellectual pleasures, interested
in observing so many persons, all unknown to me; and I
found favor with my new sovereign, because, as I have said
elsewhere, I took pleasure in listening to him. And then,
Mme. Bonaparte liked me, because she herself had chosen
me ; she was pleased that she had been able to attach a per-
son of good family to herself, and that through the medium
of my mother, whom she respected highly. She trusted me,
and I was attached to her, so that before long she confided all
her secrets to me, and I received them with discretion. Al-
though I might have been her daughter,* I was often able to
give her good advice, because the habits of a secluded and
strict life make one take a serious view of things. My hus-
band and I were soon placed in so prominent a position that
we had to secure forgiveness for it. "We obtained that posi-
tion almost entirely by preserving our simple ways, by keep-
ing within the bounds of politeness, and by avoiding every-
thing which might lead to the suspicion that we wanted to
trade on the favor we were in.
M. de Eemusat lived in a simple and kindly fashion in
the midst of this warlike Court. As for me, I was fortu-
nate enough to hold my own without offense, and I put for-
ward no pretension distasteful to other women. The greater
* The Empress Josephine was born at Martinique in 1763. She married M.
de Beauharnais in 1779, and separated from him in 1783. After the death of
her husband she was married (civilly) to General Bonaparte, on the 9th of
March, 1796. She died on the 29th of May, 1814.— P. R.
HABITS OF TEE FIRST GOWSUL. 45
number of my companions were mueli handsomer than I —
some of them were very beautiful ; and they were all su-
perbly dressed. My face, which had no beauty but that of
youth, and the habitual simplicity of my attire, satisfied
them that in several ways they were superior to me ; and it
soon seemed as if we had made a tacit compact that they
should charm the eyes of the First Consul when we were in
his presence, and that I should endeavor, as far as lay in my
power, to interest his mind. As I have already said, to do
that one had only to be a good listener.
Political ideas rarely enter into the head of a woman at
twenty-two. I was at that time quite without any kind of
party spirit. I never reasoned on the greater or less right
which Bonaparte had to the power of which every one de-
clared that he made a good use. M. de Kemusat, who be-
lieved in him, as did nearly the whole of France, was full of
the hopes which at that time seemed to be well founded.
AH classes, outraged and disgusted by the horrors of the
Kevolution, and grateful to the Consular Government which
preserved us from the Jacobite reaction, looked upon its
coming into power as a new era for the country. The trials
of liberty that had been made over and over again had in-
spired a very natural, though not very reasonable, aversion
to it ; for, in truth, liberty always disappeared when its name
was used merely to vary successive species of tyranny. Gen-
erally speaking, nobody in France wanted anything except
quiet, the right to free exercise of the intellect, the cultiva-
tion of private virtues, and the reparation by degrees of
those losses of fortune wluch were common to all. When I
remember all the dreams which I cherished at that time, the
recollection makes me sick at heart. I regret those fancies,
as one regrets the bright thoughts of the springtime of life
— of that time when, to use a simile familiar to Bonaparte
himself, one looks at all things through a gilded veil which
makes tliem hrigTit and sparkling. " Little Tyy little^ said
he, " this veil thickens as we advance in life, until all is
46 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BMUSAT.
nearly llackP Alas ! he himself soon stained with blood
that gilded veil through which France had gladly contem-
plated him.
It was in the autumn of 1802 that I estabhshed myself
for the first time at Saint Cloud, where the First Consul
then was. There were four ladies, and we each passed a
week in succession in attendance on Mme. Bonaparte. The
service, as it was called, of the prefects of the palace, of the
generals of the guard, and of the aides-de-camp, was con-
ducted in the same way. Duroc, the Governor of the Pal-
ace, lived at Saint Cloud ; he kept the household in perfect
order ; we dined with him. The First Consul took his meals
alone with his wife. Twice a week he invited some mem-
bers of the Government ; once a month he gave a great din-
ner to a hundred guests at the Tuileries, in the Gallery of
Diana ; after these dinners he received every one who held
an important post or rank, either military or civil, and also
foreigners of note. During the winter of 1803 we were
still at peace with England. A great number of English
people came to Paris, and as we were not accustomed to see-
ing them, they excited great curiosity.
At these brilliant receptions there was a great display of
luxury. Bonaparte liked women to dress well, and, either
from policy or from taste, he encouraged his wife and sisters
to do so. Mme. Bonaparte and Mmes. Bacciochi and Murat
(Mme. Leclerc, afterward Princess Pauline, was at Saint
Domingo in 1802) were always magnificently attired. Cos-
tumes were given to the different corps ; the uniforms were
rich ; and this pomp, coming as it did after a period in which
the affectation of squalor had been combined with that of
extravagant ci/aisme, seemed to be an additional guarantee
against the return of that fatal regime which was still re-
membered with dread.
Bonaparte's costume at this period is worthy of record.
On ordinary days he wore one of the uniforms of his guard ;
but he had decreed, for himself and his two colleagues, that
HABITS OF THE FIRST CONSUL. 47
on all occasions of grand ceremonial each should wear a red
coat, made in winter in velvet, in summer of some other
material, and embroidered in gold. The two Consuls, Cam-
baceres and Lebrun, elderly, powdered, and well set up,
wore this gorgeous coat, with lace, ruffles, and a sword, after
the old fashion of full dress ; but Bonaparte, who detested
all such adornments, got rid of them as much as possible.
His hair was cut short, smoothed down, and generally ill
arranged. With his crimson-and-gold coat he would wear a
black cravat, a lace frill to his shirt, but no sleeve ruffles.
Sometimes he wore a white vest embroidered in silver, but
more frequently his uniform waistcoat, his uniform sword,
breeches, silk stockings, and boots. This extraordinary cos-
tume and his small stature gave him the oddest possible
appearance, which, however, no one ventured to ridicule.
When he became Emperor, he wore a richly laced coat, with
a short cloak and a plumed hat ; and this costume became
him very well. He also wore a magnificent collar of the
Order of the Legion of Honor, in diamonds, on state occa-
sions; but on ordinary occasions he wore only the silver
cross.
On the eve of his coronation, the marshals he had newly
created a few months before came to pay him a visit, all
gorgeously arrayed. The splendor of their costume, in
contrast with his simple uniform, made him smile. I was
standing at a little distance from him, and as he sav/ that I
smiled also, he said to me, in a low tone, " It is not every one
who has the right to be plainly dressed." Presently the
m.arshals of the army began disputing among themselves
about the great question of precedence. Their pretensions
were very well founded, and each enumerated his victories.
Eonaparte, while listening to them, again glanced at me. " I
think," said I, " you must have stamped your foot on France,
and said, ' Let all the vanities arise from the soil.' " " That
is true," he replied ; " but it is fortunate that the French are
to be ruled through their vanity."
48 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BMUSAT.
During the first montlis of my sojourn at Saint Cloud in
the winter, and at Paris, my life was very pleasant. In the
morning at eight o'clock Bonaparte left his wife's room and
went to his study. When we were in Paris he again went
down to her apartments to breakfast; at Saint Cloud he
breakfasted alone, generally on the terrace. "While at break-
fast he received artists and actors, and talked to them freely
and pleasantly. Afterward he devoted himself to public
afEairs until six o'clock. Mme. Bonaparte remained at home
during the morning, receiving an immense number of visit-
ors, chiefly women. Among these would be some whose
husbands belonged to the Government, and some (these were
called de Vancien regime) who did not vrish to have, or to
appear to have, relations with the First Consul, but who
solicited, through his wife, " erasures " or restitutions. Mme.
Bonaparte received them all with perfect grace. She prom-
ised everything, and sent every one away well pleased. The
petitions were put aside and lost sometimes, but then they
brought fresh ones, and she seemed never tired of listening. *
* My father, bom in 1797, was very young at this time. He had, however,
a distinct recollection of a visit which he paid to the palace with his mother,
and he writes in a note respecting it :
" On Sunday I was taken to the Tuileries, and allowed to look on the review of
the troops in the Carrousel from the ladies'-maids' window. A large drawing
by Isabey, which has been engraved, exactly reproduces all that was interesting
in that spectacle. One day, after the parade, my mother came for mo (I think she
had accompanied lime. Bonaparte into the court of the Tuileries), and took me
up a staircase full of soldiers, at whom I stared hard. One of them, who was
coming down, spoke to her; he wore an infantry uniform. 'Who is that?' I
asked, when he had passed. He was Louis Bonaparte. Then I saw a young
man going up- stairs, in the well-known uniform of the Guides. His name I did
not need to ask. Children in those days knew the insignia of every rank and
corps in the army, and who did not know that Eugene de Boauharnais was
Colonel of the Guides ? At last we reached lime. Bonaparte's drawing-room.
At first there was no one there but herself, one or two ladies, and my father
wearing his rod coat embroidered in silver. I was probably kissed — perhaps
they thought me grown ; then no one noticed me any further. Soon an officer
of the Consul's guard entered. Ho was short, thin, and carried himself badly,
or at least carelessly. I was sufficiently drilled in etiquette to pbserve that he
HABITS OF THE FIRST CONSUL. 49
We dined at six in Paris ; at Saiat Cloud we went out to
di'ive at that liour — the Consul alone in a caleche with his
wife, we in other carriages. Bonaparte's brother and sisters
and Eugene de Beauhamais might come to dine with him
whenever they wished to do so. Sometimes Mme. Louis
came ; but she never slept at Saint Cloud. The jealousy of
Louis Bonaparte, and his extreme suspicion, had already
made her shy and melancholy. Once or twice a week the
little ITapoleon (who afterward died in Holland) was sent to
Saint Cloud. Bonaparte seemed to love that child ; he built
hopes for the future upon him. Perhaps it was only on ac-
count of those hopes that he noticed him ; for M. de Talley-
rand has told me that, when the news of his nephew's death
reached Berlin, Bonaparte, who was about to appear in pub-
lic, was so little affected that M. de Talleyi-and said, " You
forget that a death has occurred in your family, and that you
ought to look serious." " I do not amuse myself," replied
Bonaparte, " by thinking of dead people."
It would be curious to compare this frank utterance with
the fine speech of M. de Fontanes, who, having to deliver an
address upon the depositing of the Prussian flags in great
pomp at the Invalides, dwelt pathetically upon the majestic
grief of a conqueror who turned from the splendor of his vic-
tories to shed tears over the death of a child.*
moved about a great deal, and made ratlier free. Among other things, I was
surprised to see him sit on the arm of a chair. From thence he spoke, across a
considerable distance, to my mother. We were in front of him, and I remarked
his thin, almost wan face, with its brown and yellowish tints. We drew near
him while he spoke. When I was within his reach, he noticed me ; he took me by
my two ears and pulled them rather roughly. He hurt me, and, had I not been
in a palace, I should have cried. Then, turning to my father, ' Is he learning
mathematics ? ' he said. Soon I was taken away. ' Who is that soldier ? ' I
asked my mother. ' That soldier is the First Consul.' "
Such was my father's introduction to the life of courts. He saw the Em-
peror only once more, and under similar circumstances. — P. K.
* The following letters were written by the Emperor on the occasion of the
death of this child, in May, ISOT. He was at Finkestein, and he wrote to the
Empress Josephine :
60 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BMUSAT.
After the Consul had dined, we were told we might go
upstairs again. The conversation was prolonged, according
as he was in a good or a bad humor. He would go away after
a while, and in general we did not see him again. He re-
turned to work, gave some particular audience or received
one of the ministers, and retired early. Mme. Bonaparte
played at cards in the e'^ening. Between ten and eleven
o'clock she would be told, " Madame, the First Consul has
gone to his room," and then she would dismiss us for the
night.
She and every one about her were very reserved respect-
ing public affairs. Duroc, Maret (then Secretary of State),
and the private secretaries were all impenetrable. Most of
the soldiers, to avoid talking, as I believe, abstained from
thinking ; in that kind of life there was not much wear and
tear of the mind.
On my arrival at Court, I was quite ignorant of the more
or less dread that Bonaparte inspired in those who had known
him for some time, and I was less embarrassed in his pres-
ence than the others ; and I did not think myself bound to
adopt the system of monosyllables religiously, and perhaps
prudently, adopted by all the household. This, however, ex-
"I know how niucli the death of poor Napoleon grieves you; you can
comprehend the pain I feel. I wish I were near you, that you might be mod-
erate and reasonable in your grief. Tou have had the happiness never to lose a
child ; but that loss is one of the conditions and the penalties attached to our
miserable human destiny. Lot me hear that you have been reasonable, and that
you are well, if you would not increase my trouble. Adieu, my love."
Some days later (the 20th of May) he wrote to the Queen of Holland : " My
daughter, all that I hear from the Hague proves to mo that you are not reason-
ble. However legitimate may be your grief, it ought to have limits. Do not
ruin your health. Take some recreation, and learn that life is strewn with so
many trials, and may be the cause of so many evils, that death is not the worst
one of all." He wrote the same day to M. Fouch6 : "I have felt the loss of lit-
tle Napoleon very much. I could have wished that his father and mother had
received from nature as much courage as I have to endure all the evils of life.
But they are young, and they have reflected less on the fragility of all things
here below."— P. R.
HABITS OF TEE FIRST CONSUL. 51
posed me to ridicule in a way of which I was unconscious at
first, which afterward amused me, but which in the end I
had to avoid.
One evening Bonaparte was praising the ability of the
elder M. Portalis, who was then working at the Civil Code,
and M. de Eemusat said M. Portalis had profited by the study
of Montesquieu in particular, adding that he had read and
learned Montesquieu as one learns the catechism. Bonaparte,
turning to one of my companions, said to her, laughing, " I
would bet something that you do not know what this Mon-
tesquieu is." "Pardon me," she replied, "everybody has
read ' Le Temple de Guide.' " At this Bonaparte went off
into a fit of laughter, and I could not help smiling. He
looked at me and said, "And you, madame?" I replied
simply that I was not acquainted with "Le Temple de
Guide," but had read " Considerations sur les Eomains," and
that I thought neither the one nor the other work was the
catechism to which M. de Eemusat alluded. " Biable ! "
said Bonaparte, " you are a savante ! " This epithet discon-
certed me, for I felt that it would stick. A minute after,
Mme. Bonaparte began to talk of a tragedy (I do not know
what it was) which was then being performed. On this the
First Consul passed the living authors in review, and spoke
of Ducis, whose style he did not admire. He deplored the
mediocrity of our tragic poets, and said that, above every-
thing in the world, he should like to recompense the author
of a fine tragedy. I ventured to say that Ducis had spoilt
the " Othello " of Shakespeare. This long English name
coming from my lips produced a sensation among our silent
and attentive audience in epaulettes. Bonaparte did not al-
together like anything English being praised. We argued
the point awhile. All I said was very commonplace ; but I
had named Shakespeare, I had held my own against the
Consul, I had praised an English author. "What audacity !
what a prodigy of erudition ! I was obliged to keep silence
for several days after, or at least only to take part in idle
52 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
talk, ill order to efface the effect of my unlucky and easily
gained reputation for cleverness.
"When I left the palace and went back to my mother's
house, I associated there with many amiable women and dis-
tinguished men, whose conversation was most interesting;
and I smiled to myseK at the difference between their soci-
ety and that of Eonaparte's Court.
One good effect of our almost habitual silence was, that
it kept us from gossip. The women had no chance of in-
dulging in coquetry ; the men were incessantly occupied in
their duties ; and Bonaparte, who did not yet venture to in-
dulge all his fancies, and who felt that the appearance of
regularity would be useful to him, lived in a way which de-
ceived me as to his morality. He appeared to love his wife
veiy much ; she seemed to be all in all to him. Neverthe-
less, I discovered ere long that she had troubles of a nature
which surprised me. She was of an exceedingly jealous dis-
position. It was a very great misfortune for her that she
had no children by her second husband ; he sometimes ex-
pressed his annoyance, and then she trembled for her future.
The family of the First Consul, who were always bitter
against the Beauhamais, made the most of this misfortune.
JFrom these causes quarrels arose. Sometimes I found Mme.
Bonaparte in tears, and then she would complain bitterly of
her brothers-in-law, of Mme. Murat, and of Murat, who kept
up their own influence by exciting the Consiil to passing
fancies, and promoting his secret intrigues. I begged her
to keep quiet. I could see that if Bonaparte loved his wife,
it was because her habitual gentleness gave him repose, and
that she would lose her power if she troubled or disturbed
him. However, during my first years at Court, the slight
differences which arose between them always ended in satis-
factory explanations and in redoubled tenderness.
After 1802 I never saw General Moreau at Bonaparte's
Court ; they were already estranged. Moreau's mother-in-
law and wife were schemers, and Bonaparte could not endure
HABITS OF THE FIRST CONSUL. 53
a spirit of intrigue in women. Moreover, on one occasion
the mother of Mme. Moreau, being at Malmaison, had ven-
tured to jest about the suspected scandalous intimacy between
Bonaparte and his young sister Caroline, then newly mar-
ried. The Consul had not forgiven these remarks, for which
he had severely censured both the mother and the daughter.
Moreau complained, and was sharply questioned about his
own attitude. He lived in retirement, among people who
kept him in a state of constant irritation ; and Murat, who
was the chief of an active secret police, spied out causes of
offense which were wholly unimportant, and continually car-
ried malicious reports to the Tuileries. This multiplication
of the police was one of the evils of Bonaparte's govern-
ment, and was the result of his suspicious disposition. The
agents acted as spies upon each other, denounced each other,
endeavored to make themselves necessary, and kept alive Bo-
naparte's habitual mistrust. After the affair of the infernal
machine, of which M. de Talleyrand availed himself to pro-
cure the dismissal of Fouche, the police had been put into
the hands of Eegnier, the chief judge. Bonaparte thought
that his suppressing the Ministry of Police, which was a
revolutionary invention, would look like liberalism and mod-
eration. He soon repented of this step, and replaced the
regular ministry by a multitude of spies, whom he continued
to employ even after he had reinstated Fouche. His Prefect
of Police, Murat, Duroc, Savary (who then commanded the
gend'armerie W elite), Maret (who had also a secret police, at
the head of which was M. de SemonviUe), and I don't know
how many others, did the work of the suppressed ministry.
Fouche, who possessed in perfection the art of making
himself necessary, soon crept back secretly into the favor of
the First Consul, and succeeded in getting himself made
minister a second time. The badly conducted trial of Gen-
eral Moreau aided him in that attempt, as will be seen by
what follows.
At this time Cambaeeres and Lebrun, Second and Third
54 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RilMUSAT.
Consuls, took very little part in the administration of the
Government. The latter, who was an old man, gave Bona-
parte no concern. The former, a distinguished magistrate,
who was of great weight in all questions within the province
of the Council of State, took part only in the discussion of
certain laws. Bonaparte profited by his knowledge, and re-
lied with good reason on the ridicule which his petty vanity
excited to diminish his importance. Cambaceres, charmed
with the distinctions conferred on him, paraded them with
childish pleasure, which was humored and laughed at. His
seK-conceit on certain points frequently secured his safety.
At the time of which I speak, M. de Talleyrand had vast
influence. Every great political question passed through his
hands. Not only did he regulate foreign affairs at that
period, and principally determine the new State constitu-
tions to be given to Germany — a task which laid the founda-
tions of his immense fortune — but he had long conferences
with Bonaparte every day, and urged him to measures for
the establishment of his power on the basis of reparation and
reconstniction. At that time I am certain that measures for
the restoration of monarchy were frequently discussed be-
tween them. M. de Talleyrand always remained unalterably
convinced that monarchical government only was suitable to
France ; while, for his own part, it would have enabled him
to resume all his former habits of life, and replaced him on
familiar ground. Both the advantages and the abuses proper
to courts would offer him chances of acquiring power and in-
fluence. I did not know M. de Talleyrand, and all I had
heard of him had prejudiced me strongly against him. I
was, however, struck by the elegance of his manners, which
presented so strong a contrast to the rude bearing of the
military men by whom I was surrounded. He preserved
among them the indelible characteristics of a grand seigneur.
He overawed by his disdainful silence, by his patronizing
politeness, from which no one could escape. M. de Talley-
rand, who was the most artificial of beings, contrived to
M. BE TALLEYRAND. 55
make a sort of natural character for himself out of a number
of habits deliberately adopted; he adhered to them under
all circumstances, as though they had really constituted his
true nature. His habitually light manner of treating the
most momentous matters was almost always useful to him-
self, but it frequently injured the effect of his actions.
For several years I had no acquaintance with him — I
distrusted him vaguely ; but it amused me to hear him talk,
and see him act with ease peculiar to himself, and which
lent infinite grace to all those ways of his, which in any
other man would be regarded as sheer affectation.
The winter of this year (1803) was very brilliant. Bona-
parte desired that fetes should be given, and he also occu-
pied himself with the restoration of the theatres. He con-
fided the carrying out of the latter design to his Prefects
of the Palace. M. de Eemusat was intrusted with the charge
of the Comedie Frangaise ; a number of pieces which had
been prohibited by Republican policy were put upon the
stage. By degrees aU the former habits of social life were
resumed. This was a clever way of enticing back those who
had been familiar with that social life, and of reuniting the
ties that bind civilized men together. This system was skill-
fully carried out. Hostile opinions became weaker daily.
The Royalists, who had been bafiied on the 18th Fructidor,
continued to hope that Bonaparte, after having reestablished
order, would include the return of the house of Bourbon
among his restorations. They deceived themselves on this
point indeed, but at least they might thank him for the re-
establishment of order ; and they looked forward to a deci-
sive blow, which, by disposing of his person and suddenly
rendering vacant a place which henceforth no one but he
could fill, would make it evident that only the legitimate
sovereign could be his natural successor. This secret idea
of a party which is generally confident in what it hopes, and
always imprudent in what it attempts, led to renewed secret
correspondences with our princes, to attempts by the emigres.
56 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DB E^MVSAT.
and to movements in La Vendee ; and all these proceedings
Bonaparte watched in silence.
On the other hand, those who were enamored of federal
government observed with uneasiness that the consular au-
thority tended toward a centralization which was by degrees
reviving the idea of royalty. These malcontents were al-
most of the same mind as the few individuals who, notwith-
standing the errors into which the cause of liberty had led
some of its partisans, were forced by their consciences to
acknowledge that the French devolution was a movement
of piiblic utility, and who feared that Bonaparte might suc-
ceed in paralyzing its action. Now and then a few words
were said on this subject, which, although very moderate in
tone, showed that the Koyalists were not the only antagonists
the secret projects of Bonaparte would meet with. Then
there were the ultra-Jacobins to be kept within bounds, and
also the military, who, full of their pretensions, were aston-
ished that any rights except their own should be recognized.
The state of opinion among all these different parties was
accurately reported to Bonaparte, who steered his way among
them prudently. He went on steadily toward a goal, which
at that time few people even guessed at. He kept attention
fixed upon a portion of his policy which he enveloped in
mystery. He could at will attract or divert attention, and
alternately excite the approbation of the one or the other
party — disturb or reassure them as he found it necessary ;
now exciting wonder, and then hope. He regarded the
French as fickle children ready to be amused by a new play-
thing at the expense of their own dearest interests. His
position as First Consul was advantageous to him, because,
being so undefined, it excited less uneasiness among a certain
class of people. At a later period the positive rank of Em-
peror deprived him of that advantage ; then, after having
let France into his secret, he had no other means left where-
by to efface the impression from the country, but that fatal
lure of military glory which he displayed before her. From
M. DE TALLEYRAND. 57
this cause arose his never-ending wars, his interminable con-
quests ; for he felt we must be occupied at all hazards. And
now we can see that from this cause, too, arose the obligation
imposed on him to push his destiny to its limits, and to re-
fuse peace either at Dresden or even at Ch4tillon. For
Bonaparte knew that he must infallibly be lost, from that
day on which his compulsory quietude should give us time
to reflect upon him and upon ourselves.
At the end of .1802, or the beginning of 1803, there ap-
peared in the " Moniteur " a dialogue between a Frenchman,
enthusiastic on the subject of the English constitution, and
a so-caUed reasonable Englishman, who, after having shown
that there is, strictly speaking, no constitution in England,
but only institutions, all more or less adapted to the position
of the country and to the character of its inhabitants, en-
deavors to prove that these institutions could not be adopted
by the French without giving rise to many evils. By these
and similar means, Bonaparte endeavored to control that de-
sire for liberty which always springs up anew in the minds
of the French people.
About the close of 1802 we heard at Paris of the death
of Greneral Leelerc, of yellow fever, at Saint Domingo. In
the month of January his pretty young widow returned to
France. She was then in bad health, and dressed in deep,
somber mourning ; but still I thought her the most charming
person I had ever seen. Bonaparte strongly exhorted her to
conduct herself better than she had done before she went
out to Saint Domingo ; and she promised everything, but
soon broke her word.
The death of General Leelerc gave rise to a little diffi-
culty, and the settling of this tended toward that revival of
former customs which was preparing the way for monarchy.
Bonaparte and Mme. Bonaparte put on mourning, and we
received orders to do likewise. This was significant enough ;
but it was not all. The ambassadors were to pay a visit at
the Tuileries, to condole with the Consul and his wife on
58 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R&MUSAT.
their loss, and it was represented to them that politeness re-
quired them to wear mourning on the occasion. They met
to deliberate, and, as there was not time for them to oitain
instructions from their several courts, they resolved to accept
the intimation they had received, thus following the custom
usual in such cases. Since September, 1802, an ambassador
from England, Lord Whitworth, had replaced the chwrge
d'affaires. There was hope of a lasting peace ; intercourse
between England and France increased daily ; but, notwith-
standing this, persons who were a little better informed than
the crown foresaw causes of dissension between the two
Governments. There had been a discussion in the English
Parliament about the part which the French Grovemment
had taken in the matter of the new Swiss constitution, and
the " Moniteur," which was entirely official, published arti-
cles complaining of certain measures which were taken in
London against Frenchmen. Appearances were, however,
extremely favorable ; all Paris, and especially the Tuileries,
seemed to be given up to fetes and pleasures. Domestic life
at the chateau was aU peace, when suddenly the First Con-
sul's taking a fancy to a young and beautiful actress, of the
Theatre Frangais, threw Mme. Bonaparte into great distress,
and gave rise to bitter quaiTels.
Two remarkable actresses (Miles. Duchesnois and Georges)
had made their debut in tragedy almost at the same time.
The one was very plain, but her genius speedily gained
popularity ; the other was not so talented, but was extremely
beautiful.* The Parisian public sided warmly with one or
* The following Is my father's recollection of the talents and the rivalry of
these two celebrated actresses: "The liaison of the Emperor with Mile. Georges
was much talked about. I myself remember when a controversy raged in soci-
ety respecting the merits of the two tragediennes. After each representation
given by the one or the other, there were very animated disputes. Connoisseurs
and the public in general preferred Mile. Duchesnois. She had not much tal-
ent, however, and acted without intelligence ; but she had passion, tenderness,
and a touching voice, which moved her audience to tears. It was, I believe, for
her that the phrase, ' to have tears in the voice,' was invented. My mother and
MADAME BONAPARTE'S JEALOUSY. 59
the other, but in general the success of talent was greater
than that of beauty. Bonaparte, on the contrary, was charmed
with the latter ; and Mme. Bonaparte soon learned, through
the spying of her servants, that Mile. Georges had on sev-
eral occasions been introduced into a little back room in the
chateau. This discovery caused her extreme distress; she
told me of it with great emotion, and shed more tears than
I thought such a temporary a£fair called for. I represented
to her that gentleness and patience were the only remedies
for a grief which time would certainly cure ; and it was dur-
ing the conversations we had on this subject that she gave
me a notion of her husband which I would not otherwise
have formed. According to her account, he had no moral
principles whatever, and only concealed his vicious inclina-
tions at that time because he feared they might harm him ;
but, when he could give himself up to them without any
risk, he would abandon himself to the most shameful pas-
sions. Had he not seduced his own sisters one after the
other ? Did he not hold that his position entitled him to
gratify all his inclinations ? And, besides, his brothers were
practicing on his weaknesses to induce him to relinquish all
relations with his wife. As the result of their schemes she
foresaw the miich-dreaded divorce, which had already been
mooted. "It is a great misfortune for me." she added, "that
I have not borne a son to Bonaparte. That gives their hatred
my aunt (ilme. de Nansouty) were in favor of Mile. Duchesnois, even to the
point of disputing with my father himself, who, in his official capacity, was
bound to be impartial. These discussions on dramatic art, enliyened by the fa-
cility which my father's functions gave us for attending the theatres, inspired
me with a taste for literature and conyersation quite beyond my age. When
very young, I was taken to the theatre, and I saw both these Melpomcnes. It
was said the one was so good as to be beautiful, and the other was so beautiful
as to be good. The latter, who was then very young, trusting to her charms,
was indolent, and the want of flexibility in her voice and a kind of drawl in her
pronunciation interfered with her elocution. I tliink, however, in reality she
was more clever than her rival, but that, by using her talent in so many differ-
ent ways, she at the same time developed and depreciated it ; and she deserved
at least a part of the reputaticm thatshe acquired in her old age.''
60 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
a weapon wliicli they can always use against me." " But,
madame," I said, "it appears to me that your daughter's
child almost repairs that misfortune ; the First Consul loves
him, and will, perhaps, in the end adopt him." "Alas!"
replied she, " that is the object of my dearest wishes ; but
the jealous and sullen disposition of Louis Eonaparte leads
him to oppose it. His family have maliciously repeated to
him the insulting rumors concerning my daughter's conduct
and the paternity of her son. Slander has declared the child
to be Bonaparte's, and that is sufficient to make Louis refuse
his consent to the adoption. You see how he keeps away
from us, and now my daughter is obliged to be on her guard
in everything. Moreover, independently of the good rea-
sons I have for not enduring Bonaparte's infidelities, they
always mean that I shall have a thousand other annoyances
to submit to."
This was quite true. I observed that from the moment
the First Consul paid attention to another woman — ^whether
it was that his despotic temper led him to expect that his
wife should approve this indication of his absolute indepen-
dence in all things, or whether nature had bestowed upon
him so limited a faculty of loving that it was all absorbed by
the person preferred at the time, and that he had not a par-
ticle of feeling left to bestow upon another — he became
harsh, violent, and pitiless to his wife. Whenever he had a
mistress, he let her know it, and showed a sort of savage sur-
prise that she did not approve of his indulging in pleasures
which, as he would demonstrate, so to speak, mathematically,
were both allowable and necessary for him. " I am not an
ordinary man," he would say, " and the laws of morals and
of custom were never made for me." Such speeches as
these aroused the anger of Mme. Bonaparte, and she replied
to them by tears and complaints, which her husband resented
with the utmost violence. After a while his new fancy
would vanish suddenly, and his tenderness for his wife re-
vive. Then he was moved by her grief, and would lavish
MADAME BONAPARTE'S JEALOUSY. 61
caresses upon her as unmeasured as his wrath had been;
and, as she was very placable and gentle, she was easily
appeased.
While the storm lasted, however, my position was ren-
dered embarrassing by the strange confidences of which I
was the recipient, and at times by proceedings in which I
was obliged to take part. I remember one occurrence in
particular, during the winter of 1803, at which, and the ab-
surd panic into which it threw me, I have often laughed
since.
Bonaparte was in the habit of occupying the same room
with his wife ; she had cleverly persuaded him that doing so
tended to insure his personal safety. " I told him," she
said, "that as I was a very light sleeper, if any nocturnal
attempt against him was made, I should be there to call for
help in a moment." In the evening she never retired until
Bonaparte had gone to bed. But when MUe. Georges was
in the ascendant, as she used to visit the chdteau very late,
he did not on those occasions go to his wife's room until an
advanced hour of the night. One evening Mme. Bonaparte,
who was more than usually jealous and suspicious, kept me
with her, and eagerly talked of her troubles. It was one
o'clock in the morning ; we were alone in her boudoir, and
profound silence reigned in the Tuileries. All at once she
rose. "I can not bear it any longer," she said. "Mile.
Georges is certainly with liim ; I will surprise them." I
was alarmed by this sudden resolution, and said all I could
to dissuade her from acting on it, but in vain. " Follow
me," she said ; " let ns go up together." Then I represented
to her that such an act, very improper even on her part,
would be intolerable on mine ; and that, in ease of her mak-
ing the discovery which she expected, I should certainly be
one too many at the scene which must ensue. She would
listen to nothing ; she reproached me with abandoning her
in her distress, and she begged me so earnestly to accompany
her, that, notwithstanding my repugnance, I yielded, saying
62 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RJ^MUSAT.
to myself that our expedition would end in nothing, as no
doubt precautions had been taken to prevent a surprise.
Silently we ascended the back staircase leading to Bona-
parte's room ; Mme. Bonaparte, who was much excited, go-
ing first, while I followed slowly, feeling very much ashamed
of the part I was being made to play. On our way we heard
a slight noise. Mme. Bonaparte turned to me and said,
" Perhaps that is Eustan, Bonaparte's Mameluke, who keeps
the door. The wretch is quite capable of killing us both."
On hearing this, I was seized with such terror that I could
not listen further, and, forgetting that I was leaving Mme.
Bonaparte in utter darkness, I ranback as quickly as I could
to the boudoir, candle in hand. She followed me a few min-
utes after, astonished at my sudden flight. When she saw
my terrified face, she began to laugh, which set me off laugh-
ing also, and we renounced our enterprise. I left her, tell-
ing her I thought the fright she had given me was a very
good thing for her, and that I was very glad I had yielded
to it.
Mme. Bonaparte's jealousy affected her sweet temper so
much that it could not long be a secret to anybody. I was
in the embarrassing position of a confidant without influence
over the person who confided in me, and I could not but
appear to be mixed up in the quarrels which I witnessed.
Bonaparte thought that one woman must enter eagerly into
the feelings of another, and he showed some annoyance at
my being made aware of the facts of his private life.
Meantime, the ugly actress grew in favor with the pub-
lic of Paris, and the handsome one was frequently received
with hisses. M. de Remusat endeavored to divide patronage
equally between the two ; but whatever he did for the one
or for the other was received with equal dissatisfaction, either
by the First Consul or by the public.
These petty affairs gave us a good deal of annoyance.
Bonaparte, without confiding the secret of his interest in the
fair actress to M. de Remusat, complained to my husband.
MADAME BONAPARTE'S JEALOUSY. G3
saying that lie would not object to iny being his wife's con-
fidant, provided I would only give her good advice. My
husband represented me as a sensible person, brought up
with a great regard for propriety, and who would be most
unlikely to encourage Mme. Bonaparte's jealous fancies.
The First Consul, who was still well disposed toward us, ac-
cepted this view of my conduct ; but thence arose another
annoyance. He called upon me to interfere in his conjugal
quarrels, and wanted to avail himself of what he called my
good sense against the foolish jealousy of which he was
wearied. As I never could conceal my real sentiments, I
answered quite sincerely, when he told me how weary he
was of all these scenes, that I pitied Mme. Bonaparte very
much, whether she suffered with or without cause, and that
he, above all persons, ought to excuse her ; but, at the same
time, I admitted that I thought it undignified on her part to
endeavor to prove the infidelity which she suspected by em-
ploying her servants as spies on her husband. The Pirst
Consul did not fail to tell his wife that I blamed her in this
respect, and then I was involved in endless explanations be-
tween the husband and the wife, into which I imported all
the ardor natural to my age, and also the devotion and at-
tachment which I felt for both of them. "We went through
a constant succession of scenes, whose details have now faded
from my memory, and in which Bonaparte would be at one
time imperious, harsh, excessively suspicious, and at another
suddenly moved, tender, almost gentle, atoning with a good
grace for the faults he acknowledged but did not renounce.
I remember one day, in order to avoid an awkward tete-
cl-tete with Mme. Bonaparte, he made me remain to dinner.
His wife was just then very angry, because he had declared
that henceforth he would have a separate apartment, and he
insisted that I should give my opinion on this point. I was
quite unprepared to answer him, and I knew that Mme.
Bonaparte would not readily forgive me if I did not decide
in her favor. I tried to evade a reply ; but Bonaparte, who
64 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BMUSAT.
enjoyed my embarrassment, insisted. I could find no other
way out of the difficulty than by saying that I thought any-
thing which might make people think the First Consul was
altering his manner of living would give rise to injurious
reports, and that the least change in the arrangements of the
chateau would inevitably be talked abqut. Bonaparte laughed,
and, pinching my ear, said, " Ah ! you are a woman, and you
all back each other."
Nevertheless, he carried out his resolution, and from that
time forth occupied a separate apartment. His manner to-
ward his wife, however, became more affectionate after this
breeze, and she, on her side, was less suspicious of him. She
adopted the advice which I constantly urged upon her, to
treat such unworthy rivalry with disdain. "It would be
quite time enough to fret," I said, " if the Consul chose one
of the women in your own society ; that would be a real grief,
and for me a serious annoyance." Two years afterward my
prediction was only too fuUy realized, especially as regarded
myself.
CHAPTEE II.
(1803.)
A Ketum to the Customs of the Monarchy — M. de Fontanes — Mme. d'Houdetot —
Eumors of War — ^Meeting of the Corps L^gislatif— Departure of the English Am-
hassador — M. Maret — ^Marshal Berthier — Journey of the First Consul to Belgium
— A Carriage Accident — The Amiens Fetes.
With the exception of this slight disturbance, the winter
passed quietly. The progress of the restoration of order was
marked by several new institutions. The lyceums were or-
ganized ; the magistrates again wore official robes, and were
also invested with some importance. A collection of French
paintings was placed at the Louvre, and called " the Museum,"
and M. Denon was appointed superintendent. Pensions and
rewards were conferred on men of letters, and M. de Fontanes
was frequently consulted on these points. Bonaparte liked
to talk with him, and their conversations were in general
very entertaining. The First Consul amused himself by at-
tacking the pure and classical taste of M. de Fontanes, who
defended our French chefs-cPceuvre with warmth, and thus he
gained a reputation for courage among those present. For
there were already persons at that Court who took so readily
to the rdle of the courtier, that they looked upon any one who
ventured to admire "Merope" or " Mithridates," after the
master had declared that he cared for neither of those works,
as quite a heroic being.
Bonaparte appeared to derive great amusement from these
literary controversies. At one time he even thought of in-
viting certain men of letters to come twice a week to Mme.
66 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RUMUSAT.
Bonaparte's receptions, so that he might enjoy their conver-
sation. M. de Kemusat, who was acquainted with a number
of distinguished men in Paris, was directed to invite them to
the chateau. Accordingly, one evening, several academicians
and well-known literary men were invited. Bonaparte was
in a good humor that night ; he talked very well, and allowed
others to talk ; he was agreeable and animated. I was
charmed to see him make himself so agreeable. I was very
anxious that he should make a favorable impression on per-
sons who had not previously known him, and thus defeat
certain prejudices which prevailed against him. When he
chose, he could exhibit keen judgment, as he did, for instance,
in appraising the worth of the old Abbe Morellet's intellect.*
Morellet was a straightforward, positive man, who proceeded
in argument from fact to fact and would never admit the
power of the imagination on the progress of human ideas.
Bonaparte delighted in upsetting this system. Allowing his
imagination to take any flight it wished — and in the Abba's
presence it carried him far — he broached all kinds of subjects,
gave full flight to his ideas, was highly amused at the bewil-
derment of the Abb6, and was really very entertaining.
The next day he spoke with pleasure of the previous
evening, and said he would like to have many such. A
similar reception was therefore fixed for a few days later.
Somebody (I forget who) began to talk with much animation
about liberty of thought and speech, and the advantages
which they secure to nations. This led to a discussion con-
siderably less free than on the former occasion, and the Con-
sul maintained a silence when seemed to paralyze the com-
pany. On the third evening he came in late, was absent
and gloomy, and spoke only a few unconnected sentences.
Every one was silent and constrained ; and the next day the
First Consul told us that he saw there was nothing to be
* The Abb6 Morellet, a fnend of Mme. d'Houdetot and Mme. do Vergennes,
was a well-known personage at the end of the eighteenth century, and was eallcd
by Voltaire the Abb6 Mord-les. He died January 12, 1810.— P. R.
MADAME D'HOTIDETOT. 67
made of these men of letters, nothing to be gained by ad-
mitting, them to intimacy, and he did not wish they should
be invited again. He could not bear any restraint, and being
obliged to appear affable and in a good humor on a certain
day and at a certain hour was a yoke which he hastened to
shake ofE.
During that winter two distinguished academicians, Mil.
de la Harpe and de Saint-Lambert, died. I regretted the
latter very much, because I was exceedingly attached to
Mme. d'Houdetot, whose intimate friend he had been for
forty years, and at whose house he died. This delightful
old lady received all the best and most agreeable society of
Paris. I was a constant visitor at her house ; there I found
the revival of a day which then seemed lost beyond recall —
I mean that in which people conversed in an agreeable and
instnictive manner. Mme. d'Houdetot, whose affe and dis-
position alike kept her aloof from all political parties, en-
joyed the repose that the country was enjoying, and profited
by it to collect all that remained of Parisian good society at
her hoiTse. They came willingly to tend and to amuse her
old age. To go to her house was a relief from the restraint
under which I lived at the Tuileries, partly from the exam-
ple of others and partly from the experience which I was
beginning to acquu-e.
About this time a rumor rose that war with England was
likely to break out again. Private letters revealing certain
enterprises set on foot in La Vendee were published. In
these letters the English Government was accused of aiding
the Vendeans, and George Cadoudal was named in them as
the agent between the EngHsh Government and the Chouans.
M. Andre was also mentioned ; it was said he had got into
France secretly, after already having endeavored, before the
18th Fructidor, to assist the Eoyalist cause. "WTiile this rumor
was spreading, the Legislative Assembly was called together.
The report of the state of the Republic which was laid be-
fore it was remarkable, and gave rise to much comment. It
68 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE eMUSAT.
included peace with foreign powers ; the concluswm given at
Katisbon upon the new partition of Germany, and recpgnized
by all the sovereigns ; the constitution accepted by. the Swiss ;
the Concordat ; the regulation of public education ; the for-
mation of the Institute ; * the improved administration of
justice ; the amelioration of the finances ; the Civil Code, of
which a portion was submitted to the Assembly ; various
public works commenced both on our frontiers and in
France ; plans for Antwerp, for Mont Cenis, the banks of
the Khine, and the canal de I'Ourcq ; the acquisition of the
island of Elba; the possession of Saint Domingo; several
proposals for laws, upon indirect taxation, on the formation
of chambers of commerce, on the exercise of the profession
of medicine, and on manufactures. All this formed a satis-
factory statement, and one honorable to the Government.
At the end of the report, however, a few words were slipped
in with reference to the possibility of a rupture with Eng-
land, and the necessity for increasing the army. Neither the
Legislative Assembly nor the Tribunate offered any opposi-
tion whatever, and approbation which at that time was really
deserved was bestowed upon £0 fair a beginning to many
great undertakings.
In March, bitter complaints appeared in our newspapers
of certain pamphlets against Bonaparte which were circulated
in England. This sensitiveness to strictures by the English
free press was only a pretext ; the occupation of Malta and
our intervention in the Government of Switzerland were the
true causes of the rupture. On the 8th of March, 1803, a
message from the King of England to the Parliament de-
clared that important differences between the two Govern-
ments had arisen, and complained of the warlike preparations
which were being made in the ports of Holland. Immedi-
ately afterward the scene took place in which Bonaparte
* It would be more correct to say tbat the First Consul reorganized the In-
stitute, by suppressing the class of moral and political sciences on January 23,
1803. This class was not reestablished till after 1830. — ^P. K.
DEPARTURE OF ENGLISH AMBASSADOR. 69
either feigned or allowed himself to exhibit violent anger in
the presence of all the ambassadors. A little later he left
Paris for Saint Cloud.
Notwithstanding his absorption in public affairs, he took
care to direct one of his Prefects of the Palace to write a
letter of congratulation and compliment to the celebrated
musician Paisiello on the opera of " Proserpine," which had
just been given in Paris. The First Consul was exceedingly-
anxious to attract the celebrated people of all countries to
France, and he paid them liberally.
Shortly afterward the rupture between France and Eng-
land took place, and the English ambassador — ^before whose
house a great crowd had been in the habit of assembling
daily, in order to judge of the state of affairs, according to
the preparations for departure which they could or could not
perceive in the courtyard — ^left Paris abruptly. M. de Tal-
leyrand communicated to the Senate a statement of the rea-
sons that rendered war inevitable. The Senate replied that
they could only applaud the combined moderation and firm-
ness of the First Consul, and sent a deputation to Saint Cloud
to express their gratitude and their devotion. M. de Vau-
blanc, when speaking in the Legislative Assembly, exclaimed
enthusiastically, "What chief of a nation has ever shown a
greater love of peace ? " If it were possible to separate the
history of the negotiations of the First Consul from that of
his exploits, it would read like the life of a magistrate whose
sole endeavor had been the establishment of peace. The
Tribunate expressed a desire that energetic measures should
be taken ; and, after these various acts of admiration and obe-
dience, the session of the Legislative Assembly came to a close.
Then appeared certain violent notes against the English
Government, which soon became numerous, and dealt in
detail with the attacks of the free daily press in London.
Bonaparte dictated the substance of these notes, and M.
Maret drew them up. Thus the sovereign of a great empire
entered, so to speak, into a war of words with journalists,
70 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EJilMUSAT.
and lowered his own dignity by allowing it to be seen that
he was stung by the criticisms of ephemeral newspapers,
whose comments it wonld have been far wiser to ignore. It
was easy for the English journalists to find out haw hard
their remarks hit the First Consul, and a little later the Em-
peror of France, and they accordingly redoubled their at-
tacks. How many times, when we saw him gloomy and out
of temper, did Mme. Bonaparte tell us it was because he had
read some article against himself in the "Courier" or the
" Sun " ! He tried to wage a pen-and-ink war with the Eng-
lish press ; he subsidized certain journals in London, expended
a great deal of money, and deceived no one either in France
or in England.
I have said that he often dictated notes on this subject
for the " Moniteur." Bonaparte dictated with great ease.
He never wrote anything with his own hand. His hand-
writing was bad, and as illegible by himself as by others ; his
spelling was very defective. He utterly lacked patience to
do anything whatever with his own hands. The extreme
activity of his mind and the habitual prompt obedience ren-
dered to him prevented him from practicing an occupation
in which the mind must necessarily wait for the action of
the body. Those who wrote from his dictation — first M.
Bourrienne, then M. Maret, and Menneval, his private secre-
tary— had made a sort of shorthand for themselves, in order
that their pens might travel as fast as his thoughts. He dic-
tated while walking to and fro in his cabinet. When he
grew angry, he would use violent imprecations, which were
suppressed in writing, and which had at least the advantage
of giving the writer time to come up with him. He never re-
peated anything that he once said, even if it had not been
heard ; and this was very hard on the poor seci-etarj, for he
remembered accurately what he had said and detected every
omission. One day he read a tragedy in manuscript, and it
interested him sufficiently to inspire him with a fancy to
make some alterations in it. " Take a pen and paper," said
M. MARET. 71
he to M. de Kemusat, " and write for me." Hardly giving
my husband time to seat himself at a table, he began to dic-
tate so qnickly that M. de Eemusat, although accustomed to
write with great rapidity, was bathed in perspiration while
trying to follow him. Bonaparte perceived his difficulty,
and would stop now and then to say, " Come, try to under-
stand me, for I will not repeat what I say." He always de-
rived amusement from causing any one uneasiness and dis-
tress. His great general principle, which he applied to every-
thing, both small and great, was that there could be no zeal
where there was no disquiet. Fortunately he forgot to ask
for the sheet of observations he had dictated. M. de Ke-
musat and I have often tried to read it since, but we have
never been able to make out a word of it.
M. Maret, the Secretary of State, was a man of very
ordinary intellect ; indeed, Bonaparte did not disKke medi-
ocrity, because he said he had enough brains to give those
about him what they wanted in that way. M. Maret rose to
high favor in consequence of his great facility in vrriting
from the First Consul's dictation. He accustomed himself
to follow and seize upon the first indication of Bonaparte's
idea so faithfully that he could report it just as it came from
the speaker's brain without making an observation. His
favor with his master was perhaps still more largely due to
the fact that he felt or feigned boundless devotion to him,
and it was displayed by such enthusiastic admiration that
Bonaparte could not help being flattered. So far did M.
Maret carry the art of skillful adulation, that it was posi-
tively asserted that when he traveled with the Emperor he
took the troulale to leave with his wife drafts of letters,
which she copied carefully, complaining that her husband
was so exclusively devoted to his master that she could not
help feeling jealous. As all the letters were delivered at
the Emperor's own quarters while he was traveling, and as
he frequently amused himself by opening them, these clever
complainings produced exactly the intended effect.
72 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EMUSAT.
When M. Maret* was Minister of Foreign Affairs, he
took care not to follow the example of M. de Talleyrand,
who used to say that it was, ahove all, Bonaparte himself
whom it was necessary for that minister to manage. Maret,
on the contrary, fostered all Bonaparte's passions, and was
surprised that foreign sovereigns should dare to be angiy
when he insulted them, or should oflEer any resistance to
their own ruin. He thus advanced his personal fortune at
the expense of Europe, whose just interests an honest and
able minister would have endeavored to protect. A courier
was always in readiness, by whom he might dispatch to any
one of the sovereigns the first angry words that escaped
from Bonaparte, when he heard news which displeased him.
His weak complaisance was sometimes injurious to his mas-
ter. It caused more than one rupture which was regretted
when the first outbreak of violence had passed, and it proba-
bly contributed to the fall of Bonaparte ; for, in the last
year of his reign, while he lingered at Dresden uncertain
what to do, Maret delayed for eight days the retreat it was
80 important to make, because he had not the courage to
inform the Emperor of the defection of Bavaria, a piece of
intelligence it was most necessary he should leam.f An
* Afterward Due de Bassano.
f The duties of the most conscientious editor do not bind him to explain, to
justify, or, still less, to contradict the assertions or the suppositions of the au-
thor -whose recollections he lays before the public. It is evident that a great
many of the views expressed here are personal, or that they represent public
opinion at that period of our history. While taking the responsibility of what
he prints, the editor does not profess entire agreement with all the opinions of
the author ; and it is not necessary to bring forward an opinion in opposition to
an impression, or a new document or a recent history in contrast with a contem-
poraneous impression of the facts, on every occasion of divergence. For in-
stance, M. Maret doubtless merits reproach on more than one head, but the
accusation that he was so base as not to inform the Emperor in time of the
defection of Bavaria, in 1813, is probably one of those imputations which are
due to the contempt with which M. de Talleyrand treated his pitiful, insignificant
successor. He is known to have said, " I never knew but one man so stupid as
the Due de Bassano ; he was M. Maret." It is probable that Maret, on hia
arrival at Leipsic in October, 1813, was made aware of the treaty of Bavaria
M. MARET. T3
anecdote of M. de Talleyrand may be related here, as a sam-
ple of the skill with which that astute minister managed
with the Coalition, but that he did not attach any great importance to it, or did
not dare speak of it to a master who was becoming day by day less capable of
bearing the truth, and of facing things which displeased him. The Due de Bas-
sano was, of all the ministers, the least fit to cope with this fatal tendency.
There was in his nature -i. mixture of sincere servility and blind admiration,
which made him a courtier rather than a minister. The following is my father's
opinion of Bassano : " lie was neither an utterly unintelligent nor a bad man,
but ho was one of those people whose mediocrity, alike in good or in evil, may
bo as pernicious as stupidity or villainy. He had but little intellect ; his self-
sufBciency.and haughtiness as an improvised nobleman and a, parvenu statesman
were absolutely absurd. His heavy frivolity, his bourgeois dignity, and his vul-
gar affectation obscured what there really was in him. He had a great capacity
for work, much facility of expression, a quick and tolerably just perception of
the superficial and material side of affairs, an accurate memory for details, a
faculty for attending to several things at once, and a talent for identifying him-
self with the idea or even the sentiment of what was dictated to him. The lat-
ter quality made him a useful, or rather a convenient instrument, and as a
minister of the second or third rank he would have done well. He had no lean-
ing toward wrong or injustice. Violence directed against individuals was not to
his liking, and it is said that he sometimes averted it. He was, moreover, sin-
cerely attached to the Emperor, and, to my knowledge, he never endeavored to
elude by any meanness those misfortunes which in later years that attachment
drew down upon himself ; but, full of self-confidence, greedy of favor, jealous
of his influence, inflated with a sense of his own rank and power, he regarded
with the eye of an enemy merit, independence, anything which might tend to
throw himself into the shade, or did not serve his ambition, flatter his vanity, or
minister to his greatness. To keep his place near the Emperor had become his
sole thought, and was regarded by him as his chief duty ; to please the Emperor
in everything was all his study and all his policy. The Napoleonic system, as
the Emperor practiced it, was to him official truth, and official truth was to him
all truth." In the Memoirs of Count Beugnot, published a. few years ago by
his grandson, the following passage occurs : " M. Maret has an excellent heart ;
he is therefore by nature inclined to everything good. His mind is cultivated,
and, if diplomacy had not drawn him away from the profession of letters, he
would have made a respectable, if not a distinguished, figure in literature. His
talent lies chiefly in a singular facility for reproducing the ideas of others, and
he has exercised it so largely in editing the ' Moniteur,' and in other work of the
same nature, that his whole mind is, as it were, absorbed by it. It was the
Abbe Si^y^s who originally procured the post of Secretary to the Consulate for
him. At first he failed to please the First Consul, precisely on account of those
qualities which since then have endeared him to Bonaparte — ^his obsequiousness,
his eagerness, his propensity to merge his own mind in that of another ; but by
Ti MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMU8AT.
Bonaparte, and also of tlie completeness of his own ascen-
dancy.
A treaty of peace between England and France was be-
ing arranged at Amiens in the spring of 1810. Certain
difficulties which had arisen between the plenipotentiaries
were giving rise to some little imeasiness, and Bonaparte
was anxiously expecting dispatches. A courier arrived, and
brought to the Minister of Foreign Affairs the much-desired
signature. M. de Talleyrand put it in. his pocket and went
to the First Consul. He appeared before him with that im-
movable countenance which he wears on every occasion.
For a whole hour he remained with Bonaparte, transacting
a number of important matters of business, and when all was
done, " Now," said he, smiling, " I am going to give you a
great pleasure ; the treaty is signed, and here it is." Bona-
parte was astounded at this fashion of announcing the mat-
ter. " Why did you not tell me at once ? " he demanded.
" Ah," replied M. de Talleyrand, " because then you would
not have listened to me on any other subject. When you
are pleased, you are not always pleasant." The self-control
displayed in this reticence struck the Consul, " and," added
M. de Talleyrand, " did not make him angry, because he saw
immediately how fa,r it might be made useful to himself."
degrees, as the First Consul absorbed authority, and became accustomed to rule
alone, he grew reconciled to the Secretary of the Consulate. The despotism of
the one and the favor of the other grew in the same proportion." (" Memoires
du Comte Eeugnot," vol. ii., p. 316.) Baron Emouf has recently published an
apology for the Due de Bassano, under the title " Marct, Due de Bassano."
These several estimates, which are different without being contradictory, show
that the influence of the Due de Bassano in the Imperial councils was not bene-
ficial to the common weal. He was apparently one of those who think that a
disagreeable disclosure or unwelcome advice is more hurtful to the offerer than
useful to the recipient. Such people are careful rather to foster the weatnesscs
than to consider the actual situation of their masters, and to serve their passions
at the expense of their interests. Such flatterers are doubtless detestable, but
the source of their crimes is absolute power. It is because the monarch is all-
powerful that it is dangerous to displease him. All meanness, as well as all
justice, emanates from the king. — I*. K.
MARSHAL BERTEIEE. 75
Another person, -nlio was really more attaclied to Bona-
parte, and quite as demonstrative in his admiration for him
as M. Maret, was Marshal Berthier, Prince of "Wagram.
He had served in the campaign in Egypt, and had become
strongly attached to his General. Berthier's friendship for
him was so great that, little as Bonaparte valued anything
coming from the heart, he could not but respond to it in
some degree. The sentiment was, however, very unequally
divided between them, and was used by the powerful one of
the two as a means of exaction. One day Bonaparte said to
M.. de Talleyrand : "I really can not understand how a rela-
tion that bears some appearance of friendship has established
itself between Berthier and me. I don't indulge in useless
sentiments, and Berthier is so uninteresting that I do not
know why I should care at all about him ; and yet, when I
think of it, I believe I really have some liking for him."
" If you do care about him," replied M. de Talleyrand, " do
you know the reason why? It is because he believes in you."
These anecdotes, which I set down as they recur to my
memory, did not come to my knowledge tiU a much later
period, when my greater intimacy with M. de Talleyrand
revealed to me the chief traits in Bonaparte's character. At
first I was completely deceived by him, and was very happy
to be so. I knew he had genius, I saw that he was disposed
to make amends for the passing wrongs he did his wife, and
. I remarked his friendship for Berthier with pleasure ; he
caressed little ITapoleon in my presence, and seemed to love
him. I regarded him as accessible to kindly natural feelings,
and ray youthful imagination arrayed him in all those quali-
ties which I desired to find in him. It is only just to him
also to admit that excess of power intoxicated him ; that his
passions were increased in violence by the f acihty with which
he was enabled to gratify them ; but that while he was young,
and as yet uncertain of the future, he frequently hesitated
between the open exhibition of vice and, at least, the affec-
tation of virtue.
76 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE b6MUSAT.
After the declaration of war with England, somebody (1
do not know who) suggested to Bonaparte the idea of an in-
vasion by means of flat-bottomed boats. I can not say with
certainty whether he really believed in this plan, or whether
he only nsed it as a pretext for collecting and increasing his
army, which he assembled at the camp of Boulogne. So
many people maintained that a descent npon the shores of
England in this way was practicable, that it is quite possible
he may have thought fate had a success of the kind in store
for him. Enormous works were begun in our ports, and in
some of the Belgian towns ; the army marched to the coast,
and Generals Soult and ISTey were sent to command it at
different points. The idea of a conquest of England fired
the general imagination ; and even the English themselves
began to feel uneasy, and thought it necessary to make some
preparations for defense. Attempts were made to excite the
public mind against the English by dramatic representations ;
scenes from the life of WiUiam the Conqueror were repre-
sented at the theatres. The conquest of Hanover was easily
effected, but then came the blockade of our ports that did us
so much harm.
During the summer of this year (1803) a joimiey to Bel-
gium was arranged, and Bonaparte required that it should be
made with great magnificence. He had little trouble in per-
suading Mme. Bonaparte to. take with her everything that
could make an impression on the people to whom she was
about to exhibit herself. Mme. Talhouet and I were selected
to accompany her, and the Consul gave me thirty thousand
francs for those expenses which he prescribed. He set out
on the 24th of June, with a cortege of several carriages, two
generals of his guard, his aides-de-camp, Duroc, two Prefects
of the Palace (M. de K^musat and a Piedmontese named
Salmatoris), and commenced the journey in great pomp.
Before we set out, we went for one day to Mortef ontaine,
an estate which had been purchased by Joseph Bonaparte.
All the family were assembled there, and a strange occur-
TEE JOURNEY TO BELGIUM. ^T
rence took place. We passed the morning in walking about
the gardens, which are beautiful. "When dinner hour ap-
proached, a question arose about the placing of the guests.
The elder Mme. Bonaparte was at Mortef ontaine, and Joseph
told his brother that he intended to take his mother in to
dinner, and to place her on his right hand, while Mme. Bona-
parte was to sit on his left. The First Consul took offense
at this arrangement, which placed his wife in the second rank,
and insisted that his brother should transfer their mother to
that position. Joseph refused, and no argument could in-
duce him to give way. When dinner was announced, Joseph
took his mother's hand, and Lucien escorted Mme. Bonaparte.
The First Consul, incensed at this opposition to his will, hur-
riedly crossed the room, took the arm of his wife, passed out
before every one, seated her beside himself, and then, turn-
ing to me, ordered me to place myself near him. The com-
pany were all greatly embarrassed, I even more so than the
others ; and Mme. Joseph Bonaparte,* to whom some polite-
ness was due, found herself at the bottom of the table, as if
she were not one of the family.
The stiffness and gloom of that dinner-party may be easily
imagined. The brothers were angry, Mme. Bonaparte was
wretched, and I was excessively embarrassed by my promi-
nent position. During the dinner Bonaparte did not address
a single member of his family ; he occupied himself with his
wife, talked to me, and chose this opportune occasion to in-
form me that he had that morning restored to my cousin, the
Yieomte de Yergennes, certain forests which had long been
sequestrated on account of his emigration, but which had not
been sold. I was touched by this mark of his kindness, but
it was very vexatious to me that he selected such a moment
to tell me of it, because the gratitude which I would other-
wise have gladly expressed, and the joy which I really felt,
made me appear to the observers of the little scene to be
* Joseph Bonaparte had married Mile. Julia Clary, the daughter of a mer-
chant at Marseilles. — ^P. E.
78 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R&MUSAT.
talking freely to him, while I was really in a state of painful
constraint. The remainder of the day passed drearily, as
may be supposed, and we left Mortefontaine on the morrow.
An accident which happened at the beginning of our
journey increased the regard which I was then happy to feel
for Bonaparte and his wife. He traveled with her and one
of the generals of his guard, and his carriage was preceded
by one containing Duroe and three aides-de-camp. A third
carriage was occupied by Mme. Talhouet, M. de Remnsat,
and myself ; two others followed. Shortly after we had left
Compiegne, where we visited a military school, on our way
to Amiens, our carriage was violently overturned. Mme.
Talhouet's head was badly cut ; M. de Remusat and I were
only bruised. With some trouble we were extricated from
the carriage. Bonaparte, who was on in front, was told of
this accident ; he at once alighted from his carriage, and
with Mme. Bonaparte, who was much frightened about me,
hastened to join us at a cottage, whither we had been taken.
I was so terrified that, as soon as I saw Bonaparte, I begged
him with tears to send me back to Paris ; I already disliked'
traveling as much as did the pigeon of La Fontaine, and in
my distress I cried out that I must return to my mother and
my children.
Bonaparte said a few words intended to calm me ; but,
finding that he could not succeed in doing so, he took my arm
in his, gave orders that Mme. Talhouet should be placed in
one of the carriages, an-d, after satisfying himself that M. de
Kemusat was none the worse for the accident, led me, fright-
ened as I was, to his own carriage, and made me get in with
him. "We set off again, and he took pains to cheer up his
wife and me, and told lis, laughingly, to kiss each other and
cry, " because," he said, " that always does women good."
After a while his animated conversation distracted my
thoughts, and my fear of the further journey subsided.
Mme. Bonaparte having referred to the grief my mother
would feel if any harm happened to me, Bonaparte ques-
ENTHUSIASM AT AMIENS. T9
tioned me about her, and appeared to be well aware of the
high esteem in which she was held in society. Indeed, it
was largely to this that his attention to me was due. At that
period, when so many people still held back from the ad-
vances he made to them, he was greatly gratified that my
mother had consented to my holding a place in his household.
At that time I was in his eyes almost a personage whose ex-
ample would, he hoped, be followed.
On the evening of the same day we arrived at Amiens,
where we were received with enthusiasm impossible to de-
scribe. The horses were taken from the carriage, and re-
placed by the inhabitants, who insisted on drawing it them-
selves. I was the more affected by this spectacle, as it was
absolutely novel to me. Alas ! since I had been of an age to
ol)serve what was passing around me, I had witnessed only
scenes of terror and woe, I had heard only sounds of hate and
menace ; and the joy of the inhabitants of Amiens, the gar-
lands that decorated our route, the triumphal arches erected
in honor of him who was represented on all these devices as
the saviour of France, the crowds who fought for a sight of
him, the univereal blessings which could not have been ut-
tered to order — the whole spectacle, in fact, so affected me
that I could not restrain my tears. Mme. Bonaparte wept ;
I saw even the eyes of Bonaparte himself glisten for a mo-
ment.
CHAPTER III.
(1803.)
Continuation of the Journey to Belgium — Opinions of the First Consul on Grati-
tude, on Glory, and on the French — Ghent, Malines, and Brussels — The Clergy
— M. de EoquelauTB — Eeturn to Saint Cloud — ^Preparations for an Invasion of
England — Marriage of Mme. Leclero— Journey of the First Consul to Boulogne
— Illness of M. de E^musat — I rejoin Iiim — Conversations with the First Consul.
On Bonaparte's arrival in town, the Prefect of tlie Palace
was directed to summon the various persons in authority, that
they might be presented to him. The prefect, the mayor,
the bishop, the presidents of the tribunals, would read an
addi'ess to him, and then, tumiug to Mme. Bonaparte, make
her a little speech also. According to the mood he happened
to be in, Bonaparte would listen to these discom-ses to the
end, or interrupt them by questioning the deputation on the
nature of their respective functions, or on the district in
which they exercised them. He rarely put questions with
an appearance of interest, but rather with the air of a man
who desires to show his knowledge, and wants to see whether
he can be answered. These speeches were addressed to the
Republic ; but any one who reads them may see that in
almost every respect they might have been addressed to a
sovereign. Indeed, the mayors of some of the Flemish
towns went so far as to urge the Consul to " complete the
happiness of the world by exchanging his precarious title for
one better suited to the lofty destiny to which he was called."
I was present the first time that happened, and I kept my
eyes fixed upon Bonaparte. When these very words were
uttered, he had some difficulty in checking the smile that
TSE JOURNEY TO BELGIUM. 81
hovered about liis lips; but, putting strong control upon
himself, he interrupted the orator, and replied, in a tone of
feigned anger, that it would be unworthy of him to usurp
an authority which must affect the existence of the Republic.
Thus, like Caesar, he repudiated the crown, though perhaps
he was not ill pleased that they were beginning to offer it to
him. The good people of the provinces we visited were
not very far ^vrong ; for the splendor that surrounded us,
the sumptuousness of that military yet brilliant court, the
strict ceremonial, the imperious tone of the master, the sub-
mission of all about him, and, finally, the expectation that
homage should be paid the wife of the first magistrate, to
whom the Republic certainly owed none — all this strongly
resembled the progress of a king.
After these audiences, Bonaparte generally rode out on
horseback ; he showed himself to the people, who followed
him with acclamations ; he visited the public monuments
and manufactories, but always in a hurried way, for he could
never get over that precipitation which gave him an ill-bred
air. Afterward he would give a dinner, or attend a fete
which had been prepared for him, and this was always the
most wearisome part of the business to him. " I am not
made for pleasure," he would say, in a melancholy tone.
Then he would leave the town, after having received peti-
tions, attended to complaints, and distributed alms and pres-
ents. He was accustomed, when on a journey of this sort,
to inform himself at each town he went to what pubhc
establishments were wanting there, and he would order them
to be founded, in commemoration of his visit. The inhabi-
tants would load him with blessings for this munificence.
But shortly afterward a mandate from the Minister of the
Interior would arrive, drawn up in this form : " In conform-
ity with the gracious permission of the First Consul " (later
it was " the Emperor "), " you are directed, citizen mayors,
to have such and such a building constructed, taking care
that the exijenses shall be defrayed by the funds of your
82 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EMUSAT.
commune." Thus these towns would suddenly find them-
selves obliged to alter the disposition of their funds, very
often at a moment when they were not sufficient for neces-
sary expenses. The Prefect took care, however, that the
orders were executed, or at least the most nseful portion of
of them ; and it must be admitted that, from one end
France to the other, everything was being embellished, and
that the general prosperity was such that new works, even of
the most important nature, might safely be undertaken every-
where.
At Arras, at Lille, and at Dunkirk, we had similar re-
ceptions ; but it seemed to me that the enthusiasm cooled
down when we got beyond the former boundaries of France.
At Ghent, especially, we detected some coldness in the popu-
lar greeting. In vain did the authorities endeavor to stir up
the zeal of the inhabitants ; they were curious, but not en-
thusiastic. Bonaparte was a little annoyed, and inclined to
proceed without delay. He thought better of this, however,
and said in the evening to his wife: "These people are
bigoted and under the influence of the priests ; we must re-
main a long time at church to-morrow, and propitiate the
clergy by some favor. In this way we shall regain lost
ground." Next day he attended high mass with every ap-
pearance of devoutness ; he talked to the Bishop, whom he
completely captivated, and by degrees he obtained the popu-
lar acclamations he desired. At Ghent he met the daughters
of the Due de Villequier, formerly one of the four Gentle-
men of the Chamber to the King. These ladies were nieces
of the Bishop, and Bonaparte restored to them the beautiful
estate of Yillequier, with its large revenues. I had the hap-
piness of contributing to this restitution, by urging it with
all my might, both upon Bonaparte and upon his wife. The
two amiable young ladies have never forgotten this to me.
When I assured Bonaparte of their gratitude, " Ah," said he,
" gratitude ! That is a poetic word which has no meaning
in times of revolution ; and what I have just done would not
OPINIONS OF THE FIRST CONSUL. 83
prevent your friends from rejoicing if some Royalist emis-
sary should succeed in assassinating me during this journey."
And, as I betrayed the surprise with which I heard him, he
continued : " You are young ; you do not know what politi-
cal hatred is. It is like a pair of spectacles : one sees every-
body, every opinion, or every sentiment only through the
glass of one's passions. Hence, nothing is bad or good of it-
self, but simply according to the party to which one belongs.
In reality, tlais mode of seeing is convenient, and we profit
_by it ; for we also have_our spectacles, and, if we do not see
things through our passions, we see them through our in-
terests."
" But," I replied, " where, in such a system, do you place
the applause which you do care to win ? For what class of
men do you spend your life in great and often perilous en-
terprises ? "
" Ah," he answered, " one can not avoid one's destiny ;
he who is called can not resist. Besides, human pride finds
the public it desires in that ideal world which is called pos-
terity. He who believes that, a hundred years hence, a fine
poem, or even a line in one, will recall a great action of his
own, or that a painting will commemorate it, has his imagi- .
nation fired by that idea. The battle-field has no dangers,
the cannon roars in vain ; to him it is only that sound which,
a thousand years hence, will carry a brave man's name to the
ears of our distant descendants."
" I shaU never be able to understand," I continued, " how
a man can expose himself to every sort of danger for fame's
sake, if his own inward sentiment be only contempt for the
men of his own time."
Here Bonaparte interrupted me quickly. " I do not de-
spise men, madame — that is a thing you must never say ; and
I particularly esteem the French."
I smiled at this abrupt declaration, and, as he guessed
why, he smiled also ; and approaching me and pulling my
ear, which was, as I have already said, a trick of his when
84 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RMMUSAT.
he was in a good humor, lie repeated, "Do you hear, ma-
dame ? you must never say that I despise the French."
From Ghent we went to Antwerp, where we were re-
ceived with a special ceremony. On occasions of visits from
kings and princes, the people of Antwerp are in the habit of
parading through their streets a giant, who never makes his
appearance except on such solemn festivals. Although we
were neither king nor prince, we were obliged to yield to
the people's wish in this matter, and it put Bonaparte in
good humor with the town of Antwerp. He occupied him-
self much while there with the important extension which
he designed for its harbor, and gave orders for the com-
mencement of the great works which have since been exe-
cuted there.
On the way from Antwerp to Brussels we stopped at
Malines for a few hours, and there we saw the new Arch-
bishop, M. de Roquelaure.* He was Bishop of SenUs under
Louis XYI., and had been the intimate friend of my great-
uncle, the Count de Vergennes. I had seen a great deal of
him in my childhood, and I was glad to meet him again.
Bonaparte talked to him in a very insinuating manner. At
this period he affected great esteem for the priests, and care
for their interests. He knew how steadily religion supports
royalty, and he hoped that through the priests he might get
the people taught that catechism which we have since seen,
in which all who did not love and obey the Emperor were
threatened with eternal condemnation. For the first time
since the Revolution, the clergy found the Government oc-
cupying itself with their welfare, and giving them rank and
consideration. They showed themselves grateful, and were
useful to Bonaparte until the moment came when he endea-
vored to impose his ever-growing despotism on their con-
* M. de Eoquelaure had been Bishop of Senlia and Ahnoner to the King.
He became Archbishop of Malines in 1802. The Emperor replaced him in 1808
by the Abb6 de Pradt. He was a member of the Academie Fran^aise, and died
in 1818. He did not belong to the family of the Due de Eoquelaure. — P. R.
ENTRY INTO BRUSSELS. 85
sciences, and the priests had to choose between him and their
duty. At this time, however, the words, " He has reestab-
lished religion," * were in every pious mouth, and told im-
mensely in his favor.
Our entry into Brussels was magnificent. Several fine
regiments awaited the First Consul at the gate, where he
mounted his horse. Mme. Bonaparte found a superb car-
riage, presented to her by the city, awaiting her ; the streets
were lavishly decorated, cannon were fired, the bells were
rung ; the numerous clergy were assembled in great pomp
on the steps of all the churches ; there was an immense
crowd of the population, and also many foreigners, and the
weather was beautiful. I was enchanted. Our stay in'
Brussels was a succession of brilliant fetes. The French
ministers. Consul Lebrun, the envoys from the foreign
courts who had business to arrange, came to meet us there.
At Brussels I heard M. de Talleyrand reply in an adroit and
flattering manner to a question suddenly put to him by Bona-
parte, who asked him. how he had so rapidly made his great
fortune ? " Nothing could be more simple," replied M. de
Talleyrand ; " I bought stock on the 17th Brumaire, and I
sold it again on the 19th."
One Sunday we were to visit the cathedral in gi-eat state.
M. de Eemusat went early in the morning to the church, to
arrange the ceremony. He had been directed not to object
to any honor which the clergy might propose to pay to the
First Consul on this occasion. As, however, it was arranged
that the priests should go to the great doors with the canopy
and the cross to receive the First Consul, a question arose
whether Mme. Bonaparte was to share this distinction with
him, and Bonaparte did not venture to bring her so promi-
nently forward. She was, therefore, placed in a tribune
with the Second Consul. At twelve o'clock, the hour agreed
upon, the clergy left the altar, and proceeded to the grand
* Bonaparte, Icnowing that in Belgium he ivould have to deal with religions
people, took Cardinal Caprera with him. The Cardinal was extremely useful.
86 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMUSAT.
entrance of the magnificent Churcli of Sainte Gndule. Tliey
awaited the arrival of the First Consul, but he did not ap-
pear. At first they were astonished, then alarmed ; but they
presently perceived that he had slipped into the church, and
seated himself on the throne which was prepared for him.
The priests, surprised and disconcerted, returned to the sanc-
tuary, and commenced divine service. The fact was, just as
he was setting out, Bonaparte was told that, at a similar
ceremony, Charles V. had preferred to enter the Church of
Sainte Gudule by a little side-door which had ever after been
called by his name ; and it seemed he had taken a fancy to
use the same entrance, hoping, perhaps, that henceforth it
would be called the door of Charles Y. and of Bonaparte.
One morning the numerous and magnificent regiments
which had been brought to Brussels were reviewed by the
Consul, or, as on this occasion I ought to call him, the Gen-
eral. His reception by the troops was nothing short of rap-
turous. It was well worth seeing how he talked to the sol-
diers— how he questioned them one after the other respect-
ing their campaigns or their wounds ; taking particular in-
terest in the men who had accompanied him to Egypt. I
have heard Mme. Bonaparte say that her husband was in the
constant habit of poring over the list of what are called the
cadres of the army, at night, before he slept. He would go
to sleep repeating the names of the corps, and even those of
some of the individuals who composed them ; he kept those
names in a corner of his memory, and this habit came to his
aid when he wanted to recognize a soldier, and to give him
the pleasure of a cheering word from his General. He spoke
to the subalterns in a tone of good fellowship, which de-
lighted them all, as he reminded them of their common feats
of arms. Afterward, when his ai-mies became so numerous,
when his battles became so deadly, he disdained to exercise
this kind of fascination. Besides, death had extinguished so
many remembrances, that in a few years it became difficult
for him to find any great number of the companions of his
M. MO^OE. 87
early exploits; and, when he addressed his soldiers before
leading them into battle, it was as a perpetually renewed
posterity, to which the preceding and destroyed army had
bequeathed its glory. But even this somber style of en-
couragement availed for a long time with a nation which be-
lieved itself to be fulfilling its destiny while sending its sons
year after year to die for Bonaparte.
I have said that Bonaparte took great pleasure in recall-
ing his campaign in Egypt ; it was, indeed, his favorite
theme of discoui-se. He had taken with him, on the journey
I am describing, M. Monge the savant, whom he had made
a senator, and whom he Hked particularly, for the sole reason
that he was among the number of the members of the Insti-
tute who had gone with him to Egypt. Bonaparte often
talked to him of that expedition — " th.it land of poetry," he
would say, " which was trodden by Caesar and Pompey." He
would speak with enthusiasm of the time when he appeared
before the amazed Orientals like a new Prophet; for the
sway he exercised over imagination, being the most complete
of all, he pi-ized more highly than any other. " In France,"
he said, " one must conquer everything at the point of de-
monstration. In Egypt we did not require our mathematics ;
did we, Monge ? "
It was at Brussels that I began to get accustomed to M.
de Talleyrand, and to shake off the earlier impression made
by his disdainful manner and sarcastic disposition. The idle-
ness of a court life makes the day seem a hundred hours
long, and it happened that we often passed many of those
hours together in the salon, waiting until it should please
Bonapai'te to come in or to go out. It was during one of
these weary waits that I heard M. de Talleyrand complain
that his family had not realized any of the plans he had
formed for them. His brother, Archambault de Perigord,
had just been sent into exile for having indulged in the sar-
castic language common to the family. He had, however,
applied it to persons of rank too high to be ridiculed with
88 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BMUSAT.
impunity, and he had also ofiEended by refusing to give his
daughter in marriage to Eugene de Beauharnais, to whom
he had preferred Count Just de JSToailles. M. de Talleyrand,
who was quite as anxious as Mme. Eonaparte that his niece
should marry Beauharnais, blamed his brother's conduct
severely, and I could perfectly understand that such an alli-
ance would have been advantageous to his personal policy.
One of the first things that struck me, when I had talked for
a little while with M. de Talleyrand, was the entire absence
of any kind of illusion or enthusiasm on his part with regard
to all that was passing around us. Every one else was more
or less under the influence of feelings of this kind. The
implicit obedience of the military ofiicers might easily pass
for zeal, and, in the case of some of them, it really was devo-
tion. The ministers affected or felt profound admiration ;
M. Maret paraded his worship of the First Consul on every
occasion ; Eerthier was happy in the sincerity of his attach-
ment ; in short, every one seemed to feel something. M. de
Bemusat tried to like his post, and to esteem the man who
had conferred it on him. As for myself, I cultivated every
opportunity of emotion and of self-deception ; and the calm
indifference of M. de Talleyrand amazed me. " Good heav-
ens ! " I said to him on one occasion, " how is it possible that
you can live and work without experiencing any emotion
either from what passes around lis, or from your own ac-
tions ? " " Ah ! what a woman you are, and how young ! "
he replied: and then he began to ridicule me, as he did
every one else. His jests wounded my feelings, yet they
made me laugh. I was angry with myself for being amused,
and yet, because my vanity was pleased at my own compre-
hension of his wit, less shocked than I ought to have been
at the hardness of his heart. However, I did not yet
know him, and it was not till much later, when I had got
over the restraint that he imposed on every one at first,
that I observed the curious mixture of qualities in his
character.
RETURN- TO SAINT CLOUD. 89
On leaving Brussels we went to Liege and Maestricht,
and reentered the former boundaries of France by way of
Mezieres and Sedan. Mme. Bonaparte was charming during
this journey, and left an impression on my mind of her kind-
ness and graciousness which, as I found fifteen years after-
ward, time could not efface.
I was delighted to return to Paris, and to find myself
once more among my family and free from the restraint of
court life. M. de Eemusat, like myself, was tired of the idle
yet restless pomp of the last six weeks ; and we rejoiced in
the quiet of our happy home.
On his return to Saint Cloud, Bonaparte and Mme. Bona-
parte received complimentary addresses from the Corps Le-
gislatif, the tribunals, etc. ; the First Consul also received a
visit from the Corps Diplomatique. Shortly after this, he
enhanced the dignity of the Legion of Honor by appointing
M. de Lacepede its Chancellor. Since the fall of Bonaparte,
certain liberal writers, and among others Mme. de Stael, have
endeavored to stigmatize that institution by reviviag the re-
collection of an English caricature which represented Bona-
parte cutting up the ionnet rouge of the Eevolution to make
the crosses of the Legion. But, if he had not misused that
institution as he misused everything, there would have been
nothing to blame in the invention of a recompense which
was an inducement to every kind of merit, without being a
great expense to the State. What splendid deeds on the
battle-field has that little bit of ribbon inspired ! If it had
been accorded to merit only in every walk of life, if it had
never been given from motives of caprice or individual fa-
vor, it would have been a fine idea to assimilate all services
rendered to the country, no matter of what nature, and to
bestow a similar decoration upon them all. The institutions
of Bonaparte in France ought not to be indiscriminately con-
demned. Most of them have a commendable purpose, and
might have been made of advantage to the nation. But his
insatiable greed of power perverted them. So intolerant
90 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
was he of any obstacles, that he could not even endure those
which arose from his own institutions, and he instantly set
them aside by an arbitrary decision.
Having in the course of this year (1803) created the dif-
ferent senatorships, he gave a Chancellor, a Treasurer, and
Praetors to the Senate. M. de Laplace was the Chancellor.
Bonaparte honored him because he was a savamt, and liked
him because he was a skillful flatterer. The two Prsetors
were General Lef ebvre and General Serrurier. M. de Far-
gues * was the Treasurer.
The Republican year ended as usual in the middle of
September, and the anniversary of the Republic was cele-
brated by popular fetes, and kept with royal pomp at the
palace of the Tuileries. We heard at the same time that the
Hanoverians, who had been conquered by General Mortier,
had celebrated the First Consul's birthday with great rejoic-
ings. Thus, by degrees, by appearing at first at the head
of all, and then quite alone, he accustomed Europe to see
France in his person only, and presented himself everywhere
as the sole representative of the nation.
Bonaparte, who well knew that he would meet with re-
sistance from those who held by the old ways of thinking,
applied himself early and skillfully to gain the young, to
whom he opened all the doors of advancement in life. He
attached auditors to the different ministries, and gave free
scope to ambition, whether in military or in civil careers.
He often said that he preferred to every other advantage that
of governing a new people, and the youthful generation af-
forded him that novelty.
The institution of the jury was also discussed in that
year. I have heard that Bonaparte himself had no liking for
it ; but, as he intended later on to govern rather by himself
than with the assistance of assemblies which he feared, he
was obliged to make some concessions to their most distin-
guished members. By degrees, all the laws were presented
* II. de Fargues had been useful to Bonaparte on the 1 8th Brumaire.
PREPARATIONS FOR AN INVASION. 91
to the Council by the ministers, and were either changed
into decrees, which, without any other sanction, were put in
force from one end of France to the other ; or else, having
been received with the silent approbation of the Corps Legis-
latif , they were passed with no more trouble than that im-
posed upon reporters of the Council, who had to preface
them by a discourse, so that they might have some show of
necessity. Lyceums were also established in all the impor-
tant towns, and the study of ancient languages, which had
been abolished during the Eevolution, was again made obli-
gatory in public education.
It was at this time that the flotilla of flat-bottomed boats
which was to be used for the invasion of England was being
constructed. Day by day it was more confidently asserted
that in fine weather it would be possible for the flotilla to
reach the shores of England without being impeded by ships
of war. It was said that Bonaparte himseK would command
the expedition, and such an enterprise did not seem to be be-
yond the bounds of his daring or of his good fortune. Our
newspapers represented England as agitated and alarmed,
and in reaJity the English Government was not quite exempt
from fear on the subject. The " IVConiteur " still complained
bitterly of the English liberal journals, and the gauntlet of
wordy war was taken up on both sides. In France the law
of conscription was put in action, and large bodies of troops
were raised. Sometimes people asked what was the mean-
ing of this great armament, and of such paragraphs as the
following, which appeared in the " Moniteur " : " The Eng-
lish journalists suspect that the great preparations for war,
which the First Consul has just commenced in Italy, are in-
tended for an Egyptian expedition."
No explanation was given. The French nation placed
confidence in Bonaparte of a kind like that which some
credulous minds feel in magic ; and, as his success was be-
lieved to be infallible, it was not difficult to obtain a tacit
consent to all his operations from a people naturally prone
G
92 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE ESMUSAT.
to worship success. At that time a few wise heads began to
perceive that he would not be useful to us ; but, as the gen-
eral dread of the Kevolutionary Government still proclaimed
him to be necessary, no opposition could be made to his au-
thority without the risk of facilitating the revolt of that
party, which it was believed he alone could control.
In the mean time he was always active and energetic ;
and, as it did not suit him that the public mind should be
left to repose, which leads to reflection, he aroused appre-
hension and disturbance in every way that might be useful
to himself. A letter from the Comte d'Artois, taken from
the " Morning Chronicle," was printed about this time ; it
offered the services of the emigres to the King of England,
in case of a descent upon his coasts. Rumors were spread
of certain attempts made in the eastern departments ; and
since the war in La Vendee had been followed by the in-
glorious proceedings of the Chouans, people had become
accustomed to the idea that any political movement set on
foot in that part of France had pillage and incendiarism for
its objects. In fact, there seemed no chance of quietness
except in the duration of the established Government ; and
when certain friends of liberty deplored its loss — for the
new liberal institutions were of little value in their eyes be-
cause they were the work of absolute power — ^they were met
with the following argument, which was perhaps justified
by circumstances : " After the storm through which we have
passed, and amid the strife of so many parties, superior force
only can give us liberty ; and, so long as that force tends to
promote principles of order and morality, we ought not to
regard ourselves as straying from the right road ; for the
creator will disappear, but that which he has created will
remain with us."
While more or less disturbance was thus kept up by his
orders, Bonaparte himself maintained a peaceful attitude.
He had returned to his usual orderly and busy life at Saint
Cloud, and we passed our days as I have already described.
MAEBIAOE OF MADAME LEGLERO. 93
His brothers were all employed * — Joseph, at the camp of
Boulogne ; Louis, at the Council of State ; Jerome, the
youngest, in America, whither he had been sent, and where
he was well received by the Anglo-Americans. Bonaparte's
sisters, who were now in the enjoyment of wealth, vied with
each other in the decoration of the houses which the First
Consul had given them, and in the luxury of their furni-
ture and equipment. Eugene de Beauhamais occupied him-
seK exclusively in his military duties ; his sister lived a dull
and quiet life.
Mme. Leclerc had inspired Prince Borghese (who had
not long arrived in France from Rome) with an ardent
attachment, which she returned. The Prince asked her
hand of Bonaparte, but his demand was at first refused. I
do not know what the motive of his refusal was, but think
it may perhaps have been dictated by his vanity, which
would have been hurt by the supposition that he desired to
be reheved of any family claims ; and probably, also, he did
not wish to appear to accept a first proposal with alacrity.
But, as the liaison between his sister and the Prince became
publicly known, the Consul consented at last to legitimize it
by a marriage, which took place at Mortefontaine while he
was at Boulogne.
He set out to visit the camp and the flotilla on the 3d of
November, 1803. This time his journey was of an entirely
military character. He was accompanied only by the gen-
erals of his guard, by his aides-de-camp, and by M. de Ee-
musat.
When they arrived at Pont de Briques, a little village
about a league from Boulogne, where Bonaparte had fixed
his headquarters, my husband fell dangerously ill. So soon
as I heard of his illness I set out to join him, and arrived at
Pont de Briques in the middle of the night. Entirely occu-
pied by my anxiety, I had thought of nothing but of the
* It was at the end of the autumn or the beginning of winter, in 1803, that
Lueien married Mme. Jouberthon and quarreled with his brqthcv,
94 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
state in which I should find the invalid. But, when I got
out of the carriage, I was rather disconcerted by finding
myself alone in the midst of a camp, and not knowing what
the First Consul would think of my arrival. I was reassured,
however, by the servants, who told me I was expected, and
that a room had been set apart for me two days before. I
passed the remainder of the night there, waiting until day-
light before I saw my husband, as I did not like to risk dis-
turbing him. I found him greatly puUed down by illness,
but he was so rejoiced to see me that I congratulated myself
on having come without asking permission.
In the morning Bonaparte sent for me. I was so agitated
that I could hardly speak. He saw this the moment I en-
tered the room, and he kissed me, made me sit down, and
restored me to composure by his first words. " I was expect-
ing you," he said. " Tour presence will cure your husband."
At these words I burst into tears. He appeared touched,
and endeavored to console me. Then he directed me to
come every day to dine and breakfast with him, laughing as
he said, " I must look after a woman of your age among so
many soldiers." He asked me how I had left his wife. A
little while before his departure some more secret visits from
Mile. Georges had given rise to fresh domestic disagreements.
" She troubles herself," he said, " a great deal more than is
necessary. Josephine is always afraid that I shall fall seri-
ously in love. Does she not know, then, that I am not made
for love ? For what is love ? A passion which sets all the
universe on one side, and on the other the beloved object.
I certainly am not of a nature to give myself up to any such
exclusive feeling. What, then, do these fancies, into which
my affections do not enter, matter to her? This," he con-
tinued, looking at me seriously, " is what her friends ought
to dwell upon ; and, above all, they ought not to try to in-
crease their influence over her by fostering her jealousy."
There was in his last words a tone of suspicion and severity
which I di4 noj; deserve, and I think he knew that very
ILLNESS OF M. BE R&MUSAT. 95
well ; but lie never missed an opportunity of carrying out
his favorite system, which was to keep one's mind what he
called " breathless " ; that is to say, constantly anxious.
He remained at Pont de Briques for ten days after I ar-
rived there. My husband's malady was a painful one, but
the doctors were not alarmed. With the exception of one
quarter of an hour during which the First Consul's break-
fast lasted, I spent the morning with my dear invalid. Bona-
parte went to the camp every day, reviewed the troops,
visited the flotilla, and assisted at some slight skirmishes, or
rather at an exchange of cannon-balls, between us and the
English, who constantly cruised in front of the harbor and
tried to molest our workmen.
At six o'clock Bonaparte returned, and then I was sum-
moned. Occasionally some of the officers of his household,
the Minister of Marine or the Minister of Public Works,
who had accompanied him, were invited to dinner. At
other times we dined tete-d-tete, and then he talked on a
multitude of subjects. He spoke of his own character, and
described himself as having always been of a melancholy
temperament — ^far more so than any of his comrades. My
memory has faithfully preserved all he said to me. The
following is a correct summary of it :
" I was educated," he said, " at a military school, and I
showed no aptitude for anything but the exact sciences.
Every one said of me, ' That child will never be good for
anything but geometry.' I kept aloof from my schoolfel-
lows. I had chosen a little corner in the school-grounds,"
where I would sit and dream at my ease ; for I have always
liked reverie. When my companions tried to usurp posses-
sion of this comer, I defended it with all my might. I al-
ready knew by instinct that my will was to override that of
othei-s, and that what pleased me was to belong to me. I
was not liked at school. It takes time to make one's self
Hked ; and, even when I had nothing to do, I always felt
vaguely that I had no time to lose.
96 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE bSmUSAT.
" I entered tlie service, and soon grew tired of garrison
work. I began to read novels, and they interested me deep-
ly. I even tried to write some. This occupation brought
out something in my imagination which mingled itself with
the positive knowledge I had acqiured ; and I often let my-
self dream, in order that I might afterward measure my
dreams by the compass of my reason. I threw myself into
an ideal world, and I endeavored to find out in what precise
points it differed from the actual world in which I lived. I
have always liked analysis ; and, if I were to be seriously in
love, I should analyze my love bit by bit. W7ty f and How f
are questions so useful that they can not be too often asked.
I conquered, rather than studied, history ; that is to say, I
did not care to retain, and did not retaia, anything that could
not give me a new idea ; I disdained all that was useless, but
took possession of certain results which pleased me.
" I did not understand much about the Eevolntion, but I
approved of it. Equality, which was to elevate myself, at-
tracted me. On the 20th of June I was in Paris, and I saw
the populace marching upon the Tuileries. I have never
liked popular movements, and I was indignant at the violent
deeds of that day. I thought the ringleaders in the attack
very imprudent, for I said to myself, ' It is not they who will
profit by this revolution.' But, when I was told that Louis
had put the red cap on his head, I came to the conclusion
that he had ceased to reign ; for in politics there is no resur-
rection.
" On the 10th of August I felt that, had I been called
upon, I would have defended the King. I set myself against
those who founded the Kepublic by the people. Besides, I
saw men in plain clothes attacking men in uniform, and I
could not stand that.
" One evening I was at the theatre ; it was the 12th Ven-
demiaire. I heard it said about me that next day du train
might be looked for. You know that was the usual expres-
sion of the Parisians, who regarded the various changes of
CONVERSATIONS WITH FIRST CONSUL. 97
government ■witli indifference, as those changes did not dis-
turb their business, their pleasures, or even their dinners.
After the Terror, people were satisfied with anything, so
that they were allowed to live quietly.
" I heard it said that the Assembly was sitting in per-
manence ; I went there, and found all confusion and hesita-
tion. Suddenly I heard a voice say from the middle of the
hall, ' If any one here knows the address of General Bona-
parte, he is begged to go and tell him that he is expected at
the Committee of the Assembly.' I have always observed
with interest how chance interferes in certain events, and
tliis chance decided me. I went to the Committee.
"There I found several terrified deputies, Cambaceres
among others. They expected to be attacked the next day,
and they could not come to any resolution. They asked my
advice ; I answered by asking for guns. This proposition so
alarmed them that the whole night passed without their com-
ing to any decision. In the morning there was very bad
news. Then they put the whole business into my hands,
and afterward began to discuss whether they had the right
to repel force by force. ' Are you going to wait,' I asked
them, 'untU the people give you permission to fire upon
them ? I am committed in this matter ; yon have appointed
me to defend you ; it is right that you should leave me to
act.' Thereupon I left these lawyers to stultify themselves
with words. I put the troops in motion, and pointed two
cannons with terrible effect from Saint Eoch ; the army of
citizens and the conspirators were swept away in an instant.
" But I had shed Parisian blood ! "What sacrilege ! It
was necessary to obliterate the effect of such a deed. I felt
myself more and more urgently called upon to do something.
I asked for the command of the army of Italy. Everything
had to be put in order in that army, both men and things.
Only youth can have patience, because it has the future
before it. I set out for Italy with ill-trained soldiers, who
were, however, full of zeal and daring. In the midst of the
98 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RI^MUSAT.
troops I had wagons placed, and escorted on the inarch, al-
though they were empty. These I called the treasure-chests
of the army. I put it in the order of the day that shoes
should be distributed to the recruits: no one would wear
them. I promised my soldiers that fortune and glory should
await us behind the Alps ; I kept my word, and ever since
then the army would follow me to the end of the world.
" I made a splendid campaign ; I became a person of im-
portance in Europe. On the one hand, with the assistance
of my orders of the day, I maintained the revolutionary sys-
tem ; on the other hand, I secretly conciliated the emigres
by allowing them to form certain hopes. It is easy to de-
ceive that party, because it starts always not from what exists,
but from what it wishes to believe. I received magnificent
offers of recompense if I would follow the example of General
Monk ; the Pretender even wrote to me in his vague and
florid style ; I conquered the Pope more effectually by not
going to E.ome than if I had burned his capital. In short,
I became important and formidable ; and the Directory, al-
though I made them very uneasy, could not bring any formal
accusation against me.
" I have been reproached with having favored the 18th
Fructidor ; they might as well reproach me with having sup-
ported the Eevolution. It was necessary to take advantage
of the Eevolution, and to derive some profit from the blood
that had been shed. What ! were we to give ourselves up
unconditionally to the princes of the house of Bourbon, who
would have thrown in our teeth all the misfortunes we had
suffered since their departure, and would have imposed si-
lence upon us, because we had solicited their return ? Were
we to exchange our victorious flag for that white banner
which had mingled with the standards of our enemies ? Was
I to content myself with a few millions and a petty duke-
dom ? The part of Monk is not a difficult one to play ; it
would have given me less trouble than the Egyptian cam-
paign, or even than the 18th Brumaire; but can anything
CONVERSATIONS WITH FIRST CONSUL. 99
teach princes who have never seen a battle-iield ? To what
did the return of Charles II. lead the English, except the de-
thronement of James II. ? Had it been necessary, I should
certainly have dethroned the Bourbons a second time, so that
the best thing they could have done would have been to get
rid of me.
" When I returned to France, I found public opinion in
a lethargic condition. In Paris — and Paris is France — peo-
ple can never interest themselves in things if they do not
care about persons. The customs of an old monarchy had
taught them to personify everything. This habit of mind is
bad for a people who desire hberty seriously ; but French-
men can no longer desire anything seriously, except perhaps
it be equality ; and even that they would renounce willingly
if every one could flatter himself that he was the first. To
be equals, with everybody uppermost, is the secret of the
vanity of all of you ; every man among you must, therefore,
be given the hope of rising. The great difficulty of the Di-
rectory was that no one cared about them, and that people
began to care a good deal about me.
" I do not know what would have happened to me had I
not conceived the happy thought of going to Egypt. Wlien
I embarked I did not know but that I might be bidding an
eternal farewell to France ; but I had no doubt that she
would recall me. The charm of Oriental conquest drew my
thoughts away from Europe more than I should have believed
possible. My imagination interfered this time again with my
actions ; but I think it died out at Saint Jean d'Acre. How-
ever that may be, I shall never allow it to interfere with me
again.
" In Egypt I found myself free from the wearisome re-
straints of civilization. I dreamed all sorts of things, and I
saw how all that I dreamed might be realized. I created a
religion. I pictured myself on the road to Asia, mounted on
an elephant, with a turban on my head, and in my hand a
new Koran, which I should compose according to my own
100 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtMTJSAT.
ideas. I would have the combined experience of two worlds
to set about my enterprise ; I was to have ransacked, for my
own advantage, the whole domain of history ; I was to have
attacked the English power in India, and renewed my rela-
tions with old Europe by my conquest. The time which I
passed in Egypt was the most delightful part of my life, for
it was the most ideal. Eate decided against my dreams ; I
received letters from France ; I saw that there was not a
moment to lose. 1 reverted to the realities of life, and I
returned to Paris — to Paris, where the gravest interests of
the country are discussed in the entr'acte of an opera.
'' The Directory trembled at my return. I was very cau-
tious ; that is one of the epochs of my life in which I have
acted with the soimdest judgment. I saw the Abbe Sieyes,
and promised him that his verbose constitution should be put
into effect ; I received the chiefs of the Jacobins and the
agents of the Bourbons; I listened to advice from every-
body, but I only gave it in the interest of my own plans. I
hid myself from the people, because I knew that when the
time came curiosity to see me would make them run after
me. Every one was taken in my toils ; and, when I became
the head of the State, there was not a party in France which
did not build some special hope upon my success."
CHAPTEE IV.
(1803-1804.)
Continuation of the First Consul's Conversations at Boulogne — Heading of the
Tragedy of "Philippe Auguste" — My new Impressions — Return to Paris —
Mme. Bonaparte's Jealousy — Winter F^tes of 1804 — M. dc Fontanes — M.
Fouoh^ — Savary— Pichegni — Arrest of General Moreau.
OxE evening, while we were at Boulogne, Eonaparte
turned the conversation upon literature. Lemercier, the
poet, whom Bonaparte Uked, had just finished a tragedy,
called " Philippe Auguste," which contained allusions to the
First Consul, and had brought the manuscript to him. Bo-
naparte took it into his head to read this production aloud to
me. It was amusing to hear a man, who was always in a
hurry when he had nothing to do, trying to read Alexandrine
verses, of which he did not know the meter, and pronouncing
them so badly that he did not seem to understand what he
read. Besides, he no sooner opened any book than he wanted
to criticise it. I asked him to give me the manuscript, and
I read it out myself. Then he began to talk ; he took the
play out of my hand, struck out whole passages, made several
marginal notes, and found fault with the plot and the char-
acters. He did not run much risk of spoiling the piece, for
it was very bad.* Singularly enough, when he had done
reading, he told me he did not wish the author to know that
all these erasures and corrections were made by so important
a hand, and he directed me to take them upon myself. I
objected to this, as may be supposed. I had great difficulty
* This piece was nerer acted, nor, I belicye, printed. — P. R.
102 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BtMUSAT.
in convincing him that, as it might be thought strange that
even he should thus have meddled with an author's manu-
script, it would be contrary to all the convenances for me to
have taken such a liberty. " Well, well," said he, " perhaps
you are right ; but on this, as on every other occasion, I own
I do not like that vague and leveling phrase, the corwenances,
which you women are always using. It is a device of fools
to raise themselves to the level of people of intellect ; a sort
of social gag, which obstructs the strong mind and only serves
the weak. It may be all very well for women : they have
not much to do in this life ; but you must be aware that I,
for example, can not be bound by the convenances."
" But," I replied, " is not the application of these laws to
the conduct of life like that of the dramatic unities to the
drama? They give order and regularity, and they do not
really trammel genius, except when it would, without their
control, err against good taste."
" Ah, good taste ! That is another of those classical
words which I do not adopt.^' It is perhaps my own fault,
but there are certain rules which mean nothing to me. For
example, what is called ' style,' good or bad, does not affect
me. I care only for the force of the thought. I used to
like Ossian, but it was for the same reason which made me
delight in the murmur of the winds and waves. In Egypt
I tried to read the ' Iliad ' ; but I got tired of it. As for
French poets, I understand none of them except Corneille.
That man understood politics, and if he had been trained to
public affairs he would have been a statesman. I think I
appreciate him more truly than any one else does, because I
exclude all the dramatic sentiments from my view of him.
For example, it is only lately I have come to understand the
denouement of ' Cinna.' At first I regarded it as merely a
contrivance for a pathetic fifth act; for really, clemency,
* M. de Talleyrand once said to tbe Emperor, "Good taste is your i)orsonal
enemy ; if you could have got rid of it by cannon-balls, it would long ago have
ceased to exist."
MT NMW IMPRESSIONS. 103
properly speaking, is such a poor little virtue, when it is not
founded on policy, that to turn Augustus suddenly into a
kind-hearted prince appeared to me an unworthy climax.
However, I saw Monvel act in the tragedy one night, and
the mystery of the great conception was revealed to me. He
pronounced the ' Soyons amis, Cinna,' in s.o cunning and
subtle a tone, that I saw at once the action was only a feint
of the tyrant, and I approved as a calculation what had ap-
peared to me silly as a sentiment. The line should always
be so delivered that, of all those who hear it, only Cinna is
deceived.
" As for Eacine, he pleases me in ' Iphigenie.' That piece,
while it lasts, makes one breathe the poetic air of Greece.
In ' Britannicus ' he has been trammeled by Tacitus, against
whom I am prejudiced, because he does not sufficiently ex-
plain his meaning. The tragedies of Voltaire are passionate,
but they do not go deeply into human nature. For instance,
his Mahomet is neither a prophet nor an Arab. He is an
impostor, who might have been educated at the ifecole Poly-
technique, for he uses power as I might use it in an age like
the present. And then, the murder of the father by the son
is a useless crime. Great men are never cruel except from
necessity.
" As for comedy, it interests me about as much as the
gossip of your drawing-rooms. I understand your admira-
tion of Moliere, but I do not share it ; he has placed his per-
sonages in situations which have no attractions for me."
From these observations it is plain that Bonaparte cared
only to observe human nature when it was struggling with
the great chances of life, and that man in the abstract inter-
ested him but little. In conversations of this kind the tirae
I spent at Boulogne with the First Consul was passed, and it
was at the close of my sojourn there that I underwent the
first experience that inspired me with mistrust of persons
among whom I was obliged to live at Court. The officers
of the household could not believe that a woman might re-
104 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
main for hours together with their master, simply talking
■with him on matters of general interest, and thej drew con-
clusions which were injurious to my character. I may now
venture to say that the purity of my mind, and my life-long
attachment to my husband, prevented my even conceiving
the possibility of such a suspicion as that which was formed
in the Consul's ante-chamber, while I was conversing with
him in his salon. When Bonaparte returned to Paris, his
aides-de-camp talked about my long interviews with him, and
Mme. Bonaparte took fright at their stories ; so that when,
after a month's stay at Pont de Briques, my husband was snf-
ficiently recovered to bear the journey, and we returned to
Paris, my jealous patroness received me coldly.
I returned full of gratitude toward the First Consul. He
had received me so kindly ; he had shown such interest in
the state of my husband's health ; his attention to me had so
much soothed my troubled and anxious mind, and had been
so great a resource in that solitary place ; and I was so much
flattered by the pleasure he seemed to take in my society,
that on my return I told every one, with the eager gratitude
of one twenty-three years old, of the extreme kindness he
had shown me. My friend, who was really attached to me,
advised me to be careful of my words, and apprised me of
the impression they had made. I remember to this hour that
her hint struck like a dagger to my heart. It was the first
time I had suffered injustice ; my youth and aU my feelings
revolted against such an accusation. Stem experience only
can steel us against the unjust judgments of the world, and
perhaps we ought to regret the time when they had the pow-
er to wound us deeply. My friend's warning had, however,
explained Mme. Bonaparte's conduct toward me. One day,
when I was more hurt by this than usual, I could not refraiu
from saying to her, with tears in mj eyes, " What, madame !
do you suspect me ? " As she was very kind and always
easily touched by passing emotions, she embraced me, and
thenceforth treated me with her fonner cordiality. But she
MADAME BOXAPARTE'S JEALOUSY. 105
did not understand my feelings. There was nothing in her
mind which corresponded to my just indignation ; and, with-
out endeavoring to ascertain whether my relations with her
husband at Bolougne had been such as they were represented
to her, she was content to conclude that in any case the affair
had been merely temporary, since I did not, when under her
own eyes, depart from my usual reserve toward Bonaparte.
In order to justify herself, she told me that the Bonaparte
family had spread injurious reports against me during my
absence. " Do you not perceive," I asked her, " that, rightly
or wrongly, it is believed here that my tender attachment to
you, madame, makes me clear-sighted to what is going on,
and that, feeble as my counsels are, they may help you to act
with prudence ? Political jealousy spreads suspicion broad-
cast everywhere, and, insignificant as I am, I do believe they
want to make you quarrel with me." Mme. Bonaparte agreed
■in the truth of my observation ; but she had not the least
idea that I could feel aggrieved because it had not occurred
to herself in the first instance. She acknowledged that she
had reproached her husband about me, and he had evidently
amused himself by leaving her in doubt. These occurrences
opened my eyes about the people among whom I lived to an
extent which alarmed me and upset all my former feelings
toward them. I began to feel that the ground which I hr d
trodden until then with all the confidence of ignorance was
not firm ; I knew that from the kind of annoyance I had just
experienced I should never again be free.
The First Consul, on leaving Boulogne, had declared, in
the order of the day, that he was pleased with the army ;
and in the " Moniteur " of November 12, 1803, we read the
following : " It was remarked as a presage that, in the course
of the excavations for the First Consul's camp, a war hatchet
was found, which probably belonged to the Boman army
that invaded Britain. There were also medals of "WiUiam
the Conqueror found at Ambleteuse, where the First Con-
sul's tent was pitched. It must be admitted that these cir-
106 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE Rj^MUSAT.
cumstances are singular, and they appear still more strange
when it is borne in mind that when General Bonaparte vis-
ited the ruins of Pelusium, in Egypt, he found there a me-
dallion of Julius Csesar."
The allusion was not a very fortunate one, for, notwith-
standing the medallion of Julius Osesar, Bonaparte was
obliged to leave Egypt ; but these little parallels, dictated
by the ingenious flattery of M. Maret, pleased his master
immensely, and Bonaparte was confident that they were not
without effect upon the country.
In the journals every effort was made at that time to
excite the popular imagination on the subject of the invasion
of England. I do not know whether Bonaparte really be-
lieved that such an adventure was possible, but he appeared
to do so, and the expense incurred in the construction of flat-
bottomed boats was considerable. The war of words be-
tween the English newspapers and the " Moniteur " con-
tinued. We read in the " Times," " It is said that the
French have made Hanover a desert, and they are now about
to abandon it " ; to which a note in the " Moniteur " imme-
diately replied, " Tes, when you abandon Malta." The
Bishops issued pastorals, in which they exhorted the nation
to arm itself for a just war. " Choose men of good courage,"
said the Bishop of Arras, "and go forth to fight Amalek.
Bossuet has said, ' To submit to the public orders is to sub-
mit to the orders of God, who establishes empires.' "
This quotation from Bossuet reminds me of a story
which M. Bourlier, the Bishop of Evreux, used to tell. It
related to the time when the Council was assembled at Paris
with a view to inducing the Bishops to oppose the decrees
of the Pope. '•' Sometimes," said the Bishop of Evreux,
" the Emperor would have us all summoned, and would be-
gin a theological discussion with us. He would address him-
self to the most recalcitrant among us, and say, ' My religion
is that of Bossuet ; he is my Eather of the Church ; he de-
fended our liberties. I want to commence his work and to
WINTER F&TES OF 180^. 107
maintain yoTor dignity. Do you understand me ? ' Speak-
ing thus, and pale witli anger, he would clap his hand on the
hilt of his sword. The ardor with which he was ready to
defend us made me tremble, and this singular amalgamation
of the name of Bossuet and the word liberty, with his own
threatening gestures, would have made me smile if I had
not been too heavy-hearted at the prospect of the hard times
which I foresaw for the Church."
I now return to the winter of 1804. This winter passed
as the preceding one had done, in balls and fetes at Court
and in Paris, and in the organization of the new laws which
were presented to the Corps Legislatif. Mme. Baceioehi,
who had a very decided liking for M. de Fontanes, spoke of
him so often at that time to her brother, that her influence,
added to Bonaparte's own high opinion of the academician,
determined him to make M. de Fontanes President of the
Corps Legislatif. This selection appeared strange to some
people ; but a man of letters would do as weU as any other
President for what Bonaparte intended to make of the Corps
Legislatif. M. de Fontanes had to deliver harangues to the
Emperor under most difficult circumstances, but he always
acquitted himself with grace and distinction. He had but
little strength of character, but his ability told when he had
to speak in public, and his good taste lent him dignity and
impressiveness. Perhaps that was not an advantage for
Bonaparte. IsTothing is so dangerous for sovereigns as to
have their abuses of power clothed in the glowing colors of
eloquence, when they figure before nations ; and this is es-
pecially dangerous in France, where forms are held in such
high esteem. How often have the Parisians, although in
the secret of the farce the Government was acting, lent them-
selves to the deception with a good grace, simply because
the actors did justice to that delicacy of taste which de-
mands that each shall do his best with the rdle assigned
to him ?
In the coui-se of the month of January, the " Moniteur "
108 MEMOIRS OP MADAME BE rMuSAT.
published a selection of articles from the English journals, in
which the difEerences between Bavaria and Austria, and the
probabilities of a continental war, were discussed. Para-
graphs of this kind were from time to time inserted in the
newspapers, without any comment, as if to prepare us for
what might happen. These intimations — like the clouds
over mountain summits, which fall apart for a moment now
and then, and afford a glimpse of what is passing behind —
allowed us to have momentary peeps at the important dis-
cussions which were taking place in Europe, so that we
should not be much surprised when they resulted in a rup-
ture. After each glimpse the clouds would close again, and
we would remain in darkness until the storm burst.
I am about to speak of an important epoch, concerning
which my memory is full and faithful. It is that of the
conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal, and the crime to which it
led. "With respect to General Moreau, I shall repeat what I
have heard said, but shall be careful to aflBrm nothing. I
think it well to preface this narrative by a brief explanation
of the state of affairs at that time. Certain persons, some-
what closely connected with politics, were beginning to as-
sert that France felt the necessity of hereditary right in the
governing power. Political courtiers, and honest, sincere
revolutionists, seeing that the tranquillity of the country de-
pended on one life, were discussing the instability of the
Consulate. By degrees the thoughts of all were once more
turned to monarchy, and this would have had its advantages
if they could have agreed to establish a monarchy tempered
by the laws. Revolutions have this great disadvantage, that
they divide public opinion into an infinite number of varie-
ties, which are all modified by circumstances. This it is
which gives opportunity to that despotism which comes after
revolutions. To restrain the power of Bonaparte, it would
have been necessary to venture on uttering the word " Lib-
erty " ; but as, only a few years before, that word had been
used from one end of France to the other as a disguise for
TEE JACOBINS. 109
the worst kind of slavery, it inspired an unreasonable but
fatal repugnance.
The Koyalists, finding that day by day Bonaparte was
departing more widely from the path they had expected he
would take, were much disturbed. The Jacobins, whose op-
position the First Consul feared much more, were secretly
preparing for action, for they perceived that it was to their
antagonists that the Government was giving guarantees.
The Concordat, the advances made to the old nobility, the
destruction of revolutionary equality, all these things consti-
tuted an encroachment upon them. How happy would
France have been had Bonaparte contended only against the
factions ! But, to have done that, he must have been ani-
mated solely by the love of justice, and guided by the coun-
sels of a generous mind.
When a sovereign, no matter what his title may be, sides
with one or other of the violent parties which stir up civil
strife, it is certain that he has hostile intentions against the
rights of citizens, who have confided those rights to his keep-
ing. Bonaparte, in order to fix his despotic yoke upon
France, found himseK obliged to come to terms with the
Jacobins ; and, unfortunately, there are persons whom no
guarantee but that of crime will satisfy. Their ally must
involve himself in some of their iniquities. This motive had
a great deal to do with the death of the Due d'Enghien ;
and I am convinced that all which happened at that time was
the result of no violent feeling, of no blind revenge, but
simply of a Machiavellian policy, resolved to smooth its own
path at any cost. Neither was it for the gratification of vani-
ty that Bonaparte wanted to change his title of Consul for
that of Emperor. "We must not believe that he was always
ruled by insatiable passions ; he was capable of controlling
them by calculation, and, if in the end he allowed himself to
be led away, it was because he became intoxicated by success
and flattery. The comedy of republican equality, which he
was obliged to play so long as he remained Consul, annoyed
110 MEMOIRS OP MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
him, and in reality only deceived those who were willing to
be deceived. It resembled the political pretenses of ancient
Eome, when the Emperors from time to time had themselves
reelected by the Senate. I have heard persons who, having
put on the love of liberty like a garment, and yet paid assidu-
ons court to Bonaparte while he was First Consul, declare
that they had quite withdrawn their esteem from him so soon
as he conferred the title of Emperor upon himself. I never
could understand their argument. How was it possible that
the authority which he exercised almost from the moment of
his entrance into the government did not enhghten them as
to his actual position ? Might it not rather be said that he
gave a proof of sincerity in his assumption of a title whose
real powers he exercised ?
At the epoch of which I am treating, it became necessary
that the First Consul should strengthen his position by some
new measure. The English, who had been threatened, were
secretly exciting disturbances to act as diversions from the
projects formed against themselves ; their relations with the
Chouans were resumed ; and the Eoyalists regarded the Con-
sular Government as a mere transition state from the Direc-
tory to the Monarchy. One man only stood in the way ; it
became easy to conclude that he must be got rid of.
I remember to have heard Bonaparte say in the summer of
that year (1804) that for once events had hurried him, and
that he had not intended to establish royalty until two years
later. He had placed the police in the hands of the Minis-
ter of Justice. This was a sound and moral proceeding, but it
was contradicted by his intention that the magistracy should
use that police as it had been used when it was a revolution-
ary institution. I have already said that Bonaparte's first
ideas were generally good and great. To conceive and carry
them out was to exercise his power, but to submit to them
afterward savored of abdication. He was unable to endure
the dominion even of any of his own institutions. Restrained
by the slow and regular forms of justice, and also by the
fouohA 111
feebleness and mediocrity of his Chief Judge, he surrounded
himself with innumerable police agents, and by degrees
regained confidence in Fouche, who was an adept in the art
of making himself necessary. Fouche, a man of keen and
far-seeing intellect, a Jacobin grown rich, and consequently
disgusted with some of the principles of that party — with
which, howcTer, he still remained connected, so that he
might have support should trouble arise — had no objection
to invest Bonaparte with royalty. His natural flexibility
made him always ready to accept any form of government
in which he saw a post for himself. His habits were more
revolutionary than his principles, and the only state of things,
I believe, which he could not have endured, would have been
one which should make an absolute nonentity of him. To
make use of him one must thoroughly understand his dispo-
sition, and be very cautious in dealing with him, remember-
ing that he needed troublous times for the full display of his
capacity ; for, as he had no passions and no aversions, he rose at
such times superior to the generality of those about him, who
were all more or less actuated by either fear or resentment.
Fouche has denied that he advised the murder of the Due
d'Enghien. Unless there is complete certainty of the fact, I
see no reason for bringing the accusation of a crime against a
man who positively denies it. Besides, Fouch6, who was
very far-sighted, must have foreseen that such a deed would
give only a temporary guarantee to the party which Bona-
parte wanted to win. He knew the First Consul too well to
fear that he would think of replacing the King on a throne
which he might occupy himself , and there is little doubt
that, with the information he possessed, he would have pro-
nounced the murder of the Due d'Enghien to be a mistake.
M. de Talleyrand's plans were also served by his advice
that Bonaparte should invest himself with royalty. That
proceeding would suit M. de Talleyrand to a nicety. His
enemies, and even Bonaparte himself, have accused him of
having advised the murder of the unhappy prince. But
112 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE RMU3AT.
Bonaparte and his enemies are not credible on this point ;
the well-known character of M. de Talleyrand is against the
truth of the statement. He has said to me more than once
that Bonaparte informed him and the two Consuls of the
arrest of the Due d'Enghien and of his own unalterable de-
termination at the same time. He added that they all three
saw that words were useless, and therefore kept silence.
That was indeed a deplorable weakness, but one very com-
mon to M. de Talleyrand, who would not think of remon-
strating for the sake of conscience only, when he knew that
a line of action had been decided upon. Opposition and
bold resistance may take efEect upon any nature, however
resolute. A sovereign of a cruel and sanguinary disposition
will sometimes sacrifice his inclination to the force of reason
arrayed against it. Bonaparte was not cruel either by incli-
nation or on system ; he merely wanted to carry his point by
the quickest and surest method. He has himseM said that
at that time he was obliged to get rid of both Jacobins and
loyalists. The imprudence of the latter furnished him with
this fatal opportunity. He seized it ; and what I shall here-
after have to relate will show that it was with the coolest of
calculation, or rather of sophistry, that he shed illustrious and
innocent blood.
A few days after the first return of the Xing, the Due
de Eovigo [General Savary] presented himself at my house
one morning.* He then tried to clear himseK from the
accusations that were brought against him. He spoke to me
of the death of the Due d'Enghien. " The Emperor and I,"
he said, " were deceived on that occasion. One of the infe-
rior agents in Georges Cadoudal's conspiracy had been sub-
orned by my police. He came to us, and stated that one
night, when all the conspirators were assembled, the secret
amval of an important chief who could not yet be named
* The Due de Eovigo knew how intimate my husband and I were with M.
dc Talleyrand, and he was anxious to induce us to further his interests in that
quarter.
PICEEGRU. 113
had been announced to them. A few nights later, a person
appeared among them, to whom the others paid great respect.
The spy described the unknown so as to give us the impres-
sion that he was a prince of the house of Bourbon. About
the same time the Due d'Enghien had established himself
at Ettenheim, with the intention, no doubt, of awaiting the
result of the conspiracy. The police agents wrote that he
sometimes disappeared for several days together. We con-
cluded that at these times he came to Paris, and his arrest
was resolved upon. Afterward, when the spy was confront-
ed with the persons who had been arrested, he recognized Pi-
chegru as the important personage of whom he had spoken ;
and when I told this to Bonaparte he exclaimed, with a
stamp of his foot, 'Ah, the wretch! what has he made
me do ? ' "
To return to the facts. Pichegru arrived in France on
the 15th of January, 1804, and from the 25th of January was
concealed in Paris. It was known that, in the year 5 of the
Eepublie, General Moreau had denounced him to the Govern-
ment for keeping up relations with the house of Bourbon.
Moreau was supposed to hold Eepublican opinions ; but he
had probably then exchanged them for the idea of a constitu-
tional monarchy. I do not know whether his family would
now defend him as earnestly as they did then from the accu-
sation of having aided the plans of the Eoyalists, nor do I
know whether implicit confidence is to be placed on confes-
sions made in the reign of Louis XVIII. The conduct of
Moreau in 1813, and the honor paid to his memory by our
princes, might, however, fairly lead us to believe that they
had reason to count on him previously. At the period of
which I am now speaking, Moreau was deeply irritated
against Bonaparte. It has never been doubted that he visited
Pichegru in secret ; he certainly kept silence about the con-
spiracy. Some of the Eoyalists who were arrested at this
time declared that be had merely displayed that prudent
hesitation which waits to declare itseK for the success of a
114 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^USAT.
party. Moreau, it was said, was a feeble and insignificant
man, except on the field of battle, and overweigbted by his
reputation. " There are persons," said Bonaparte, " who do
not know how to wear their fame. The part of Monk suited
Moreau perfectly. In his place I should have acted as he
did, only more cleverly."
It is not, however^ in order to justify Bonaparte that I
mention my doubts. Whatever was Moreau's character, his
fame was real ; it ought to have been respected, and an old
comrade in arms, grown discontented and embittered, ought
to have been excused. A reconciliation with him, even if it
had only been a result of that political calculation which
Bonaparte discerned in the " Auguste " of Comeille, would
still have been the wisest proceeding. But I do not doubt
that Bonaparte was sincerely convinced of what he called
Moreau's moral treason, and he held that to be sufficient for
the law and for justice, because he always refused to look at
the true aspect of anything which was displeasing to himself.
He was assured that proofs to justify the condemnation of
Moreau were not wanting. He found himself committed to
a line of action, and afterward he refused to recognize any-
thing but party spirit in the equity of the tribunals ; and,
besides, he knew the most injurious thing which could hap-
pen to him woTild be that this interesting prisoner should
be declared innocent. When he found himself on the point
of being compromised, he would stop at nothing. From this
cause arose the deplorable incidents of the famous trial. The
conspiracy had been a subject of conversation for several
days. On the 17th of February, 1804, 1 went to the Tuile-
ries in the morning. The Consul was in the room with his
wife ; I was announced and shown in. Mme. Bonaparte was
in great distress ; her eyes were red with crying. Bonaparte
was sitting near the fireplace, with little Napoleon * on his
* The eldest child of Mme. Louis Bonaparte, afterward Queen Hortense. He
was bom on the 10th of October, 1802, and died of croup on the 6th of May,
1807.— P. R.
ARREST OF GENERAL MOREAU. 115
knees. He looked grave, but not agitated, and was playing
mechanicaUy with the child.
" Do you know what I have done i " said he. I answered
in the negative. " I have just given an order for Moreau's
arrest." 1 could not repress a start. " Ah, you are aston-
ished," said he. " There will be a great fuss about this, will
there not ? Of course, it wiU be said that I am jealous of
Moreau, that this is revenge, and other petty nonsense of the
same kind. I jealous of Moreau ! Why, he owes the best
part of his reputation to me. It was I who left a fine army
with him, and kept only recruits with myseK in Italy. I
wanted nothing more than to get on well with him. I cer-
tainly was not afraid of him ; I am not afraid of anybody,
and less of Moreau than of other people. I have hindered
him from committing himseM twenty times over. I warned
him that there would be mischief made between us ; he
knew that as well as I did. But he is weak and conceited ;
he allows women to lead him, and the various parties have
urged him."
While he was speaking Bonaparte rose, approached his
wife, and, taking her by the chin, made her hold up her
head. " Ha ! " he said, " every one has not got a good wife,
like me. You are crying, Josephine. What for, eh ? Are
you frightened ? " " No ; but I don't like to think of what
will be said." "What? How can that be helped ? " Then,
turning to me, he added, " I am not actuated by any enmity
or any desire of vengeance ; I have reflected deeply before
arresting Moreau. I might have shut my eyes, and given
him time to fly, but it would have been said that I did not
dare to bring him to trial. I have the means of convicting
him. He is guilty ; I am the Government ; the whole thing
is quite simple."
I can not tell whether the power of my old recollections
is still upon me, but I confess that even at this moment I can
hardly believe that when Bonaparte spoke thus he was not
sincere. I have watched each stage of progress in the art of
116 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
dissimulation, and I know that at that particular epoch he
stiU retaiaed certain accents of truthfulness, which after-
ward were no longer to be detected in his voice. Per-
haps, however, it was only that at that time I stiU believed
in him.
"With the above words he left us, and Mme. Bonaparte
told me that he remained up almost the whole of the night,
debating whether or not he should have Moreau arrested,
weighing the pros and cons of the measure, without any
symptom of personal feeling in the matter ; that then, toward
daybreak, he sent for General Berthier, and after a long in-
terview with him he determined on sending to Grosbois,
whither Moreau had retired.
This event gave rise to a great deal of discussion, and
opinion was much divided. General Moreau's brother, a
tribune, spoke with great vehemence at the Tribunate, and
produced considerable effect. A deputation was sent up by
the three representative bodies with an address of congratu-
lation to the First Consul. In Paris, all who represented the
liberal portion of the population, a section of the hourgeoisie,
lawyers, and men of letters, were warmly in favor of Moreau.
It was, of course, plain enough that political opposition formed
an element in the interest exhibited on his behalf ; his parti-
sans agreed that they would throng the court at which he
was to be brought up, and there was even a threatening
whisper about what should be done if he were condemned.
Bonaparte's police informed him that there was a plot to
break into Moreau's prison. This irritated him, and his
calmness began to give way. Murat, his brother-in-law, who
was then Governor of Paris, hated Moreau, and took care to
add to Bonaparte's exasperation by his daily reports to him,
he and Dubois, the Prefect of Police, combining together to
pursue him with alarming ramors. Events, unhappily, came
to the aid of their design. Each day a fresh ramification of
the conspiracy was discovered, and each day Parisian society
refused niore obstinately than on the preceding to believe
ARREST OF GENERAL MOREAU. 117
that there was any conspiracy at all. A war of opinion was
being waged between Bonaparte and the Parisians.
On the 29th of February Pichegru's hiding-place was dis-
covered, and he was arrested, "after a gallant struggle with
the gendarmes. This event somewhat shook the general in-
credulity, but public interest still centered in Moreau. His
wife's grief assumed a rather theatrical aspect, and this also
had its effect. In the mean time Bonaparte, who was igno-
rant of the formalities of law, found them much more tedi-
ous than he had expected. At the commencement of the
affair, the Chief Judge had too readily undertaken to sim-
plify and shorten the procedure, and now only one charge
was distinctly made : that Moreau had held secret conferences
with Pichegru, and had received his confidence, but without
pledging himseK positively to anything. This was not suffi-
cient to secure a condemnation, which was becoming a neces-
sity. In short, notwithstanding that great name which is
mixed up in the affair, Georges Cadoudal has always been
believed to have been, as at the trial he appeared to be, the
real leader of the conspiracy.
It would be impossible to describe the excitement that
pervaded the palace. Everybody was consulted ; the most
trifling conversations were repeated. One day Savary took
M. de Eemusat aside, and said, " You have been a magis-
trate, you know the laws ; do you think the details of this
affair that we are in possession of are sufficient for the infor-
mation of the judges ? " " No man," replied my husband,
" has ever been condemned merely because he did not reveal
projects with which he was made acquainted. No doubt
that is a political wrong with respect to the Government, but
it is not a crime which ought to involve the penalty of death ;
and, if that is your sole plea, you wUl only have furnished
Moreau with evidence damaging to yourselves." " In that
case," said Savary, "the Chief Judge has led us into making
a great blunder. It would have been better to have had a
military commission."
118 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE eMUSAT.
From the day of Picliegni's arrest, the gates of Paris
were shut, while search was made for Georges Cadoudal, who
eluded pursuit with extraordiu'ary success. ' Fouche, who
laid the foundations of his new reputation on this occasion,
mercilessly ridiculed the unskillfulness of the police, and his
comments enraged Bonaparte, who was already angry enough ;
so that, when he had incurred a real danger, and saw that the
Parisians were disinclined to believe the statement of the
facts, he began to wish for revenge. "Judge," said he,
"whether the French can ever be governed by legal and
moderate institutions ? I have put down a revolutionary but
useful department of the ministry, and conspiracies are im-
mediately formed. I have foregone my own personal feel-
ings ; I have handed over the punishment of a man who in-
tended to kill me to an authority independent of myself ;
and, far from giving me any thanks for all this, people laugh
at my moderation, and assign corrupt motives to my conduct.
I will teach them to belie my intentions. I will lay hold of
all my powers again, and prove to them that I alone am
made to govern, to decide, and to punish."
Bonaparte grew more and more angry as he became
aware, from moment to moment, that something was amiss
with himself. He had thought to rule public opinion, but
here was public opinion escaping from his hold. He had
been ruled himself by it in the outset of his career, I am
certain, and he had gained no credit by that ; so he resolved
that never again would he be so mistaken. It will seem
strange, to those who do not know how utterly the wearing
of a uniform destroys the habit of thinking, that not the
slightest uneasiness was felt on this occasion with respect to
the army. Military men do everything by word of com-
mand, and they abstain from opinions which are not pre-
scribed to them. Very few officers remembered then that
they had fought and conquered imder Moreau, and the lour-
geoisie was much more excited about the affair than any
other class.
ARREST OF GENERAL MOREAU. 119
The Polignaes, M. de Riviere, and some others Avere
arrested. Then the public began to think there really was
some truth in the story of the conspiracy, and that the plot
was a Royalist one. Nevertheless, the Republican party
still demanded Moreau. The nobility were alarmed and
kept very quiet ; they condemned the imprudence of the
Polignaes, who have since acknowledged that they were not
seconded with so much zeal as they had been led to expect.
The error into which they fell, and to which the Royalist
party was always prone, was that they believed in the exist-
ence of what they desired, and acted upon their illusions.
This is a mistake common to men who are led by their pas-
sions or by their vanity.
I suffered a great deal at this time. At the Tuileries the
First Consul was moody and silent, his wife was frequently
in tears, his family were angry ; his sister exasperated him
by her violent way of talking. In society opinions were
divided : on the one hand were distrust, suspicion, indignant
satisfaction ; on the other, regret that the attempt had failed
and passionate condemnation. All these contentions dis-
tracted and upset me. I shut myself up with my mother
and my hxisband ; we questioned one another about all that
we heard and everything that we respectively thought. M.
de Remusat's steady rectitude of mind was grieved by the
errors which were perpetrated ; and, as his judgment was
quite uninfluenced by passion, he began to dread the future,
and imparted to me his sagacious and melancholy prevision
of a character which he studied closely and silently. His
apprehensions distressed me ; the doubts which were spring-
ing up in my own mind rendered me very unhappy. Alas !
the moment was drawing near when I was to be far more
painfully enlightened.
CHAPTEE V.
The Arrest of Georges Cadoudal— The Mission of M. de Caulaitieourt to Ettenheim
—The Arrest of the Duo d'Enghien — My Distress and my Urgency with Mme.
Bonaparte — An Evening at Mahnaison — The Death of the Due d'Enghien —
Eemarkahle "Words of the First Consul.
Aftee the arrests whicli I have already recorded, there
appeared in the "Moniteur" certain articles from the
"Morning Chronicle," in which -it was stated that the death
of Bonaparte and the restoration of Louis XVIII. were ini-
minent. It was added that persons newly arrived from
London affirmed that speculation upon these eventualities
was rife on the Stock Exchange, and that Georges Cadoudal,
Pichegru, and Moreau were named openly there. In the
same " Moniteur " appeared a letter from an Englishman to
Bonaparte, whom he addressed as " Monsieur Consul." The
purport of this letter was to recommend, as specially appli-
cable to Bonaparte, a pamphlet written in Cromwell's time,
which tended to prove that persons such as Cromwell and
Hmself could not be assassinated, because there was no crime
in killing a dangerous animal or a tyrant. " To kill is not to
assassinate in such cases," said the pamphlet ; " the difference
is great."
In France, however, addresses from all the towns and
from all the regiments, and pastorals by aU the Bishops,
complimenting the First Consul and congratulating France
on the danger which had been escaped, were forwarded to
Paris ; and these documents were punctually inserted in the
" Moniteur."
At length, on the 29th of March, Georges Cadoudal was
ARREST OF GE0R0E8 CADOUDAL. 121
arrested in the Place de I'Odeon. He was in a cabriolet,
and, perceiving that he was followed, he urged on his horse.
A gendarme bravely caught the animal by the head, and was
shot dead by Cadoudal ; the cabriolet was, however, stopped
owing to the crowd which instantly collected at the noise of
the pistol-shot, and Cadoudal was seized. Between sixty
thousand and eighty thousand francs in notes were found on
him, and given to the widow of the man whom he had
killed. The newspapers stated that he acknowledged he had
come to France for no other purpose than to assassinate
Bonaparte ; but I remember to have heard at the time that
the prisoner, whose courage and firmness during the whole
of the proceedings were unshaken, and who evinced great
devotion to the house of Bourbon, steadily denied that there
had ever been any purpose of assassination, whUe admitting
that his intentions had been to attack the carriage of the
First Consul, and to carry him ofE without hai-ming him.
At this time the King of England (George III.) was
taken seriously iU, and our Government reckoned upon his
death to insure the retirement of Mr. Pitt from the ministry.
On the 21st of March the following appeared in the
" Moniteur " : " Prince de Conde has addressed a circular to
the emigres, with a view to collecting them on the Ehine.
A prince of the house of Bourbon is now on the frontier for
that purpose."
Immediately afterward the secret correspondence that
had been taken from Mr. Drake, the accredited English
Minister in Bavaria, was published. These proved that the
English Government was leaving no means untried of creat-
ing disturbance in France. M. de Talleyrand was directed
to send copies of this correspondence to all the members of
the Corps Diplomatique, and they expressed their indigna-
tion in letters which were iaserted in the " Moniteur."
Holy Week was approaching. On Passion Sunday, the
18th of March, my week of attendance on Mme. Bonaparte
began. I went to the Tuileries in the morning, in time for
122 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMUSAT.
mass, which was again celebrated with all the former pomp.
After mass, Mme. Bonaparte received company in the great
drawing-room, and remained for some time, talking to sev-
eral persons. When we went down to her private apart-
ments, she informed me that we were to pass that week at
Malmaison. " I am very glad," she added ; "Paris frightens
me just now." Shortly afterward we set out; Bonaparte
was in his own carriage, Mme. Bonaparte and myself in hers.
I observed that she was very silent and sad for a part of the
way, and I let her see that I was uneasy about her. At first
she seemed reluctant to give me any explanation, but at
length she said, " I am going to trust you with a great secret.
This morning Bonaparte told me that he had sent M. de
Caulaincourt to the frontier to seize the Due d'Enghien.
He is to be brought back here." "Ah, madame," I ex-
claimed, " what are they going to do with him ? " "I be-
lieve," she answered, " he wiU have him tried." I do not
think I have ever in my life experienced such a thrill of
terror as that which her words sent through me. Mme.
Bonaparte thought I was going to faint, and let down all the
glasses. " I have done what I could," she went on, " to in-
duce him to promise me that the prince's life shall not
be taken, but I am greatly afraid his mind is made np."
" What, do you really think he will have him put to death ? "
" I fear so." At these words I burst into tears, and then, so
soon as I could master my emotion sufficiently to be able to
speak, I urged upon her the fatal consequences of such a
deed, the indelible stain of the royal blood, whose shedding
would satisfy the Jacobin party only, the strong interest
with which the prince inspired all the other parties, the great
name of Cond6, the general horror, the bitter animosity
which would be aroused, and many other considerations. I
urged every side of the question, of which Mme. Bonaparte
contemplated one only. The idea of a murder was that
which had struck her most strongly; but I succeeded in
seriously alarming her, and she promised me that she would
TRE MISSION OF M. OAULAINOOURT. 123
endeavor by eveiy means in her power to induce Bonaparte
to relinquish his fatal purpose.
We both arrived at Malmaison in the deepest dejection.
I took refuge at once in my own room, where I wept bitter-
ly. I was completely overwhelmed by this terrible discov-
ery. I liked and admired Bonaparte ; I believed him to be
called by an invincible power to the highest of human desti-
nies; I allowed my youthful imagination to run riot con-
cerning him. All in a moment, the veil which hid the truth
from my eyes was torn away, and by my own feelings at that
instant I could only too accurately divine what woiild be the
general opinion of such an act.
There was no one at Malmaison to whom I could speak
freely. My husband was not in waiting, and had remained
in Paris. I was obliged to control my agitation, and to
make my appearance with an unmoved countenance; for
Mme. Bonaparte had earnestly entreated me not to let Bo-
naparte divine that she had spoken to me of this matter.
On going down to the drawing-room at six o'clock, I
found the First Consul playing a game of chess. He ap-
peared quite serene and calm ; it made me ill to look at his
face. So completely had my mind been upset by all that
had passed through it during the last two hours, that I could
not regard him with the feelings which his presence usually
inspired ; it seemed to me that I must see some extraordinary
alteration in him. A few officers dined with him. JSTothing
whatever of any significance occurred. After dinner he
withdrew to his cabinet, where he transacted business with
his police. That night, when I was leaving Mme. Bona-
parte, she again promised me that she would renew her en-
treaties.
I joined her as early as I could on the following morning,
and found her quite in despair. Bonaparte had repelled her
at every point. He had told her that women had no concern
with such matters ; that his policy required this coup d'etat ;
that by it he should acquire the right to exercise clemency
124 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
hereafter ; that, in fact, he was forced to choose between this
decisive act and a long series of conspiracies which he would
have to punish in detail, as impunity would have encouraged
the various parties. He should have to go on prosecuting,
exiling, condemning, without end ; to revoke his measures
of mercy toward the emigres / to place himseK in the hands
of the Jacobins. The Koyalists had more than once com-
promised him with the revolutionists. The contemplated
action would set him free from all parties alike. Besides,
the Due d'Enghien, after all, had joined in the conspiracy of
Georges Cadoudal ; he was a cause of disturbance to France,
and a tool in the hands of England for effecting her purposes
of vengeance. The prince's military reputation might in the
future prove a source of trouble in the army ; whereas by
his death the last link between our soldiers and the Bourbons
would be broken. In politics, a death which tranquillizes a
nation is not a crime. Finally, he had given his orders — he
would not withdraw them ; there was an end of the matter.
During this interview, Mme. Bonaparte informed her
husband that he was about to aggravate the heinousness of
the deed by the selection of M. de Caulaincoui-t, whose pa-
rents had formerly been in the household of the Prince de
Conde, as the person who was to arrest the Due d'Enghien.
" I did not know that," replied Bonaparte ; " but what does
it matter? If Caulaincourt is compromised, there is no
gi-eat harm in that ; indeed, it will only make him serve me
all the better, and the opposite party will henceforth forgive
him for being a gentleman." He then added that M. de
Caulaincourt, who had been informed of only a portion of
his plan, believed that the Due d'Enghien was to be impris-
oned in France.
My heart failed me at these words. M. de Caulaincourt
was a friend of mine. It seemed to me that he ought to
have refused to undertake such a task as that which had been
imposed upon him.
The day passed drearily. I remember that Mme. Bona-
MY DISTRESS AND URGENCY. 125
parte, ■who was very fond of trees and flowers, was busy dur-
ing the morning superintending the transplanting of a cy-
press to a newly laid-out portion of her garden. She threw
a few handfuls of earth on the roots of the tree, so that she
might say that she had planted it with her own hands. " Ah,
madame," said I to her, as I observed her doing so, "a
cypress is just the tree to suit such a day as this." I have
never passed by that cypress since without a thrill of pain.
My profound emotion distressed Mme. Bonaparte. She
had great faith in all Bonaparte's views, and, owing to her
natural levity and ficldeness, she excessively disliked painful
or lasting impressions. Her feelings were quick, but extra-
ordinarily evanescent. Being convinced that the death of
the Due d'Enghien was inevitable, she wanted to get rid of
an unavailing regret ; but I would not allow her to do so.
I importuned her all day long, without ceasing. She listened
to me with extreme gentleness and kindness, but in utter
dejection ; she knew Bonaparte better than I. I wept while
talking to her ; I implored her not to allow herself to be put
down, and, as I was not without influence over her, I suc-
ceeded in inducing her to make a last attempt.
" Mention me to the First Consul, if necessary," said I.
" I am of very little importance, but at least he will be able
to judge of the impression he is about to make by the effect
upon me, and I am more attached to him than other people
are. I, who would ask nothing better than to find excuses
for him,, can not see even one for what he intends to do."
We saw very little of Bonaparte during the whole of that
second day. The Chief Judge, the Prefect of Police, and
Murat all came to Malmaison, and had prolonged audience
of the First Consul ; I augured ill from their countenances.
I remained up a great part of the night ; and when at length
I fell asleep my dreams were frightful. I fancied that I
heard constant movements in the chateau, and that a fresh
attempt was about to be made upon our lives. I was pos-
sessed with a strong desire to go and throw myself at Bona-
126 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
parte's feet, and implore him to take pity upon his own fame,
■which I then believed to be very pure and bright, and I
grieved heartily over the tarnishing of it. The hours of that
night can never be effaced from my memory.
On the Tuesday morning Mme. Bonaparte said to me,
" All is useless. The Due d'Enghien arrives this evening.
He will be taken to Vincennes and tried to-night. Murat
has undertaken the whole. He is odious in this matter ; it is
he who is urging Bonaparte on, by telling him that his clem-
ency will be taken for weakness, that the Jacobins will be
furious, and one party is now displeased because the former
fame of Moreau has not been taken into consideration, and
wiU ask why a Bourbon should be differently treated. Bona-
parte has forbidden me to speak to him again on the sub-
ject. He asked me about you," she added, " and I acknowl-
edged that I had told you everything. He had perceived
your distress. Pray try to control yourself."
At this I lost all self-restraint, and exclaimed, " Let him
think what he likes of me. It matters very little to me,
madame, I assure you ; and if he asks me why I am weeping,
I will tell him that I weep for him." And, in fact, I again
burst into tears.
Mme. Bonaparte was thrown into utter consternation by
the state I was in — she was almost a stranger to any strong
mental emotion ; and when she tried to calm me by reassur-
ing words I could only say to her, " Ah, madame, you do not
understand me!" After this event, she said, Bonaparte
would go on just as he had done before. Alas ! it was not
the future which was troubling me. I did not doubt his
power over himself and others. The anguish that filled my
whole being was interior and personal.
Dinner hour came, and she had to go down with a com-
posed face. Mine was quite beyond my control. Again Bo-
naparte was playing chess : he had taken a fancy to that game.
Immediately on perceiving me he called me to him, saying
that he wanted to consult me. I was not able to speak. He
AN EVENINa AT MALMAISON. 127
addressed me in a tone of kindness and interest, whicli in-
creased mj confusion and distress. When dinner was served,
lie placed me near himself, and asked me a number of ques-
tions about the affairs of my family. He seemed bent on
bewildering me, and hindering me from thinking. Little
ISTapoleon (the son of Louis and Hortense) had been brought
down from Paris ; and his uncle placed the child in the mid-
dle of the table, and seemed much amused when he pulled
the dishes about, and upset everything within his reach.
After dinner he sat on the floor, playing with the boy,
and apparently in very high spirits, but, it seemed to me, as-
sumed. Mme. Bonaparte, who was afi'aid that he would
have been angry at what she had told him about me, looked
from him to me, smiling sweetly, as if she would have said,
" You see, he is not so bad after all ; we may make our
minds easy."
I hardly knew where I was. I felt as though I were
dreaming a bad dream ; no doubt I looked bewildered. Sud-
denly, fixing a piercing gaze on me, Bonaparte said, " Why
have you no rouge on % You are too pale." I answered
that I had forgotten to put on any. " What ! " said he, " a
woman forget to put on her rouge?" And then, with a
loud laugh, he turned to his wife and added, " That would
never happen to you, Josephine." I was greatly disconcert-
ed, and he completed my discomfiture by remarking, " Two
things are very becoming to women — rouge and tears."
When General Bonaparte was in high spirits, he was
equally devoid of taste and moderation, and on such occasions
his manners smacked of the barrack-room. He went on for
some time jesting with his wife with more freedom than
delicacy, and then challenged me to a game of chess. He
did not play well, and never would observe the correct
" moves." I allowed him to do as he liked ; every one in
the room kept silence. Presently he began to mutter some
lines of poetry, and then repeated a little louder, " Soyons ami,
Cinna," and Guzman's lines in Act v. Scene vii. of " Alzire " :
12
128 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
" Des dieux que nous servons connais la difference :
Les tiens t'ont command^ le meurtre et la vengeance :
Et le mien, quand ton bras vient de m'assassiner,
M'ordonne de te plaindre et de te paxdonner."
As he half whispered the line,
" Et le mien, quand ton bras vient de m'assassiner,"
I could not refrain from raising my eyes and looking at him.
He smiled, and went on repeating the verses. In truth, at
that moment I did believe that he had deceived his wife and
everybody else, and was planning a grand scene of magnani-
mous pardon. I caught eagerly at this idea, and it restored
me to composure. My imagination was very juvenile in
those days, and I longed so much to be able to hope !
" You like poetry ? " Bonaparte asked me. How I longed
to answer, " Especially when the lines are applicable " ; but
I did not dare to utter the words. I may as well mention ia
this place that the very day after I had set down the above
reminiscence, a friend lent me a book entitled " Memoires
Secretes sur la Vie de Lucien Bonaparte." This work, which
is probably written by a secretary of Lucien's, is inaccurate
in several instances. Some notes added at the end are said
to be vmtten by a person worthy of belief. I found among
them the following, which struck me as curious : " Lucien
was informed of the death of the Due d'Enghien by General
Hullin, a relative of Mme. Jouberthon, who came to her
house some hours after that event, looking the image of grief
and consternation. The Military Council had been assured
that the First Consul only purposed to assert his authority,
and fully intended to pardon the prince, and certain lines
from 'Alzire,' commencing
' Des dieux que nous servons connais la difference,'
had been quoted to them."
But to resume. We went on with our game, and his
gayety gave me more and more confidence. We were still
DEATH OF THE DUG B'ENGHIEN. 129
playing when the sound of carnage-wheels was heard, and
presently General Hullin was announced. Bonaparte pushed
away the chess-table roughly, rose, and went into the adjoin-
ing gaUery. There he remained all the rest of the evening,
with Murat, IluUin, and Savary. We saw no more of him,
and yet I went to my room feeling more easy. I could not
believe but that Bonaparte must be moved by the fact of
having such a victim in his hands. I hoped the prince would
ask to see him ; and in fact he did so, adding, " If the First
Consul would consent to see me, he would do me justice, for
he would know that I have done my duty." My idea was
that Bonaparte would go to Vincennes, and publicly grant
the prince pardon in person. If he were not going to act
thus, why should he have quoted those lines from " Alzire " ?
That night, that terrible night, passed. Early in the
morning I went down to the drawing-room, and there I
found Savary. He was deadly pale, and I must do him the
justice to say that his face betrayed great agitation. He
spoke to me with trembling lips, but his words were quite
insignificant. I did not question him ; for persons of his
kind win always say what they want to say without being
asked, although they never give answers.
Mme. Bonaparte came in, looked at me very sadly, and,
as she took her seat, said to Savary, " Well — so it is done ? "
" Yes, madame," he answered. " He died this morning, and,
I am bound to acknowledge, with great courage." I was
struck dumb with horror.
Mme. Bonaparte asked for details. They have all been
made known since. The prince was taken to one of the
trenches of the chateau. Being offered a handkerchief to
bind his eyes with, he rejected it with dignity, and, address-
ing the gendarmes, said, " You are Frenchmen : at least you
wiU do me the service not to miss your aim." He placed in
Savary's hands a ring, a lock of hair, and a letter for Mme.
de Bohan ; and all these Savaiy showed to Mme. Bonaparte.
The letter was open ; it was brief and tender. I do not
130 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
know whether these last wishes of the unfortunate prince
were carried out.
"After his death," said Savary, "the gendarmes were
told that they might take his clothes, his watch, and the
money he had in his pocket ; bat not one of them would
touch anything. People may say what they like, but one
can not see a man like that die as coolly as one can see others.
I feel it hard to get over it."
Presently Eugene de Beauharnais made his appearance.
He was too young to have recollections of the past, and in
his eyes the Due d'Enghien was simply a conspirator against
the life of his master. Then came certain generals, whose
names I will not set down here ; and they approved of the
deed so loudly that Mme. Bonaparte thought it necessary to
apologize for her own dejection, by repeating over and over
again the unmeaning sentence, " I am a woman, you know,
and I confess I could cry."
In the course of the morning a number of visitors came
to the Tuileries. Among them were the Consuls, the Min-
isters, and Louis Bonaparte and his wife. Louis preserved a
sullen silence, which seemed to imply disapprobation. Mme.
Louis was so frightened that she did not dare to feel, and
seemed to be asking what she ought to think. Women, even
more than men, were subjugated by the magic of that sacra-
mental phrase of Bonaparte's — "My pohcy." With those
words he crushed one's thoughts, feelings, and even impres-
sions ; and, when he uttered them, no one in the palace,
especially no woman, would have dared to ask him what he
meant.
My husband also came during the morning, and his pre-
sence relieved me from the terrible oppression from which I
was suffering. He, like myseK, was grieved and downcast.
How grateful I was to him for not lecturing me upon the
absolute necessity of our appearing perfectly composed under
the circumstances ! We sympathized in every feeling. He
told me that the general sentiment in Paris was one of dis-
TSE FIRST C0N8UV8 REMARKABLE WORDS. 131
gust, and that the heads of the Jacobin party said, " He be-
longs to us now." He added the following words, which I
have frequently recalled to mind since : " The Consul has
taken a line which will force him into laying aside the use-
ful, in order to efface this recollection, and into dazzling ns
by the extraordinary and the unexpected." He also said to
Mme. Bonaparte : " There is one important piece of advice
which you ought to give the First Consul. It is that he
should not lose a moment in restoring public confidence.
Opinion is apt to be precipitate in Paris. He ought at least
to prove to the people that the event which has just occurred
is not due to the development of a cruel disposition, but to
reasons whose force I am not called upon to determine, and
which ought to make him very circumspect."
Mme. Bonaparte fully appreciated the advice of M. de
Eemusat, and immediately repeated his words to her husband.
He seemed well disposed to listen to her, and answered
briefly, " That is quite true." On rejoining Mme. Bonaparte
before dinner, I found her in the gallery, with her daughter
and M. de Caulaincourt, who had just arrived. He had
superintended the arrest of the prince, but had not accom-
panied him to Paris. I recoiled at the sight of him. " And
you, too," said he, addressing me, so that all could hear him,
"you are going to detest me! And yet I am only unfor-
tunate ; but that I am in no small degree, for the Consul has
disgraced me by this act. Such is the reward of my devotion
to him. I have been shamefully deceived, and I am now
ruined." He shed tears while speaking, and I could not but
pity him.
Mme. Bonaparte assured me afterward that he had spoken
in the same way to the First Consul, and I was myself a
witness to his maintenance of a severe and angry bearing
toward Bonaparte, who made many advances to him, but for
a long time in vain. The First Consul laid out his plans be-
fore him, but found him cold and uninterested ; then he made
him brilliant offers, by way of arnends, which were at first
132 MEMOIRS 01 MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
rejected. Perhaps they ought to have been always re-
fused.
In. the mean time public opinion declared itself strongly
against M. de Caulaincourt. Certain persons condemned
the aide-de-camp mercilessly, while they made excuses for
the master; and such injustice exasperated M. de Caulain-
court, who might have bowed his head before frank and
candid censure, fairly distributed between them. When,
however, he saw that every sort of aflEront was to be heaped
on him, in order that the real culprit might go quite free, he
conceived an utter disdain for these people, and consented to
force them into silence by placing himself in a position of
such authority as would enable him to overrule them. He
was urged to take this course by Bonaparte, and also by his
own ambition. " Do not act like a fool," said the former.
" If you retreat before the blows which are aimed at you,
you will be done for ; no one will give you any thanks or
credit for your tardy opposition to my wishes, and you will
be all the more heavily censured because you are not formid-
able." By dint of similar reasoning frequently reiterated,
and by the employment of every sort of device for consoling
and coaxing M. de Caulaincourt, Bonaparte succeeded in
appeasing his resentment, and by degrees he raised him to
posts of great dignity about his own person. The weakness
which induced M. de Caulaincourt to pardon the indelible
injury which the First Consul had done him may be more
or less blamed ; but, at least, it should be admitted that he
was never a blind or servile courtier, and that he remained to
the last among the small number of Bonaparte's servants who
never neglected an opportunity of telling him the truth.*
* M. de Caulaincourt retained the same feelings all his life, and very severely
condemned the policy and the personal character of Bonaparte, whoso fatal pro-
jcets he frequently endeavored to avert. M. Monnier, the son of the celebrated
member of the Assemblies of the Revolution, with whom my father was very in-
timate in his youth, told him that in the campaign of 1813 M. de Caulaincourt,
then Due de Vienne, while accompanying the Emperor with several members of
his staff and of his household, saw a shell strike the ground close by Napoleon.
TBE FISST CONSUL'S REMARKABLE WORDS. 133
Before dinner, botli Mme. Bonaparte and her daughter
entreated me to command my countenance as much, as pos-
sible. The former told me that her husband had asked her
that morning what effect the deplorable news had produced
upon me: and on her replying that I had wept, he said,
" That is a matter of course ; she merely did what was to be
expected of her as a woman. You don't understand any-
thing about our business ; but it will all subside and every-
body will see that I have not made a blunder."
At length dinner was announced. In addition to the
household officers on duty for that week, the dinner-party
included M. and Mme. Louis Bonaparte, Eugene Beauharnais,
M. de Caulaincourt, and General HuUin, who was then Com-
mandant of Paris. The sight of this man affected me pain-
fully. His expression of face, perfectly unmoved, was just
the same on that day as it had been on the preceding.* I
quite believe that he did not think he had done an iU deed,
or that he had performed an act of zeal in presiding over the
mihtary commission which condemned the prince. Bonaparte
rewarded the fatal service which he had rendered him with
money and promotion, but he said more than once, when he
noted Hullin's presence, " The sight of him annoys me ; he
reminds me of things which I do not like."
Bonaparte did not come into the drawing-room at all ; he
went from his cabinet to the dinner-table. He affected no
high spirits that day ; on the contrary, he remained during
the whole time of dinner in a profound reverie. We were
all very silent. Just as we were about to rise from table, the
First Consul said, in a harsh, abrupt tone, as if in reply to
He rode up, putting his liorse between tlie Emperor and the missile, and covered
him as much as possible from the fragments of the shell, which happily explod-
ed without hitting anybody. In the evening, M. Monnier, who was supping at
headquarters, spoke to him of this deed of bravery, by which he had risked his
own life to save that of his master. " That is true," replied the Due de Vienne,
" and yet I could not believe that there is a God in heaven if that man were to
die on the throne."
* I have since been assured that he was deeply grieved.
134 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
Ms own thoughts, "At least they will see what we are capa-
ble of, and henceforth, I hope, they will leave us alone."
He then passed on into the drawing-room, where he talked
for a long time in a low voice with his wife, looking at me
now and then, but without any anger in his glance. I sat
apart from all, downcast and ill, without either the power or
the wish to utter a word.
Presently Joseph Bonaparte and M. and Mme. Bacciochi*
arrived, accompanied by M. de Fontanes.f Lucien was on
bad terms with his brother, who had objected to his marriage
with Mme. Jouberthon, and came no more to the palace;
indeed, he was then making ready to leave France. During
the evening, Murat, Dubois, who was Prefect of Police, the
members of the Council of the State, and others -arrived,
all with composed faces. The conversation was at first tri-
fling and awkward : the women sitting silent, the men stand-
ing in a semicircle, Bonaparte walking about from one side
of the room to the other. Presently he began a discussion,
half literary, half historical, with M. de Fontanes. The men-
tion of certain names which belong to history gave him an
opportunity of bringing out his opinion of some of our
kings and great military commanders. I remarked on this
evening that he dwelt on dethronements of every kind, both
actual and such as are effected by a change of mind. He lauded
Charlemagne, but maintained that France had always been
en decadence under the Yalois. He depreciated the great-
ness of Henry lY. " He was wanting," said he, " in gravi-
ty. Good nature is an affectation which a sovereign ought
to avoid. What does he want % Is it to remind those who
surround him that he is a man like any other ? What non-
sense ! So soon as a man is a king he is apart from all, and
I have always held that the instinct of true policy was in
* M. Bacciochi was then a colonel of dragoons, and had nothing whatever to
do with politics. He had a passion for the Tiolin, and played all day.
f M. de Fontanes was appointed President of the Corps Lfigislatif at this
time, and afterward perpetual President.
THE FIRST CONSUL'S REMARKABLE WORDS. 135
Alexander's idea of making himseK out to be the descendant
of a god." He added that Louis XIV. knew the French bet-
ter than Henry IV. ; but he hastened to add that Louis had
allowed " priests and an old woman " to get the better of
him, and he made some coarse remarks on that poiut. Then
he held forth on Louis XIV.'s generals, and on military-
science in general.
"Military science," said Bonaparte, "consists in calcu-
lating all the chances accurately in the first place, and then
in giving accident exactly, almost mathematically, its place
in one's calculations. It is upon this point that one must
not deceive one's self, and that a decimal more or less may
change all. Now, this apportioning of accident and science
can not get into any head except that of a genius, for genius
must exist wherever there is a creation ; and assuredly the
grandest improvisation of the human mind is the gift of an
existence to that which has it not. Accident, hazard, chance,
whatever you choose to call it, a mystery to ordinary minds,
becomes a reality to superior men. Turenne did not think
about it, and so he had nothing but method. I think," he
added with a smile, " I should have beaten him. Conde had
a better notion of it than Turenne, but then he gave himself
up to it with impetuosity. Prince Eugene is one of those
who understood it best. Henry IV. always put braveiy in
the place of everything ; he only fought actions — ^he would
not have come well out of a pitched battle. Catinat has
been cried up chiefly from the democratic point of view ; I
have, for my own part, carried off a victory on the spot where
he was beaten. The philosophers have worked up his repu-
tation after their own fancy, and that was all the easier to
do, because one may say anything one likes about ordinary
people who have been lifted into eminence by circumstances
not of their own creating. A man, to be really great, no
matter in what order of greatness, must have actually im-
provised a portion of his own glory — ^must have shown him-
self superior to the event which he has brought about. For
136 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
instance, Csesar acted now and then with weakness, which
makes me suspect the praises that are lavished on him in
history.
" I am rather doubtful of your friends the historians, M.
de Fontanes. Even your Tacitus himself explains nothing ;
he arrives at certain residts without indicating the routes that
have been followed. He is, I think, able as a writer, but
hardly so as a statesman. He depicts l^ero as an execrable
tyrant, and then he tells us, almost in the same page with a
description of the pleasure he felt in burning down Rome,
that the people loved him. All that is not plain and clear.
Believe me, we are sometimes the dupes of our beliefs — of
Avriters who have fabricated history for us in accordance
with the natural bent of their own minds. But do you know
whose history I should like to read, if it were well written ?
That of King Frederick II. of Prussia. I hold him to be
one of those who has best understood his business in every
sort of way. These ladies " — here he turned to us — " will
not be of my opinion ; they will say that he was harsh and
selfish. But, after all, is a great statesman made for feeling?
Is he not a completely eccentric personage, who stands al-
ways alone, on his own side, with the. world on the other?
The glass through which he looks is that of his policy ; his
sole concern ought to be that it should neither magnify nor
diminish. And, while he observes objects with attention, he
must also be careful to hold the reins equally ; for the chariot
which he drives is often drawn by ill-matched horses. How,
then, is he to occupy himself with those fine distinctions of
feelings which are important to the generality of mankind ?
Can he consider the affections, the ties of kinship, the puerile
arrangements of society? In such a position as his, how
many actions are regarded separately, and condemned, al-
though they are to contribute as a whole to that great work
which the public does not discern ? One day, those deeds
will terminate the creation of the Colossus which will be the
wonder of posterity. And you, mistaken as you are — you
THE FIS8T OONSUVS REMARKABLE WORDS. 137
will withhold your praises, because you are afraid lest the
movement of that great machine should crush you, as Gulli-
ver crushed the Lilliputians when he moved his legs. Be
advised ; go on in advance of the time, enlarge your imagina-
tion, look out afar, and you will see that those great person-
ages whom you think violent and cruel are only politic.
They know themselves better, they judge themselves more
correctly than you do ; and, when they are really able men,
they know how to master their passions, for they even calcu-
late the effects of them."
Frbm this, which was a kind of manifesto, the opinions
of Bonaparte may be gathered, and also a notion of the rapid
succession in which his ideas followed each other when he
allowed himself to talk. It sometimes happened that his
discourse would be less consecutive, for he put up well
enough with interruptions ; but on the day in question every
one seemed to be benumbed in his presence ; no one ven-
tured to take up certain applications of his words, which it
was evident he intended. He had never ceased walking to
and fro while he was talking, and this for more than an hour.
Many other things which he said have escaped my memory.
At length, abruptly breaking off the chain of his ideas, he
directed M. de Fontanes to read aloud certain extracts from
Drake's correspondence, which I have already mentioned, all
relating to the conspiracy. When the reading of the extracts
was concluded, " There are proofs here," said he, " that can
not be disputed. These people wanted to throw France into
confusion, and to destroy the Kevolution by destroying me ;
it was my duty both to defend and to avenge the Revolution.
I have proved of what it is capable. The Due d'Enghien
was a conspirator like any other, and he had to be treated as
such. The whole affair, moreover, was arranged without
caution or accurate knowledge of the ground, on the faith of
some obscure correspondence ; a few credulous old women
wrote letters, and were believed. The Bourbons will never
see anything except through the (EiVde-Bceuf, and they are
138 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtMTJSAT.
fated to be perpetually deluded. The Polignacs made sure
that every house in Paris would be open to them ; and, when
they arrived here, not a single noble would receive them.
If all these fools were to kill me, they would not get their
own way ; they would only put angry Jacobins in my place.
The day of etiquette is over, but the Bourbons can not give
it up. If ever you see them return, mark my words that it
will be the first subject that will occupy their minds. Ah !
it would have been another story could they have been seen,
like Henry lY., covered with dust and blood on a battle-
field. A kingdom is not got back by dating a letter from
London, and signing it ' Louis.' Nevertheless, such a letter
compromises imprudent people, and I am obliged to punish
them, although I feel a sort of pity for them. I have shed
blood ; it was necessary to do so. I may have to shed more,-
but not out of anger — simply because blood-letting is one of
the remedies in political medicine. I am the man of the
State ; I am the French Bevolution. I say it, and I will up-
hold it."
After this last declaration, Bonaparte dismissed us all.
We dispersed without daring to interchange our ideas, and
thus ended this fatal day.*
* The murder of the Duo d'Enghien is an inexhaustible subject of contro-
versy between the opponents of the Empire and the supporters of Napoleon.
In the most recent and important works of historians and memoir-writers, there
is nothing to contradict the above narrative, which possesses, moreover, every
mark of sincerity and truthfulness. The First Consul originated and ordered
the crime ; Savary and the military commission executed it ; M. de Caulaincourt
was the unconscious medium. A full account of the trial may be found in a
work entitled " Le Due d'Enghien d'apr^s les Documents Historiques," par L.
Constant, 8vo, Paris, 1869. The following extract from Chateaubriand's " M_6-
moires d'Outre-tombe " will, I think, be of interest at this point, although the
work does not rank among the best productions of its author, and can not be
absolutely relied on. Nevertheless, M. de Chateaubriand's resignation of his
post on the day following the crime is justly held honorable to him. " A coun-
cil was held on the proposed arrest of the Due d'Enghien. Cambac^rfes, in his
unpublished Memoirs, asserts — and I believe him — that he opposed the arrest ;
but, although he records his own words, he does not say what replies they eli-
cited. The ' Memorial de Ste. Hdlene ' denies, however, that Bonaparte had to
THE FIRST OONSUVS REMARKABLE WORDS. 139
refuse any entreaties for clemency. The imaginary scene in which Josephine
begs on her knees for the life of the Due d'Enghien, and, clinging to the coat of
Napoleon, is dragged along the ground by her inexorable husband, is one of
those melodramatic inventions with which the fiction-writers of the present day
compose their veracious histories. On the evening of March 19th Josephine
was in ignorance that the Due d'Enghien was to be tried ; she only knew that
he had been arrested. She had promised Mme. de K^musat to interest herself
in his fate. ... On March 21 st, Bonaparte said to his wife, ' The Due d'En-
ghien has been shot.' The Memoirs of Mme. de E^musat, with whom I was
acquainted, were full of exceedingly curious details of the private life of the
Imperial Court. Their author burned them during the Hundred Days, but after-
ward rewrote them. They are now but recollections of former recollections ;
the colors are faded ; but Bonaparte is always clearly depicted and impartially
judged."— P. K.
CHAPTEK VI.
(1804.)
Ibe Impression produced in Paris hy the Death of the Due d'Enghien — The First
Consul's Efforts to dispel it — Performance at the Opera House — ^Death of Piche-
gru — ^Breach between Bonaparte and his Brother Lucien — ^Project of adopting
the young Napoleon — Eoundation of the Empire.
The First Consul spared no pains to allay the excitement
which was caused by this event. He perceived that his con-
duct had raised the question of his real character, and he set
himseK to prove, both by his speeches in the Council of
State, and also to all of us, that political considerations only,
and not passion of any kind, had led to the death of the Due
d'Enghien. As I said before, he made no attempt to check
the genuine indignation evinced by M. de Caulaincourt, and
toward me he displayed indulgence which once more unset-
tled my opinions. How strong a power of persuasion do
sovereigns, whatever their character, exercise over us ! Our
feelings, and, to be frank, our vanity also, run to meet their
slightest advances half-way. I grieved, but I felt myself be-
ing slowly won over by the adroitness of Bonaparte ; and I
cried
'■Plut S, Dieu oe fQ.t le dernier de ses crimes ! "
Meanwhile we returned to Paris, and then my feelings
were again painfully excited by the state of opinion there.
I could make no reply to what was said. I could only try to
persuade those who believed that this fatal act was but the
beginning of a blood-stained reign, that they were mistaken ;
apd although it would be difficult, in point of fact, to ex-
EXCITEMENT IN PARIS. 141
aggerate the impression that sucli a crime must produce, still
party spirit ran so high tha,t, although my own feelings re-
volted against it, I sometimes found myself endeavoring to
offer some sort of excuse for it — uselessly enough, since I was
addressing myself to people whose convictions were unalter-
able.
I had a warm discussion with Mme. de , a cousin of
Mme. Bonaparte's. She was one of those persons who did
not attend the evening receptions at the Tuileries, but who,
having divided the palace into two separate regions, con-
sidered that they might appear in Mme. Bonaparte's apart-
ment on the ground floor in the morning, without departing
from their principles or sullying their reminiscences by re-
cognition of the actual government on the first floor.
She was a clever, animated woman, with rather high-
flown notions. Mme. Bonaparte was frightened by her
vehement indignation ; and, finding me with her one day,
she attacked me with equal vigor, and compassionated both
of us for being, as she said, bound in chains to a tyrant. She
went so far that I tried to make her understand the distress
she was inflicting on her cousin. Then she turned violently
upon me, and accused me of not sufficiently appreciating the
horror of the event that had just taken place. " As for me,"
she said, " every sense and every feeling is so outraged that,
if your Consul were to come into this room, you would see
me fly on the instant, as one flies from a venomous beast."
" Ah, madame," I answered (little thinking that my words
would prove prophetic), " refrain from expressions which at
some future day may prove embarrassing to you. Weep
with us, but reflect that the recollection of words uttered in
a moment of excitement often complicates one's subsequent
actions. To-day you are angry with me for my apparent
moderation ; yet, perhaps, my feelings will last longer than
yours." And, in fact, a few months later, Mme. de
became lady-in-waiting to her cousin, the newly made Em-
press.
142 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtMUSAT.
Hume says somewliere that Cromwell, having established
a sort of phantom of royalty, very soon found himself sur-
rounded by that particular class of nobles who conceive them-
selves called on to live in palaces so soon as their doors are
reopened. The First Consul, on assuming the insignia of
the power he already wielded, offered a salve to the con-
science of the old nobihty which vanity always readily ap-
plies ; for who can resist the temptation of recovering the
rank he feels himself made to adorn ? I am about to draw
a very homely comparison, but I believe a true one. In the
nature of the grand seigneur there is something of the char-
acter of the cat, which remains faithful to the same house,
no matter who may become the proprietor of it.
Eonaparte, stained with the blood of the Due d'Enghien,
but having become an Emperor, succeeded in obtaining from
the French nobles that for which he would have vainly
sought so long as he was only First Consul ; and when, in
later days, he maintained to one of his ministers that this '
murder was indeed a crime, but not a blunder — " for," he
added, "the consequences that I foresaw have all exactly
happened " — he was, in that sense, right.
And yet, if we look at things from a higher standpoint,
the consequences of this act of his reached further than he
thought for. He succeeded, doubtless, in moderating certain
opinions, for there are numbers of people who give up feel-
ing when there is nothing to hope ; but, as M. de Eemusat
said, the odium which the crime cast upon him obUged him
to divert our thoughts from it by a succession of extraordi-
nary feats, which would impose silence respecting the past.
Moreover, he bound himself, as it were, to be always success-
ful, for by success alone could he be justified. H we con-
template the tortuous and difficult path he was henceforth
obliged to tread, we shall conclude that a noble and pure
policy, based upon the prosperity of the human race and the
free exercise of its rights, would have been then, as it is
always, the best on which a sovereign can act.
PERFORMANCE AT THE OPERA HOUSE. 143
By the death of the Due d'Enghien, Bonaparte succeeded
in compromising, first ourselves, then the French nobility,
finally the whole nation and all Europe. Our fate was
united with his, it is true — this was a great point for him ;
but, when he dishonored us, he lost the right to that devotion
and adherence which he claimed in vain when the hoiir of
his ill fortune came. How could he reckon on a link forged,
it must be owned, at the cost of the noblest feelings of the
soul? Alas! I judge by my own case. From that time
forward I began to blush in secret at the chain I wore;
and this hidden feeling, which I stifled at different times
with more or less success, afterward became the general sen-
timent.
On his return to Paris, the First Consul was struck by
the effect he had produced. He perceived that feelings go
more slowly than opinions, and that men's countenances
wore a new expression in his presence. Weary of a remem-
brance that he would have liked to render a bygone from the
very first, he thought the best plan was to let the people
wear out their emotions as quickly as possible ; and so he
determined to appear in public, although certain persons ad-
vised him to defer doing so for a while. " But we must, at
any cost," he answered, " throw that event into the past ; and
it will remain new so long as anything fresh is to be felt
about it. If we change nothing in our habits, the public
wiU soon regard the occurrence as an old affair." It was
therefore arranged that he should go to the opera.
On that evening I was in attendance on Mme. Bonaparte ;
her carriage followed her husband's. His usual custom was
not to wait for her, but to pass rapidly up the staircase
and show himself in his box ; on this occasion, however, he
waited in the little ante-room adjoining it until Mme. Bona-
parte arrived. She was trembling very much, and he was
excessively pale ; he looked round at us all, as if mutely ask-
ing ns how we thought he would be received ; and then he
went forward at last like a man marching up to a battery.
13
144 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
He was greeted in the usual way, either because the sight of
him produced its customary effect — for fhe multitude do not
change their habits in a moment — or because the police had
taken measures of precaution beforehand. I had greatly
feared he would not be applauded, and yet, when I saw that
he was, my heart sank within me.
He remained only a few days in Paris ; thence he removed
to Saint Cloud, and I believe from that time forth he began
to carry his projects of sovereignty into execution. He felt
the necessity of imposing an authority which could no longer
be contested upon Europe, and, at the very moment when he
had just broken with all parties by deeds which he himself
regarded as merely acts of vigor, he thought it well to reveal
the goal toward which he had been advancing with more or
less precaution. He began by obtaining from the Corps
Legislatif , now assembled, a levy of sixty thousand men ; not
that he wanted them for the war with England, which could
only be carried on by sea, but because he required to assume
an imposing attitude when about to astonish Europe by an
altogether novel incident. The Code of Civil Laws had just
been completed ; this was an important work, and was said
to be worthy of general approval. The halls wherein the
three great bodies of the State assembled rang on this occa-
sion with the praises of Bonaparte. M. Marcorelle, a deputy
of the Corps Legislatif, moved, amid loud acclamations, on
the 24th of March, three days after the death of the Due
d'Enghien, that a bust of the First Consul should be placed
in the Chamber of Deputies. " Let us," he said, " by a strik-
ing mark of our affection, proclaim to Europe that he who
has been threatened by the daggers of vile assassins is the
object of our attachment and admiration."
A few days later, Fourcroy, a member of the Council of
State, closed the session in the name of the Government. He
alluded to the princes of the house of Bourbon as " members
of that unnatural family which would have drowned France
in her own blood, so that they might reign over her " and
DEATH OF PICREORU. I45
added that they must be threatened with death if they ven-
tured to pollute French territory by their presence.
Meanwhile, preparations for the great trial were going
on ; every day more Chouans were arrested, either in Brit-
tany or in Paris, who were concerned in this conspiracy,
and Georges Cadoudal, Pichegru, and Moreau had already
been examined several times. The two first, it was said,
answered with firmness ; Moreau appeared to be much de-
jected. No clear information was obtained by these inter-
rogatories.
One morning General Pichegru was found strangled in
his prison. This event made a great sensation. It was un-
hesitatingly attributed to the need of getting rid of a formid-
able enemy. Pichegru's determination of character would, it
was said, have led him, when the proceeding became public,
to utter strong language, which would have had an undesir-
able effect. He would, perhaps, have created a party in his
favor; he would have cleared Moreau, whose guilt it was
already so difficult to prove. On the other hand, the parti-
sans of Bonaparte said : " Nobody can doubt that Pichegru
came to Paris in order to get up an insurrection. He him-
self does not deny it. His own avowals would have con-
vinced the most incredulous ; his absence will prevent that
full light, which is so desirable, from being thrown on the
proceedings."
Many years afterward I asked M. de Talleyrand one day
what he thought of the death of Pichegru. " I think," said
he, "that it happened very suddenly and in the nick of
time ! " But just then M. de Talleyrand had fallen out with
Bonaparte, and took every opportunity of bringing accusa-
tions against him ; I therefore by no means commit myself
to any statement respecting this event. The subject was not
spoken of at Saint Cloud, and every one refrained from the
slightest reflection on it.
About this time Lucien Bonaparte left Prance, having
quarreled irrevocably with his brother. His marriage with
146 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
Mme. Jpuberthon, which Bonaparte had been unable to pre-
vent, was the cause of the rupture. The Consul, fuU of his
great projects, made a last attempt to induce him to renounce
this marriage ; but it was in vain that Lucien was apprised
of the approaching grandeur of his family, in vain that a
marriage with the Queen of Etruria* was proposed to
him. "Love was the strongest," and he refused every-
thing. A violent scene ensued, and Lucien was exiled from
France.
On this occasion I happened to see the First Consul give
way to one of those rare bursts of emotion of which I have
before' spoken. It was at Saint Cloud, rather late one even-
ing. Mme. Bonaparte was anxiously waiting the result of
this final conference between the two brothers ; M. de Ee-
musat and I were the only persons with her. She did not
care for Lucien, but she deprecated any family scandal. It
was near midnight when Bonaparte came into the room ; he
was deeply dejected, and, throwing himself into an arm-chair,
he exclaimed, in a troubled voice, " It is all over ! I have
broken with Lucien, and ordered him from my presence."
Mme. Bonaparte began to expostulate. "You are a good
woman," he said, " to plead for him." Then he rose from
his chair, took his wife in his arms, and laid her head softly
on his shoulder, and with his hand still resting on the beau-
tiful head which formed a contrast to the sad, set counte-
nance so near it, he told us that Lucien had resisted all his
entreaties, and that he had resorted equally in vain to both
threats and persuasion. " It is hard, though," he added, " to
find in one's own family such stubborn opposition to inter-
ests of such magnitude. Must I, then, isolate myself from
every one? Must I rely on myself alone? "Well! I will
* After the treaty of Lun^ville, in 1801, Tuscany had been erected into the
kingdom of Etruria and given to the son of the Duke of Parma. The King
having died in 1803, his widow, Marie Louise, a daughter of Charles IV., King
of Spain, succeeded him, and reigned until ISOT, at which period the little
kingdom was incorporated with the Empire, to bo again dismembered in 1809
in favor of Mme. Bacciochi, who took the title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany,
PROJECT OF ADOPTING YOUNG NAPOLEON 147
suffice to myself, and you, Josephine — you will be my com-
fort alwayf."
I retain a pleasurable recollection of tbis little scene.
Tears were in Bonaparte's eyes as he spoke. I felt inclined
to thank him when he betrayed feelings like those of other
men. Shortly after this, his brother Louis crossed his wishes
in another way, and this incident had probably a great influ-
ence on the fate of Mme. Bonaparte.
The Consul, being quite resolved to raise himself to the
throne of France and to found a dynasty, had occasionally
glanced at the question of a divorce already ; but, either be-
cause of his attachment to his wife being still too strong, or
because his existing relations with Europe did not permit him
to hope for an alliance which would strengthen his political
position, he seemed just then disinclined to break with Jo-
sephine, and disposed to adopt the young Louis l^apoleon,
who was his own nephew and also Josephine's grandson.
He no sooner allowed this project to be discerned than
his family rebelled. Joseph Bonaparte ventured to repre-
sent to him that he had done nothing to forfeit the right to
the crown which, as eldest brother, he would acquire, and
he defended that right as if it had really existed of old.
Bonaparte, who was always irritated by opposition, grew
very angry, and only the more determined. He confided his
intentions to his wife, who was overjoyed, and spoke to me
as though the realization of this project would bring her own
anxieties to an end. Mme. Louis assented, but without dis-
playing any gratification. She was not at all ambitious, and,
in fact, could not help fearing that such an elevation would
bring down misfortune on the head of her son.
One day, when Bonaparte was surrounded by his family,
he placed the little Napoleon between his knees, and said,
while playing with him, " Do you know, my little fellow,
that you run the risk of being a king some day ? " " And
Achille 1 " * immediately asked Murat, who was present.
* Achille was the eldest son of Murat.
148 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
"Oil, Achille," answered Bonaparte, "will be a great sol-
dier." This reply incensed Mme. Murat; but Eonaparte,
pretending not to notice lier, and stung by his brother's
opposition, which he believed with reason to have been
prompted by Mme. Mm-at, went on to say to his little step-
grandson, " And mind, my poor child, I advise you, if you
value your life, not to accept invitations to dine with your
cousins."
We may imagine to what feelings such bitter words
would give rise. From that moment Louis Bonaparte was
beset by his family, who adroitly reminded him of the ru-
mors respecting his wife, and that he ought not to sacrifice
the interests of his own kinsfolk to those of a child who was
at least half a Beauhamais ; and, as Louis Bonaparte was not
quite so destitute of ambition as people have since made him
out, he, hke Joseph, went to the First Consul to ask why
the sacrifice of his own rights should be demanded of him.
" Why," said he, " should I yield my share of inheritance to
my son? How have I deserved to be cut off? What will
my position be when this child, having become yours, finds
himself very much higher placed than I, and quite indepen-
dent of me, standing next to yourself, and regarding me
with suspicion, if not with contempt ? If o ; I will never
consent to this ; and, rather than renounce the proper course
of succession to the royalty which is to be yours, rather than
consent to humble myself before my own son, I will leave
France, taking ITapoleon with me, and we shall see whether
you will dare openly to take a child from his father ! "
The First Consul, powerful as he was, found it impossi-
ble to overcome his brother's opposition. His wrath availed
nothing, and he was obliged to yield, for fear of a vexatious
and even ridiculous scandal ; for such it certainly would have
been, to see this whole family quarreling beforehand over
the crown which France had not yet actually conferred.
The strife was hushed up, and Napoleon was obliged to
draw up the scheme of succession, and the possible case of
PROJECT OF ADOPTING YOUNQ NAPOLEON. 149
adoption wliich he reserved to himself the power of making,
in the terms to be found in the decree relating to the eleva-
tion of the First Consul to the Empire.
These quarrels embittered the enmity already existing
between the Bonapartes and the Beauhamais. The former
regarded the plan of adoption as the result of Mme. Bona-
parte's scheming. Louis gave stricter orders to his wife than
before that she should hold no familiar intercourse with her
mother. " If you consult her interests at the cost of mine,"
he told her harshly, " I swear to you that I will make you
repent. I will separate you from your son ; I will shut you
up in some out-of-the-way place, and no pow6r on earth shall
deliver you. You shall pay for your concessions to your own
family by the wretchedness of the rest of your life. And
take cai'e, above all, that none of my threats reach the ears
of my brother. Even his power should not save you from
my anger."
Mme. Louis bowed her head, a patient victim to this vio-
lence. She was then expecting the birth of her second child.
Grief and anxiety told upon her health, which was' perma-
nently injured ; the fresh complexion, her only beauty, dis-
appeared. She had possessed natural spirits, but they now
died away for ever ; and she became silent and timid. She
refrained from confiding her troubles to her mother, whose
indiscretion and hasty, temper she dreaded ; and neither
would she further irritate the First Consul. He, knowing
well his brother's character, felt grateful to her for her reti-
cence, and guessed at the sufferings she had to endure. From
that time forth he never let an opportunity pass without ex-
hibiting the interest — I may even say the respect — with which
the mild and prudent demeanor of his stepdaughter inspired
him.
What I have just said is quite opposed to the general
opinion which has unfortunately been entertained of this
unhappy woman; but her vindictive sisters-in-law never
missed an opportunity of injuring her reputation by the
150 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE HMUSAT.
most odious calumnies, and, as she bore tlie name of Bona-
parte, the public, who, when they came to hate the Imperial
despotism, included every one belonging to the family in
their impartial contempt, readily believed every calumny
against Mme. Louis. Her husband (whose iU treatment of
her irritated him all the more against her), obliged to own
that she could not love him after the tyranny he had exer-
cised, jealous with the jealousy of pride, and naturally suspi-
cious, embittered by ill health, and utterly selfish, made her
feel the full weight of conjugal despotism. She was sur-
rounded by spies ; her letters were opened before they reached
her hands ; her conversations even with female friends were
resented ; and, if she complained of this insulting severity,
he would say to her, " You can not love me. You are a
woman — consequently a being all made up of evil and deceit ;
you are the daughter of an unprincipled mother ; you belong
to a family that I loathe. Are not these reasons enough for
me to suspect you ? "
Mme. Louis, from whom I obtained these details long
afterward, found her only comfort in the affection of her
brother, whose conduct, though jealously watched by the
Bonapartes, was unassailable. Eugene, who was simple and
frank, light-hearted, and open in all his dealings, displaying
no ambition, holding himself aloof from every intrigue, and
doing his duty wherever he was placed, disarmed calumny
before it could reach him, and knew nothing of all that took
place in the palace. His sister loved him passionately, and
confided her sorrows to him only, during the few moments
that the jealous watchfulness of Louis allowed them to pass
together.
Meanwhile, the First Consul, having complained to the
Elector of Bavaria of the correspondence which Mr. Drake
kept up in France, and this English gentleman entertaining
some apprehensions as to his own safety, as did also Sir Spen-
cer Smith, the British Envoy at the Court of Wiirtemberg,
they both suddenly disappeared. Lord Morpeth asked the
FOUNDATION OF THE EMPIRE. 151
Government, in tlie House of Commons, for an explanation
of Drake's conduct. The Chancellor of the Exchequer re-
plied that the envoy had been given authority for his pro-
ceedings, and that a fuller explanation should be afforded
vfhen the ambassador had fui-nished the information that had
been demanded from him.
At this time Bonaparte held long and frequent consulta-
tions with M. de Talleyrand. The latter, whose opinions were
essentially monarchical, urged the Consul to change his title
to that of King. He has since owned to me that the name
of Emperor alarmed him ; it conveyed a sense of vagueness
and immensity, which was precisely what charmed the imagi-
nation of Bonaparte. He added, "A combination of the
E.oman Republic and of Charlemagne in the title turned his
head. I amused myself one day by mystifying Berthier. I
took him aside, and said to him, 'You know of the great
scheme that is occupying us. Go to the Consul, and urge
him to take the title of King ; it will please him.' Accord-
ingly Berthier, who was delighted to have an opportunity of
speaking to Bonaparte on an agreeable subject, went up to
him at the other end of the room in which we were all as-
sembled, and I drew back a little, foreseeing the storm. Ber-
thier began his little speech, but at the word ' King ' Bona-
parte's eyes flashed fire ; he seized Berthier by the throat,
and pushed him back against the wall. 'You idiot!' he
said ; ' who has been advising you to come here and excite
my anger ? Another time, don't take such a task on your-
self.' Poor Berthier, in dire confusion, looked piteously at
me, and it was a long time before he forgave my sorry jest."
At last, on April 30, 1804, the tribune Curee, who had
no doubt learnt his part, and who, later on, was rewarded
for his complaisance by being created a senator, made what
was then called " a motion of order " in the Tribunate, de-
manding that the government of the Eepublic should be con-
fided to an Emperor, and that the Empire should be made
hereditary in the family of Napoleon Bonaparte. His speech
152 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SMUSAT.
■was effective. He regarded an hereditary succession, lie
said, as a guarantee against plots from without, and that in
reality the title of Emperor only meant " Yictorious Consul."
Nearly all the tribunes put down their names to speak. A
commission of thirteen members was appointed. Camot
alone had the courage to protest against this proposal. He
declared that he would vote against an Empire, for the same
reason that he had voted against a life Consulship, but with-
out any personal animosity, and that he was quite prepared
to render obedience to the Emperor should he be elected.
He spoke in high praise of the American form of govern-
ment, and added that Bonaparte might have adopted it at
the time of the treaty of Amiens ; that the abuses of despot-
ism led to worse results than the abuses of liberty ; and that,
before smoothing the way to this despotism, which would be
all the more dangerous because it was reared on military suc-
cess, it would have been advisable to create institutions for
its due repression. Notwithstanding Carnot's opposition, the
motion was put to the vote and adopted.
On May 4th a deputation from the Tribunate carried it
to the Senate, who were already prepared for it. The Yice-
President, Frangois de Neufchateau, replied that the Senate
had expected the vote, and would take it into consideration.
At the same sitting it was decided that the motion of the
Tribunate and the answer of the Yice-President should be
laid before the First Consul.
On May 5th the Senate sent an address to Bonaparte,
asking him, without further explanation, for a final act
which would insure the future peace of France. His answer
to this address may be read in the "Moniteur." "I beg
you," he said, "to let me know your entire purpose. I
desire that we may be able to say to the French nation on
the 14th of next July, ' The possessions that you acquired
fifteen years ago, liberty, equality, and glory, are now be-
yond the reach of every storm." In reply, the Senate voted
unanimously for imperial government, adding that, in the
FOUNDATION OF TEE EMPIRE. 153
interests of tlie French people, it was important that it
should be intrusted to Napoleon Bonaparte.
After May 8th addresses from the towns poured in at
Saint Cloud. An address from Lyons came first; a little
later came those from Paris and other places. At the same
time came the vote from Klein's division,* and then one
from the troops in camp at Montreuil under the orders of
General l!^ ey ; f and the other divisions promptly followed
these examples. M. de Fontanes addressed the First Consul
in the name of the Corps L^gislatif, which at this moment
was not sitting; but those among its members who were
then in Paris met, and voted as the Senate had done. The
excitement that these events caused at Saint Cloud may
readily be imagined.
I have already recorded the disappointment which Louis
Bonaparte's rejection of the project of adoption had inflicted
on his mother-in-law. She still hoped, however, that the
First Consul would contrive, if he himself remained in the
same mind, to overcome the opposition of his brother ; and
she expressed to me her delight that her husband's new pros-
pects had not induced him to reconsider the terrible question
of the divorce. "Whenever Bonaparte was displeased with
his brothers, Mme. Bonaparte always rose in his estimation,
because he found consolation in the unfailing sweetness of
her disposition. She never tried to extract from him any
promise either for herself or for her children ; and the confi-
dence she showed in his affection, together with the disin-
terestedness of Eugene, when contrasted with the exactions
of the Bonaparte family, could not fail to please him. Mme.
Bacciochi and Murat, who were in great anxiety about com-
ing events, endeavored to worm out of M. de Talleyrand, or
out of Fouche, the secret projects of the First Consul, so
that they might know what to expect. Their perturbation
* General Klein afterward married the daughter oJ: the Countess d'Arberg, a
lady-in-waitlng. He was created senator, and remained a peer under the King,
f Afterward Marshal Ncy.
154 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
was beyond their power to conceal ; and it was with some
amusement that I detected it in their troubled glances and
in every word they let fall.
At last we were told, one evening, that on the following
day the Senate was to come in great state and lay before
Bonaparte the decree which should give him a crown.
When I recall that evening, the emotions I experienced on
hearing the news return to me. The First Consul, when in-
forming his wife of the coming event, had told her he in-
tended to surround himself with a more numerous Court,
but that he would fitly distinguish between the new-comers
and those old servants who had first devoted themselves to his
service. He particularly desired her to assure M. de E.e-
musat and me of his good will toward us. I have already
told how he bore with the anguish which I was unable to
hide on the occasion of the death of the Due d'Enghien.
His indulgence- on this point did not diminish ; perhaps it
amused him to pry into my secret feelings, and gradually to
appease them by such marked kindness that it revived my
flagging attachment to him.
I could not as yet overcome my feelings toward him. I
grieved over his great fault ; but when I saw that he was, so
to speak, a better man than formerly, though I believed he
had made a fatal mistake, I felt grateful to him for keeping
his word and being gentle and kind afterward, as he had
promised. The fact is that at this period he could not afford
to dispense with anybody, and he therefore neglected no
means of success. His dexterous behavior toward M. de
Canlainconrt had won him over so that he had gradually re-
covered his former serenity of mind, and was at this epoch
one of the confidants of the First Consul's schemes. Bona-
parte, having questioned his wife as to what each person at
Court had said at the time of the prince's death, learned from
her that M. de Kemusat, who was habitually reticent both
from inclination and from prudence, but who always spoke
the truth when asked, had not hesitated to own his indigna-
FOUNDATION OF TEE EMPIRE. 155
tion. Being apparently resolved that nothing should irritate
him, he broached the subject to M. de Kemusat, and, having
revealed to him as much of his policy as he thought proper,
succeeded in convincing my husband that he had really be-
lieved the Duke's death indispensable to the safety of France.
My husband, when repeating this conversation to me, said,
" I am far from agreeing with him that this deed of blood
was needed to establish his authority, and I did not hesitate
to tell him so ; but I own that it is a relief to me to think
that he did not commit the crime out of revenge. He is
evidently distressed, no matter what he may say, by the ef-
fect it has produced ; and I believe he wUl never again seek
to strengthen his authority by such terrible means. I did
not neglect to point out to him that in an age like ours, and
in a nation like ours, it is playing a dangerous game to rule
by terror and bloodshed ; and I think that the earnest atten-
tion with which he listened to me augurs well for the future."
This sincere avowal of what we both felt shows how much
need we had of hope. Severe judges of other people might
blame us, no doubt, for the facility with which we again de-
ceived ourselves, and impute our credulity, with apparent
justice, to our own position in the Court. Ah ! it is so hard to
have to blush in secret for the calling one has chosen, it is so
pleasant to like one's self-imposed duties, it is so natural to
paint in bright colors one's own and one's country's future,
that it is only after a long struggle the conviction of a truth
which must shatter one's whole life is admitted. Such a
truth did come home to us, slowly, but with a strength that
could not be gainsaid ; and we paid dearly for an error to
which all well-disposed persons clung as long as possible.
On May 18, 1804, the Second Consul, Cambaceres, Presi-
dent of the Senate, came to Saint Cloud, accompanied by all
the senators and escorted by a large body of troops. He
made a set speech, and gave to Bonaparte for the first time
the title of " Your Majesty." Bonaparte took it calmly, just
as though he had borne it all his life. The Senate then pro-
156 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
ceeded to the apartment of Mme. Bonaparte, who in her turn
was proclaimed Empress. She replied with that natural
grace which always raised her to the level of any position,
however lofty, in which she might be placed.
At the same time, the Grand Dignitaries, as they were
called, were created — Grand Elector, Joseph Bonaparte ;
High Constable, Louis Bonaparte ; Arch-Chancellor of the
Empire, Cambaceres ; Arch-Treasurer, Lebrun. The Minis-
ters, Maret (the Secretary of State, who ranked with the
Ministers), the Colonels-general of the Guards, Duroc (the
Governor of the Palace), and the aides-de-camp took the
oaths; and the next day the officers of the army, among
whom was Colonel Eugene Beauhamais, were presented to
the Emperor by the new Constable.
The opposition which Bonaparte had encountered in his
own family, to his intended adoption of the little Louis, in-
duced him to postpone that project. The succession was
therefore declared to belong to the heirs male of Napoleon
Bonaparte, and failing these, to the sons of Joseph and of
Louis, who were created Imperial Princes. The organic
senatus consultum declared that the Emperor might adopt
as his successor any one of his nephews whom he chose, but
not until the selected individual had reached the age of
eighteen, and that no further act of adoption could take place
in the family.
The civil list was to be the same as that granted to the
King in 1791, and the princes were to be endowed in accord-
ance with the law of December 20, 1791. The great digni-
taries were to have one third of the sum settled on the
priuces. They were to preside over the electoral colleges of
the six largest towns in the Empire, and the princes, from
the eighteenth year of their age, were to be permanent mem-
bers of the Senate and the Council of State.
Fourteen Marshals of France were created at this date,
and the title of Marshal was conferred on four of the Sena-
tors. The new Marshals were Berthier, Murat, Moncey,
FOUNDATION OF THE EMPIRE. 157
Jourdan, Massena, Augereau, Bemadotte, Soult, Brune,
Lannes, Mortier, 'Sej, Davoust, Bessieres ; the four Senators
were Kellermann, Lefebvre, Perignon, and Semirier.
An article in the " Moniteur " apprised the public that
the title of Imperial Highness was to be given to the princes,
that of Serene Highness and Monseigneur to the great dig-
nitaries ; that the Ministers were to be called Monseigneur
by public officials and all petitioners, and the Marshals Mon-
sieur le Marechal.
Thus disappeared the title of " Citizen," which had long
since been disused in society, where "Monsieur" had re-
sumed its former place, but which Bonaparte was always
most careful to employ. On the same day, the 18th of May,
his brothers, with Cambacer^s and Lebrun and the officers of
his household, were invited to dine with him, and we heard
him use the old word " Monsieur " for the first time, without
being betrayed by habit into saying " Citizen " even 'once.
Titles were also accorded to the great officers of the Em-
pire, eight inspectors and colonels-general of artillery, engi-
neers, cavalry, and the navy, and the great civil officers of
the Crown, to whom I shall refer hereafter.
CHAPTEE 711.
Effects and Causes of the Accession of Bonaparte to the Imperial Throne — The
Emperor converses— The Grievances of Mme. Murat— The Character of M. de
Etousat — The New Court.
The accession of Bonaparte to the Imperial throne was
very variously regarded in Europe, and even in France opin-
ions were divided. It is, however, quite certain that it did
not displease the great majority of the nation. The Jaco-
bins were not astonished by it, for they themselves were in
the habit of pushing success as far as it would go, whenever
luck favored them. Among the Eoyalists it spread disheart-
enment, and that was just what Bonaparte wanted. The
exchange of the Consulate for Imperial authority was, how-
ever, regarded with dislike by all true friends of liberty.
These true friends were, unfortunately, divided into two
classes, so that their influence was diminished — an evil which
still exists. One class regarded the change of the reigning
dynasty with indifference, and would have accepted Bona-
parte as readily as another, provided that he had received his
royal authority in right of a constitution which would have
restrained as weU as founded it. They regarded the seizure
of power by an enterprising and warlike man with serious
apprehension; for it was plain enough that the so-called
" bodies of the State," which were already reduced to insig-
nificance, would be unable to check his encroachments. The
Senate seemed to be given over to mere passive obedience ;
the Tribunate was shaken to its foundations ; and what was
to be expected from a ^silent Corps Legislatif ? The Minis-
ters, deprived of all responsibility, were no more than head
EFFECTS AND CAUSES OF THE ACCESSION: 159
clerks, and it was evident beforehand that the Council of
State would henceforth be merely a storehouse, whence such
laws as circumstances might demand could be taken, as occa-
sion for them arose.
If this section of the friends of liberty had been more
numerous and better led, it might have set itself to demand
the settled and legitimate exercise of its rights, which is
never demanded in vain by a nation in the long run. There
existed, however, a second party, which agreed with the first
on fundamental principles only, and, abiding by theories of
its own, which it had already attempted to practice in a dan-
gerous and sanguinary manner, lost the opportunity of pro-
ducing an effective opposition. To this section belonged the
proselytes of the Anglo-American Government, who had
disgusted the nation with the notion of liberty.
They had witnessed the creation of the Consulate without
any protest, for it was a tolerably fair imitation of the Presi-
dentship of the United States ; thej' believed, or wished to
believe, that Bonaparte would maintain that equality of rights
to which they attached so much importance, and some among
them were really deceived. I say " some," because I think
the greater number fell into a trap, baited with flattery and
consultations on all sorts of matters, which Bonaparte dex-
terously set for them. If they had not had some private
interest to serve by deceiving themselves, how could they
have declared afterward that they had approved of Bona-
parte only as Consul, but that as Emperor he was odious to
them? In what respect was he, while Consul, different
from his ordinary seM ? What was his Consular authority
but dictatorship under another name ? Did he not, as Con-
sul, make peace and declare war vdthout consulting the
nation ? Did not the right of levying the conscription de-
volve upon him ? Did he permit freedom in the discussion
of affairs ? Could any journal publish a single article with-
out his approval ? Did he not make it perfectly clear that
he held his power by the right of his victorious arms ? How,
14
160 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RJSMTISAT.
then, could stern Eepublieans have allowed him to take them
by surprise ?
I can understand how it was that men, worn out by the
turmoil of the Kevolution, and afraid of that liberty which
had been so long associated with death, looked for repose
under the dominion of an able ruler, on whom fortune was
seemingly resolved to smile. I can conceive, that they
regarded his elevation as a decree of destiny, and fondly
believed that in the irrevocable they should find peace. I
may confidently assert that those persons believed qnite sin-
cerely that Bonaparte, whether as Consul or as Emperor,
would exert his authority to oppose the attempts of faction,
and would save us from the perils of anarchy.
^one dared to utter the word Republic, so deeply had
the Terror stained that name, and the Directorial govern-
ment had perished in the contempt with which its chiefs
were regarded. The return of the Bourbons could only be
brought about by the aid of a revolution ; and the slightest
disturbance terrified the French people, in whom enthusiasm
of every kind seemed to be dead. Besides, the men in whom
they had trusted had, one after the other, deceived them ;
and as, this time, they were yielding to force, they were at
least certain that they were not deceiving themselves.
The belief, or rather the error, that only despotism could
at that epoch maintain order in Trance, was very widespread.
It became the mainstay of Bonaparte ; and it is due to him
to say that he also held it. The factions played into his
hands by imprudent attempts which he tiirned to his own
advantage ; he had some grounds for his belief that he was
necessary ; France believed it too ; and he even succeeded
in persuading foreign sovereigns that he formed a barrier
against Eepublican influences, which, but for him, might
spread widely. At the moment when Bonaparte placed the
Imperial crown upon his head, there was not a king in Eu-
rope who did not believe that he wore his own crown more
securely because of that event. Had the new Emperor added
EFFECTS AND CAUSES OF THE ACCESSION. 161
to that decisive act the gift of a liberal constitution, the
peace of nations and of kings might, in sober seriousness,
have been for ever secured.
Sincere defenders of Bonaparte's original system— and
some of these still exist — advance, in justification of it, that
we could not have exacted from him that which it belongs
only to a legitimate sovereign to bestow ; that freedom to
discuss our interests might have been followed by the dis-
cussion of our rights ; that England, jealous of our reviving
prosperity, would have fomented fresh disturbances among
us ; that our princes had not abandoned their designs, and
that the slow methods of constitutional government would
not have availed to restrain the contending factions. Hume
says, when speaking of Cromwell, that it is a great difficulty
for a usurping government that its personal policy is gener-
ally opposed to tjje interest of its coimtry. This gives a su-
periority to hereditary authority, of which it would be well
that nations should be convinced. ^But, after all, Bonaparte
was not an ordinary usurper ; his elevation ofEered no point
of comparison with that of Cromwell. " I found the crown
of France lying on the ground," said he, "and I took it up
on the point of my sword." He was the product of an in-
evitable revolution ; but he had no share in its disasters, and
I sincerely believe-that, until the death of the Due d'Enghien,
it would have been possible for him to legitimize his power
by conferring upon France benefits of a kind which would
have pledged the nation to him and his for ever.
His despotic ambition misled him ; but, I say it again, he
was not the only one who went astray. He was beguiled by
appearances which he did not take the trouble to investigate.
The word " liberty " did indeed resound in the air about him,
but those who uttered it were not held in sufficient esteem
by the nation to be made its representatives to him. Well-
meaning, honest folk' asked nothing of him but repose, and
did not trouble themselves about the form under which it
was to be granted. And then, he knew well that the secret
162 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMuSAT.
weakness of tlie Frencli nation was vanity, and he saw a
means of gratifying it easily by tlie pomp and display tliat
attend on monarchical power. He revived distinctions which
were now, in reality, democratic, because they were placed
within the reach of all and entailed no privileges. The
eagerness displayed in the pursuit of these titles, and of
crosses, which were objects of derision while they hung on
the coats of one's neighbors, was not likely to undeceive
him, if indeed he was on the wrong road. Was it not natu-
ral, on the contrary, that he should applaud and congratulate
himself, when he had succeeded in bringing feudal and re-
publican pretensions to the same level by the assistance of a
few bits of ribbons and some words added to men's names ?
Had not we ourselves much to do with that notion which be-
came so firmly fixed in his mind, that, for his own safety and
for ours, he ought to use the power whiclj he possessed to
suspend the Kevolution without destroying it ? " My suc-
cessor," said he, " whoever he may be, will be forced to march
with his own times, and to find his support in liberal opin-
ions. I will bequeath them to him, but deprived of their
primitive asperity." France imprudently applauded this
idea.
Nevertheless, a warning voice — that of conscience for
him, that of our interests for us — spoke to him and to us
alike. If he would silence that importunate whisper, he
would have to dazzle us by a series of surprising feats.
Hence those interminable wars, whose duration was so all-
important to him that he always called the peace which he
signed " a halt," and hence the fact that into every one of
his treaties he was forced by M. de Talleyrand's skill in nego-
tiation. When he returned to Paris, and resumed the admin-
istration of the affairs of France, in addition to the fact that
he did not know what to do with an army whose demands
grew with its victories, he had to encounter the dumb but
steady and inevitable resistance which the spirit of the age,
in spite of individual proclivities, opposes to despotism ; so
EFFECTS AND CAUSES OF THE ACCESSION: 163
that despotism lias happily become an impracticable mode of
government. It died with the good fortune of Bonaparte,
when, as Mme. de Stael said, " The terrible mace which he
alone could wield fell at last upon his own head." Happy,
thrice happy, are the days in which we are now living, since
we have exhausted every experiment, and only madmen can
dispute the road which leads to safety.
Bonaparte was seconded for a long time by the military
ardor of the youth of France. That insensate passion for
conquest which has been implanted by an evil spirit in men
collected into societies, to retard the progress of each genera-
tion in every kind of prosperity, urged us forward in the
path of Bonaparte's career of devastation. France can rarely
resist glory, and it was especially tempting when it covered
and disguised the humiliation to which we were then con-
demned. When Bonaparte was quiet, he let us perceive the
reality of our servitude ; when our sons marched away to
plant our standards on the ramparts of all the great cities of
Europe, that servitude disappeared. It was a long time be-
fore we recognized that each one of our conquests was a link
in the chain that fettered our liberjjes ; and, when we became
fully aware of what our intoxication had led us into, it was
too late for resistance. The army had become the accom-
plice of tyranny, had broken with France, and would treat
a cry for dehveranee as revolt.
The greatest of Bonaparte's errors — one very characteris-
tic of him — was that he never took anything but success into
account in the calculations on which he acted. Perhaps he
was more excusable than another would have been in doubt-
ing whether any reverse could come to him. His natural
pride shrank from the idea of a defeat of any kind. There
was the weak point in his strong mind, for such a man as he
ought to have contemplated every contingency. But, as he
lacked nobihty of soul, and had not that instinctive elevation
of mind which rises above evil fortune, he turned his thoughts
away from this weakness in himself, and contemplated only
164 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
his wonderful faculty of growing greater with success. " /
shall succeed" was the basis of all his calculations, and his
obstinate repetition of the phrase helped him to reahze the
prediction. At length his own good fortune grew into a
superstition with him, and his worship of it made every sac-
rifice which was to be imposed upon us fair and lawful in his
eyes.
And we ourselves — let us once more own it — did we not.
at first share this baleful superstition ? At the time of which
I write, it had great mastery over our wonder-loving imagina-
tions. The trial of G-eneral Moreau and the death of the Due
d'Enghien had shocked every one's feelings, but had not
changed public opinion. Bonaparte scarcely tried to conceal
that both events had furthered the project which for a long
time past he had been maturing. It is to the credit of hu-
man nature that repugnance to crime is innate among us ;
that we willingly believe, when a guilty act is acknowledged
by its perpetrator, that he has been absolutely forced to
commit it; and, when he succeeded in raising himself by
such deeds, we too readily accepted the bargain that he of-
fered us — absolution on our part, as the guerdon of success
on his.
Thenceforth he was no longer beloved ; but the days in
which monarchs reign through the love of nations are gone
by, and, when Bonaparte let us see that he could punish even
our thoughts, he was well pleased to exchange the affection
we had striven to retain for him for the very real fear that
he inspired. We admired, or at least we wondered at, the
boldness of the game which he was openly playing; and
when at last he sprang, with imposing audacity, from the
blood-stained grave at Vincennes to the steps of the Imperial
throne, exclaiming, " I have won ! " France, in her amaze-
ment, could but reecho his words. And that was all he
wanted her do.
A few days after Bonaparte had assumed the title of
Emperor (by which I shall not scruple to designate him, for,
THE EMPEROR CONVERSES. 165
after all, he bore it longer than that of Consul *), on one of
those occasions when, as I have said before, he was disposed
to talk freely to us, he was discussing his new position with
the Empress, my husband, and myself. I think I see him
still, in the window-recess of a drawing-room at Saint Cloud,
astride on a chair, resting his chin on the back of it. Mme.
Bonaparte reclined on a sofa near him ; I was sitting oppo-
site him, and M. de Remusat stood behind my chair. For a
long time the Emperor had been silent ; then he suddenly
addressed me : " You have borne me a grudge for the death
of the Due d'Enghien ? " " It is true, Sire," I answered,
" and I still bear it you. I believe you did yourself much
harm by that act." " But are you aware that he was waiting
at the frontier for me to be assassinated ? " " Possibly, Sire ;
but still he was not in France." " Ah ! there is no harm in
showing other countries, now and then, that one is the mas-
ter." " There, Sire, do not let us speak of it, or you will
make me cry." " Ah ! tears ! Woman's only weapon. That
is like Josephine. She thinks she has carried her point when
she begins to cry. Are not tears, M. de Kemusat, the strong-
est argument of women?" "Sire," replied my husband,
" there are tears which can not be censured."
" Ah ! I perceive that you also take a serious view of the
matter. But that is quite natural ; you have seen other days,
all of you, and you remember them. I only date from the
day when I began to be somebody. What is a Due d'En-
ghien to me ? Only an emigre, more important than the
others — ^nothing more. But that was enough to make me
strike hard. Those crack-brained Eoyalists had actually
spread a report that I was to replace the Bourbons on the
throne. The Jacobins became alanned, and they sent Fouche
to me to inquire into my intentions. Power has for the last
two years fallen so naturally into my hands, that people may
* This remark would appear a strange one, if the reader did not recollect
that the Memoirs were written under the Restoration, when the words Emperor,
Empire, and Bonaparte were no longer uttered in good society. — P. R.
166 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
well liave doubted sometimes whether I had any serious in-
tention of investing myself with it oiEeially. I came to the
conclusion that it was my duty to profit by this, in order to
put a lawful end to the Kevolution. The reason why I chose
Empire rather than Dictatorship is because one becomes
legitimate by taking up well-known ground. I began by
trying to reconcile the two contending factions at the time
of my accession to the Consulship. I thought that, in estab-
lishing order by means of permanent institutions, I should
put an end to their enterprises ; but factions are not to be
put down so long as any fear of them is shown, and every
attempt to conciliate them looks like fear. Besides, it may
sometimes be possible to get the better of a sentiment ; but
of an opinion, never. I saw clearly that I could make no
alliance between the two, but that I might make one with
both of them on my own account. The Concordat and the
permissions to return have conciliated the emigres, and I
shall soon be completely reconciled with them ; for you will
see how the attractions of a Court will allure them. The
mere phrases that recall former habits will win over the no-
bility, but the Jacobins require deeds. They are not men to
be won by fair words. They were satisfied with my neces-
sary severity when, after the 3d Nivose,* at the very mo-
ment of a purely Royalist conspiracy, I transported a number
of Jacobins. They niight justly have complained if I had
struck a weaker blow. You all thought I was becoming
cruel and bloodthirsty, but you were wrong. I have no feel-
ings of hatred — I am not capable of acting from revenge ; I
only sweep obstacles from niy path, and, if it were expedient,
you should see me pardon Georges Cadoudal to-morrow, al-
though he came simply and solely to assassinate me.
" "When people find that public tranquillity is the result
of the event in question, they will no longer reproach me
with it, and in a year's time this execution will be regarded
as a great act of policy. It is true, however, that it has
* The epoch of the " infernal machine."
THE EMPEROR CONVERSES. 167
driven me to shorten the crisis. What I have just done I
did not intend to do for two years yet. I meant to retain
the Consulate, although words and things clash with one an-
other under this form of government, and the signature I
affixed to all the acts of my authority was the sign manual of
a continual lie. We should have got on nevertheless, France
and I, because she has confidence in me, and what I will she
wills.
"As, however, this particular conspiracy was meant to
shake the whole of Europe, the Koyalists and also Europe
had to be undeceived. I had to choose between continuous
persecution or one decisive blow ; and my decision was not
doubtful. I have for ever silenced both Koyalists and Jaco-
bins. Only the Kepublicans remain — mere dreamers, who
think a republic can be made out of an old monarchy, and
that Europe would stand by and let us quietly found a fede-
rative government of twenty million men. The Republicans
I shall not win, but they are few in number and not impor-
tant. The rest of you Frenchmen like a monarchy ; it is only
the government that pleases you. I will wager that you, M.
de Eemusat, are a hundred times more at your ease, now
that you call me Sire and that I address you as Mon-
sieur ? "
As there was some truth in thris remark, my husband
laughed, and answered that certainly the sovereign power be-
came his Majesty very well.
" The fact is," resumed the Emperor, good-humoredly, " I
believe I should not know how to obey. I recollect, at the
time of the Treaty of Campo Formio, M. de Cobentzel and I
met, in order to conclude it, in a room where, according to
an Austrian custom, a dais had been erected and the throne
of the Emperor of Austria was represented. On entering
the room, I asked what that meant ; and afterward I said to
the Austrian Minister, 'Ifow, before we begin, have that
armchair removed, for I can never see one seat higher than
the others without instantly wanting to place myself in it.'
168 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
You see, I had. an instinct of what was to happen to me some
day.
" I have now acquired one great advantage for my gov-
ernment of France : neither she nor I will deceive ourselves
any longer. Talleyrand wanted me to make myself King —
that is the word of his dictionary ; but I will have no grands
seigneurs, except those I make myself. Besides which, the
title of King is worn out. Certain preconceived ideas are
attached to it ; it would make me a kind of heir, and I will
be the heir of no one. The title that I bear is a grander
one ; it is still somewhat vague, and leaves room for the im-
agination. Here is a revolution brought to an end, and, I
flatter myseK, not harshly. Would you know why? Be-
cause no interests have been displaced, and many have been
revived. That vanity of yours must always have breathing
room ; you woiild have been wearied to death with the dull
sternness of a republican government. What caused the
Kevolution 1 Vanity. What will end it ? Vanity again.
Liberty is a pretext ; equality is your hobby, and here are
the people quite pleased with a king taken from the ranks
of the soldiery. Men like the Abbe Sieyes," he added,
laughing, " may inveigh against despotism, but my authority
will always be popular. To-day I have the people and the
army on my side ; and "with these a man would be a great
fool who could not reign."
With these concluding words, Bonaparte rose. Hitherto
he had been very agreeable ; his tone of voice, his counte-
nance, his gestures, all were familiar and encouraging. He
had been smiling, he had seen our answering smiles, and had
even been amused by the remarks we had made on his dis-
course ; in fact, he had put us perfectly at our ease. But
now, in a moment, his manner changed. He looked at us
sternly, in a way that always seemed to increase his short
stature, and gave M. de Kemusat some insigniiicant order in
the curt tone of a despotic master, who takes care that every
request shall be a command.
THE ORIEVANGES OF MADAME MURAT. 169
His tone of voice, so different from that to which I had
been listening for the last hour, made me start ; and, when
we had withdrawn, my husband, who had noticed my invol-
untary movement, told me that he had felt the same sensa-
tion. "You perceive," he said, "he was afraid that this
momentary unbending and confidence might lessen the fear
he is always anxious to inspire. He therefore thought proper
to dismiss us with a reminder that he is the master^ I
never forgot this just observation, and more than once I have
seen that it was founded on a sound appreciation of Bona-
parte's character.
I have allowed myself to digress in relating this conver-
sation and the reflections which preceded it, and must now
return to the day on which Bonaparte was made Emperor,
and continue to depict the curious scenes of which I was an
eye-witness.
I have already enumerated the guests whom Bonaparte
invited to dine with him on that day. Just before dinner
was announced, Duroc, the Governor of the Palace, informed
each of us, severally, that the title of Prince was to be given
to Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, and that of Princess to their
wives. Mmes. Bacciochi and Murat were enraged at the
distinction thus made between themselves and their sisters-
in-law; and Mme. Murat could hardly conceal her anger.
At six o'clock the new Emperor made his appearance, and,
with perfect ease and readiness, saluted each one present by
his or her new title. The scene made a deep impression on
me ; I felt it like a presentiment. The early part of the day
had been fine, but very hot ; but, about the time of the arri-
val of the Senate at Saint Cloud, the weather suddenly
changed, the sky became overcast, thunder was heard, and
for several hours a storm seemed impending. The dark and
heavy atmosphere which weighed on the palace of Saint
Cloud struck me as an evil omen, and I could hardly conceal
the depression I felt. The Emperor was in good spirits, and,
I think, secretly enjoyed the slight confusion which the
170 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
new ceremonial created among us all. The Empress was,
as usual, gracious, and unaflEeeted, and easy; Joseph and
Louis looked pleased ; Mme. Joseph appeared resigned to
anything that might be required of her ; Mme. Louis was
equally submissive ; and Eugene Beauhamais, whom I can
not praise too highly in comparison with the others, was sim-
ple and natural, evidently free from any secret ambition or
repining. This was not the case with the new-made Mar-
shal Murat ; but his fear of his brother-in-law forced him to
restrain himself, and he maintained a eullen silence. Mme.
Murat was excessively angry, and during the dinner had so
little control over herself that, on hearing the Emperor ad-
dress Mme. Louis several times as " Princess," she could not
restrain her tears. She drank several glasses of water in or-
der to recover herself, and to appear to be taking something
at the table, but her tears were not to be checked. Every
one was embarrassed, and her brother smiled maliciously.
For my own part, I was surprised, and even shocked, to see
that young and pretty face disfigured by emotions whose
source was so mean a passion.
Mme. Murat was then between twenty-two and twenty-
three years of age ; her dazzlingly white skin, her beautiful
fair hair, the flowery wreath which decked it, the rose-colored
dress she wore, all contributed to give her a youthful and
childlike appearance. The feelings which she now displayed
contrasted harshly with those charms. No one could pity
her tears, and I think they impressed every one else as disa-
greeably as they impressed me.
Mme. Bacciochi, who was older and had more command
over herself, shed no tears ; but her manner was abrupt and
sarcastic, and she treated us all with marked haughtiness.
The Emperor became annoyed at last by his sisters' be-
havior, and he aggravated their ill humor by indirect taunts,
which wounded them very deeply. All that I witnessed
during that eventful day gave me new notions of the effect
which ambition produces on minds of a certain order ; it was
THE GRIEVANCES OF MADAME MURAT. 171
a spectacle of which I could have formed no previous con-
ception.
On the following day, after a family dinner, a violent
scene took place, at which I was not present ; but we could
hear something of it through the waU. which divided the
Empress's boudoir from our salon. Mme. Murat burst into
complaints, tears, and reproaches ; she asked why she and
her sisters were to be condemned to obscurity and contempt,
while strangers were to be loaded with honors and dignity ?
Bonaparte answered her angrily, asserting several times that
he was master, and would distribute honors as he pleased.
It was on this occasion that he uttered the memorable re-
mark, " Really, mesdames, to hear your pretension, one would
think we hold the crown from our father, the late King."
The Empress afterward retailed to me the whole of this
angry dispute. With all her kind-heartedness, she could not
help enjoying the wrath of a person who so thoroughly dis-
liked her. The discussion ended by Mme. Murat's falling
on the floor in a dead faint, overcome by her excessive anger
and by the acrimony of her brother's reproaches. At this,
Bonaparte's anger vanished, and when his sister recovered
consciousness he gave her some little encouragement. A
few days later, after a consultation with M. de Talleyrand,
Oambaceres, and others, it was arranged that titles of courtesy
should be given to the sisters of the Emperor, and we learned
from the "Moniteur" that they were to be addressed as
" Imperial Highness."
Another vexation was, however, in store for Mme. Murat
and her husband. The private regulations of the palace of
Saint Cloud divided the Imperial apartment into several re-
ception-rooms, which could only be entered according to the
newly acquired rank of each person. The room nearest the
Emperor's cabinet became the throne-room, or Princes' room,
and Marshal Murat, although the husband of a princess, was
excluded from it. M. de Kemusat had the unpleasant task
of refusing him admittance when he was about to pass in.
172 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EJ^MUSAT.
Although my husband was not responsible for the orders he
had received, and executed them with scrupulous politeness,
Murat was deeply offended by this public affront; and he
and his wife, already prejudiced against us on account of our
attachment to the Empress, henceforth honored us both, if I
may use the word, with a secret enmity, of which we have
more than once experienced the effects. Mme. Murat, how-
ever, who had discovered her influence over her brother, was
far from considering the case hopeless on this occasion ; and,
in fact, she eventually succeeded in raising her husband to
the position she so eagerly desired for him.
The new code of precedence caused some disturbance in
a Court which had hitherto been tolerably quiet. The
struggle of contending vanity that convulsed the Imperial
family was parodied in Mme. Bonaparte's circle.
In addition to her four ladies-in-waiting, Mme. Bonaparte
was in the habit of receiving the wives of the various oflScers
attached to the service of the First Consul. Besides these,
Mme. Murat was frequently invited — she lived permanently
at Saint Cloud on account of her husband's position there ;
also Mme. de la Valette, the Marquis de Beauhamais's daugh-
ter, whose misfortunes and conjugal tenderness afterward
made her famous at the time of the sentence passed on her
husband and his escape, in 1815. He was of very humble
origin, but clever, and of an amiable disposition. After hav-
ing served some time in the army, he had abandoned a mode
of life unsuited to his tastes. The First Consul had employed
him on some diplomatic missions, and had just appointed him
Counsellor of State. He evinced extreme devotion to all the
Beauhamais, whose kinsman he had become. His. wife was
amiable and unpretending by nature, but it seemed as though
vanity were to become the ruling passion in every one be-
longing to the Court, of both sexes and all ages.
An order, from the Emperor which gave the ladies-in-
waiting pi'ecedence over others became a signal for an out-
burst of feminine jealousy. Mme. Maret, a cold, proiid per-
THE ORIEVANOES OF MADAME MURAT. 173
sonage, was annoyed that we should take precedence of her,
and made common cause with Mme. Murat, who fully shared
her feelings. Besides this, M. de Talleyrand, who was no
friend to Maret, and mercilessly, ridiculed his absurdities,
and was also on bad terms with Murat, had become an object
of dislike to both, and, consequently, a bond of union be-
tween the two. The Empress did not like anybody who
was a friend of Mme. Murat, and treated Mme. Maret with
some coldness ; and, although I never shared any of these
feelings, and, for my own part, disliked nobody, I was in-
cluded in the animadversions of that party upon the Beau-
harnais.
On Sunday morning the new Empress received com-
mands to appear at mass, attended only by her four ladies-
in-waiting. Mme. de la Y^alette, who had hitherto accom-
panied her aunt on all occasions, finding herseK suddenly
deprived of this privilege, burst into tears, and so we had to
set about consoling this ambitious young lady. I observed
these things with much amusement, preserving my serenity
in these somewhat absurd dissensions, which were, neverthe-
less, natural enough. So much was it a matter of course for
the inmates of the palace to live in a state of excitement, and
to be either joyous or depressed according as their new-born
projects of ambition were accomplished or disappointed, that
one day, when I was in great spirits and laughing heartily at
some jest or other, one of Bonaparte's aides-de-camp came up
to me and asked me in a low voice whether I had been prom-
ised some new dignity. I could not help asking him in re-
turn whether he fancied that at Saint Cloud one must always
be in tears unless one was a princess.
Tet I had my own little ambition too, but it was moderate
and easy to satisfy. The Emperor had made known to me
through the Empress, and M. de Caulaincourt had repeated
it to my husband, that, on the consolidation of his own for-
tunes, he would not forget those who had from the first de-
voted themselves to his service. Kelying on this assurance.
174: MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
we felt easy with regard to our future, and took no steps to
render it secure. We were wrong, for every one else was
actively at work. M. de Kemusat liad always kept aloof
from any kind of scheming, a defect in a man who lived at
a Court. Certain good qualities are absolutely a bar to ad-
vancement in the favor of sovereigns. They do not like to
find generous feehngs and philosophical opinions which are
a mark of independence of mind in their surroimdings ; and
they think it stiU. less pardonable that those who serve them
should have any means of escaping from their power. Bo-
naparte, who was exacting in the kind of service he required,
quickly perceived that M. de Remusat would serve him faith-
fully, and yet would not bend to all his caprices. This dis-
covery, together with some additional circumstances which I
shall relate in their proper places, induced him to discard his
obligations to him. He retained my husband near him ; he
made use of him to suit his own convenience ; but he did
not confer the same honors upon him which he bestowed on
many others, because he knew that no favors would procure
the compliance of a man who was incapable of sacrificing
self-respect to ambition. The arts of a courtier were, be-
sides, incompatible with M. de Eemusat's tastes. He liked
solitude, serious occupations, family life ; every feeling of
his heart was tender and pure ; the use, or rather the waste
of his time, which was exclusively occupied in a continual
and minute attention to the details of Court etiquette, was a
source of constant jegret to him. The Eevolution, which
removed him from the ranks of the magistracy, having de-
prived him of his chosen calling, he thought it his duty to
his children to accept the position which had offered itself ;
but the constant attention to important trifles to which he
was condemned was wearisome, and he was only punctual
when he ought to have been assiduous. Afterward, when
the veil fell from his eyes, and he saw Bonaparte as he really
was, his generous spirit was roused to indignation, and close
personal attendance on him became very painful to my hus-
TEE NEW COURT. 175
band. Nothing is so fatal to the promotion of a courtier as
his being actuated by conscientious scruples which he does
not conceal. But, at the period of which I am speaking,
these feelings of ours were still only vague, and I must re-
peat what I have already said — that we believed that the
Emperor was in some measure indebted to us, and we relied
on him.
The time soon came, however, when we lost some of our
importance. People of rank equal to our own, and soon
afterward those who were our superiors both in rank and
fortune, begged to be allowed to form part of the Imperial
Court ; and thenceforth the services of those who were the
first to show the way thither decreased in value. Bonaparte
was highly delighted at his gradual conquest of the French
nobility, and even Mme. Bonaparte, who was more suscepti-
ble of affection than he, had her head turned for a time by
finding real grandes dames among her ladies-in-waiting.
Wiser and more far-sighted persons than ourselves would
have been more than ever attentive and assiduous in order to
keep their footing, which was disputed in every direction by
a crowd full of their own importance ; but, far from acting
thus, we gave way to them. "We saw in all this an oppor-
tunity of partially regaining our freedom, and' imprudently
availed ourselves of it ; and when, from any cause whatever,
one loses ground at Court, it is rarely to be recovered.
M. de Talleyrand, who was urging Bonaparte to surround
himself with all the prestige of royalty, advised him to grati-
fy the vanity and pretension of those whom he wished to
allure ; and in France the nobility can be satisfied only by
being placed in the front. Those distinctions to which they
thought themselves entitled had to be dangled before their
eyes; the Montmorencys, the Montesquious, etc., were se-
cured by the promise that, from the day they cast in their lot
with Bonaparte, they should resume all their former impor-
tance. In fact, it could not be otherwise, when the Emperor
had once resolved on forming a regular Court.
176 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
Some persons have thought that Bonaparte would have
done more wisely had he retained some of the simplicity and
austerity in externals which disappeared with the Consulate
when he adopted the new title of Emperor. A constitutional
government and a limited Court, displaying no luxury, and
significant of the change which successive revolutions had
wrought in people's ideas, might perhaps have been less
pleasing to the national vanity, but it would have com-
manded more real respect. At the time of which I am
speaking, the dignities to be conferred on those persons sur-
rounding the new sovereign were much discussed. Duroc
requested M. de Eemusat to give his ideas on the subject in
writing. He drew up a wise and moderate plan, but which
was too simple for those secret projects which no one had
then divined. " There is not sufficient display in it," said
Bonaparte, as he read it ; " all that would not throw dust in
people's eyes." His object was to decoy, in order to deceive
more effectually.
As he refused to give a free constitution to the French,
he had to conciliate and fascinate them by eveiy possible
means ; and, there being always some littleness in pride,
supreme power was not enough for him — he must have the
appearance of it too ; he must have etiquette, chamberlains,
and so forth, which he believed would disguise ihe jpa/t^venu.
He liked display ; he leaned toward a feudal system quite
alien to the age in which he lived, but which nevertheless he
intended to establish. It would, however, in all probability,
have only lasted for the duration of his own reign.
It would be impossible to record all his notions on this
subject. The following were some of them : " The French
Empire," he would say, " will become the mother country of
the other sovereignties of Europe. I intend that each of the
kings shall be obliged to build a big palace for his own use
in Paris ; and that, on the coronation of the Emperor of the
French, these kings shall come to Paris,, and grace by theii*
presence that imposing ceremony to which they will render
TEE NEW COURT. 177
homage." What did this project mean, except that he hoped
to revive the feudal system, and to resuscitate a Charlemagne
who, for his own advantage only, and to strengthen his own.
power, should avail himself of the despotic notions of a for-
mer era and also of the experience of modern times ?
Bonaparte frequently declared that he alone was the whole
Revolution, and he at length persuaded himself that in his
own person he preserved all of it which it would not be well
to destroy.
A fever of etiquette seemed to have seized on all the inhab-
itants of the Imperial palace of Saint Cloud. The ponderous
regulations of Louis XIV. were taken down from the shelves
in the library, and extracts were commenced from them,
in order that a code might be drawn up for the use of the
new Court. Mme. Bonaparte sent for Mme. Campan, who
had been Firet Bedchamber Woman to Marie Antoiuette.
She was a clever woman, and kept a school, where, as I have
already mentioned, nearly all the young girls who appeared
at Bonaparte's Court had been educated. She was questioned
in detail as to the manners and customs of the last Queen of
France, and I was appointed to vn-itfe everything that she re-
lated from her dictation. Bonaparte added the very volu-
minous memoranda which resulted from this to those which
were brought to him from all sides. M. de Talleyrand was
consulted about everything. There was a continual coming
and going ; people were living in a kind of ujicertainty which
had its pleasing side, because every one hoped to rise higher.
I must candidly confess that we all felt ourselves more or less
elevated. Vanity is ingenious in its expectations, and ours
were unlimited.
Sometimes it was disenchanting, for a moment, to ob-
serve the almost ridiculous effect that this agitation produced
upon certain classes of society. Those who had nothing to
do with our brand-new dignities said with Montaigne, " Yen-
geons-nous par en medireP Jests more or less witty, and ca-
leinhours more or less ingenious, were lavished on these new-
178 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RMUSAT.
made princes, and somewliat distiirbed our brilliant visions ;
but the number of those who dare to censure success is
small, and flattery was much more common than criticism, at
any rate in the circle under our observation.
Such was, then, the position of affairs at the close of the
era which terminates here. The narrative of the second
epoch will show what progress we all made (when I say " we
all," I mean France and Europe) in this course of brilliant
errors, which was destined to lead to the loss of our liberties
and the obscuration of our true greatness for a long period.
In the April of that year Bonaparte made his brother
Louis a member of the Council of State, and Joseph colonel
of the 4th Eegiment of Infantry. " Tou must both belong
to the civil and military service by turns," he said. " You
must not be strangers to anything that concerns the interests
of the country."
CHAPTEE ym.
(1804.)
The Trial of General Moreau — Condemnation of MM. do Polignac, De Eivito, etc.
— Pardon of M. de Polignac — A Letter from Louis XVIII.
The creation of the Empire had turned public attention
away from the proceedings against Moreau, which were,
however, going on. The accused had been brought before
the tribunal several times ; but, the more the case was inves-
tigated, the less hope there was of the condemnation of
Moreau, which became day by day an object of greater im-
portance. I am perfectly convinced that the Emperor would
not have allowed Moreau's life to be taken. That the Gen-
eral should be condemned and pardoned would have been
sufficient for his purpose, which was to refute, by the sen-
tence of the court, those who accused him of having acted
with undue haste and personal animosity.
All who have brought cool observation to bear upon this
important event are agreed in thinking that Moreau ex-
hibited weakness and want of judgment. When he was
brought up for examination, he showed none of the dignity
that was expected from him. He did not, like Georges Ca-
doudal, assume the attitude of a determined man, who open-
ly avowed the lofty designs that had actuated him ; neither
did he assimie that of an innocent man, full of righteous in-
dignation at an unjust charge. He prevaricated in some of
his answers, and the interest which he inspired was dimin-
ished by that fact ; but even then Bonaparte gained nothing
180 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
by this lessening entliusiasm, and not only party spirit, but
reason itself, censured no less strongly than before a proceed-
ing which was still attributed to personal enmity.
At length, on the 30th of May, the formal indictment
{acte d^ accusation) appeared in the " Moniteur." It was ac-
companied by certain letters written by Moreau in 1795, be-
fore the 18th Fructidor, which proved that the General, be-
ing then convinced that Pichegru was corresponding with
the princes, had denounced him to the Directory. A gen-
eral and natural question then arose : Why had Moreau acted
so differently in the case of this second conspiracy, justifying
himself by the statement that he had not thought it proper
to reveal the secret of a plot, in which he had refused to en-
gage, to the First Consul ?
On the 6th of June the examinations of all the accused
persons were pubhshed. Among these there were some who
declared positively that the princes, in England, were quite
confident that they might count upon Moreau ; that it was
with this hope Pichegru had gone to France, and that the
two generals had subsequently on several occasions had in-
terviews with Georges Cadoudal. They even asserted that
Pichegru had evinced great dissatisfaction after these inter-
views, had complained that Moreau gave him only half-
hearted support, and seemed anxious to profit on his own ac-
count by the blow which was to strike Bonaparte. A person
named Bolland declared that Moreau had said, " The first
thing to be done is to get rid of the First Consul."
Moreau, on being questioned in his turn, answered that
Pichegru, when he was in England, had conveyed an in-
quiry to him as to whether he would assist him in case he
should wish to return to France, and that he had prom-
ised to help him to carry out that project. It naturally occa-
sioned no little astonishment that Pichegru, who had been
denounced some years before by Moreau himself, should
have applied to him to obtain his " erasure " ; and Pichegru
had, at the time of his examination, denied that he had done
TEE TRIAL OF GENERAL MOREAU. 181
SO. At the same time, however, he also denied that he had
seen Moreau, although Moreau acknowledged that they had
met, and he persisted in declaring that in coming to France
he had been actuated solely by his aversion to a foreign
country, and his desire to return to his own. Shortly after-
ward Pichegru was found strangled in his prison, and the
circumstances of his death have never been explained, nor
have any comprehensible motives which could have rendered
it necessary to himself been assigned.*
Moreau admitted that he had received Pichegru (who
took him, he said, by surprise) at his house, but he de-
clared at the same time that he had positively refused
to enter into a scheme for the replacement of the house
of Bourbon on the throne, because such a resolution would
disturb the settlement of the national property; and he
added that, so far as his own personal pretensions were con-
cerned, the notion was absurd, as it would have been neces-
sary to their success that not only the Pirst Consul, but
the two other Consuls, the Governors of Paris, and the
guard, should be got rid of. He declared that he had seen
Pichegru but once, although others of the accused asserted
* Here, as in the preceding chapter, the author is not sufficiently precise in
relating the cause of tlie death of General Pichegru. The statement that he
had committed suicide was received at the time with widespread incredulity, and
the first result of the death of the Due d'Enghicn was that the Emperor was
made to expiate that crime, by hiaving others imputed to him which his most de-
termined enemies would not have attributed to him previously. It is only com-
mon justice to Napoleon to record that his accusers have never been able to
prove that it was for his interest in any way that the accused should not appear
before his judges. M. Thiers has demonstrated that Pichegru's presence at the
trial was necessary. The depositions of the accused of all parlies were all
equally condemnatory of him. His legal criminality was certain, and he could
not fail to be condemned, and to deserve his condemnation. The man who was
really to be feared was Moreau. It has, indeed, been said that a report made
by experts established the impossibility of suicide under the circumstances ; i. e.,
the use of a silk handkerchief, from which the body was found hanging. We
must, however, bear in mind that legal medicine seventy years ago was a merely
conjectural science, and that recent experience has proved suicide by strangula-
tion to be easily and rapidly efEected.
182 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S^MUSAT.
tliat several interviews had taken place between them ; and
he maintaiaed this line of defense unshaken. He was, how-
ever, ohhged to admit that he had discovered at an advanced
stage of the affair that Frasnieres, his private secretary, was
deeply involved with the conspirators. Frasnieres had fled on
the first alarm.
Georges Cadoudal answered that his plan was to attack
the First Consul, and remove him by force ; that he had
never entertained a doubt of finding in Paris itself a num-
bei* of enemies of the actual regime who would aid him in
his enterprise ; and that he would have endeavored by every
means in his power to replace Louis XYIII. upon his throne.
He steadily denied, however, that he knew either Pichegm
or Moreau ; and he terminated his replies with these words :
" You have victims enough ; I do not wish to augment their
number."
Bonaparte seemed to be impressed by this strength of
character, and said to us on that occasion, " If it were pos-
sible that I could save any of these assassins, I shoidd pardon
Georges."
The Dae de Polignae replied that he had come to France
secretly, with the sole purpose of ascertaining positively the
state of public opinion, and what were the chances it af-
forded ; but that, when he perceived that an assassination
was in question, he had thought only of getting away again,
and would have left France if he had not been arrested.
M. de Kiviere made a similar answer, and M. Jules de
Polignae declared that he had merely followed his brother.
On the 10th of June twenty of the accused persons were
convicted and sentenced to death. At the head of the list
were Georges Cadoudal and the Marquis de Eivi^re. The
judgment went on to state that Jules de Polignae, Louis
. M^ridan, Moreau, and Bolland were guilty of having taken
part in the said conspiracy, but that it appeared from the
" instruction " and the investigation that there were circum-
stances which rendered them excusable, and that the court
CONDEMNATION OF M. DE POLIGNAC. 183
therefore commuted the punishment which they had incurred
to that of fine and imprisonment.
I was at Saint Cloud when the news of this finding of the
court arrived. Every one was dumfounded. The Chief
Judge had pledged himself to the First Consul that Moreau
should be condemned to death, and Bonaparte's discomfiture
was so great that he was incapable of concealing it. It was
publicly known that, at his first public audience on the Sun-
day following, he displayed ungovemed anger toward Le-
courbe (brother to the general of that name), the judge who
had spoken strongly in favor of Moreau's innocence at the
trial. He ordered Lecourbe out of his presence, calling him
a "prevaricating judge" — an epithet whose signification no-
body could guess ; and shortly afterward he deprived him of
his judgeship.
I returned to Paris, much troubled by the state of things
at Saint Cloud, and I found that among a certain party in
the city the result of the trial was regarded with exultation
which was nothing short of an insult to the Emperor. The
nobility were much grieved by the condemnation of the Due
de Polignac.
I was with my mother and my husband, and we were de-
ploring the melancholy results of these proceedings, and the
numerous executions which were about to take place, when
I was informed that the Duehesse de Polignac, and her
aunt, Mme. Daudlau, the daughter of Helvetius, whom I
had often met in society, had come to visit me. They were
ushered into the room, both in tears. The Duchess, who
was in an interesting situation, enlisted my sympathies at
once ; she came to entreat me to procure an audience of the
Emperor for her, that she might implore him to pardon her
husband. She had no means of gaining admission to the
palace of Saint Cloud, and she hoped I would assist her.
M. de Eemusat and my mother were, like myself, fuUy alive
to the difficulty of the enterprise, but we all three felt that I
ought not to allow that difficulty to hinder me from making
184 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
tlie attempt ; and as we still had some days before us, be-
cause of the appeal agamst their sentence which the con-
demned men had made, I arranged with the two ladies that
they should go to Saint Cloud on the following day, while I
was to precede them by a few hours, and induce Mme. Bona-
parte to receive them.
Accordingly, the next day I returned to Saint Cloud, and
I had no diificulty in obtaining a promise from my good
Empress that she would receive a person in so unhappy a
position. But she did not conceal from me that she felt
considerable dread of approaching the Emperor at a moment
when he was so much displeased. "If," said she, " Moreau
had been condemned, I should feel more hopeful of our
success ; but he is in such a rage that I am afraid he will
turn us away, and be angry with you for what you are going
to make me do."
I was too much moved by the tears and the condition of
Mme. de Polignac to be influenced by such a consideration,
and I did my best to make the Empress realize the impres-
sion which these sentences had produced in Paris. I re-
minded her of the death of the Due d'Enghien, of Bona-
parte's elevation to the imperial throne in the midst of
sanguinary punishments, and pointed out to her that the
general alarm would be allayed by one act of clemency
which might, at least, be quoted side by side with so many
acts of severity.
While I was speaking to the Empress with all the warmth
and earnestness of which I was capable, and with streaming
tears, the Emperor suddenly entered the room from the
terrace outside ; this he frequently did of a morning, when
he would leave his work, and come through the glass door
into his wife's room for a little talk with her. He instantly
perceived our agitation, and, although at another moment I
should have been taken aback at his unlooked-for presence,
the profound emotion which I felt overcame all other con-
siderations, and I replied to his questions with a frank
CONDEMNATION OF M. DE POLIONAC. 185
avowal of what I had ventured to do. The Empress, who
was closely observing his countenance, seeing the severe look
that overcast it, did not hesitate to come to my aid by tell-
ing him that she had already consented to receive Mme. de
Polignac.
The Emperor began by refusing to listen to us, and com-
plaining that we were putting him in for all the diflBculty of
a position which would give him the appearance of cruelty.
" I -will not see this woman," he said to me. " I can not
grant a pardon. You do not see that this Royalist party is
full of young fools, who will begin again with this kind of
thing, and keep on at it, if they are not kept within bounds
by a severe lesson. The Bourbons are credulous ; they be-
lieve the assurances which they get from schemers who de-
ceive them respecting the real state of the public mind of
France, and they will send a lot of victims over here."
This answer did not stop me ; I was extremely excited,
partly by the event itself, and perhaps also by the slight risk
I was running of displeasing my formidable master. I would
not be so cowardly in my own eyes as to retreat before any
personal consideration, and that feeling made me bold and
tenacious. I insisted so strongly, and entreated with such
earnestness, that the Emperor, who was walking hurriedly
about the room while I was speaking, suddenly paused oppo-
site to me, and, fixing a piercing gaze on me, said : " What
personal interest do you take in these people ? You are not
excusable except they are your relatives."
" Sire," I answered, with all the firmness I could sum-
mon up, " I do not know them, and until yesterday I had
never seen Mme. de Polignac." " What ! And you thus
plead the cause of people who came here to assassinate me ? "
" No, sire ; I plead the cause of an unfortunate woman who
is in despair, and — I must say it — I plead your own cause
too." And then, quite carried away by my feelings, I re-
peated all that I had said to the Empress. She was as much
affected as myself, and warmly seconded all I said. But we
186 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
could obtain nothing from the Emperor at that moment ; he
went angrily away, telling us not to " worry " him any more.
A few minutes afterward I was informed that Mme. de
Polignac had arrived. The Empress received' her in a pri-
vate room, and promised that she would do everything in
her power to obtain a pardon for the Due de Polignac. Dur-
ing the course of that morning, certainly one of the most
agitating I have ever lived through, the Empress went tmce
into her husband's cabinet, and twice had to leave it, repulsed.
Each time she returned to me, quite disheartened, and I was
losing hope and beginning to tremble at the prospect of hav-
ing to take a refusal to Mme. de Polignac as the final answer.
At length we learned that M. de Talleyrand was with the
Emperor, and I besought the Empress to make one last at-
tempt, thinking that, if M. de Talleyrand were a witness to
it, he would endeavor to persuade Bonaparte. And, in fact,
he did second the Empress at once and strongly ; and at
length Bonaparte, vanquished by their supplications, consent-
ed to allow Mme. de Polignac to appear before him. This
was promising everything ; it would have been impossible to
utter a cruel " No ! " in such a presence. Mme. de Polignac
was ushered into the cabinet, and fell fainting at the Emper-
or's feet. The Empress was in tears ; the pardon of the Due
de Polignac was granted, and an article written by M. de
Talleyrand gave a charming account of the scene, in what
was then called the " Journal de I'Empire," on the following
day.
M. de Talleyrand, on leaving the Emperor's cabinet,
found me in the Empress's boudoir, and related to me all
that had occurred. He made me cry afresh, and he was far
from being unmoved himself ; but, nevertheless, he also made
me laugh by his recital of an absurd little circumstance which
had not escaped his keen perception of the ridiculous. Poor
Mme. Daudlau, who had accompanied her niece, and wanted
to produce her own particular little effect, kept on repeating,
in the midst of her efforts to revive Mme. de Polignac — who
PARDON OF M. BE POLIQNAO. 187
was restored to consciousness with great difficulty — " Sire, I
am the daughter of Helvetius ! "
The Due de Polignac's sentence was commuted to four
years' imprisonment, to be followed by banishment. He was
sent to join his brother, and, after having been confined in a
fortress, they were removed to a civil prison, whence they
escaped during the campaign of 1814. The Due de Kovigo
(Fouche), who was then Minister of Police, was suspected of
having connived at their escape, in order to curry favor with
the party whose approaching triumph he foresaw.
I have no desire to make more of myself on this occasion
than I strictly deserve, but I think it will be a,dmitted that
circumstances so fell out as to permit me to render a very
substantial service to the Polignac family — one of which it
would seem natural that they should have preserved some
recollection. Since the return of the King to France, I
have, however, been taught by experience how effectually
party spirit, especially among courtiers, effaces all senti-
ments of which it disapproves, no matter how just they
may be.
After the incident which I have just related, I received
a few visits from Mme. de Polignac, who doubtless held her-
self bound to so much recognition of me ; but, by degrees,
as we lived in different circles, we lost sight of each other for
some years, until the Restoration. At that epoch the Due
de Polignac, having been sent by the King to Malmaison to
thank the Empress Josephine in his Majesty's name for her
zealous efforts to save the life of the Due d'Enghien, took
advantage of the opportunity to express his own gratitude to
her at the same time. The Empress informed me of this
visit, and said that no doubt the Duke would also call on
me ; and I confess that I expected some polite recognition
from him. I did not receive any ; and, as it was not accord-
ing to my notions to endeavor to arouse by any words of
mine gratitude which could only be valuable by being volun-
tary, I remained quietly at home, and made no reference to
188 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
an event which tlie persons concerned in it seemed to wish to
forget, or at least to ignore.
One evening chance brought me in contact with Mme.
de Polignac. It was at a reception at the house of the Due
d'Orl^ans, and in the midst of a great crowd. The Palais
Eoyal was splendidly decorated, all the French nobility were
assembled there, and the grands seigneurs and high-bom gen-
tlemen to whom the Kestoration at first seemed to mean the
restoration of their former rights, accosted each other with
ths easy, secure, and satisfied manner so readily resumed with
success. Amid this brilliant crowd I perceived the Duchesse
de Polignac. After long years I found her again, restored
to her rank, receiving all those congratulations which were
due to her, surrounded by an adulatory crowd. I recalled
the day on which I first saw her, the state she was then in,
her tears, her terror, the way in which she came toward me
when she entered my room, and almost feU at my feet. I
was deeply moved by this contrast, and, being only a few
paces from her, the interest with which she inspired me led
me to approach her. I addressed her in a tone of voice
which, no doubt, fully conveyed the really tender feeling of
the moment, and congratulated her on the very different cir-
cumstances under which we met again. All I would have
asked of her was a word of remembrance, which would have
responded to the emotion I felt on her account. This feeling
was speedily chilled by the indifference and constraint with
which she listened to what I said. She either did not recog-
nize me, or she affected not to do so ; I had to give my name.
Her embarrassment increased. On perceiving this I imme-
diately turned away, and with very painful feelings ; for those
which her presence had caused, and which I had thought at
first she would share, were rudely dispelled.
The Empress's goodness in obtaining a remission of the
capital sentence for M. de Polignac made a great sensation
in Paris, and gave rise to renewed praise of her kindness of
heart, which had obtained almost universal recognition. The
PARDON OF THE MARQUIS DE BIVISrE. 189
wives, or mothers, or sisters of the other political offenders
immediately besieged the palace of Saint Cloud, and en-
deavored to obtain audience of the Empress, hoping to enlist
her sympathy. Applications were also made to her daughter,
and they both obtained further pardons or commutations of
sentence. The Emperor felt that a dark shadow would be
cast on his accession to the throne by so many executions,
and showed himseK accessible to the petitions addressed to
him.
His sisters, who were by no means included in the popu-
larity of the Empress, and were anxious to' obtain if possible
some public favor for themselves, gave the wives of some of
the condemned men to understand that they might apply to
them also. They then took the petitioners in their own car-
riages to Saint Cloud, in a sort of semi-state, to entreat par-
don for their husbands. These proceedings, as to which the
Emperor, I believe, had been consulted beforehand, seemed
less spontaneous than those of the Empress — indeed, bore
signs of prearrangement ; but at any rate they served to save
the lives of several persons. Murat, who had excited uni-
versal indignation by his violent behavior and by his hostility
to Moreau, also tried to regain popularity by similar devices,
and did in fact obtain a pardon for the Marquis de Riviere.
On the same occasion he brought a letter from Georges Ca-
doudal to Bonaparte, which I heard read. It was a manly
and outspoken letter, such as might be penned by a man
who, being convinced that the deeds he has done, and which
have proved his destruction, were dictated by a generous
sense of duty and an unchangeable resolution, is resigned to
his fate. Bonaparte was deeply impressed by this letter, and
again expressed his regret that he could not extend clemency
to Georges Cadoudal.
This man, the real head of- the conspiracy, died with un-
shaken courage. Twenty had been condemned to death.
The capital sentence was, in the cases of seven, commuted to
a more or less prolonged imprisonment. Their names are as
190 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
follows : the Due de Polignac, the Marquis de Eiviere, Eus-
sillon, KocheUe, D'Hozier, LajoUais, Guillard. The others
were executed. General Moreau was taken to Bordeaux,
and put on board a ship for the United States. His family
sold their property by Imperial command ; the Emperor
bought a portion of it, and bestowed the estate of Grosbois
on Marshal Berthier.
A few days later, the " Moniteur " published a protest
from Louis XVIII. against the accession of Napoleon. It
appeared on July 1, 1804, but produced little effect. The
Cadoudal conspiracy had weakened the faint sentiment of
barely surviving allegiance to the old dynasty. The plot
had, in fact, been so badly conceived ; it seemed to be based
on such total ignorance of the internal- state of France, and
of the opinions of the various parties in the country ; the
names and the characters of the conspirators inspired so lit-
tle confidence ; and, above all, the further disturbances which
must have resulted from any great change, were so univer-
sally dreaded that, with the exception of a small number of
gentlemen whose interests would be served by the renewal of
an abolished state of things, there was in Erance no regret
for a result which served to strengthen the newly inaugu-
rated system. Whether from conviction, or from a longing
for repose, or from yielding to the sway of the great fortunes
of the new Head of the State, many gave in their adhesion
to his sovereignty, and from this time forth France assumed
a peaceful and orderly attitude. The opposing factions be-
came disheartened, and, as commonly happens when this is
the case, each individual belonging to them made secret at-
temps to link his lot to the chances offered by a totally new
system. Gentle and simple. Royalists and Liberals, all be-
gan to scheme for advancement. New ambitions and vani-
ties were aroused, and favors solicited in every direction.
Bonaparte beheld those on whom he could least have counted
suing for the honor of serving him.
Meanwhile he was not in haste to choose from among
A RESPITE FROM COURT LIFE. 191
them ; he delayed a long time, in order to feed their hopes
and to increase the number of aspirants. During this respite,
I left the Court for a little breathing-time in the country.
I staid for a month in the valley of Montmorency, with
Mme. d'Houdetot, of whom I have already spoken. The
quiet life I led in her house was refreshing after the anxie-
ties and annoyances which I had recently had to endure
almost uninterruptedly. I needed this interval of rest ; my
health, which since that time has always been more or less
delicate, was beginning to fail, and my spirits were depressed
by the new aspect of events, and by discoveries I was slowly
making about things in general, and about certain great per-
sonages in particular. The gilded veil which Bonaparte used
to say hung before the eyes of youth was beginning to lose
its brightness, and I became aware of the fact with astonish-
ment, which always causes more or less suffering, until time
and experience have made us wiser and taught us to take
tilings more easily.
17
CHAPTEE IX.
(1804.)
Plans for the Invasion — An Article in the "Moniteur" — The Great Officers of
State— The Ladies-in-Waiting — The Anniversary of July lith— Beauty of the
Emjjress — ^Projects of Divorce — Preparations for the Coronation.
By degrees the flotillas built in our other harbors came
round to join those of Boulogne. They sometimes met with
obstacles on the way, for English vessels were always cruis-
ing about the coast to prevent their junction. The camps at
Boulogne, at Montreuil, and at Compiegne presented an im-
posing appearance, and the army became daily more numer-
ous and more formidable.
There is no doubt that these preparations for war, and
the comments which were made upon them in Paris, caused
some anxiety in Europe ; for an article appeared in the
newspapers which created no great impression at the time,
but which I considered to be worth preserving, because it
was an exact forecast of all that has since occurred. It ap-
peared in the " Moniteur " of July 10, 1804, on the same
day with an account of the audience given by the Emperor
to all the ambassadors who had just received fresh creden-
tials to his Court. Some of the latter contained flattering
expressions from foreign sovereigns on his accession to the
throne.
This is the article :
" From time immemorial, the metropolis has been the
home of hearsay (fo« on dif). A new rumor springs up every
day, to be contradicted on the next. Although there has
AN ARTIOLE IN THE -'■ MONITEUS.:' 193
been of late more activity, and a certain persistence in these
reports which gratify idle curiosity, we think it more desira-
ble to leave them to time, and that wisest of all possible re-
plies, silence ! Besides, what sensible Frenchman, really in-
terested in discovering the truth, will fail to recognize in the
current rumors the offspring of malignity more or less inter-
ested in their circulation ?
" In a country where so large a number of men are well
aware of existing facts, and are able to judge of those which
do not exist, if any one imagines that current rumors ought
to cause him real anxiety, if a credulous confidence in them
influences his commercial enterprises or his personal interests,
either his error is not a lasting one, or he must lay the blame
on his own want of reflection.
" But foreigners, persons attached to diplomatic missions,
not having the same means of judging, nor the same knowl-
edge of the country, are often deceived ; and, although for a
long time past they have had opportunities of observing how
invariably every event gives the lie to current gossip, they
nevertheless repeat it in foreign countries, and thus give rise
to most eiToneous notions about France. We therefore think
it advisable to say a few words in this journal on the subject
of political gossip.
"ii! is said that the Emperor is about to unite the Italian
republic, the Ligurian republic, the republic of Xucca, the
kingdom of Etruria, the Papal States, and, by a necessary
consequence, Naples and Sicily, under his own rule. It is
said that the same fate is reserved for Switzerland and Hol-
land. It is said that, by annexing Hanover, the Emperor
will be enabled to become a member of the Gennanie Con-
federation.
" Many deductions are drawn from these suppositions ;
and the first we remark is that the Pope will abdicate, and
that Cardinal Fesch or Cardinal Eufib will be raised to the
Pontifical Throne.
" We have already said, and we repeat it, that if the in-
194 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
fluence of Fraiaee were to be exerted in. any changes affecting
the Sovereign PontifE, it would be exerted for the welfare of
the Holy Father, and to increase the respect due to the Holy
See and its possessions, rather than to diminish it.
"As to the kingdom of Naples, Mr. Acton's aggressive
action and his constantly hostile policy might in former times
have afforded France a legitimate cause of war, which she
would never have undertaken with the intention of uniting
the Two Sicilies to the French Empire.
" The Italian and Ligurian republics and the kingdom of
Etruria will not cease to exist as independent States, and it
is surely very unlikely that the Emperor would disown both
the duties attached to the authority which he derives from
the comitia of Lyons, and the personal glory he has acquired
by twice restoring to independence the States which twice
he has conquered.
" "We may ask, as regards Switzerland, who prevented its
annexation to France before the Act of Mediation ? This
Act, the immediate result of care and thought on the part of
the Emperor, has restored tranquillity to those peoples, and
is a guarantee of their independence and security, so long as
they themselves do not destroy this guarantee by substitut-
ing the will of one of their constituent corporations, or that
of a party, for the elements of which it is composed.
" Had France desired to annex Holland, Holland would
now be French, like Belgium. That she is an independent
power is because France felt with regard to that country, as
she felt in the case of Switzerland, that the localities required
an individual existence and a particular kind of organization.
" A still more absurd supposition is entertained respect-
ing Hanover. The annexation of that province would be
the most fatal gift that could be made to France, and no
lengthened consideration of the matter is needed in order to
perceive this. Hanover would become a cause of rivalry
between the French nation and that prince who was the ally
and friend of France at a time when all Europe was in coa-
Air ARTIOLE IN THE "MONITEUR." 195
lition against lier. In order to retain Hanover, it would be
necessary to keep up a military force at a cost out of all pro-
portion to the few millions which constitute the whole of the
revenues of that country. Will that Government which has
made sacrifices in order to maintain the principle that a sim-
ple and continuous frontier-line, even as far as the fortifi-
cations of Strasbourg and of Mayence on the right bank, is
necessary, be so shortsighted as to wish for the incorj^oration
of Hanover ?
" But, it is said, the advantage of belonging to the Ger-
manic Confederation depends on the possession of Hanover.
The mere title of Emperor of the French is suflBcient answer
to this singular idea. The Germanic Confederation is com-
posed of kings, electors, and princes, and it recognizes, in re-
lation to itself, but one imperial dignity. It would be to
misjudge the noble pride of our country to suppose she
would ever consent to become an element in any other con-
federation, even had such a thing been compatible with na-
tional dignity. What could have prevented France from main-
taining her rights in the circle of Burgundy, or those which
conferred on her the possession of the Palatinate ? We may
even ask, with pardonable pride, who was it that prevented
France from keeping part of the States of Baden and of the
Swabian territory ?
" 'Eo, France will never cross the Rhine ! "^ov will her
armies pass over it, unless it become necessary for her to
protect the German Empire and its princes, who inspire an
interest in her because of their attachment to her, and their
value in the balance of power in Europe.
" If these are simply idle rumors, we have answered them
sufliciently. If they owe their origin to the anxious jealousy
of foreign Powers, who are always crying out that France is
ambitious in order to cloak their own ambition, there is an-
other answer to be made. Owing to the two coalitions suc-
cessively entered into against us, and to the treaties of 0am-
po Formio and LuneviUe, France has no province for her
196 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE bMuSAT.
neighbor which she could wish to annex ; and, if in the past
she has displayed an example of moderation unexampled in
modem history, the result is an advantage for her, inasmuch
as she need not henceforth take up arms.
" Her capital is in the center of her Empire ; her fron-
tiers are bounded by small States which complete her politi-
cal constitution ; geographically she can desire nothing be-
longing to her neighbors — she is therefore naturally inimical
to none ; and, as there exists in her respect neither another
Finland, nor another Kiver Inn, she is in a position which
no other Power enjoys.
"As it is with those rumors which try to prove that
France is inordinately ambitious, so it is with others of a dif-
ferent nature.
" Not long ago rebellion was in our camps. Two days
back thirty thousand Frenchmen had refused to embark at
Boulogne ; yesterday our legions were at war with each
other, ten against ten, thirty against thirty, flag against flag.
Our four Rhenish departments were informed that we were
about to restore them to their former ruler. To-day, per-
haps, it is said that the public treasury is empty, that the
public works have been discontinued, that discord prevails
everywhere, and that the taxes are unpaid. If the Emperor
starts for the camps, it will be said, perhaps, that he is hur-
rying thither to restore peace. In fact, whether he remains
at Saint Cloud, or goes to the Tuileries, or lives at Malmai-
son, there will be opportunities for absui-d reports.
"And if these rumors, simultaneously spread about in
foreign countries, were intended to cause alarm on account
of the ambition of the Emperor, and at the same time to
encourage any unbecoming and mistaken acts, by .leading
people to hope that his Government is weak, we can but re-
peat the words that a Minister was instructed to utter on
leaving a certain Court : ' The Emperor of the French de-
sires war with no one, whosoever he may be ; he dreads
war with no one. He does not meddle with his neie;h-
TEE GEE AT OFFIOERS OF STATE. 197
bors' business, and lie has a right to similar treatment. He
has always manifested a wish for a durable peace, but the
history of his life does not justify us in thinking that he will
suffer himself to be insulted or despised.' "
After a refreshing sojourn in the country, I came back
once more to the whirl of Court life, where the fever of
vanity seemed every day to lay stronger hold of us.
The Emperor now appointed the great officers of the
household. General Duroc was made Grand Marshal of
the Palace ; Berthier, Master of the Hunt {Grand Venewr) ;
M. de Talleyrand, Grand Chamberlain; Cardinal Fesch,
High Almoner ; M. de Caulaincourt, Grand Equerry ; and
M. de Segur, Grand Master of the Ceremonies. M. de
Eemusat received the title of First Chamberlain. He
ranked immediately next to M. de Talleyrand, who would
be chiefly occupied by foreign affairs, and was to depute my
husband to do the greater part of his duties. The matter
was thus arranged at first ; but soon after the Emperor ap-
pointed Chamberlains in Ordinary. Among them were the
Baron de Talleyrand (a nephew of the Grand Chamberlain),
some senators, some Belgian gentlemen of high birth, and, a
little later, some French gentlemen also.
With these began httle emulations as to precedence, and
discontent on account of distinctions which were withheld
from them. M. de Eemusat found himself exposed to con-
tinual envy, and as it were at war with these personages. I
am now ashamed when I recall the annoyance which all this
caused me ; but whatever the Court in which one lives — and
ours had become a very real one — it is impossible not to
attach importance to the trifles of which it is composed.
An honorable and sensible man is often ashamed in his own
eyes of the pleasure or annoyance which he experiences in
the profession of a courtier, and yet he can scarcely avoid
either the one or the other. A ribbon, a slight difference in
dress, permission to pass through a particular door, the
entree to such or such a salon — ^these are the pitiful causes
198 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE bMUSAT.
of a constantly recurring vexation. In vain do we try to
harden ourselves against them. The importance in which
they are held by a great number of persons obhges us, in
spite of ourselves, to prize them. In vain do sense and rea-
son rebel against such a use of human faculties ; however
dissatisfied we may feel with ourselves, we must needs be-
come as small-minded as everybody else, and either fly the
Court altogether, or consent to take seriously all the follies
that fiU the very air we breathe.
The Emperor added to the difficulties inseparable from
the regulations of a palace those of his own temper. He
enforced etiquette with the strictness of martial law. Cere-
monies were gone through as though by beat of drum;
everything was done at double-quick time; and the per-
petual hurry, the constant fear that Bonaparte inspired,
added to the unfamiliarity of a good half of his courtiers
with formalities of the kind, rendered the Court dull rather
than dignified. Every countenance wore an expression of
uneasiness and solicitude in the midst of all the magnificence
with which his ostentatious tastes led the Emperor to sur-
round himself.
Mme. de la Eochefoucauld, who was the Empress's
cousin, was. appointed her Lady of Honor, and Mme. de la
Fayette Lady of the Bedchamber. Twelve Ladies-in-"W"ait-
ing were nominated, and by degrees the number of these
was augmented. Many great ladies from different parts of
the country were included in the list, persons who were
much surprised at finding themselves in each others society.
Without entering into any details here, which woiild now
serve no good purpose, I may mention that applications
were then made by persons who now affect a strict royalism,
hardly compatible with the opinions they then professed.
It ought to be frankly admitted that aU classes wanted to
have their share of these new creations, and I could point
to several persons who, after having blamed me because I
came to the First Consul's Court in consequence of an old
TEE ANNIVERSARY OF JULY Uth. 199
friendship, spared no efforts on tlieir own part to obtain
places at that of the Emperor, from ambitious motives.
As for the Empress, she was delighted to find herself
surroimded by a numerous suite, and one so gratifying to
her vanity. The victory she had won over Mme. de la
Eochef oucauld by attaching her to her person, the pleasure
of reckoning M. d'Aubusson de la EeuiUade among her
Chamberlains, Mme. d'Arberg de Segur and the Marechales
among her Ladies-in-Waiting, intoxicated her a little ; but I
must admit that this essentially feminine feeling deprived
her of none of her accustomed grace and kindliness. The
Empress always knew perfectly well how to preserve the
supremacy of her own rank, while showing polite deference
toward those men or women who added to the splendor of
her Court by their personal distinction.
At this time the " Ministry of General Police " was re-
constructed, and Fouche was once more placed at its head.
The 18th Brumaire was the date at first fixed for the
coronation, and in the mean time, to show that the revolu-
tionary epochs were not to be disregarded, the Emperor re-
paired in great pomp to the Invalides on the 14th of July,
and, after having heard mass, distributed the Cross of the
Legion of Honor to a number of persons selected from all
classes comprised in the Government, the army, and the
Court. I must not omit to record that on this occasion the
Empress looked young and lovely among all the youthful
and handsome women by whom she was surrounded for the
first time in public. Her costume was admirably selected
and in perfect taste. The ceremony took place under burn-
ing sunshine. She appeared in broad daylight, attired in a
robe of rose-colored tulle, spangled with silver stars, and cut
very low, according to the fashion of the day. Her head-
dress consisted of a great number of diamond wheat-eai-s.
This brilliant attire, the elegance of her bearing, the charm
of her smile, the sweetness of her countenance, produced
such an effect, that I heard many persons who were present
200 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE bMuSAT.
at the ceremony say that the Empress outshone all the ladies
of her suite.
A few days afterward the Emperor set out for the camp
at Boulogne, and, if public rumor was to be believed, the
English began to feel really alarmed at the prospect of an
invasion.
He passed more than a month in inspecting the coasts
and reviewing the troops in the various camps. The army
was at that time numerous, flourishing, and animated by the
best spirit. He was present at several engagements between
the vessels which were blockading us and our flotillas, which
by this time had a formidable aspect.
While engaged in these military occupations, he fixed,
by several decrees, the precedence and the rank of the va-
rious authorities which he had created ; for his mind em-
braced every topic at once. He had already formed a pri-
vate intention of asking the Pope to crown him, and, in
order to carry this out, he neglected neither that address by
which he might amicably carry his point, nor certain mea-
sures by which he might be able to render a refusal exceed-
ingly difficult. He sent the Cross of the Legion of Honor to
Cardinal Caprara, the Pope's legate, and accompanied the
distinction by words equally flattering to the Sovereign Pon-
tiff and promising for the reestablishment of religion. These
fine phrases appeared in the "Moniteur." Nevertheless,
when he compiunicated his project of confirming his eleva-
tion by so solemn a religious ceremony to the Council of
State, he had to encounter determined opposition from cer-
tain of his councilors. Treilhard, among others, resisted the
proposal strongly. The Emperor allowed him to speak, and
then replied : " Tou do not know the ground we are standing
on so well as I know it. Let me tell you that religion has
lost much less of its power than you think. You do not
know all that I effect by means of the priests whom I have
gained over. There are thirty departments in France suffi-
ciently religious to make me very glad that I am not obliged
MME. DE LA BOCHEFOUOAULD. 201
to dispute with the Pope for power in them. It is only by
committing every other authority in succession to mine that
I shall secure my own, that is to say, the authority of the
Revolution, which we all wish to consolidate."
While the Emperor was inspecting the ports, the Em-
press went to Aix-la-Chapelle to drink the waters. She was
accompanied by some of her new household, and M. de
E.6musat was ordered to follow her, and to await the Em-
peror, who was to rejoin her at Aix. I was glad of this res-
pite. I could not disguise from myself that so many new-
comers were eflEacing by degrees her first estimate of my
value to her, which had owed much to the non-existence of
comparisons ; and, although I was yet young in experience
of the world, I felt that a short absence would be useful, and
that I should afterward take, if not the first place, that of
my choice, and hold it throughout securely.
Mmc. de la Eochefoucauld, who attended the Empress,
was then a woman of between thirty-six and forty years old,
short and ill-made, with a striking countenance, but only
ordinary abilities. She had a great deal of assurance, like
most plain women who have had some success notwithstand-
ing their defects. She was very lively, and not at all ill-na-
tured. She proclaimed her adherence to all the opinions of
those who were called " aristocrats " by the Eevolution ; and,
as she would have been puzzled to reconcile those views with
her present position, she made up her mind to laugh at them,
and would jest about herseK with the utmost good humor.
The Emperor liked her because she was quick, frivolous, and
incapable of scheming. Indeed, no Court in which women
were so numerous ever offered less opportunity for any kind
of intrigue. Affairs of state were absolutely confined to the
cabinet of the Emperor only ; we were ignorant of them,
and we knew that nobody could meddle with them. The
few persons in whom the Emperor confided were wholly
devoted to the execution of his will, and absolutely unap-
proachable. Duroc, Savary, and Maret never allowed anun-
202 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SMUSAT.
necessary word to escape them, confining themselves strictly
to communicating to us without delay such orders as they
received. We were in their sight and in our own mere
machines, simply and solely doing those things which we
were ordered to do, and of about as much importance as
the elegant articles of new furniture with which the pal-
aces of the Tuileries and Saint Cloud were now profusely
adorned.
I remarked at this time, with some amusement, that, as
by degrees the grands seigneurs of former days came to
Court, they all experienced, no matter how widely their
characters differed, a certain sense of disappointment curious
to observe. When at first they once more breathed the air of
palaces, found themselves again among their former associates
and in the atmosphere of their youth, beheld anew decora-
tions, throne-rooms, and Court costumes, and heard the forms
of speech habitual in royal dwellings, they yielded to the
delightful illusion. They fondly believed that they might
conduct themselves as they had been accustomed to do in those
same palaces, where all but the master remained unchanged.
But a harsh word, a peremptory order, the pressure of an
arbitrary will, soon reminded them roughly that everything
was new in this unique Court. Then it was strange to see
how, despite all their efforts, they lost their presence of mind,
feeling the ground uncertain under their feet, and became
constrained and uneasy in all their futile little ways. They
were too vain or too weak to substitute a grave bearing, un-
like the manners of their past, for their former customs, and
they did not know what course to adopt. The arts of the
courtier availed nothing with Bonaparte, and so profited them
not at all. It was not safe to remain a man in his presence —
that is to say, to preserve the use of one's intellectual facid-
ties ; it was easier and quicker for everybody, or nearly every-
body, to assume the attitude of servility. If I chose, I could
tell exactly the individuals to whom such a course came most
readily ; but, if I were to go more at length into this subject,
TEE EMPEROR AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 203
I sliould give my Memoirs the color of a satire, wMch is
neither acccording to my taste nor my intention.
While the Emperor was at Boulogne, he sent his brother
Joseph to Paris, where all the governing bodies presented
addresses to him and his wife. Thus, he assigned each per-
son his own place, and dictated supremacy to some and ser-
vitude to others. On the 3d of September he rejoined his
wife at Aix-la-ChapeUe, and remained there some days, hold-
ing a brilliant Court and receiving the German Princes.
During this sojom-n, M. de Eemusat was directed to send to
Paris for the company of the second theatre, then managed
by Picard, and several/efes were given to the Electors, which,
although they did not approach the magnificence of later oc-
casions, were very splendid. The Elector Arch-Chancellor
of the German Empire and the Elector of Baden paid assidu-
ous court to our sovereigns. The Emperor and Empress
visited Cologne, and ascended the Ehine as far as Mayence,
where they were met by a crowd of priaces and distinguished
foreigners. This excursion lasted until the month of October.
On the lith Mme. Louis Bonaparte gave birth to a sec-
ond son.* Bonaparte arrived in Paris a few days later. This
event was a great source of happiness to the Empress. She
believed that it would have a most favorable effect upon her
future, and yet at that very moment a new plot was being
formed agaiast her, which she only succeeded in defeating
after much effort and mental suffering.
Ever since we had learned that the Pope would come to
Paris for the coronation of the Emperor, the Bonaparte fam-
ily had been exceedingly anxious to prevent Mme. Bonaparte
from having a personal share in the ceremony. The jealousy
of our Princesses was strongly excited on this point. It
seemed to them that such an honor would place too great a
* The second son of Queen Hortense was Napoleon Louis. This Prince died
suddenly during the insurrection of the Pontifical States against the Pope, in
which he took part. The third son of the Queen, Napoleon III., was born on the
20th of April, 1808.
204 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
distance between themselves and their sister-in-law, and, be-
sides, dislike needs no motive of interest personal to itself to
make anytlung which is a gratification to its object distaste-
ful. The Empress ardently longed for her coronation, which
she believed would establish her rank and her security, and
the silence of her husband alarmed her. He appeared to be
hesitating, and Joseph spared no argument to induce him to
make his wife merely a witness of the ceremony. He even
went so far as to revive the question of the divorce, advising
Bonaparte to profit by the approaching event to decide upon
it. He pointed out the advantage of an alliance with some
foreign princess, or at least with the heiress of a great name
in France, and cleverly held out the hope that such a mar-
riage would give him of having a direct heir ; and he spoke
with all the more chance of being listened to, because he
insisted strongly on the personal disinterestedness of advice
which, if taken, might remove himself from all chance of
the succession. The Emperor, incessantly harassed by his
family, appeared to be impressed by his brother's arguments,
and a few words which escaped him threw his wife into ex-
treme distress. Her former habit of confiding all her trou-
bles to me now led her to restore me to her confidence. I
was exceedingly piTzzled how to advise her, and not a little
afraid of committing myself in so serious a matter. An un-
expected incident was near bringing about the very thing
which we dreaded.
For some time Mme. Bonaparte had perceived an increase
of intimacy between her husband and Mme. de . In
vain did I entreat her not to furnish the Emperor with a
pretext for a quarrel, which would be made use of against
her. She was too fuU of her grievance to be prudent, and,
in spite of my warning, she watched for an opportunity of
confirming her suspicions. At Saint Cloud the Emperor
occupied the apartment which opens upon the garden, and is
on the same level. Above this apartment was a small suite
of rooms communicating with his own by a back staircase,
TEE EMPRESS'S SUSPICIONS CONFIEUED. 205
which he had recently had furnished, and the Empress
strongly suspected the purpose of this mysterious retreat.
One morning, when there were several persons in her draw-
ing-room, the Empress, seeing Mme. de (who was then
resident at Saint Cloud) leave the room, suddenly rose a few
minutes afterward, and, taking me apart into a window, said :
" I am going to clear up my doubts this very moment ; stay
here with all these people, and, if you are asked where I
have gone, say that the Emperor sent for me." I tried to
restrain her, but she was quite ungovernable, and would not
listen to me. She went out at the same moment, and I re-
mained, excessively apprehensive of what might be going to
happen. In about half an hour the Empress reentered the
room by the opposite door. She seemed exceedingly agi-
tated, and almost unable to control herself, but took her seat
before an embroidery frame. I remained at a distance from
her, apparently occupied by my needlework, and avoiding
her eye ; but I could easily perceive her agitation by the ab-
ruptness of all her movements, which were generally slow
and soft. At last, as she was incapable of keeping silence
under strong emotion of any kind, she could no longer endure
this constraint, and, calling to me in a loud voice, she bade me
foUow her. "When we had reached her bedroom, she said :
"All is lost. It is but too true. I went to look for the
Emperor in his cabinet, and he was not there ; then I went
up the back stairs into the upper room. I found the door
shut, but I could hear Bonaparte's voice, and also that of
Mme. de . I knocked loudly at the door, and called out
that I was there. You may imagine the start I gave them.
It was some time before the door was opened, and when at
last I was admitted, though I know I ought to have been
able to control myself, it was impossible, and I reproached
them bitterly. Mme. de began to cry, and Bonaparte
flew into so violent a passion that I had hardly time to fly
before him and escape his rage. I am still trembling at the
thought of it ; I did not know to what excess his anger might
206 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE eMuSAT.
have gone. No doubt he will soon come here, and I may
expect a terrible scene." The emotion of the Empress moved
me deeply. " Do not," said I, " commit a second fault, for
the Emperor will never forgive you for having admitted any
one, no matter whom, to your confidence. Let me leave you,
Madame. Ton must wait for him ; let him find you alone."
I returned at once to the drawing-room, where I found
Mme. de . She glanced at me nervously ; she was ex-
tremely pale, talked almost incoherently, and tried hard to
find out whether I knew what had passed. I resumed my
work as tranquilly as I could, but I think Mme. de ,
having seen me leave the room, must have known that the
Empress had told me. Every one was looking at every one
else, and nobody could make out what was happening.
A few minutes afterward we heard a great noise in the
apartment of the Empress, and of course I knew that the
Emperor was there, and that a violent quarrel was taking
place. Mme. de called for her carriage, and at once
left for Paris. This sudden departure was not likely to mend
matters. I was to go to Paris in the evening. Before I left
Saint Cloud the Empress sent for me, and told me, with
many tears, that Bonaparte, after having insulted her in
every possible way, and smashed some of the furniture in his
rage, had signified to her that she was at once to quit Saint
Cloud. He declared that, weary of her jealous spying, he
was determined to shake off such a yoke, and to listen hence-
forth only to the counsels of his policy, which demanded that
he should take a wife capable of giving him children. She
added that he had sent orders to Eugene de Beauhamais to
come to Saint Cloud in order to make arrangements for the
departure of his mother, and she added that she was now lost
beyond redemption. She then directed me to go and see
her daughter in Paris on the following day, and to inform
her exactly of all that had occurred.
Accordingly, I went to Mme. Louis Bonaparte. She had
just seen her brother, who had come from Saint Cloud. The
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 207
Emperor had signified to him his resolution to divorce his
wife, and Eugene had received the communication with his
accustomed submission, but refused all the personal favors
which were ofEered to him as a consolation, declaring that
from the moment such a misfortune should fall upon his
mother he would accept nothing, but that he would follow
her to any retreat which might be assigned to her, were it
even at Martinique, as he was resolved to sacrifice all to her
great need of comfort. Bonaparte had appeared to be deeply
impressed by this generous resolution; he had hstened to all
that Eugene said in unbroken silence.
I found Mme. Louis less affected by this event than I
expected. " I can not interfere in any way," she said. " My
husband has positively forbidden me to do so. My mother
has been very imprudent. She is about to forfeit a crown,
but, at any rate, she will have peace. Ah ! bebeve me, there
are women more unhappy than she." She spoke with such
profound sadness that I could not fail to read her thoughts ;
but, as she never allowed a word to be said about her own
personal position, I did not venture to reply in such a way as
would make it evident that I had understood her. " And,
besides," said she in conclusion, " if there be any chance at all
of setting this matter right, it is the influence of my mother's
tears and her gentleness over Bonaparte. Believe me, it is
better to leave them to themselves — not to interfere at all
between them ; and I strongly advise you not to return to
Saint Cloud, especially as Mme. N has mentioned you,
and believes that you would give hostile advice."
I remained away from Saint Cloud for two days, in ac-
cordance with the advice of Mme. Louis Bonaparte ; but on
the third I rejoined my Empress, concerning whom I felt
the deepest solicitude. I found her relieved from one press-
ing trouble. Her submission and her tears had, in fact, dis-
armed Bonaparte ; his anger and its cause were no longer in
question. A tender reconciliation had taken place between
them ; but, immediately afterward, the Emperor had thrown
18
208 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
his wife into fresh agitation by letting her see that he was
seriously entertaining the idea of a divorce. " I have not
the courage," he said to her, " to come to a iinal resolution ;
and if you let me see that you are too deeply afflicted — if
you can render me obedience only — I feel that I shall never
have the strength to oblige you to leave me. I tell you
plainly, however, that it is my earnest desire that you should
resign yourself to the interests of my policy, and yourself
spare me all the difficulties of this painful separation." The
Empress told me that he wept bitterly while uttering these
terrible words. I remember well how, as I listened to her,
I conceived in my mind the plan of a great and generous
sacrifice which she might make to France.
Believing, as I then believed, that the fate of the nation
was irrevocably united with that of ^Napoleon, I thought
there would be true greatness of soul in devoting one's self
to all that might secure and confirm that destiny. I thought,
had I been the woman to whom such a representation had
been made, that I should have had courage to abandon the
brilliant position which, after all, was grudged to me, and
retire into a peaceful solitude, satisfied with the sacrifice that
I had made. But, when I saw in Mme. Bonaparte's face
what suffering the Emperor's words had caused her, I re-
membered that my mother had once said that advice to be
useful must be adapted to the character of the person to
whom it is oifered, and I refrained from uttering the lofty
sentiments of which my mind was full. I bethought me in
time of the dread with which the Empress would contem-
plate retirement, of her taste for luxury and display, and of
the devouring ennui to which she would inevitably fall a
prey when she had broken with the world ; and I confined
myself to saying that I saw only two alternatives for her.
The first of these was to sacrifice herself bravely and with
dignity ; in which case she ought to go to Malmaison on the
following morning, and thence to write to the Emperor, de-
claring that she restored his freedom to him ; or to remain
THE POPE TO ARRIVE IN PARIS. 209
where slie was, acknowledging herself to be unable to decide
upon her own fate, and, though always ready to obey, posi-
tively determined to await his direct orders before she should
descend from the throne on which he had placed her.
She adopted the second alternative. Assuming the atti-
tude of a resigned and submissive victim, she excited the
jealous anger of all the Bonapartes by her gentle demeanor.
Yielding, sad, considerate of everybody, entirely obedient,
but also skillfvil in availing herself of her ascendancy over
her husband, she reduced him to a condition of agitation and
indecision from which he could not escape.
At length, one memorable evening, after long hesitation,
during which the Empress suffered mortal anguish and sus-
pense, the Emperor told her that the Pope was about to
arrive in Paris, that he would crown them both, and that she
had better at once begin to prepare for the great ceremony.
It is easy to picture to one's fancy the joy with which such
a termination to all her misery filled the heart of the Em-
press, and also the discomfiture of the Bonapartes, especially
Joseph ; for the Emperor had not failed to acquaint his wife,
according to his usual custom, with the attempts that had
been made to induce him to decide on a divorce, and it is
only reasonable to suppose that these revelations increased
the ill feeling already existing on both sides.
On this occasion the Empress confided to me the ardent
desire she had long felt to have her marriage, which had
been civilly contracted, confirmed by a religious ceremony.
She said that she had sometimes spoken of this to the Em-
peror, and that, although he had not evinced any repugnance,
he had objected that, even if a priest were brought into the
palace to perform the religious rite, it could not be done
with sufiicient secrecy to conceal the fact that until then they
had not been married according to the Church. Either that
was his real reason, or he wanted to hold this means of break-
ing his maiTiage in reserve for future use, should he consider
it really advisable to do so ; at any rate, he had rejected his
210 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EjSmUSAT.
wife's pleading firmly, but mildly. She therefore deter-
mined to await the arrival of the Pope, being persuaded,
very reasonably, that his Holiness would espouse her inter-
ests on such a point.
The entire Court was now occupied in preparations for
the ceremony of the coronation. The Empress was continu-
ally surrounded by all the best artists in millinery in Paris,
and the venders of the most fashionable wares. With their
assistance she decided on the new form of Court dress, and
on her own costume. As may be supposed, there was no
thought of resuming the hoop worn under the old regime;
it was merely proposed that to our ordinary garments the
long mantle (which was still worn after the return of the
King) should be added, and also a very becoming ruff of
blonde, which was attached to the shoulders and came high
up at the back of the head, as we see it in portraits of Cath-
arine de' Medici. The use of this ruff was afterward dis-
continued, although it was, in my opinion, very pretty, and
lent dignity and grace to the whole costume. The Empress
already possessed diamonds of considerable value, but the
Emperor not only made costly additions to her jewel-case,
but also placed the diamonds belonging to the national trea^
sury in her hands, and desired that she should wear them on
the great day. A diadem of brilliants, above which the
Emperor was with his own hands to place the closed crown
upon her head, was made for her, and the ceremony was pri-
vately rehearsed. David, who afterward painted the great
picture of the coronation of the Emperor and Empress, at-
tended these rehearsals, and arranged the positions of each.
The coronation of the Emperor had been eagerly discussed.
The first idea was that the Pope should place the diadem
upon the head of the Emperor ; but Bonaparte refused to
receive the crown from any hand but his own, and uttered
on that occasion the sentence which Mme. de Stael has
quoted in her work : " I found the crown of France upon
the ground, and I picked it up."
PUEPARATIONS FOR TEE GOBONATION. 211
At leBgtli, after a great deal of discussion, it was ar-
ranged that the Emperor was to crown himself, and that the
Pope should only give his benediction. Everything was
done to make the/efes brilliant and popular, and people be-
gan to flock into Paris. Considerable bodies of troops were
ordered up to the capital ; all the chief authorities of the
provinces were invited ; the Arch-Chancellor of the German
Empire and a great number of foreigners arrived. Party
spirit slumbered for the time being, and the whole city gave
itself up to the excitement and curiosity of so novel an inci-
dent, and a spectacle which would doubtless be magnificent.
The shopkeepers drove a thriving trade ; workmen of all
kinds were employed, and rejoiced in the occasion that pro-
cured them such a stroke of luck ; the population of the city
seemed to be doubled ; commerce, piiblic establishments, and
theatres all profited by the occasion, and all was bustle and
activity.
The poets were requested to celebrate this great event.
Chenier was ordered to compose a tragedy for the perpetual
commemoration of it, and he took Cyrus for his hero. The
Opera was to give splendid ballets. To us dwellers in the
palace money was given for our expenses, and the Empress
presented each of her Ladies-in- Waiting with handsome dia-
mond ornaments. The Court dress of the gentlemen about
the Emperor was also regulated. This becoming costume
consisted of the French coat, in different colors for those
who belonged to the department of the Grand Marshal, the
Grand Chamberlain, and the Grand Equerry respectively;
silver embroidery for all ; a cloak of velvet lined with satin,
worn over one shoulder; a sash, a lace cravat, and a hat
turned up in front, with a white plume. The Princes were
to wear white coats embroidered in gold ; the Emperor was
to wear a long robe somewhat resembling that worn by our
kings, a mantle of purple velvet sewn with golden bees, and
his crown, a golden wreath of laurels like that of the Caesars.
It seems like a dream, or a story from the "Arabian
212 ■ MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RJ^MUSAT.
Nights," when I recall the luxury that was displayed at that
period, the perpetual disputes about precedence, the claims
of rank, and all the demands made by everybody. The
Emperor directed that the Princesses should carry the Em-
press's mantle ; there was the greatest difficulty in inducing
them to consent to do this ; and I remember well that, when
at last they did consent, they performed their office with so
ill a grace that the Empress, overpowered by the weight of
her magnificent robe, could hardly walk, for they would
scarcely lift the folds off the ground. They obtained per-
mission to have their own trains borne by their respective
chamberlains, and this distinction somewhat consoled them
for the obligation that was imposed upon them.*
In the mean time we learned that the Pope had left
Eome on the 2d of November. The slowness of his jour-
ney and the vast scale of the preparations rendered it neces-
sary to put off the coronation until the 2d of December ;
and on the 24:th of November the Court went to Fontaine-
bleau to receive his Holiness, who arrived there on the fol-
lowing day.
Before I close this chapter, I wish to mention a circum-
stance which ought, it seems to me, to be recorded. The
Emperor had for the moment relinquished the idea of a
divorce, but, being still extremely anxious to have an heir, he
asked his wife whether she would consent to acknowledge a
child of his as her own, and to feign pregnancy, so that every
* The Memoirs of Count Miot de Melito contain some curious particulars of
Court life during the Consulate and the Empire ; the quarrels of Bonaparte with
his brothers on account of the succession to the throne, and the adoption of the
son of Louis Bonaparte. He also narrates in detail the disputes about prece-
dence, and the vexed question of the Empress's mantle. It was after a long
discussion between the Arch-Chancellor, the Arch-Treasurer, the Minister of the
Interior, the Grand Equerry, and the Grand Marshal of the Court, the Princes
Louis and Joseph, and the Emperor himaelf, that a decision was arrived at
which deprived those Princes of the large mantle of ermine — " an attribute," as
it was called, "of sovereignty" ; and that it was resolved the words "to hold
up the mantle " should be used in the procis-verbal instead of " to carry the
train." (" Mfimoires du Comte Miot de Melito," vol. ii., p. 323, et seg.) — P. R.
BONAPARTE'S PLAN. 213
one should be deceived. She consented to accede to any
wish of his on this point. Then Bonaparte sent for Corvisart,
his chief physician, in whom he had well-merited confidence,
and confided his plan to him. " If I succeed," said he, " in
making sure of the birth of a boy who shall be my own son,
I want you, as a witness of the pretended confinement of the
Empress, to do all that would be necessary to give the device
every appearance of reality." Corvisart, who felt that his
honor and probity were injured by the mere proposition,
refused to do what the Emperor required of him, but prom-
ised inviolable secrecy. It was not until long afterward, and
since Bonaparte's second marriage, that he confided this fact
to me, while at the same time he affirmed in the strongest
terms the legitimate birth of the King of Rome, concerning
which some entirely unfounded doubts had been raised.
CHAPTEK X.
The Pope's AiTival in Paris — The Plebiseitum— The Man-iage of the Empress
Josephine — The CoTouation Fetes in the Champ de Mars, at the Op^ra, ete. —
The Court of the Empress.
The Pope was probably induced to come to France solely
by tbe representations which were made to him of advan-'
tages and concessions to be gained by such a gracious act.
He arrived at Fontainebleau with the intention of lending
himself to all that might be required of him, M'ithin legiti-
mate bounds ; and, notwithstanding the superiority on which
the conqueror who had forced him to take this unheard-of
step plumed himself, and the small respect in which the
Court held a sovereign who did not reckon the sword among
the insignia of his royalty, he impressed everybody by his
dignity and the gravity of his bearing.
The Emperor went to meet him at a few leagues' distance
from the chdteau, and, when the carriages met, he alighted,
as did his Holiness also. The Pope and the Emperor em-
braced, and then got into the same carriage, the Emperor
entering first, in order, as the " Moniteur " of the day ex-
plained, to give the Pope the right-hand seat, and so they
came to the palace.
The Pope arrived on Sunday,* at noon; and having
rested for a while in his own apartment, to which he was
conducted by the Grand Chamberlain (i. e., M. de Talley-
rand), the Grand Marshal, and the Grand Master of Cere-
monies, he visited the Emperor, who met him outside the
! * Noyember 26, 1804, or 4th Frimaire, year 13. — P. E.
ASRIVAL OF THE POPE. 215
door of his cabinet, and, after an interview of half an
hour's duration, reconducted him to the great hall, which
was then called " The Hall of the Great Officers." The
Empress had received instructions to place the Pope at her
right hand.
After these visits. Prince Louis, the Ministers, the Arch-
Chancellor, the Arch-Treasurer, Cardinal Fesch, and the
great officers then at Fontainebleaii, were presented to the
Pope, who received them aU most graciously. He afterward
dined with the Emperor and retired early.
The Pope was at this time sixty-two years of age, tall and
upright of figure, and with a handspme, grave, benevolent
face. He was attended by a numerous suite of Italian priests
— anything but impressive personages, whose rough, noisy,
and vulgar manners contrasted strangely with the grave good
breeding of the French clergy. The Palace of Fontainebleau
presented a strange spectacle just then, inhabited as it was
by so extraordinary a medley of persons — sovereigns, princes,
military officers, priests, women, all gathered together in the
different salons at the prescribed hours. On the day after
his arrival, his Holiness received all those persons belonging
to the Court who desired that honor, in his own apartment.
We had the privilege of kissing his hand and receiving his
blessing. His presence in such a place, and on so great an
occasion, affected me very deeply.
After these receptions, visits were again interchanged be-
tween the sovereigns. On the occasion of her second inter-
view with the Pope, the Empress carried out the intention
she had secretly formed, and confided to him that her mar-
riage had been a civil ceremony only. His Holiness, after
having commended her for the good use she made of her
power, and addressing her as " My daughter," promised her
that he would require of the Emperor that his coronation
should be preceded by the ceremony necessary to legiti-
mize his marriage with her ; and, in fact, the Emperor was
obliged to consent to this. On their return to Paris Cardinal
216 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
Fescli married Bonaparte to Josephine, as I shall presently
relate.
On the Monday evening a concert was to take place in
the apartments of the Empress. The Pope, however, declined
to be present, and retired just as the entertainment was about
to begin.
At this time the Emperor took a fancy to Mme. de
X , and whether it was that his budding passion had
inspired him with a wish to please, or that his satisfaction at
the success of his plans kept him in good humor, I can not
say ; certain it is, however, that while we were at Fontaine-
bleau he was more affable and approachable than usual. Af-
ter the Pope had retired, the Emperor remained in the Em-
press's drawing-room, and talked, not with the men, but, by
preference, with the women who were there. His wife,
keen of perception where anything which aroused her jeal-
ousy was in question, was struck by this departure from his
ordinary habits, and suspected that some new fancy was the
cause of it. She could not, however, discover the real ob-
ject of his thoughts, because he very adroitly paid marked
attention to each of us in succession ; and Mme. de X ,
who as yet conducted herself with great reserve, did not seem
to perceive that she was the particular object of the general
gallantries that the Emperor affected to distribute among us.
Some of those present believed that the Marechale Ney was
about to receive his homage. The Marechale is the daughter
of M. Augue, formerly Keceiver-General of Finance, and her
mother was one of the Bedchamber Women to Queen Marie
Antoinette. She was educated by her aunt, Mme. Campan,
and when in her establishment became the friend and com-
panion of Hortense de Beauharnais, now the Princess Louis.
She was at this time about twenty-two or twenty-three years
old, and rather pretty, but too thin. She knew veiy little of
the world, was excessively shy, and had not the slightest de-
sire to attract the Emperor, whom she regarded with extreme
dread.
RETURN OF THE COURT TO PARIS. 217
During our sojourn at Fontainebleau, a decree of the Sen-
ate was published in the " Moniteur." It was to the effect
that, according to the Terification of the registers of the votes
given upon the question of the Empire, made by a conomis-
sion of the Senate, Bonaparte and his family were declared
to be called to the throne of France. The general total of
voters amounted to 3,574,898. Of these, 3,572,329 were ayes,
2,569 noes.
The Court returned to Paris on Thursday, the 29th of
IlTovember. The Emperor and the Pope traveled in the same
carriage, and his HoHness was lodged in the Pavilion of
Flora. Certain members of the household were appointed
to attend on him.
During the first few days of his residence in Paris, the
Pope was not treated by the inhabitants with all the respect
which might have been anticipated A crowd, attracted by
curiosity, thronged his path when he visited the churches,
and assembled under his balcony when he appeared there to
give his blessing. By degrees, however, the description of the
dignity of his manners given by those who had access to him,
several noble and affecting sayings of his on different occa-
sions, and the self-possession which he maintained in a position
so new and strange to the head of Christendom, produced a
marked change even among the lower classes of the people.
Every morning the terrace of the Tuileries was covered
with a great multitude, calling loudly for him, and kneeling
to receive his blessing. The people were admitted to the
gallery of the Louvre at certain specified times during the
day, and then the Pope would walk from end to end of it
and bless the multitude. Mothers flocked thither with their
children, and were received with special kindness. One day
an individual who was a well-known enemy of religion was
in the gallery when the Pope arrived, and, as his curiosity
urged him to stay, he held himself aloof, as though to avoid
the benediction. The Pope drew near him, divined his se-
cret hostility, and said to him, in the gejjtlest tone : " "Why do
218 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE JRMUSAT.
you avoid me, sir ? Is there any danger in an old man's
blessing ? "
Very soon all Paris resounded witli praise of the Pope,
and the Emperor's jealousy was excited. He made certain
arrangements which obliged his Holiness to deny himself to
the too eager entreaties of the faithful ; and the Pope, who
detected the Emperor's uneasiness, adopted extreme reserve,
but without allowing the slightest sign of human pride to
appear in his manner or conduct.
Two days before the coronation, M. de Eemusat, who,
in addition to being Grand Chamberlain, was also Keeper of
the Wardrobe, and therefore charged with aU the details of
the Imperial costumes, submitted to the Empress the superb
diadem which had just been made for her. He found her
in a state of delight and satisfaction, which she could hardly
conceal from general notice. Presently she took my hus-
band apart, and confided to him that, on the morning of that
same day, an altar had been erected in the Emperor's cabi-
net, and that Cardinal Fesch had performed the marriage
ceremony between herself and Bonaparte, in the presence
of two aides-de-camp. After the ceremony she had pro-
cured a written certificate of the marriage from the Cardinal.
She carefully preserved this document, and, notwithstanding
all the Emperor's efforts to obtain it from her, she never
could be induced to part with it.
It has since been said that any religious mamage not
witnessed by the cure of the parish in which it is celebrated
is de facto nuU and void, and that a means of breaking the
marriage was purposely reserved by this expedient. In that
case. Cardinal Fesch must have been a consenting party to
the fraud ; and yet his subsequent conduct forbids any such
supposition. "When violent quarrels arose on the subject of
the divorce, and the Empress went so far as to threaten her
husband with the publication of the certificate in her posses-
sion. Cardinal Fesch was consulted upon the point. He
repeatedly affirmed that the document was in good form,
TEE CORONATIOW. 219
and that liis conscience obliged him to declare the marriage
so validly solemnized that it could not be broken otherwise
than by an act of arbitrary authority.
After the divorce the Emperor wanted to get possession
of the document in question ; but the Cardinal advised the
Empress not to part with it. It is a remarkable proof of the
extent to which suspicion and distrust prevailed among all
the members of the Bonaparte family, that the Empress,
while availing herself of advice that coincided with her own
feelings, told me she sometimes thought the Cardinal gave
her that advice in connivance with the Emperor, who wanted
to drive her to some outbreak which would give him an ex-
cuse for banishing her from Erance. And yet, the uncle
and nephew had quarreled, at that very time, about the
Pope's affairs.
On the 2d of December the coronation took place. It
would be difficult to describe its splendor or to enter into the
details of that day. The weather was cold, but dry and
bright ; the streets of Paris were crowded with people more
curious than enthusiastic ; the guard under arms presented a
fine spectacle.
The Pope preceded the Emperor by several hours, and
waited with admirable patience for the long-delayed arrival
of the procession. He sat upon the throne erected for him
in the church, and made no complaint either of cold or
weariness. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was decorated
with taste and magnificence. At the far end was a splendid
throne for the Emperor, on which he was to appear sur-
rounded by his entire Court. Before setting out for I^otre
Dame, we were admitted to the apartment of the Empress.
Our attire was very brilliant, but it paled before the magnifi-
cence of the costumes of the Imperial family. The Empress
especially, sparkling with diamonds, and wearing her hair in
countless curls, a style of the time of Louis XVI., did not
look more than twenty-five.* She wore a white satin gown,
* She was forty-one, having been born at Martinique on the 23d of June, 1763.
220 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
and a Court mantle of the same material, both profusely
embroidered in mingled gold and silver. Her ornaments
consisted of a diadem, a necklace, earrings, and a girdle of
diamonds of immense value ; and aU this gorgeous attire was
worn with her customary easy grace. Her sisters-in-law were
also adorned with a vast quantity of jewels. The Emperor
inspected each of us in our turn, smiling at this luxury, which'
was, like all the rest, a sudden creation of "his sovereign will.
His own costume was brilliant. He was to assume the
Imperial robes at Notre Dame, but for the present he wore
a French coat of red velvet embroidered in gold, a white
sash, a short cloak sewn with bees, a plumed hat turned up
in front with a diamond buckle, and the collar of the Legion
of Plonor in diamonds. This superb dress became him well.
The whole Court wore velvet cloaks embroidered in gold.
It must be acknowledged that we paraded ourselves a little
for our mutual amusement; but the spectacle was really
beautiful.
The Emperor got into his carriage — it had seven glasses,
and was gorgeously gilded — with his wife and his two broth-
ers, Joseph and Louis. Then we all took our appointed
places in the carriages which were to follow, and the splen-
did c(y)i,ege proceeded at a foot-pace to Notre Dame. There
was no lack of shouting on our way ; and, although the accla-
mations of the people had not that ring of enthusiasm which
a sovereign jealous of his people's love longs to recognize,
they suflSced to gratify the vanity of a haughty master, but
one who was not sensitive.
On his arrival at Notre Dame, the Emperor entered the
archiepiscopal palace, and there assumed his robes of state.
They seemed almost to crush him ; his slight frame collapsed
under the enormous mantle of ermine. A simple laurel-
wreath encircled his head ; he looked like an antique medal-
lion, but he was extremely pale, and genuinely affected.
The expression of his countenance was stern and somewhat
distressed.
^iV IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY. 221
The ceremony was grand and impressive. A general
movement of admiration was noticeable at the moment
when the Empress was crowned. She was so unaffected,
so graceful, as she advanced toward the altar, she knelt
down with such simple elegance, that all eyes were de-
lighted with the picture she presented. When she had to
walk from the altar to the throne, there was a slight alter-
cation with her sisters-in-law, who carried her mantle with
such an ill grace that I observed at one moment the new-
made Empress could not advance a step. The Emperor
perceived this, and spoke a few sharp short words to his
sisters, which speedily brought them to reason.
During the ceremony, the Pope bore an air of resigna-
tion of a noble sort, the result of his own will, and for a
purpose of great utility. It was between two and three
o'clock when the cortege left Notre Dame, and we did not
reach the Tuileries until the short December day had closed
in. "We were lighted by the general illuminations, and a
number of torches were carried along the line of vehicles.
We dined at the chAteau, with the Grand Marshal, and
after dinner the Emperor received all the members of the
Court who had not yet retired. He was in high spirits,
and delighted with the ceremony ; he admired us all, jested
about the effect of finery on women, and said to us, laugh-
ingly, " You owe it to me, mesdames, that you are so charm-
ing ! " He had not allowed the Empress to take off her
crown, although she had dined tete-d-tete with him, and he
complimented her on the grace with which she wore it. At
length he dismissed us.
Innumerable fetes and rejoicings took place during the
ensuing month. On the 5th of December the Emperor
went to the Champ de Mars with the same state as on the
coronation day, and distributed eagles to a number of regi-
ments. The enthusiasm of the soldiers far surpassed that
of the people; but the bad weather spoiled the effect of
this second great day. It rained in torrents, but neverthe-
222 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
less an immense multitude thronged the Champ de Mars.
M. Maret devoted the following flowery passage in the
" Moniteur " to the rain of the 5th of December : " Al-
though the situation of the spectators was distressing, there
was not one among them who did not find ample com-
pensation in the sentiment which induced him to remain
in his place, and in the utterance of aspirations {vmux),
to which his acclamations bore testimony."
A common and absurd form of flattery, and one which
has been resorted to in every age, is the making believe that,
because a king has need of sunshine, he can secure its pres-
ence. I remember when it was a current saying at the Tui-
leries that the Emperor had only to fix a certain day for a
review or a hunting-party, and the sky could not fail to be
cloudless. Whenever it was so, the fact was eagerly re-
marked ; but nothing was said about the days that were dull
or rainy. A similar device was adopted in the time of Louis
XIY. It was not, indeed, possible to say that it did not
rain during the distribution of the eagles at the Champ de
Mars, but I met many people who gravely assured me that
the rain did not wet them.
A spacious platform had been constructed for the accom-
modation of the Imperial family and the Court; on this
the throne, protected as much as possible from the rain,
was placed. The canvas and hangings were speedily wet
through ; the Empress was obliged to withdraw, with her
daughter — who was out for the first time after the birth of
her second child — and her sisters-in-law, excepting Mme.
Murat, who continued to brave the weather although she
was lightly dressed. She was training herself, as she said
laughingly, " to endure the inevitable constraints of roy-
alty."
On that day a sumptuous banquet was given at the Tui-
leries. A table was laid in the Gallery of Diana, beneath a
magnificent canopy, for the Pope, the Emperor, the Empress,
and the first Arch-Chancellor of the German Empire. The
PLAY AT TEE EMPEROE'S COURT. 223
Pope sat on the left of the Empress, and the Emperor on her
right. They were waited on by the great officers of the
household. Lower down, there was a table for the Princes,
among whom was the Hereditary Prince of Baden ; a table
for the Ministers ; one for the ladies and gentlemen of the
Imperial household — all served with the utmost luxury.
Some fine music was performed during the repast. Then
came a largely attended reception, at which the Pope was
present ; and a ballet, performed by dancers from the Opera,
in the great drawing-room. The Pope withdrew before the
ballet. The evening concluded with cards, and the Emperor
gave the signal for departure by retiring.
At the Emperor's Court, play merely formed a portion of
the ceremonial. He never allowed money to be staked, and
the games were whist and loto. "We used to make up the
tables just for something to do, and generally talked, while
we held our cards without looking at them. The Empress
was fond of playing cards, even without money, and played
whist in real earnest. Her card-table and that of the Prin-
cesses were placed in the room called the Emperor's cabinet,
at the entrance of the Gallery of Diana. She played with
the greatest personages present, foreigners, ambassadors, or
Frenchmen. The two ladies-in-waiting on duty for the week
occupied seats behind her; a chamberlain stood near her
chair. "While she was playing, all who were in the rooms
came, one after the other, to make their bows and courtesies
to her. Bonaparte's brothers and sisters also played, and sent
invitations to join their card-tables, by their respective cham-
berlains, to various persons. His mother, who had been
given a house and the title of Princess, but who was always
called Madame Mere, did the same. The Emperor walked
about everywhere, preceded by chamberlains who announced
his presence. On his approach every voice was hushed ; no
one left his place ; the ladies stood up, waiting for the insig-
nificant, and frequently ungracious, remarks which he would
address to them. He never remembered a name, and his
19
224 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
first question almost invariably was, " And what do you call
yourself ? " There was not a woman present on those occasions
who did not rejoice when he moved away from her vicinity.
This reminds me of an anecdote about Gr^try. As a
member of the Institute he frequently attended the Sunday
receptions, and it happened several times that the Emperor,
who had come to recognize his face, approached him almost
mechanically and asked him his name. One day Gretry,
who was tired of this perpetual question, and perhaps a little
annoyed at not having produced a more lasting impression,
answered to the Emperor's rudely uttered " And you ! who
are you ? " in a sharp, impatient tone, " Sire, I am still
Gretry." Ever afterward the Emperor recognized him per-
fectly. The Empress, on the contrary, had an accurate mem-
ory for names, and also for the smallest particulars concern-
ing each individual.
For a long time the routine of the Court receptions con-
tinued to be what I have described. Afterward, concerts,
ballets, and even plays, were added to the list of amuse-
ments ; but I shall refer to this subject in due order of time.
The Emperor desired that special places should be assigned
to the ladies-in-waiting, and these small privileges excited
small jealousies which engendered great animosities, after
the invariable law of courts. At this period the Emperor
indulged in ceremonies of every kind ; he liked them, espe-
cially because they were of his own creation. He always
spoiled their effect to some extent by the habitual precipita-
tion from which he could rarely refrain, and by the appre-
hension lest all should not be exactly as he wished, with
which he inspired everybody. On one occasion, he gave
audience, seated on his throne and surrounded by the great
ofiicers of the household, the Marshals, and the Senate, to all
the Prefects, and to the Presidents of the electoral colleges.
He then granted a second audience to the former, and
strongly urged them to carry out the conscription. " With-
out that," said the Emperor (and these words were inserted
OEtNIEWS T RAG ELY. 225
in the " Moniteur "), " there can be neither national power
nor national independence." No doubt, he was then cher-
ishing a project for placing the crown of Italy upon his
head, and felt that his designs must lead to war ; and, be-
sides, as the impossibility of an invasion of England had
been made clear to him, although the preparations were still
carried on, the necessity for employing an army which was
becoming a burden to France was pressed upon his atten-
tion. In the midst of these graver subjects of anxiety, he
had reason to be provoked with the Parisians. He had be-
spoken from Chenier a tragedy to be acted on the occasion
of the coronation. The poet had selected Cyrus for his
theme, and the fifth act of the tragedy (the coronation of the
hero of ancient history) represented the ceremony of ]S"otre
Dame accurately enough. The piece was a poor production,
and the allusions in it were too palpable, too evidently writ-
ten to order. The Parisian audience hissed the tragedy
from first to last, and laughed aloud at the scene of the en-
thronement. The Emperor was much displeased ; he was as
angry with my husband as if M. de Eemusat had been re-
sponsible to him for the approbation of the public, and by
the revelation of this weak point the public learned to avenge
themselves at the theatre for the silence so rigorously im-
posed upon them elsewhere.
The Senate gave a magnificent fete, and the Corps Legis-
latif followed the example. On the 16th of December an
entertainment took place, by which the city of Paris incurred
a debt, unpaid for many years, for a grand public feast, fire-
works, a ball, and the silver-gilt toilet-services presented to
the Emperor and Empress. Addresses and laudatory in-
scriptions abounded in all directions. The flatteries lavished
upon Louis XIV. during his reign have been much com-
mented upon ; I am sure, if they were all put together, they
would not amount to one tenth of those which wei-e be-
stowed upon Bonaparte. . Some years later, at another fete
given by the city of Paris lo the Emperor, the repertory of
226 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
inscriptions being exhausted, a brilliant device was resorted
to. Over the throne which he was to occupy were placed
the following words from the Holy Scriptures, in letters of
gold : " I am that I am." And no one seemed to be scan-
dalized !
France was given up at this time to fetes and merry-
making. Medals were struck and distributed profusely.
The Marshals gave a great ball in the Opera House, at a cost
of ten thousand francs to each. The pit was boarded over,
on a level with the stage ; the. boxes were festooned with
silver gauze, brilliantly lighted, and filled with ladies in full
dress. The Imperial family were seated apart on an es-
trade, and the company danced in the vast inclosure. Flow-
ers and diamonds in profusion, splendid dresses, and the
magnificence of the Court made this a most brilliant enter-
tainment. We were all put to great expense on these occa-
sions. A sum of ten thousand francs was allowed to the
ladies-in-waiting as compensation for their expenditure, but
it was not nearly sufficient. The cost of the coronation
amounted to four millions of francs.
The princes and distinguished foreigners staying in Paris
paid an assiduous court to our sovereign, and the Emperor
did the honors of Paris with a good grace. Prince Louis of
Baden was then very young, and rather shy ; he kept him-
self in the background. The Prince Primate, who was over
sixty, was amiable, lively, and garrulous. He was well ac-
quainted with France, and with Paris, where he had lived in
his youth ; he was fond of literature, and friendly with the
former Academicians, who were admitted, with a few other
persons, to the smaller receptions held by the Empress.
During this winter about fifty ladies and a number of gen-
tlemen used to be invited, once or twice a week, to sup at
the Tuileries. Eight o'clock was the hour named, and full
dress, but not Court dress, was worn. "We played at cards
in the drawing-room on the ground-floor, which is now
Madame's drawing-room. On Bonaparte's appearance we
THE COURT OF TEE EMPRESS. 227
used to pass into a mnsic-room, where a musical performance
by Italian singers occupied half an hour ; then we returned
to the drawing-room, and resumed our cards. The Emperor
would move about, either playing or talking. A sumptuous
and elegant supper was served at eleven o'clock, the ladies
only being seated. Bonaparte's arm-chair would remain un-
occupied ; he would saunter round the table, but eat nothing.
When supper was over, he would take his departure. The
princes and princesses, the great officers of the Empire, two
or three ministers, a few marshals, some generals, senators,
State councilors, and their wives, were- always invited to
these small parties. There was great rivalry in dress. The
Empress, as well as her sisters-in-law, always appeared in
something new, with quantities of pearls and precious stones.
She was the possessor of pearls worth a million of francs.
At that time stuffs shot with gold or silver began to be worn.
During the winter turbans became the fashion at court ; they
were made either of white or colored muslin, spotted with
gold, or of a brilliant Turkish material. By degrees our gar-
ments assumed an Eastern shape : over our richly embroidered
muslin gowns we used to wear short dresses of some colored
fabric, open in front, and our arms, shoulders, and bosoms
uncovered.
The Emperor, who, as I shall presently relate, was be-
coming more and more deeply in love, sought to disguise
the fact by paying attentions to aU the ladies, and seemed at
his ease only when surrounded by them. The gentlemen
would then become aware that their presence embarrassed
him, and they would retire to an adjoining room. The scene
was then not unlike a harem, as I remarked one evening to
Bonaparte. He was in a good humor, and laughed ; but my
jest was far from pleasing to the Empress.
The Pope, who passed his evenings in retirement, visited
the churches, hospitals, and public institutions in the morn-
ing. He officiated on one occasion at Notre Dame, and a
great crowd was admitted to kiss his feet. He visited Yer-
228 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
sailles and the suburbs of Paris, and was received with such
profound respect at the Invalides that the Emperor grew
uneasy. And yet I heard that, while his Holiness was most
anxious to return to Home, the Emperor still detained him.
I have never been able to discover his motive.
The Pope was always dressed in white : having been a
monk, he wore a woolen habit, and over it a sort of surplice
of cambric trimmed with lace, which had a curious effect.
His calotte, or skull-cap, was of white woolen stuff.
At the end of December the Corps Legislatif was opened
•in state ; labored speeches upon the importance and the hap-
piness of the great event which had just taken place were
delivered, and a report, not only flourishing but also true, on
the prosperous condition of France, was presented.
Meanwhile, applications for places at the new Court were
numerous, and the Emperor acceded to some of them. He
also named senators from among the presidents of the elec-
toral colleges. Marmont was made colonel-general of the
Mounted Chasseurs ; and the Grand Cordon of the Legion of
Honor was bestowed on Cambaceres, Lebrun, the Marshals,
Cardinal Fesch, MM. Duroc, De Caulaincourt, De Talley-
rand, De Segur, and also on several Ministers, the Chief
Judge, and on MM. Gaudin and Portalis, Ministers of Pub-
lic Worship. These appointments and favors kept every
one in a state of expectation.
Thenceforth the impulse was given ; people became ac-
customed to wishing, to waiting, to seeing daily some new
thing. Each day would bring forth some little circumstance,
unexpected in itself, but anticipated ; for we had acc[uired a
habit of always being on the lookout for something. After-
ward the Emperor extended to the entire'nation, to the whole
of Europe, the system of continually exciting ambition, cu-
riosity, and hope : this was not the least ingenious secret of
his government.
CHAPTER XI.
(1807.)
The Emperor in Love— Mmo. do X Mme. de Daraas— The Empress confides
in me — Palace Intrigues — Murat is raised to the Eank of Prince.
The Empress could not forbear from occasionally com-
plaining, in private, that her son had no share in the promo-
tions which were made daily ; but she had the good sense to
conceal her dissatisfaction, and Eugene himself maintained
an easy attitude, which was highly honorable to him, and in
marked contrast with the jealous impatience of Murat. Mme.
Murat was continually importuning the Emperor to raise her
husband to a rank which would place him above the Mar-
shals, among whom it annoyed him to be included. During
the winter both the husband and wife contrived to profit by
the weakness of the Emperor, and earned a claim to his favor
by making themselves useful in his new love affair, as we
shall presently see.
I have already said that Eugene was captivated by Mme.
de X . This lady, who was then twenty-four or twenty-
five years of age, was of fair hair and complexion ; her blue
eyes could wear any expression she chose, except indeed that
of frankness ; her disposition was habitually deceitful. Her
nose was aquiline and rather long, her mouth was lovely, and
her teeth, which she frequently displayed, were beautiful.
She was of middle height, with an elegant but too slender
figure ; she had small feet, and danced to perfection. She
had no remarkable ability, but was not wanting in clever-
230 MEMOIRS OF MADAMS BE RMUSAT.
ness ; her manners were qniet and cold. It was difficult to
excite her feelings, still more difficult to hurt them.
The Empress had at first treated her with marked dis-
tinction. She praised her beauty, approved of her style of
dress, and made more of her than of others, for the sake of
her son, Prince Eugene. This, perhaps, led in the first in-
stance to the Emperor's taking notice of her. He began to
pay her attention during the sojourn of the Court at Eon-
tainebleau.
Mme. Murat, who was the first to discern her brother's
inclination, tried to insinuate herself into the confidence of
the lady, and succeeded so far as to set her on her guard
against the keen eyes of the Empress. Murat, in accordance,
I believe, with some private arrangement, pretended to be
an admirer of Mme. de X , and thus for a time threw
the Court ofi the scent.
The Empress, who was well aware of the new passion of
the Emperor, but could not discover its object, at first sus-
pected the Marechale Ney, to whom he was in the habit of
talking a good deal ; and for a few days that poor lady was
closely watched. As usual, the Empress confided her jealous
suspicions to me, but I saw nothing as yet to justify them.
The Empress complained to Mme. Louis of what she
called the perfidy of Mme. l^ey. The latter was questioned,
and, after having declared that her own feeling toward the
Emperor was simply fear, she admitted that he had some-
times appeared to pay her attention, and that Mme. de X
had congratulated her on the grand conquest she was about
to make. This was a flash of light to the Empress. She at
once discovered the truth, and saw that Murat was feigning
love for the lady only that he might be the bearer of declara-
tions from the Emperor.
In Duroc's deference toward Mme. de X she also
discerned a proof of his master's sentiments, and in the con-
duct of Mme. Murat a deeply laid scheme against her own
peace of mind. The Emperor began to pass more time in
MME. BE X—. 231
his wife's apartments. Nearly every evening lie would come
down, and his looks and words betrayed the object of his
preference. If Josephine went privately to the theatre — for
the Emperor did not like her to appear in pubKc without
him — he would join her party unexpectedly; and day by
day he became more engrossed and less capable of self-con-
trol. Mme. de X maintained an appearance of indiffer-
ence, but she made use of every art of feminine coquetry.
Her dress became more and more elegant, her smile more
subtle, her looks more full of meaning ; and it was soon easy
enough to guess what was going on. The Empress suspected
that Mme. Murat connived at secret interviews in her own
house, and she afterward became certain of the fact. Then,
according to her custom, she burst into tears and reproaches,
and once more I found myself obliged to listen to confidences
which were dangerous to receive, and to give advice which
was never heeded.
The Empress attempted expostulations, but they were
very badly taken. Her husband lost his temper, reproached
her with opposing his pleasures, and ordered her to be silent ;
and while she, abandoned to her grief, was sad and downcast
in public, he, more gay, free, and animated than we had yet
seen him, paid attention to us all, and lavished rough com-
pliments on us. On the occasions of the Empress's reeep-
tiors, of which I have already spoken, he looked really like
a Sultan. He would sit down to a card-table, often selecting
his sister Caroline, Mme. de X , and myself to make up
his game ; and, scarcely noticing his cards, he would start
some sentimental discussion in his own style, with more wit
than sentiment, occasionally with doubtful taste, but with a
great deal of animation. On these occasions Mme. de X
was very reserved, and, being probably afraid lest I might
make some discoveries, would answer in monosyllables only.
Mme. Murat took but slight interest in these conversa-
tions ; she always went straight to her point, and eared little
for detail. As for me, I was amused by them, and I could
232 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE JRMuSAT.
take my part with a liberty of spirit not possessed by the
other three, who were all more or less preoccupied. Some-
times, without naming any one, Bonaparte would commence
a dissertation on jealousy, and then it was easy to see that
he applied it to his wife. I understood him, and defended
her gayly, as well as I could, without plainly indicating her ;
and I could see that Mme. de X and Mme. Murat gave
me no thanks for that.
Mme. Bonaparte would keep a watch on us during these
conversations, which always made her uneasy, from the
other end of the room, where she was playing at cards. Al-
though she had reason to know she might depend on me,
yet, as she was naturally suspicious, she sometimes feared
that I would sacrifice her to the desire of pleasing the Em-
peror, and she was also vexed with me because I would not
tax: him with his conduct.
She would sometimes ask me to go to him and teU him
of the harm which, as she said, this new entanglement was
doing him in the eyes of the world ; again, she wanted me
to contrive that Mme. de X should be watched in her
own house, whither she knew Bonaparte sometimes went of
an evening ; or else she would make me write, in her pres-
ence, anonymous letters fuH of reproaches. These I wrote
in order to satisfy her, and to prevent her from getting other
persons to write them ; but I carefully burned them after-
ward, although I assured her that I had sent them.
Servants whom she could trust were employed to dis-
cover the proofs she sought for. The employees of her
favorite tradespeoj)le were taken into her confidence, and I
suffered the more from her imprudent conduct, when I
learned shortly afterward that Mme. Murat put down all the
discoveries made by the Empress to my account, and accused
me of a mean espionage of which I was incapable.
The Empress was the more distressed because her son
was profoundly grieved by this affair. Mme. de X ,
who, either from coquetry, inclination, or vanity, had at first
MME. DE X—. 233
listened favorably to him, avoided even the slightest appear-
ance of friendship with him since her new and more brilliant
conquest. She probably boasted to the Emperor of the pas-
sion with which she had inspired Eugene ; certain it is that
the latter was treated with coldness by his stepfather. The
Empress showed her anger at this ; the Princess Louis was
also distressed, but she concealed her feelings ; Eugene was
sore at heart, but his outward composure laid him little open
to attack.
In all this the undying hatred between the Bonapartes
and the Beauhamais was displayed, and it was my fate to
find myself entangled in it, notwithstanding all my modera-
tion. I have discovered by experience that everything, or
nearly everything, depends on chance at Court. Human
prudence is not a sufficient safeguard, and I know no means
of escaping from misconstruction, unless the sovereign him-
self be incapable of suspicion. Ear from this, however, the
Emperor welcomed all gossip, and believed everything that
was ill-natured, on any subject. The surest way to please
him was to carry every rumor to him, and to denoimce
everybody's conduct; and therefore M. de Eemusat, who
was placed so near him, never obtained his favor. He de-
cliaed to tread such a path to success, although it was fre-
quently pointed out to him by Duroc.
One evening the Emperor, who was quite out of patience,
owing to a scene with his wife, in which, driven to despera-
tion, she had declared she would forbid the entry of her
apartments to Mme. de X , addressed himself to M. de
Eemusat, and complained that I did not use my influence
over her to dissuade her from acts of imprudence. He con-
cluded by telling him that he wished to speak to me in pri-
vate, and that I was to ask for an audience. M. de Eemusat
conveyed this order to me, and accordingly on the following
day I asked for an audience, which was fixed for the next
morning.
A hunting-party had been arranged for that day. The
234 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMUSAT.
Empress started first with the foreign princes ; she was to
wait for the Emperor in the Bois de Boulogne. I arrived
just as the Emperor was entering his carriage ; his suite was
assembled round him. He returned to his cabinet in order
to receive me, to the great astonishment of the Court, to
whom the merest trifle was an event.
He began by complaining bitterly of the discussions in
his household, and launched out into invectives against wo-
men in general, and his own wife in particular. He re-
proached me with assisting her spies, and accused me of
many actions of which I knew nothing whatever, but which
had been reported to him. I recognized in all he said the
ill ofiBces of Mme. Murat, and, what hurt me more, I per-
ceived that in several instances the Empress had used my
name, and had attributed to me her own words or thoughts,
in order to strengthen her case. This, together with the
Emperor's angry words, distressed me, and tears rose to
my eyes. The Emperor noticed them, and rudely rebuked
my emotion with a saying which he frequently used, and
which I have already quoted : " Women have always two
ways of producing an effect — paint and tears." Just then
these words, uttered in an ironical tone and with the inten-
tion of disconcerting me, had the opposite effect ; they an-
gered me, and gave me courage to answer : " No, Sire ; but
when I am unjustly accused, I can not but weep tears of in-
dignation."
I must render this testimony to the Emperor : he was
seldom hard upon any one who displayed firmness ; either
because, meeting with it seldom, he was unprepared for it,
or because his natural sense of justice responded to a feeling
justly entertained.
He was not displeased with me. " Since you do not ap-
prove," he said, " of the watch set over me by the Empress,
how is it your influence is not suflSicient to deter her ? She
humiliates both herself and me by surrounding me with
spies ; she only furnishes weapons to her enemies. Since
MME. DE X.— 235
you are in her confidence, you must answer for her, and I
shall hold you responsible for all her faults." He smiled
slightly as he spoke these words. Then I represented to
him that I was tenderly attached to the Empress ; that I
was incapable of advising her to an improper course of ac-
tion ; but that no one could gain much iniiuence over a per-
son of so passionate a nature. I told him that he showed
no tact in deahng with her, and that, whether he was right-
ly or wrongly suspected, he was harsh and treated her too
roughly. I durst not blame the Empress for that which was
really blameworthy in her conduct, for I knew he would not
fail to repeat my words to his wife. I ended by telling him
that I should keep away from the palace for some time, and
that he, would see whether things went on any better in con-
sequence.
He then said that he was not, and could not be, in love ;
that he thought no more of Mme. de X than of any-
body else ; that love was for men of a different disposition
from his ovsm ; that he was altogether absorbed in politics ;
that he would have no women ruling in his Court ; that they
had injured Henry IV. and Louis XIY. ; that his own busi-
ness was a much more serious one than that of those kings,
and that Frenchmen had become too grave to pardon their
sovereign for recognized liaisons and official mistresses. He
spoke of his wife's past conduct, adding that she had not the
right to be severe. I ventured to check him on this subject,
and he was not angry with me. Finally, he questioned me
as to the individuals who were employed as spies by the Em-
press. I could only answer that I knew none of them. Then
he reproached me with want of attachment to himself. I
maintained that I was more sincerely devoted than those who
carried worthless gossip to him. This conversation ended
better than it had begun ; I could perceive that I had made
a favorable impression.
This interview had lasted a long time ; and the Empress,
who grew tired of waiting in the Bois de Boulogne, had sent
M
236 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
a mounted servant to discover wliat was detaining lier hus-
band. She was informed that he was alone with me. Her
uneasiness became very great ; she returned to the Tuileries,
and, finding I was no longer there, she sent Mme. de Tal-
houet to my house to learn all that had taken place. In
obedience to the Emperor's commands, I replied that the
conversation had been restricted to certain matters relative
to M. de E^musat.
In the evening there was a dance at General Savary's, at
which the Emperor had promised to be present. During
the winter he took every opportunity of appearing in so-
ciety ; he was in good spirits, and would even dance, rather
awkwardly. I arrived at Mme. Savary's before the Court
party. The Grand Marshal (Dm-oe) came forward to meet
me, and offered his arm to conduct me to my place ; and our
host was fuU of attentions. My long audience of that morn-
ing had given rise to conjectures ; I was treated with re-
spect, as though I were in high favor, or had received confi-
dential communications. I could not help smiling at the
simple cunning of these courtiers.
Presently the Emperor and Empress arrived. In making
his progress round the room, Bonaparte stopped and spoke
to me in a friendly manner. The Empress was watching us,
full of anxiety. Mme. Murat looked astonished and Mme.
de X nervous. All this amused me ; I did not foresee
the consequences. The next day the Empress pressed me
with questions which I took care not to answer ; slie became
ofi"ended, and declared that I was sacrificing her to the Em-
peror, that I chose the safe side, and that I no more than
others cared for her. Her reproaches grieved me deeply.
I confided all my troubles to my dear mother. I was ac-
quiring a bitter experience, and was still young enough to
shed, tears over it. My mother comforted me, and advised
me to hold myself a little aloof, which I did ; but this did
not help me. The Emperor obliged me to speak to him,
and, when he reproached his wife for her indiscreet behavior,
MME. DE DAMAS. 237
pretended he was repeating my opinions. The Empress
treated me with coldness ; I saw that she avoided speaking
to me, and, for my part, I did»not consider myself bound to
seek her confidence.
The Emperor, who enjoyed sowing dissension between
us, perceived the coolness, and paid me, in consequence, all
the more attention; but Mme. de X , who had been
taught to dislike me, and was uneasy at the favor in which I
was held, and who also perhaps did me the honor of feeling
a little jealous, tried in every way to injure me. As every-
thing in this world works together for evil pui-poses only
too readily, she found an opportunity in which she was per-
fectly successful.
On the other hand, Eugene Beauharnais and the Princess
Louis were convinced that I had betrayed their mother, in
order to further the ambition of M. de Kemusat, who pre-
ferred the favor of the master to that of the mistress. M.
de Eemusat held himself entirely aloof from all these mat-
ters ; but, where ambition is concerned, the probable is al-
ways the true in the belief of dwellers in a court. Eugene,
who had been friendly to my husband, now kept aloof from
him. As courtiers, our position was not an unfavorable one ;
but, as we were merely honorable people and would not reap
any disgraceful advantage from it, we were both greatly dis-
tressed.
I have still to relate how Mme. de X contrived to
strike the final blow. Among my mother's friends and mine
was Mme. Charles de Damas, whose daughter, the wife of
the Count de Yogiie, was the intimate friend of my sister,
and was also intimate, though in a less degree, with myself.
Mme. de Damas was an ardent Eoyalist, and in the habit of
expressing her opinions with some imprudence. She had
even been accused, after the affair of the 3d Nivose (the In-
fernal machine), of having concealed certain Chouans who
were implicated. In the autumn of 1804 Mme. de Damas
was exiled to a distance of forty leagues from Paris, on ac-
238 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE Rl^MUSAT.
count of some foolish speeches. This act of severity sorely
distressed both the mother and the daughter : the latter was
near her confinement, and I, h«ving witnessed their tears and
shared their grief, went for consolation to the Empress. She
spoke to her husband, and he was good enough to listen to
my petition, and to grant me the revocation of the sentence.
Mme. de Damas, in her impulsive and affectionate way,
published abroad the service I had rendered her, and, bound
by feelings of gratitude to the Empress, as well as alarmed
at the risk she had i*un, she became thenceforth more careful
of her words. She never mentioned politics to me, but re-
spected my position as I respected her feelings.
It happened, however, that in the Marquise de C , a
lady who had formerly been celebrated at Court and in so-
ciety for her brilliancy of repartee, Mme. de Damas had an
enemy. Mme. de C was on friendly terms with Mme. de
X , and, having discovered her liaison with the Emper-
or, she extorted an avowal of the facts from Mme. de X .
Then, being of an active and scheming disposition, she
undertook to advise her friend in her capacity of mistress
to the sovereign. They had some conversation about me,
and Mme. de C , who always imagined the intrigues of
Versailles in the incidents of the Emperor's Court, con-
cluded, with some show of probability, that it was my inten-
tion to supplant the new favorite. As I was reputed to pos-
sess some talent, and as my reputation on this point owed a
great deal to my mother's, it was supposed that I must be
fond of intrigue. Mme. de C , intending to do a bad
turn to Mme. de Damas, and at the same time to injure me,
mentioned her to Mme. de X as a woman more devoted
than ever to her Eoyalist opinions, ready to enter into any
secret correspondence, and to abuse the indulgence with
which she had been treated, by acting against the Emperor
whenever she could. My friendship with her was described
as more intimate than it really was ; and this, being reported
to the Emperor, served to prejudice him against me. He no
TEE EMPRESS CONFIDES IN ME. 239
longer summoiied. ine to join him at the card-table, nor con-
versed with me ; I was not invited to Malmaison or to the
hunting-parties ; in short, I f ojnnd myself in disgrace without
being able to guess at the cause, for, on account of my fail-
ing health, I was living in comparative solitude and retire-
ment. My husband and I were too closely united for dis-
grace to fall on one without including the other, and neither
of us could understand why we were thus treated.
As the Emperor's friendship for me cooled, I regained
the confidence of his wife, who took me back into favor as
lightly as she had given me up, and without a word of ex-
planation. By this time I knew her sufficiently to under-
stand that explanations would be useless. She enlightened
me respecting the Emperor's displeasure. She had learned
from him that Mme. de C and Mme. de X had in-
formed against me. He had gone so far as to acknowledge to
his wife that he was in love, and gave her to understand that
he must not be thwarted ; adding, in order to console her,
that it was a passing fancy, which would only be increased by
opposition, but would soon pass away if it were not balked.
The Empress made up her mind to endurance ; but she
never addressed Mme. de X . The latter cared little for
that, however, and regarded the conjugal broils of which she
was the cause with impudent indifference. Besides, under
the direction of Mme. Murat, she ministered to the Emper-
or's tastes by retailing to him a great deal of evil of a great
number of people. Many persons were ruined during her
spell of favor, and she fostered the worst qualities of the
Emperor's suspicious nature.
When I learned this new accusation against me, I again
requested an audience of him ; but this time his mariner was
stern. He reproached me with being friendly only with his
enemies, with having defended the Polignacs, with being an
agent of the "aristocrats." "I intended to make a great
lady of you," he said— "to raise your fortunes to a great
height ; bnt all that can only be the reward of entire devo-
20
240 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Rl^MUSAT.
tion. You must break with your former friends, and, the
next time Mme. de Damas comes to your house, you must
refuse her admittance, and have her told that you can not
associate with my enemies. Then I shall believe in your
attachment." I made no attempt to point out to him how
contrary such a mode of action would be to all my habits ;
but I consented to refrain from seeing Mme. de Damas,
whose conduct, at least since the pardon had been granted
her, I defended. He spoke to me very severely; he was
deeply prejudiced, and I saw that I must only trust to time
to open his eyes.
A few days later Mme. de Damas was again ordered into
exile. She was ill iu bed ; and the Emperor sent Corvisart
to her, to certify whether, in fact, she could not be removed.
Corvisart was a friend of mine, and gave his opinion accord-
ing to my wishes ; but at length Mme. de Damas recovered
and left Paris. It was long before she returned. I no longer
visited her, nor did she come to me, but she retained her
former affection for me, and perfectly understood the mo-
tives which constrained me to act as I did. Count Charles
de Damas, who was straightforward, simple, and less indis-
creet than his wife, was never annoyed by the police, while
they kept constant watch on Mme. de Damas. Some years
later, the Emperor gave Mme. de Vogiie to understand that
he wished her to be presented at Court : this was during the
reign of the Archduchess.*
Meanwhile the Bonapartes triumphed. Eugene, the con-
stant object of their jealousy, was positively badly treated,
and was a source of secret trouble to the Emperor. Sud-
denly, toward the end of January, in very severe weather,
Eugene received orders to proceed with his regiment to Italy
within four and twenty hours. Eugene felt convinced that
he was in complete disgrace. The Empress, believing this to
be the doing of Mme. de X , wept bitterly, but her son
* On the death of M. de VogiiiS, hia widow married the Count de ChastsUux,
now a colonel, and brother-in-law to the Imprudent La Bedoyfere.
A BROTHER'S OBEDIENCE. <i,Al
strictly forbade her to make any appeal. He took leave of
tlie Emperor, who received him with coldness, and we heard
the following day that the Guards' Regiment of Guides had
departed, its colonel marching at its head, notwithstanding
the inclemency of the season.
The Princess Louis, in speaking to me of this harsh act,
expressed her pride in her brother's obedience. "If the
Emperor," she said, " had exacted such a thing from a mem-
ber of his own family, you would have seen what a noise
would have been made ; but not one word has been uttered
in this case, and I think Bonaparte must be impressed by
such an act of submission." And in fact he was, but still
more by the ill-natured satisfaction of his brothers and sisters.
He liked to disappoint them ; and although, in a fit of jeal-
ousy, he had sent away his stepson, he immediately" re-
warded him for his good behavior. On the 1st of February,
1805, the Senate received two letters * from the Emperor.
* The following are the two messages addressed by the Emperor on the same
day, 12th Pluviflse, year 13 (Ist February, 1805), to the Senate:
" Senatoes : We hare appointed our brother-in-law, Marshal Murat, to be
Grand Admiral of the Empire. We desire to recognize not only his services to the
country, and the particular attachment he has shown to our person throughout his
whole life, but also what is due to the luster and dignity of the Crown, by raising
to the rank of Prince an individual so closely allied to us by the ties of blood.'"
" Senators : We have appointed our stepson, Eugfene Beauhamais, Viec-
Arch-Chancellor of State to the Empire. Among all the acts of our sovereignty,
there is not one more gratifying to our heart. Brought up by our care, and
from his childhood, under our own people, he has proved himself worthy of imi-
tating, and, with the help of God, of some day surpassing, the examples and the
lessons we have given him. Although he is still young, we shall from this day
forward consider him, on account of the experience we have had of his conduct
in the most momentous circumstances, as one of the pillars of our throne, and
one of the most able defenders of his country. In the midst of the cares and
trials of the high rank to which we have been called, our heart has sought for
affection in the tenderness and consoling friendship of this child of our adop-
tion ; a consolation which is, no doubt, necessary to all men, but preeminently
so to us, whose every moment is devoted to the affairs of nations. Our paternal
blessing will follow this young Prince throughout his whole career, and, with
the help of Providence, ho will one day be worthy of the approbation of pos-
terity."—P. K.
242 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
In one he annoiinced the elevation of Marshal Murat to the
rank of Prince and Grand Admiral of the Empire. This
was the reward of his recent acts of complaisance, and the
result of Mme. Murat's importunities. In the other letter,
which was couched in flatt^ing and affectionate terms toward
Eugene, he was created Vice- Arch-Chancellor of State. This
was one of the great posts of the Empire. Eugene heard of
his promotion when he was a few miles from Lyons, where
the courier found him on horseback at the head of his regi-
ment, covered with thickly falling snow.
Before I deal with the union of the crown of Italy with
that of France, a great event which afforded us a new spec-
tacle, and was the cause of the war that broke out in the
autumn of this year, I will relate all that remains to be told
concerning Mme. de X .
She seemed to engross the Emperor's thoughts more and
more ; and, as she became assured of her power, so she be-
came less circumspect in her conduct toward the Empress,
and seemed to delight in her misery. During a short stay
which we made at Malmaison, appearances were more than
ever outraged. To the surprise of every one, the Emperor
would walk about the grounds with Mme. de X and
young Mme. Savary — whose eyes and tongue were not at all
formidable — and he devoted less time than usual to business.
The Empress remained in her room, weeping, tortured with
apprehension, brooding upon recognized liaisons, disgrace
and oblivion for herself, and possibly divorce, the continu-
ally recurring object of her apprehensions. She no longer
had courage for useless altercations ; but her sadness bore
witness to her grief, and at last touched her husband's heart.
Perhaps his love for her revived, or possession weakened his
passion for Mme. de X , or he became ashamed of the
sway the latter exercised over him ; but, whatever was the
cause, that which he had predicted of himself came. to pass.
One day, when he was alone with his wife and saw her
weeping at something he had said, lie suddenly resumed the
A2r INTERVIEW. 243
affectionate manner of former times, and, admitting her to
the most intimate confidence, owned to her once more that
he had been very much infatuated, but said that it was all
over. He added that he had detected an attempt to govern
him — that Mme. de X had told him a number of very
ill-uatured stories ; and he actually concluded by asking the
Empress to assist him to put an end to a liaison which he no
longer cared about.
The Empress was not in the least vindictive ; it is but
just to say that for her. So soon as she found that she no
longer had anything to fear, her anger vanished. Delighted
to be rid of her trouble, she showed no severity toward the
Emperor, but once more became the gentle and indulgent
wife, always ready to forgive him. She objected to any
publicity on this occasion, and even promised her husband
that, if he would alter his behavior to Mme. de X , she,
on her part, would alter hers also, and would shield the lady
from any annoyance which might result from the change.
She only claimed the right to an interview- with Mme. de
X — ^ — . Accordingly, she sent for her, and spoke to her
plainly, and frankly, pointing out the risk she had run, ex-
cusing her apparent levity on the plea of her youth and im-
prudence, recommending greater discretion for the future,
and promising that the past should be forgotten.
During this conversation Mme. de X remained per-
fectly self-possessed, calmly denying that she deserved any
such admonitions, evincing no emotion, not a trace of grati-
tude. In sight of the whole Court, which for some time
continued to observe her, she maintained a cool and self-
contained demeanor, which proved that her heart was not
much concerned in the intimacy now broken off, and also
that she could keep her private feelings well in check — for
it is difficult to believe that her vanity, at any rate, was not
deeply mortified. The Emperor, who, as I have already
said, dreaded the least appearance of being ruled by anybody,
ostentatiously exhibited his freedom. He was not even
244 MEMOIRS OF MADAME HE RJ^MUSAT.
commonly civil to Mme. de X ; lie never looked at her ;
and he spoke slightingly of her, either to Mme. Bonaparte,
who could not deny herself the pleasure of repeating his
words, or to men with whom he was on familiar terms. He
was careful to explain that this had only been a passing
fancy, and would relate the successive phases of it with in-
decent candor, most insulting toward her who had been its
object. He was ashamed of his infatuation, for it was a
proof that he had submitted to a power stronger than his
own.
This behavior confirmed me in a belief which I had
often expounded to the Empress in order to console her. To
be the wife of such a man might be a grand and enviable
position, gratifying to one's pride at least ; but to be his mis-
tress could never be otherwise than unsatisfactory, for his
was not a nature to compensate a weak and loving woman
for the sacrifices she would have to make for him, nor to af-
ford an ambitious one the means of exercising power.
With the short reign of Mme. de X the influence of
Murat and the Bonapartes came for the time being to an
end ; for, on the reconciliation of the Emperor with his wife,
his former confidence in her revived, and he heard from her
lips of all the petty schemes of which she had been the vic-
tim and himself the object. I profited in a measure by the
change ; yet the impression which had been made could not
be altogether effaced, and the Emperor retained his convic-
tion that M. de K^musat and I were incapable of the sort of
devotion that he required, a devotion claiming the sacrifice
both of personal inclinations and of those convenances which
he despised. He had a right, perhaps, to expect the former :
one ought to renounce a Court life, unless one can make it the
only sphere of one's thoughts and actions ; and neither my
husband nor I was capable of doing so. I have always longed to
attach myself with all my heart to the duties of my state, and
at this period I was too heart-sore not to feel some constraint
in performing those which devolved on me. I began to see
DIFFERENCE OF CHARACTER IN SOVEREICNS. 2^^
that the Emperor was not the man I had taken him for.
Already he inspired me with fear rather than with affection ;
and, in proportion as my assiduity in obeying him increased,
I felt the sharp pain of vanishing illusions, and I suffered
beforehand from all that I foresaw. The quaking of the
earth on which we stood alarmed both M. de Eemusat and
myself, and he especially resigned himself with difficulty to
a life which was extremely unpleasing to him.
When I recall these troubles now, how happy I am to
see him, quiet and contented, at the head of affairs in an im-
portant province, honorably fulfilling the duty of a good
citizen, and serving his country usefully ! * Can there be a
worthier employment of the faculties of an enlightened and
high-hearted man, or a greater contrast with the restless,
troublesome, not to say ridiculous life which has to be led,
without one moment's intermission, in the courts of kings ?
I say courts, because they are all alike. ISTo doubt the dif-
ference of character in sovereigns has some influence over
the lives of those who surround them ; there are shades of
difference in the homage exacted by Louis XIY., our own
King Louis XVIIL, the Emperor Alexander, or Bonaparte.
But, though masters may differ, courtiers are everywhere the
same ; the same passions are in play, for vanity is invariably
their secret spring. Jealousy, the longing to supplant others,
the fear of being stopped on the road, or finding others pre-
. ferred to one's self — these do, and always will, cause similar
perturbations ; and I am profoundly persuaded that any one,
who, dwelling in a palace, wishes to exercise his faculties of
thinking and of feeling, must be unhappy.
Toward the end of this winter the Imperial Court was
again augmented. A number of persons, among whom I
could name some who are now inexorable to all who ever
were in the Emperor's service, were eagerly bidding for place.
The Empress, M. de Talleyrand, and M. de Eemusat received
* At the time I write, September, 1818, my husband is Prefect of the I)(5par.
tement du Nord.
24:6 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMuSAT.
their requests, and handed long lists to Bonaparte, who would
smile when he saw in the same column the names of ci-de-
vant Liberals, of soldiers who had been jealous of his pro-
motion, and of gentlemen who, after having jeered at what
they called our farce of royalty, were now all begging to be
allowed to play parts in it. Some of these petitions were
granted. Mesdames de Turenne, de Montalivet, de Bouille,
Devaux, and Marescot were appointed Ladies-in- Waiting ;
MM. Hedouville, de Croij, de Mercy d'Argenteau, de
Tournon, and de Bondy were made Chamberlains to the
Emperor ; MM. de Beam, de Courtomer, and the Prince de
Gavre, Chamberlains to the Empress ; M. de Canisy, Equer-
ry ; M. de Bausset, Prefect of the Palace, etc.
This numerous Court consisted of various elements for-
eign to each other, but all were brought to one level by fear
of the all-powerful master. There was little rivalry among
the ladies ; they were strangers to each other, and did not
become intimate. The Empress treated them all alike.
Mme. de la Kochefoucauld, light-hearted and easy-tempered,
showed no jealousy toward any one. The Mistress of the
Pobes was amiable, silent, and nothing more. Day by day
1 drew back from the somewhat dangerous friendship of the
Empress; but I must own that such was her evenness of
temper, so gracious was her bearing, that the Court circle by
which she was surrounded was free from disturbance or jeal-
ousy.
It was not so in the case of the Emperor — but then he
himself designedly kept up a state of disquiet. For instance,
M. de Talleyrand, who had slightly diminished the impor-
tance of M. de E^musat's position, not with the intention of
injuring him, but in order to satisfy some new-comers who
were jealous of my husband, was brought into closer contact
with him afterward, and began to appreciate his worth and
to show some interest in him. Bonaparte perceived this.
The slightest appearance of private friendship alarmed him,
and he took the minutest precautions to prevent anything of
BONAPARTE'S ADVICE. 247
the kind ; so he spoke to my husband one day in a tone of
unusual cordiality. " Take care," said he, " M. de Talley-
rand seems to be making advances to you ; but I know to a
certainty that he bears you no good will."
" And why should M. de Talleyrand bear me ill will ? "
said my husband to me, on repeating these words. We could
not tell why, but this speech gave us a feeling of distrust,
which was all that the Emperor wanted.
Such was the state of things at the Emperor's Court in
the spring of 1805. I will now retrace my steps and give an
account of the momentous resolution that was come to con-
cerning the crown of Italy.
BOOK II
CHAPTEE XII.
(1805.)
Opening of the Session of the Senate — M. cle Talleyrand's Eeport — Letter from the
Emperor to the King of England — Union of the Crown of Italy to the Empire —
Mme. Baooiochi becomes Princess of Piombino — Performance of " Athalio" —
The Emperor goes to Italy— His Dissatisfaction — M. do Talleyrand — Prospect
of War with Austria.
On the 4th of Febmary, 1805, we were informed by the
" Moniteur " that the King of England had intimated, in his
speech on the opening of Parliament on the 16th of January,
that the Emperor had made fresh propositions of reconcilia-
tion. The Government had replied that nothing could be
agreed upon without previously conferring with the other
Powers of the Continent, and especially witli the Emperoi-
Alexander.
According to custom, some sharp comments were made
upon this speech, which, while they put forward the friendly
relations that existed — at least, outwardly — ^between ourselves
and the sovereigns of Europe, yet admitted a certain coolness
between the Emperors of Russia and of France, and attributed
this coolness to the intrigues of MM. de Marcoff and de Vo-
ronzoff, who were both partisans of the English policy. The
King's speech also announced war between England and
Spain.
On the same day, the 4th of February, the Senate having
been assembled, M. de Talleyrand presented a report, very
LETTER FROM THE EMPEROR. 249
ably drawn up, in which he expounded the system of con-
duct adopted by Bonaparte toward the English. He de-
scribed it as a constant effort for peace, while entertaining
no fear of war. He drew attention to the state of our prepa-
rations which threatened the English coasts, many flotillas
being equipped and ready in the harbors ; and to the army,
large in numbers and high in heart. He gave an account of
the means of defense which the enemy had gathered together
on the coasts, and which proved that the landing of the
French was not looked upon as impossible ; and, after be-
stowing the highest praise on the conduct of the Emperor,
he read to the assembled Senate the following letter, ad-
dressed to the King of England :
" SiE AND Beothee ;
" Having been called by Providence, and by the voice of
the Senate, the people, and the army, to the throne of France,
my first feeling is a desire for peace.
" France, and England are wasting their prosperity. They
may contend for centuries ; but are their Governments right-
fully fulfilling their most sacred duty, and does not their con-
science reproach them with so much blood shed in vain, for
no definite end ? I am not ashamed to take the initiative.
I have, I think, sufficiently proved to the whole world that I
do not fear the chances of war. Indeed, war can bring me
nothing to fear. Peace is my heartfelt wish, but war has
never been adverse to my renown. I implore your Majesty
not to deprive yourself of the happiness of bestowing peace
on the world. Do not delegate so consolatory an action to
your children. !N^ever was there a better occasion, nor a
more favorable moment for imposing silence on passion, and
for listening only to the voice of humanity and reason. If
this opportunity be lost, what term can be assigned to a war
which all my endeavors might fail to terminate ? In the last
ten years your Majesty's kingdom has increased in magnitude
and wealth by more than the whole extent of Europe ; your
250 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S^MUSAT.
nation lias readied the highest point of prosperity. What
do yon hope to gain by war ? The coalition of some con-
tinental powers ? The Continent will remain tranquil. A
coalition would but increase the preponderance and the con-
tinental greatness of France. To renew internal difficulties ?
The times are no longer the same. To destroy our revenues ?
Kevenues founded on good husbandry are not to be destroyed.
To snatch her colonies from France ? Colonies are objects
of but secondary importance to France ; and does not your
Majesty already possess more than you can keep ? If your
Majesty will reflect on it, you will see that war will be with-
out an object, without any probable result for yourself. Ah !
how sad a prospect is it to engage nations in war for war's
sake !
" The world is large enough for our two nations to live
in it, and the power of reason is sufficient to enable us to
overcome all difficulties, if on both sides there is the will to
do so. In any case, I have fulfilled a duty which I hold to
be righteous, and which is dear to my heart. I trust your
Majesty will believe in the sincerity of the sentiments I have
just expressed, and in my earnest desire to give you a proof
of them. On this, etc.
(Signed) " Napoleon.
12 Nivose, year 13.
I Id January, 1805."
"PakisJ
After having eulogized this letter (surely a remarkable
one !) as a striking proof of Bonaparte's love for the French,
of his desire for peace, and of his generous moderation, M.
de Talleyrand communicated the reply of Lord Mulgrave,
the Foreign Secretary. It was as follows :
" His Majesty has received the letter addressed to him by
the chief of the French Government, dated the 2d inst.
" His Majesty has no dearer wish than to embrace the
first opportunity of once more procuring for his subjects the
advantages of a peace which shall be founded on bases not
LORD MUL GRAVE'S REPLY. 251
incompatible with the permanent security and the essential
interests of his States. His Majesty is convinced that this
end can only be attained by an arrangement which will pro-
vide alike for the future security and tranquillity of Europe,
and prevent a renewal of the dangers and misfortunes which
have beset the Continent,
" His Majesty, therefore, feels it to be impossible to reply
more decisively to the question which has been put to him,
until he has had time to communicate with those continental
Powers with whom he is allied, and particularly with the
Emperor of Eussia, who has given the strongest proofs of
his wisdom and good feeling, and of the deep interest which
he takes in the security and independence of Europe.
" 14ft January, 1805."
The vague and indefinite character of this thoroughly
diplomatic reply exhibited the Emperor's letter to great
advantage. That letter was firm in tone, and bore every
appearance of magnanimous sincerity. It had, therefore, a
good effect, and the various reports of those whose task it
was to present it to the three great bodies of the State put it
in the most favorable light.
The report of Eegnault de Saint-Jean d'Angely, Coun-
cilor of State, is remarkable and interesting even now. The
praises accorded to the Emperor, though carried to excess,
are finely phrased ; the picture of Europe is ably drawn ;
that of the evil which war must entail on England is at least
specious ; and, finally, the description of our prosperity at
that period is impressive, and very little, if at all, exagger-
ated.
" France," he said, " has nothing to ask from Heaven, but
that the sun may continue to shine, the rain to fall on our
fields, and the earth to render the seed fruitful."
All this was true then, and, had a wise administration, a
moderate government, and a liberal constitution been given to
France, that prosperity would have been consolidated. But
252 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMuSAT.
constitutional ideas formed no part of Bonaparte's plan.
Perhaps he really believed, as he often said, that the French
character and the geographical position of France were op-
posed to representative government. Perhaps, conscious of
his own strength and ability, he could not make up his mind
to sacrifice to the future well-being of France those advan-
tages which he believed he could give us by the mere strength
of his will. Whatever was the case, he seldom lost an oppor-
tunity of disparaging our neighbor's form of government.
" The unfortunate position in which you have placed your
nation," he wrote in the " Moniteur," addressing himseK to
the English Cabinet, " can only be explained by the ill for-
tune of a State whose home policy is insecure, and whose
Government is the wretched tool of Parliamentary factions
and of a powerful oligarchy."
Although he felt at times that he was opposing the spirit
of the age, he believed himself strong enough to resist it. At
a later period he said : " During my lifetime I shall reign as
I please; but my son must perforce be a Liberal." And
meanwhile he pictured to himself the creation of feudal states,
believing that he could make them acceptable, and preserve
them from the criticism which was beginning to assail ancient
institutions, by establishing them on a scale so grand that, as
our pride would be enlisted, our reason might be silenced.
He believed that once again he could exhibit what history
has already witnessed, the world subject to a " People-King,"
but that royalty was to be represented in his own person.
A combination of Eastern and Eoman institutions, bearing
also some resemblance to the times of Charlemagne, was to
transform the sovereigns of Europe into great feudatories of
the French Empire ; and perhaps, if the sea had not effectu-
ally preserved England from invasion, this gigantic project
might have been carried out.
Shortly after, the Emperor laid the foundation-stone of
this brain-built edifice. I allude to the union of the Iron
Crown with that of France.
UNION OF THE CROWN OF ITALY. 253
On the ITth of March M. de Melzi, Yice-President of the
Italian Eepnblic, accompanied by the principal members of
the Council of State and a ntimerons deputation of presi-
dents of the electoral colleges, deputies from the Corps Le-
gislatif, and other important persons, was received by the
Emperor on his throne, and submitted to him the ardent
desire of the Council that he would graciously consent to
reign over the ultramontane republic also. " Our present
Government," said M. de Melzi, " can not continue, because
it throws us behind the age in which we live. Constitution-
al monarchy is everywhere indicated by the finger of progress.
" The Italian Republic claims a King, and her interests
demand that this King should be I^apoleon, on the condition
that the two crowns shall be united on his head only, and
that, so soon as the Mediterranean is once more free, he will
himself nominate a successor of his own blood."
Bonaparte replied that he had always labored for the wel-
fare of Italy ; that for this end he would accept the crown,
because he believed that any other course would just now be
•fatal to her independence; and that afterward, when the
time came for so doing, he would gladly place the Iron
Crown on some younger head, as he should always be ready
to sacrifice himself for the interests of the States over which
he was called to reign.
On the following day, the 18th of March, he proceeded
to the Senate in state, and announced both the request of the
Council and his own consent. M. de Melzi and all the Ital-
ians took the oaths, and the Senate approved and applauded
as usual. The Emperor concluded his speech by declaring
that the genius of evil would seek in vain to rekindle the fire
of war on the Continent ; that which had been united to the
Empire would remain united.
He doubtless foresaw that this event would be the occa-
sion of an early war, at least with the Emperor of Austria,
which, however, he was far from dreading. The army was
becoming weary of inaction ; the invasion of England was
254 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BI^MUSAT.
too perilous. It might be that favorable circumstances would
render the landing possible, but how could the army main-
tain its footing afterward in a country where reenforcement
would be weUnigh impossible ? And, in case of failure, what
would be the chances of retreat ? It may be observed, in
the history of Bonaparte, that he always contrived to avoid
a positively hopeless position as far as possible, and especial-
ly for himself personally. A war, therefore, would serve his
purpose by relieving him from this project of invasion, which,
from the moment he renounced it, became ridiculous.
During the same session, the State of Piombino was given
to the Princess Elisa. On announcing this to the Senate,
Bonaparte stated that the principality had been badly governed
for several years ; that the interests of France were concerned,
on account of the facilities which it offered for communica-
tion with the Island of Elba and with Corsica ; and that the
gift was not a token of special affection, but an act in accord-
ance with a wise policy, with the splendor of the crown, and
with the interests of nations.
As a proof that these gifts of the Emperor were in the.
nature of fiefs, the Imperial decree was to the effect that the
children of Mme. Bacciochi, on succeeding to their mother,
should receive investiture from the Emperor of the French ;
that they should not marry without his consent ; and that the
Princess's husband, who was to assume the title of Prince of
Piombino, should take the following oath :
" I swear fidelity to the Emperor ; I promise to aid with
my whole power the garrison of the Island of Elba ; and I
declare that I will not cease, under any circumstances, to
fulfill the duties of a good and faithful subject toward his
Majesty the Emperor of the French."
A few days after this the Pope solemnly baptized the
second son of Louis Bonaparte, who was held at the font by
his father and mother. This great ceremony took place at
Saint Cloud. The park was illuminated on the occasion,
and public games were provided for the people. In the
RACINE'S "ATffAim" 255
erening there was a numerous reception, and a first perfonn-
ance of "Athalie" at the theatre at Saint Cloud.
Kacine's great tragedy had not been performed since the
Revolution. The Emperor, who admitted he had never been
impressed by reading the play, was much struck by its repre-
sentation, and repeated on that occasion that he greatly wished
such a tragedy might be written during his own reign. He
gave leave that it should be performed in Paris ; and thence-
forth most of our great plays resumed their place on the
stage, whence they had been prudently banished by the Rev-
olution.
Some few lines, nevertheless, were cut out, lest applica-
tion might be made of them to present circumstances. Luc
de Lancival, the author of " Hector," and shortly afterward
Esmenard, author of " Le Poeme de la Navigation," were in-
trusted with the task of revising Corneille, Racine, and Vol-
taire. But, with all due respect to these precautionary mea-
sures of a too careful police, the missing linesj like the statues
of Brutus and Cassius, were the more conspicuous by their
absence.
In consequence of the momentous decision he had arrived
at, the Emperor announced that he would speedily proceed
to Italy, and fixed the epoch of his coronation for the month
of May. He convened the Italian Legislature for the same
date, and issued several decrees and ordinances relating to
the new customs to be established in Italy.
He also appointed ladies-in-waiting and chamberlains to
attend oh his mother ; and among others M. de Cosse-Brissac,
who had solicited that favor. At the same time Prince Bor-
ghese was declared a French citizen, and the ladies-in-waiting
received an accession to their number in Mme. de Canisy,
one of the most beautiful women of her time.
Mme. Murat gave birth to a child just at this time ; she
was then residing at the Hotel Thelusson, at the end of the
Rue d'Artois. It was observed on this occasion that the
luxuriousness of the new Princesses was continually on the
21
256 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BtMUSAT.
increase, and yet it had not then reached the height which it
afterward attained. Mme. Murat's bedchamber was hung
with pink satin, the bed and window curtains were of the
same material, and these hangings were trimmed with broad
and very fine lace, instead of fringe.
The preparations for the Emperor's departure soon occu-
pied us exclusively. This event was fixed for the 2d of
April, when the Pope was also to leave Paris ; and a few
days previously M. de Eemusat started for Milan, in charge
of the regalia and the crown diamonds, which were to be
used at the coronation. This was for me the beginning of
troubles, which were destined to recur for some years. I had
never before been separated from my husband, and I was so
much accustomed to the enjoyments of my home that I found
it hard to be deprived of them. It made the Court life to
which I was condemned more irksome, and was very pain-
ful to my husband also, who, like myself, fell into the error
of letting his feelings be perceived. I have already said
that a courtier is a failure if he suffer any feelings to
divert his attention from the minutise which constitute his
duties.
My distress at my husband's departure on a journey which
seemed to me so long, and even dangerous — for my imagina-
tion exaggerated everything regarding him — made me desir-
ous that he should be accompanied by a friend of ours, named
Salembemi, who had formerly been an officer in the navy.
He was badly off — ^had only tlie salary of some small appoint-
ment to live on, with what M. de Remusat, who employed
him as his secretary, paid him. To him I confided the care
of my husband's health. He was a clever man, but difficult
to deal with, somewhat malicious, and of a peevish temper.
He was the cause of more than one of our troubles, and this
is why I now make mention of him.*
* M. Salembemi, who had a ready pen, wrote freely from Itnly, and dwelt
rather on the scandals of the Court than on polities. His letters were opened
and shown to the Emperor, who ordered him to leave within twenty-four hours.
THE EMPEROR GOES TO ITALY. 257
My delicate health made it impossible to include me in
the suite. The Empress seemed to regret this. As for my-
self, I was, on the whole, glad of a rest after the busy life I
had been leading, and happy to remain with ray mother and
my children.*
Mesdames de la Eochefoucauld, d'Arberg, de Serrant,
and Savary, a considerable number of chamberlains, the great
officers, and, in short, a numerous and youthful Court, ac-
companied the Empress. The Emperor started on the 2d,
and the Pope on the 4th of April. At every stage of his
journey to Eome his Holiness received tokens of great re-
spect ; and he then, no doubt, believed he was bidding adieu
to France for ever.
Murat remained as Governor of Paris, and with a charge
of superintendence which he extended over everything ; but
his reports, I think, were not always disinterested. Fouche,
who was more liberal, if I may use the expression, in the
exercise of his police functions, and who was well entitled
to consider himself necessary, carried things with rather a
His disgrace caused some vexation to my grandfather. Although a certain con-
straint may be observed in the correspondence of the author of these Memoirs,
and many phrases are inserted for the purpose of contenting a jealous master,
it is probable that the letters of the husband and wife were also regarded as too
free in expression for courtiers. We know that the hateful custom of opening
letters was transmitted from the First to the Second Empire ; and it is a curious
coincidence that, on the 4th of September, IS'ZO, a letter addressed to my father
by my mother was discovered in a drawer of the writing-table of the Emperor
Napoleon III. That letter was, however, evidently written without any fear of
the post-office. — ^P. E.
* My grandmother, whose health had always been delicate, now began to be
seriously indisposed, and unable for any exertion. Her disposition became in-
fluenced by this. She lost none of her goodness, but her composure, serenity,
and gayety failed her. She suffered frequently from nervous attacks, which,
together with her naturally vivid imagination, rendered her more liable to dis-
quiet and melancholy. The journey undertaken by her husband, although dif-
fering so much from the dangerous exploits of the time, and, in fact, little more
than a pleasure-trip, troubled her to a degree which can hardly be believed now-
adays, and astonished even the most romantic women of a period so far removed
from ours. A worldly life, and especially a Court life, became more and more
distasteful to her.
258 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
high hand, but was conciliatory to all parties, according to
his system of making himself useful to everybody.
The Arch-Chancellor Cambaceres also remained as Di-
rector of the Council of State — an office of which he acquit-
ted himself well — and to do the honors of Paris. He re-
ceived a good deal of company, welcoming them with a
gloomy civiHty which gave him an almost ridiculous air.
Paris and France were at that time in repose ; all things
seemed to work together for order, and the general state of
subjection to be complete. The Emperor went first to Cham-
pagne. He passed a day at the fine old chateau of Brienne, in
order that he might visit the scenes of his childhood. Mme.
de Brienne professed extreme enthusiasm for him, and, as
worship was not displeasing to him, he behaved to her with
great amiability. It was amusing, just then, to see some of
her kinsfolk at Paris receiving the lively letters she wrote
to them on this Imperial visit. However, as she described
events, these letters produced a good efEect in what we call
here " good society." Success is easy to the powerful ; they
must needs be very ill-natured or very blundering when they
fail to please.
A few days after all these grand departures, the follow-
ing paragraph appeared in the " Moniteur " : " Monsieur
Jerome Bonaparte has arrived at Lisbon, on board an Ameri-
can vessel. Among the passengers are Mr. and Miss Patter-
son. M. Jer6me immediately took the post for Madrid.
Mr. and Miss Patterson have reembarked. It is understood
that they have returned to America." * I believe that they
crossed to England.f
* The Emperor announced the return of his brother to the Minister of the
Admiralty, Viee-Admiral D^er^s, in the following terms :
"Mn,Air, 33d Flor^al, year IS (18th May, 1S05).
"MoNSiEUE Deckes;
" M. Jerome has arrived. Mademoiselle Patterson has returned to America.
He has owned his fault, and does not recognize this person as his wife. He
promises miracles of good behavior. Meanwhile I have sent him to Genoa for
some time." — P. R. f See Appendix.
M. DE rMuSAT m MILAN. 259
This Mr. Patterson was no other than the father-in-law
of Jerome, who, having fallen in love while in America with
the daughter of an American merchant, had made her his
wife, persuading himself that, after some displeasure on his
brother's part, he should obtain his forgiveness. But Bona-
parte, who was already forming other projects for his family,
was highly incensed, annulled the marriage, and forced his
brother to an immediate separation. Jerome traveled to
Italy, and joined him at Turin, but was very badly received.
He was ordered to join one of our fleets then cruising in the
Mediterranean, remained at sea for a considerable time, and
was not restored to favor until several months afterward.
Throughout all France the Emperor was welcomed with
genuine enthusiasm. He staid at Lyons, where he secured
the good will of the traders by issuing decrees favorable to
their interests. He crossed Mont Cenis and remained a few
days at Turin.
Meanwhile M. de Bemusat had reached Milan, where he
met Prince Eugene, who received him with his characteristic
cordiality. The Prince questioned my husband as to what
had taken place in Paris since he had left that city, and suc-
ceeded in eliciting some details concerning Mme. de X
which were very grievous to his feelings. M. de Bemusat
wrote to me that, pending the arrival of the Court, he was
leading a tolerably quiet life. He explored Milan, which
seemed to him a dull town, and its palace was dull also.
The inhabitants showed little affection for the French. The
nobles shut themselves up in their houses, under the pretext
that they were not rich enough to do the honors of the place
in a fitting style. Prince Eugene endeavored to collect them
about him, but succeeded imperfectly. The Italians, still in
a state of suspense, did not know whether to rejoice or re-
pine at the novel destinj' which we forced upon them.
M. de Bemusat sent me at this period some rather curious
details of the life of the Milanese. Their ignorance of all
that constitutes agreeable society ; the absolute non-existence
260 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE SMUSAT.
among them of family life, the husbands, strangers to their
wives, leaving them to the care of a ca/valiere servente ; the
dullness of the theatres ; the darkness of the house, whither
people go in morning-dress, to occupy themselves in the
nearly closed boxes with anything rather than listening to
the opera ; the want of variety in the performances ; the
difference between the costumes and those of France — all
these things gave M. de Remusat matter for remarks, which
were all to the advantage of our beloved country, while they
also increased his desire to return to France and to me.
During this time the Emperor was revisiting the scenes
of his former victories. He held a grand review on the
battle-field of Marengo, and distributed crosses on that occa-
sion. The troops who had been massed together on the
pretext of this review, and remained afterward in the neigh-
borhood of the Adige, furnished a reason or pretext on
which the Austrian Government strengthened their already
very powerful line of defense behind this river ; and French
policy took offense at these precautions.
On the 9th of May the Emperor reached Milan. His
presence caused great excitement in the town, and the cir-
cumstances attending the coronation aroused the same ambi-
tion as they had caused in Paris. The highest nobles of
Milan began to long for the new distinctions and the advan-
tages appertaining to them ; independence and unity of -gov-
ernment were held out to the Italians, and they gave them-
selves up to the hopes they were allowed to conceive.
Immediately on the arrival of the Court at Milan, I was
struck by the dismal tone of M. de E^musat's letters, and
soon afterward I learned that he was suffering from his
master's displeasure. , The naval officer of whom I have
spoken, a satirical spectator of what was going on at Milan,
having taken it into his head to write to Paris some lively
and rather sarcastic accounts of what was passing before his
eyes, his letters had been opened, and M. de Eemusat was
ordered to send him back to Paris. He was not at first told
A BREACH OF OONFIBENOK ■ 261
the reason for this order, and it was only at a later period
that he learned its cause. The displeasure of the Emperor
was not coniined to the secretary ; it fell also on him who
had brought him to Italy.
Besides this, Prince Eugene let fall some of the details he
had obtained in confidence from my husband ; and, finally,
it was discovered from our letters, as I have said before, that
our thoughts and aspirations were not entirely centered in
the interests of our places at Court. These causes were suf-
ficient to anger a master who was by nature irascible ; and
so, according to his custom of using men for his own advan-
tage when they could be useful to him, whatever might be
his feelings toward them, he exacted from my husband a
service of the most rigid punctuality, because the length of
time M. de.Eemusat had passed at Court had given him ex-
perience in a ceremonial which daily became more minute,
and to which the Emperor attached greater importance. At
the same time he treated him with harshness and severity,
repeating continually to those who, with good reason, would
praise the high and estimable qualities of my husband,
" All that you say may be true, but he does not belong to
me as I wish him to belong to me." This reproach was al-
ways on his lips during the years we passed in his service,
and perhaps there is some merit in our never having ceased
to deserve it.
This Court life, so busy and yet so idle, gave M. de Tal-
leyrand and M. de Remusat an opportxmity of becoming bet-
ter acquainted, and was the beginning of an intimacy which
at a later period caused me many and various emotions.
The fine tact of M. de Talleyrand discerned the right-
mindedness and the keenness of observation of my husband ;
they agreed on a multitude of subjects, and the difference
of their dispositions did not prevent them from enjoying
an interchange of ideas. One day M. de Talleyrand said
to M. de Eemusat : " I can see that you distrust me, and I
know whence your caution proceeds. We serve a master
262 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
who does not like intimacies. When he appointed ns both
to the same service, he foresaw there might be friendship
between us. You are a clever man, and that is enough to
make him wish that you and I should remain apart. He
therefore prejudiced you in some way against me, and he
also tried, by I know not what reports, to put me on my
guard. It will not be his fault if we do not remain stran-
gers to one another. This is one of his weaknesses, and we
must recognize, indulge, and excuse, without, however, sub-
mitting to it." This straightforward way of speaking, en-
hanced by the graceful manner which M. de Talleyrand
knows so well how to assume when he likes, pleased my
husband, who, moreover, found in this friendship something
to make up for the weariness of his post.*
At this period M. de Eemusat perceived that M. de
Talleyrand, who had the influence over Bonaparte of his
utility, felt considerable jealousy of Fouche, whom he dis-
liked. He entertained a positive contempt for M. Maret,
and gratified it by the biting sarcasm in which he habitually
indulged, and which few could escape. Although under no
delusion regarding Bonaparte, he nevertheless served him
well ; for he tried to restrain his passions by the position in
* This mutual distrust between his Great Chamberlain and his First Cham-
berlain, originated and kept up by the Emperor, was slow in dying out; and,
notwithstanding the good will of both, no real intimacy existed between them
until the following year, during the tour in Germany. After the first advances
had been made by M. do Talleyrand, my grandfather wrote to his wife in the
following terms, in a letter dated Milan, 17th Flor^al, year 13 (7th May, 1805) :
" M. de Talleyrand has been here for the last week. It only depends on my-
self to believe him my best friend. In words he seems friendship itself. I
often go to sec him. He takes ray arm whenever he happens to meet me, and
talks with me in a low voice for two or three hours at a time ; he tells me vari-
ous things which have every appearance of being confidenti.al, intei'ests himself
in my career, talks to me about it, and wants me to be distinguished among all
the other Chamberlains. Tell me, my dear one, am I really held in esteem, or
docs he want to play me a trick ? " Shortly after this, his language completely
changed, and the friendship became intimate and affectionate on both sides. —
P. R.
WAB BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN. 263
which he placed him, both with respect to foreign affairs and
in France ; and he also advised him to create certain insti-
tutions which would control him. The Emperor, who, as I
have said, liked to create, and who seized rapidly upon any-
thing novel and impressive, would f oUow the advice of M.
de Talleyrand, and, in concert with him, would lay the foun-
dation of some useful enterprise. But afterward his domi-
neering temper, his suspicion, his dread of finding himseK
restrained, made him afraid of the action of that which he
had himself created, and, with sudden caprice, he would
abruptly suspend or relinquish the work he had begun. M.
de Talleyrand was provoked by this ; but, as he was naturally
indolent and careless, and did not possess in himself those
qualities of strength and perseverance which enable a man to
carry his points in detail, he usually ended by neglecting and
abandoning the fatiguing task of solicitude and superinten-
dence. The sequence of events will, however, explain all this
better than I can in this place.
Meantime, war broke out between England and Spain,
and we were frequently, sometimes successfully, engaged at
sea. A fleet which sailed out from Toulon found means to
join the Spanish squadron, and the press exulted loudly over
this feat.*
On the 30th of May Bonaparte was crowned King of
Italy, with great pomp. The ceremony was similar to that
which had taken place in Paris. The Empress sat in a gal-
lery and beheld the spectacle. M. de Eemusat told me that
a thrill of emotion passed over the crowd in the church at
the moment when Bonaparte, taking hold of the Iron Crown,
and placing it on his head, uttered in a threatening voice the
antique formula, " II cielo me la diede, guai a chi la toc-
cher4 ! " The remainder of the Emperor's stay at Milan was
divided between attending fetes and issuing decrees for the
* This passage refers to the achievement of Admiral Villeneuve, who, hav-
ing set sail on the 30th of March, contrived to get clear of the port of Toulon
without encountering the English fleet. — P. R.
264 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE Bl^MUSAT.
regulation and administration of Ms new kingdom. Rejoic-
ings took place all over France in honor of the event ; and
yet it caused great apprehension among many people, who
foresaw that war with Austria would result from it.
On the 4th of June the Doge of Genoa arrived at Milan.
He came to beg that his Republic might be united to the
Empire ; and this action, which had been concerted or com-
manded beforehand, was made the occasion of a grand recep-
tion and state ceremony. That portion of Italy was at once
divided into new departments, and shortly afterward the new
constitution was sent to the Italian Legislature, and Prince
Eugene was made Viceroy of the kingdom. The order of
the Iron Crown was created; and, the distributions being
made, the Emperor left Milan and set out on a journey
which, under the appearance of a pleasure-trip, was in reality
undertaken for the purpose of reconnoitering the Austrian
forces on the line of the Adige.
By the treaty of Campo Formio Eonaparte had aban-
doned the Venetian States to the Emperor of Austria, and
the latter thus became a formidable neighbor to the king-
dom of Ita]y. On his arrival at Verona, he received a visit
from Baron Vincent, who commanded the Austrian garrison
in that portion of the town which belonged to his sovereign.
The Baron was commissioned to inform himself of the state
of our forces in Italy ; the Emperor, on his part, observing
those of the foreigner. On inspecting the banks of the
Adige, he perceived that forts would have to be constructed
for the defense of the river ; but, on calculating the neces-
sary time and expense, he said that it would be better and
quicker to push the Austrians back from that frontier alto-
gether. From that moment we may believe that he had
resolved upon the war which was declared some months
later.
It was impossible that the Emperor of Austria shoiild
regard with indifference the acquisition by France of so
much power in Italy ; and the English Government, which
PROSPECT OF WAR WITH AUSTRIA. 265
was making great efforts to stir up a continental war against
us, skillfully availed itself of the uneasiness of the Emperor
of Austria, and the dissatisfaction which was by degrees
impairing the cordiality of our relations with Eussia. The
English newspapers hastened to assert that the Emperor had
held a review of his troops in Italy for the sole purpose of
putting them on the footing of a formidable enemy ; and
thenceforth movements began in the Austrian army. Those
appearances of peace which were still observed up to the
time of the rupture were in reality preparations by both
Emperors, who at that period had become almost declared
enemies.
CHAPTER XIII.
(1805.)
D'fites at Verona and Genoa — Cardinal Maurj — My Retired Life in the Coimtry —
Mme. Louis Bonaparte — " Lea Tcmpliers " — The Emperor's Eetum — HLs
Amusements — The Marriage of M. de Talleyrand — War is declared.
The Emperor visited Cremona, Verona, Mantua, Bo-
logna, Modena,, Parma, and Piacenza, and then went to
Genoa,, where he was received with enthusiasm. He sent
for Le Brun, the Arch-Treasurer, to whom he intrusted the
task of superintending the new administration to be estab-
lished in that city. At Genoa also he parted with his sister
Elisa, who had accompanied him on his journey, and to
whom he gave the little Eepublic of Lucca, adding to it the
States of Piombino. At this period the French began once
more to wear foreign decorations. Pmssian, Bavarian, and
Spanish orders were sent to the Emperor, to be distributed
by him at his pleasure. He divided them among his great
officers, some of his ministers, and a few of his marshals.
At Verona a fight between dogs and bulls was given, for
the entertainment of the Emperor, in the ancient amphi-
theatre, which contained forty thousand spectators. Loud
applause greeted his arrival, and he was really affected by
this reception, rendered impressive by the place, and by the
magnitude of the crowd. The fetes at Genoa were very
magnificent. Floating gardens were constructed on huge
flat. barges; these gardens led to a floating temple, which,
approaching the land, received Bonaparte and his Court.
Then the barges, which were all fastened together, were set
CARDINAL MAURY. 267
in motion, and the Emperor found himself on a beautiful
island in the middle of the harbor, whence he had a com-
plete view of Genoa, and of the simultaneous displays of
fireworks from various parts of the splendidly illuminated
city.
M. de Talleyrand found amusement entirely to his taste
during his stay at Genoa ; for he was always pleased to de-
tect an absurdity and to point it out to others. Cardinal
Maury, who had retired to Home since his emigration, had
gained a great reputation there by the firmness of his atti-
tude in our famous Constituent Assembly. ^Nevertheless,
he was desirous of returning to France, and M. de Talley-
rand wrote to him from Genoa, advising him to come at
once and present himself to the Emperor. The Cardinal
acted upon this, and, immediately assuming that obsequious
attitude which he has ever since scrupulously retained, he
entered Genoa, loudly proclaiming that he had come to see
" the great man."
He obtained an audience. "The great man" took his
measure very quickly, and, while esteeming him at his proper
value, resolved to make him give a complete contradiction
to his past conduct. He gained him over easily by flatter-
ing him a little, and induced him to return to France, where
we have since seen him play a somewhat ridiculous part.
M. de Talleyrand, whose recollections of the Constitiient
Assembly were not effaced, took many opportunities of
wreaking a petty revenge upon the Cardinal, by bringing
out his silly sycophancy in the most skillful and cunning
manner.
"While the Emperor was thus traveling through Italy and
consolidating his power, and everybody around him was get-
ting tired of the continual full-dress parade at which he kept
his Court ; while the Empress, happy in the elevation of her
son, and yet grieved by her separation from him, amused
herself and distracted her mind by the perpetual fetes given
in her honor, and took pleasure in exhibiting her magnificent
268 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
jewels and "her elegant costumes, I was leading a quiet and
pleasant life in the valley of Montmorency, at the house of
Mme. d'Houdetot. I have already mentioned this amiable
and accomplished woman. Her recollections enabled me to
reconstruct in my imagination those days of which she loved
to talk. It gave me great pleasure to hear her speak of the
famous philosophers whom she had known, and whose ways
and sayings she remembered so clearly. I was so full of the
" Confessions " of Jean Jacques Kousseau that I was not a
little surprised to find her somewhat cold in her appreciation
of him ; and I may say, in passing, that the opinion of
Mme. d'Houdetot, who would, I should think, have re-
garded Eousseau with exceptional indulgence, contributed
not a little to make me distrust his character, and believe
that he was only great in point of talent.*
During the absence of the Court, Paris was quiet and
dull. The Imperial family were living in the country. I
sometimes saw Mme. Louis Bonaparte at Saint Leu, a place
which her husband had just bonght. Louis appeared to oc-
cupy himself exclusively with his garden. His wife was
lonely, ill, and always afraid of letting some word at which
he might be offended escape her. She had not ventured
either to rejoice at the elevation of Prince Eugene or to
weep for his absence, which was, of course, indefinite. She
wrote to him seldom and briefly, because she knew that the
privacy of her letters was not respected. On one occasion,
when I was visiting her, she told me a rumor had arisen
that the Due de Polignac and his brother, who were im-
prisoned in the Chateau of Ham, had attempted to escape ;
that they had been transferred to the Temple; and that
Mme. Bonaparte and myself were accused of being con-
cerned in the affair. This accusation, of which Mme. Louis
suspected Murat to be the author, was utterly unfounded.
Mme. Bonaparte never gave a thought to the two prisonei-s,
and I had entirely lost sight of the Duchesse de Polignac.
* For a note on this passage by M. Paul de R6musat, see Appendix.
RETIEED LIFE IN TEE COUNTRY. 269
I lived in the strictest retirement, so that my solitude
might supply a sufficient answer to any gossip concerning
my conduct ; but I was more and more distressed by the
necessity for taking such precautions, and especially at being
unable to use the position in which I was placed for any pur-
poses of utility to the Emperor, to myself, or to those per-
sons who wished to obtain certain favors from him through
me. There was no want of kindness in my natural disposi-
tion ; and, besides that, I felt a degree of pride, which I do
not think was misplaced, in serving those who had formerly
blamed me, and in silencing their criticisms of my conduct
by favors which could not be said to lack generosity. I also
believed that the Emperor might win many persons who now
held aloof, by the permission which he had granted me to
bring their solicitations and their necessities under his atten-
tion ; and as I was still attached to him, although he inspired
me with more fear than formerly, I would have gained all
hearts for him had it been possible. But, as it became evi-
dent that my plan was Qot always approved by him, I found
I had to think of defending myself, rather than assisting
others.
My reflections were occasionally very sad. At other
times I could make up my mind to the difficulties of my
position, and resolve that I would only look at the agreeable
side of it. I enjoyed a certain consideration in society, and
I liked that ; and we were fairly prosperous, though not free
from the difficulties which always beset persons whose for-
tunes have no secure basis, and whose expenses are obliga-
tory. But I was young, and I thought little of the future.
I was surrounded by pleasant society ; my mother was per-
fection to me, my husband most kind and good, my eldest
son all I could wish. I lived onJthe pleasantest terms with
my kind and charming sister. All this turned away my
thoughts from the Court, and enabled me to bear the draw-
backs of my position patiently. My health was a perpetual
trial to me ; it was always delicate, and an unquiet life was.
270 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RSMUSAT.
evidently injurious. I must not, however, dv?ell upon my-
self ; I do not know how I have been tempted into doing so.
If ever this narrative should be read by others, as well as by
my son, all this ought to be suppressed vsdthout hesitation.*
During the Emperor's sojourn in Italy, two plays had a
great success at the Comedie Frangaise. The first was " Le
Tartufe des Moeurs," translated, or rather adapted, from
Sheridan's " School for Scandal," by M. Cheron ; the second
was " Les Templiers." M. Cheron had been a deputy to the
Legislative Assembly. He married a niece of the Abbe
MoreUet ; his wife and himself were intimate friends of
mine. The Abbe had written to the Emperor to solicit a
place for M. Cheron ; and, on Bonaparte's return, " Le Tar-
tufe des Moeurs " was acted before him. He was so much
amused by the play that, having ascertained the name of its
author from M. de Kemusat, and also learned that M. Cheron
was well deserving of employment, he, in a moment of easy
good nature, sent him to Poitiers as Prefee};. Unfortunately,
he died there three years afterward. His widow is a most
estimable and talented person.
M. de Fontanes had read " Les Templiers " to Bonaparte,
who approved of some portions of the piece, but objected to
others. He wished to have certain corrections made, but
the author refused, and the Eniperor was annoyed. He was
by no means pleased that " Les Templiers " had a brilliant
success, and set himself against both the play and the author,
with a petty despotism which was characteristic of him when
either persons or things incurred his displeasure. All this
happened when he came back.f
* Notwithstanding the above injunction, my readers will not bo surprised
that I have retained these personal details, which lend a particular interest to
the narratire. — P. R.
■]■ It was not until his return to Paris that the Emperor displayed the ill
humor which the Memoirs record. On the 1st of June, 1805, he wrote from
Milan to M. Fouch^ as follows : " It seems to me that the success of ' Les
Templiers ' loads the people to dwell upon this point of French history. That
is well, but I do not think it would be wise to allow pieces taken from historical
THE EMPEROR RETURNS TO PARIS. 271
Bonaparte expected that his wishes and his opinions
should be accepted as rules. He had taken a fancy to the
music of " Les Bardes," an opera by Lesueur, and he was
almost angry that the Parisian public did not think as highly
of it as he did.
The Emperor came direct from Genoa to Paris. This
was to be his last sight of fair Italy, that land in which he
seemed to have exhausted every mode of impressing the
minds of men, as a general, as a pacificator, and as a sover-
eign. He returned by Mont Cenis, and gave orders for
great works which, like those of the Simplon Pass, should
facilitate the communications between the two nations. The
Court was increased in number by several Italian noblemen
and ladies who were attached to it. The Emperor had al-
ready appointed some Belgians as additional chamberlains,
and the obsequious forms in which he was addressed were
now uttered in widely varying accents.
He arrived at Fontainebleau on the 11th of July, and
went thence to reside at Saint Cloud. Shortly after, the
"Moniteur" began to bristle with notes, announcing in al-
most threatening language the storm which was so soon to
burst over Europe. Certain expressions which occurred
from time to time in these notes revealed the author who
had dictated them. One of these in particular made an im-
pression on my memory. It had been stated in the English
newspapers that a supposed genealogy of the Bonaparte
family, which retraced its nobility to an ancient origin, had
subjects of fl period too close to our own times to be acted. I read in a news-
paper that it is proposed to act u tragedy on the subject of Henry IV. That
epoch is near enough to ours to arouse popular passions. The stage requires
antiquity, and, without restricting the theatre too much, I think you ought to
prevent this, but not to allow your interference to appear. You might speak of
it to M. Raynouard, who seems to be a. man of iibility. Why should you not
induce him to write a tragedy upon the transition from the first to the second
line [from Valois to Bourbon] ? Instead of being a tyrant, he who should suc-
ceed to that would be the saviour of the nation. The oratorio of ' Saul ' is no
other than this ; it is a great man succeeding a degenerate king.''
22
272 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
been printed in London. " Researctes of this kind are pur-
poseless," said the note. " To all those who may ask from
what period dates the house of Bonaparte, there is a ready
answer : ' It dates -from the 18th Brumaire.' "
I met the Emperor after his return with mingled feelings.
It was difficult not to be affected by his presence, but it was
painfnl to me to feel that my emotion was tempered by the
distrust with which he was beginning to inspire me.* The
Empress received me in a most friendly manner, and I avowed
to her quite frankly the trouble that was on my mind. I ex-
pressed my surprise that no past proof of devotedness or dis-
interested service could avail with her husband against a
sudden prejudice. She repeated my words to him, and he
well understood what they meant ; but he persisted in his
own definition of what he called devotedness, which was an
entire surrender of one's being, of one's sentiments and one's
opinions, and repeated that we ought to give up all our for-
mer habits, in order to have only one thought, that of his
interest and his will. He promised, in recompense for this
exaction, that we should be raised to a great height of rank
and fortune, and have everything that could gratify our pride.
" I will give them," said he, speaking of us, " enough to en-
able them to laugh at those who find fault with them now ;
and, if they will break with my enemies, I will put their ene-
mies under their feet." Apart from this, I had but little
annoyance in the household, and my position was easy enough,
as BoUaparte's mind was fixed on important affairs during his
stay in France before the campaign of Austerlitz.
A circumstance recurs to my memory at this moment,
which is only important because it serves to depict this
strange man. I therefore give it a place here. The despot-
ism of his will grew in proportion to the enlargement of the
circle with which he surrounded himself ; he wanted to be
the sole arbiter of reputations, to make them and to unmake
them at his pleasure. He branded a man or blighted a woman
* For a fuller explanation of this passage, see Appendix.
BONAPARTE'S OALLANTBIES. 273
for a word, without any kind of hesitation ; but he was much
displeased that the public should venture to observe and to
comment on the conduct of either the one or the other, if
he had placed them within the rays of the aureole with which
he surrounded himseK.
During his journey in Italy, the idleness of life in palaces
and its opportunities had given rise to several gallant adven-
tures on his part, which were more or less serious, and these
had been duly reported in France, where they fed the general
appetite for gossip. One day, when several ladies of the
Court — among them those who had been in Italy — were
breakfasting with the Empress, Bonaparte came suddenly
into the room, and, leaning on the back of his wife's chair,
addressed to one and another of us a few words, at first in-
significant enough. Then he began to question us about
what we were all doing, and let us know, but only by hints,
that some among us were considerably talked of by the pub-
lie. The Empress, who knew her husband's ways, and was
aware that, when talking in this manner, he was apt to go
very far, tried to interrupt him ; but the Emperor, persisting
in the conversation, presently gave it an exceedingly embar-
rassing turn. " Yes, ladies, you occupy the attention of the
worthy inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Germain. They say,
for instance, that you, Mme. , have a liaison with M.
; that you, Mme. ." And so he went on, address-
ing Hmself to three or four ladies in succession. "The effect
upon us all of such an attack may easily be imagined. The
Emperor was amused by the confusion into which he threw
us. " But," added he, " you need not suppose that I approve
of talk of this kind. To attack my Court is to attack myself,
and I do not choose that a word shall be said, either of me,
or of my family, or of my Court." While thus speaking, his
countenance, which had previously been smiling, darkened,
and his voice became extremely harsh. He then burst out
violently against that section of Parisian society which was
still rebellious, declaring that he would exile every woman
2Y4 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
who should say a word against any lady-in-waiting ; and he
proceeded to work himself into a violent passion upon this
text, which he had entirely to himself, for not a single one
of us attempted to make him an answer. The Empress at
length rose from the table in order to terminate this un-
pleasant scene, and the general movement put an end to it.
The Emperor left the room as suddenly as he had come in.
One of our ladies, a sworn admirer of everything that Bona-
parte -said and did, began to expatiate upon the kindness of
such a master, who desired that our reputation should be held
a sacred thing. But Mme. de , a very clever woman,
answered her impatiently, "Yes, madame, let the Emperor
only defend us once again in that fashion, and we are lost."
Bonaparte was greatly surprised when the Empress rep-
resented to him the absurdity of this scene, and he always
insisted that we ought to have been gratefid for the readi-
ness with which he took offense when we were attacked.
During his stay at Saint Cloud he worked incessantly,
and issued a great number of decrees relative to the adminis-
tration of the new departments he had acquired in Italy.
He also augmented his Council of State, to which he gave
more influence from day to day, because he was quite sure
of having it completely tinder his authority. He showed
himself at the Opera, and was well received by the Parisians,
whom, however, he still thought cold in comparison with the
people of the provinces. He led a busy and laborious life,
sometimes allowing himself the recreation of hunting ; but
he walked out for one hour a day only, and received com-
pany on but one day in each week. On that day the Come-
die Frangaise came to Saint Cloud, and acted tragedies or
comedies in a very pretty theatre which had been recently
built. Then began the difficulties of M. de Remusat in pro-
viding amusement for him whom Talleyrand called "the
Unamusable." In vain were the masterpieces of om' theatri-
cal repertoire performed ; in vain did our best actors strive
their very best to please him : he generally appeared at these
ADMIRAL NBLSON. 275
representations preoccupied and weighed down by the gravity
of his thoughts. He laid the blame of his own want of at-
tention to the play on his First Chamberlain, on Corneille,
on Eacine, or on the actors. He liked Talma's acting, or
rather Talma himself — there had been some sort of acquaint-
ance between them during his obscure youth ; he gave him
a great deal of money, and received him familiarly; but
even Talma could not succeed in interesting him. Just Kke
an invalid, who blames others for the state of his own health,
he was angry with those who could enjoy the pleasures that
passed him by ; and he always thought that by scolding and
worrying he should get something invented which would
succeed in amusing him. The man who was intrusted with
Bonaparte's pleasures was very seriously to be pitied ; unfor-
tunately for us, M. de Eemusat was the man, and I can not
describe what he had to bear.
At this time the Emperor was still flattering himseK that
he would be able to gain some naval triumphs over the Eng-
lish. The united French and Spanish fleets made several
efforts, and an attempt was made to defend the colonies.
Admiral J^elson, pursuing lis everywhere, no doubt upset
the greater part of our plans ; but this was carefully con-
cealed, and our newspapers taught us to believe that we
were beating the English every day. It is likely that the
project of the invasion was abandoned. The English Gov-
ernment was raising up formidable enemies for us upon the
Continent. The Emperor of Eussia, who was young and
naturally inclined to independence, was perhaps already
tempted to resent the preponderance that our Emperor de-
sired to exercise, and some of his ministers were suspected
of favoring the English policy, which aimed at making him
our enemy. The peace with Austria held only by a thread.
The King of Prussia alone seemed resolved to maintain his
alliance with us. "Why," said a note in the "Moniteur,"
" while the Emperor of Eussia exercises his influence upon
the Porte, should he object to that of France being exer-
276 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
cised upon certain portions of Italy ? When with Herschel's
telescope he observes from the terrace of his palace that
which passes between the Emperor of the French and a few
Apennine populations, why should he exact that the Em-
peror of the French shall not see what is passing in the an-
cient empire of Solyman, and what is happeni"ng in Persia ?
It is the fashion to accuse France of ambition, and yet how
great has been her past moderation," etc., etc.
In the month of August the Emperor set out for Bou-
logne. It was no longer his purpose to inspect the flotillas,
but he intended to review that numerous army encamped in
the north, which before long he was destined to set in mo-
tion. During his absence the Empress made an excursion
to the baths of Plombieres. I think I shall usefully employ
this interval of leisure by retracing my steps, in order to
mention certain particulars concerning M. de Talleyrand
which I have hitherto omitted.
Talleyrand, who had come back to France some time be-
fore, was appointed " Minister of External Relations " through
the influence of Mme. de Stael, who induced Barras, the
Director, to select him for that post.* It was under the
Directory that he made the acquaintance of Mme. Grand.
Although she was no longer in her first youth, this lady, who
was bom in the East Indies, was still remarkable for her
beauty. She wished to go to England, where her husband
resided, and she applied to M. de Talleyrand for a passport.
Her beauty and her visit produced, apparently, such an effect
upon him that either the passport was not given, or it re-
mained unused. Mme. Grand remained in Paris ; shortly
afterward she was observed to frequent the " Hotel of Ex-
ternal Eelations," and after a while she took up her abode
there. Meanwhile, Bonaparte was First Consul ; his victo-
ries and his treaties had brought the ambassadors of the first
Powers in Europe and a crowd of other foreigners to Paris.
*0n the 15th of July, 179'7. He had returned to Franco iu September,
1795.— P. R.
A DECISIVE INTERVIEW. 277
Persons who were obliged by their position to frequent M.
de Talleyrand's society accepted the presence of Mme. Grand,
who did the honors of his table and his salon with a good
grace ; but they were somewhat surprised at the weakness
which had consented to put so prominently forward a woman
who was indeed handsome, but so deficient in education and
so faulty in temper that she was continually annoying Tal-
leyrand by her foolish conduct, and disturbing him by her
uncertain humor. M. de Talleyrand has a very good temper,
and much laisser-aller in the events of every-day life. It is
easy enough to rule him by frightening him, because he hates
a disturbance, and Mme. Grand ruled him by her charms
and her exactions. When, however, the ambassadresses were
in question, diiSculties arose, as some of them would not con-
sent to be received at the Hotel of External Kelations by
Mme. Grand. She complained, and these protests on both
sides came to the ears of the First Consul.
He immediately had a decisive interview on this subject
with Talleyrand, and informed his minister that he must
banish Mme. Grand from his house. No sooner had Mme.
Grand been apprised of this decision, than she went to Mme.
Bonaparte, whom she induced, by dint of tears and supplica-
tions, to procure for her an interview with Bonaparte. She
was admitted to his presence, f eU on her knees, and entreated
him to revoke a decree which reduced her to despair. Bo-
naparte allowed himself to be moved by the tears and sobs
of this fair personage, and, after having quieted her, he said :
"I see only one way of managing this. Let Talleyrand
marry you, and all will be arranged ; but you must bear his
name, or you can not appear in his house." Mme. Grand was
much pleased with this decision ; the Consul repeated it to
Talleyrand, and gave him twenty-four hours to make up his
mind. It is said that Bonaparte took a malign pleasure in
making Talleyrand marry, and was secretly delighted to have
this opportunity of branding his character, and thus, accord-
ing to his favorite system, getting a guarantee of his fidelity.
278 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
It is very possible tliat he may have entertained such an idea ;
it is also certain that Mme. Bonaparte, over whom tears
always exercised a great influence, used all her power with
her husband to induce him to favor Mme. Grand's petition.
Talleyrand went back to his hotel, gravely troubled by
the prompt decision which was required of him. There he
had to encounter tumultuous scenes. He was attacked by all
the devices likely to exhaust his patience. He was pressed,
pursued, urged against his inclination. Some remains of
love, the power of habit, perhaps also the fear of irritating a
woman whom it is impossible to suppose he had not admitted
to his confidence, combined to influence him. He yielded,
set out for the country, and found, in a village in the valley
of Montmorency, a cure who consented to perform the mar-
riage ceremony. Two days afterward we were informed that
Mme. Grand had become Mme. de Talleyrand, and the diffi-
culty of the Corps Diplomatique was at an end. It appears
that M. Grand, who lived in England, although little desirous
of recovering a wife from whom he had long been parted,
contrived to get himself largely paid for withholding the
protest against this marriage with which he repeatedly men-
aced the newly wedded couple. M. de Talleyrand, wanting
something to amuse him in his own house, brought over from
London the daughter of one of his friends, who on her death-
bed had confided the child to him. This child was that little
Charlotte who was, as we all know, brought up in his house,
and who has been very erroneously believed to be his daugh-
ter. He attached himself strongly to his young ward, edu-
cated her carefully, and, having adopted her and bestowed
his name upon her, married her in her seventeenth year to
his cousin Baron de Talleyrand. The Talleyrands were at
first justly annoyed by this marriage, but she ultimately suc-
ceeded in gaining their friendship.
Those persons who are acquainted with Talleyrand, who
know to what a height he carries delicacy of taste, wit, and
grace in conversation, and how much he needs repose, are
TALLEYRAND'S MARRIAGE. 2Y9
astonished that he should have united himseK with a person
so uncongenial to him. It is, therefore, most likely that im-
perative circumstances compelled him to do so, and that Bona-
parte's command and the short time allowed him in which
to come to a decision prevented a rupture, which in fact
would have suited him much better. What a difEerence it
would have made for Talleyrand if he had then dissolved
this illicit union, and set himself to merit and effect a future
reconciliation with the Church he had abandoned !" Apart
from desiring for him that that reconciliation had been made
then in good faith, how much consideration would he have
gained if afterward, when all things were reordered and re-
placed, he had resumed the Roman purple in the autumn of
his days, and at least repaired in the eyes of the world the
scandal of his life ! As a cardinal, a noble, and a truly dis-
tinguished man, he would have had a right to respect and
regard, and his coiuse would not have been beset with em-
barrassment and hesitation.
In the situation in which he was placed by his marriage,
he had to take constant precaution to escape, as far as pos-
sible, from the ridicule which was always suspended over
him. 'Eo doubt he managed better than others might have
done in such a position. Profound silence respecting his
private troubles, an appearance of complete indifference to
the foolish things which his wife was always saying and the
blunders which she was always making, a haughty demeanor
to those who ventured to smile at him or at her, extreme
politeness, which was called benevolence, great social influ-
ence and political weight, a large fortune, unalterable pa-
tience under- insult, and great dexterity in taking his re-
venge, were the weapons with which he met the general
condemnation; and, notwithstanding his great faults, the
public have never dared to despise him. Nevertheless, it is
not to be supposed that he has not paid the private penalty
of his imprudent conduct. Deprived of domestic happiness,
almost at variance with his family, who could not associate
280 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
with Mme. de Talleyrand, he was obliged to resort to an
entirely factitious existence, in order to escape from the
dreariness of his home, and perhaps from the bitterness of
his secret thoughts. Public affairs occupied him, and such
leisure as they left him he gave to play. He was always
attended by a crowd of followers, and by giving his morn-
ings to- business, his evenings to society, and his nights to
cards, he never exposed himself to a tiresome tete-d-tete with
his wife, or to the dangers of solitude, which would have
brought serious reilection. Eent on getting away from him-
seK, he never sought sleep until he was quite sure that ex-
treme fatigue wotdd enable him to procure it.
The Emperor did not make up for the obligation which
he had imposed on him by his conduct to Mme. de Talley-
rand. He treated her coldly, even rudely ; never admitted
her to the distinctions of the rank to which she was raised,
without making a difficulty about it ; and did not disguise
the repugnance with which she inspired him, even while
Talleyi-and still possessed his entire confidence. Talleyrand
bore all this, never allowed the slightest complaint to escape
him, and arranged so that his wife should appear but seldom
at Court. She received all distinguished foi-eigners on cer-
tain days, and on certain other days the Government offi-
cials. She made no visits, none were exacted from her ; iu
fact, she counted for nothing. Provided each person bowed
to her on entering and leaving his salon, Talleyrand asked
no more. Let me say, in conclusion, that he always seemed
to bear with perfectly resigned courage the fatal " tu Fas
voulu " of Mohere's comedy.
In the course of these Memoirs I shall have to speak of
M. de Talleyrand again, when I shall have reached the pe-
riod of our intimacy with him.*
* My grandparents' friendship with M. do Talleyrand, which commenced dur-
ing the Bojourn of my grandfather at Milan, became more intimate in the course
of the same year. My grandmother wrote to her husband on the 28th of Sep-
tember, 1805: "I have been really pleased with the Minister. In a brief audi-
MME. GRAND. 281
I did not know Mme. Grand in the prime of her life and
beauty, but I have heard it said that she was one of the most
charming women of her time. She was tall, and her figure
had all the suppleness and grace so common to women born
in the East. Her complexion was dazzling, her eyes of the
brightest blue, and her slightly retrousse nose gave her,, sin-
gularly enough, a look of Talleyrand himself. Her fair
golden hair was of proverbial beauty. I think she was about
thirty-six when she married M. de Talleyrand. The elegance
of her figure was already slightly injured by her becoming
stout. This afterward increased, and by degrees her features
lost their delicacy and her complexion became very red. The
tone of her voice was disagreeable, her manners were abrupt ;
she was of an unamiable disposition, and so intolerably stupid
that she never by any chance said the right thing. Talley-
rand's intimate friends were the objects of her particular dis-
like, and they cordially detested her. Her elevation gave
her little happiness, and what she had to suffer never excited
anybody's interest.*
ence which he gave me he showed me much friendship, after his fashion. You
may tell him that he has been very amiable, and that I have told you so ; that
never docs any harm. I said to him, laughing: 'Ton must like my husband
very much ; that will not give you much trouble, and wilf give me a great deal
of pleasure.' He told me that he did like you, and I believe Mm. He insists
that we suffer too much from ennui at the Court not to be, all of us, a little gal-
lant. I said, ' I shall be longer about becoming so than the others, because lam
7Lot aliogetJw stupid, and intellect is the surest safeguard.^ I was inclined to say
to him that he was not a proof of that, and that I felt in myself a much better de-
fense, the dear and constant sentiment with which you have inspired me, and which
constitutes the happiness of my life, even at this moment, when it also causes a
keen sorrow." That sorrow was absence. — P. R.
* The papal brief which relieved M. de Talleyrand from the excommunications
he had incurred was considered by him as a permission to become a layman, and
even to marry, although nothing of the kind was expressed in it. The reader
may convince himself on this point by reading the very interesting work of Sir
Henry Lytton Bulwer, which appears to me to be the most just and the most
kindly view that has yet been taken of M. do Talleyrand, as regards his charac-
ter, his talent, and the influence which he exercised in Europe, so often with
great utility to France. The author speaks thus of Talleyrand's marriage ;
282 MEMOIRS OF MAi)AME DE Rj^MUSAT.
While the Emperor was reviewing the whole of his army,
Mme. Murat went to Boulogne to pay him a visit, and he
desired that Mme. Louis Bonaparte, who had accompanied
her husband to the baths of Saint Amand, should also attend
him there, and bring her son. On several occasions he went
through the ranks of his soldiers, carrying this child in his
arms. The army was then remarkably fine, strictly disci-
plined, full of the best spirit, well provided, and impatient
for war. This desire was destined to be satisfied before
long.
K^otwithstanding the reports in our newspapers, we were
almost always stopped in everything that we attempted to
do for the protection of our colonies. The proposed inva-
sion appeared day by day more perilous. It became neces-
sary to astonish Europe by a less doubtful novelty. " We
are no longer," said the notes of the " Moniteur," addressed
to the English Government, " those Frenchmen who were
sold and betrayed by perfidious ministers, covetous mis-
tresses, and indolent kings. You march toward an inevitable
destiny."
The two nations, English and French, each claimed the
victory in the naval combat off Cape Finisterre, where no
doubt our national bravery opposed a strong resistance to
the science of the enemy, but which had no other result than
to oblige our fleet to reenter the port. Shortly afterward
our journals were full of complaints of the insults which
the flag of Venice had sustained since it had become a de-
pendency of Austria. We soon learned that the Austrian
troops were moving ; that an alliance between the Emperors
of Austria and Eussia was formed against us ; and the Eng-
" The lady whom he married, born in the East Indies, and separated from
Grand, was rcmarlcable for her beauty and for her lack of sense. Every one
has heard the anecdote of her asking Sir George Robinson after his ' man Fri-
day.' Talleyrand, however, defended his choice by saying : ' A clever woman
often compromises her husband ; a. stupid woman only compromises herself.' "
— P. R.
LAST TRACES OP THE REPUBLIC. 283
lish journals triumphantly announced a continental war.
This year the birthday of Napoleon was celebrated with
great pomp from one end of France to the other. He re-
turned from Boulogne on the 3d of September, and at that
time the Senate issued a decree by which the Gregorian cal-
endar was to be resumed on the 1st of January, 1806. Thus
disappeared, little by little, the last traces of the Republic,
which had lasted, or appeared to last, for thirteen years.
CHAPTEE XIY.
(1805.)
M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouoh^ — The Emperor's Speech to the Senate— The De-
parture of the Emperor— The Bulletins of the Grand Army— Poverty in Paris
dui-ing the War— The Emperor and the Marshals — The Faubourg St. Gei-main
— Trafalgar — Journey of M. de E^musat to Vienna.
At tlie period of whicL. I am writing, M. de Talleyrand
was still on bad terms with M. Fouclie, and, strange to say,
I remember that the latter charged him with being deficient
in conscientiousness and sincerity. He always remembered
that on the occasion of the attempt of the 3d Nivose (the
infernal machine) Talleyrand had accused him to Bonaparte
of neglect, and had contributed not a Httle to his dismissal.
On his return to the Ministry he secretly nursed his resent-
ment, and let slip no opportunity of gratifying it, by that
bitter and cynical mockery which was the habitual tone of
his conversation.
Talleyrand and Fouche were two very remarkable men,
and both were exceedingly useful to Bonaparte. But it
would be difficult to find less resemblance and fewer points
of contact between any two persons placed in such close and
continuous relations. The former had studiously preserved
the carelessly resolute manner, if I may use that expression,
of the nobles of the old regime. Acute, taciturn, measured
in his speech, cold in his bearing, pleasing in conversation,
deriving all his power from himself alone — for he held no
party in his hand — his very faults, and even the stigma of
his abandonment of his former sacred state of life, were suf-
M. DE TALLEYRAND AND M. FOUCHS. 285
ficient guarantee to the Kevolutionists, who knew him to be
so adroit and so supple that they believed him to be always
keeping the means of escaping them in reserve. Besides,
he opened his mind to no one. He was quite impenetrable
upon the affairs with which he was charged, and upon his
own opinion of the master whom he served ; and, as a final
touch to this picture, he neglected nothing for his own com-
fort, was careful in his dress, used perfumes, and was a
lover of good cheer and all the pleasures of the senses. He
was never subservient to Bonaparte, but he knew how to
make himself necessary to him, and never flattered him in
public.
Fouche, on the contrary, was a genuine product of the
Revolution. Careless of his appearance, he wore the gold
lace and the ribbons which were the insignia of his dignities
as if he disdained to arrange them. He could laugh at him-
self on occasion : he was active, animated, always restless ;
talkative, affecting a sort of frankness which was merely the
last degree of deceit ; boastful ; disposed to seek the opinion
of others upon his conduct by talking about it ; and ' sought
no justification except in his contempt of a certain class of
morality, or his carelessness of a certain order of approba-
tion. But he carefully maintained, to Bonaparte's occasional
disquiet, relations with a party whom the Emperor felt him-
self obliged to conciliate in his person. With all this, Fouche
was not deficient in a sort of good fellowship ; he had even
some estimable qualities. He was a good husband to an
ngly and stupid wife, and a very good, even a too-indulgent,
father. He looked at revolution as a whole ; he hated small
schemes and constantly recurring suspicions, and it was be-
cause this was his way of thinking that his police did not
suffice for the Emperor. Where Fouche recognized merit,
he did it justice. It is not recorded of him that he was
guilty of any personal revenge, nor did he show himself
capable of persistent jealousy. It is even likely that, al-
though he remained for several years an enemy of Talley-
286 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
rand's, it was less because he had reason to complain of him
than because the Emperor took pains to keep up a division
between two men whose friendship he thought dangerous to
himself ; and, indeed, it was when they were reconciled that
he began to distrust them both, and to exclude them from
affairs.
In 1805 Talleyi-and stood much higher in favor than
Fouche. The business in hand was to found a monarchy,
to impose it upon Europe and upon France by skillful diplo-
macy and the pomp of a Court ; and the ci-devcmt noble was
much fitter to advise upon all these points. He had an im-
mense reputation in Europe. He was known to hold con-
servative opinions, and that was all the morality demanded
by the foreign sovereigns. The Emperor, in order to inspire
confidence in his enterprise, needed to have his signature
supported by that of his Minister for Foreign Affairs. So
necessary to his projects did he consider this that he did
not grudge the distinction. The agitation which reigned in
Europe at the moment when the rupture with Austria and
Russia took place called for very frequent consultations be-
tween the Emperor and M. de Talleyrand ; and, when Bona-
parte left Paris to commence the campaign, the Minister
established himself at Strasburg, so that he might be able to
reach the Emperor when the French cannon should announce
that the hour of negotiations 'had arrived.
About the middle of September rumors of an approach-
ing departure were spread at Saint Cloud. M. de Kemusat
received orders to repair to Strasburg, and there to prepare
the Imperial lodgings ; and the Empress declared so de-
cidedly her intention of following her husband that it was
settled she should go to Strasburg with him. A numerous
Court was to accompany them. As my husband was going,
I should have been very glad to accompany him, but I was
becoming more and more of an invalid, and was not in a
state to travel. I was therefore obliged to submit to this
new separation, a more sorrowful one than the former. This
TEE EMPEROR'S SPEECH TO THE SENATE. 287
was the first time since I had been at the Court that I had
seen the Emperor setting out for the army. The dangers to
which he was about to be exposed revived all my former
attachment to him. I had not courage to reproach him with
anything when I saw him depart on so serious a mission ;
and the thought that, of many persons who were going,
there would no doubt be some whom I should never see
again, brought tears to my eyes, and made my heart sink.
In the glittering salon of Saint Cloud I saw wives and
mothers in terror and anguish, who did not dare to let their
grief be seen, so great was the fear of displeasing the Em-
peror. The officers affected carelessness, but that was the
necessary bravado of their profession. At that time, how-
ever, there were a great many of them who, having attained
a sufficient fortune, and being unable to foresee the almost
gigantic height to which the continuity of war was afterward
to raise them, were very sorry to relinquish the pleasant and
quiet life which they had now led for some years.
Throughout France the law of the conscription was
strictly carried out, and this caused some disturbance in the
provinces. The fresh laurels which our army was about to
acquire were regarded with indifference. But the soldiers
and subalterns were full of hope and ardor, and rushed to
the frontiers with eagerness, a presage of success.
On the 20th of September the following appeared in the
"Moniteur":
"The Emperor of Germany, without previous negotia-
tion or explanation, and without any declaration of war, has
invaded Bavaria. The Elector has retreated to Warzburg,
where the whole Bavarian army is assembled."
On the 23d the Emperor repaired to the Senate, and issued
a decree calling out the reserves of the conscripts of five years'
standing. Berthier, the Minister of "War, read a report on
the impending war, and the Minister of the Interior demon-
strated the necessity of employing the National Guard to
protect the coasts. v
£3
288 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EI^MUSAT.
The Emperor's speecli was simple and impressive ; it was
generally approved. Our causes of complaint against Austria
were fully set forth in the " Moniteur." There is little doubt
that England, if not afraid, was at least weary of the stay of
our troops on the coast, and that it was her policy to raise
up enemies for us on the Continent, while the division of
the kingdom of Italy, and still more its union with the French
Empire, was sufficiently disquieting to the Austrian Cabinet.
Without a knowledge of the diplomatic secrets of the period,
which I do not possess, it is hard to understand why the
Emperor of Russia broke with us. It is probable that com-
mercial difficulties were making him anxious about his rela-
tions with England. It may be well to quote some words of
JS^apoleon's on this subject. " The Emperor Alexander," he
said, " is a young man ; he longs for a taste of glory, and,
like all children, he wants to go a different way from that
which his father followed." Neither can I explain the neu-
trality of the King of Prassia, which was so advantageous to
us, and to himself so fatal, since it did but delay his over-
throw for one year. It seems to me that Europe blundered.
The Emperor's character should have been better appreciated ;
and there should have been either a clear understanding that
he must be always yielded to, or he should have been put
down by general consent at the outset of his career.
But I must return to my narrative, from which I have
digressed in order to treat of a subject beyond my pow-
ers.
I passed the last few days preceding the Emperor's de-
parture at Saint Cloud. The Emperor worked unremit-
tingly; when over-fatigued, he would lie down for a few
hours in the daytime, but would rise in the middle of the
night and go on with his labors. He was, however, more
serene and gracious than at other times ; he received com-
pany as usual, went occasionally to the theatres, and did not
forget, when he was at Strasburg, to send a present to
Fleury, the actor, who, two days before his departure, had
DEPARTURE OF TEE EMPEROR. 289
performed Corneille's ' " Menteur," by wliicli he had suc-
ceeded in amusing the Emperor.
The Empress was as full of confidence as the wife of
Bonaparte would naturally be. Happy to be allowed to
accompany him and to escape from the talk of Paris, which
alarmed her, from the spying of her brothers-in-law, and the
monotony of Saint Cloud, delighted with the fresh oppor-
tunity for display, she looked on a campaign as on a journey,
and maintained a composure which, as it could not by reason
of her position proceed from indifference, was a genuine
compliment to him whom she firmly believed fortune would
not dare to forsake. Louis Bonaparte, who was in bad
health, was to remain in Paris, and had received orders, as
had also his wife, to entertain liberally in the absence of the
Emperor. Joseph presided over the Administrative Council
of the Senate. He resided at the Luxembourg, where he
was also to hold a Court. Princess Borghese was recovering
her health at Trianon. Mme. Murat withdrew to ISTeuilly,
where she occupied herself in beautifying her charming
dwelling ; Murat accompanied the Emperor to headquarters.
M. de Talleyrand was to remain at Strasburg until further
orders. M. Maret attended the Emperor; he was the au-
thor-in-chief of the bulletins.
On the 24:th the Emperor set out, and he reached Stras-
burg without stopping on the way.
I returned in low spirits to Paris, where I rejoined my
children, my mother, and my sister. I found the latter
much distressed by her separation from M. de Nansouty,
who was in command of a division of cavalry.
Immediately on the departure of the Emperor, rumors
became rife in Paris of an intended invasion of the coast,
and, in fact, such an expedition might have been attempted ;
but, fortunately, our enemies were not quite so audacious
and enterprising as ourselves, and at that time the English
had not such confidence in their army as since then it has
justly inspired.
290 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
The tightening of the money-market began almost imme-
diately to be felt : in a short time payment at the Bank was
suspended; money fetched a very high price. I heard it
said that oar export trade did not suffice for our wants;
that war had stopped it, and was raising the price of all our
imports. This, I was told, was the cause of the sudden em-
barrassment which had come upon us.
Special and personal anxieties were added to the general
depression. Many families of distinction had sons in the
army, and trembled for their fate. In what suspense did
not parents await the arrival of bulletins which might sud-
denly apprise them of the loss of those most dear to them !
What agonies did not Bonaparte inflict on women, on moth-
ers, during many years ! He has sometimes expressed aston-
ishment at the hatred he at last inspired ; but could he expect
to be forgiven such agonized and prolonged suspense, so much
weeping, so many sleepless nights, and days of agonizing
dread ? If he had but admitted the truth, he must have known
there is not one natural feeling on which he had not trampled.
Before his departure, and in order to gratify the nobles,
he created what was called the Guard of Honor. He gave
the command to his Grand Master of Ceremonies. It was
almost funny to see poor M. de Segur's zeal in forming his
Guard, the eagerness displayed by certain great personages to
obtain admittance into it, and the anxiety of some of the
chamberlains, who imagined the Emperor would much ad-
mire the change of their red coats for a military uniform. I
shall never forget the surprise, nay, the fright which M. de
Lugay, Prefect of the Palace, a mild and timid person, gave
me, when he asked me whether M. de Eemusat, the father
of a family, a former magistrate, and at that time more than
forty years of age, did not also intend to embrace the mili-
tary career thus suddenly opened to everybody. "We were
beginning to be accustomed to so many strange things that,
in spite of sense and reason, I felt some solicitude on this
subject, and I wrote to my husband, who replied that he
BULLETINS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 291
had not been seized with martial ardor, and that he hoped
the Emperor might still reckon among his servants some wlio
did not wear swords.
At this time the Emperor had partly restored us to favor.
On his departure from Strasburg he confided the entire
charge of the Court and the Empress's household to my
husband. These were sufficiently easy duties, with no great-
er drawback than a certain amoiint of tedium. M. de Tal-
leyrand, who also remained behind at Strasburg, gave some
zest to the daily routine of M. de Eemusat's life. They now
became really intimate, and were frequently together. M.
de Eemusat, who was by nature simple, modest, and retir-
ing, showed to advantage as he became better known, and
M. de Talleyrand recognized his intellectual qualities, his
excellent judgment, and his uprightness. He began to trust
him, to appreciate the safety of intercourse with him, and to
treat him as a friend ; while my husband, who was gratified
by receiving such overtures from a quarter whence he had
not expected them, conceived for him from that moment an
affection which no subsequent vicissitude has lessened.
Meanwhile the Emperor had left Strasburg. On the 1st
of October he commenced the campaign, and the entire army,
transported as if by magic from Boulogne, was crossing the
frontier. The Elector of Bavaria, on being called upon by
the Emperor of Austria to afford free passage to his troops,
refused to do so, and was being invaded on every side ; but
Bonaparte marched to his aid without delay.
We then received the first bulletin from the Grand Army.
It announced a first success at Donauworth, and gave us the
proclamations of the Emperor, and that of the Viceroy of
Italy. Massena was ordered to reenforce the latter, and to
push into the Tyrol with the united Fi'ench and Italian
armies. To phi'ases well calculated to inflame the zeal of
our soldiers were added others of biting sarcasm against our
enemy. A circular addressed to the inhabitants of Austria,
asking for contributions of lint, was published, accompanied
292 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SI^MUSAT.
by the following note : " We hope the Emperor of Austria
will not require any, as he has gone back to Yienna."
Insults to the ministers were not spared, nor to some of
the great Austrian nobles, among whom was the Count de
Colloredo, who was accused of being governed by his wife,
herself entirely deyoted to English policy. These unworthy
attacks occurred promiscuously in the bulletins, among really
elevated sentiments, which, although put forth with Roman
rather than with French eloquence, were very effective.
Bonaparte's activity in this campaign was positively mar-
velous. From the beginning he foresaw the advantages that
would accrue to him from the first blunders of the Austrians,
and also his ultimate success. Toward the middle of October
he wrote to his wife : " Eest easy ; I promise you the shortest
and most brilliant of campaigns."
At Wertingen our cavalry obtained some advantage over
the enemy, and M. de ISTansouty distinguished himself. A
brilliant sldrmish also took place at Giinzburg, and the Aus-
trians were soon retreating from every point.
The army became more and more enthusiastic, and seemed
to take no heed of the approach of winter. Just before going
into action, the Emperor harangued his soldiers on the Lech
bridge, in the midst of thickly falling snow. " But," con-
tinued the bulletin, " his words were of fire, and the soldiers
forgot their privations." The bulletin ended with these pro-
phetic words : '• The destinies of the campaign are fixed." *
* The actual text of the fifth bulletin from the Grand Army is as follows :
" Augsburg, 20th Vend^miaire, year 14 (12th October, 1805). The Emperor was
on the Lech bridge when the division under General Marmont defiled past him.
He ordered each regiment to form in circle, and spoke to them of the enemy's
position, of the imminence of a great battle, and of his confidence in them. He
made this speech in the most severe weather. Snow was falling thick, the troops
stood in mud up to their knees, and the cold was intense ; but the Emperor's
words were of fire, and while listening to him the soldiers forgot their fatigue
and their privations, and were impatient for the moment of battle. Never can
great events have been decided in a shorter time. In less than a fortnight the
destinies of the campaign, and of the Austrian and Russian armies, will be
fixed."— P. R.
POVERTY m PARIS. 293
The taking of Ulm and the capitulation of its immense
garrison completed the surprise and terror of Austria, and
served- to silence the factious spirit in Paris, which had been
■with difficulty repressed by the police. It is hard to prevent
Frenchmen from ranging themselves on the side of glory,
and we began to share in that which our army was gaining.
But the monetary difficulty was still painfully felt; trade
suffered, the theatres were empty, an increase of poverty
was perceptible, and the only hope that sustained us was
that a campaign so brilliant must be followed by an imme-
diate peace.
After the capitulation of Ulm, the Emperor himself dic-
tated the following phrase in the bulletin : " The panegyric
of the army may be pronounced in two words : It is worthy
of its leader." * He wrote to the Senate, sending the colors
taken from the enemy, and announcing that the Elector had
returned to his capital. Letters from him to the bishops,
requesting them to offer thanksgiving for our victories, were
also published.
From the very beginning of the campaign pastoral letters
had been read in every metropolitan church, justifying the
war, and encouraging the new recruits to march promptly
whithersoever they should be called. The bishops now be-
gan the task once more, and exhausted the Scriptures for
texts to prove that the Emperor was protected by the G-od
of armies." \
* These words are, in fact, to be found in the sixth bulletin from the Grand
Army, dated Elehingen, 26th Vend^miaire, year 14 (18th October, 1805). — P. E.
•|- The extreme subservience shown by the clergy toward the Emperor was
not sufficient in his eyes, if we may judge by the following letter, which he
addressed to Fouch^ during the campaign: "4th Nivose, year 14 (2oth Decem-
ber, 1805). I perceive some difficulty on the subject of reading out the bulletins
in churches ; I do not consider this advisable. It would only give more im-
portance to priests than is their due ; for it gives them a right of comment, and,
should the news be bad, they would not fail to remark on it. It is thus because
there are no fixed principles : now there are to be no priests at all, again there
are to be too many ; all this must come to an end. M. Portalis was wrong to
write his letter without knowing my intentions on the subject." — P. R.
294 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE Rl^MUSAT.
Joseph Bonaparte was the bearer of his brother's letter
to the Senate. That body decreed that, in reply, an address
of congratulation should be carried to headquarters by- a cer-
tain number of its members.
At Strasburg the Empress received a number of German
princes, who came to join her Court, and to offer her their
homage and congratulations. With a natural pride she
showed them the Emperor's letters, in which long before-
hand he announced to her the victories he was about to
gain; and either his skillful foresight must needs be ad-
mired, or else the power of a destiny which never for a
moment belied itself must be recognized.
Marshal Ney distinguished himself at Elehingen, and the
Emperor consented so fully to leave the honors of the occa-
sion to him that afterward, when he created dukes, he de-
sired that the Marshal's title should be Duke of Elehingen.
I use the word consented, because it is admitted that
Bonaparte was not always perfectly just in apportioning
the fame which he accorded to his generals. In one of his
occasional fits of franknees, I heard him say that he liked to
bestow glory only on those who knew not how to sustain it.
According to his policy with respect to the mihtary chiefs
under his orders, or the degree of confidence which he placed
in them, he would either preserve silence concerning certain
victories of theirs, or change the blunder of a particular
marshal into a success. A general would hear through some
bulletin of an action which had never taken place, or of a
speech which he had never made. Another would find him-
self famous in the newspapers, and would wonder how he
had deserved to be thus distinguished. Others avouH en-
deavor to protest against his neglect of them, or against
distorted accounts of events. But how was it possible to
correct what had once been read, and was already effaced by
more recent news ? For Bonaparte's rapidity in war gave
us daily something fresh to learn. On these occasions he
would either impose silence on the pi'otest, or, if he wished
THE EMPFROB AND TEE MARSHALS. 295
to appease the offended officer, a sum of money, a prize from
the enemy, or permission to levy a tax was granted to him,
and thus the affair would end.
This crafty spirit, which was inherent in Bonaparte's
character, and which he employed adroitly in dealing with
his marshals and superior officers, may be justified, up to a
certain point, by the difficulty he occasionally met with in
managing so large a number of individuals of widely differ-
ing characters but similar aims. He was perfectly cognizant
of the scope of their various talents ; he knew in what man-
ner each of them might be useful to him : while rewarding
their services he was -perpetually obliged to repress their
pride and jealousy. He was forced to use every means in
his power to secure his own success ; above all, he could miss
no opportunity of making them feel their entire dependence
on himself, and that their renown as well as their fortune was
in his hands alone.* This point once reached, he might
* I find among my father's papers a note which further develops what is
said here concerning tlie marshals of the Empire : " The Emperor took the
utmost license in composing his bulletins, seeking especially to eclipse all the
others, and to establish his own infallibility ; then considering the kind of effect
he wished to produce on foreigners and on the public in France ; and, lastly,
having regard to his intentions and his good or ill will toward his lieutenants.
Truth came a long way behind all these things. Nothing could equal the sur-
prise of his officers on reading the bulletins which came back to them from
Paris ; but they made few complaints. The Emperor is, like the Convention
and Louis XIY., one of the few powers able to subdue and to discipline the
vanity of subordinates.
" The Emperor praised the great generals of his time but little. Military
men are more jealous of each other than those of any other profession ; they
are the least to be relied on in their estimation of each other. They are dis-
couraging or irritating when judging one of another. To this natural jealousy
the Emperor added the calculations of a despot who will have no one of impor-
tance except himself. Desaix is the only man of whom he spoke with any
enthusiasm, and he knew him only at the opening of his career of power. He
always continued, I believe, to treat him well, but Desaix died [at Marengo,
June 14, 1800]. His comments on his lieutenants, in the beginning of his nar-
rative of the firsl^ campaign in Italy, are remarkable, and their severity has no
appearance of jealousy. Generally he spoke of the marshals with a not very
flattering freedom. In his correspondence with King Joseph we may read what
296 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
feel certain not to be importuned by them, and to be at
liberty to reward their services at his own price. In general,
however, the marshals have had no cause to complain that
he did not rate them highly. The rewards obtained by them
were frequently gigantic ; and, the long continuance of war
having raised their hopes to the highest pitch, we have seen
them become dukes and princes without being astonished at
the fact, and end by thinking that royalty alone could wor-
thily crown their destiny. Enormous sums were divided
among them, and every kind of exaction from the van-
quished was permitted them ; some of them made immense
fortunes, and, if most of these disappeared with the Govern-
ment under which they had been amassed, it was because
he Baid of Massdna, Jourdan, and some others. General Foy told me that he
had heard him say of Soult, ' He can array a battle well, but is incapable of
fighting one.' Then he would dwell on the exactions, the pretensions, the am-
bition, and the cupidity of his marshals. ' No one knows,' he said to M. Pas-
quier, ' what it is to have to deal with two" such men as Soult and Ney.' Ilis
lieutenants frequently paid him^bact, in their conTcrsations, what he had said
concerning them. It was not in the army, especially during the campaigns that
followed that of Austerlitz, that he was chiefly held in admiration, esteem, and
affection. lie had, as it were, an oS-hand way of making war. He neglected
many things, and risked many. He sacrificed CTerything to his personal success.
Becoming more and more confident in his destiny, and in the terror inspired by
his presence, his only thought was to repair any blunders, checks, or losses by
decisive blows struck with his own hand. He was always resolute in denying or
in preserving silence concerning anything which might injure him. This ren-
dered the service unbearable to those generals who were at a distance from
himself. They retained all their responsibility, were often without the neces-
sary means of action, and received only orders impossible to execute, and which
were intended to put them m the wrong. They accused him consequently of
selfishness, of injustice, of perfidy, and even of malice toward them, or of envy.
Barante has told me that, when the auditors arrived at the army, they were con-
founded at what they heard said among the staff, and sometimes even at head-
quarters. He himself, when attached to the staff of Marshal Lannes — during
the campaign of Poland, I believe — heard him frequently say at his own table
that the Emperor,, being jealous of him and eager to ruin him, gave him orders
with this end in view ; and once, when suffering from internal pain, he went so
far as to say the Emperor had tried to have him poisoned." -i have quoted the
whole of this interesting passage ; but it is evident that all this was in embryo
at the time of the campaign of 1805. — P. R.
A SOLEMN TE DEUM. 297
they liad been acquii'ed so easily that their upstart possessors
naturally spent them lavishly, feeling confident that the fa-
cilities for making such fortunes would never be exhausted.
In this first campaign of ^Napoleon's reign, although the
army was as yet subject to a discipline which was afterward
considerably relaxed, the vanquished people found themselves
a prey to the rapacity of the conqueror, and the obligation of
receiving some field officer for a single night, or even for a
few hours, cost many a great Austrian noble or prince the
entire destruction and pillage of his home. The common
soldiers were under discipline, and there was an outward ap-
pearance of order, but there was nothing to hinder a marshal
from taking away with him, on his departure, any objects
which had caught his fancy. After the close of the war, I
have often heard the wife of Marshal X relate, with
laughter, that her husband, knowing her taste for music, had
sent her an immense collection of music-books, which he had
found in some German prince's house ; and she would add,
with equal ingenuousness, that he had dispatched so many
packing-cases full of lusters and Vienna glass, which he had
picked up in every direction, to their house in Paris, that she
was quite at a loss to know where to put them.
While the Emperor knew so well how to hold the preten-
sions of his generals in check, he spared no pains to encourage
and satisfy the rank and file. After the taking of Ulm, a
decree was issued to the effect that the month of Vende-
miaire, which was just closed, should in itself be reckoned as
a campaign.
On the feast of All Saints a solemn Te Deum was sung
at Notre Dame, and Joseph gave several entertainments in
honor of our victories.
Meanwhile Mass^na was distinguishing himself by vie-
tories in Italy, and it soon became certain that the Emperor
of Austria would have to pay dearly for this great campaign.
The Eussian army was hastening by forced marches to his
aid, but had not yet joined the Austrians, who meanwhile
298 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S:^MUSAT.
were being defeated by our Emperor. It was said at the
time that the Emperor Francis made a blunder by entering
upon the war before the Emperor Alexander was in a posi-
tion to help him.
During this campaign Bonaparte induced the King of
Naples to remain neutral, and agreed to rid him of the
French garrison which he had hitherto been obliged to main-
tain. Several decrees relating to the administration of France
were promulgated from yarious headquarters, and the former
Doge of Genoa was created a senator.
The Emperor liked to appear to be engaged in a number
of different affairs at once, and to show that he could cast
what he called " an eagle glance " in every direction at the
same instant. For this reason, and also on account of his
suspicious disposition, he wrote a letter to the Minister of
Police, desiring him to keep a watchful eye on the Faubourg
St. GeiTnain, meaning those members of the French nobility
who remained opposed to him, and stating that he had been
informed of certain things that had been said against him in
his absence, and would punish them on his return.
It was Fouche's habit, on receiving such orders as these,
to send for the persons, both men and women, who were
more specially accused. "Whether he really thought the Em-
peror's displeasure was excited by mere trifles, and that, as
he sometimes used to say, it was foolish to prevent French
people from talking, or whether he desired to win golden
opinions by his own moderation, after advising those persons
for whom he had sent to be more cautious, he would conclude
by admitting that the Emperor made too much ado about
trivialities. Thus, by degrees, he acquired a reputation for
justice and moderation, which did away with the first im-
pressions of his character. The Emperor, who was informed
of this conduct on his part, resented it, and was secretly on
his guard against one so careful to conciliate all parties.
On the 12th of November our victorious army entered
the gates of Vienna. The newspapers gave full details of
TRAFALGAR. 299
the circumstances, and these accounts acquire additional in-
terest from the fact that they were all dictated by Bonaparte,
and that he freqiiently took upon himself to invent, as an
afterthought, circumstances or anecdotes likely to strike the
popular imagination.
"The Emperor," says the bulletin, "has taken up his
abode in the palace of Schonbrunn ; he writes in a cabinet in
which stands a statue of Maria Theresa. On observing this,
he exclaimed : ' Ah ! if that great queen were still living, she
would not allow herself to be led by such a woman as Mme.
de CoUoredo ! Surrounded by her nobles, she would have
ascertained the wishes of her people. She would never have
allowed her provinces to be ravaged by the Muscovites,'
etc." *
Meanwhile some bad news came to temper Bonaparte's
success. Admiral Nelson had just beaten our fleet at Tra-
falgar. The French navy had fought with splendid bravery,
but had been disastrously defeated. This produced a bad
effect in Paris, and disgusted the Emperor for ever with
naval enterprises. He became so deeply prejudiced against
the French navy that from that time it was scarcely possible
to induce him to take any interest in or pay any attention to
the subject. Vainly did the sailors or soldiers who had dis-
tinguished themselves on that fatal day endeavor to obtain
recognition or sympathy for the dangers they had encoun-
tered : they were practically forbidden even to revert to the
disaster ; and when, in after-years, they wanted to obtain
any favor, they took care not to claim it on the score of the
admirable courage to which only the English dispatches ren-
dered justice.
Immediately on the Emperor's return to Vienna, he sent
for M. de Talleyrand, perceiving that the time for negotia-
tions was at hand, and that the Emperor of Austria was
about to treat for peace. It is probable that our Emperor
had already decided on making the Elector of Bavaria a
_^^ * Tho whole of this lengthy effusion may be read in the "Moniteur."
300 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
King, on enlarging his dominions, and also on the marriage
of Prince Eugene.
M. de Kemusat was sent to Paris in order that he might
convey the Imperial insignia and the crown diamonds to Vi-
enna. I saw him but for an instant, and learned with fresh
vexation that he was about to leave for a still more distant
country. On his return to Strasburg he received orders to
proceed at once to Vienna, and the Empress was directed to
repair to Munich with the whole Court. Nothing could ex-
ceed the honors rendered to her in Germany. Princes and
Electors crowded to welcome her, and the Elector of Bavaria,
especially, neglected nothing to make her reception all that
could be desired. She remained at Munich, waiting for her
husband's return.
M. de Eemusat, while on his journey, reflected sadly
upon the condition of the countries through which he passed.
The land still reeked of battle. Devastated villages, roads
encumbered with corpses and ruins, brought before his eyes
all the horrors of war. The distress of the vanquished added
an element of danger to the discomfort of this journey so
late in the season. Everything contributed painfully to im-
press the imagination of a man who was a friend to human-
ity, and who lamented the disasters which result from the
passions of conquerors. My husband's letters, full of pain-
ful reflections, grieved me deeply, and served to lessen the
enthusiasm which had been beginning to revive as I read
accounts of victories, in which the bright side only was
shown to the public.
When M. de Eemusat reached Vienna, the Emperor was
no longer there. The negotiations had lasted but a short
time, and our army was marching forward. M. de Talley-
rand and M. Maret remained at Schonbrunn, where they
both lived, but without intimacy. M. Maret's familiarity
with the Emperor gave him a sort of influence, which he
kept up, as I have already said, by adoration, true or feigned,
and displayed in all his words and actions. M. de Talleyrand
M. DE bMuSAT goes TO VIENNA. 301
would make fun of this sometimes, and quiz the Secretary of
State, who resented such conduct excessively. He was there-
fore always on his guard against M. de Talleyrand, and dis-
liked him sincerely.
M. de Talleyrand, who was thoroughly weary of Vienna,
greeted M. de Kemusat on his arrival with great cordiality,
and the intimacy between them increased during the idle
life both were leading. It is very likely that M. Maret, who
wrote regularly to the Emperor, reported upon this new
friendship, and that it was displeasing to a person always
prone to take offense, and apt to detect ulterior motives in
the most unimportant actions of life.
M. de Talleyrand, finding scarcely any one but M. de Ee-
musat who could understand him, disclosed to him the polit-
ical views with which the victories of our armies inspired
him. He warmly desired to consolidate the peace of Em-ope,
and his great fear was that the glamour of victory and the
predilections of the military men surrounding the Emperor,
all of them having again become accustomed to war, would
induce the latter to prolong it. " When the moment comes
for actually concluding peace," he said, " you will see that
the greatest difficulty I shall have will be in treating with
the Emperor himself, and it will take much talking to sober
the intoxication produced by gunpowder." In these moments
of confidence M. de Talleyrand would speak candidly of the
Emperor. While he admitted the great defects of his char-
acter, he believed him to be destined irrevocably to end the
Kevolution in France, and to found a lasting government ;
and he also believed that he himself should be able to rule
the Emperor's conduct with regard to Europe. " If I fail to
persuade him," he said, " I shall, at any rate, know how to
fetter him in spite of himself, and to force him to take some
repose."
M. de Remusat was delighted to find an able statesman,
and one who enjoyed the confidence of the Emperor, full of
projects so wise in themselves ; and he began to regard him
302 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BjSmUSAT.
witb the esteem that every French citizen owes to a man
who endeavors to control the effects of a boundless ambition.
He often wrote to me that he was delighted with the discov-
eries which his intimacy with M. de Talleyrand enabled him
to make, and I began to feel interest in one who alleviated
the wearisome exile of my husband.
In my hours of solitude and. anxiety, my husband's let-
ters were my only pleasure and the sole charm of my exist-
ence. Although he prudently avoided details, I could see
that he was satisfied with his position. Then he would de-
scribe to me the different sights he had seen. He would tell
me of his drives or walks in Vienna, which he described as a
large and beautiful city, and of his visits to certain important
personages who had remained there, as well as to other fam-
ilies. He was struck by their extreme attachment to the
Emperor Francis. These good people of Vienna, although
their city was conquered, did not hesitate openly to express
their hopes of a speedy return to the paternal rule of their
master ; and, while they sympathized with him in his re-
verses, they never uttered a single reproach.
Good order was maintained in Vienna ; the garrison was
under strict discipline, and the inhabitants had no great cause
of complaint against their conquerors. The French entered
into some of the amusements of the place ; they frequented
the theatres, and it was at Vienna that M. de Eemusat first
heard the celebrated Italian singer Crescentini, and subse-
quently engaged him for the Emperor's musical service.
CHAPTEE XY.
(1805.)
The Battle of Aiisterlitz — The Emperor Alexander — Negotiations — Prince CharIo3
— ^M. d'Andr^ — M. de E^musat in Disgrace — Duroc — Savary — The Treaty of
Peace.
The arrival of the Kussian forces and the severe condi-
tions exacted by the conqueror made the Emperor of Austria
resolve on once more trying the fortune of war. Having
assembled his forces and joined the Emperor Alexander, he
awaited Bonaparte, who was advancing to meet him. The
two immense armies met in Moravia, near the little village
of Austerlitz, which, until then unknown, has become for
ever memorable by reason of the great victory which France
won there.
Bonaparte resolved to give battle on the following day,
the 1st of December, the anniversary of his coronation.
The Czar had sent Prince Dolgorouki to our headquar-
ters with proposals of peace, which, if the Emperor has told
the truth in his bulletins, could hardly be entertained by a
conqueror in possession of his enemy's capital. If we may
believe him, the surrender of Belgium was demanded, and
that the Iron Crown should be placed on another head.
The envoy was taken through a part of the encampment
which had been purposely left in confusion ; he was deceived
by this, and misled the Emperors by his report of the state
of things.
The bulletin of those two days, the 1st and 2d of Decem-
ber, states that the Emperor, on returning to his quarters
24
304 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
toward evening, spoke these words: "This is the fairest
evening of my life ; but I regret to think that I must lose a
good number of these brave fellows. I feel, by the pain it
gives me, that they are indeed my children ; and I reproach
myself for this feeling, for I fear it may render me unfit to
make war."
The following day, in addressing his soldiers, he said:
" This campaign must be ended by a thunder-clap. K France
is to make peace only on the terms proposed by Dolgorouki,
Eussia shall not obtain them, even were her army encamped
on the heights of Montmartre." Yet it was decreed that
these same armies should, one day, be encamped there, and
that at Belleville Alexander was to receive Napoleon's envoy,
coming to offer him peace on any terms he chose to dictate.
I will not transcribe the narrative of that battle, so truly
honorable to our arms — it will be found in the " Moniteur " ;
and the Emperor of Eussia, with characteristic and noble
simplicity, declared that the dispositions taken by the Em-
peror to insure success, the skill of his generals, and the ar-
dor of the French soldiers, were all alike incomparable. The
flower of the three nations fought with imflagging determina-
tion ; the two Emperors were obliged to fly in order to es-
cape being taken, and, but for the conferences of the follow-
ing day, it seems that the Emperor of Kussia would have
found his retreat very difficult.
The Emperor dictated almost from the field of battle the
narrative of aU that had taken place on the 1st, the 2d, and
the 3d of December. He even wrote part of it himself.
The dispatch, hurriedly composed, yet full of details and
very interesting, even at the present day, on account of the
spirit in which it was conceived, consisted of twenty-fi-se
pages covered with erasures and with references, and was
sent to M. Maret at Yienna, to be immediately put in f oi-m
and sent to the " Moniteur " in Paris.
On receiving this dispatch, M. Maret hastened to com-
municate it to M. de Talleyrand and M. de Kemusat. All
AFTER TEE BATTLE OF AUSTEBLITZ. 305
three were then residing in the palace of the Emperor of
Austria ; they shut themselves up in the Empress's private
apartment, then occupied by M. de Talleyrand, in order to
decipher the manuscript. The handwriting of the Emperor,
which was always very illegible, and his bad spelling, made
this a somewhat lengthy task. The order of events had to
be rearranged, and incorrect expressions to be replaced by
more suitable ones, and then, by the advice of M. de Talley-
rand and to the great terror of M. Maret, certain phrases
were suppressed, as too humiliating to the foreign sovereigns,
or so directly eulogistic of Bonaparte himseK that one won-
ders he could have penned them. They retained certain
phrases which were underscored, and to which it was evident
he attached importance. This task lasted several hours, and
was interesting to M. de Kemusat, as it gave him an oppor-
tunity of observing the very diflFerent methods of serving
the Emperor adopted by the two Ministers respectively.
After the battle, the Emperor Erancis asked for an in-
terview, which took place at the French Emperor's quar-
ters.
" This," said Eonaparte, " has been my only palace for
the last two months."
" You make such good use of it," replied the Emperor of
Austria, " that it ought to be agreeable to you."
" It is asserted," says the bulletin, " that the Emperor,
in speaking of the Emperor of Austria, used these words :
' That man has led me to commit an error, for I could have
followed up my victory, and have taken the whole Russian
and Austrian army prisoners ; but, after all, there will be
some tears the less.' "
According to the bulletin, the Czar was let off easily.
Here is the account of the visit which Savary was sent to
make to him :
" The Emperor's aide-de-camp had accompanied the Em-
peror of Germany after the interview, in order to learn
whether the Emperor of Eussia would agree to the capitula-
306 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
tion. He found the remnant of the Kussian army without
artillery or baggage, and in frightful disorder.
" It was midnight ; General Meerf eld had been repulsed
from Golding by Marshal Davoust, and the Russian army
was surrounded — ^not a man could escape. Prince Czarto-
ryski presented General Savary to the Emperor.
" ' Tell your master,' said the Czar, ' that I am going away ;
that he did wonders yesterday, that his achievements have
increased my admiration for him, that he is predestined by
Heaven, and that my army would require a hundred years
to equal his. But can I withdraw in safety ? ' ' Yes, sire, if
your Majesty ratifies what the two Emperors of France and
Austria have agreed upon in their interview.' ' And what is
that ? ' ' That your Majesty's army shall return home by
stages to be regulated by the Emperor, and that it shall evac-
uate Germany and Austrian Poland. On these conditions I
have it in commission to go to our outposts, and give them
orders to protect your retreat, as the Emperor is desirous to
protect the friend of the First Consul.' ' What guarantee is
required ? ' ' Your word,, sire.' ' I give it you.'
" General Savary set out on the instant at full gallop, and,
having joined Davoust, he gave orders to suspend all opera-
tions and remain quiet. It is to be hoped that the generosity
of the Emperor of France on this occasion may not be so
soon forgotten in Russia as was his sending back six thousand
men to the Emperor Paul, with expressions of his esteem.
" General Savary had an hour's conversation with the
Emperor of Russia, and found him all that a man of good
sense and good feeling ought to be, whatever reverses he
may have experienced.
" The Emperor asked him about the details of the day.
' You were inferior to me,' he said, ' and yet you were supe-
rior upon all the points of attack.' ' That, sire,' answered
the General, ' is the art of war, and the fruit of fifteen years
of glory. This is the fortieth battle the Emperor has fought.'
' True. He is a great warrior. As for me, this is the first
SPECULATION. 307
time I have seen fighting. I have never had any pretension
to measure myself with him.' ' "When you have experience,
sire, you may perhaps surpass him.' '■ I shall now go away
to my capital. I came to lend my aid to the Emperor of
Austria ; he has had me informed that he is content, and I
am the same.' " *
There was a good deal of speculation at that time as to
what was the Emperor's real reason for consenting to make
peace after this battle, instead of pushing his victory further ;
for, of course, nobody believed in the motive which was as-
signed for it, i. e., the sparing of so many tears which must
otherwise liave been shed.
May we conclude that the day of Austerlitz had cost him
so dear as to make him shrink from incurring another like it,
and that the Eussian army was not so utterly defeated as he
would have had us believe ? Or was it that again he had
done as he himself expressed it, when he was asked why he
had put an end to the march of victory by the treaty of Leo-
ben : " I was playing at vingt-et-^n, and I stopped short at
vingt " ? May we believe that Bonaparte, in his first year
of empire, did not yet venture to sacrifice the lives of the
people as ruthlessly as he afterward sacrificed them, and that,
having entire confidence in M. de Talleyrand at that period,
he yielded more readily to the moderate policy of his Minis-
ter '] Perhaps, too, he believed that he had reduced the Aus-
trian power by his campaign more than he really had reduced
it ; for he said, after his return from Munich, " I have left
the Emperor Francis too many subjects."
Whatever may have been his motives, he deserves praise
for the spirit of moderation that he maintained in the midst
of an army heated by victory, and which certainly was at
that moment desirous of prolonging the war. The marshals
* All these anecdotes are related in the 30th and 31st bulletins of the Grand
Army, dated from Austerlitz, 12tb and 14th Frimaire, year 14 (3d and 5th De-
cember, 1806), pages 543 and 555 of toI. xi. of the " Correspondence of Napo-
leon the First," published by order of the Emperor Napoleon the Third. — P. E.
P
308 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
and all the officers about the Emperor did everything in
their power to induce him to carry on the campaign ; they
were certain of victory everywhere, and by shaking the pur-
pose of their chief they created for M". de Talleyrand all the
difficulties that he had foreseen. The Minister, summoned
to headquarters, had to contend with the disposition of the
army. He maintained, alone and unsupported, that peace
must be concluded — that the Austrian power was necessary
to the equilibrium of Europe ; and it was then that he said,
" When you shall have weakened all the powers of the cen-
ter, how are you to hinder those of the extremities — the Rus-
sians, for instance — from falling upon them ? " In reply to
this he was met by private interests, by a personal and insa-
tiable desire for the chances of fortune which the continu-
ance of the war might offer ; and certain persons, who knew
the Emperor's character well, said, " If even we do not put
an end to this affair on the spot, you will see that we shall
commence another campaign by and by."
As for the Emperor himself, disturbed by this diversity
of opinion, urged by his love of war, and influenced by his
habitual distrust, he allowed M. de Talleyrand to perceive
that he suspected him of a secret understanding with the
Austrian ambassador, and of sacrificing the interests of
France. M. de Talleyrand answered with that firmness
which he always maintains in great affairs, when he has
taken a certain line : " You deceive yourself. My object
is to sacrifice the interest of your generals, which is no con-
cern of mine, to the interests of France. Eeflect that you
lower yourself by saying such things as they say, and that
you are worthy to be something more than a mere soldier."
The Emperor was flattered by being praised at the expense
of his former companions in arms ; and by adroitness of this
kind M. de Talleyrand succeeded in gaining his ends. At
length he brought the Emperor to resolve on sending him to
Presburg, where the negotiations were to take place ; but it
is a strange and probably unexampled fact that Bonaparte,
MEETING OF THE TWO EMPEEOBS. 309
while giving M. de Talleyrand powers to treat for peace,
actually deceived him on a point of vital importance, and
placed in his path the greatest difflcnlty that ever a negotia-
tor had experienced.
On the occasion of the meeting of the two Emperors
after the battle, the Emperor of Austria consented to relin-
quish the State of Yenice ; but he had demanded that the
portion of the Tyrol conquered by Mass^na should be re-
stored to Austria, and Napoleon, no doubt affected in spite
of his mastery over his emotions, and a little off his guard in
the presence of this vanquished sovereign, who had come to
discuss his interests in person on the battle-field where the
bodies of his subjects who had fallen in his cause stiU lay,
had not been able to maintain his inflexibility. He gave up
the Tyrol ; but no sooner had the interview come to an end
than he repented of what he had done, and, when giving M.
de Talleyrand details of the engagements to which he had
pledged himself, he kept that one secret.*
The Minister having set out for Presburg, Bonaparte re-
turned to Vienna, and took up his abode in the palace at
Schonbrunn. He occupied himself in reviewing his army,
verifying his losses, and reforming each corps as it presented
itself for inspection. In his pride and satisfaction in the
results of the campaign, he was good-humored with every-
body, behaved well to all those members of the Court who
awaited him at Vienna, and took great pleasure in relating
the wonders of the war.
On one point only did he exhibit displeasure. He was
greatly surprised that his presence produced so little effect
upon the Viennese, and that it was so difficult to induce
them to attend the fetes he provided for them, and the din-
ners at the palace to which he invited them. Bonaparte
could not understand their attachment to a conquered sov-
* In the definltiye treaty the Tyrol was given to Bavaria in consideration of
the marriage of the Princess Augustsi with Eugene de Boauharnals, Viceroy of
Italy.— P. K.
310 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
ereign — one, too, bo mucli inferior to himself. One day he
spoke quite openly about this to M. de Eemusat. " You
have passed some time at Vienna," he said, " and have had
opportunities of observing them. What a strange people
they are ! They seem insensible alike to glory and to re-
verses." M. de K^musat, who had formed a high opinion
of the Viennese, and admired their disinterested and loyal
character, replied by praising them, and relating several in-
stances of their attachment to their sovereign of which he
had been an eye-witness. "But," said Bonaparte, "they
must sometimes have talked of me. What do they say % "
" Sire," answered M. de Eemusat, " they say, ' The Emperor
Napoleon is a great man, it is true ; but our Emperor is per-
fectly good, and we can love none but him.' " These senti-
ments, which were all unchanged by misfortune, were in-
comprehensible to a man who recognized no merit except in
success. When, after his return to Paris, he heard of the
touching reception given by the Viennese to their vanquished
Emperor, he exclaimed : " What people ! If I came back
to Paris thus, I should certainly not be received after that
fashion."
A few days after the Emperor's return, M. de Talleyrand
arrived at Vienna from Presburg, to the great surprise of
everybody. The Austrian ministers at Presburg had brought
forward the subject of the Tyrol ; he had been obliged to
admit that he had no instructions on that point, and he now
came to obtain them. He was much displeased at having
been treated in such a manner. When he spoke of this to
the Emperor, the latter told him that in a yielding moment,
of which he now repented, he had acceded to the request of
the Emperor Francis, but that he was quite resolved not to
keep his word. M. de Eemusat told me that M. de Talley-
rand, of whom he saw a great deal at this time, was really
indignant. Not only did he perceive that war was about to
begin again, but that the Cabinet of France was stained by
perfidy, and a portion of the dishonor would inevitably fall
PRINOE OHABLES. 311
npon Hm. His mission to Presburg would henceforth be
ridiculous, would show how little influence over his master
he possessed, and would destroy his personal credit in Europe,
which he took such care to preserve. The marshals raised
their war-cry anew. Murat, Berthier, Maret, aU the flatter-
ers of the Emperor's ruling passion, seeing to which side he
leaned, urged him on toward what they called " glory." M.
de Talleyrand had to bear reproaches from every one, and
he often said to my husband, bitterly enough : " I find no one
but yourself here to show me any friendship ; it would take
very little more to make those people regard me as a traitor."
His conduct at this period, and his patience, did him honor.
He succeeded in bringing the Emperor back to his way of
thinking upon the necessity of making peace, and, after
having extracted from him the final word wliich he required,
he set out a second time for Presburg, better satisfied, al-
though he could not obtain the restitution of the Tyrol. On
taking leave of M. de Eemusat, he said, " I sliall settle the
affair of the Tyrol, and induce the Emperor to make peace,
in spite of himself."
During Bonaparte's stay at Schonbrunn he received a
letter from Prince Charles, to the effect that, being full of
admiration for his person, the Prince wished to see and con-
verse with him. The Emperor, flattered by this compliment
from a man who enjoyed a high reputation in Europe, fixed
upon a small hunting-lodge a few leagues from the palace as
the place of meeting, and directed M. de Pemusat to join
the other persons who were to accompany him. He also
bade him take with him a very richly mounted sword.
" After our conversation," said he, " you will hand it to me.
I wish to present it to the Prince on leaving him."
The Emperor joined the Prince, and they remained in
private conference for some time. When he came out of
the room my husband approached him, according to the
orders he had received. Bonaparte impatiently waved him
off, telling him that he might take the sword away; and
312 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SMUSAT.
when he returned to Schonbnmn he spoke slightingly of the
Prince, saying that he had found him very commonplace,
and by no means worthy of the present he had intended for
him.*
I must now relate an incident which concerned M. de
Eemusat personally, and which once more checked the favor
that the Emperor seemed disposed to extend toward him. I
have frequently remarked that our destiny always aiTanged
matters so that we should not profit by the advantages of our
position, but since that time I have often felt thankful to
Providence ; for that very contrariety preserved us from a
more disastrous fall.
In the early years of the Consular Government the
King's party had clung to the hope of a revival of favorable
chances for him in France, and they had more than once
tried to establish an understanding with the country. M.
d' Andre, formerly a deputy to the Constituent Assembly, an
emigre, and devoted to the royal cause, had undertaken
Royalist naissions to some of the sovereigns of Europe, and
Bonaparte was perfectly aware of that fact. M. d'Andr6
was, like M. de Pemusat, a native of Provence, and they
had been schoolfellows. M. d'Andre had also been a magis-
trate prior to the Pevolution (he was Coimcilor to the Par-
liament of Aix), and, although they did not keep up any
mutual relations, they were not entirely strangers. At the
period of which I am writing, M. d'Andre, disheartened by
the failure of his fruitless efforts, convinced that the Impe-
rial cause was absolutely victorious, and weary of a wander-
ing life and consequently straitened meanSj was longing to
return to his own country. Being in Hungary dming the
campaign of 1805, he sent his wife to Yienna, and appealed
to his friend General Mathieu Dumas to obtain leave for
him. The General, although rather alarmed at having to
* Thig is a softened version of what the Emperor said. The truth is that,
when his Chamberlain drew near to remind him of his intentions and to hand
him the sword, the Emperor said : " Let mo alone ; he's a fool ! "
M. DE ANDRA 313
undertake sucli a mission, promised to take steps in the mat-
ter, but advised Mme. d'Andr6 to see M. de Eemusat and
procure his interest. One morning Mme. d' Andre arrived.
My husband received her as he conceived he ought to re-
ceive the wife of a former friend ; he was much concerned
at the position in which she represented M. d'Andre to be,
and, not knowing that there were particular circumstances in
the case which were likely to render the Emperor implacable,
thinking besides that his victories might incline him to clem-
ency, consented to present her petition. His official position
as Keeper of the Wardrobe gave him the right to enter the
Emperor's dressing-room. He hastened down to his Majes-
ty's apartment, and found him half dressed and in a good
humor, whereupon he immediately gave him an accoimt of
Mme. d' Andre's visit, and preferred the request which he had
undertaken to urge.
At the mention of the name of M. d'Andre the Emper-
or's face darkened. " Do you know," said he, " that you are
talking to me of a mortal enemy ? " " JSTo, sire," replied M.
de Eemusat; "I am ignorant whether your Majesty has
really reason to complain of him ; but, if such be the case, I
would venture to ask pardon for him. M. d'Andre is poor
and proscribed ; he asks only that he may return and grow
old in our common country." "Have you any relations
with him?" "!N"one, sire." "And why do you interest
yourself in him ? " " Sire, he is a Provengal ; he was edu-
cated with me at Juilly, he is of my own profession, and he
was my friend." " You are very fortuna-te," said the Em-
peror, darting a fierce glance at him, "to have such motives
to excuse you. Never speak of him to me again ; and know
this: if he were at Vienna, and I could get hold of him,
he should be hanged within twenty-four hours." Having
said these words, the Emperor turned his back on M. de
Eemusat.
Wherever the Emperor was with his Court, he habitually
held what was called his levee every morning. So soon as
314 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
lie was dressed, lie entered a reception-room, and those per-
sons who formed what was called the " service " were sum-
moned. These were the great officers of his household, M.
de Kemusat, as Keeper of the Wardrobe and First Cham-
berlain, and the generals of his guard. The second levee
was composed of the Chamberlains, of such generals of the
army as could present themselves, and, in Paris, of the Pre-
fect of Paris, the Prefect of Police, the Princes, and the
Ministers. Sometimes he greeted all these personages
silently, with a mere bow, and dismissed them at once.
He gave orders when it was necessary, and he did not hesi-
tate to scold any one with whom he was displeased, without
the slightest regard to the awkwardness of giving or receiv-
ing reprimands before a crowd of witnesses.
After he left M. de Pemusat, the Emperor held his
levee / then he sent everybody away, and held a long con-
versation with General Savary. On its conclusion, Savary
rejoined my husband in one of the reception-rooms, took
him aside, and addressed him after a fashion which would
appear very strange to any one unacquainted with the crudity
of the Generals jprinovples in certain matters.
" Let me congratulate you," said he, accosting M. de Ee-
musat, " on a fine opportunity of making your fortune, of
which I strongly advise you to avail yourself. You played
a dangerous game just now by talking to the Emperor of
M. d' Andre, but all may be set right again. Where is he ?
But, now I think of it, he is in Hungary — at least, his wife
told me so. Ah, bah ! don't dissimulate about it. The Em-
peror believes that he is in Vienna ; he is convinced that you
know where he is, and he wants you to tell." " I assure
you. General," replied M. de E^musat, "that I am abso-
lutely ignorant of where he is. I had no correspondence
with him. His wife came to see me to-day for the first
time ; she begged me to speak for her husband to the Em-
peror ; I have done eo, and that is all." " Well, then, if
that be so, send for her to come to you again. She will
M. DE bMuSAT in disgrace. 315
have no suspicion of you. Make her talk, and try to elicit
from her where her husband is. You can not imagine how
much you will please the Emperor by rendering him this
service."
M. de Eemusat, utterly confounded at this speech, was
quite unable to conceal his astonishment. " What ! " he ex-
claimed, " you make such a proposal as that to me ? I told
the Emperor that I was the friend of M. d' Andre ; you
also know that, and you would have me betray him, give
him up, and that by means of his wife, who has trusted
me ! " Savary was astonished, in his turn, at the indigna-
tion of M. de Eemusat. "What f oily !" said he. "Take
care you do not spoil your luck ! The Emperor has more
than once had occasion to doubt that you are as entirely de-
voted to him as he would have you to be. Now, here is an
opportunity for removing his suspicions, and you will be
very unwise if you let it escape."
The conversation lasted for some time. M. de Eemusat
was, of course, unshaken; he assured Savary that, far from
seeking out Mme. d'Andre, he would not even consent to see
her, and he informed her, through General Mathieu Dumas,
of the failure of his mission. Savary returned to the sub-
ject in the course of the day, and said, over and over again :
" You are throwing away your chances ; I confess I can not
make you out." " That does not matter," my husband would
reply.
And, in fact, the Emperor did resent this refusal, and
assumed toward M. de Eemusat the harsh, icy tone which
was always a mark of his displeasure. M. de Eemusat en-
dured it with resignation, and complained only to Duroc, the
Grand Marshal of the Palace, who understood his difficulty
better than Savary could, but regretted that anything should
have occurred to diminish his favor with Bonaparte. He
also congratulated my husband on his conduct, which seemed
to him an act of the greatest courage ; for not to obey the Em-
peror was, in his eyes, the most wonderful thing in the world.
316 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
Duroe was a man of a singular character. His mind was
narrow ; his feelings and thoughts were always, perhaps de-
liberately, confined to a small circle ; but he lacked neither
cleverness nor clear-sightedness. He was filled, perhaps,
rather with submission than devotion to Bonaparte, and be-
lieved that no one placed near him could nse any or every
faculty better than in exactly obeying him.
In order not to fail in this, which he considered a strict
duty, he would not allow himself even a thought beyond
the obligations of his post. Cold, silent, and impenetrable
as to every secret confided to him, I believe he had made it
a law to himself never to reflect on the orders he received.
He did not flatter the Emperor ; he did not seek to please
him by tale-bearing, which, though often tending to no re-
sult, was yet gratifying to Bonaparte's naturally suspicious
mind ; but, like a mirror, Duroc reflected for his master all
that had taken place in his presence, and, like an echo, he
repeated his master's words in the same tone and manner in
which they had been uttered. Were we to have fallen dead
before his eyes in consequence of a message of which he was
the bearer, he would still have delivered it with imperturba-
ble precision.
I do not think he ever inquired of himself whether the
Emperor was or was not a great man ; he was the master,
and that was enough. His obedience made him of great use
to the Emperor ; the interior of the palace, the entire man-
agement of the household and its expenditure, was his
charge, and everything was regulated with perfect order and
extreme economy, and yet with great magnificence.
Marshal Duroc had married a Spanish lady of great for-
tune, little beauty, and a good deal of intelligence. She was
the daughter of a Spanish banker named Hervas, who had
been employed in some second-rate diplomatic capacity, and
had subsequently been created Marquis d'Abruenara. He
was Minister in Spain under Joseph Bonaparte. Mme. Du-
roc had been brought up at Mme. Campan's school, where
BUROG. 317
Mme. Louis Bonaparte, Mme. Savary, Mme. Davoust, Mme.
Ney, and others, had also been educated.
She and her husband lived together on good terms, but
without that perfect union which is so great a source of con-
solation to those who have to endure the restraints of a
Court. He would not allow her to hold an opinion of her
own on passing events, or to have any familiar friend ; and
he had none himself. I have never known any one who
felt less need of friendship, or who cared less for the plea-
sures of conversation. He had not the shghtest idea of social
life ; he did not know the meaning of a taste for literature
or art ; and this indifference to things in general, which he
combined with the most perfect obedience to orders, while
he never showed any sign of weariness or constraint, nor yet
the slightest appearance of enthusiasm, made him quite a
remarkable character, and interesting to observe. He was
greatly esteemed at Court, or at any rate was of great im-
portance. Everything was referred to him, and to him all
complaints were addressed. He attended to everybody, sel-
dom offering an opinion, still less a counsel ; but he listened
with attention, faithfully reported what was said, and never
showed either the slightest mark of ill will or the least sign
of interest.*
* " This sketch of the Duo de Friuli," writes my father, " is in perfect con-
formity with all well-founded contemporary opinion. Few men haveever been
more harsh, more cold, more selfish, without bearing any ill will to others. His
justice, hia honesty, his trustworthiness were Incomparable. He had great tal-
ent for organization. But there was one carious fact of which my mother seems
to have been unaware, although it is acknowledged to have been true : he did
not like the Emperor, or, at any rate, judged him with severity. In later times
he was wearied otit by Bonaparte's temper, and still more by his system of gov-
ernment, and on the day preceding his death he let this be perceived, even by
the Emperor." Marshal Marmont, who knew him well, has left a sketch of his
character which bears all the marks of truth : " The Emperor felt for him what
in such a man was almost friendship, for he wrote thus from Haynau, on June 7,
1813, to Mme. de Montesquieu : ' The death of the Due de Friuli grieves me.
It is the first time for twenty years that he has not divined what would give me
pleasure.' " — P. K.
318 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EJ^MUSAT.
Bonaparte, who had great bMU in utilizing men, liked to
be served by one who stood so completely apart from others.
There was no danger in aggrandizing such a man as this ; he
therefore loaded him with honors and riches. His gifts to
Savary, which were also very considerable, were dictated by
a different motive. " That is a man," he used to say, "who
must continually be bought ; he would belong to any one
who would give him a crown more than I do." And yet,
strange to say, notwithstanding this feeling, Bonaparte trusted
him, or at any rate believed the tales he brought. He knew,
in truth, that Savary would refuse him nothing, and he would
say of him sometimes, " If I ordered Savary to rid himself
of his wife and children, I am sure he would not hesitate."
Savary, though an object of general terror, was, in spite
of his mode of life and his actions, hidden or otherwise, not
radically a bad man. Love of money was his ruling passion.
He had no military talent, and was even accused by his brave
comrades of being wanting in courage on the battle-field.
He had, therefore, to build up his fortune in a different
fashion from that of his conipanions in arms.* He per-
ceived a way open to him in the system of cunning and
tale-bearing which Bonaparte favored; and, having once
entered on it, it was not possible for him to retrace his steps.
He was, intrinsically, better than his reputation ; that is, his
first impulses were superior to his subsequent action. He
was not wanting in natural ability ; could be kindled to a
momentary enthusiasm of the imagination ; was ignorant,
but with a desire for information, and had an instinctively
right judgment. He was rather a liar than a deceitful man ;
harsh in manner, but very timid in reality. He had reasons
of his own for knowing Bonaparte and trembling before
him. Nevertheless, while he was Minister, he ventured on
* During the campaign, a large coffer of gold was intrusted to him, to meet
the charges of the secret police which he conducted for the Emperor, both in
the army and in the conquered cities. He discharged this trust with great skill.
In no place was a word spoken or a deed done of which he was not informed.
THE TREATY OF PEACE. 319
some show of opposition, and then appeared to entertain a
certain desire to gain public , esteem. He, perhaps, like
many others, owed the development of his views to the
times he lived in, which stifled the better side of his charac-
ter. The Emperor sedulously cultivated evil passions in the
men who served him, and they flourished abundantly under
his reign.
To return. M. de Talleyrand's negotiations were slowly
advancing. In spite of every obstacle, he succeeded, by
means of correspondence, in persuading the Emperor to
make peace; and the Tyrol, that stumbling-block of the
treaty, was ceded by the Emperor Francis to the King of
Bavaria. When, a few years afterward, the Emperor had
quarreled with M. de Talleyrand, he would angrily refer to
this treaty, and complain that his Minister had wrested from
him the fruit of victory, and brought about the second Aus-
trian campaign by leaving too much power in the hands of
the sovereign of that country.
The Emperor had time, before leaving Vienna, to receive
a deputation from four of the mayors of the city of Paris,
who came to congratulate him on his victories. Shortly
afterward he departed for Munich, having announced that he
was about to place the regal crown on the head of the Elec-
tor of Bavaria, and to conclude the marriage of Prince
Eugene.
The Empress, who had been staying at Munich for some
time, was overjoyed at a union which would ally her son
with the greatest houses of Europe. She greatly wished that
Mme. Louis Bonaparte should be present at the ceremony ;
but the request met with an obstinate refusal from Louis,
and, as usual, his wife was obliged to submit.
The Emperor, who also wished to introduce a kinswoman
to the Bavarians, summoned Mme. Murat to Munich. She
came thither with mingled feelings. The pleasure of being
regarded as a person of importance, and of displaying her-
self, was damped by the elevation of the Beauhamais family;
25
320 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
and she had some diflSenlty, as I shall presently relate, in
concealing her dissatisfaction.
M. de Talleyrand returned to the Court after signing the
treaty, and once more peace seemed restored to Europe — at
any rate, for a time. Peace was signed on Christmas Day,
1805.
In this treaty the Emperor of Austria recognized the Em-
peror Napoleon as King of Italy. He ceded the Yenetian
States to the kingdom of Italy. He recognized the Electors
of Bavaria and Wiirtemburg as kings, ceding to the former
several principalities and the Tyrol, to the latter a number
of towns, and to the Elector of Baden part of the Brisgau.
The Emperor I^Tapoleon undertook to obtain the princi-
pality of "Wiirzburg from the King of Bavaria for the Arch-
duke Ferdinand, who had been Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The Yenetian States were to be handed over within a fort-
night. These were the principal conditions of the treaty.
CHAPTER XVI.
(1805-1806.)
state of Paris during the War — Cambac^r^s — Le Bran — Mme. Louis Bonapaite —
Mamage of Eugene de Beauharnais — ^Bulletins and Proclamations — Admiration
of the Emperor for the Queen of Bavaria — Jealousy of the Empress— M. de Nan-
souty — ^Mmo. de . — Conquest of Naples — Position and Character of the
Emperor.
I HAVE already described the dullness and depression of
Paris during this campaign, and the sufferings of every class
of society from the renewal of war. Money had become
still more scarce ; in fact, it attained such a price that, being
obliged to send some in haste to my husband, I had to pay
ninety francs merely for obtaining gold for a thousand-franc
bank-note. Such an opportunity of spreading and increasing
the general anxiety was, of course, turned to advantage by
the malcontents. Warned by former experience, and alarmed
by the imprudence of certain utterances, I held aloof from
every one, seeing only my own friends and persons who could
not involve me in any difficulty.
"When the Princes or Princesses of the Imperial family
held their receptions, I went, as did others, to pay my respects
to them, and also to the Arch-Chancellor Cambaceres, who
would have been highly displeased at any neglect. He gave
grand dinners, and held receptions twice a week. He resided
in a large house on the Carrousel, which has since been con-
verted into the Hotel des Cent Suisses.* At seven in the
* This hotel was imlled down in the reign of Louis Philippe. — P. R.
322 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
evening a line of carriages would generally stretch across tlie
Carrousel, and Cambac^res would note its length from his
window with delight. Some time was occupied in getting
into the courtyard and reaching the foot of the staircase. At
the door of the first reception-room an attendant announced
the guest's name in a loud voice ; this was repeated until the
presence-chamber was reached. There an immense crowd
would be collected; there were two or three rows of wo-
men ; the men stood close together, forming a sort of passage
from one angle of the room to the opposite comer. Up
and down this walked Cambaceres with great gravity, cov-
ered with decorations, and usually wearing all his orders
and diamonds; on his head an enormous powdered wig.
He kept on making civil little speeches right and left.
When we felt quite sure he had seen us, especially if he had
spoken, it was the custom to retire, and thus make room for
others. We frequently had to wait a long time for our car-
riages, and the surest way to be agreeable to Cambaceres was
to tell him, the next time, of the inconvenience caused by the
numberless vehicles in the Place all crowding toward his
house.
Fewer persons went to the receptions of the Arch-Trea-
surer Le Brun, who seemed to attach less importance to
these outward observances, and lived quietly. But, although
he had not the foibles of his colleague, he was also deficient
in some of his qualities. Cambaceres was a kind-hearted
man ; he received petitions graciously, and, if he promised
to support them, his word could be relied on. Le Brun's
only care was to amass a fortune, which became considerable.
He was a selfish, cunning old man, who never did any good
to anybody.
The member of the Imperial family whom I saw most
frequently was Mme. Louis Bonaparte. People came to her
house of an evening to hear the news.
In December, 1805, a report having been spread that the
English were likely to descend on the Dutch coast, Louis
LE BRUN—MME. LOUIS BONAPARTE. 323
Bonaparte received commands to travel through Holland,
and to inspect the Army of the North. His absence,'which
gave a little more freedom to his wife, and was a relief to
his household, who held him in awe and aversion, enabled
Mme. Louis to pass her evenings pleasantly. Music and
drawing at a large table in the center of the salon were the
chief amusements. Mme. Louis had a great taste for the
arts : she composed charming ballads ; she painted well ; she
liked the society of artists. Her only fault, perhaps, was in
not maintaining the ceremonious demeanor in her house de-
manded by the rank to which she had been elevated. She
always remained on intimate terms with her schoolfellows,
and with the young married women who habitually visited
her, and her manners retained something of the freedom of
those school-days. This gave rise to remark and censure.*
After a long silence respecting the movements of the
army, which produced general uneasiness, Le Brun, aide-de-
camp to the Emperor, and a son of the Arch-Treasurer, was
dispatched from the battle-field of Austerlitz, and arrived
one evening with news of the victory, of the succeeding ar-
mistice, and of the well-founded hope of peace. The news
was announced at all the theatres, and posted up everywhere
* Mme. de Kemusat's feelings toward Queen Hortense and her opinion of
lier chDracter were lasting ; for, some years later, on July 12, 1812, she thus
writes to her husband :
" Speaking of the Queen, I can not find words in which to tell you the plea-
sure I take in her society. She Is really angelic in disposition, and completely
different from what is generally supposed. M. F , who when he came was
full of prejudice against her, is quite captivated. She is so true, so pure-
hearted, so perfectly ignorant of evil ; there is about her so sweet a melancholy ;
she seemed so resigned to whatever may happen, that it is impossible not to be
deeply impressed by her. Her health is good ; she dislikes this rainy weather,
because she is fond of walking ; she reads a great deal, and would like to make
up for the defects of her education in certain respects. Her children's tutor
makes her work hard ; sometimes she laughs at the pains she takes, and she
is right. Nevertheless, I wish a more enlightened person were directing her
studies. She has reached an age when study should be pursued rather to teach
us to think than to Tcnoio, and history should not be learned at five and twenty
as it is at ten years old." — ^P. R.
324 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
on tlie following day. It produced a great effect, and dis-
pelled the gloom and apathy of Paris.
It was impossible not to be elated by so great a success,
and not to take the side of glory and of fortune. The
French were carried away by the description of the victory,
to which nothing was wanting, since it terminated the war ;
and this time again there was no need to prescribe pubhc
rejoicing : the nation identified itself with the success of its
army.
I look upon this period as the zenith of Bonaparte's good
fortune, for his mighty deeds were made their own by the
bulk of his people. Afterward, doubtless, he increased in
power and in authority, but he had to bespeak enthusiasm,
and, though he sometimes succeeded in enforcing it, the
efforts he was obliged to make must have lessened the value
of the applause.
In the midst of the pride and delight displayed by the
city of Paris, it may well be believed that the great bodies
of the State and the public officers did not neglect the oppor-
tunity of expressing the general admiration in high-flown
language. When we now read the speeches delivered on
the occasion in the Senate and the Tribunate, the orations of
prefects and mayors, the pastoral letters of bishops, one won-
ders if it be possible that a human head should not be turned
by such excess of praise. Every glory of the past was to
fade before that of Bonaparte ; the greatest names were to
drop into obscurity ; fame would thenceforth blush at what
she had formerly proclaimed, etc., etc.
On the 31st of December the Tribunate was assembled,
and Fabre de I'Aude, the President, announced the return
of a deputation which had been sent to the Emperor. Its
members had brought back a glowing account of the mar-
vels they had witnessed. A great number of flags had also
arrived. The Emperor bestowed eight on the city of Paris,
eight on the Tribunate, and fifty-four on the Senate ; the
entire Tribunate was to present the latter.
SCENE IN TEE TRIBUNATE. 325
On tlie conclusion of the President's speech, a crowd of
tribunes rushed forward to propose what was called des 7no-
tions de vce-ux. One of them moved that a gold medal should
be struck ; another, that a public monument should be erect-
ed ; that the Emperor should receive the honors of a triumph,
after the old fashion of imperial Home ; that the whole city
of Paris should go forth to meet him. "Language," said
one member, " can not attain such height of grandeur, nor
express the emotions it calls forth."
Carrion-Nisas proposed that, on the proclamation of the
general peace, the sword worn by the Emperor at the battle
of Austerlitz should be solemnly consecrated. Each speaker
endeavored to surpass the others, and certainly, during this
sitting, which lasted several hours, all that flattery could sug-
gest to the imagination was exhausted. And yet this very
Tribunate was a source of anxiety to the Emperor, because
it contained in itself a semblance of hberty ; and he subse-
quently abolished it in order to consolidate his despotic
power, even in the smallest outward signs. When Bona-
parte " eliminated " the Tribunate (this was the technical
expression for that measure), he did not shrink from using
these words : " This is my final break with the Eepublic."
The Tribunate, having arranged to carry the flags to the
Senate on the 1st of January, 1806, decided that on the same
occasion it should be proposed to erect a column. The Sen-
ate hastened to pass a decree to this effect, and also decreed
that the Emperor's letter, which had accompanied the flags,
should be engraved on marble and placed in the Hall of As-
sembly. The senators on this occasion rose to the height at-
tained by the tribunes.
Preparations were now made for the rejoicings which
were to take place on the return of the Emperor. M. de
Remusat sent orders, through me, for the performance of
various pieces containing appropriate passages at the theatres.
The Theatre Frangais having selected " Gaston et Bayard,"
some slight changes were made by the police in certain lines
326 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
that were deemed inadmissible.* The Opera House pre-
pared a new piece.
Meanwhile the Emperor, after receiving the signature of
the peace, was preparing to quit Yienna, and addressed its
inhabitants in a proclamation full of compliments, both to
themselves and to their sovereign. It ended thus :
" I have shown myself little among you, not from disdain
or a vain pride, but I did not wish to interfere with the feel-
ings due to your sovereign, with whom it was my intention
to make a prompt peace."
"We have already seen what were the Emperor's real mo-
tives for remaining in retirement at Sehonbrunn.
Although, in point of fact, the French army had been
kept under tolerable discipline while in Yienna, there can be
no doubt that the inhabitants were overjoyed at the depar-
ture of the guests they had been obliged to receive, to lodge,
and to feed liberally. To give an idea of the consideration
with which our vanquished enemies were forced to treat us,
it will be sufficient to state that Generals Junot f and Bes-
sieres, who were quartered on Prince Esterhazy, were daily
supplied from Hungary with every delicacy of the table,
including Tokay. This was due to the generosity of the
Prince, who defrayed the whole cost.
I recollect hearing M. de Kemusat relate that, on the ar-
rival of the Emperor at Yienna, the Imperial cellars were
explored in search of this same Tokay, and much surprise
was expressed that not a single bottle was forthcoming ; all
had been carefully removed by the orders of Francis.
The Emperor reached Munich on the 31st of December,
* The line " Et suivro lea Bourbons, c'est marcher ik la gloire " (To follow
the Bourbons is to march to glory), was replaced by " Et suivre les Franyais,
c'est marcher & la gloire " (To follow the French is to march to glory).
\ Junot was a true soldier of fortune. He had a good deal of natural
humor. On one occasion the exclusiveness of the old French nobility was
spoken of before him. "And why," said he, "are all these people so angered
at our eleration ? The only difference between thorn and me is that they are
descendants, while I am an ancestor ! "
BULLETINS AND PROCLAMATIONS. 327
and on tlie next day proclaimed tlie Elector of Bavaria King.
He announced this in a letter to tLe Senate, in which he also
made known his adoption of Prince Eugene, and the mar-
riage of the latter, which was to take place before the Em-
peror's return to Paris.
Prince Eugene hastened to Munich, having first taken
possession of the States of Venice, and reassured his new
subjects, as far as possible, by dignified and moderate proc-
lamations.
The Emperor felt himself bound also to bestow some
praise on the army of Italy. A bulletin says : " The Italians
have displayed great spirit. The Emperor has frequently
said : ' Why should not my Italian people appear gloriously
on the world's stage ? They are full of intelligence and pas-
sion ; it will be easy henceforth to give them soldierly quali-
ties.' " He made a few more proclamations to his army, in
his usual turgid style, but they are said to have produced a
great efifect on the army.
He issued one decree which would have been good if it
had been put into execution. "We adopt," he said, "the
children of those generals, officers, and privates who lost
their lives at the battle of Austerlitz. They shall be brought
up at Kambouillet and at St. Germain, and placed out in the
Avorld, or suitably married by our care. To their own names
they shall add that of Napoleon."
The Elector, or rather the King, of Bavaria is a younger
son of the house of Deux-Ponts, who came to the Electorate
through the extinction of that branch of his family which
was governing Bavaria. In the reign of Louis XVI. he was
sent to France aad placed in the King's service. He soon
obtained a regiment, and resided for a considerable time either
in Paris or in garrison at one of our towns. He became
attached to France, and left behind him the recollection of
much kindness of disposition and cordiality of manner. He
was known as Prince M!ax. He declined, however, to marry
in France. The Prince de Conde offered him his daughter ;
328 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
but his father and his uncle, the Elector, objected to the
match on the grounds that Prince Max, not being rich,
would probably have to make eanonesses of some of his
daughters, and that the admixture in their veins of the blood
of Louis XIV. with that of Mme. de Montespan would be
an obstacle to their admittance into certain chapters.
When, at a later period, this Prince succeeded to the
Electorate, he always retained an affectionate remembrance
of France, and a sincere attachment to her people. Having
become King by the will of the Emperor, he took pains to
prove his gratitude by a splendid welcome, and he received
all the French with extreme kindness. It may well be im-
agined that not for one moment did he dream of declining
the proposed marriage for his daughter. The young Prin-
cess was then seventeen or eighteen years of age, and pos-
sessed attractive qualities, as well as personal charms. The
marriage, which was due to political reasons, became the
source of uninterrupted happiness to Eugene. Princess
Augusta of Bavaria attached herself warmly to the husband
chosen for her ; she aided him in no small measure to win
the hearts of the Italians. With beauty, sense, piety, and
amiability, she could not fail to be tenderly beloved by Prince
Eugene, and at the present day they are settled in Bavaria,
and enjoy the happiness of a perfect union.*
* Prince Eugene de Beauhamais died in 1S24. Thio Emperor announced
his marriage to him in the following terms, in a letter dated Munich, 19 Nivose,
year 14 (3lBt December, 1805): "Sly cousin, I hare arrived at Munich. I have
arranged a marriage for you with Princess Augusta. It has been announced.
The Princess paid me a visit this morning, and I conversed with her for a con-
siderable time. She is very pretty. You will see her portrait on the tazza which
accompanies this, but she is much better-looking." The Emperor's affection for
the Viceroy of Italy was extended in full measure to the Princess, who from the
first bad impressed him so favorably, and his letters are full of solicitude for her
health and happiness. Thus, he writes to her from Stuttgart, on the 17th of
January, 1806: "My daughter, your letter to me is as charming as yourself.
My feelings of affection for you will but increase every day ; I know this by the
pleasure I feel in recalling all your good qualities, and by my desire to receive
frequent assurances from yourself that you are pleased with everybody and
TEE EMPEROB AND THE QUEEN OF BAVARIA. 329
During the Emperor's stay at Munich, he took it into his
head, by way of recreation after his labors of the past months,
to indulge a fancy, partly political, partly amorous, for the
Queen of Bavaria. That Princess, who was the King's sec-
ond wife, without being very beautiful, was of an elegant
figure and pleasing though dignified manners. I think the
Emperor pretended to be in love with her. The lookers-on
said it was amusing to watch the struggle between his impe-
rious temper and rude manners and the desire to please a
Princess accustomed to that kind of etiquette which is never
relaxed in Germany on amy occasion whatever. The Queen
of Bavaria contrived to exact respect from her strange ad-
mirer, and yet seemed to be amused with his devotion. The
happy in your husband. Among all my other cares, there will be none dearer
to me than those which may insure the happiness of my children. Believe me,
Augusta, I love you as a father, and I rely on your filial tenderness. Take care
of yourself on your journey, and also in the new climate to which you are travel-
ing, by taking all necessary rest. Tou have had much to try you for a month
past. Remember that I must not have you ill."
A few months later he writes to Prince Eugene : " My son, you work too
hard ; your life is too monotonous. It is good for you, because your work should
be your recreation ; but you have a. young wife, who is just now in a delicate
state. I think you should contrive to pass your evenings with her, and to gather
some society round you. Why don't you go to the theatre once a week in a
state box ? I think you should have also a small hunting establishment, and
hunt at least once a week ; I would willingly devote a grant to this object.
There must be more gayety in your house ; it is necessary for your wife's happi-
ness and your own health. A great deal of work can be got through in a short
time. I am leading the life that you lead, but I have an old wife who does not
need me for her amusements ; I have also more work than you, yet I can say
truly I take more pleasure and diversion than you do. A young wife requires
amusement, especially when in the state of health she now is. You liked plea-
sure pretty well in former times ; you must return to it. What you might not
choose to do for yourself, you must do out of duty toward the Princess. I have
just established myself at Saint Cloud. Stephanie and the Prince of Baden get
on pretty well together. I spent the last two days at Marshal Bessiferes's ; we
behaved like lads of fifteen. You were formerly in the habit of rising early ;
you should return to that custom. This would not disturb the Princess, if you
retired to rest with her at eleven o'clock ; and, by leaving off work at six in the
evening, you would still have had ten hours for work, if you rise at seven or
eight o'clock."^P, B.
330 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtlMUSAT.
Empress considered her to be more coquettish than was de-
sirable, and the whole business made her anxious to get away
quickly from the Bavarian Court, and spoilt the pleasure she
would otherwise haye felt in her son's marriage.
At the same time, Mme. Murat took offense because the
new Yice-Queen, who had become the adopted daughter of
Napoleon, took precedence of her on ceremonial occasions.
She feigned illness in order to avoid what seemed to her an
affront, and her brother was obliged to get into a rage with
her, to prevent her from too plainly exhibiting her discontent.
Had we not actually witnessed the rapid rise of certain pre-
tensions in those who are the favorites of fortune, we should
have been astonished at these sudden bursts of temper in
princes of so recent a date that they could scarcely yet have
become accustomed to the advantages and rights appertain-
ing to their rank. This spectacle we have, however, beheld
so frequently that we are not surprised, but merely admit
that no human passion is so easily aroused, or grows so rap-
idly, as vanity.
Eonaparte had always been well aware of this, and he
used the knowledge as his surest method of governing.
While at Munich, he made many promotions in the army.
He gave a regiment of Carbineers to his brother-in-law.
Prince Borghese. He rewarded several officers by promo-
tion, or by the Legion of Honor. Among others, he created
M. de Nansouty, my brother-in-law, grand officer of the
order. He was a brave man, esteemed in the army, straight-
forward, and endowed with a keen sense of duty, not very
common, unfortunately, among our military chiefs. He left
behind him in a foreign country a reputation which is very
honorable to his family.*
The Emperor's military Court, encouraged by their mas-
ter's example, and, like him, flushed with victory, took great
* On the occasion o£ the first return of the King, his Majesty gave M. de
Nansouty the command of a company of Gray Musketeers. He fell ill shortly
afterward, and died one month before the 20th of March, 1815,
MME. DE C . 331
pleasure in the society of the ladies who had accompanied
the Empress. It seemed as if Love was now to have his
share of power in a world which had hitherto somewhat
neglected him ; but it must be admitted that not much time
was allowed to him for the establishment of his reign, and
his attacks were of necessity rather brisk.
We may date from this period the passion which the
beautiful Mme. de C inspired in M. de Caulaincourt.
She had been appointed Lady-in-Waiting in the summer of
1805. When quite young she had married her cousin, who
was at that time equerry to the Emperor, and she drew all
eyes on herseK by her striking beauty. M. de Caulaincourt
fell desperately in love with her, and this feeling, which was
for several years more or less reciprocal, deterred him from
thinldng of marriage. Mme. de C became more and
more estranged from her husband, and at last took advantage
of the law of divorce.* When the return of the King con-
demned M. de Caulaincourt, otherwise the Duke of Vieenza,
to a life of obscurity, she resolved to share his ill fortune,
and married him.
I have already said that the Emperor announced during
this campaign his consent to the evacuation of the kingdom
of ISTaples by our troops ; but before long he again quarreled
with the sovereign of that kingdom, either because the King
did not exactly carry out the treaty that had been concluded
with him, and was too much under the influence of the Eng-
lish, who were continually threatening his ports, or because
the Emperor wished to accomplish his project of subjecting
the whole of Italy to his own authority. He also thought,
no doubt, that it would be his best policy to eject the house
of Bourbon by degrees from the thrones of the Continent.
Be this as it may, according to custom, and without any pre-
vious communication, France learned by an order of the day,
* The Duchess of Vieenza died at a very advanced age in 1878, leaving be-
hind her the memory of an excellent and distinguished woman. JI. de Caulain-
oourt had died iifty years earlier, in 1828. — P. E.
332 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtMUSAT.
dated from the Imperial camp at Schonbrunn, 6th Nivose,
year 14,* that the French army was marching to the con-
quest of the kingdom of Naples, and would be under the
command of Joseph Bonaparte, who accordingly repaired
thither.
" We will pardon no longer," so runs the proclamation.
" The dynasty of Naples has ceased to reign. Its existence
is incompatible with the repose of Europe and the honor of
my crown. Soldiers, forward! . . . and delay not to tell
me that all Italy is subject to my laws or those of my
allies." f
It is in this summary tone that Bonaparte, fresh from
signing treaties of peace, began another war, gave new of-
* aYth of December, 1805.— P. R.
f The following is the proclamation, which is to the effect indicated by the
Memoirs, but in still rougher language :
" Soldiers ! for ten years I have done all I could to save the King of Is aples ;
he has done everything to ruin himself. After the battles of Dego, of Mondovi,
and of Lodi, he could offer me but feeble resistance. I trusted to his word, and
I was generous toward him.
"When the second coalition was dissolyed at Marengo, the King of Naples,
who had been the first to declare this unjust war, was abandoned at Lun^ville by
his allies, and remained alone and defenseless. He appealed to me ; for the
second time I forgave him. But a few months ago you were at the gates of
Naples. I had sufficient reasons for suspecting the treason that was in prepa-
raticfa, and for avenging the insults that had been offered mo. Once more I
acted generously. I recognized the neutrality of Naples; I ordered you to
evacuate the kingdom ; and for a third time the house of Naples was strength-
ened and saved.
"Shall we forgive a fourth time? Shall wo rely a fourth time on a Court
without faith, without honor, without sense ? No, no ! The dynasty of Naples
has ceased to reign. Its existence is incompatible with the repose of Europe
and the honor of my crown.
" Forward, soldiers ! Cast into the ocean, if indeed they wait your arrival,
the weakly battalions of the tyrants of the seas. Show forth to the world how
we punish perjury. Make no delay in informing me that all Italy is under my
laws, or those of my allies ; that the most beautiful country on earth is free
from the yoke of perfidious men ; that the sanctity of treaties is avenged ; and
that the manes of my brave soldiers, who were massacred in Sicilian ports on
their return from Egypt, after they had escaped the dangers of shipwreck, of
deserts, and of battle, are at last appeased." — P. R.
CONQUEST OF NAPLES. 333
fense to the sovereigns of Europe, and incited the English
Government to stir up fresh enemies against himself.
On the 25th of January the Court of Naples, under the
pressure of a skillful and victorious enemy, embarked for
Palermo, abandoning the capital to its new sovereign, who
would soon take possession of it. Meanwhile the Emperor,
] laving been present at the marriage of Prince Eugene on
the 14th of January, left Munich, and, having received on
his way through Germany the honors that were invariably
offered him in every place, reached Paris on the night of
the 26th to the 2'rth of January.
I have thotight it well to conclude here the history of
what was to me Bonaparte's second epoch, because, as I said
before, I look upon the close of this first campaign as the
highest pitch of his glory; and for this reason, that now
the French people again consented to bear their share in it.
Nothing, perhaps, in the history of circumstances and of
men, can be compared to the height of power to which he
attained after the peace of Tilsit ; but, if at that time all
Europe bent before him, the speU of victory had been
strangely weakened in France, and our armies, although
consisting of our own citizens, were beginning to be aliens
to us.
The Emperor, who often appreciated things with mathe-
matical accuracy, was well aware of this ; for, on his return
from concluding the above treaty, I heard him say, " Mili-
tary glory, which lasts so long in history, is that which fades
the quickest among its contemporaries. All our recent bat-
tles have not produced in France half the eifect of the one
victory of Marengo."
Had he carried his reflections further, he would have seen
that the people who are governed need eventually a glory
that will be of solid use, and that admiration for that which
bears but a barren brilliancy is soon exhausted.
In 1806 England was again accused, rightly or wrongly,
of inciting enmity against us. Supposing her to be with
334 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
justice jealous of our returning prosperity, we did not think
it impossible that she might endeavor to molest us, even if
we had in perfect, good faith shown every sign of intended
moderation. We did not think the Emperor had been the
cause of the last rupture which had destroyed the treaty of
Amiens ; and, as it seemed impossible for a long time to
come to compete with the naval power of the English, it
did not appear to us to be politically wrong to endeavor to
balance the weight which commerce gave to our enemies by
the constitution given to Italy — ^that is, by a powerful influ-
ence on the Continent.
"With such feelings as these, the marvels of this three
months' campaign could not fail to impress us deeply. Aus-
tria had been conquered ; the united armies of the two
greatest sovereigns of Europe had fled before ours ; the
Czar had retreated ; the Emperor Francis had personally
sued for peace — a peace as yet bearing signs of moderation ;
kings had been created by our victories ; the daughter of a
crowned sovereign had been given in marriage to a mere
French gentleman ; flnally, the prompt return of the con-
queror, which gave hopes of permanent peace, and perhaps
also a desire to retain our illusions respecting our master — a
desire inspired by human vanity, for men do not like to
blush for him by whom they are ruled — all these things
again roused national admiration, and were only too favor-
able to the ambition of the victor. The Emperor perceived
the progress he had made in popularity, and he concluded,
with some appearance of probability, that glory would make
up to us for all the losses we were about to sustain at the
hands of despotism. He believed that Frenchmen would
not murmur were but their slavery brilliant, and that we
would willingly barter all the liberty that the Eevohition
had so hardly won for us, for his dazzling military success.
Finally, and this was the worst, he saw in war a means
of stifling the reflections which his mode of government was
sure sooner or later to evoke, and he reserved it to dazzle us.
POSITION AND GEABAGTER OF THE EMPEROR. 335
or at least to reduce us to silence. As he felt himself per-
fectly master of the science of war, he had no fear of its re-
sults ; and, when he could engage in it with such immense
armies and such formidable artillery, he felt there was scarce-
ly any danger to himself. Although in this I may be mis-
taken, I do believe that, after the campaign of Austerlitz,
war was rather the result of his system than the gratifica-
tion of his taste. The first, the real ambition of Napoleon
was for power, and he would have preferred peace if it could
have increased his authority. There is a tendency in the
human mindr to bring to perfection anything with which it
is exclusively occupied. The Emperor, who was continually
bent on increasing his power by every possible means, and
who was becoming accustomed to the exercise of his own will
on every occasion, became more and more impatient of the
slightest opposition. The European phalanxes were gradu-
ally giving way before him, and he began to believe that he
was destined to regulate the affairs of every continental king-
dom. He looked with disdain on the progress of the age,
regarding the French Revolution, which was so solemn a
warning to sovereigns, only as an event whose results he
might use to his own advantage ; and he came to despise the
cry for liberty which for twenty years had been uttered at
intervals by the people. He was persuaded that he could, at
any rate, trick them by accomplishing the destruction of what
had existed, and replacing it by sudden creations, which would
appear to satisfy that longing for equality which he believed
with reason to be the ruling passion of the time.
He tried to turn the French Revolution into a mere freak
of fortune, a useless disturbance which had merely upset in-
dividuals. How often has he not made use of these specious
words, in order to allay apprehension : " The French Revo-
lution need fear nothing, since the throne of the Bourbons
is occupied by a soldier " ! And at the same time he would
assume toward kings the attitude of a protector of thrones- —
" for," he would say, " I have abolished republics." Mean-
26
336 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
while he was dreaming of I know not what half-feudal pro-
ject, the execution of which must inevitably be full of danger,
since it drove him to war, and had besides the deplorable
effect of diminishing the interest he ought to have taken in
France itself. Our country soon ceased to be anything more
to him than one large province of that empire which he de-
sired to bring under his rule. Less interested in our pros-
perity than in our grandeur, which, in point of fact, was only
his own, he conceived the idea of making every foreign sov-
ereign a feudatory of his own power. He believed he should
attain to this by placing members of his family on the various
thrones which at the time actually sprang from himself ; and
we may assure ourselves that this was really his project, by
attentively reading the form of oath which he exacted from
the kings or princes created by him. He sometimes said :
" It is my intention to reach such a point that the kings of
Europe shall bo forced, each one of them, to have a palace in
Paris ; and, at the time of the coronation of an Emperor of
the French, they shall take up their residence in it, be present
at the ceremony, and render it more iniposing by their hom-
age." This, it seems to me, was a sufficiently plain decla-
ration of his intention of renewing in 1806 the empire of
Charlemagne.
But times were changed, and, as the light of knowledge
spread, the people became capable of forming a judgment as
to the mode in which they ought to be governed. Besides
this, the Emperor perceived that the nobles could never again
exercise iniluence over the people, which had often been an
obstacle to the authority of our kings ; and he conceived the
idea that it was from popular encroachment he must defend
himself, and that the spirit of the age required him to take a
contrary course to that which for centuries past had been the
custom of kings.
It was the fact that, whereas formerly the nobles had al-
most always hampered the royal authority, at the present
time some intermediary creation was needed by that very
POSITION AND OHAEA CTER OF THE EMPEROR. 337
authority, whicli, in this age of liberal opinions, would natu-
rally lean to the side of the sovereign, and retard the march
of pretensions which, from being merely popular, had now
become national. From this came the reestablishment of a
nobility, and the renewal of certain privileges which were
always prudently distributed among distinguished members
of the ancient nobility, and plebeians who had been ennobled
by an act of the Imperial will.
All these things are a proof that the Emperor entertained
this project of a new kind of feudality fashioned in accord-
ance with his own ideas. But, besides the obstacles which
England continually placed in his way, there was another,
absolutely inherent in his own character. There would seem
to have been in him two different men. The one, rather
gigantic than great, but nevertheless prompt to conceive and
also prompt to execute, laid from time to time some of the
foundations of the plan he had formed. This man, actuated
by one single idea, untouched by any secondary impression
likely to interfere with his projects, had he biit taken for his
aim the good of mankind, would, with such abilities as he
displayed, have become the one greatest man of the earth ;
even now he remains, through his perspicacity and his
strength of will, the most extraordinary.
The other Bonaparte, forming a kind of uneasy con-
science to the first, was devoured by anxiety, agitated by
continual suspicion, a slave to passions which gave him no
rest, distrustful, fearing every rival greatness, even that
which he had himself created. If the necessity of political
institutions was made plain to him, he was struck at the same
moment by the rights which they must confer on individuals,
and then, gradually becoming afraid of his own handiwork,
he could not resist the temptation to destroy it piecemeal.
He has been heard to say, after he had restored titles of no-
bihty and given inalienable possessions * to his marshals : " I
have made these people independent ; but I shall know how to
* Majorats.
338 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
reach them and prevent them from being ungrateful." "When
seized upon by this spirit of distrust of other men, he gave
himself up to it entirely, and thought only of how to create
divisions among them. He weakened family ties, and ap-
plied himself to promote individual rather than general in-
terests. Sole center of an immense circle, he would have
liked it to contain as many radii as he had subjects, that they
might meet nowhere save in him. This suspicious jealousy,
which incessantly pursued him, fastened like a canker on all
his undertakings, and prevented him from establishing on a
solid foundation any of the schemes which his prolific imagi-
nation was continually inventing.
After the campaign of Austerlitz he was so inflated with
success, and with the worship which the people, half dazzled
and half subjugated, paid to him, that his despotism became
more than ever intensified. Every citizen felt the yoke that was
laid on hiin heavier ; heads were bowed almost perforce before
his glory, but it was discovered afterward that he had taken
means to prevent their being lifted again. He surrounded
himself with new splendor in order to put a greater distance
between himself and other men. He copied, from German
customs which he had carefully observed, the whole etiquette
of courts, which he made a daily slavery, and no one was
exempt from minute observances which he brought to the
utmost perfection.
It must be owned, however, that immediately after a cam-
paign he was almost obliged to take measures which would
silence the clamorous pretensions of his followers ; and, when
he had put these down, it did not occur to him that he ought
to treat with greater consideration the other classes of citi-
zens, of far less importance in his eyes. Mihtary men, still
flushed with victory, would assume a haughty position from
which it was difficult to bring them down. I have kept a
letter from M. de Remusat, written from Schonbrunn, which
describes very exactly the inflation of the generals, and the
prudence that was required in order to live peaceably with
POSITION AND GEAEAOTER OF TEE EMPEROR. 339
them. " The military profession," he writes, " gives to a
man's character a certain blunt sincerity, so that he does not
try to hide the meanest passions. Our heroes, who are ac-
customed to open war with their enemies, acquire a habit of
disguising nothing, and see a battle-field in any opposition
they may meet with, of whatever kind. It is curious to hear
them speak of civilians, and indeed, afterward, to hear them
discuss each other — each depreciating the deeds of the oth-
ers, attributing a large share of their success to luck ; black-
ening reputations which we outsiders had thought firmly
established ; and, in their behavior to us, so puffed up with
their newly acquired glory that one needs much tact and
many sacrifices of pride, even of proper pride, to procure
toleration from them."
The Emperor noticed this somewhat belligerent attitude
of the officers of his army. He cared little that it was an-
noying to civilians, but he would not have it reach a point
which might be inconvenient to himself. Therefore, while
still at Munich, he thought proper to rebuke the arrogance
of his marshals, and on this occasion self-interest induced him
to UBe the language of reason. " Recollect," he said, " that
you are to be soldiers only when with the army. The title
of marshal is merely a civil distinction, which gives you the
honorable rank at my Court that is your due, but it carries
with it no authority. On the battle-field you are generals ;
at Court be merely great nobles, belonging to the State by
the civil position I created for you when I bestowed on you
the title which you bear."
This warning would have produced a greater effect had
the Emperor ended it with such words as these : " In camp
or in Court, recollect that your first duty everywhere is to
be good citizens." He should have held similar language to
all classes, to whom he was bound to be a protector as well
as a master ; he should have spoken the same words to all
Frenchmen, and so have united them in a new equality, not
adverse to distinctions won by valor. But Bonaparte, as we
340 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE bMUSAT.
have seen, was always in dread of natural and generous ties,
and the iron chain of despotism is the only bond he em-
ployed, because it binds each man, as it were, separately,
leaving him no commerce with his fellows.
CHAPTER XVII.
(1806.)
The Death of Pitt — Parliamentfiry Debates in England — Public Worlcs — Industrial
Exhibition — Now Etiquette — Perfbnnanocs at the Opera House and at the
Com^die Prangaise — Monotony of the Court — Opinions of the Empress — Mine.
Louis Bonaparte — Mme. Murat — The Bourbons — New Ladies-in-Waiting— M.
Mole — ^Mme. d'Houdctot — Mme. de Barante.
When tlie Emperor arrived in Paris, at the end of Janu-
ary, 1806, the" death of Pitt, at the age of forty-seven, had
just occurred in England. His loss was deeply felt by the
English, and a truly national regret did honor to his mem-
ory. Parliament, which had just opened, voted a largo sum
to defray his debts, for he died leaving no fortune, and he
was splendidly buried in Westminster Abbey. "When the
new Ministry was formed, Mr. Fox, his opponent, was made
Foreign Secretary. The Emperor looked upon the death of
Pitt as a fortunate event for him, but he soon perceived that
English policy had not changed, and that the British Govern-
ment would not relax its endeavors to excite enmity against
him among the continental Powers.*
* The debates of the Englisli Parliament and English policy itself were at
that time so little known in France that the reader must not be surprised if the
consequences of the death of Pitt are hardly appreciated in these Memoirs.
When Fox came into oflBce, he took a step which led to overtures of peace. A
secret negotiation was carried on by Lord Yarmouth, and afterward by Lord
Lauderdale, and until the middle of summer there was a chance of mutual un-
derstanding. But Fox was in failing health, and he died in September. It is
true, moreover, that, although a partisan of peace, he did not look upon a war
with Napoleon as he had looked upon a war with the French Revolution. It
was no longer the liberty of France that was in question, but the independence
of Europe.— P. R.
342 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtlMUSAT.
During the month of January, 1806, the debates in the
English Parliament had been very warm. The Opposition,
led by Mr. Fox, asked the Government for explanations as
to the carrying out of the late war ; it asserted that the Em-
peror of Austria had not been faithfully assisted, and that he
had been left to the mercy of the conqueror. The Ministers
then laid on the table the text of the conditions of the treaty
between the various Powers at tke beginning of the cam-
paign. This treaty proved that subsidies had been granted
to the coalition which had undertaken to drive the Emperor
from Hanover, Germany, and Italy, to replace the King of
Sardinia on the throne of Piedmont, and to secure the inde-
pendence of Holland and Sweden. The rapid victories of
our troops had upset these plans. The Emperor of Austria
was blamed for having begun the campaign too precipitately,
without waiting for the arrival of the Russians ; and the
King of Prussia, whose neutrality had been the principal
cause of the failure of the coalition, was especially blamed.
The Czar's anger was roused, and he might have been tempt-
ed to punish this fatal inaction, had not the lovely and fasci-
nating Queen of Prussia interceded between the two sov-
ereigns. A rumor then arose in Europe that her beauty had
disarmed the Emperor of Russia, and that to it he had sacri-
ficed his just displeasure. Napoleon, who had subdued the
King of Prussia by the fear of his arms, thought it well to
reward him for his neutrality by handing over Hanover to
him until the very uncertain . epoch of general peace. On
his side, the King ceded Anspach to Bavaria, and abandoned
in favor of France his claims to the duchies of Berg and of
Cleves, which were bestowed shortly afterward on Prince
Joachim, otherwise Murat.
The report laid before the English Parliament on the
treaty of which I speak was published in our newspapers, and
accompanied, as may be imagined, by remarks hostile to the con-
tinental Powers. The weakness of those kings who place them-
selves at the mercy of the shoj)keepers of Europe was deplored.
THE ORDER OF ST. GEORGE. 343
" If England," so ran the comment, " should succeed in
forming a fourth coalition, Austria, who lost Belgium by the
iirst, Italy and the left bank of the Rhine by the second,
Tyrol, Swabia, and the Yenetian States by the third, would
by the fourth lose her own crown.
" The in&ience of the French Empire on the Continent
will secure the well-being of Europe, for with it will have
begun the age of civilization, of science, of light, and of law.
The Emperor of Russia has imprudently embarked, like a
young man, in a dangerous policy. As to Austria, we must
forget her faults, since she has suffered for them. However,
it is right to say that if the treaty now made public in Eng-
land had been known, perhaps Austria might not have ob-
tained the terms which have been granted to her ; and we
may remark, in passing, that Count de Stadion, who con-
cluded this treaty of subsidies, is still at the head of affairs
under the Emperor Francis."
These remarks, which were the expression of an ill-con-
cealed irritation, began to cause some little uneasiness in the
early part of February, and to make attentive observers f ear
that peace would not be of long duration.
E'o treaty had been concluded with the Czar. Under
pretext that he had only acted as auxiliary to the Austrians,
he refused to be included in the negotiations ; and I have
heard it said that the Emperor, impressed by this conduct,
looked upon him, from that time forth, as the veritable an-
tagonist who would dispute with him the empire of the
world. He always endeavored to depreciate him as much as
possible.
There is an order * in Russia which can only be worn by
a general whose services have on some great occasion been
useful to the empire. When Alexander returned to his cap-
ital, the knights of this order came to offer him the decora-
tion. The Emperor declined it, replying that he had not
held the chief command during the campaign, and therefore
* The order of St. George.
344 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtlMUSAT.
had not merited the honor, as he had only imitated the in-
trepidity of his brave soldiers to the best of his ability.
While our journals praised his modesty, they added:
" The Czar deserved this decoration if, in order to wear it,
it is sufficient to be in command without being victorious.
It is well known that it was not the Emperor Francis who
decided on joining battle at Austerlitz, still less did he direct
operations. Certainly, by accepting the decoration, Alexan-
der would have taken on himself the oversights of his gen-
erals ; but that would have been better than to attribute the
defeat of the Russians to a small number of Austrians, who
fought with courage. They did all that could have been
expected of them by their allies."
It was on the 2d of February that this article appeared in
our public prints ; on the preceding day they had published
the proclamation to the Army of Italy, which announced the
invasion of the kingdom of Naples. Joseph Bonaparte, sec-
onded by Marshal Massena, was very shortly to occupy the
capital; Prince Eugene was taking possession of Venice.
Thus the whole of Italy was becoming dependent on the
French Empire. On another side, northern Germany was
subject to us, the kings whom we had set up bound them-
selves to our interests, and we were shortly to witness an-
other marriage, which would be likely to further the projects
in which the Emperor was secretly indulging..
On the occasion of his journey from Munich, he had made
a few hours' stay at Augsburg. While there, the former
Elector of Treves, uncle to the King of Saxony, had present-
to him the young Hereditary Prince of Baden, who, con-
fused and almost trembling in the presence of Napoleon,
had humbly implored the honor of alliance with him by a
marriage with some member of his family. The Emperor
accepted this respectful request, and promised to bear it in
mind on his return to his own states.*
* This young Prince had formerly been betrothed to Princess Augusta of
Bavaria, recently married to the Viceroy of Italy. — P. R.
PUBLIO WORKS. 345
Finally, he had just dispatched his brother Louis on an
expedition to Holland, in order to establish some acquain-
tanceship between the Prince and a country which was soon
to receive the Imperial command to erect a throne for Louis
on the wreck of the republic.
Such was the political situation of the Emperor. Such a
position would surely have satisfied any views less ambitious
than his own, nor can it be denied that he had made full
use of the eighteenth month of his reign, now just expired.
In France, party spirit seemed absolutely to have died
out. All bent under the yoke ; no class could be indifferent
to so niuch glory ; and the Emperor endeavored to increase
the prestige which surroiinded him still further by numerous
pubKc works, simultaneously undertaken. As soon as it be-
came possible for him to divert his attention for a moment
from foreign affairs, he devoted it to the improvement of the
finances of the country, which had suffered during his ab-
sence. M. Barbe-Marbois, Minister of the Treasury,* hav-
ing incurred his displeasure, was replaced by M. Mollien,
who was a skillful financier. The Emperor was ably sec-
onded by his Minister of Finance, Gaudin, whose perfect
integrity and sound knowledge sustained, credit and im-
proved the system of taxation. Indirect taxes were ven-
tured on to a greater extent than before ; luxury, which
would render these taxes more productive, was encouraged ;
and the heavy contributions which the Emperor had every-
where levied upon his conquered enemies afforded him the
means, without burdening his people, of keeping up the
strength of his army, and undertaking all the improvements
which were begun throughout France, as if by magic, at his
command.
Eoads over Mont Cenis and the Simplon were actively
pushed on ; bridges were built, roadways repaired ; a town
was founded in Vendee ; canals were dug at Ourcq and at
* M. de Marbois, who ivas vei'y unjustly accused of misconduct in some
money transaction, was cxiJed on the return of Bonaparte from this campaign.
346 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
Saint Quentin ; telegraphs (i. e., signals) were established to
accelerate correspondence ; Saint Denis was about to be re-
paired ; the Vendome column and the triumphal arch at the
Carrousel were commenced. A plan for embanking the
Seine with new quays, and for embellishing the whole neigh-
borhood lying between the Tuileries and the Boulevards, was
adopted, and the work of demolition had already made some
progress. The Hue de Bivoli was planned, the colon-
nade of the Louvre nearly completed; Lemot, the sculp-
tor, was intrusted with the decoration of the pediment. We
could observe the gradual rise of the Pont des Arts, and the
commencement of the bridge near the Jardin des Plantes,
which was to bear the name of Au^terlitz. The conserva-
tories in these gardens had been enriched with spoils from
those of Schonbrunn ; scientific men were encouraged in the
piirsuit of fresh discoveries ; painters received orders for
pictures to commemorate our victories; the Academy of
Music was encouraged ; the first musical artists in Italy came
to France to direct our vocal music ; literary men received
pensions, and large grants were made to actors ; military
schools were founded at Fontainebleau and at Saint Cyr;
and the Emperor himself inspected the public schools of
Paris. Finally, in order that the industry of the nation
might be encouraged in every branch at once, he conceived
the idea of an exhibition, to be held in the spring, and in
commemoration of the campaign, in which every product of
industry, of whatever kind, should be represented.*
M. de Champagny, the Minister of the Interior, wrote a
circular letter to all the prefects, directing them to inform
the departments over which they presided that, on the 1st of
May, there would be exhibited on the Place des Invalides,
under tents erected for the occasion, everything deserving of
notice in articles of use and of luxury. Trade was in this
manner awakened from the torpor in which it had been
* An exhibition of industrial products had already taken place in 1802 ;
this, therefore, was the second, not the first exhibition of the kind. — P. R.
THE CROSS OF ST. HUBERT. 347
plunged by the war. The Emperor ordered the splendor
and the cost of his Court to be increased. He gave his ap-
proval to the growing elegance of the women's dress, to the
sumptuous decoration of his own palaces, and to that of the
houses of his sisters and his great nobles. The French na-
tion, which is naturally prone to vanity and extravagance,
gave itself up to the comforts and luxuries of life ; and as
for us, whose fortunes were but annuities depending not only
on the life but on the caprice of our master, with an utter
disregard of prudence, influenced by the example of others
and by the fear of displeasing him, we were ruled by the
will of Bonaparte alone in the use to which we put the
greater or less sums he distributed to us, and which he gave
with the intention of subduing rather than of enriching us.
I say we, and yet at this time neither M. de Eemusat nor
I had any share in his gifts. The cross of Saint Hubert had
been given to my husband as a recompense for his recent
journey, but he never stood in the full light of Imperial
favor. As for myself, I led an unobtrusive life in the midst
of the Court, whose numbers were greatly augmented. To
speak frankly, although I had taken pleasure in the promi-
nence assigned to me by my masters when I first entered
their service, the little experience I had acquired warned me
not to endeavor to regain any position of importance, now
that the interior of the palace was no longer the same. I
shall devote the following chapter to the details of Court
life, as it was now regulated, but I will return for the present
to my narrative of events.*
Immediately on the Emperor's return to his capital, he
was congratulated by the respective bodies of the State.
During his stay at Munich he had witnessed a German
ceremonial, in which the King and Queen of Bavaria, having
taken their places on the throne, received all the persons be-
* Our newspapers gave us the proclamation of Francis on his return to
Vienna; it was fatherly and touching, contrasting with those dictated by our
own sovereign.
348 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
longing to their Court, who passed before them in succession,
each making a low salutation. He desired to establish a simi-
lar custom in France, and we received orders to prepare for
this new "etiquette."
The fact is that, at that time, everything had to be con-
structed afresh. Revolutionary liberty had suppressed all
the mles of politeness. People no longer knew how to
salute each other when they met, and all we court ladies
suddenly discovered that the art of making a courtesy had
been omitted in our education. Despr^aux, who had been
dancing-master to the last Queen, was thereupon summoned
to give us lessons. He taught us how to walk and how to
bow ; and thus a little boundary-line, trifling enough in itself,
but which acquired some importance from its motive, was
drawn between the ladies of the Imperial Court and those
belonging to other circles. We took with us into society
ceremonious manners, which distinguished us everywhere;
for a spirit of opposition caused those women who kept aloof
from the new Court to retain the free and rather abrupt
manners which the absence of the habits of society had given
them. In France, opinions make themselves felt everywhere ;
they now showed themselves in the different way in which
a lady-in-waiting and a lady from the Faubourg Saint Germain
would enter a drawing-room. Eut, putting motives aside, it
must be owned that the advantage was ours. This was evi-
dent after the return of the King : those ladies who had a
real right to be about him, either from the habit of freedom
of manner which they had acquired, or from the relief they
affected to feel at finding themselves on what great people
call thevr own ground, introduced at the Tuileries a bold
manner and loud tones of voice, which contrasted shai-ply
with the quiet and graceful behavior that Bonaparte's punc-
tilious etiquette had made habitual to us.
On an appointed day, therefore, the Emperor placed
himself on his throne, having the Empress on his left, the
Princesses and the Lady of Honor seated on court tabourets.
PERFORMANCES AT TEE OPERA HOUSE. 349
and the grand officers standing on either side. The ladies-
in-waiting, the wives of the marshals, of the great officials,
and of the ministers, all in fuH court dress, then came in
slow procession to the foot of the throne, where they courte-
sied in silence.. They were followed by the gentlemen.
The ceremony was very long. At first the Emperor was
delighted. He took pleasure in etiquette, especially when
invented by himself; but he ended by being mortally wea-
ried. Toward the end, every one was hiirried past ; there
was some difficulty in inducing him to remain on the throne
until the close, and he was almost angry with us for our
share in a ceremonial which he himseK had imposed on us,
in the exercise of his own will.
A few nights afterward he went to the Opera, and was
received with applause by an immense crowd. A piece by
Esmenard, author of the " Poeme de la Navigation," was
given.
The scenery at the Opera represented the Pont Neuf.
Persons of all nationalities were rejoicing together, and sing-
ing verses in honor of the conqueror. The pit joined in the
choruses ; branches of laurel were distributed throughout the
house, and waved aloft with cries of " Vive I'Empereur ! "
He was touched, as well he might be. It was, perhaps, the
very last time that public enthusiasm for him was spontaneous.
Shortly afterward the Emperor received a similar ovation
at the Comedie Frangaise, but an unforeseen circumstance
threw a slight shadow over the evening. Talma was acting
the part of Abner in the tragedy of " AthaHe." During the
performance Bonaparte received a messenger bringing the
news of the entry of the French troops into Naples. He
immediately dispatched an aide-de-camp to Talma, with
orders to interrupt the play, and to announce the news from
the foot-lights. Talma obeyed, and read the bulletin aloud.
The audience applauded, but I remember thinking that the
applause was not so spontaneous as that we had heard at the
Opera.
350 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE MMTJSAT.
On the following day our newspapers announced the fall
of her whom they designated as the modern Athalie ; * and
the vanquished Queen was grossly insulted, with total disre-
gard of the social propriety that generally enforces respect
toward misfortune.
It was remarked shortly afterward that, on the opening
of the Legislative Assemblies, M. de Fontanes displayed
great tact, when he praised Bonaparte, in avoiding any in-
sult to the fallen sovereigns whom he had dethroned. He
dwelt chiefly, in his eulogium, on the moderation which had
promoted peace, and on the restoration of the tombs in St.
Denis. M. de Fontanes's speeches during this reign are, on
the whole, distinguished by propriety and good taste.
After having thus shown himself to the public and ex-
hausted every form of adulation, the Emperor resumed his
life of hard work at the Tuileries, and we our life of eti-
quette, which was regulated with extreme precision. He
began from this period to surround himself with so much
ceremonial that none of us thenceforth could be said to have
any familiarity with him. In proportion as the Court be-
came more numerous, it assumed a greater appearance of
monotony, each one doing his own task by clockwork ; but
no one thought of emancipating himself from the one groove
of thought belonging to a narrow circle of small duties. A
daily growing despotism, the fear we all felt of it — a fear
which consisted simply in our dread of receiving a rebuke
for the smallest fault — and the silence we observed on every
subject, placed the various inhabitants of the Tuileries on
the same level. It was useless to have either opinions or
talents, for there was never any possibility of experiencing a
feeling of any kind, nor of exchanging an idea.
The Emperor, feeling secure of France, gave himself up
to his grand projects, and kept his eyes fixed on Europe.
His policy was no longer directed to securing his power over
the opinions of his fellow citizens. In like manner, he dis-
* The Queen of Naples.
MONOTONY OF TEE OOURT. 351
dained the little successes of private life, which we have
seea him at an earlier period anxious to obtain ; and I may
say that he looked upon his Court with the indifference
which a complete conquest inspires, when compared with
one as yet unattained. He was always anxious to impose a
yoke on every one, and to succeed in this he neglected no
means to his end ; but, from the moment he perceived his
power to be established, he took no pains to make himself
agreeable.
The dependence and constraint in which he held the
Court had at least this one advantage : anything resembling
intrigue was almost unknown. As each individual was firm-
ly convinced that everything depended on the sole will of
the master, no one attempted to follow a different path from
that traced out by him ; and in our dealings with each other
there was a feeling of security.
His wife was almost in the same position of dependence
as others. In proportion as Bonaparte's affairs increased in
magnitude, she became a stranger to them. European poli-
tics, the destiny of the world, mattered little to her ; her
thoughts did not reach to heights which could have no influ-
ence on her own fate. At this period she was tranquil as to
her own lot, and happy in that of her son ; and she lived a
life of peaceful indifference, behaving to all with equal gra-
ciousness, showing little or no special favor to any one, but a
general good will. She neither sought for amusement nor
feared ennui ; she was always gentle and serene, and, in fact,
was indifferent to nearly all things. Her love for her hus-
band had greatly declined, and she no longer suffered from
the jealousy which had in former years so much disturbed
her. Every day she judged him with greater clearness, and,
being convinced that her greatest source of influence over
him consisted in the sense of restf ulness imparted to him by
the evenness of her temper, she took great pains to avoid
disturbing him. I have said long ago that such a man as he
had neither time nor inclination for much display of affec-
27
352 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMTJSAT.
tion, and the Empress at this period forgave him all the
fancies which sometimes take the place of love in a man's
life; nay, more, she became his confidante in these little
affairs.
On his return from Austerlitz, he again met Mme. de
X , but seemed to take no notice of her. The Empress
treated her precisely as she treated others. It has been said
that Bonaparte occasionally returned to his former fancy for
this lady ; but, if so, it was so temporarily that the Court
barely perceived the fact, and, as it gave rise to no new inci-
dent, it awakened no interest. The Emperor, who was con-
vinced that the influence of women had harmed the kings of
France, was irrevocably resolved that they should never be
more than an ornament to his Court, and he kept his resolu-
tion. He had persuaded himself, I know not how, that in
France women are cleverer than men, or at any rate he often
said so, and that the education they receive develops a certain
kind of ability, against Avhich one must be on one's guard.
He felt, therefore, a slight fear of them, and kept them at a
distance on this account. He exhibited a dislike of certain
women's temper which amounted to weakness.
He banished Mme. de Stael, of whom he was genuinely
afraid, and shortly afterward Mme. de Balbi, who had ven-
tured on some jesting remarks concerning himself. She had
indiscreetly made these observations in the hearing of a
person whom I will not name, and who repeated all he had
heard. This individual was a gentleman and a Chamberlain.
I mention the fact in order to prove that the Emperor found
persons in every class who were willing to serve him in his
own way.
"We began to perceive, during the winter of this year, how
unhappy Mme. Louis was in her home life. Her husband's
tyranny was exercised in every particular; his character,
quite as despotic as his brother's, made itself felt throughout
his household. Until now his wife had courageously hidden
the excess to which he carried his tyranny ; but a circum-
LOTUS BONAPARTE IN BAD HEALTH. 353
stance occurred which obliged her to confide some of her
troubles to her mother.
The health of Louis Bonaparte was very bad. Since his
return from Egypt he had suffered from frequent attacks
of a malady which had so weakened his legs and his hands
that he walked with difficulty, and was stiff in every joint.
Every remedy known to medicine was tried in vain. Cor-
visart, who was medical attendant to the whole family, ad-
vised him to try, as a last resource, a disgusting remedy.
He imagined that a violent eruption on the skin would per-
haps draw out the poison which had defied other treatment.
It was therefore decided that on the state bed of Louis, un-
der its embroidered canopy, should be spread the hospital
sheets of some patient suffering from the itch ; and his Im-
perial Highness placed himself between them, and even put
on the sick man's night-shirt. Louis, who wished to hide
this experiment from everybody, insisted that nothing should
be changed in the habits of his wife. They usually slept in
the same room, though not in the same bed ; he had always
obliged her to pass the night near him on a small bed placed
under the same canopy. He imperatively commanded that
she should continue to occupy this bed, adding, in a spirit of
strange jealousy, that no husband should ever omit to take
precautions against the natural inconstancy of women. Mme.
Louis, notwithstanding her disgust, submitted in silence to
this gross abuse of conjugal authority.
Meanwhile, Corvisart, who was in attendance on her, and
who remarked a change in her appearance, questioned her
respecting the details of her life, and obtained from her an
admission of her husband's strange fancy. He thought it
his duty to inform the Empress, and did not conceal from
her that, in his opinion, the atmosphere of Louis's bedroom
was very unwholesome for his wife.
Mme. Bonaparte warned her daughter, who replied that
she had thought as much ; but, nevertheless, she earnestly
entreated her mother not to interfere between her husband
354 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
and herself. Then, no longer able to restrain herself, she
entered into particulars which showed how grinding was the
tyranny from which she suffered, and how admirable the si-
lence she had hitherto kept. Mme. Bonaparte appealed to
the Emperor, who was attached to his stepdaughter, and he
expressed his displeasure to his brother. Louis coldly re-
plied that, if his private aHairs were interfered with, he
should leave France ; and the Emperor, who could not toler-
ate any open scandal in the family, and who was perhaps,
like the others, daunted by Louis's strange and obstinate
temper, advised Mme. Louis to have patience. Happily for
her, her husband soon gave up the disgusting remedy in
question, but he owed her a deep grudge for not having kept
his secret.
Had her daughter been happy, there was nothing at this
time to disturb the tranquillity of the Empress. The Bona-
parte family, fuU of their own afEairs, no longer interfered
with her ; Joseph was absent and about to ascend the throne
of Naples ; Lucien was exiled for ever from France ; the
youthful Jerome was cruising along our coasts ; Mme. Bac-
ciochi was reigning at Piorabino ; and the Princess Borghese,
alternating between physic and dissipation, meddled with
nobody. Mme. Murat only might have caused annoyance to
her sister-in-law, but she was engaged in promoting her hue-
band's interests, to which the Empress made no opposition ;
for she would have rejoiced greatly at Murat's obtaining a
principality which would have removed him from Paris.
Mme. Murat used her utmost efforts, and was even im-
portunate with the Emperor, in order to attain her ends.
She connived at his gallantries, lent him her house on occa-
sions when it was convenient to him to use it, and tried to
divert him by fetes, and to please him by a display of luxury
according to his taste. She interested herself in every detail
of the etiquette that he wished to introduce, and assumed
airs of dignity, somewhat stilted perhaps, which induced him
to declare that his sister was in every respect fitted to be a
MME. MUEAT. 355
queen. She neglected no means of success, paid attention
to Maret, who had gradually gained the sort of iniluence
that is acquired by assiduity, and flattered Fouche into a
zealous attachment to her interests. The understanding be-
tween Mme. Murat and these two personages, who were both
ill-disposed toward M. de Talleyrand, increased the dislike of
the latter to Murat ; and, as at this period he was in high
favor, he often thwarted Mme. Murat's plans. Murat used
to say, in the southern accent he never lost, " Would not
Moussu de Talleyrand like me to be broken on the wheel ! "
Murat, relying on his wife to further his interests, con-
tented himself with giving no cause of offense to the Em-
peror, behaved toward him with entire submission, and bore
his alternations of temper without complaint. Brave to
excess on the battle-field, he had not, it was said, any great
mihtary talent ; and when with the army he asked for no-
thing but the post of danger. He was not wanting in quick-
ness, his manners were obliging ; his attitudes and his dress
were always rather theatrical, but a fine figure and noble
appearance saved him from looking ridiculous. The Em-
peror reposed no confidence in him, but he employed him,
because he feared him in no wise, and because he could not
help believing in every kind of fiattery. A certain sort of
credulity is not rarely combined in the same character with
distrust ; and those great men who are the most suspicious
by nature are not the least amenable to flattery.
On his return from the campaign of Austerlitz, the Em-
peror distributed further rewards to his generals. To some
he gave considerable sums of money, to reimburse them for
the expenses of the campaign. General Clarke was made
Grand OSicer of the Legion of Honor, in recognition of the
manner in which he had fulfilled his duties as Governor of
Vienna. Hitherto Clarke had been treated with some cold-
ness ; the Emperor showed him but little confidence, and
accused him of retaining a secret affection for the house of
Orleans ; but he succeeded in convincing Bonaparte of his
B
356 MEMOIRS OF MADAME i)E EJ^MUSAT.
obsequious devotion. General Clarke, now Due de Feltre,
has for the last three years played a somewhat conspicuous
part, and it may be well to give some particulars of his
career.
His uncle, M. Shee, who was made Senator by the Em-
peror, and who is a peer of France, was previous to the
Revolution secretary-general to a division of light cavalry,
of which the Duke of Orleans was colonel-general. He was
accompanied by his nephew, Clarke, whom he had sent for
from the country.* The young man found himself specially
attached to the house of Orleans, and it is on this account,
perhaps, that Bonaparte suspected him of private leanings
toward that party. He served the Revolution with zeal, and
was even employed, in 1794 and 1795, by the Committee of
Public Safety, in the war administration.
He accompanied Bonaparte into Italy, but haughty man-
ners were displeasing to the commander-in-chief. Later on
he was sent as ambassador to Tuscany, and remained there
for a considerable time, although he frequently applied for
his recall and for employment in France. On finally obtain-
ing these, he applied himself to overcoming Bonaparte's pre-
judice against him : he flattered him assiduously, solicited the
favor of a post in his personal service, displayed the abso-
lute submission demanded by such a master, and was eventur
* It is clear that the author was induced to give this finished sketch of Gen-
eral Clarke, Duo de Feltre, on account of the prominent part taken by him in
the early days of the Restoration, and the effect produced by his death in 1818,
at the very time that these Memoirs were being written. General Clarke was
born at Landreoies in 1Y63. He was Minister of War in 1807 and in 1814.
lie was a peer of France, was created a Marshal in 1817, and was an active in-
strument in the reaction of 1815. In 1818 he was an object of passionate
regret to the Right, who enthusiastically upheld him in opposition to his suc-
cessor, Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr. A few years previously, when Minister to
the Emperor, he had attracted notice by an eagerness to please his master which
made him unpopular, and placed him in the public estimation on a level with
M, Maret, Nevertheless he had the reputation of an honest and guileless man,
and, notwithstanding the zeal with which he served under both regimes, his pri-
vate character stands high. — P. B.
GENMliAL CLARKE. 357
ally made Councilor of State and private secretary. He
was very hard-working and punctual, and never wanted rec-
reation. He was narrow-minded and unimaginative, but
clear-headed. He accompanied the Emperor in the first
Vienna campaign, showed capacity as Governor of the city,
and received a first reward on his return. "We shall hear of
him later on as Minister of "War, and in every capacity as a
man of second-rate ability. His integrity has always been
freely acknowledged ; he amassed no fortune except that
which resulted from the savings of his various salaries.
Like M. Maret, he carried the language of flattery to its ex-
treme limits.
His first marriage was unhappy, and he obtained a divorce.
He had one daughter, a gentle and agreeable girl, whom
he gave in marriage while he was in oiEce to the Yieomte
Emery de Montesquiou-Fezensae,* whose military advance-
ment, thanks to his father-in-law, was very rapid.f This
young man is at the present time aide-major-general in the
Koyal Guards. The Due de Feltre's second wife was an
excellent but insignificant woman. By her he had several
sons.
Meanwhile, M. de Talleyrand's friendliness toward M. de
Remusat brought me into a closer acquaintance with him.
He did not as yet visit at my house, but I frequently met
him, and wherever this occurred he took more notice of me
than formerly. He seldom missed an opportunity of prais-
ing my husband, and thus he gratified the feelings dearest to
* Nephew to the Ab\>& de Montesquiou.
\ M. de Fezensac, afterward Due de Fezensao, was made in 1813, while quite
a young man, general of brigade, but he had been twelre or thirteen years in
the service. He had served a long time as a private. He died on November
18, 1867. We all were acquaiuted with him during the late years of his life.
He was a. sincere man, mild and conscientious, and gifted with a wonderful
memory. He wrote a volume of interesting Memoirs, describing with truth and
piquancy certain sides of life in the Imperial armies. He was related on the
side of his mother, Mile, de la Live, to M. Mol6, who appointed him ambassador
to Spain in 1837.— P. K.
358 MEMOIRS OF MADAME LE El^MUSAT.
my heart ; and, if I must speak the whole truth, he gratified
my vanity also by seeking me out on all occasions. He won
me over to him by degrees, and my former prejudice against
him vanished. Yet he would sometimes alarm me by cer-
tain expressions for which I was unprepared. One day I was
speaking to him of the recent conquest of Naples, and ven-
tured to let him perceive that I disapproved of our policy of
universal dethronement. He replied in the cold and delib-
erate tone that he knows so well how to assume when he
means to permit no reply, "Madame, we shall not desist until
there shall no longer be a Bourbon on a European throne."
These words gave me pain. I thought little, I must admit,
about our royal family ; but stiU, at the sound of the name
of Bourbon, certain recollections of my early days awakened
former feelings that had faded rather than disappeared.
I could not, at the present time, attempt to explain this
feeling without running the risk of being accused of insin-
cerity, which is absolutely foreign to my character. It may
be thought that, remembering the period at which I write, I
want gradually to prepare the way for my own return to
those opinions which everybody now hastens to parade. But
this is not the case. In those days I admired the Emperor ;
I was still attached to him, although less fascinated by him ;
I believed him to be necessary to France ; he appeared to
me to have become her legitimate sovereign. But all these
feelings were combined with a tender reverence for the heirs
and all the kin of Louis XIY. ; it pained me deeply when
fresh misfortimes were prepared for them and I heard them
evil spoken of. Bonaparte had often inflicted suffering of
this kind on me. To a man who only appreciated success,
Louis XYI. must have seemed deserving of little respect.
He was entirely unjust toward him, and believed in all the
popular stories against him, which were the offspring of the
Kevolution. "When the conversation turned on that illus-
trious and unfortunate King, I endeavored as soon as pos-
sible to change the subject.
NBW LADIE8-IN-WAITmO. 359
But to return. Such was M. de Talleyrand's opinion at
that time ; I will show by degrees, and when the time comes,
how events subsequently modified it.
During this winter the heir of the King of Bavaria came
on a visit to our Court. He was young, deaf, not very ami-
able ; but he had very polished manners, and he showed great
deference toward the Emperor. He had apartments at the
Tuileries, two chamberlains and an equerry were placed at
his service, and every attention was paid to him.
On the 10th of February the list of ladies-in-waiting was
increased by the names of Mme. Maret, on the request of
Mme. Murat, and of Mmes. de Chevreuse, de Montmorency-
Matignon, and de Mortemart.
M. de Talleyrand was an intimate friend of the Duchesse
de Luynes, and he induced her to make her daughter-in-law
accept a place at Court. The Duchess was greatly attached
to Mme. de Chevreuse.* The latter had very pronounced
opinions of her own, and every one of them distinctly op-
posed to what was expected of her. Bonaparte threatened ;
M. de Talleyrand negotiated, and, according to custom, ob-
tained his way. Madame de Chevreuse was pretty, although
red-haired,t and very witty, but excessively spoiled by her
family, willful and fantastic. Her health even then was
veiy delicate. The Emperor tried by coaxing to console
her for having forced her into the Court. At times he
would appear to have succeeded, and then at others she
would take no pains to conceal her dislike to her position.
Her natural disposition gave her an attraction for the Em-
peror, which others would have vainly endeavored to exert,
the charm of combat and of victory. For she would some-
times seem to be amused with the fetes and the splendor of
the Court ; and when she appeared there in full dress and
* Mile, de Narbonne-Fritzlar. Hev brother was a chamberlain.
f Madame de Chevreuse was one day rudely taunted by Bonaparte with hav-
ing red hair. " Very likely," she answered, " but no man ever complained of it
before."— P. R.
360 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
apparently in good spirits, then the Emperor, who enjoyed
even the smallest success, would laugh and say, " I have
overcome the avei-sion of Mme. de Chevreuse." But, in
reality, I do not think he ever did.
The Baronne de Montmorency (now Duchesse de Mont-
morency), who was extremely intimate with M. de Talley-
rand, had been induced to join the Court, partly by his per-
suasions, and partly by her wish to regain some extensive
forest-lands which were seized by Government during her
emigration, but had not yet been sold. Mme. de Montmo-
rency was extremely pleasant at Court ; she demeaned her-
self without either pride or subservience, appeared to enjoy
herself, and made no pretense of being there against her
will.* I think she found court life very agreeable, and that
possibly she may have regretted it. Her name gave her an
advantage, as it does in every place. The Emperor often
said that he cared only for the nobility of history, and he
certainly paid it great honor.
This reminds me of an anecdote concerning Bonaparte.
When he resolved on reconstituting titles, he decided by a
stroke of his pen that all the ladies-in-waiting should be
countesses. Mme. de Montmorency, who stood in no need
of a title, but found herself obliged to take one, asked for
the title of baroness, which, she said laughingly, suited her
name so well. " That can not be," replied Bonaparte, laugh-
ing too ; " you, madame, are not a sufficiently good Chris-
tian."
Some years later the Emperor restored to MM. de Mont-
morency and de Mortemart a large portion of the fortune
they had lost. M. de Mortemart, declining to become an
equerry on account of the too great fatigue of the post, was
made Governor of Kambouillet. "We have all known the
Yicomte de Laval-Montmorency, father of the Yicomte Ma-
* Mme. de Matignon, the mother of the Duchesse de Montmorency, was the
daughter of the Baron de Breteuil, who, after his return from emigration, al-
ways resided in Paris.
M. MOL& 361
tliieu de Montmorency, a Gentleman of Honor to Madame,
Governor of Compiegne, and one of the most ardent admir-
ers of Bonaparte.
From this time forward there was increasing eagerness to
belong to the Emperor's Court, and especially to be presented
to him. His receptions became very brilliant. Ambition,
fear, vanity, love of amusement and novelty, and the desire
of advancement, caused a crowd of people to push themselves
forward, and the mixture of names and ranks became greater
than ever.
M. Mole joined the Government in the month of March
of this year. He was the heir and last descendant of Ma-
thieu Mole, and was then twenty-six years of age. He was
born during the Kevolution, and had suffered from the mis-
fortunes it caused. His father perished under the tyranni-
cal rule of Robespierre, and he became his own master at an
early age. He made use of his freedom to devote himself
to serious and varied study. His family and friends married
him, at the age of nineteen, to Mile, de la Briche, heiress to
a considerable fortune, and niece to Mme. d'Houdetot, of
whom I have already spoken. M. Mole, who was naturally
of a grave disposition, soon became weary of a merely world-
ly life, and, having no profession, he sought to fill up his
time by literary compositions, which he showed to his friends.
Toward the end of 1805 he wrote a short treatise, extremely
metaphysical and not very clear, on a theory of authority
and the will of man. His friends, who were surprised at the
research indicated by such a work, advised him to print the
treatise. His youthful vanity readily consented to this. The
public looked indulgently on the work' on account of his
youth ; both depth and talent were recognized in it, but, at
the same time, a tendency to praise despotic government,
which gave rise to an impression that the author aimed at
attracting the attention of him who at that time held the
destinies of all in his hand. "Whether this was really in the
mind of the writer, or whether he was horriiied at the abuse
362 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EMMUSAT.
of liberty, and for the first time in his life believed his conn-
try to be at rest and in security under the guidance of a
strong will, I do not know. At any rate, M. Mole gave his
work to the public, and it made some sensation.
After the return from Vienna, M. de Fontanes, who had
a great regard for M. Mole, read the book to Bonaparte, who
was greatly struck by it. The opinions it advanced, the su-
perior mind it attested, and the distinguished name of Mole
attracted his attention. He sent for the author, and praised
him as he well knew how ; for he had great skill in the use
of words seductive to the young. He succeeded in persuad-
ing him to enter into public life, promising him that his
career should be rapid and brilHant ; and, a few days after
this interview, M. Mole was appointed one of the auditors
attached to the Interior Section. He was a familiar friend
of M. d'Houdetot, his cousin, a grandson of her whom the
" Confessions " of J. J. Eousseau have made famous, and M.
M0I6 persuaded him to enter together with himself on the
same career. M. d'Houdetot was made auditor to the Naval
Section. His father held a command in the colonies, and
was taken prisoner by the English on the capture of Marti-
nique. He had passed a part of his hfe in the Isle de France,
and returned, bringing with him a beautiful wife and nine
children, five of them girls. His daughters were all hand-
some ; they are now living in Paris. Some of them are mar-
ried ; one of them is Mme. de Barante,* the most beautiful
woman in Paris at the present time.f
* M. de Barante was at the head of the Indirect Taxation, and was prefect
under Bonaparte. He wa» a great friend of Mme. do Stael's, very liberal in his
opinions, and a clever man.
f My father, who, from his youth upward, was on intimate terms wilh M.
Mol^ until the death of the latter, has written a good deal about him, both in
articles for publication and in manuscript notes. The following are his reflec-
tions on the earlier part of his career : " M. M0I6, who was born in 1780, received
little education. When scarcely nineteen he married Caroline de la Briche. He
had been able, by following public classes and by superficial study of various
branches, to supply the deficiencies of his education, which, however, he never
SOCIAL OONCOED. 363
The fusion that was spreading with so much rapidity
brought about social concord, by mingling the interests of
all. M. Mole, for instance, belonging on his own side to a
very distinguished family, and on his wife's to people of
rank — for Mme. Mole's cousins were Mmes. de Vintimille
and de Fezensac — ^became a link between the Emperor and
a large circle of society. My intimacy with members of his
family was of old date, and I was glad to see them taking
their share of the new places which were within the reach
of those who chose to take them. Opinions abated in the
face of self-interest ; party spirit began to die out ; ambition,
pleasure, and luxury drew people together ; and every day
discontent was lessened.
If Bonaparte, who was so successful in conciliating indi-
viduals, had but gone a step further, and, instead of govern-
ing by force alone, had yielded to the reaction which longed
for repose ; if, now that he had conquered the present mo-
ment, he had made himself master of the future, by creating
durable institutions independent of his own caprice — there
is little doubt but that his victory over our recollections, our
prejudices, and our regrets would have been as lasting as it
was remarkable. But it must be confessed that liberty, true
completely OTeroame. He had a gifted mind, upright, receptive, and elegant,
and he possessed to the highest degree the power of complete sympathy in con-
versation. In youth he had a tendency to severity, to philosophy even ; but this
diminished as he grew older. His ' Essai de Morale et de Politique,' founded on
the writings of Bonald, both as regards style and matter, is a poor book ; yet it
is so superior in thought and in expression to anything he was able to do at the
age of forty, that even now I can scarcely understand how he wrote it. Expe-
rience, ambition, and contact with the world considerably modified his character.
This was a loss to him, but at the same time a greater gain. He took the fancy
of the Emperor. From the beginning MoM took a lofty view of his own position.
He retained a serious manner, which became stiff and haughty, except toward
people whom he wished to please, in which case he could do so to perfection.
He was admitted to exceptionally frequent converse with the Emperor. It was
thus that he rose ; and, in fact, during his Ministry, he did little more than talk
to Napoleon. M. Fr^dfirie d'Houdetot, a first cousin of Mme. Mold's, was pre-
fect, and subsequently deputy, under the various successive regimes, until hi3
death, which took place under the second Empire. — P. R.
364 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RJ^MUSAT.
liberty, was wanting everywhere ; and the fault of the nation
consisted in not perceiving this in time. As I have s.aid be-
fore, the Emperor improved the finances, and encouraged
trade, science, and art ; merit was rewarded in every class ;
but aU this was spoiled by the stamp of slavery. Being re-
solved on ruling everything himself, and for his own advan-
tage, he always put himself forward as the ultimate aim. It
is said that on starting for the first campaign in Italy, he told
a friend who was editor of a newspaper : " EecoUect in your
accounts of our victories to speak of me, always of me. Do
you understand?" This "me" was the ceaseless cry of
purely egoistical ambition. " Quote me," " Sing, praise, and
paint me" he would say to orators, to musicians, to poets,
and to painters. " I will buy you at your own price ; but
you must all be purchased." Thus, notwithstanding his de-
sire to make his reign famous by gathering together every
kind of prodigy, he neutralized his efforts and ours by deny-
ing to talent that noble independence which alone can de-
velop invention or genius of any kind.
CHAPTER XVIII.
(1806.)
The Emperor's Civfl List — His Ilousehold and its Expenses— Dress of the Empress
and of Mme. Murat — ^LouLs Bonaparte — Prince Borghese — Fetes at Comt — The
Empress's Family — Marriage of Princess St(5phanie — Jealousy of the Empress —
Theatricals at Mahuaison.
I THINK it wiU not be amiss at this point to devote a few
pages to the interior management of what was called " the
Emperor's household." Although, at the present time, his
own private concerns and those of his Court have even more
completely passed away than his policy and his power, still
there will be perhaps some interest in an account of his mi-
nute regulation of the actions and the expenditure of each
person belonging to the Court. He was always and in all
things the same, and this fidelity to the system he had irrev-
ocably adopted is one of the most singular sides of his char-
acter. The details I am about to give relate to several periods
of his reign ; but from the year 1806 the rules of his house-
hold were pretty nearly invariable, and the slight modifica-
tions which they sometimes received scarcely altered the
general plan of their arrangement. I shall therefore sketch
this general plan, aided by the excellent memory of M. de
liemusat, who during ten years was both a spectator and an
actor in the scenes I am about to describe.*
* The details to which this chapter is devoted will perhaps appear trivial,
but, that we may not lose the spirit of these Memoirs, it is important to omit
nothing from them. Such descriptions have always been admissible, and the
most celebrated historians of the seventeenth century have painted for us the
minutest, and I had almost said the meanest, particulars of the daily life of
366 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
The civil list of France, under Bonaparte, amounted to a
sum of twenty-fiye millions ; in addition to this, crown lands
and forests brought in three millions, and the civil list of
Italy eight millions, of which he granted four to Prince
Eugene. From Piedmont, partly by the civil list and partly
by crown property, he received three millions ; after Prince
Borghese had been appointed Governor, only half that sum.
Finally, four millions came from Tuscany, which were also
afterward shared with Mme. Bacciochi, when she became
Grand Duchess of Tuscany. The fixed revenue of the Em-
peror amounted, therefore, to 35,500,000 francs.
He kept at his own disposal the greater part of the sum
allotted to the secret service of foreign affairs, and also the
eighteen hundred thousand francs allotted to the theatres, of
which barely twelve hundred thousand were voted by the
yearly budget for their support. He dispensed the remain-
der in presents to actors,* artists, men of letters, or even to
officers of his household.
The fund for the maintenance of the police, after sub-
tracting the expenses of the department, was also at his dis-
posal ; and this yielded a considerable sum every year, being
derived fi-om the tax on gaming-houses, which amounted to
more than four million francs.f He could also dispose of
the share that the Government had reserved to itself on all
Louis XIY., and of the principal people of his time. It should be obserred
also that Mme. de Remusat must, at the time she was writing, have been all the
more impressed by her recollections of the splendor of the Empire, inasmuch as,
during the earlier years of the Restoration, the poverty of France, the age, tastes,
and habits of the royal family, and the apathy characteristic of the Bourbons,
gave to the Court an air of simplicity which formed a strong contrast with Im-
perial display. That display, however, has since then been so greatly surpassed
that what is described here as excessive luxury may appear simplicity itself to
our contemporaries. — P. R.
* His own liking for certain actors generally regulated these grants. He
frequently paid Talma's debts, and made him gifts of twenty, thirty, and forty
thousand francs at a time.
f Fouchfi, while Minister, made his fortune by these taxes on gaming-tables.
Savary drew a thousand francs a day from them.
TEE EMPEROR'S E0U8EE0LB. 367
newspapers, which must have brought in nearly a million
francs ; and, finally, of the sum yielded by stamps on pass-
ports and on permits to carry arms.
The sums levied during war were placed to the extraor-
dinary credit, of which Bonaparte disposed as he liked. He
frequently retained a large portion, which he made use of to
supply the cost of the Spanish war, and for the immense
preparations for the Russian campaign. Finally, he convert-
ed a considerable portion into specie and diamonds ; these
were deposited in the cellars of the Tuileries, and defrayed
the cost of the war of 1814, when the destruction of public
credit had paralyzed other resources.
The utmost order prevailed in Bonaparte's household •
liberal salaries were paid to every one, but all was so regu-
lated that no official could use for himself the sums that
were intrusted to him.
His great officers received a fixed salary of forty thousand
francs. The last two years of his reign he endowed the
posts of great officers with a considerable income, besides the
sums granted to the individuals who filled them.
The posts of Grand Marshal, of Grand Chamberlain, and
of Grand Equerry were each endowed with one hundred
thousand francs ; those of High Almoner and Grand Yeneur
with eighty thousand francs ; that of Grand Master of Cere-
monies with sixty thousand. The Intendant and the Trea-
surer each received forty thousand francs. M. Daru was the
first Intendant; he was succeeded by M. de Champagny
when the latter retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The First Prefect of the Palace and the Gentleman of Hon-
or to the Empress each received thirty thousand francs.
M. de ISTansouty, my brother-in-law, was for some time
First Chamberlain to the Empress; but, this post having
been abolished, he was made First Equerry to the Emperor.
The Lady of Honor received forty thousand francs; the
Mistress of the Robes, thirty thousand. There were eighteen
Chamberlains. Those of oldest date received either twelve,
28
368 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
six, or three thousand francs, varying according to a sum
fixed by the Emperor every year ; the others were honorary.
Eonaparte, moreover, regulated every salary in his household
annually, augmenting thereby the dependence of us all by
the uncertainty in which we were kept.
The Equerries received twelve thousand francs ; the Pre-
fects of the Palace, or Maitres d'II6tel, fifteen thousand, and
the Master of Ceremonies a like sum. Each aide-de-camp re-
ceived twenty-four thousand, as an officer of the household.
The Grand Marshal, or Master of the Household, super-
intended all the expenses of the table, of the domestic ser-
vice, lighting and heating, etc. These expenses amounted
to nearly two millions.
Bonaparte's table was abundant and well served. The
plate was of silver and very handsome ; on great occasions
the dinner service was of silver-gilt. Mme. Murat and the
Princess Borghese used dinner-services of silver-gilt.
The Grand Marshal was the chief of the Prefects of the
Palace; his imiform was amethyst-colored, embroidered in
silver. The Prefects of the Palace wore the same colored
uniform, less richly embroidered.
The expenditure of the Grand Equerry (Master of the
Horse) amounted to three or four millions. There were
about twelve hundred horses. The carriages, which were
more ponderous than elegant, were all painted green. The
Empress had some equipages, among them some pretty open
carriages, but no separate stable establishment. The Grand
Equerry and the other Equerries wore a uniform of dark
blue, embroidered in silver.
The Grand Chamberlain had charge of all the attendance
in the interior of all the palaces, of the wardrobe, the Court
theatricals, the fetes, the • chapel choir, of the Emperor's
Chamberlains, and of those of the Empress. The expendi-
ture on all these scarcely exceeded three milKons. His uni-
form was red, with silver embroidery.* The Grand Master
* The embroidei7 was the same lor all the great officers.
INCREASED EXPENDITURES. 369
of Ceremonies receiyed little more than three hundred thou-
sand francs ; his costume was of violet and silver. The
Grand Veneur, or Master of the Hunt, received seven hun-
dred thousand francs ; he wore green and silver. The ex-
penditure on the chapel was thre^ hundred thousand francs.
The decoration of the apartments, as well as the care of
the buildings, was in charge of the Intendant. The expenses
of these would amount to five or six millions.
It will be seen that, on an average, the expenditure of
the Emperor's household would amount to fifteen or sixteen
millions of francs annually.
In later years he built extensively, and the expenditure
was increased.
Every year he ordered hangings and furniture for the
various palaces from Lyons. This was with a view to en-
couraging the manufactures of that city. For the same
reason he bought handsome pieces of furniture in mahog-
any, which were placed in storerooms, and also bronzes,
etc. Porcelain manufacturers had orders to supply complete
services of extreme beauty.
On the return of the King, the palaces M^ere all found to
be newly furnished, and the furniture stores quite full.
But, including all these things, the expenditure never
exceeded twenty millions, even in the most costly years,
such as those of the coronation and of the marriage.
Bonaparte's expenditure on dress was put down on the
budget at forty thousand francs. Sometimes it slightly ex-
ceeded this sum. During campaigns it was necessary to
send him both linen and clothes to several places at once.
The slightest sense of inconvenience, or the smallest differ-
ence of quality in the linen or cloth, would make him throw
aside a coat or any other garment.
He always said he wished to dress Kke a simple officer of
his own Guards, and grumbled continually at what, as he
said, " he was made to spend " ; while, from his caprice or
awkwardness, the entire renewal of his wardrobe was con-
3T0 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Bl^MUSAT.
stantly necessary. Among other destructive habits, he had
that of stirring the wood-fires with his foot, thereby scorch-
ing his shoes and boots. This generally happened when he
was in a passion ; at such times he would violently kick the
blazing logs in the nearest fireplace.
M. de Kemusat was for several years Keeper of the
Wardrobe, receiving no emoluments. When M. de Turenne
succeeded to that post, a salary of twelve thousand francs
was awarded to him.
Every year the Emperor himself drew up a scheme of
household expenditure with scrupulous care and remarkable
economy. During the last quarter of each year the head of
each department regulated his expenses for the following
twelvemonth. When this was accomplished, a council was
held and everything was carefully discussed. This council
consisted of the Grand Marshal, who presided, the great
ofiicers, the Intendant, and the Treasurer to the Crown.
The expenses of the Empress's hoiisehold were comprised
in the accounts of the Grand Chamberlain, on wJiose budget
they were entered. In these councils the Grand Marshal
and the Treasurer undertook to defend the Emperor's in-
terests. The consultation being over, the Grand Marshal
took the accounts to the Emperor, who examined them him-
self, and returned them with marginal notes. After a short
interval, the council met again, under the presidency of the
Emperor himself, who went over each item of expenditure
anew. These consultations were generally repeated several
times ; the accounts of each department were then returned
to its chief, and fair copies of them were made, after which
they passed through the hands of the Intendant, who finally
inspected them, together with the Emperor, in presence of
the Grand Marshal. By these means all expenditure was
fixed, and seldom indeed did any of the great ofiicers obtain
the sums for which they had asked.
Bonaparte's hour for rising was irregular, but usually it
was seven o'clock. If he woke during the night, he would
THE EMPEROR'S HABITS. 371
resume his work, or take a bath or a meal. He generally
awoke depressed, and apparently in pain. He suffered fre-
quently from spasms in the stomach, which produced vomit-
ing. At times this appeared to alarm him greatly, as if he
feared he had taken poison, and then it was difficult to pre-
vent him from increasing the sickness by taking emetics.*
The only persons who had the right of entry into his
dressing-room without being announced were the Grand
Marshal and the principal physician. The Keeper of the
"Wardrobe was announced, but was almost always admitted.
He would have wished M. de Eemusat to employ these
morning visits in giving him an account of all that was said
or done at Court or in the city ; but my husband invariably
declined the task, and persevered in his determination with
praiseworthy obstinacy.
The other physicians or surgeons on duty might not come
unless they were summoned. Bonaparte seemed to put no
great faith in medicine — it was frequently a matter of jest-
ing with him ; but he had great confidence in Corvisart, and
much esteem for him. He had good health and a strong
constitution ; but, when he suffered from any indisposition,
he became uneasy and nervous. He was occasionally troubled
with a slight affection of the skin, and sometimes complained
of his liver. He ate moderately, drank httle, and indulged
in no excesses of any kind. He took a good deal of coffee.
While dressing, he was usually silent, unless a discussion
arose between: him and Corvisart on some medical subject.
In everything he liked to go straight to the point, and, if any
one was mentioned as being ill, his first question was always,
"Will he die?" A doubtful answer displeased him, and
would make him argue on the inefficiency of medical science.
He acquired with great difficulty the art of shaving him-
self. M. de Eemusat induced him to undertake this task on
seeing that he was uneasy and nervous under the hands of a
barber. After many trials, and when he had finally sxicceed-
* The principal physician, Corvisart, gave me these details.
372 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
ed, lie often said that the advice to shave himself with his
own hand had been of signal service to him.
Bonaparte so thoroughly accustomed himself during his
reign to make no account of those about him, that this ha-
bitual disregard pervaded all his habits. He had not any of
the delicacy that is ordinarily imparted by training and edu-
cation, and would make his toilet in the most thorough fash-
ion in the presence of any person whomsoever. In the same
way, if he got impatient while his valet was dressing him,
he would fly into a passion, heedless of all respect for him-
self or others. He would throw any garment that did not
please him on the floor or into the fire. He attended to his
hands and nails with great care. Several pairs of nail-scis-
sors had to be in readiness, as he would break or throw them
away if they were Yiot sufficiently sharp. He never made
use of any perfume except eau de Cologne, but of that he
would get through sixty bottles in a month. He considered
it a very wholesome practice to sprinkle himself thoroughly
with eau de Cologne. Personal cleanliness was with him a
matter of calculation, for, as I said before, he was naturally
careless.
When his toilet was concluded, he went to his cabinet,
where his private secretary was in attendance. Precisely at
nine o'clock, the Chamberlain on duty, who had arrived at
the palace at eight a. m., and had carefully inspected the
whole suite of rooms, that all might be in perfect order, and
seen that the servants were at their posts, knocked at the
door and announced the levee. He never entered the cabi-
net unless told to come in by the Emperor. I have already
given an account of these levees. When they were over,
Bonaparte frequently gave private audiences to some of the
principal persons present — princes, ministers, high officials
or prefects on leave. Those who had not the right of entry
to the levee could only obtain an audience by applying to
the Chamberlain on duty, who presented their names to the
Emperor. He generally refused to see the applicants.
MINISTERIAL COUNCILS. 373
The levee and audiences would last until the hour of
breakfast. That meal was serred at eleven o'clock, in what
was called the salon de service, the same apartment in which
he held private audiences and received his ministers. The
Prefect of the Palace announced breakfast, and remained
present, standing all the time. During breakfast the Em-
peror received artists or actors. He would eat quickly of
two or three dishes, and finish with a large cup of coffee
without milk. After breakfast he returned to his work.
The salon of which I have just spoken was ordinarily occu-
pied by the Colonel-General of the Guards on duty for the
week, the Chamberlain, the Equerry, the Prefect of the
Palace, and, on a hunting morning, one of the officers of
the hunt.
The ministerial councils were held on fixed days. There
were three State councils a week. For five or six years
the Emperor frequently presided over them, his Colonel-
General and the Chamberlain being in attendance on
him. He is said to have generally displayed remarkable
ability in carrying on or suggesting discussions. He fre-
quently astonished his hearers by observations full of lumin-
ousness and depth on subjects which would have seemed
to be quite beyond his reach. In more recent times he
showed less tolerance for others in these discussions, and
adopted a more imperious tone. The State council, or
that of the Ministers, or his own private work, lasted to
six p. M.
After 1806 he almost always dined alone with his wife,
except when the Court was at Fontainebleau ; he would
then invite guests to his table. He had aU courses of the
dinner placed before him at once ; and he ate without pay-
ing any attention to his food, helping himself to whatever
was at hand, sometimes taking preserves or creams before
touching the more solid dishes. The Prefect of the Palace
was present during dinner; two pages waited, and were
assisted by the footmen. The dinner-hour was very irregu-
374 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
lar. If there happened to be any important business re-
quiring his immejiiate attention, Bonaparte worked on,
detaining the Council nntil six, seven, or even eight o'clock
at night, without showing the smallest fatigue, or ap-
pearing to feel the need of food. Mme. Bonaparte waited
for him with admirable patience, and never uttered a com-
plaint.
The evenings were very short. I have already said how
they were spent. During the winter of 1806 there were
many small dancing entertainments given, both at the Tuile-
ries and by the Princes. The Emperor would make his
appearance at them for a few minutes, and always looked
excessively bored. The routine of the couoher (retiring
for the night) was the same as it was in the morning, except
that the attendants came in last to receive orders. The Em-
peror in undressing and going to bed had no one near him
except the valets de chambre.
No one slept in his chamber. His Mameluke lay
near the inner entrance. The aide-de-camp of the day
slept in the anteroom with his head against the door. In
the rooms on the other side of this salon or anteroom, a
Marshal of the Home Guard and two footmen kept watch
all night.
No sentinel was ever seen in the interior of the palace.
At the Tuileries there was one upon the staircase, because
the staircase is open to the public, and they were everywhere
at the outer doors. Bonaparte was very well protected by
vei^ few persons ; this was the care of the Grand Marshal.
The police of the palace was extremely well managed. The
name of every person who entered its doors was always
known. No one resided there except the Grand Marshal,
who ate there, and whose servants wore the Emperor's liv-
ery; but of these there were only the valets de chambre and
the femmes de chanibre. The Lady of Honor had an apart-
ment which Mme. de la Kochefoucauld never occupied. At
the time of the second marriage Bonaparte wished Mme. de
TEE EMPRESS'S PERSONAL EXPENSES. 375
Montebello* to live there altogether. In the time of the
Empress Josephine the Comtesse d'Arberg and her daugh-
ter, who had come from Brussels to be Lady of the Palace,
were always lodged in the palace. At Saint Cloud all the
attendants resided there. The Grand Equerry lived at the
stables, which were or are those of the King.f The Inten-
dant and the Treasurer were installed there.
The Empress Josephine had six hundred thousand francs
for her personal expenses. This sum in no degree sufficed
her, and she incurred many debts annually. A hundred and
twenty thousand francs were allowed her for her charities.
The Archduchess had but three hundred thousand francs,
and sixty thousand for her private purse. The reason of
this difference was, that Mme. Bonaparte was compelled to
assist many poor relations, whose claims on her were great
and frequent. She having certain connections in France
and the Archduchess none, Mme. Bonaparte was naturally
obliged to spend more money. She gave much away, but,
as she never made her presents from her own resources, but
bought incessantly, her generosity only augmented her debts
to an appalling degree.
ISTotwithstanding the wishes of her husband, she could
never submit to either order or etiquette in her private life.
He was unwilling that any salesman of any kind should be
received by her, but was obliged to relinquish this point.
Her small private apartments were crowded by these people,
as well as by artists of all kinds. She had a perfect naania
for being painted, and gave her pictures to whomsoever
wanted them — relations, friends, femmes de chcmibre, and
even to her tradespeople, who brought her constantly dia-
monds and jewels, stufEs and gewgaws of all kinds. She
bought everything, rarely asking the price, and the greater
* La l[ar6ehale Lannes.
■]• H6tel de Longneville, on the Carrousel. It ia unnecessary to say that
these stables and this hotel were demolished at the time of the changes made
in the Louvre.
3T6 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
part of the time forgot what she had bought. From the
beginning she had signified to her Lady of Honor and her
Lady in "Waiting that they were not to interfere with her
wardrobe. All matters of that kind were arranged between
herself and her femmes de cha'wJ>re, of whom she had six or
eight, I think.
She rose a,t nine o'clock. Her toilet consumed much
time ; a part of it was entirely private, when she lavished
unwearied efforts on the preservation of her person and on
its embellishment, with the aid of paint and powder. When
all this was accomplished, she wrapped herself in a long and
very elegant peignoir trimmed with lace, and placed herseK
under the hands of her hair-dresser. Her chemises and skirts
were embroidered and trimmed. She changed all her linen
three times each day, and never wore any stockings that were
not new. While her hair was being dressed, if we presented
ourselves at her door, we were admitted. When this process
was finished, huge baskets were brought in containing many
diiferent dresses, shawls, and hats. There were in summer
muslin or percale robes, much embroidered and trimmed ;
in winter there were redingotes of stuff or of velvet. From
these baskets she selected her costume for the day, and al-
ways wore in the morning a hat covered with feathers or
flowers, and wraps that made considerable drapery about
her. The number of her shawls was between three and four
hundred. She had dresses made of them, coverings for her
bed, cushions for her dog. She always wore one in the
morning, which she draped about her shoulders with a grace
that I never saw equaled. Bonaparte, who thought these
shawls covered her too much, tore them off, and more than
once threw them in the fire ; after which she would then
send for another. She purchased all that were brought to
her, no matter at what price. I have seen her buy shawls
for which their owner asked eight, ten, and twelve thousand
francs. They were the great extravagance of this Court,
where those which cost only fifty louis were looked at dis-
NEW 008TUME8. 377
dainf uUy, and where the women boasted of the price they
had paid for those they wore.*
I have already described the life which Mme. Bonaparte
led. This life never varied in any respect. She never
opened a book, she never took up a pen, and never touched
a needle ; and yet she never seemed to be in the least bored.
She was not fond of the theatre ; the Emperor did not wish
her to go there without him, and receive applause which he
did not share. She walked only when she was at Malmaison,
a dwelling that she never ceased to improve, and on which
she had spent enormous sums.
Bonaparte was extremely irritated by these expenditures.
He would fly into a passion, and his wife would weep, prom-
ising to be wiser and more prudent ; after which she would
go on in the same way, and in the end he was obliged to pay
the bills. The evening toilet was as careful as that of the
morning. Everything was elegant in the extreme, "We
rarely saw the same dresses and the same flowers appear the
second time. In the evening the Empress appeared without
a hat, with flowers, pearls, or precious stones in her hair.
Then her dresses showed her figure to perfection, and the
most exquisite toilet was that which was most becoming to
her. The smallest assembly, the most informal dance, was
always an occasion for her to order a new costume, in spite
of the hoards of dresses which accumulated in the various
palaces ; for she had a mania for keeping everything. It
would be utterly impossible for me to give any idea of the
sums she spent in this way. At every dressmaker's and mil-
liner's in Paris, go in when we would, we were sure to find
something being made for her or ordered by her. I have
seen several lace robes, at forty, fifty, and even a hundred
thousand francs each. It is almost incredible that this pas-
sion for dress, which was so entirely satisfied, should never
* Of course, my readers know that these were Cashmere shawls, which the
Egyptian campaign and the Oriental mania that followed had made very fash-
ionable.
378 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE UtMUSAT.
have exhausted itseK. After the divorce, at Malmaison, she
had the same luxurious tastes, and dressed with as much care,
even when she saw no one. The day of her death she insisted
on being dressed in a very elegant robe de chanibre, because
she thought that the Emperor of Eussia would come perhaps
to see her. She died covered with ribbons and pale rose-
colored satin. These tastes and these habits on her part
naturally increased the expenses of those about her, and we
found it difficult at times to appear in suitable toilets.*
Her daughter was dressed with equal richness — ^it was
the tone of this Court ; but she had order and economy, and
never seemed to take much pleasure in dress. Mme. Murat
and the Princess Borghese put their whole souls into it.
Their court dresses cost them generally from ten to fifteen
thousand francs ; and they supplemented them by rare pearls
and jewels without price.
With all this extreme luxury, the exquisite taste of the
Empress, and the rich costumes of the men, the Court was,
as may readily be imagined, most brilliant. It may even be
said that on certain days the coup d'ceil was absolutely daz-
zling. Foreigners were much struck by it. It was during
this year (1806) that the Emperor decided to give occasional
concerts in the Hall of the Marshals, as a certain large haU,
hung with portraits of the Marshals, was called. These por-
traits are very likely there now. This hall was lighted by
an infinite number of candles, and to it were invited all those
persons who had any connection with the Government and
those who had been presented. Thus there were assembled
usually between four and five hundred persons.
After having walked through the saloons where all these
people were assembled, Bonaparte entered the hall and took
his place at the end ; the Empress on his left, as well as the
Princesses of his family, in the most dazzling costumes ; his
mother on his right — still a very handsome woman, with an
* Mmes. Savary and Maret expended for their toilets fifty and sixty thousand
francs per annum.
HALL OF TEE MARSHALS. 379
air of great distinction. His brothers were ricUy dressed,
and they with foreign princes and other dignitaries were
seated. Behind were the grand officers, the chamberlains,
and all the staff, in their embroidered uniforms. Upon the
right and the left, in curved lines, sat two rows of ladies — the
Lady of Honor, the Lady in Waiting, and the Ladies of the
Palace, almost all of them young, the greater number of them
pretty and beautifully dressed.* Then came a large num-
ber of ladies — foreigners and Frenchwomen — whose toilets
were exquisite beyond words. Behind these two rows of
seated ladies were men standing — ambassadors, ministers^
marshals, senators, generals, and so on — all in the most gor-
geous costumes. Opposite the imperial chairs were the mu-
sicians, and as soon as the Emperor was seated they executed
the best music, which, however, in spite of the strict silence
that was enjoined and preserved, fell on inattentive ears.
When the concert was over, in the center of the room, which
had been kept vacant, appeared the best dancers, male and
female, from the opera, and executed a charming ballet. This
part of the entertainment of the evening amused every one,
even the Emperor.
M. de K^musat had all these arrangements under his
charge, and it was no petty matter either, for the Emperor
was extremely particular and exacting in regard to the most
trivial details. M. de Talleyrand said sometimes to my hus-
band, " I pity you, for you are called upon to amuse the
unamusable."
The concert and the ballet did not last more than an hour
and a half. Then the assembly went to supper, which was
laid in the Gallery of Diana, and there the beauty of the
gallery, the brilliancy of the lights, the luxury of the tables,
the display of silver and glass, and the magnificence and ele-
* A court dress cost at the least fifty louis, and we changed them very often.
As a general thing this costume was embroidered in gold or silver, and trimmed
with mother-of-pearl. Many diamonds were worn, in sprays and scattered
among garlands for the hair, or set in bands for the neck and arms.
S
380 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
gance of the guests, imparted to tlie whole scene sometliiiig
of the air of a fairy-tale. There was, however, something
lacking. I will not say that it was the ease which can never
be found in a court, but it was that' feeling of security which
each person might have brought there if the powers that
presided had added a little more kindliness to the majesty
by which they surrounded themselves.
I have already spoken of Mme. Bonaparte's family. In
the first years of her elevation she had brought four nephews
and a niece to Paris from Martinique. These all bore the
name of Tascher. For the yonng men situations were found,
and the young lady was lodged in the Tuileries. She was
by no means deficient in beauty, bnt the change of climate
affected her health, and rendered impossible all the plans
which the Emperor had formed for a brilliant marriage for
her. At first he thought of marrying her to the Prince of
Baden ; then for some time he destined her for a prince of
the house of Spain. At last, however, she was married to
the son of the Duke of Arenberg, who was of a Belgian fam-
ily. This marriage, so much desired by this family, who
hoped from it to gain great advantages, was in no degree a
success. The husband and wife never suited each other, and
after a time their misunderstandings and incompatibilities
culminated in a separation which was without scandal. After
the divorce the Arenbergs, disappointed in their ambitious
hopes and plans, openly evinced their discontent at this alli-
ance, and after the King's return the marriage was complete-
ly broken. Mme. de lives to-day very obscurely in
Paris.
The eldest of her brothers, after residing in France some
two or three years without being in the least dazzled by the
honor of having an aunt who was an Empress, began to
grow very weary of the Court ; and, having no taste for mili-
tary Kfe, he yielded to his homesickness, and asked and ob-
tained permission to return to the colonies. He took some
money back with him, and, leading a calm life there, has
TEE EMPRESS'S FAMILY. 381
probably more than once coBgratulated himself on this
philosophical departure. Another brother was attached to
Joseph Bonaparte, and remained in Spain in his military
service. He married Mile. Clary, daughter of a merchant at
Marseilles, and niece of Mme. Joseph Bonaparte.* A third
brother married the daughter of the Princess of Leyen. He
is now with her in Germany. The fourth brother was in-
firm, and lived with his sister. I do not know what became
of him.
The Beauhamais have also profited by the elevation of
Mme. Bonaparte, and continued to crowd about her. I have
told how she married the daughter of the Marquis de Beau-
hamais to M. de la Yalette. The Marquis was for a long
time Ambassador to Spain ; he is in France to-day. The
Comte de Beauhamais, the son of the lady who wrote poetry
and novels,f had married early in life Mile, de Lesay-Mai--
nesia. From this marriage sprang a daughter, who resided
after her mother's death with an old aunt, who was very
religious. The Comte de Beauhamais, marrying again, never
seemed to think of this young girl. Bonaparte made him
Senator. M. de Lesay-Mamesia, uncle to the young Ste-
phanie, suddenly recalled her from Languedoc ; she was
fourteen or fifteen. He presented her to Mme. Bonaparte,
who found her very pretty and refined in all her little ways.
She placed her in Mme. Campan's boarding-school, from
which she emerged in 1806 to find herself suddenly adopted
by the Emperor, called Princess Imperial, and married short-
ly after to the hereditary Prince of Baden. She was then
seventeen, with a most agreeable face, great natural clever-
ness and vivacity, a certain childishness in her manner which
suited her well, a charming voice, lovely complexion, and
clear, blue eyes. Her hair was exquisitely blonde.
* I think he perished in the campaign of 1814.
f It wag upon her that the poet Lebrun made this malicious epigram :
" EgU, fair and a poet, has two eccentricities ;
She makes her face, but does not make her verses."
382 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
The Prince of Baden was not long in falling in love with
her, but at first his afEection was not returned.. He was
young, but very stout ; his face was commonplace and inex-
pressive ; he talked little, seemed always out of place and
bored, and generally f eU asleep wherever he might be. The
youthful Stephanie, gay, piquante, dazzled by her lot, and
proud of being adopted by the Emperor, whom she then re-
garded with some reason as the first sovereign in the world,
gave the Prince of Baden to understand that he was greatly
honored by her bestowing her hand upon him. In vain did
they seek to correct her ideas in this respect. She made no
objection to the marriage, and was qiute ready to consent to
its taking place whenever the Emperor wished it ; but she
persisted in saying that l^apoleon's daughter should marry a
king or the son of a king. This little vanity, accompanied
by many piquante jests, to which her seventeen years gave
a charm, did not displease the Emperor, and in fact rather
amused him. He became more interested than before in his
adopted daughter, and precisely at the time he married her
to the Prince he became, with considerable publicity, her
lover. This conquest finished turning the head of the new
Princess, and confirmed her in her haughtiness toward her
future husband, who sought in vain to please her.*
* This is the decree, issued Marcli 3, 1806, by which the Emperor bestowed
such distinguished rank on this young girl : " Our intention being that the
Princess Stephanie NapoUon, our daughter, shall enjoy all the prerogatives of
her rank, we hereby state that at the table and at all ffites she shall be planed
at our side, and on those occasions when we ourselves shall be absent she will
be placed on the right of her Majesty the Empress."
The next day, March 4th, the marriage was announced to the Senate in these
terms : " Senators, wishing to give a proof of the afEection with which we re-
gard the Princess Beauharnais, the niece of our well-beloved spouse, we have
affianced her to Prince Charles, hereditary Prince of Baden. We have deemed
it wise, under these circumstances, to adopt the said Stephanie Napol6ou as our
daughter. This union, resulting from the friendship which has existed for
several years between ourselves and the Elector of Baden, has seemed to us in
especial conformity with our policy and productive of good to our people. Our
departments on the Rhine will welcome with pleasure an alliance which will bo
JEALOUSY OF TEE EMPRESS. 383
As soon as the Emperor had announced to the Senate the
news of this marriage, the youthful Stephanie was installed
in the Tuileries, in an apartment especially arranged for her,
and there she received the deputations from the govern-
mental bodies. Of that from the Senate her father was one.
Her situation was certainly a little odd, but she received all
the addresses and felicitations without any embarrassment,
and replied extremely well. Having become the daughter
of the sovereign, and being a favorite in addition, the Em-
peror ordered that she should everywhere follow next to the
Empress, thus taking precedence of the whole Bonaparte
family. Mme. Murat was extremely displeased, who hated
her with a cordial hatred, and could not conceal her pride
and jealousy. Mademoiselle thought this very amusing,
and laughed at it as she did at everything else, and succeeded
in making the Emperor laugh also, as he was inclined to be
amused at all she said. The Empress was much displeased
at this new fancy of her husband's. She spoke seriously to
her niece, and showed her how wrong it would be for her
not to resist the efforts which Bonaparte was making to
complete her seduction. Mile, de Beauhamais listened to
her aunt's counsels with some docility. She confided to her
certain attempts, sometimes extremely bold, made by her
adopted father, and promised to conduct herself with caution
and reserve. These confidences renewed all the former dis-
cord of the Imperial household. Bonaparte, imchanged, did
not take the trouble to conceal his inclination from his wife,
and, too sure of his power, thought it extremely unhandsome
in the Prince of Baden that he should be wounded by what
was going on under his very eyes. Nevertheless, the fear of
to them a new motire for cultivating their commercial and neighborly relations
with the subjects of the Elector. The distinguished qualities of Prince Charles
of Baden and the particular affection that he has shown us under all circum
stances arc to us a sure guarantee for the happiness of our daughter. Accus
tomed to share with you all that interests us, we determined to no longer delay
bringing to your knowledge an alliance that is so agreeable to ourselTCS."
P. R.
29
384 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
an outburst and the number of eyes fixed upon all the per-
sons concerned rendered him prudent. On the other side,
the young girl, who only wished to amuse herself, showed
more resistance than he had at first anticipated. But she hated
her husband. The evening of her marriage it was impossible
to persuade her to receive him in her apartment. A little
later the Court went to Saint Cloud, and with it the young
pair. Nothing, however, could induce the Princess to per-
mit her husband to approach her. He complained to the
Empress, who scolded her niece. The Emperor, however,
upheld her, and his own hopes revived. AH this had a very
bad effect, which at last the Emperor realized ; and at the
end of some little time — occupied with grave affairs, fatigued
by the importunity of his wife, struck by the discontent of the
young Prince, and persuaded that he had to do with a young
person who only wished to amuse herself by coquetting with
him — ^he consented to the departure of the Prince of Baden,
who took his wife away with him. She shed many tears at
leaving France, regarding the principality of Baden as a land
of exile. When she arrived there she was received somewhat
coldly by the reigning Prince. She lived for a long time
on bad terms with her husband. Secret negotiators were
sent from France to make her understand how important it
was to her that she should become the mother of a Prince —
an hereditary Prince in his turn. She submitted ; but the
Prince, rendered frigid by so much resistance, now showed
very little tenderness toward her, and this marriage seemed
destined to make them both very unhappy. It was not
eventually so, however ; and we shall see later that the Prin-
cess of Baden, having acquired a little more sense with years,
began at last to recognize her duty, and by her good conduct
succeeded finally in regaining the affection of the Prince,
and enjoyed the advantages of a union which shQ at first had
so entirely under-estimated.*
I have not as yet mentioned the fact that among the
* The Prince of Badon is brother to the Empress of Russia.
THEATRICALS AT MALMAI80N. 385
amusements of this Court was an occasional theatrical rep-
resentation— a comedy played at Malmaison — ^which was no
uncommon thing during the first year of the Consulate.
Prince Eugene and his sister had real talent in this direction,
and found great amusement in exercising it. At this time
Bonaparte too was greatly interested in these representations,
which were given before a limited audience. A pretty hall
was built at Malmaison, and we played there very often. But
by degrees the rank of the family became too exalted for
this kind of pleasure, and finally it was permitted only on
certain occasions, like that of the birthday of the Empress.
When the Emperor came back from Yienna, Mme. Louis
Bonaparte took it into her head to have an appropriate little
vaudeville arranged in which we all played, and each sang a
verse. A number of persons had been invited, and Malmai-
son was illuminated in a charming manner. It was some-
what of a trying ordeal to appear on the stage before an
audience like this, but the Emperor showed himself particu-
larly well disposed. We played weU. Mme. Louis had, and
was entitled to have, a great triumph. The verses were
pretty, the flattery delicate, and the evening a complete suc-
cess.* It was really curious to observe the tone in which each
* This representation may have been given a trifle later than the date I have
stated. At all events, when Barr6, Eadet, and Desfoutaines, the great vaude-
villists o£ that time, presented to the public of Paris this same piece, they called
it "La Colonne de Eosbach." They seemed to have written it in honor of the
Jena campaign. It is true that the authors could without any trouble have
changed the scene from the war of 1805 to the Prussian campaign; but neither
the courtiers nor the playwrights concerned themselves upon this point. It is,
however, quite certain that the role of the old Alsatian woman is much as ray
grandmother related it. The princesses were her daughters or her nieces. This
Alsatian showed the greatest enthusiasm for the Emperor, and sang this stanza,
which my father's wonderful memory permitted him to retain, and which I learned
from him :
Air : " J'ai vu partout dan mes voyages."
" All through the day my thoughts are of the glorious feats of my hero :
All through the night my dreams repeat my thoughts.
386 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
said in the evening, " The Emperor laughed, the Emperor
applauded!" and how we congratulated each other. I
particularly, who accosted him always with a certain reserve,
found myself all at once in a better position toward him, in
consequence of the manner in which I had fulfilled the
part of an old peasant-woman who dreamed continually that
her hero did the most incredible things, and who saw events
surpass her wildest dreams. After the play was over, he
paid me a few compliments. We had played with our
whole hearts, and he seemed somewhat touched. When I
saw him in this mood thus suddenly and unexpectedly
moved by emotion, I was tempted to exclaim, " Why Avill
you not allow yourseK occasionally to feel and think like
other men ? " I felt a sensation of intense relief on these
rare occasions, for it seemed to me that hope once more
revived within me. Ah ! how easily the great master us,
and how little trouble they need take to make themselves
beloved ! Perhaps this last reflection has already escaped
me,' but I have made it so often during the last twelve years
of my life, and it presses so heavily upon me whenever I look
back upon the past, that it is by no means extraordinary
that I should express it more than once.
Dreams, I am told, are but follies and fables ;
But wlien they are of him, however wild and improbable they may seem.
They are always accomplished."
In the memoirs of Bourrienne some details may be found of these repre-
sentations at Malmaison. These vaudevilles were much the fashion at this
Court; they were all the literature known to many of the persons of that
time.— P. E.
CHAPTEE XIX.
Tke Emperor's Court — His Eoolesiastioal Household— His Military Household
— The Marshals — The Ladies — Delille — Chateaubriand — Mme. de Genlis —
Eomances — Literature — Arts.
Befoee resuming the succession of events, I have a strong
desire to dwell a little on the names of those persons who
at this time composed the Court, and who occupied a distin-
guished position in the Government. I shall not be able,
however, to draw a series of portraits which can vary enough,
one from the other, to be piquant. We know very well
that despotism is the greatest of levelers. It regulates the
thoughts, it determines both actions and words; and the
regulations to which all submit are often so strictly observed
that the exteriors are assimilated, and perhaps even some of
the impressions received.
I remember that during the winter of 1814: the Empress
Maria Louisa received a large number of persons every even-
ing. They came to obtain news of the army, in whose move-
ments and plans every one was deeply interested. At the
moment when the Emperor, in his pursuit of the Prussian
General Bliicher, left to the Austrian army leisure to ad-
vance as far as Fontainebleau, Paris believed itself about to
fall into the power of strangers. Many persons met in the
saloons of the Empress and questioned each other with great
anxiety. Toward the end of this evening M. de Talleyrand
came to call on me after leaving the Tuileries. He told me
of the anxiety which he had witnessed, and then said:
"What a man, madame, this tnust be, who can cause the
388 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
Comte de Montesquieu and the Councilor of State Boulay
(de la Meurthe)* to experience the same anxiety, and to
eviuce it in the same words ! " He had found these two
persons with the Empress. They had both struck him by
their pallor, and both expressed their dread of the events
which they began to foresee in the future.f
With few exceptions — either because chance did not
gather around the Emperor persons of any marked individ-
uality, or because of the uniformity of conduct of which I
have just spoken — I can not recall many purely personal
peculiarities which deserve to be commemorated. Setting
* The Comte de Montesquiou -was then Grand Chamberlain. Boulay (de la
Meurthe) had been a member of the Left of the Five Hundred, and had drawn
up the famous law of the suspects.
f My father, in the last days of his life, reading these Memoirs and deciding
to publish them, wrote, Apropos of this conversation, the following note: "The
observation of M. de Talleyrand was made at a soiree where I was or had been
present. I did not hear the remark, but I remember that my mother repeated
it to us. It was even more distinctly stated than she has given it. One even-
ing in the first two months of 1814, or rather in the last months of 1813, one
day when I was on leave, I went to the theatre in the evening, and on coming
back found in my mother's small salon, in the entresol of No. 6 Place Louis
XV., my father, M. Pasquier, and M. de Talleyrand. The latter^was speaking,
and describing — ^having the breathless attention of his listeners — the situation
of public afPairs, which was deplorable enough. lie did not cease speaking as
I entered. Thoy signed to me, however, not to withdraw, and I too listened
with eager interest. M. de Talleyrand this time spoke with earnest force and
simplicity ; ho passed in review all the powers and the men of the moment, in-
sisting that things were in a desperate position, but attributing this position
less to the situation itself than to the character of the Emperor and to the dis-
position of the people by whom he was surrounded. M. de Talleyrand Insisted
that common sense, courage, and ability were lacking on all sides, or were not
united in any one person in a degree sufficient to hold back the Empire and its
master on the downward slope that led to their ruin. It was one of those rare
occasions when I saw M. de Talleyrand at his best — a thing which never hap-
pened to me more than two or three times in my life. This was the first time
that I had ever heard him talk politics. This conversation was, I think, in-
tended more especially for M. Pasquier, who listened with more deference than
assent. It seemed to me that he was not altogether pleased, either because he
recognized with regret the truth of what was said, or because he was unwilling
to receive such confidences." — P. R.
THE EMPEROR'S COURT. 389
tlie principal figures aside, as well as the events whicli I
propose to relate, I have but the names of the others to re-
count, the costumes which they wore, and the duties with
which they were intrusted. It is a hard thing for men to
feel that the sovereign to whom they are attached has a
thorough and universal contempt for hurCian nature. Such
a consciousness saddens the spirits, discourages the soul,
and compels each man to confine himself to the purely
material duties of his position, which he ends by regard-
ing as mere business. Each one of these men who com-
posed the Court and the Government of the Emperor had
undoubtedly a mind of his own, and especial feelings and
opinions. Some among them silently practiced certain vir-
tues, others concealed their faults and even their vices. But
Doth appeared on the surface only at the word of command,
and, unfortunately for the men of that time, Bonaparte be-
lieved that more was to be made out of the bad side of hu-
man nature than from the good, and therefore looked for
vices rather than for virtues. He liked to discover weak-
nesses, and profited by them ; and, where there were no vices,
he encouraged these weaknesses, or, if he could do no better,
he worked on their fears — anything to prove himseK always
and constantly the strongest. Thus he was by no means ill
pleased that Cambaceres, though possessing estimable and dis-
tinguished qualities, allowed his foohsh pride to be seen, and
gave himself the reputation of a certain license of morals
and habits which counterbalanced the just admiration ren-
dered to his cultivation and to his natural probity. IS'or did
the Emperor ever deplore the indolent immorality of M. de
Talleyrand, his careless indifference, nor the small Talue he
placed on the esteem of the public. He was infinitely amused
by what he saw fit to call the silliness of the Prince de Neu-
chdtel, and the servile flattery of M. Maret.
He took advantage of the avarice which he himself had
developed in Savary, and of the callousness of Duroc's
disposition. He never shrank from the remembrance that
390 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R:6muSAT.
Fouche had once been a Jacobin; indeed, he said with a
smile : " The only difference is that he is now a rich Jacobin ;
but that's all I want."
His Ministers he regarded and treated as more or less
efficient clerks, and he used to say, " I should not know what
to do with them if they were not men of mere ordinary abili-
ties and character."
If any one had been conscious of real superiority of any
kind, he must needs have endeavored to hide it ; and it is
probable that, warned by an instinctive sense of danger,
everybody affected dullness or vacuity when those qualities
were not real.
Memoirs of this period will suffer from this remarkable
feature of it, which will give rise to a plausible, though un-,
merited, accusation against the writers of being malevolent
in their views, partial toward themselves, and extremely se-
vere toward others. Each writer will in reality be able to
tell his own secret only, but will have been unable to pene-
trate that of his neighbor.
Ecclesiastical influence in the Emperor's household was
insignificant. Mass was celebrated in his presence eveiy
Sunday, and that was all. I have already spoken of Cardi-
nal Eesch. In 1807 M. de Pradt, Bishop of Poitiers, and
subsequently Archbishop of Mechlin, made his appearance
at Court. He was clever and scheming, verbose but amus-
ing, and fond of gossip ; he held liberal opinions, but he
expressed them in cynical language. He attempted many
things without perfectly succeeding in any one of them. He
could, indeed, talk over the Emperor himself, and he may
perhaps have given him good advice ; but, when he was ap-
pointed to put his own counsels into action, nothing came of
the attempt, for he possessed neither the confidence nor the
esteem of the public.
The Abb6 de Broglie, Bishop of Ghent, was cunning,
but also imprudent ; he obtained at a cheap rate the honor
of persecution.
EIS MILITARY HOUSEHOLD. 391
The Abbe de Boulogne, Bishop of Troyes, proved him-
self in those days as eager to extol despotism as he now is to
emerge from the obscurity to which he has happily been
reduced by the constitutional government of the King.*
Bonaparte made use of the clergy, but he disliked priests.
He had both philosophical and revolutionary prejudices
against them. I do not know whether he was a deist or an
atheist, but he habitually ridiculed everything connected
with religion in familiar conversation ; and, besides, he was
taken up too much with the afiEairs of this world to concern
himself with the next. I may venture to say, that the im-
mortality of his name was to him of much greater impor-
tance than that of his soul. He had an antipathy to pious
persons, and invariably accused them of hypocrisy. When
the priesthood in Spain stirred up the people against him,
■ when he met with opposition from the French Bishops which
did them honor, when the Pope's cause was embraced by
great numbers, he was quite confounded, and said more than
once, " I thought men were more advanced than they really
are."
The military household of the Emperor was numerous,
but, except in times of war, its members had to discharge
duties of a civil nature. Dreading the recollections of the
field of battle, he distributed the various functions on another
footing at the palace of the Tuileries. He made chamber-
lains of the generals, and subsequently he obliged them to
wear embroidered uniforms, and to exchange their swords
for court rapiers. This transformation was displeasing to
many of them, but they had to submit, and, having been
wolves, to become shepherds. There was, however, a good
reason for this. A display of military renown would, to a
certain extent, have eclipsed other classes whom it was neces-
sary to conciliate ; military manners were by this expedient
refined perforce, and certain recalcitrant marshals lost some
of their prestige while acquiring the polish of court man-
* I have already made sufficient mention of Cardinal Maury.
392 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
ners. They became, indeed, slightly ridiculous by this ap-
prenticeship— a fact which Bonaparte knew how to turn to
advantage.
I believe I may confidently state that the Emperor did
not like any of his marshals. He frequently found fault with
them, sometimes in very serious respects. He accused them
all of covetousnesB, which he deliberately encouraged by his
gifts. One day he passed them all in review before me. On
Davoust he pronounced the verdict which I think I have
already mentioned : " Davoust is a man on whom I may be-
stow glory ; he will never know how to wear it." Of Mar-
shal Ney he said : " He is ungrateful and factious. If I were
destined to die by the hand of a marshal, I would lay a wager
that hand would be his." I recollect that he said he regarded
Moncey, Brune, Bessieres, Victor, and Oudinot as men of
middling abilities, who would never be more than titled sol-
diers. Massena he looked upon as efEete, but it was evident
he had formerly been jealous of him. Soult sometimes gave
him trouble ; he was clever, rough, and vain, and he would
argue with his master and dispute his conditions. Bonaparte
could rule Augereau, who was rather xmpolished in manner
than obstinate. He was aware of Marmont's vanity, which
he might wound with impunity, and of Macdonald's habitual
iU humor. Lannes had been his comrade, and the Marshal
would sometimes remind him of this : on such occasions he
would be gently called to order. Bernadotte had more spirit
than the others ; he was continually complaining, and, indeed,
he often had cause for complaint.
The way in which the Emperor curbed, rewarded, or
snubbed with impunity men so proud and puffed up with
military fame was very remarkable. Other writers can relate
with what wonderful skill he made use of these men in war,
and how he won fresh glory for himself- by utilizing their
fame, ever showing himself, in very truth, superior to all
others,
I need not give the names of the chamberlains ; the Im-
TEE LADIES. 393
perial Almanac supplies them. By degrees their number
became considerable. They were taken from all ranks and
classes. Those who were most assiduous and least talkative
got on best ; their duties were troublesome and very tedious.
In proportion as one's place was nearer to the Emperor, one's
life became more burdensome. Persons who have had none
but business relations with him can have no adequate idea of
the unpleasantness of any that were closer ; it was always
easier to deal with his intellect than with his temper.
ISTor shall I have much to relate concerning the ladies of
the period. Bonaparte frequently said : " Women shall have
no influence at my Court ; they may dislike me, but I shall
have peace and quietness." He kept his word. We were
ornamental, at the fetes, and that was about all. JS'everthe-
less, as it is the privilege of beauty never to be forgotten,
some of the ladies-in-waiting deserve a passing notice here.
In Mme. de Mottevelle's Memoirs, she pauses to describe the
beauties of her time, and I must not pass over in silence
those of our own.
At the head of the Empress's household was Mme. de la
Hochefoucauld. She was short and deformed, not pretty,
yet her face was not unattractive. Her large blue eyes, with
black eyebrows, had a fine effect ; she was lively, fearless,
and a clever talker ; a little satirical, but kind-hearted, and
of a gay and independent spirit. She neither liked nor dis-
liked any one at Court, lived on good terms with all, and
looked at nothing very seriously. She considered she had
done Bonaparte an honor by coming to his Court, and by
dint of saying so she persuaded others of it, so that she was
treated with consideration. She employed herseK princi-
pally in repairing her shattered fortunes, obtaining several
ambassadorships for her husband, and giving her daughter in
marriage to the younger son of the princely house of Bor-
ghese. The Emperor thought her wanting in dignity, and
he was right ; but he was always embarrassed in her com-
pany, for he had no idea of the deference due to a woman,
394 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
and she would answer him sharply. The Empress, too, was
rather afraid of her, for in her easy manner there was no
little imperioTisness. She remained faithful to old friends
who held opposite opinions to her own, or rather to what we
may suppose to have been her own, judging by the post she
occupied at Court. She was daughter-in-law to the Due de
Liancourt, and she left the Court when the divorce took
place. She died in Paris, under the Kestoration.
Mme. de la Yalette, the Mistress of the Robes, was
daughter to the Marquis de Beauharnais. Her complexion
had been slightly spoiled by small-pox, but she had a pleasing
though expressionless face. Her gentleness almost amounted
to inanity, and small vanities chiefly occupied her thoughts.
Her mind was narrow, her conduct was correct. Her post
was a complete sinecure, for Mme. Bonaparte allowed no one
to interfere with her dress. In vain did the Emperor insist
that Mme. de la Yalette should make up accounts, regulate
expenditure, and superintend purchases ; he was obliged to
yield, and to give up the idea of maintaining any order on
these points, for Mme. de la Valette was incapable of defend-
ing the rights of her place in opposition to her aunt. She
confined herself, therefore, to taking Mme. de la Kochefou
cauld's duties when the latter absented herself on account of
illness. Everybody knows what courage and energy misfor-
tune and conjugal love subsequently developed in this young
lady.
Chief among the Ladies of the Palace was Mme. de Lu-
gay, who had held that position longest. In 1806 she was no
longer young. She was a gentle and quiet person. Her
husband was Prefect of the Palace ; their daughter married
the younger son of the Count de S^gur, and has since died.
I come next on the list, and I feel inclined to make a lit-
tle sketch of my myself ; I believe I can do this truthfully.
I was twenty-three when I first came to Court ; I was not
pretty, yet not altogether devoid of attraction, and I looked
well in full dress. My eyes were fine, my hair was black,
SKETCH OF MYSELF. 395
and I had good teeth ; mj nose and face were too large in
proportion to my figure, which was good, but small. I had
the reputation of being a clever woman, which was almost a
reproach at Court. In point of fact, I lack neither wit nor
sense, but my warmth of feeling and of thought leads me to
speak and act impulsively, and makes me commit errors
which a cooler, even though less wise, person would avoid.
I was often misinterpreted at Bonaparte's Court. I was
lively, and was supposed to be scheming. I liked to be ac-
quainted with persons of importance, and I was accused of
being ambitious. I am too much devoted to persons and to
causes which appear to me to have right on their side, to
deserve the first accusation ; and my faithfulness to friends
in misfortune is a suflicient answer to the second. Mme.
Eonaparte trusted me more than others, and thereby put me
into a difficult position ; people soon perceived this, and no
one envied me the onerous distinction of her friendship.
The preference which the Emperor at first showed me was a
cause of greater jealousy. I reaped little benefit from his
favor, but I was flattered by it and grateful for it ; and, so long
as I felt a regard for him, I sought to please him. When
my eyes were opened, I drew back ; dissimulation is abso-
lutely opposed to my character. I came to Court too full of
inquisitiveness. It seemed to me so curious a scene that I
watched it closely, and asked many questions that I might
fully understand it. It w:as often thought that I did this
from design. In palaces no action is supposed to be without
a motive ; " Gut bono ? " is said on every occasion.*
My impetuosity freqTiently brought me into trouble. ]S"ot
that I acted altogether on impulse, but I was very young, very
unaffected, because I had always been very happy ; in nothing
was I sufficiently sedate, and my qualities sometimes did me
as much harm as my defects. But, amid all this, I have met
* I knew a man who always aBlced himself this question with great gravity,
before deciding on the visits he should pay each evening.
396 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtlMUSAT.
with friends who loved me, and of whom, no matter how I
may be circumstanced, I shall retain a loving recollection.
I soon began to suffer from disappointed hopes, betrayed
affections, and mistaken beliefs. Moreover, my health failed,
and I became tired of so arduous a life, and disenchanted
both with men and things. I withdrew myself as far as
possible, and found in my own home feelings and enjoy-
ments that could not deceive. I loved my husband, my
mother, my children, and my friends ; I should have been
unwilling to give up the peaceful pleasure I found in their
society. I contrived to retain a kind of liberty amid the
numerous trivial duties of my post. Lastly, when I ap-
proved of any one and when I ceased to do so, both states of
mind too plainly showed. There could be no greater fault
in the eyes of Bonaparte. He dreaded nothing in the world
so much as that any one in his circle should use their critical
faculty with regard to him.
Mme. de Canisy, a great-niece of M. de Brienne, the
former Archbishop of Sens, was a beautiful woman when
first she came to Court. She was tall and well made, with
eyes and hair of raven-black, lovely teeth, an aqiuline nose,
and a rich brunette complexion.
Mme. Maret was a fine woman ; her features were regu-
lar and handsome. She seemed to live on excellent terms
with her husband, who imparted to her some of his own
ambition. Seldom have I seen more unconcealed or more
solicitous vanity in any one. She was jealous of every dis-
tinction, and tolerated superior rank in the Princesses only.
Born in obscurity, she aimed at the highest distinctions.
When the Emperor granted the title of countess to all the
ladies-in-waiting, Mme. Maret felt annoyed at the equahty it
implied, and, obstinately refusing to bear it, she remained
plain Mme. Maret until her husband obtained the title of
Due de Bassano. Mme. Savary and she were the most ele-
gantly dressed women at Court. Their dress is said to have
cost more than fifty thousand francs a year. Mme. Maret
MME. MABET. 39T
tlaoiiglit that the Empress did not sufficiently distinguish her
from the others ; she therefore made common cause with the
Bonapartes against her. She was feared and distrusted with
some reason, for she repeated things which reached the ear
of the Emperor through her husband, and did a great deal of
harm. She and M. Maret would have liked people to pay
regular court to them, and many persons lent themselves to
this pretension. As I showed a decided objection to doing
so, Mme. Maret took an aversion to me, and contrived to
inflict many petty annoyances upon me.
Any one who chose to speak evil of others to Bonaparte
was pretty sure of gaining his ear ; for he was always credu-
lous of evil. He disliked Mme. Maret ; he even judged her
too severely ; nevertheless he chose to believe all stories that
came to him through her. I believe her to have been one of
the greatest sufferers by the fall of that great Imperial scaf-
folding which brought us all to the ground.
During the King's first residence in Paris, from 1814 to
1815, the Due de Bassano was accused, on sufficient grounds,
of having carried on a secret correspondence vrith the Em-
peror in the island of Elba, and kept him informed of the
state of feeling in France, so that he was induced to beheve
he might once more offer himself to the French as their
ruler. ITapoleon returned, and his sudden arrival clashed
with and thwarted the revolution which Fouche and Camot
were preparing. Then these two, being obliged to accept
Bonaparte, compelled him to reign during the Hundred
Days according to their own system. The Emperor wished
to take M. Maret, whom he had so many reasons for trust-
ing, back into his service ; but Fouche and Camot strongly
objected to Maret, as a man of no ability and only capable of
blind devotion to his master's interest. Some idea of the
state of bondage in which the men of the Revolution kept
the netted lion at this period may be gathered from the
answer that Carnot ventured to make when the Emperor
proposed putting M. Maret into the Government. "ISTo,
398 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
certainly not ; the French do not wish to see two Blacas in
one year" — alluding to the Count de Blacas, whom the
King had brought with hiin from England, and who had all
the influence of a favorite.
On the second fall of Bonaparte, Maret and his wife has-
tened to leave Paris. M. Maret was exiled, and they repaired
to Berlin. For the last few months Mme. Maret has been
again in Paris, endeavoring to obtain the recall of her hus-
band. It is not unlikely she may succeed, such is the kind-
ness of the King.*
Pride of rank was not confined to Mme. Maret alone.
Mme. Ney also possessed it. She was niece to Mme. Cam-
pan, first dresser to Marie Antoinette, and daughter of Mme.
Augue, also one of the Queen's dressers, and she had been
tolerably well educated. She was a mild, kind-hearted wo-
man, but her head was a little turned by the honors to which
she attained. She occasionally displayed a pretentiousness
which, after all, was not inexcusable, for she based it on the
great mihtary renown of her husband, whose own pride was
Bufliciently self-asserting. Mme. l^ey, afterward Duchesse
d'Elchingen, and later Princesse de la Moskowa, was in real-
ity a very good, quiet woman, incapable of speaking or doing
evil, and perhaps as incapable of saying or doing anything
good. She enjoyed the privileges of her rank to the full,
especially in the society of inferiors. She was much ag-
grieved at the Kestoration by certain difEerences in her posi-
tion, and by the disdain of the ladies of the royal Court.
She complained to her husband, and may have contributed
not a little to irritate him against the new state of things,
which, though not altogether ousting him, laid them both
open to little daily humihations, quite unintentionally on the
part of the King. On the death of her husband she took up
her abode in Italy with three or four sons. Her means were
much smaller than might have been supposed, and she had
acquired habits of great luxury. I have seen her start for a
* Written in June, 1S19.
LADIES-IN-WAITING. 399
watering-place, taking with her a whole household, so as to
be waited on according to her liking. She took a bedstead,
articles of furniture, a service of traveling-plate made ex-
pressly for her, a train oifourgons, and a number of couriers ;
and she would affirm that the wife of a marshal of France
could not travel otherwise. Her house was magnificently
appointed ; the purchase and furnishing cost eleven hundred
thousand francs. Mme. Ney was tall and slight ; her fea-
tures were rather large, her eyes fine. Her expression was
mild and pleasant, and her voice very sweet.
Mme. Lannes, afterward Duchesse de Montebello, was
another of our beauties. There was something virginal in
her face ; her features were pure and regular, her skin was
of a delicate fairness. She was a good wife and an excellent
mother, and was always cold, reserved, and silent in society.
The Emperor appointed her Lady of Honor to the Arch-
duchess, who became passionately fond of her, and whom
she completely governed. She accompanied the Archduchess
on her return to Vienna, and then came back to Paris, where
she now lives in retirement, entirely devoted to her children.
The number of the ladies-in-waiting became by degrees
considerable, but, on the whole, there is little to be said
about so many women, all playing so small a part. I have
already spoken of Mmes. de Montmorency, de Mortemart,
and de Chevreuse. There remains for me simply to name
Mmes. de Talhouet, Lauriston, de Colbert, Marescot, etc.
These were quiet, amiable persons, of ordinary appearance,
no longer young. The same might be said of a number of
Italians and Belgians who came to Paris for their two months
of Court attendance, and who were all more or less silent
and apparently out of their element. In general sufficient
regard was paid to youth and beauty in the selection of
the ladies-in-waiting ; they were always placed with ex-
treme care. Some of them lived in this Court silent
and indifferent; others received its homages with more or
less ease and pleasure. Everything was done quietly, be-
30
400 MEMOIRS OF MAD AMU BE R^MUSAT.
cause Bonaparte willed that such should be the case. He
had prudish caprices at times either in regard to himssK or
others. He objected to any demonstrations of friendship or
dislike. In a life that was so busy, so regulated and dis-
ciplined, there was not much chance for either the one or
the other.
Among the persons o£ whom the Emperor had composed
the various households of his family, there were also ladies
of distinction ; but at Court they were of still less importance
than ourselves.
I am inclined to believe that life was rather dreary under
his mother's roof. With Mme. Joseph Bonaparte it was
simple and easy. Mme. Louis Bonaparte gathered about her
her old school companions, and kept up with them, so far as
lay in her power, the familiarity of their youth. At Mme.
Murat's, although a trifle stifE and stilted, things were care-
fully regulated with order and discipline. Public opinion
stigmatized the Princess Borghese ; her conduct cast an un-
fortunate reflection upon the young and pretty women who
formed her court.
It may not be useless to linger here for a little, to say a
few words in regard to thcise persons who were at this time
distinguished in literature and art, and to the works which
appeared from the foundation of the Consulate up to this
year, 1806. Among the former I find four of whom I can
speak with some detail.*
Jacques Delille, whom we more generally know under
the title of the Abbe de Delille, had seen the best years of
his life pass away in the times which preceded our Revolu-
tion. He united to brilliant talents the charms of sweetness
of temper and agreeable manners. He acquired the title of
Abbe because in those days it conferred a certain rank ; he
dropped it after the Pevolution to marry a woman of good
family, commonplace, and by no means agreeable, but whose
ministrations had become essential to him. Always received
* Jacques Delille, M. do Chateaubriand, Mme. de Stael, Mme. do Genlis.
JACQUES DELILLE. 401
in the best society of Paris, tigUy regarded by Queen Marie
Antoinette, overwhelmed by kindnesses from the Comte
d'Artois, lie knew only the pleasant side of the life of a man
of letters. He was petted and made much of ; his grace and
simplicity of soul were very remarkable ; the magic of his
diction was incomparable ; when he recited verses every one
was eager for the pleasure of hearing him. The bloody
scenes of the Revolution appalled this young and tender
nature ; he emigrated, and met everywhere in Europe with
a reception so warm that it consoled him for his exile. How-
ever, when Bonaparte had reestabhshed order in France, M.
DeliUe wished to return to his native land, and he came
back to Paris with his wife. He had grown old and was
nearly blind, but always delightful, and teeming with fine
works which he meant to publish in his own country. Again
did all literary people crowd abont him, and Bonaparte him-
self made some advances. The professor's chair in which he
had inculcated with so much talent the principles of French
literature was restored to him, and pensions were offered him
as the price of a few laudatory verses. But M. Delille, desir-
ing to preserve the liberty of the recollections which attached
him irrevocably to the house of Bourbon, withdrew to a
retired part of the city, and thus escaped both caresses and
offers. He gave himself up exclusively to work, and an-
swered every one with his own lines from " L'Homme des
Champs " :
" Augusts triomp"haiit pour Virgile fat juste.
J'imitai le po^te, Imitez-donc Auguste,
Et laissez-moi sans nom, sans fortune, et sans fers,
Efever au bruit des eaux, de la lyre et des vers."*
If Bonaparte was offended by this resistance, he never
showed it ; esteem and general affection were the aegis which
* We had from him in the space of a few years translations of the " ^neid "
and of " Paradise Lost," his own poem of " L'Homme des Champs," " L'lmagi-
nation," and others, and finally " La Piti6," which appeared only in boards by
order of the police.
402 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MTJSAT.
protected the amiable poet. He lived, therefore, a serene
and tranquil life, and died too soon, since, with the senti-
ments he had preserved, he would have rejoiced at the return
of the Princes whom he had never ceased to love.
In the times when Bonaparte was still only Consul, and
when he amused himself in following np even less conspicu-
ous persons, he took it into his head that he wished M. De-
lille to see him, hoping perhaps to gain him over, or at all
events to dazzle him. Mme. Bacciochi was bidden to invite
the poet to pass an evening at her house. Some few per-
sons, of whom I was one, were also invited. The First
Consul arrived with something of the air of Jupiter Tonans,
for he was surrounded by a great number of aides, who stood
in line and showed some surprise at seeing their General
take so much trouble for this frail old gentleman in a black
coat, who seemed, moreover, a little afraid of them all. Bo-
naparte, by way of doing something, took his seat at a card-
table, and summoned me. I was the only woman in the
salon whose name was not unknown to M. DelUle, and I
instantly understood that Bonaparte had selected me as the
connecting link between the poet's time and that of the
Consul. I endeavored to establish a certain harmony be-
tween them. Bonaparte consented to the conversation being
literary, and at first our poet seemed not insensible to the
courtesy extended him. Both men became animated, but
each in his own way ; and I very soon realized that neither
the one nor the other produced the effect he desired and in-
tended. Bonaparte liked to talk ; M. Delille was loquacious
and told long stories ; they interrupted each other constantly ;
they did not listen, and never replied ; they were both ac-
customed to praise ; they each felt a conviction before many
minutes had expired that they were not making a good im-
pression on each other, and ended by separating with some
fatigue, and perhaps discontented. After this evening M. De-
lille said that the Consul's conversation smelled of gun-pow-
der y Bonaparte declared that the old poet was in his dotage.
M. DE OBATEAUBEIAND. 403
I know very little in regard to M. de Chateaubriand's
youth. Having emigrated with his family, he knew in Eng-
land M. de Fontanes, who saw his first manuscript, and en-
couraged him in his intention of writing. On his return to
France they kept up their relations, and I believe Chateau-
briand was presented by M. de Fontanes to the First Consul.
Having published the " Genie du Christianisme " at the
time of the Concordat of 1801, he concluded that he had
best dedicate his work to the restorer of religion. He was
by no means wealthy ; his tastes, his somewhat disorderly
character, his ambition, which was boundless though vague,
and his excessive vanity, all inspired him with the desire as
well as the need of attaching himself to something. I do
not know under what title he was employed on a mission
to E.ome. He conducted himself there imprudently, and
wounded Bonaparte. The ill humor that he had caused and
his indignation at the death of the Due d'Enghien embroiled
them completely. M. de Chateaubriand, on his return to
Paris, saw himself surrounded by women who greeted and
exalted him as if he had been a victim ; he eagerly embraced
the opinions to which he has since adhered. It was not in
his nature to wish to seclude himself, or to be forgotten by
the world. He was put under surveillance, which gratified
his vanity. Those who claim to know him intimately say
that if Bonaparte, instead of having him watched, had sim-
ply shown a more profound consciousness of his merits,
Chateaubriand would have been completely won over. The
author would not have been insensible to praise coming
from so high a source. I repeat this opinion without assert-
ing that it was well founded. I know, however, that it was
also that of the Emperor, who said very openly, " The diffi^
culty I have is not on the score of buying M. de Chateau-
briand, but as regards paying him the price he sets upon
himself." However this may be, he kept himself aloof, and
frequented only the circles of the opposition, His journey
to the Holy Land caused him to be forgotten for some time ;
404 MEMOIRS OF MADAMJS BE S^MUSAT.
he suddenly reappeared, and published " Les Martyrs." The
religious ideas found in every page of his works, set off with
tlie coloring of his brilliant talents, formed of his admirers a
sort of sect, and raised up enemies among the philosophical
writers. The newspapers both praised and attacked him,
and a controversy arose in regard to him, sometimes very
bitter, which the Emperor favored, " because," he said, " this
controversy occupies fine society."
At the time of the appearance of " Les Martyrs " a kind
of Koyalist conspiracy broke out in Brittany. One of M.
de Chateaubriand's cousins, who was found to be involved in
it, was taken to Paris, tried, and condemned to death. I was
connected with some of Chateaubriand's intimate friends;
they brought him to me, and joined him in begging me to
solicit, through the Empress, mercy for his relative. I asked
him to give me a letter to the Emperor ; he refused, and
seemed to feel the greatest repugnance to such a step, but
consented to write to Mme. Bonaparte. He gave me at the
same time a copy of " Les Martyrs," hoping that Bonaparte
would look it over, and that it would soften him toward the
author. As I was by no means sure that this would be
enough to appease the Emperor, I advised M. de Chateau-
briand to try several methods at the same time.
" You are a relative," I said, " of M. de Malesherbes,
whose name may always be uttered with the certainty of
obtaining respect and consideration.* Let us now endeavor
to make it of use, and name him when you write tp the Em-
press."
M. de Chateaubriand surprised me greatly by rejecting
this advice. He allowed me to see that his vanity would be
wounded if he did not personally obtain that for which he
asked. His pride of authorship was clearly his strongest
feeling, and he wished to influence the Emperor in that ca-
pacity. He consequently did not wiite precisely what I
* Bonaparte returned to Mme. Montboissier, an kmigrh, a portion of her
estates, because she was the daughter of M. de Malesherbes.
M. DE OEATEAUBRIASD. 405
would have desired. I, however, took his letter, and did my
best in addition. I even spoke to the Emperor, and seized
upon a favorable moment to read to him some pages of " Les
Martyrs." Finally, I mentioned M. de Malesherbes.
" You are a skillful advocate," said the Emperor, " but
you do not comprehend the affair. It is necessary for me to
make an example in Brittany ; it will faU upon a man of
very little interest, for this relation of M. de Chateaubriand
has a mediocre reputation. I know that his cousin cares not
one sou for him, and this fact is proved to me by the very
things he has compelled you to do. He has had the childish-
ness not to write to me ; his letter to the Empress is stifE
and even haughty in tone. He would like to impress me
with the importance of his talents ; I answer him with that
of my policy, and in all conscience this ought not to humili-
ate him. I have need of an example in Brittany to avoid a
crowd of petty political prosecutions. This will give M. de
Chateaubriand an opportunity of writing some pathetic pages,
which he will read aloud in the Faubourg Saint-Germain.
The fine ladies will weep, and you will see that this will
console him ! "
It was impossible to shake a determination expressed in
this way. All means that the Empress and I attempted
were useless, and the sentence was executed. That same
day I received a note from M. de Chateaubriand, which in
spite of myself recalled Bonaparte's words. He wrote to
me that he had thought it his duty to be present at the
death of his relative, and that he had shuddered afterward
on seeing dogs lap up the blood. The whole note was
written in a similar tone. I had been touched, but this re-
^volted me. I do not know whether it was he or myself that
was in fault. A few days later M. de Chateaubriand, dressed
in f uU mourning, did not appear much afflicted, but his irri-
tation against the Emperor was greatly augmented.
This event brought me into connection with him. His
works pleased me, but his presence disturbed my liking for
406 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE r6mU8AT.
them. He was, and is still, mucli spoiled by society, par-
ticularly by women. He places bis associates in a most em-
barrassing position at times, because one sees immediately
that one has nothing to teach him as to his own value. He
invariably takes the first place, and, making himself com-
fortable there, becomes extremely amiable. But his conver-
sation, which displays a vivid imagination, exhibits also a
certain hardness of heart, and a selfishness that is but ill con-
cealed. His works are religious, and indicate none but the
noblest sentiments. He is in earnest when he writes, but
he lacks gravity in his bearing. His face is handsome, his
form somewhat awry, and he is careful and even afPected in
his toilet. It would seem that he prefers in love that which
is generally known as les honnes fortumes. It is plain that
he prefers to have disciples rather than friends. In fine, I
conclude from aU that I have seen that it is better to read
him than to know him. Later on, I will narrate what took
place in regard to. the decennial prizes.
I have hardly seen Mme. de Stael, but I have been sur-
rounded by persons who have known her well. My mother
and some of my relatives were intimate with her in their
youth, and have told me that in her earliest years she dis-
played a character which promised to carry her beyond the re-
straints of nearly all social customs. At the age of fifteen she
enjoyed the most abstract reading and the most impassioned
works. The famous Franelieu of Geneva, finding her one
day with a volume of J. J. Eousseau in her hand, and sur-
rounded by books of all kinds, said to her mother, Mme.
Necker : " Take care ; you will make your daughter a mna-
tic or a fool." This severe judgment was not realized, and
yet it is impossible not to feel that there was something
very odd, something that looked like mental alienation, in the
manner in which Mme. de Stael acted her part as a woman
in the world. Surrounded in her father's house by a circle
consisting of all the men in the city who were in any way
distinguished, excited by the conversations that she heard as
MMK DE STAML. 407
well as by her own nature, her intellectual faculties were
perhaps developed to excess. She then acquired the taste
for controversy which she has since practiced so much, and
in which she has shown herself so piquante and so distin-
guished. She was animated even to agitation, perfectly true
and natural, felt with force, and expressed herself with fire.
Harassed by an imagination which consimied her, too eager
for notoriety and success, hampered by those laws of society
which keep women within narrow bounds, she braved every-
thing, conquered everything, and suffered much from this
stormy contest between the demon that pushed her on and
the social proprieties which could not restrain her.
She had the misfortune to be excessively plain, and to be
miserable on that account ; for it seemed as if she felt within
herself a craving for successes of all kinds. With a passably
pretty face, she would probably have been happier, because
she would have been calmer. Her nature was too passionate
for her not to love strongly, and her imagination too vivid
for her not to think that she loved often. The celebrity she
acquired naturally brought to her much homage, by which
her vanity was gratified. Although ulie had great kindness
of heart, she excited both hatred and envy; she startled
women, and she wounded many men whose superior she
thought herself. Some of her friends, however, were always
faithful, and her own loyalty to friendship never failed.
When Bonaparte was made Consul, Mme. de Stael had
already become famous through her opinions, her conduct,
and her works. A personage like Bonaparte excited the
curiosity, and at first even the enthusiasm, of a woman who
was always awake to all that was remarkable. She became
deeply interested in him — sought him, pm-sued him every-
where. She believed that the happy combination of so
many distinguished qualities and of so many favorable cir-
cumstances might be turned to the profit of her idol. Lib-
erty ; but she quickly startled Bonaparte, who did not wish
to be either watched or divined. Mme. de Stael, after mak-
408 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
ing him uneasy, displeased him. He received her advances
coldly, and disconcerted her by his bluntness and sharp
words. He offended many of her opinions; a certain dis-
trust grew up between them, and, as they were both high-
tempered, this distrust was not long in changing to hatred.
When in Paris, Mme. de Stael received many people, and
all political subjects were freely discussed under her roof.
Louis Bonaparte, then very young, visited her sometimes
and enjoyed her conversation. His brother became uneasy
at this, and forbade his frequenting the house, and even went
so far as to have him watched. Men of letters, publicists,
men of the Kevolution, great lords, were all to be met there.
" This woman," said the First Consul, " teaches people to
think who never thought before, or who had forgotten how
to think." And there was much truth in this. The publi-
cation of certain works by M. ISTecker put the finishing touch
to his irritation : he banished Mme. de Stael from France,
and did himself great harm by this act of arbitrary persecu-
tion. In addition to this, as nothing excites one like a first
injustice, he even pursued those persons who believed it
their duty to show her kindness in her exile. Her works,
with the exception of her novels, were mutilated before
their appearance in France ; all the journals were ordered to
speak iU of them ; no generosity was shown her. When she
was driven from her own land, foreign countries welcomed
her warmly. Her talents fortified her against the annoy-
ances of her life, and raised her to a height which many men
might well have envied. If Mme. de Stael had known how
to add to her goodness of heart and to her brilliant genius
the advantages of a calm and quiet life, she would have
avoided the greater part of her misfortunes, and seized while
living the distinguished rank which will not long be refused
her among the writers of her century. Her works indicate
rapid and keen insight, and a warmth that comes from her
soul. They are characterized by an imagination that is al-
most too vivid, but she lacks clearness and good taste. In
MME. DE STAEL. 409
reading her writings one sees at once that they are the results
of an excitable nature, rebelling under order and regularity.
Her life was not exactly that of a woman, nor could it be
that of a man ; it was utterly deficient in repose — a depriva-
tion without remedy for happiness, and even for talent.
After the first restoration, Mme. de Stael returned to
France, overwhelmed with joy at being once more in her
own land, and at seeing the dawn of the constitutional regime
for which she had so ardently longed. Bonaparte's return
struck terror to her soul. Again she resumed her wander-
ings, but her exile this time lasted only a hundred days.
She reappeared with the King. She was very happy. She
had married her daughter to the Due de Broglie, who unites
to the distinction of his name a noble and elevated nature ;
the liberation of France satisfied her, her friends were near
her, and the world crowded about her. This was the time
when death claimed her, at the age of fifty.* The last work
on which she was engaged, and which she had not completed,
was published after her death ; this has made her thoroughly
known to us.f This work not only paints the times in
which she lived, but gives a clear and exact idea of the cen-
tury which gave her birth — which alone could have developed
her, and of which she is not one of the least results.
I occasionally heard Bonaparte speak of Mme. de Stael.
The hatred he bore her was unquestionably founded in some
degree upon that jealousy with which he was inspired by any
superiority which he could not control ; and his words were
often characterized by a bitterness which elevated her in
spite of himself, and lowered him in the estimation of those
who, in the full possession of their reasoning faculties, lis-
tened to him.
While Mme. de Stael could complain with so much jus-
tice of the persecution to which she was subjected, there was
another woman, much her inferior and far less celebrated,
* In 1817.
f " ConsidiSrations sur la Revolution Fran9aiso." — P. K.
410 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE Bl^MUSAT.
who had had reason to rejoice in the protection accorded to
her by the Emperor. This was Mme. de Genlis. He never
found in her either talents or opinions in opposition to his
own. She had loved and glorified the Eevolution, and well
understood how to profit by all its liberties. In her old age
she became both a prude and a devote. She attached herseK
to order and discipline, and for this reason, or under this
pretext, manifested a profound admiration for Bonaparte, by
which he was much flattered ; he bestowed a pension upon
her, and instituted a sort of correspondence with her, in the
course of which she kept him informed of all that she felt
would be useful to him, and taught him much regarding the
ancient regime which he wished to know. She loved and
protected M. Fievee, then a very young writer; she drew
him into this correspondence, and it was in this way that
between himself and Bonaparte were established those rela-
tions of which Fievee subsequently boasted so much. Al-
though flattered by the admiration of Mme. de Genhs,
Bonaparte understood her thoroughly. He once expressed
himself openly in my presence in regard to her. He was
speaking of that prudery which permeates all her works.
"When Mme. de Genlis," he said, "wishes to define virtue,
she speaks of it as of a discovery ! "
The Restoration did not reestablish relations between
Mme. de Genlis and the house of Orleans. The Duke of
Orleans did not choose to see her more than once, but con-
tented himself with continuing the pension allowed her by
the Emperor.
These two women were not the only ones who wrote and
published their works under Bonaparte's rule. Of the others
I will mention only a few, at the head of whom I will place
Mme. Cottin, so distinguished for the warmth of an impas-
sioned imagination which communicated itself to her style,
and Mme. de Flahault, who married at the beginning of this
century M. de Souza, then Ambassador from Portugal, and
who wrote some very pretty novels. There were others still
ROMANCES. 411
whose names are to be found in tlie newspapers of that day.
Novels have multiplied greatly in France in the last thirty
years, and merely by reading these one has a very clear idea
of the progress of the French mind since the Kevolution.
The disorder of the first years of this Eevolution turned the
mind from all those pleasures which only interest when in
repose. Young people generally were but half educated ;
the differences of parties destroyed public opinion. At the
time when that great regulator had entirely disappeared,
mediocrity could show itself without fear. All sorts of at-
tempts were made in literature, and imaginative works, al-
ways easiest when most fantastic, were published with impu-
nity. People, with their minds heated by the rapidity of
events, yielded to a kind of excitement and enthusiasm
which found a field in the invention of fables and in the
style of our romances. Liberty alone, which men did not
enjoy, can develop with grandeur those emotions which our
great political storms had aroused. But in all times and
under all governments women can write and talk of love,
and works of this kind met with general approval. There
was little or none of Mme. de la Fayette's elegance, nor of
Mme. Eiccoboni's delicate, refined wit ; nor did they amuse
themselves by describing the usages of courts, the habits of
a state of society now nearly passed away ; but they repre-
sented powerful scenes of passion and human nature in try-
ing positions. The heart was often unveiled in these ani-
mated fables, and some men even, in order to give variety
to their sensations, engaged in this style of composition.
After all, there is some truth and nature in the tone of
the works published since the epoch of which we speak.
Even in the romances, the enthusiasm is rather too strong
than too affected, and, generally speaking, they are not per-
verted by a false taste. The wild errors of our Eevolution
upheaved French society, and later this society was unable to
recreate itself on the same erroneous foundation. Each of
the individuals who composed it was not only displaced, but
412 MEU0IR8 OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
"was even entirely changed. Merely conventional customs
have by degrees disappeared, and in all the relations of life
the difference has been felt. Discourses written and spoken
are no longer the same, nor are pictures. We have come to
seek stronger sensations and emotions that are more real,
because sorrow has developed the habit of keener feeling.
Bonaparte caused nothing to move backward, but he re-
strained everything. The return of order to the Govern-
ment brought back also what M. de Fontanes called les hormes
lettres. It now began to be felt that good taste, discretion,
and moderation should count for something in the works of
talent. If the good genius of France had permitted Bonapai-te
to bestow upon us some shadow of liberty at the same time
that he brought us repose, it is probable that the recollections
of a stormy period, combined with the comfort of a more
settled state of things, would have led to more important
productions. But the Emperor, desiring that aU should turn
to his advantage alone, while at the same time making enor-
mous efforts to attach to his reign all celebrities, so ham-
pered their minds and marked them with the seal of his
despotism that he virtually interdicted all hearty efforts.
The greater number of writers exhausted their inventive ge-
nius in varying the prescribed and well-recompensed praise.
No political works were sanctioned, and in all imaginary cre-
ations every doubtful application was avoided with the ut-
most care. Comedy dared not depict the manners of the
day. Tragedy only ventured to represent certain heroes.
There was so much in the Emperor that could honestly be
praised, that conscience was appeased ; but true invention,
repressed, soon becomes extinct.
Meanwhile time and progress, combined with the habit-
ual good taste of France, which had such examples in the
past, all had their effect. All that was produced had a cer-
tain amount of elegance, and those who engaged in authorship
wrote more or less well. A prudent mediocrity was the
order of the day. The first quality of genius is strength of
LITERATURE. 413
thought, and when thought is restrained one limits one's
self to the perfecting of one's diction. One can only
conscientiously do the best that is permitted. And this
explains the sameness of the works of the beginning of
this century. But nowadays the Fiberty we have gained
extends in all directions, and we have bequeathed to our
children the habit of perfecting the details of execution,
with the hope that they will enrich these details by their
genius.
I have previously said that, while strength of expres-
sion was forbidden us, we were at least allowed to be
natural; and this quality certainly makes itself felt in
the greater number of the literary productions of our time.
The stage, which was afraid to present the vices and the
follies of each class, because all classes were recreated by
Bonaparte, and it was necessary to respect his work, dis-
embarrassed itself of the affectation and cant which pre-
ceded the Bevolution. At the head of our comic authors
Picard must be placed — Picard, who has so often, with so
much originality and gayety, given us an idea of the man-
ners and customs of Paris under the government of the
Directory. After his name come those of Duval and several
authors of comic opera.
We have seen the birth and death of many distinguished
poets : Legouve, who was made known to us by " La Mort
d'Abel," which he followed by "La Mort d'Henri lY.,"
and who wrote fine fugitive poems ; Arnault, author of
" Marius a Minturnes " ; Eaynouard, who made a great suc-
cess in " Les Templieres " ; Lemercier, who appeared before
the public first with his " Agamemnon," the best of his
works ; Chenier, whose talents bore too revolutionary an
imprint, but who had a strong perception of the tragic.
Then follow a Vhole crowd of poets,* all more or less
pupils of M. Dehlle, and who, having acquired from him
* Suob as Esmenard, Parseval-Grandmaison, Luce de Lancival, Campenon,
Michaud, etc.
414 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMMUSAT.
the art of rhyming elegantly, celebrated the charms of the
country and simple pleasures and repose to the sound of
Bonaparte's cannon echoing all through Europe. I will
not enter on this long list, which may be found anywhere.
There were excellent translations made. Very little his-
tory was written; the time had come when it was neces-
sary to use a forcible pen in writing it, and no one was
prepared to use such a pen.
Every one had fortimately become disgusted with the
light and mocking tone of the philosophy of the last cen-
tury, which, overthrowing all belief by the aid of ridicule,
blighted and tarnished all that was best in life, and made of
irreligion a jest and an intolerant dogma. Sorrowful experi-
ence had begun to teach the value of religious faith. Men
were insensibly drawn into a better path, and followed it,
though slowly.*
* This is what my father thought in regard to this chapter of literary
history : " The opinions of my mother on literature and art may seem to be
a little incoherent. It is just on these points that the lingering prejudices
(if I may venture to. use this word) imparted by her education still appear.
She had a strong admiration for Louis XIV., with political aspirations which
would have been senseless if the government of Louis XIV. had been a model
government. She herself preferred the cold, dispassionate literature of that
reign, and thought she saw little beauty in any other style. At the same time,
when her classic conscience was not aroused, it was the natural and unexpected
that she enjoyed. She had when young preferred Rousseau to all others.
As soon as the horizon of politics opened before her, she became enthusiastic
over Mmc. de Staijl. The novelty of Chateaubriand's style enchanted her.
She watched the dawn of the. Romantic epoch. She was carried away by Wal-
ter Scott's romances, by Byron's 'Childe Harold' and 'Parisina,' and by
Schiller's tragedies. In spite of all this, she always seemed to think that the
literature of the Revolution was irregular, and rejoiced at the return under the
Empire of a correct style and careful composition, and maintained, moreover,
that she had done her part toward the restoration of a higher standard for
literature and art.
What she has said of Chateaubriand is a little hard. She does not say
enough of the strong admiration she felt for his talent. It is true that the part
he played and his writings from 1815 to 1S20 displeased her greatly; and, as
his character had never been agreeable to her, she allowed herself to judge him
with some severity. She had at intervals invited him to her house during
AST. 416
Art, which stands not in so much need of liberty as
letters, had not stood altogether still. It had made some
progress, but at the same time it had suffered from the
general restraint. Among our most famous painters was
David, who most unfortunately marred his reputation by
abandoning himself to the most disgusting errors of the
Eevolutionary madness. After refusing in 1792 to paint
Louis XVI., because he said he did not choose that his
bmsh should delineate a tyrant's features, he submitted
with a very good grace to Bonaparte, and represented
him in all ways. Then came Gerard, who painted so
many historical portraits, an immortal "Battle of Auster-
litz," and not long since an "Entry of Henry IV. into
Paris," which stirred every French heart; Girodet, so ad-
mirable for the purity of his drawing and the boldness
the Empire, and wished that he should seem to appreciate her. It is neverthe-
less true that his hard, dry manner did not please her, and this manner he never
laid aside except to adopt a certain mocking laisser-aller — a Voltairean indiffer-
ent way of talking. This style he never adopted in her presence. It was under
this last unceremonious aspect that many persons knew him, however, and par-
ticularly Mole, who was to a certain extent intimate with him. In that circle
which may be called the society of the Faubourg Saint-Houor6, Chateaubriand
was judged very severely.
" My mother had lived entirely out of Mme. de Stael's circle, and felt
against her all the prejudices which were the natural result of her education
and social position. She heard people speak of her, more especially M. de
Talleyrand, who laughed at her, than which nothing could have done her
more harm. As our impressions are much less independent of our opinions
than we could wish, those of my mother at first prevented her from feehng
with sufScient force all Mme. de Stael's wit and talent. It was not so much
that she did not like ' Corinne ' and ' Delphine,' but she was afraid to like
them ; and it was only with many scruples and restrictions that she allowed
herself to admire in her youth those works which betrayed the influence of
philosophy or of the Revolution. All this was changed in 1818 ; but there
are nevertheless marked traces of the past in the manner in which my mother
sat in judgment on the person of Mme. de Stael, as well as on her literary
works. I can not restrain a smile when I see her speak of rqiose as one of the
conditions of talent. This was an idea of the seventeenth century, or rather
of the manner in which the rheteurs of those times compelled us to judge the
seventeenth century." — P. E.
31
416 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
of his conceptioBS ; Gros, an eminently dramatic artist ;
Guerin, whose brush stirs the souls of all who can feel;
Isabey, so clever and so delicate in his miniatures; and a
crowd of others of all kinds. The Emperor patronized
and protected all. Everything was reproduced by the brush
and the palette, and money was lavished on these artists.
The Kevolution had placed them in society, where they
occupied an agreeable and often very useful position. They
guided the development of luxury, and at the same time
drew largely on the poetic and picturesque incidents of
our Hevolution and of the Imperial reign. Bonaparte was
able indeed to chill the expression of strong thoughts ; but
he kindled men's imaginations, and that is enough for most
poets and for all painters.
The progress of science was not interrupted, for it
was useful to the Government and awakened no distrust.
The Institute of France numbers many distinguished men.
Bonaparte courted them all, and enriched some. He even
bestowed some of his new dignities upon them. He sum-
moned them to his Senate. It seems to me that this
was an honor to that body, and that the idea was not
without grandeur. Savants under his rule have been more
independent than any other classes. Lagrange, whom
Bonaparte made Senator, held himseK aloof ; but Laplace,
Lacepede, Monge, Berthollet, Cuvier, and some others ac-
cepted his favors eagerly, and repaid them with unfailing
admiration.
I can not conscientiously close this chapter without
mentioning the great number of physicians who did hon-
or to their profession. Music has attained to high per-
fection in France. Bonaparte had an especial liking for
the Italian school. The expenditures he made in trans-
planting it to France were very useful to us, although
he allowed his own caprices to govern him in the distri-
bution of his favors. For example, he always repelled
Cherubini, because that composer, displeased on one oc-
ART. 417
casion by a criticism made by Bonaparte wben he was
only a general, had answered him somewhat rudely, that
"a man might be skillful enough on a battle-field and
yet know nothing- of harmony." He took a fancy to Le-
Bueur,* and lost his temper at the time of the award of the
decennial prizes because the Institute did not proclaim
this musician worthy of the prize. But as a general thing
he did his best to advance this art. I saw him receive
at Malmaison old M. Gretry, and treat him with remark-
able distinction. Grretry, Dalayrac, Mehul, Berton, Le-
sueur, Spontini, and others still were distinguished un-
der the Empire, and received recompenses for their
works.f
In like manner actors met with great favor. All that
I have said of the tendency of our authors may apply
with equal truth to the drama. The natural has acquired
* Author of the operas of " Les Bardes " and " Trajan."
\ It is much to be regretted that my grandmother, who was a good musician
and composed some pretty songs, did not more fully express her judgment of
the musicians of her day. As to the Emperor, I find in his correspondence sev-
eral interesting letters on this subject. Here they are :
"Bologna, Jwne 23, 1805.
" M. FoticHE : I beg that you will let me know what this piece is, called
' Don Juan,' that they wish to give at the Opera, and for which I am asked to
authorize the expense. I wish to know your opinion on this piece as regards
the view the public are likely to take of it."
" LUDWIGSBUKG, OctohsT i, 1805.
" Mt Brother : I leave to-night. Events will soon become daily more
interesting. Tou must at once put in the ' Moniteur ' that the Emperor is
well, and that on the 4th of October he was still at Ludwigsburg, and that the
junction of the army with the Bavarians is accomplished. I yesterday heard at
the theatre of this court the German opera of ' Don Juan.' I imagine that the
music of this opera is the same as that given in Paris. It strikes me as being
very good."
The same day he wrote to the Minister of the Interior :
" M. Champagny : I am here at the Court of Wiirtemberg, and, in spite of
the fact that the war is going on, I heard yesterday some excellent music. Ger-
man singing seems to me a trifle odd. Is the reserve on the march? Where is
the conscription of 1805 ? "—P. R.
41S MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
a great influence on our stage since the Revolution. Good
taste has proscribed pompous gravity in tragedy and affec-
tation in comedy. Talma and Mile. Mars have done
much toward strengthening the alliance between art and
nature. Ease united to vigor has been introduced in
dancing. In short, it may be said that simplicity, ele-
gance, and harmony now characterize French taste, and
that all the shams of phantasy and conventionality have
disappeared.
CHAPTEE XX.
(1806.)
Senatus- Gonsultum of the 30th of March — Foundation of Monarchies and Duchies
— ^Queen Hortensc.
On the suggestion of M. Portalis, the Minister of Public
Worship, the Emperor issued a decree appointing his birth-
day to be kept on the Feast of the Assumption, the 15th of
August, which was also the anniversary of the conclusion of
the Concordat. The first Sunday of each December was
also set apart as a holiday, in commemoration of Austerlitz.
On the 30th of March there was an important session of
the Senate, which gave rise to much and various comment.
The Emperor communicated to the Senators a long list of
decrees, which were destined to afiect Europe from one end
to the other. It will not be amiss to give some details of
these, as well as an extract from the speech of Cambaceres,
the Arch-Chancellor, which affords an example of the obse-
quious skill with which the sudden resolves of a master who
kept all things, even men's minds, in unceasing ferment,
could be clothed in specious phrases.
" Gentlemen," said Cambaceres, " at the time when
France, animated by the same spirit as ourselves, secured
alike her happiness and her glory by an oath of obedience to
our august sovereign, you foresaw in your wisdom the neces-
sity of coordinating the system of hereditary government in
all its parts, and likewise of strengthening it by institutions
analogous to its nature.
420 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B:^MUSAT.
" Your wishes have been partly fulfilled ; they will be
still further accomplished by the various enactments which
his Majesty the Emperor and King orders me to lay before
you. You will receive with gratitude these fresh proofs of
his confidence in the Senate, and his love for the people, and
you will hasten, in conformity with his Majesty's intention,
to insci'ibe them on your registers.
"The first of these decrees is a statute to regulate all
things relating to the civil status of the Imjierial family, and
it also defines the duties of the princes and princesses toward
the Emperor.
" The second decree unites the states of Yenice to the
kingdom of Italy.
" The third confers the throne of Naples on Prince Jo-
seph." (Here follows an elaborate panegyric of the virtues
of the new King, and of the measure, by which he retains
the title of Grand Dignitary of the Empire.)
" The fourth contains the cession of the duchy of Cleves
and the duchy of Berg to Prince Murat." (Similar pane-
gyric.)
" The fifth bestows the principality of Guastalla on the
Princess Borghese and her husband." (Praises of both.)
" The sixth transfers to Marshal Berthier the principality
of Neuf chAtel." * (lie is complimented like the rest. This
touching proof of the solicitude of the Emperor for his com-
panion in arms, for his brave and intelligent fellow soldier,
* In the following terms, alike familiar and unkind, the Emperor inf onns
Marshal Berthier of the new favors he bestowed on him ; " Malmaison, April 1,
1806. — I send you the ' Monitcur.' You will see what I am doing for you. I
make but one condition : it is that you should marry ; and this must also be a
condition of my friendship for you. Tour infatuation has lasted long enough ;
it has become absurd ; and I have the right to expect that you, whom I have
called my companion in arms, and whom posterity will always place at my side,
shall no longer remain enslaved by such a weakness. You must therefore marry,
or I will see you no more. You are fifty ; but you come of a family who live to
eighty, and these thirty years are precisely those in which the comforts of home
life will be most necessary to you." — P. R.
8ENATUS-O0N8ULTUM. OF MARGE. 421
will not fail to touch every loyal lieart, and to gladden every
loyal spirit.)
" The seventh erects in the states of Parma and Piacenza
three great titles, which will be suitably supported by con-
siderable sums to be raised in those states by order of his
Majesty.
" By similar provisions, contained in decrees relating to
the states of Venice, the kingdom of Naples, and the princi-
pality of Lucca, his Majesty has created rewards worthy of
himself for several of his subjects who have performed great
services in war, or who, in the discharge of important func-
tions, have contributed in a signal manner to the welfare of
the state. These dignities and titles become the property of
those invested with them, and will descend in the male line
to their legitimate heirs. This grand conception, while it
proclaims to Europe the price attached by his Majesty to
acts of valor in his soldiers, and to faithfulness in those em-
ployed by him in important affairs, is also of political advan-
tage. The brilliant position of eminent men gives to their
example and their counsels an influence with the people
which a monarch may sometimes substitute, with advantage,
for the authority of public of&cials. At the same time, such
men are intercessors between the people and the throne."
It must be admitted that a good deal of progress had been
made since the still recent time when the decrees of the Gov-
ernment were dated " Year 14 of the Kepublic."
" It is, therefore, on these bases that the Emperor wishes
to build the great political system with the idea of which
Providence has inspired him, and by which he increases the
love and admiration for his person which you share with all
the French nation."
After this speech, the various decrees were read aloud.
The following are the most important articles :
By the decree regulating the civil status of the Imperial
family, the princes and princesses could not marry without
the consent of the Emperor. Children born of a marriage
422 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rMuSAT.
contracted without his consent would have no claim to the
privileges which in certain countries attach to morganatic
marriages.
Divorce was forbidden to the Imperial family, but sepa-
ration, if authorized by the Emperor, was allowed.
The guardians of Imperial children were to be named by
him.
Members of the Imperial family could not adopt children
without his permission.
The Arch-Chancellor of the Empire was to fulfill toward
the Imperial family all the functions assigned by law to the
officers of the civil status. A Secretary for the status of the
Imperial family was to be chosen among the Ministers or
from among the State councilors.*
The ceremonial for marriages and births was arranged.
The Arch-Chancellor was to receive the will of the Em-
peror, as dictated by him to the Secretary of the Imperial
Family, in presence of two witnesses. The will was to bs
placed in the keeping of the Senate.
The Emperor was to regulate everything concerning the
education of the princes and princesses of his family, ap-
pointing or removing those who had it in charge. All
princes born in the order of succession were to be brought
up together in a palace not more than twenty leagues from
the residence of the Emperor.
The education of the princes was to begin at the age of
seven, and end at that of sixteen. Children of certain per-
sons distinguished by their services might be admitted by
the Emperor to share in the advantages of this education.
If a prince in the order of succession should ascend a
foreign throne, he would be bound, on his sons attaining
the age of seven, to send them to the aforesaid palace.
The princes and princesses could not leave France, nor
remove beyond a radius of thirty leagues, without permis-
sion of the Emperor.
* This was State Councilor Regnault do Saint-Jean d'Angcly.
^ FOUNDATION OF MONARCHIES. 423
If a member of the Imperial family were to misconduct
himself, forgetting his high position and his duties, the Em-
peror might, for a space of time not exceeding one year,
place him under arrest, forbid him his presence, or send him
into exile. He might forbid any intercourse between mem-
bers of his family and persons who seemed to him of doubt-
ful character. In serious cases, he might order two years'
seclusion in a state prison. This was to be done in the
presence of the Arch-Chancellor and of a family council pre-
sided over by himself ; the Secretary of the Imperial Family
to be in attendance.
The great dignitaries and the dukes of the Empire were
subject to the provisions of these latter articles.
After this first decree came the following :
" "We have established and we establish as duchies and
great fiefs of our Empire the provinces hereinafter to be
named :
Dalmatia, Treviso,
Istria, Feltre,
Friuli, Bassano,
Cadore, Vicenza,
Belluno, Padua,
Conegliano, Eovigo.
" We reserve to ourselves the investiture of the said fiefs,
to descend in succession to male issue. In the event of ex-
tinction, the said fiefs shall revert to the Imperial Crown.
" It is our intention that a fifteenth part of the revenue
that our kingdom of Italy draws, or may draw, from the
said provinces shall be an appanage to the said fiefs, and be
possessed by those whom we shall have invested with them.
"We reserve to ourselves for the same purpose the disposal of
thirty millions of francs from national property situate in the
said provinces. Le Mont Napoleon * shall be charged with
twelve hundred thousand francs as Government annuities, in
* Le Mont Napoleon was a creation of Govemmont stock for Italy.
424 MEM OIKS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
favor of those generals, officers, and soldiers who have done
good service to the country and to our Crown, but on the
express condition that they shall not alienate the same within
ten years, without our permission.
" Until the kingdom of Italy shall have an army, we
grant to the said kingdom a French contingent, to be main-
tained by our Imperial Treasury. To this end, our Koyal
Treasury of Italy shall pay monthly to our Imperial Treasury
the sum of two million five hundred thousand francs during
the time that our army shall sojourn in Italy, that is, during
six years. The heir presumptive of Italy shall be entitled
Prince of Yenice.
"The tranquillity of Europe requires that we should
secure the safety of the peoples of Naples and Sicily, who
have fallen into our power by the right of conquest, and
who are part of the Grand Empire ; we therefore declare our
brother Joseph Napoleon, Grand Elector of France, King
of Naples and Sicily. The crown shall be hereditary in the
male line ; failing this, we appoint it to our own legitimate
children in the male line, and failing these, to the children
of our brother Louis Napoleon ; * reserving to ourselves, in
the event of our brother Joseph's dying without male chil-
dren, the right of naming as successor to the said crown a
prince of onr own family, or an adopted son, according as
we may deem it desirable in the interests of our people, and
of that great system which Divine Providence has destined
us to found.
"Six great fiefs are established in the said kingdom,
with the title of duchy, and the same prerogatives as the
others, to be in perpetuity appointed by us and our succes-
sors.
" "We reserve to ourselves a revenue of one million on the
kingdom of Naples, for distribution among the generals,
officers, and privates of our army, on the same conditions as
those set forth in the case of le Mont Napoleon.
* Bonaparte had made all bis brothers take the name of Napoleon.
FOUNDATION OF MONABOHIES. 425
" The King of Naples sLall be in perpetuity a grand dig-
nitary of the Empire, we reserving to ourselves the right of
creating him a Prince instead of Grand Elector.
" We declare that the crown of Naples, which we place
on the head of Prince Joseph and his heirs, shall in no way
bar their right to the succession to the throne of France.*
But it is our will also that the crowns of France, Italy, and
Naples and Sicily shall never be united on the same head.
""We give the duchies of Cleves and of Berg to our
brother-in-law Prince Joachim, and to his heirs male ; failing
whom, they shall devolve on our brother Joseph, and if he
have no male issue, on our brother Louis ; but they are never
to be united to the crown of France. The Duke of Cleves
and Berg will continue to be Grand Admiral, and we shall
have power to create a Vice- Admiral."
Lastly, the principality of Guastalla was bestowed on
Princess Borghese. The Prince was to bear the title of
Prince of Guastalla. Should they have no issue, the Em-
peror was to dispose of the principality at his pleasure. The
same conditions were to hold good in the case of the princi-
pality of Neufchdtel.f
The principality of Lucca was augmented by the addition
of some lands detached from the kingdom of Italy, and in
return was to pay an annual sum of two hundred thousand
francs,:}: which was likewise destined for military rewards.
A portion of the national property situate in the duchies of
Parma and Piacenza was reserved for the same object.
I have deemed it well to give almost the entire text of
the different decrees which seem to me to call for comment.
This act of Bonaparte's revealed to some extent the prepon-
derance which he intended to give the French Empire over
* Joseph Bonaparte had insisted on the insertion of this article.
■f Oudinot took possession of Neufch^tel, at the head of his grenadiers, and
began by confiscating all English merchandise.
X All these annual revenues were comprised, together with the levies made
in war time, in what was called the Extraordinary Estate.
426 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
the conquered states of Europe, and also that which he re-
served to himself personally. It may easily be conceived
that these decrees excited such disquiet throughout Europe
as forbade us to cherish the hope of a long peace. It is also
plain from them that Italy, which had been eager to seize
on the independence which unity of government seemed to
promise her, soon found her hopes betrayed by the secondary
position in which she was placed by the bonds which sub-
jected her to the Emperor.
No matter how careful Prince Eugene was, or how mild
and just Ms government, the Italians soon perceived that
conquest had placed them in the power of a master, who
made use of the resources of their beautiful land for his own
advantage only. They maintained on their territory, and at
their cost, a foreign army. The largest part of their revenue
served to enrich Frenchmen. In everything that was exact-
ed of them, much less regard was paid to their interests than
to the advantage of the Grand Empire, and this soon became
synonymous with the ambitious projects of one man, who
did not hesitate to claim from Italy sacrifices he would scarce-
ly have dared to ask of France. The Viceroy endeavored to
obtain some alleviation for the Italians, but in vain. They
learned, however, to do justice to the character of Eugene,
and to distinguish between him and the rigorous measures
which he was forced to carry out ; they were grateful to him
for what he tried to do, and for his good intentions. This,
however, did not last ; the too much oppressed people lost
the power of being just, and included all Frenchmen, Prince
Eugene at their head, in the hatred they bore to the Emperor.
The Viceroy himself, who was a faithful servant to Bona-
parte, though he was under no delusion regarding him, told
his mother in my presence that the Emperor, jealous of the
affection Eugene had won, had imposed useless and oppressive
measures upon him, in order to alienate the good will of the
Italians.
The Vice-Queen contributed also, at first, to the popular-
FOUNDATION OF M0NAR0EIE8. 427
ity of her husband. She was beautiful, very kind-hearted,
pious, and benevolent, and she charmed every one who ap-
proached her. Toward Bonaparte her manner was dignified
and cold. He disliked to hear her praised. She never passed
much time in Paris.
Several of the articles of these decrees were never car-
ried out. Change of circumstances led to change of purpose ;
new passions brought forth new fancies, or sudden suspicion
altered former resolves. In many respects the government
of Bonaparte resembled the Palace of the Legislature, in
which the Chamber of Deputies is now installed. The for-
mer building remains unaltered ; but, in order to render it
more imposing, a fagade has been erected, which seen from
the river-side is undoubtedly a grand object, but, if we walk
round the building, we find that it does not harmonize with
the architecture of the front. Bonaparte frequently erected
facades only, political, legislative, or administrative.
After the reception of these messages the Senate passed
a vote of thanks to the Emperor, and deputations were sent
to the new Queen of N"aples, who received them with her
uisual simple grace, and to the two princesses. Murat had
already departed to take possession of his duchy. The news-
papers assured us he was received with acclamations, and
gave a similar account of the delight of the l!^ eapolitans ;
but from private letters we learned that the war was to be
continued, and that Calabria would make a stout resistance.
Joseph has a mild disposition, and in no place has he made
himself personally disliked ; but he is wanting in tact, and
he has always shown himself unequal to the position in which
he was placed. To tell the truth, the business of kingship,
as established by Bonaparte, has been a difficult one.
Having settled these important points, the Emperor turned
to occupations of a lighter kind. On the Tth of April the
betrothal of the young couple of whom I have already spoken
in a preceding chapter took place at the Tuileries. The
ceremony was performed in the Diana GaUery in the even-
428 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BI^MUSAT.
ing ; there was a mimerous and brilliant Court. The bri'de
elect wore a silver-embroidered gown ornamented with roses.
The witnesses on her side were MM. de Talleyrand, de
Champagny, and de S6gur; and for the bridegroom, the
Hereditary Prince of Bavaria, the Grand Chamberlain of
the Elector of Baden, and Baron Dalberg, Minister Pleni-
potentiary of Baden.*
On the following evening the marriage was celebrated in
state. The Tuileries were illuminated ; fireworks were ex-
hibited on the Place Louis XY., then called Place de la
Concorde.
The Court displayed a special splendor for the occasion,
even beyond its usual extravagant luxury. The Empress
wore a gown entirely covered with gold embroidery of dif-
ferent shades, and wore, besides the Imperial crown, pearls
in her hair to the value of a million francs. Princess Bor-
ghese shone with all the Borghese diamonds added to her
own, which were priceless ; Mme. Murat wore rubies ; Mme.
Louis was almost covered with turquoises set in brilliants ;
the new Queen of Naples, slight and delicate-looking, seemed
to bend beneath the weight of precious stones. I remember
that I had a Court dress made for the occasion,f although I
was not usually among the most brilliantly dressed ladies of
the Court. It was of pink crape, spangled with silver, and
looped up with wreaths of jasmine ; on my hair was a crown
of jasmine and diamond wheat-ears. My jewels were worth
from forty thousand to fifty thousand francs— far less than
those of most of our Court ladies.
Princess Stephanie had received magnificent gifts from
her husband, and still more splendid ones from the Emperor.
She wore ' a circlet of diamonds surmounted with orange-
blossom. Her court dress was of white tulle, with silver
stars and sprays of orange-blossom. She approached the
altar with much gracefulness, and made lier deep courtesies
* Nephew to the Prince Primate, Arch-Chancellor of the German Empire,
f It cost me sixty louis.
MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS STiPHANIE. 429
so as to charm the Emperor and every one else. Her father,
who stood among the Senators, was moved to tears. His
position in this ceremony was curious, and his feelings must
have been rather complex. The Order of Baden was con-
ferred on him.
The Cardinal Legate, Caprara, solemnized the marriage.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, we returned from the
chapel to the state apartments in the same order as that in
which we had come down : the princes and princesses head-
ing the procession, the Empress followed by all her ladies,
with the Prince of Baden at her side, and the Emperor lead-
ing the bride. He wore his state costume. I have already
said that it became him well. Ifothing was wanting to the
pageantry of the procession but a more deliberate step ; but
Bonaparte always would walk fast, and he hurried us more
than was dignified or desirable.
The trains of the princesses and queens and that of the
Empress were borne by pages. As for the rest of us, al-
though letting our trains fall would have greatly improved
our appearance, we were obliged to carry them over one
arm, because their excessive length would have caused far
too much delay for the Emperor's quick pace.
It frequently happened in state ceremonials, and rendered
them less imposing, that the chamberlains preceding him
would repeat in a low tone, as they trod on our heels, " ]!f ow
then, ladies, please to get on." The Countess d'Arberg, who
had been at the Court of the Archduchess in the Netherlands,
and was accustomed to German etiquette, was always so
visibly annoyed by this intimation, that we who were used
to it could not but laugh at her. She used to say, with some
humor, that we ought to be called " postillions-in- waiting,"
and that we had better have had short skirts given to us than
the long train, which was of no use.
M. de Talleyrand also was much annoyed by this habit,
as, in his capacity of Grand Chamberlain, he had to precede
the Emperor, and he, on account of a weakness of the lower
430 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
limbs, found even slow walking difficult. The aides-de-camp
used to be amused at his vexation. As for the Empress, this
was one of the points on which she would not yield to her
husband. She had a very graceful manner of walking, and
was averse to hiding any of her accomplishments ; therefore
nothing could induce her to hurry. The pressure began
among those who were following her.
When we were starting for the chapel, I recollect that
the Emperor, who was little used to giving his hand to ladies,
was puzzled, not knowing whether to offer his right or his
left hand to the bride. It was she who had to make the de-
cision.
A great reception was held that day in the state apart-
ments ; there was a concert, then a ballet and supper, as I
liave before described. The Queen of Naples having passed
next after the Empress, Bonaparte placed his adopted daugh-
ter at his right hand, above his mother. On that evening
again Mme. Murat had to endure the great mortification of
passing through the doorways after the young Princess of
Baden.
The Court removed next day to Mahnaison, and shortly
afterward to Saint Cloud. I have already related what oc-
curred there. On the 20th we came back to Paris, to be
present at a splendid fete given in honor of the marriage.
The Emperor, wishing to display his Court to the Paris-
ians, allowed a considerable number of invitations to be sent
to men and women of every class. The state apartments
were filled by an immense crowd.* Two quadrilles were
danced. One, in which I took part, was Mme. Louis Bona-
parte's, and was performed with dance-steps in the Salle des
Marechaux. Sixteen ladies, in groups of four, dressed in
white, their heads wreathed with flowers of different colors,
their dresses ornamented with flowers, and with diamond
wheat-ears in their hair, danced with sixteen gentlemen wear-
* There wore 2,500 persons at this ball. Supper was served in the State-
Council room,
MAKING AND UliMAKING KINGS. 431
ing white satin coats, and scarfs corresponding in color to
their partners' flowers. When our dance was concluded, the
Empress and the Imperial family entered the Diana Gallery,
where Mme. Murat was at the head of another quadriUe —
the persons composing it being costumed as Spaniards, with
hats and feathers.
After this, every one was allowed to dance — city and
Court together. Ices and refreshments were distributed in
profusion. The Emperor returned to Saint Cloud, having
remained about an hour, and spoken to a great number of
persons ; that is to say, having asked each one his or her
name. Dancing was kept up after his departure until morn-
ing.
Perhaps I have lingered too long on these details, but
they are a relief from the serious narrative I Kave under-
taken, and of which my woman's pen becomes at times a
little weary.
While making and unmaking kings, according to the ex-
pression of M. de Fontanes,* while giving his adopted daugh-
ter in marriage, and joining in the festivities of which I have
spoken, the Emperor assiduously attended the state councils,
hastened on their work, and forwarded daily a great number of
laws to the Legislature. State Councilor Treilhard was the
bearer of the code of procedure, completed during this year ;
many regulations were agreed to concerning trade, and the
session was closed by a statement which conveyed grand ideas
of the flourishing state of our finances. Not an extra sou
was demanded from the nation ; public works had been ac-
complished, and others were in contemplation ; there was a
formidable army, as was well knoAvn, and only a fixed debt
of 48,000,000 ; a civil list of 35,000,000 against 8,000,000 of
revenue.
Meanwhile the Emperor's resentment against the Eng-
lish Government was growing deeper. The Cabinet, which,
however changed in its individual members, had not changed
* Speech of the President of the Corps Legialatif, this year.
33
432 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
in its policy toward lis, declared war on the King of Prussia,
to punish him for his neutrality in the last war, and for his
conquest of Hanover, which he had just taken.
A long article on European politics appeared in the
" Moniteur." The author tried to prove that by this rupture
England would accelerate the policy which must close the
northern ports against her (the ports of the south being
already closed), and that she would strengthen the union be-
tween France and the Continent. The position of Holland
was next fully discussed. The Grand Pensionary Schimuiel-
penninck had, it was reported, become blind. What would
be the course taken by the Dutch ? It was known that the
Emperor had not directly authorized the recent .changes in
the organization of that country, and that he had said on the
occasion that " the prosperity and liberty of nations could
only be assiu-ed by one of two systems of government — a
constitutional monarchy or a republic, constituted according
to the principles of liberty. In Holland the Grand Pension-
ary exercises an important influence on the elections of the
representatives of the legislative body ; this is a radical vice
in the Constitution. ^Nevertheless all nations can not with
impunity leave the choice of their representatives to the
public, and, when there is- danger to be apprehended from
assembling the people, recourse must be had to the principles
of a good and wise monarchy. This, perhaps, is what will
occur to the Dutch. It is for them to appreciate their situ-
ation, and to choose between the two systems that one which
is most likely to establish public prosperity and public liberty
on a solid basis." These words were sufficiently indicative
of what was in store for Holland. The writer next pointed
out the advantages which must result to France from the
duchies of Cleves and Berg being occupied by a Frenchman,
inasmuch as our relations with Holland would be better, and
that all the countries on the right bank of the Rhine would
be occupied by allies of the Imperial family.
The Prince of Neufchdtel was about to close Switzerland
THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 433
against English traders.* The Emperor of Austria was said
to be engaged in tending his wounds, and resolved on a long
peace. The Russians, still agitated by English policy, had
had fresh contests in Dalmatia, being unwilling to give up
the country situated near the mouth of the Cattaro, which
was in their occupation ; but the presence of the Grand
Army, whose return had been suspended, had compelled
them at length to fulfill the conditions of the last treaty.
The Pope waS dismissing from Rome all persons, whether
English, Russians, or Sardinians, suspected of intriguing, and
whose presence gave umbrage to the French Government.
The kingdom of Il^aples was almost entirely subjugated ;
Sicily was defended by a mere handful of English. France
was in close alliance with the Forte ; the Turkish Govern-
ment was less mercenary and less ignorant than had been
supposed, and understood that the presence of the French in
Dalmatia might be most useful in protecting Turkey from
Russian invasion. Lastly, our army was more formidable
than ever, and well able to resist the attacks of a fourth coa-
lition, to form which, after all, Europe was not disposed.
This sketch of our position with regard to Europe could
only be reassuring to those who took plausible phi-ases ema-
nating from the highest quarter in their literal sense. It was
easy enough for any one who read them without absolute
credulity to perceive that the populations were not so docile
as we tried to make out ; that we were beginning to sacrifice
their interests to our own policy; that England, angered by
failure, was bent on raising up new enemies for us ; that the
King of Prussia was selling us his friendship ; and that Russia
was still threatening us. Men no longer believed in the
pacific intentions which the Emperor announced in all his
speeches. But there was something so impressive in his
plans, his military talent was so abundantly proved, he be-
* The town of Basel, alarmed by the threats of the French GoTernment,
declined all commerce with England. The Queen of Etruria, who was but ill
established on her throne, did the same.
434 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtlMUSAT.
stowed such greatness on France, that, duped by her own
glory, forced as she was to bend beneath the yoke, she con-
sented also to be beguiled by the enchanter. Moreover, the
internal prosperity of the country had apparently increased ;
there was no augmentation of taxes ; everything contributed
to dazzle us, and not one of us, acted upon as we were by
the impulsion which Bonaparte had given us all, had either
the leisure or the ■will for serious reflection. The Emperor
used to say, " Luxury and glory have never^ailed to turn the
heads of the French."
Shortly after, we were told that a great council had been
held at the Hague by the representatives of the Batavian
people, at which affairs of the highest importance had been
discussed; and a rumor was allowed to spread that a new
Dutch monarchy was about to be founded.
MeanM'hile, the English newspapers were full of criticisms
on the progress which the Imperial power was making in
Europe. " If Bonaparte," they said, " succeeds in accom-
plishing his system of a Federal Empire, France wiU become
the sovereign arbiter of almost the whole continent." He
was delighted at this prediction, and resolutely strove to
realize it.
M. de Talleyrand, at that time in great repute, used his
influence in Europe to gain over the foreign Ministers. He
asked for and obtained from the sovereigns exactly those
ambassadors whom he knew he could make amenable. For
instance^ he obtained from Prussia the Marquis de Lucche-
sini,* who subsequently acted in the French interest, against
his own master. He was a clever man, of a somewhat schem-
ing disposition. He was bom at Lucca, but a taste for trav-
* It might be inferred from thia passage that Lucohesini was ambassador at
Paris only from this period ; he had, however, filled that post at the time of the
Peace of Amiens. But he had not always supported the interests of France,
and, although he was in personal relations with M. de Talleyrand, he belonged
rather to the English party, as we shall describe in chapter xxi., and his reports
aroused a hostile feeling in Prussia against us. — P. E.
AMBASSADOR FROM TEE PORTE. 435
eling took him in his youth to Berlin, where he was received
by Fredericlc the Great, who, liking his conversation and his
philosophical principles, kept him near his own person, gave
him a place at Court, and founded his fortunes. He was sub-
sequently intrusted with Prussian afEairs, became a person of
importance, and had sufficient luck and ability to remain long
in high i-epute. He married a Prussian lady, and both he
and his wife, when they came to France, devoted themselves
to M. de Talleyrand, who made use of them to further his
own ends. It was long before the King of Prussia f oimd
out that his ambassador had joined in the plots against him,
and Lucchesini did not fall into disgrace until some years
later. The Marquis then repaired to Italy, and found a fresh
field for his ambition in the influence he obtained over the
sovereign of Lucca, who had become Grand Duchess of Tus-
cany. The events of 1814 caused his downfall to follow on
that of his mistress. The Marchesa de Lucchesini, who was
rather addicted to coquetry, was while in Paris one of the
most obsequious of Madame de Talleyrand's friends.
On the 5th of June the Emperor received an Ambassa-
dor Extraordinary from the Porte, with messages of con-
gratulation and friendship from the Sultan. These messages
were accompanied by magnificent presents of diamonds, a
pearl necklace worth eighty thousand francs, perfumes, innu-
merable shawls, and Arab horses, with housings adorned
with precious stones. The Emperor gave the necklace to
his wife, and distributed the diamonds and the shawls among
the ladies-in-waiting. Some were given also to the wives of
ministers and marshals, and to a few others. The Empress
reserved the finest for herself, and there yet remained enough
to be used afterward for the decoration of a boudoir at Com-
piegne, which Josephine had arranged for herself with spe-
cial care, but which was never used except by the Empress
Marie Louise.
On the same day the Envoy from Holland came to an-
nounce that it had been decided at the Hague, upon mature
436 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Ml^MUSAT.
deliberation, that a constitutional monarchy was the only
form of government that would thenceforth be suitable for
Holland, because such a monarchy would harmonize with
the principles now spreading in Europe ; and that, in order
to consolidate it, they solicited Louis Napoleon, the Empe-
ror's brother, to become their first King.
Bonaparte replied that such a monarchy would doubtless
be profitable to the general policy of Europe, and that, by
removing anxieties of his own, it would enable him to de-
liver important places into the hands of the Dutch, which
hitherto he had felt it his duty to retain. Then, turning
toward his brother, he enjoined him to have a care of the
people intrusted to him.
This scene was well acted. Louis made a fitting reply.
On the audience coming to an end, the doors were flung
open, as on the occasion when Louis XIY. accepted the suc-
cession to Spain, and the new King of Holland was an-
nounced to the assembled Court.
Immediately on this, the Arch-Chancellor carried to the
Senate, according to custom, the new Imperial message, and
made the usual speech.
The Emperor guaranteed to his brother the integrity of
his states, and that his children should succeed him ; but the
crowns of France and of Holland were never to be united
on one head.
In the case of a minority, the Queen was to be regent,
and failing her, the Emperor of the French, in right of his
position as perpetual head of the Imperial family, was to
appoint a regent, whom he was to select from among the
princes of the royal family or among the Dutch nation.
The King of Holland was to remain Constable of the
Empire, a Yice-Constable to be created at the Emperor's
pleasure.
The message also contained an announcement to the Sen-
ate that the Arch-Chancellor of the German Empire had
asked of the Pope that Cardinal Fesch might be designated
QUEEN HORTENSE. 437
as his coadjutor and successor ; and that His Holiness hatl
informed the Emperor of this request, who had approved of
it.
" Lastly, the duchies of Benevento and of Ponte Corvo
beiug a subject of litigation between the Courts of Naples
and Rome, in order to put an end to these difficulties, and
reserving to ourselves the indemnification of these Courts,
we erect them," says the decree, " into duchies and fiefs of
the Empire, and we bestow them on our Gi'and Chamberlain
TallejTand, and on our cousin Marshal Bernadotte, to reward
them for services rendered to the country. They will bear
the titles of these duchies, they will take an oath to serve us
as faithful and loyal subjects, and, if their issue should fail,
we reserve to ourselves the right of disposing of those prin-
cipalities." Bonaparte had no great liking for Marshal Ber-
nadotte ; he probably felt bound to promote him because he
had married the sister of Joseph Bonaparte's wife, and it
seemed fitting that the sister of a Queen should be at least
a Princess.
It is unnecessary for me to add that the Senate approved
of all these proceedings.
On the day following the ceremonial which introduced
another King into Bonaparte's family circle, we were at
breakfast with the Empress, when her husband entered the
room, looking extremely pleased, and holding little IS^apoleon
by the hand. He addressed us all in these terms : " Mes-
dames, here is a little boy who is going to recite to you one
of La Fontaine's fables. I mad^ him learn it this morning,
and you shall hear how well he knows it." On this the
child began to repeat the fable of the frogs who asked for a
king, and the Emperor laughed loudly at each allusion that
seemed applicable to the circumstances. He stood behind
Mme. Louis's arm-chair — she was seated at table opposite her
mother — and pinched her ears as he asked her over and over
again, " What do you say to that, Hortense ? " ISTo one said
much in reply. I was smiling to myself as I ate my break-
438 MEM0IE8 OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
fast, and the Emperor, in high good humor, said to me,
laughing also, " I see that Mme. de Kemusat thinks I am
giving ISTapoleon a good education."
Louis's acquisition of a kingdom revealed to his brother
the deplorable state of his domestic affairs. Mme. Louis
could not contemplate her accession to a throne without bit-
ter weeping. The ungenial climate to which she was about
to remove, which must needs aggravate the wretched state
of her health ; the dread she felt of living alone with her
tyrannical husband ; his increasing dislike of her, which did
not lessen his jealousy, although it deprived it of rational
excuse — all these things made her resolve to open her heart
to the Emperor. She confided her sorrows to him, and pre-
pared him for the fresh troubles that no doubt awaited her.
She entreated his protection in the future, and exacted from
him a promise never to judge her unheard. She went so far
as to tell him that, foreseeing the persecution she would have
to endure in the isolation to which she would be subjected,
her mind was made up that when she should have endured
up to a certain point she would leave the world and retire
to a convent, relinquishing a crown of which she could al-
ready feel the thorns.
The Emperor entreated her to have courage and patience ;
he promised to protect her, and directed her to advise with
him before taking any decisive step.
I can bear witness that this unhappy lady ascended the
throne in the spirit of a victim resigning herself to sacrifice.
CHAPTER XXI.
• (1806.)
I go to Cautorets — The King of Holland — Factitious Tranquillity of France — M. de
Mettornioh — The New Catechism — The Germanic Confederation — Poland —
Death of Mr. Fox — "War is declared— Departure of the Emperor — M. Pasquier
and M. M0I6 — Session of the Senate — The Opehing of Hostilities — The Coui-t —
Eeooption of Cardinal Mauiy.
In the June of this year I went to take the waters at
Caiiterets, and remained away three months. I was in very
delicate health, and needed a respite from Court life and
from the daily anxieties which were wearing alike to mind
and body. My family — ^that is to say, my husband, my
mother, and my children — were settled at Auteuil, whence
M. de E6musat could easily get to Saint Cloud, and there
they passed a happy and peaceful summer. Our Court was
then in solitude ; the sovereigns of Holland had taken their
departure, and the members of Bonaparte's family had sepa-
rate establishments. The Emperor was engrossed by the
gathering clouds in Europe, and was constantly at work ; his
wife employed her leisure in beautifying her estate of Mal-
maison.
The " Moniteur " contained glowing accounts of the tri-
umphal entries of the princes created by Bonaparte into their
respective states. Enthusiasm was said to be at the highest
at l^aples, at Berg, at Baden, and in Holland, and the popu-
lace was delighted everywhere. The speeches of the new
kings or princes, in which they treated their subjects to a
pompous panegyric of the great man whose envoys they
440 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S:^MUSAT.
were, were published for our edification. It is certain that,
at first, Louis Bonaparte found favor with the Dutch. His
wife shared his popularity in it, and displayed such affability
that very soon, as I heard from some French people who ac-
companied them, her strange husband became jealous of the
affection she inspired.
Like his brother, Louis was intolerant of the least inde-
pendence in others. After exacting that the Queen should
hold a brilliant Court, he suddenly changed his mind, and
reduced her by degrees to a very solitary life, thus isolating
her from the people over whom she too had been appointed
to reign. If I may believe the accounts I have received from
persons who could have had no motive for inventing them,
he resumed his distrustful jealousy and his system of spying,
and the Queen was constantly subjected to insult. The poor
young creature, in a state of chronic iU health and profound
melancholy, perceived that it was not her husband's pleasure
that she should share the affection he. hoped to inspire in his
Dutch subjects. Sorrow had made her indifferent to such
things ; she withdrew into the solitude of her palace, where
she lived almost as a prisoner, devoting herself to the arts
she loved, and indulging her excessive affection for her eldest
boy. The child, who was forward for his age, greatly loved
his mother, to the extreme jealousy of Louis. The latter
would sometimes try to obtain his preference by indulgence
carried to excess ; sometimes he would alarm him by out-
breaks of passion, and the boy clung the more to her, who
always loved and never frightened him. Men were found—
and such as are always to be found in courts— who, for hire,
undertook to watch the Queen and report her every action.
The letters she wrote were opened, lest they might contain
any allusion to events in her husband's dominions. She has
assured me that more than once she found her desk open and
her papers upset, and that, if she had chosen, she might have
detected the King's spies in the act of carrying out his in-
structions. It was soon perceived at the Dutch Court that
TEE KINO OF HOLLAND. 441
to appear to be influenced in any way by the Queen was to
lose one's own chances of favor, and on this she was imme-
diately forsaken. Any unfortunate person addressing himself
to her, in order to solicit a favor, would be immediately sus-
pected ; any minister conversing with her on the most trifling
matter would fall under the King's displeasure. The damp
climate of Holland aggravated her |,ilments ; she fell into a
state of atrophy perceptible to everyone, but which the King
did not choose at first to notice. She has told me that her
life at this time was so hard and seemed so hopeless, that fre-
quently, when residing at one of her country-houses not far
from the sea, and gazing at the ocean stretched out before
her, and English vessels blockading the harbors, she ardently
wished that some chance would bring one of them to the
coast, and that some partial invasion might be attempted, in
which she would have been made a prisoner. At last her
physicians ordered her to Aix-la-Chapelle, and the King him-
self, who was out of health, resolved on talring the waters
there with her.
From this time Holland began to suffer from the pro-
hibitive system which the Emperor imposed on everything,
appertaining to the Empire. It must be conceded to Louis
Bonaparte that he promptly defended the interests of the
people confided to him, and opposed the tyrannical measures
forced on him by the Imperial policy as strongly as was in
his power. He bore with firmness the Emperor's reproaches
on the subject, and resisted him in such a manner as to gain
the affection of the Dutch. In this they did him justice.
Switzerland also was compelled to decline all trade with
England, and English goods were seized everywhere. These
measures served to strengthen the party in London who were
anxious to force France into fresh European wars at any
price. Mr. Fox, who was then Prime Minister, seemed,
however, to lean toward peace, and to be willing to receive
overtures of negotiation. During the summer he was at-
tacked by the iUness which subsequently proved fatal to him,
442 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
and his influence declined. The Russians were still contend-
ing with our troops for the possession of certain parts of
Dabnatia. The Grand Army showed no sign of returning
to France ; the promised fetes were constantly deferred.
The King of Prussia was inclined to peace, but his young
and lovely consort, as well as Prince Louis of Prussia and a
part of the Court, did all they could to incite him to war.
They pointed out to him that the future had in store the
liberation of Poland, the aggrandizement of Saxony, the
danger of the Confederation of the Rhine being organized ;
and it must be admitted that the Emperor's line of conduct
was a justification for the disquiet of Europe.
English policy was by degrees regaining its influence over
the Emperor of Russia. Count WoronzoflE had been sent to
London, and he fell so completely under the influence ex-
erted over him that the Continent was again disturbed. The
Czar had sent Baron d'Oubril to Paris, to negotiate with us,
and a treaty of peace was in fact signed 'bj him and M. de
Talleyrand on the 20th of July, biit, as will be seen hereafter,
it was never ratified at St. Petersburg.
About this time General Junot was made Governor of
Paris.
France was in a state of profovind tranquillity. Day by
day the Emperor met with less opposition. A firm, equable,
and strict administration, which was just, inasmuch as it was
equal for all, regulated both the exercise of authority and
the mode of supporting it. Conscription was rigorously en-
forced, but as yet the murmurs of the people were but faint ;
the French had not then exhaused the sentiment of glory, as
they have done since that time, and, moreover, the brilliant
possibilities of a military career fascinated the youth of
France, and they all espoused the cause of Bonaparte. Even
in the families of the nobility, who were, on principle or
from habit, in opposition, the political creed of the fathers
was less firmly held liy the children, and parents were per-
haps, in their secret heart, not sorry to relax somewhat of
FACTITIOUS TRANQUILLITY OF FRANCE. 443
theii" severity on the plea of paternal concession, l^or was
any opportunity overlooked of indicating that the nation
had returned to the natural course and order of things.
The feast of the 15th of August having become that of
St. Napoleon, the Minister of the Interior wrote a circular
letter to all the prefects, recommending them to combine in
the solemnization of the fete rejoicings for both the birthday
of the Emperor and the reestablishment of religion. " No
hoHday," said the letter, " can inspire deeper feelings than
that in which a great people, in the pride of victory and the
consciousness of happiness, celebrates the birthday of the
sovereign to whom, all its felicity and glory are to be as-
cribed."
It ought to be constantly repeated, as well for the sake
of nations to come as for the sake of those who are called to
reign over them, that both peoples and kings who allow
themselves to be deceived by an appearance of calm, after
the storm of a revolution, are in the wrong. If this time of
peace has not called into existence an order of things in-
dicated by national needs, then it is fallacious calm, a respite
resulting from circumstances — of which a clever man will
indeed avail himself, but which he will not really utilize un-
less he prudently regulates the advance of those who have
trusted him. Far from so acting, Bonaparte, powerful and
headstrong, opened, as it were, a long parenthesis in the
French Eevolution. He always had a conviction that this
parenthesis would be closed at his death, which to him
seemed the only possible limit to his fortune.
He seized the reins of France when Frenchmen were
wandering bewildered in every direction, and were fearful
that they should never reach the goal to which they aspired.
Their energies, which were vague because they no longer
ventured to undertake any kind of enterprise boldly, were
then turned into military ardor, which is the most dangerous
of any, because the most opposed to the trae citizen spirit.
For a long while Bonaparte rea,ped the advantage of tliis.
4M MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
but lie did not foresee that, in order to rule after Ms fashion
a nation wliich for a time had become distrustful of its own
strength, and which yet felt the need of a great restoration,
it was imperative that victory should always follow on war,
and that reverses must inevitably make man reflect in a
direction dangerous for himself.
He was, I beheve, hurried along by the force of circum-
stances, resulting from the events of every day. But he was
determined to check the growth of liberty at any cost, and
to this end he directed all his efforts. It has been frequently
said, both during the Empire and after his faU, that he un-
derstood the science of governing better than any other man.
This is the case, doubtless, if it be only understood as the
knowledge of means whereby to enforce obedience ; but if
the word " science " includes " the clear and certain knowl-
edge of a thing, founded on principles either self-evident or
proved to demonstration," * then it is certain that in Bona-
parte's system of government there was no place for those
elements which manifest the esteem of the sovereign for his
subjects. He by no means recognized the concession of cer-
tain rights which every man who intends to rule other men
for any length of time must begin by making to them, lest,
weary of their mental inaction, they should one day claim
these rights for themselves. He did not know how to stir
generous passion, or to appreciate and evoke moral virtues,
and thus to elevate himself in proportion as he aggrandized
human nature.
Singular in every respect, he believed himself to be vast-
ly superior to the rest of the world, and nevertheless he was
afraid of superiority in others. Is there one among those
who knew him well who has not heard him say that he pre-
ferred men of second-rate abilities ? Is there one who has
not remarked that when he made use of a man of talent, of
whatever kind, he would, before he felt he could trust him,
find out his weak point, and in most cases hasten to divulge
* This definition is given in tlie Encyolopasdia.
COUNT METTERNICH. 4A6
it ? Did he Bot always depreciate, and often falsely, those
whose services he employed? The truth is, Bonaparte's
gifts, whether to the world, to nations, or to individuals,
were all bargains. These bargains, which were enforced
rather than offered, flattered the vanity of human nature,
and thus for a long time beguiled men's minds, so that it is
now hard to reduce them to bounds of possibility and rea-
son. Such a policy as this may certainly avail to purchase
service of every kind, but it follows that it must be based on
unvarying success. Ai'e we to conclude from this that the
French were unpardonably guilty, because they fell into the
power of such a man? Will posterity condemn them for
their imprudent trust in him ? I think not.
Bonaparte, who employed good or evil things indiffer-
ently, according as they served his purpose, understood thor-
oughly that no secure foundations can be laid in times of
trouble. He therefore began by restoring order, and it was
thus he won us, poor tired wayfarers that we were, battered
by many a storm ! That which he created for his own profit
only we accepted gratefully ; the social order which was re-
stored by him, that it might become the groundwork of his
despotic sway, we regarded as the greatest of his gifts, and
as the pledge of other benefits. We believed that the man
who reestablished public morality, religion, and civilization,
who patronized art and literature, and who undertook to re-
duce society to order, must have a soul capable of true great-
ness ; and perhaps, after all, our error, which was deplorable
because it served his purposes so long, proves the generosity
of our sentiments rather than our imprudence.
Until Prussia declared war, no event of any importance
took place. In the course of the summer Count Mettemich,
the Austrian Ambassador, arrived in Paris. He occupied an
important position in Europe, took part in events of the
highest importance, and finally made an enormous fortune ;
but his abilities did not rise above the schemes of a second-
rate policy. At the period of which I am speaking he was
446 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
young, good-looking, and popular with women. A little
later lie formed an attachment to Mme. Murat, and he
retained a feeling toward her which for a long time
aided to keep her husband on the throne of Naples, and
which probably is still of service to her in her retire-
ment.*
In the month of August a decree which settled the new
catechism of the Galilean Church was promulgated. It was
entitled " Bossuet's Catechism," and it contained, together
with doctrines taken from the works of the Bishop of Meaux,
some remarkable utterances on the duties of French people
toward their Emperor.
Page 55 : " Question. What are the duties of Christians
toward their rulers ; and what, in particular, are our duties
toward ]!^apoleon I., our Emperor ?
'^Answer. Christians owe to the princes who govern
them, and we, in particular, owe to Napoleon I., our Em-
peror, love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service, and
the tributes ordained for the preservation and defense of the
Empire and of his throne. To honor and serve our Emperor
is, therefore, to honor and to serve God.
" Q. Are there any special reasons which should more
strongly attach us to our Emperor Napoleon I. ?
" A. Yes ; for it is he whom God raised up in difficult
circumstances to restore the public profession of the holy
religion of our forefathers, and to be its protector. He has
restored public order by his profound and active wisdom ;
he defends the state by his powerful arm, and he has be-
come the anointed of the Lord through the consecration
of the Sovereign Pontiif, the Head of the Universal
Church.
" Q- What ought we to think of such persons as may fail
in their duties toward our Emperor ?
"^. According to the Apostle St. Paul, they would
* At the present date (1819) she is living in the states of the Emperor of
Austria. (She died at riorenoe on the 18th of May, 1839.— P. R.)
TEE OERMANIG CONFEDERATION: 447
thereby be resisting tbe orders of God Himself, and would
become worthy of eternal damnation." *
During Mr. Fox's tenure of office, Bonaparte, either from
private information, or because he perceived the policy of
the Prime Minister to be opposed to that of his predecessor,
flattered himself that he should be able to conclude a treaty
of peace with England. Besides the advantages to be gained
from this, his pride was always, singularly mortified that the
English Government did not acknowledge him as a sovereign.
The title of " General," which the English 'newspapers gave
him, always annoyed him extremely. Notwithstanding his
greatness, he had some of the weaknesses of a pa/rvenu.
When Fox fell ill, the " Moniteur " announced that there was
reason to fear that the gravity of his malady might throw Eng-
lish policy back once more into its ordinary complications.
Meanwhile, the design of the Confederation of the Khine
was suddenly disclosed. In the Emperor's grand feudal plan
this was comprised : it would increase the number of the
feudatories of the French Empire, and spread the European
revolution. But if it be true that the old institutions of the
Continent have reached a point at which their decrepitude
gives irresistible warning of the necessity of their fall, it is
also true that the time has come when their fall is not to be
for the advantage of despotism. Bonaparte never ceased
trying to make a counter-revolution, solely in his own inter-
ests, against those ideas which emerged into the light of day
thirty years ago. Such an undertaking is, happily, beyond
the power of man ; and we owe it to him, at least, that his
failure to accomplish that reaction settled for ever this im-
portant question.
* "Were we then to believe," asks Mme. do Stael, "tbat Bonaparte could
award hell in the next world, because he gave the idea of it in this ? " There is
some exaggeration in this remark ; but the following seems to me to be extreme-
ly accurate ; " Nations have sincere piety only in those countries where one may
love God and the Christian religion with one's whole soul without losing, and
especially without obtaining, any worldly advantage by the manifestation of that
sentiment."
34
448 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
The grand ducliies of Germaiiy were therefore separated
from the Grermanic Empire, and the Emperor of France was
declared to be their protector. The contracting parties —
that is to say, the Empire and the confederated states — en-
gaged to take up arms in the case of war being declared on
one or the other. The contingent of the Confederation was
named at 63,000 men, that of France at 200,000. The Elec-
tor Arch-Chancellor of the Germanic Empire became Prince
Primate of the Confederation ; on his death the Emperor
was to nominate his successor. Moreover, the Emperor re-
newed the declaration by which he bound himself not to
extend the frontiers of France above the Ehine ; but, at the
same time, he declared that he would use every means to
procure the freedom of the seas. This appeared in the
"Moniteur" of the 25th of July.
M. de Talleyrand had a large share in the honor of form-
ing this Confederation. He was in very high repute at this
time. He seemed destined to reduce the wide and ambitious
projects of the Emperor to a definite system ; but, at the
same time, he did not neglect the increase to his own fortune
which was to be got out of them. The German princes paid,
as a matter of course, for slight advantages obtained by them
in the arrangement ; and the name of M. de Talleyrand, being
always connected with such important negotiations, became
more and mOre renowned throughout Europe.
One of his favorite theories, and it is one which has al-
ways seemed just and reasonable, is that the policy of France
ought to tend to the release of Poland from a foreign yoke,
and to the use of that country as a barrier against Pussia and
a counterpoise to Austria. He always exerted his influence
in this direction. I have often heard him say that the repose
of all Europe depended on Poland. It would appear that
the Emperor was of the same opinion, but that he did not
persevere sufficiently in endeavoring to realize this project.
Accidental circumstances also interfered ■with it. He often
complained of the passionate, yet shallow, character of the
POLAND. 449
Poles. " It was impossible," he said, " to guide them on any
system." They required special and exclusive attention, and
Bonaparte could only think of Poland occasionally. More-
over, as it was the Emperor Alexander's interest to obstruct
French policy in this particular, he would not have remained
a quiet spectator of efforts in any such direction ; and so it
happened that only a half-hearted course was taken with re-
spect to Poland, and all the advantages that might have been
gained were lost. However, after some slight differences
between the Russians and ourselves about the cession of the
mouths of the Cattaro, the two Emperors apparently came
to terms, and Baron d'Oubril was sent- to Paris from St. Pe-
tersburg to sign a treaty of peace.
Although the return of our army was constantly an-
nounced to us, yet it did not take place, either because
Bonaparte had already become aware of the difficulty of
keeping so large a number of soldiers in France, a burden
upon the citizens, or that he foresaw fresh disturbances in
Europe, and that the peace would be of no long duration.
A kind of bazaar for the exhibition of French industrial
produce was opened on the Place des Invalides; but the
fetes promised to the Grand Army were no longer spoken
of. This exhibition took place, and profitably occupied the
minds of the people.
In the beginning of September Jerome Bonaparte ar-
rived in Paris. Every attempt which had been made on
the colonies had failed, and the Emperor gave up naval
enterprise for ever. He began to plan a marriage for his
young brother with one of the European princesses, having
insisted that his first marriage should be regarded as null
and void.
On creating the Oonfederation of the Ehine, Bonaparte
had declared that the Hanseatic towns should retain their
liberty ; but, whenever there was a question of liberty, it was
natural enough to believe that the Emperor's gift of it was
in reality but a temporary loan, and his resolutions on the
450 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
subject caused great agitation in Prussian politics. The
Queen and the nobility urged the King of Prussia to war.
Consequently, during the campaign which was very shortly
begun, the former was made an object of vituperation in
the bulletins, frequently of a coarse kind. At first she was
compared to Armida, who, torch in hand, tried to raise up
enemies against us. As a contrast to this poetical compari-
son, a few lines farther on we find a phrase in an utterly
different style : " What a pity ! for they say that the King
of Prussia is a very well-meaning man."* Bonaparte fre-
quently said that there is but one step from the sublime to
the ridiculous ; this is' true, both of actions and words, when
true art is neglected, and it must be owned that he made
little account of it.
Mr. Fox died in September, and the war party resumed
power. The Kussian Ministry was changed ; a national move-
ment was set on foot among the Russian nobility ; the peo-
ple were beginning to respond; the storm was gathering,
and it suddenly burst when the Czar refused to ratify the
treaty signed in Paris by his plenipotentiary, Baron d'Oubril.
From that moment war was inevitable. No official intima-
tion was made, but the matter was openly discussed.
At the beginning of the month I returned from Caute-
rets, and I was enjoying the happiness of my home circle
when M. de Remusat received a sudden order to proceed to
Mayence, whither the Emperor was going a few days later.
I was deeply grieved by this fresh separation. As I enjoyed
* The Emperor often expresses this opinion in letters written during the
campaign. Thus, he writes to his wife on the 13th of October : " To-day I am at
Gera ; all is going on well, and according to my hopes. With the help of God,
in a few days the state of things will be terribte for the poor King of Prussia,
whom personally I pity, for he is a good man. The Queen is with him at Erfurt.
She will hare the cruel pleasure of seeing a battle, if she wishes it. I am in per-
fect health, and have already grown stouter since I left Paris ; yet every day I
cover twenty to twenty-five leagues of ground, riding, driving — in every kind of
way, in fact. I lie down at eight, and, when I get up again at midnight, I remem-
ber that you have not yet retired for the night. Ever yours." — P. R.
WAB IS -DEOLARED. 451
none of those honors which offer compensation to some wo-
men even for the sufferings of a soldier's wife, I found it
hard to resign myself to these constantly recurring separa-
tions. I remember the Emperor asking me, after M. de
E,emusat was gone, why I looked so sad, and, when I an-
swered that it was because my husband had left me, he
laughed at me. " Sire," I added, " I know nothing of the
delights of heroism, and I always meant to take out my
share of glory in happiness." He laughed again. " Happi-
ness 1 " he said. " Ah, yes ! much we think of happiness in
this age."
Before the departure for Mayence I again met M. de
Talleyrand, who was very friendly. He assured me that
nothing could be better for our prospects than that M. de
Kemusat should be in attendance on the Emperor in all his
journeys ; but, as he saw tears in my eyes, he spoke seriously,
and I was grateful to him for not jesting on a subject which
to me only was a real grief, but which certainly must have
appeared of slight consequence to the many wives and moth-
ers whose husbands and sons were leaving them for real
scenes of danger. M. de Talleyrand's natural tact and his
admirable good taste lead him to adapt his tone perfectly to
those whom he addresses ; this is one of his most attractive
characteristics.
The Emperor went away suddenly on the 25th of Sep-
tember, without sending any message to the Senate in ex-
planation of his absence.* The Empress, who always parted
* These journeys and long absences of the' Emperor were more frequent than
we can now realize. Never has a sorereigu dwelt less in his own capital. There
is a curious work entitled " Itin^raire general de Napoleon, Chronologic du Con-
Bulat et de I'Empire, indiquant jour par jour pendant toute sa vie, le lieu ou
^tait Napoleon cc qu'il y a fait, et les Ev^nements les plus remarquables qui
s'attachent k son Histoire, etc., par A. M. Perrot. Paris, Bistor, 1845." From
this book, which is Tcry correct, especially with regard to the period of Impe-
rial grandeur, we learn that from the time of his accession to the throne until
his abdication in 1814, Napoleon spent only 955 days in Paris, i. e., less than
three y^ars, during a reign of ten. He was traveling, if not out of France, yet
at a considerable distance from Paris, and from his palaces of Saint Cloud, Mal-
V
452 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
with him unwillingly, had not been ahle at first to obtain
permission to accompany him, though she hoped to rejoin
him later. She, however, used such persuasion, during the
last day of his stay at Saint Cloud, that toward midnight he
yielded, and she entered his traveling carriage with him and
only one attendant. The Imperial suite did not join her
until a few days later. I was no longer included in these
journeys ; my health forbade. I may affirm that the Em-
press, who had become accustomed to the gratification to her
vanity afforded her by ladies of a higher rank than mine
seeking to join her Court, had returned in her heart to her
former friendship, and now felt real regret at my absence.
As for the Emperor, I counted for little in his eyes, and he
was right. At his Court a woman was nothing, and a woman
in ill health less than nothing.
. Mme. Bonaparte told me that her husband entered upon
this Prussian campaign with some reluctance. Luxury and
ease had had their natural effect upon him, and the hardships
of camp-life now affected his imagination unpleasantly. Nor
was he devoid of solicitude. The Prussian troops were re-
nowned; their cavalry was recognized as first-rate, while
ours as yet inspired no confidence, and our military men ex-
pected a formidable resistance.
The prompt and unparalleled result of the battle of Jena
is one of those miracles which upset all human calculations.
That victory astonished and confounded all Europe, proved
the good fortune as well as the genius -of Bonaparte, and
bore witness to French valor.
He did not remain long at Mayence ; the Prussians had
marched into Saxony, and it was imperative to follow them.
At the opening of this campaign the Emperor formed two
new companies of gendarmes ; the command of one was
given to the Vicomte de Montmorency. This was an appeal
maison, Compibgnc, Eambouillet, and Fontainebloau, for more than 1,600 days,
that is, for more than four years, and was frequently absent for six months at
a time. — P. E.
DEPARTURE OF THE EMPEROR. 453
to tlie nobility to take their share of glory, to nibble at the
bait of a semblance of privilege ; and, in fact, a few gentle-
men did join that regiment.
During the preparations for the important coming events,
it was decided that the Empress, with those members of the
Court who had accompanied her, should remain at Mayence.
M. de Eemusat was in waiting, having the superintendence
of her entire household, and M. de Talleyrand was also to
remain until further orders.
Just before the Emperor's departure, my husband was
present at a scene which made a great impression on him.
M. de Talleyrand was in the Emperor's cabinet, where M. de
Eemusat was receiving final instructions ; it was evening,
and the traveling-carriages were waiting. The Emperor sent
my husband to summon the Empress ; he returned with her
in a few moments. She was weeping. Agitated by her
tears, the Emperor held her for a long time in his arms, and
seemed almost unable to bid her farewell. He was strongly
moved, and M. de Talleyrand was also much affected. The
Emperor, still holding his wife to his heart, approached M.
de Talleyrand with outstretched hand ; then, throwing his
arms round both at once, he said to M. de Eemusat, " It is
very hard to leave the two persons one loves best." As he
uttered these words, he was overcome by a sort of nervous
emotion, which increased to such a degree that he wept un-
controllably, and almost immediately an attack of convulsions
ensued, which brought on vomiting. He was placed in a
chair, and drank some orange-flower water, but continued to
weep for fully a quarter of an hour. At length he mastered
himself, and, rising suddenly, shook M. de Talleyrand by the
hand, gave a last embrace to his wife, and said to M. de
Remusat : " Are the carriages ready ? Call the suite, and let
us go."
When, on his return, my husband described this scene to
me, it made me feel glad. The fact that natural feeling had
got the mastery over Bonaparte always seemed to me a vie-
454 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RtMUSAT.
tory in which we were all interested. He left Mayence on
the 22(1 of October, at 9 p. m.
No announcement had as yet been made to the Senate,
but every one expected a formidable war. It was a national
war on the part of the Prussians, for in declaring it the King
had yielded to the ardent desire of aU the nobility and a
majority of the people.
Moreover, the rumors regarding the foundation of a king-
dom of Poland were disquieting to reigning sovereigns. A
Northern League was in contemplation, which was to em-
brace all the states not comprised in the Confederation of
the Phine.
The young Queen had much influence with her husband,
and great confidence in Prince Louis of Prussia, who longed
for an opportunity to distinguish himself. He was brave,
amiable, had great taste for the fine arts, and had fired the
youthful nobility with his own ardor. The Prussian army,
full of life and spirit, inspired complete confidence in the
new coalition ; its cavalry was considered the finest in Eu-
rope. When we remember how easily all this was dispersed,
we must believe that the leaders were very incompetent, and
that the old Prince of Brunswick must once more have mis-
directed the courageous soldiers confided to him.
Even at the opening of this campaign, it was easy to see
that France was weary of the uncertainty which war brought
into both public and private affairs. Discontent was visible
in the expression of men's countenances, and it was evident
that the Emperor must indeed do wonders to rekindle feel-
ings that were beginning to chill. In vain did the news-
papers contain articles describing the zeal with which the
new conscripts came to be enrolled in all the departments ;
no one was deceived by these accounts — no one even tried
to appear to be deceived. Paris fell into the gloomy condi-
tion which war always produces in capital cities while it
lasts. The progress of our industrial pursuits was admired
at the Exhibition of which I have spoken, but curiosity
BONAPARTE'S MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT. 465
alone will not stir the heart of a nation ; and, when citizens
may not take the least part in their own government, they
regard the improvements in civilization which are due to
that government merely as a spectacle. We began to feel in
France that there was something mysterious in Bonaparte's
conduct toward us. "We perceived that it was not for us
that he lived and acted ; that what he wanted from us was
an appearance of prosperity, brilliant rather than solid, which
should surround him with fresh luster. I recollect writing
to my husband during the campaign in the following terms :
" The situation is greatly changed ; so are men's minds : the
military miracles of this year do not produce haK the effect
of former ones. The enthusiasm excited by the battle of
AusterUtz is not to be aroused now." * The Emperor him-
* My grandmother's correspondence bears witness to the great change which
had taken place in public opinion on the subject of the military success of the
Emperor. I believe the publication of these letters would be of interest, even
though they did not contain any political revelations. I intend shortly to pub-
lish them, but I could quote numerous passages in support of what is here
stated, or has been stated in previous chapters, notwithstanding the reserve
made necessary by the insecurity of the post-office. For instance, during this
Prussian campaign, two months after the battle of Jena, and before that of
Eylau, Madame de Remusat writes on the 12th of December, 1806 : "We ought
to be very cautious in our correspondence, and, if I may say so, I think you are
imprudent, and there are sometimes philosophic phrases in your letters which
might be taken in bad part. It is an additional trial that we may not even
write freely when separated by so great a distance ; but we must resign our-
selves to every sacrifice, and hope that by this one we may obtain a long peace.
Peace ! People scarcely hope for it here. Depression and discontent prevail
everywhere ; there are both suffering and open complaint. This campaign does
not produce one quarter of the effect of the last. There is no admiration, and
even no astonishment ; we have become used to miracles. The bulletins are all
received without applause at the theatres ; in fact, a generally painful feeling
prevails. This feeling is, no doubt, unjust ; for, after all, there are cases in
which even men of the strongest mind are carried along by circumstances far-
ther than they wish, and I can not believe that a great mind will seek for glory
in war. Add to this the conscription, and the new decrees respecting commerce.
Enmity makes use of everything, and is not guided by reason. People pretend
that these measures are passed from motives of anger only. I am far from
passing judgment on them, for, in spite of all I hear, I must admire and trust
456 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S^MUSAT.
self perceived it ; for, when lie had returned to Paris after
the treaty of Tilsit, he said : " Military glory soon palls upon
modern nations. Fifty battles produce little more sensation
than five or six. To the French I shall always be the man
of Marengo, rather than of Jena or Friedland."
, As the Emperor's designs on Europe increased in magni-
tude, it became more and more needful for him to centralize
his administration, in order that his commands, all emanating
from the same point, might be rapidjy transmitted to the
proper quarters. The submission of the Senate might be
taken for granted ; the importance of the Corps Legislatif
was lessening every day. Bonaparte had doubtless resolved
on seizing the first pretext for ridding himself of the Trib-
unate, and he extended the powers of the Council of State,
which consisted of men of abihty, on whom he exercised a
direct pressure. By a new decree he now appointed a Com-
mittee for Petitions in the Council of State, which consisted
of councilors, masters of requests, and auditors. They met
three times a week, and reported to Bonaparte. MM. Mole
and Pasquier, both of them " Masters of Requests," were
members of this committee. They had entered public life
at the same period ; both, although widely differing in age,*
bore names well known in the magistracy; they had the
same social connections, equal zeal, and similar ambition, and
they were beginning to make themselves felt in the new
Government. Meanwhile, the Emperor already displayed a
tlio power which rules the fate of all I hold dear." This letter, evidently, was
not intrusted to the post, but conveyed by some friendly hand. But, even in
their correspondence carried on by the ordinary means, the writers expressed
their feelings, their distrust, almost amounting to horror, of the then state of
things. Prudence, however, sometimes had the upper hand ; and in a letter
preceding this one my grandmother excuses herself for not forwarding to her
husband a letlcr from her son Charles, then a boy of nine years old, on the
ground of its lack of prudence. The young scholar, in quoting the line from
Phsedrus, Humiles laborant uhi poicntcs dissident, had ventured to express the
following sentiment : " I dislike Philip because he has too much ambition." —
P. R.
* M. Mold was then twenty-six years of age, and M. Pasquier about forty.
SESSION OF THE SENATE. 457
preference for M. Mole. He exercised an ascendancy over
this yonng man, who, although naturally of a grave disposi-
tion, was yet capable of enthusiasm. He thought he could
mold his opinions in his own way, and he partly succeeded,
while he made use of the parliamentary tendencies of M.
Pasquier. "I use one," he said sometimes, "but I create
the other." I quote these words of his to show how he was
accustomed to analyze his own conduct toward every one.
Horse-races, which had been decreed by the Emperor
himseK when he was as yet only First Consul, took place in
Paris in the autumn of this year. In fact, France had come
to resemble a great audience at a theatre, before whom per-
formances of aU kinds were given on the sole condition that
hands should be raised only to applaud.
On the 4th of October the Senate was convoked. The
Arch-Chancellor, as he had done in the past, and as he was
to do in the future, announced the war in an insignificant
and pompous speech. After this, he read a letter from the
Emperor, dated from headquarters, in which he stated that
the King of Prussia was the aggressor, and deplored the evil
influence that constantly disturbed the repose of France,
while he announced that the invasion of Saxony had obliged
him to march rapidly forward. This letter was accompanied
by the official report of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He
could discover no valid cause for war ; he expressed surprise
that the freedom granted to the Hanseatic towns could have
given umbrage to the Prussian Government, and quoted a
note from M. de Knobelsdorff, the new envoy from Prussia.
A rumor arose that, some time previously, M. de Luc-
chesini, who was devoted, it was said, to England, had
alarmed the Court by unfounded reports of a universal
monarchy planned by the French Government. On being
informed of this, the Emperor had requested that M. de
Lucchesini should be recalled. M. de KnobelsdorfE suc-
ceeded him, but no good result ensued. The coolness be-
tween the two Cabinets increased. The Emperor departed.
458 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE rAMUSAT.
The Prussian Minister received a final note from his sover-
eign, demanding the immediate evacuation of the whole of
Germany by the French troops, and requiring that the ratifi-
cation of this demand should he sent to the King of Prussia's
headquarters by the 8th of October. M. de Knobelsdorff
dispatched this note to M. de Talleyrand, then at Mayence,
and it was forwarded by him to the Emperor, who had al-
ready reached Bamberg.
The first bulletin on the opening of the campaign gives
the following account of what had taken place : " On the 7th
the Emperor received dispatches from Mayence, consisting
of M. de Knobelsdorffs note and a letter from the King of
Prussia, twenty pages long — a pamphlet, in fact, in the style
of those written to order for the English Government, by
authors hired for £500 a year. The Emperor did not read
it through, and remarked to the persons about him : ' I am
sorry for my brother, the King of Prussia ; he does not un-
derstand French. He has certainly not read this rhapsody.'
Then he turned to Marshal Berthier : ' Marshal, they give us
a rendezvous for the 8th ; never has a Frenchman failed to
keep such an appointment. But, as it seems that a lovely
Queen wishes to be a spectator at our contest, let us be cour-
teous, and march without delay toward Saxony.' "
And, in fact, hostilities-began on the 8th of October, 1806.
The Emperor's proclamation to his soldiers was, like the
former ones, in a style peculiar to himself and belonging to
no particular epoch.
" Let us march," he said, " since our moderation has failed
to cure them of their astounding folly. Let the Prussian
army meet the same fate as that which befell it fourteen
years ago. Let them learn that if it is easy to acquire an
increase of territory and of power by means of the friendship
of a great nation, so its enmity, which can only be incurred
by forsaking all wisdom and reason, is more terrible than the
storms of ocean."
At the same time, the King of Holland returned to the
THE EMPRESS AT MA YEN OB. 459
Hague, in order to assemble the Stat.es, and to ask them to
pass a law enacting the payment in advance of one year's
land-tax. Having obtained this, he moved his headquarters
to the frontier. Thus, the Dutch, to whom a long continua-
tion of prosperity, in return for the surrender of their liberty,
had been promised, were from the very first threatened with
•jvar, and had to endure a double taxation and a blockade of
the continent, which destroyed their trade.
Mme. Louis Bonaparte joined her brother at Mayence,
and seemed to breathe freely when once more among her
own people. The young Princess of Baden also came to
Mayence ; there was still, at this time, a great coolness be-
tween her husband and herseK. The Empress received a
visit from the Prince Primate and from some of the sover-
eigns belonging to the Confedera,tion. Her life at Mayence
was very bright and stirring; many distinguished person-
ages came thither to pay their respects to her. She would
have preferred to follow the Emperor, but, when she wrote
asking leave to join him, he answered : " I am not able to
send for you here. I am the slave of the nature. of things
and the force of circumstances; we must wait until they
decide." *
The Empress, who was very anxious now that her hus-
band was about to incur fresh risks, had no friend among
* This letter is not included in Napoleon's general correspondence published
under the Second Empire ; but the letters belonging to this period which are
comprised in this publication are very similar both in style and matter. More-
over, this was the usual subject of the Emperor's letters to Josephine in all his
campaigns. He writes to her from Warsaw a few months later, on the 23d of
January, 1807 : " I have your letter of January 15th. I could not allow ladies to
undertake such a, journey as this; bad roads, unsafe and dirty. 'Go back to
Paris, be bright and gay ; perhaps I shall be there soon. I was amused at your
saying you took a husband in order to have hin* with you ; I fancied in my
ignorance that the wife was made for the husband, and the husband for the
country, the family, and glory. Forgive my ignorance ; there is always something
to be learned from beautiful women. Farewell, my dearest. Believe me, it
costs me something not to send for you. Say to yourself. It is a proof how
precious I am to him." — P. K.
460 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R:^MU8AT.
her court circle to symjiatliize affectionately with her. In
her suite were several ladies who belonged by their very
names to memories which they claimed a right to retain at
the new Court; and they took leave to disapprove of the
war, and especially to express an interest which was natural
enough in the beautiful Queen. She soon became an object
of attack in each successive bulletin. The death of Prince
Louis of Prussia, with whom some of the ladies-in-waiting
during the time of their emigration had been acquainted,
was also much lamented -by them, and a sort of disdainful
opposition formed itself around our Empress, of which Mme.
de la Rochefoucauld took the lead.
M. de li^musat, who had the superintendence of this
miniature Court, became the recipient of the complaints of
the Empress, who, having nothing serious to occupy her,
was annoyed by foolish and vain speeches which she ought
to have despised. He advised her to pay no attention to
these vexations, and by no means to mention them to the
Emperor, who would make them of more importance than
was at all desirable. Mme. Bonaparte, however, wrote all
the history to her husband, and subsequently M. de Talley-
rand, who was present during these little storms which might
have been so easily dispersed, thought to amuse the Emperor
with a description of them. Bonaparte did not regard the
matter in a harmless light. I have dwelt on this in order,
later on, to explain what came of it to ourselves personally.
Meanwhile, a life so trivial and so empty was wearisome
to my husband. He amused himself by learning German,
in order, as he wrote to me, " at least to occupy a portion of
each day «sef uUy." He took increasing pleasure in the so-
ciety of M. de Talleyrand, who treated him with confidence
and warm friendship. Whenever the slightest appearance
of feeling is attributed to M. de Talleyrand, one is obliged
to put the statement with strong afiirmation, because it will
inevitably be received with doubt. The world judges him
with severity, or at least too sweepingly. I know him to be
RECEPTION OF GABDINAL MAUBY. 461
capable of affection, and I venture to say that, had he been
altogether deceitful, I could not have become so sincerely
attached to him.
During this time I was living very quietly in Paris with
my mother, my sister, and my children. Some distinguished
people came to my house ; also a number of literary men,
who were attracted thither by my husband's authority over
the theatres. Princess Caroline only (Duchess of Berg) re-
quired any court to be paid to her. She lived at the Elysee
with a certain amount of state ; people waited on her as they
did on the_Arch-Chancellor Cambacor^s. Occasional visits
had to be paid to the ministers, but the remainder of one's
time was one's o\vn. News from the seat of war was re-
ceived without enthusiasm, but not without interest, because
every family was more or less connected with the army.
The knowledge that every drawing-room was watched
by the police prevented all serious conversation ; every one
was engrossed by secret anxieties, and a sort of isolation,
which was just what the Emperor wished, was the result.
Nevertheless, a little incident happened during the cam-
paign which amused aU Paris for several weeks. On the
23d of October Cardinal Maury was chosen — by that class
of the Institute which has received the name of the French
Academy — to succeed M. Target. When the day for his re-
ception drew near, some one raised the question whether he
should be addressed as Monseigneur, and a great commotion
ensued. Before the devolution a similar discussion had oc-
curred on the same subject. D'Alembert and the three
members of the Academy had pleaded for the rights of
equality in the sanctuary of letters ; but the Academy, hav-
ing in 1806 become " the Eight," was disposed to grant the
title of Monseigneur, in opposition to the party headed by
Kegnault de St. Jean d'Angely, his brother-in-law Arnault,
Chenier, etc. The discussion ran so high, the Cardinal de-
clared so positively that he would not present himself unless
he were to be addressed according to his rank, the difficulty
462 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
of arriving witli due freedom at any decision was so great,
that it was determined to refer the matter to the Emperor
himself, and this foolish dispute was actually brought before
him on the battle-field. Meanwhile, whenever the Cardinal
met any of the members of the Institute who were hostile
to him, he attacked them. On one occasion he met M. Ee-
gnault dining at Mme. Murat's, and an amusing passage-at-
arms, at which I was present, took place between them.
Almost at the very beginning of the conversation, the Car-
dinal requested M. Kegnault to go into another room, to
which M. Kegnault consented, provided that some of the
other guests would accompany him. The Cardinal, who was
annoyed, began to get excited.* " You do not recollect,
then, sir," he said, " that at the Constituent Assembly I
called you little hoy." " That is no reason," replied M. E.e-
gnault, " why we should give you a token of respect at the
present day." " If my name were Montmorency," returned
the Cardinal, " I could afEord to laugh at you ; but I owe to
my abilities only my elevation to the Academy, and, if I
yielded the point of Monseigneur, the next day you would
treat me as an equal." M. Kegnault reminded us that once
only had the French Academy consented to use the title of
Monseigneur, and that then it was in favor of Cardinal Du-
bois, who was received by Fontenelle. " But," he added,
" times are greatly changed." I must own that, looking at
Cardinal Maury, I ventured to think men were not so much
altered. Finally the discussion became hot ; it was reported
to the Emperor, who sent orders to the academicians to ad-
dress the Cardinal as Monseigneur. On this everybody im-
mediately submitted; and we heard no more about it.
* He was a very hot-tempered man.
CHAPTEE XXII.
(1806-1807.)
Death of PrinoD Louis of Prussia— Battle of Jena/— The Queen of Prussia and the
Emperor Alexander— The Emperor and the Eevolutiou— Court Life at Mayence
—Life in Paris— Marshal Brune— Taking of Lubeek— The Princess of Hatzfeld
— The Auditors of the State Council— Sufferings of the Army — The King of
Saxony — ^Battle of Eylau.
The Emperor had left Bamberg, and was hastening to
the assistance of the King of Saxony. Our armies, which
had been gathered together with the surprising rapidity that
always defeated the plans of the enemy, were marching on-
ward. The first skirmishes took place at Saalfeld, between
Marshal Lannes and the vanguard of Prince Hohenlohe,
commanded by Prince Louis of Prussia. The latter, who
was brave to rashness, fought in the ranks imtil, coming to a
hand-to-hand conflict with a quartermaster and refusing to
surrender, he fell covered with wounds. His death disheart-
ened the Prussians, while it increased the ardor of our troops.
"If," says the Imperial bulletin, "his last moments were
those of a bad citizen, his death was glorious and deserv-
ing of regret. He died as every good soldier must wish to
die." *
I am ignorant whether, in Prussia, Prince Louis was con-
* It appears certain that he lost his life in eudeaToring to save that of a
friend. Those who were intimate with him say ho had but one fault — a jealousy
of any kind of success in others. This is a weakness very common among
princes : the Tery abilities -which are devoted to their service seem to require
their forgiveness. Prince Louis was nephew to the King of Prussia.
35
464 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
sidered to have preferred his own glory to the interests of
his country by promoting the war. It may have been im-
prudent to commence it when he did ; doubtless the right
moment for declaring would have been at the formation of
the coalition in the preceding year ; yet the feelings of the
Prince were, even at this time, shared by a great number of
his countrymen.
For some days the bulletins gave accounts of several par-
tial engagements which were but the prelude to the great
battle of the 14th of October. The Prussian Court was
described as being in great confusion, and despotic advice
was given to those princes who are led into hesitation by
consulting the multitude on great political interests above its
comprehension ! As if nations, having reached their present
degree of enlightenment, could continue to intrust the money
taken from their coffers, and the men levied from among
their rants, to their rulers, without ascertaining the uses to
which the gold and the soldiers are to be put !
On the 14th of October the two armies met at Jena, and
and in a few hours this important battle decided the fate of
the King of Prussia. The renowned Prussian cavalry could
not resist our infantry ; confused orders caused confusion in
the ranis ; a great number of Prussians were killed or taken
prisoners ; * several general officers lay dead on the field of
battle ; the Prince of Brunswick was severely wounded, and
the King was forced to fly. In fact, the rout was complete.
Our bulletins were full of the praises of Marshal Davoust,
who had in truth greatly contributed to the success of the
* The Emperor gives the following account of Jena in a letter to the Em-
press, written on the battle-field on the 15th of October, 1806 : "My dearest, I
have had great success against the Prussians. Yesterday I gained a great vic-
tory. They numbered a hundred and fifty thousand men. I have taken twenty
thousand prisoners, a hundred of their guns, and some fiags. I was very near
the King of Prussia, and only just missed taking him, as well as the Queen. I
have been bivouacking the last two days. I am in capital health. Adieu, my
dearest ; keep yourself well, and think of me. If Hortense is at Mayence, kiss
her for me, as well as Napoleon and the little fellow." — P. R.
BATTLE OF JENA. 465
day, and the Emperor willingly acknowledged this. lie
was not usually so ready to render justice to his generals.
When the Empress questioned him on his return about the
eulogiums he had allowed to be lavished on Davoust on this
occasion, he answered her, laughing : " I can heap upon him
as much glory as I please ; he wiU never be strong enough to
carry it."
On the evening of the battle a whimsical adventure hap-
pened to M. Eugene de Montesquiou.* He was an orderly
officer, and was sent by the Emperor to the King of Prussia
with a letter, to which I shall presently allude. He was
detained all day at the Pmssian headquarters, where the de-
feat of the French was considered certain, and they wished
him to witness it. He remained, therefore, an agitated but
inactive spectator of the course of events. The generals, and
Bliicher •)• in particular, affected to give alarming orders in
his presence. Toward evening the young man, involved in
the flight of the Prussians, was endeavoring to rejoin our
camp. On his way he met with two Frenchmen, who joined
him, and the three together contrived to get hold of eighteen
disbanded Prussians, whom they brought in triumph to the
Emperor. This capture greatly diverted him.
The battle of Jena was followed by one of the rapid
marches which Bonaparte was wont to impose on his army
in the hour of victory. 'Eo one ever knew better how to
profit by victory than he ; he bewildered the enemy, leaving
him not a moment's repose.
The town of Erfurt capitulated on the 16th. The King
of Saxony was slightly reprimanded for having yielded to
the King of Prussia, by giving him the entry of his states
and taking part in the beginning of the war, but his prison-
ers were restored to him. General Clarke was made Gov-
ernor of Erfurt.
* The eldest son of the Chamherlam. lie was afterward killed in Spain,
f Whom, twice since then, we have seen entering Paris at the head of his
army.
466 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EJ^MUSAT.
The bulletins of this period are especially remarkable.
Bonaparte was angry at having been deceived by the Emper-
or Alexander. He had calculated on the unchanging neu-
trality of Prussia ; he was mortified at English influence on
the Continent ; and his ill humor was perceptible in every
word dictated by him. He attacked in turn the English
Government, the Prussian nobility, whom he wished to de-
nounce to the people, the young Queen, women, etc. Grand
and noble expressions, often of a poetical nature, were strange-
ly contrasted with abusive terms. He gratified his resent-
ment and anger, but he lowered himself by giving such ex-
pression to his own feelings, and, above all, he sinned against
Parisian good taste. We were beginning to grow accustomed
to military wonders, and the form in which intelligence of
them was transmitted to us was freely criticised. After all,
the attention that nations pay to the words of kings is not
so foolish as it may appear. The words of sovereigns, even
more than their actions, reveal their dispositions, and the dis-
position of their ruler is of primary importance to subjects.
The King of Prussia, who was now pushed to extremity,
asked for an armistice : it was refused, and Leipsic was taken.
The French marched across the battle-field of Possbach,
and the column erected there in commemoration of our
former defeat was removed and sent to Paris.
On the 22d of October M. de Lucchesini came to our
headquarters. He brought a letter from the King of Prus-
sia, the publication of which, said the " Moniteur," * was
forbidden by the secrecy necessary in diplomatic affairs.
" But," it continued, " the Emperor's reply was considered
so admirable that a few copies of it have been made ; we
have procured one, and we hasten to lay the letter before
our readers."
Every determination taken by the Emperor, from the
* " Moniteur " of the 30th. Putting aside the more or less imperative cir-
cumstances which determined the King of Prussia to declare war, Bonaparte's
letter is remarkable.
TEE QUEEN OF PBUSSIA. 467
greatest to the least, seems partly founded on the lion's rea-
son in La Fontaine's fable — " Because my name is Lion."
" The Prussians are surprised at the briskness of our pur-
suit ; they are probably accustomed to the manoeuvres of the
Seven Years' War." And when they asked for three days'
truce, in order to bury their dead — " Think of the living,"
replied the Emperor, " and leave to us the care of burying
the dead. That needs no truce.'' *
The Emperor reached Potsdam on the 24:th of October.
As may be supposed, he visited Sans-Souci, and reminiscences
of Frederick the Great are to be found in the bulletins.
" The handsome Emperor (the Czar) and the lovely Queen " f
received fresh insults in these documents, from which we
gathered that a war with Eussia would follow the Prussian
war. Paris was thrown into consternation ; the news from
the seat of war was read publicly at the theatres, but the
only applause that greeted it was hired. " War, nothing but
war, is all that is left to us." Such words as these, uttered
with more or less of wrath or grief, struck ominously on the
ear of the adherents of the Emperor, yet they could not con-
tradict them.
On the same day, the 23th of October, the fortress of
Spandau capitulated.
To all these accounts of the war was added a letter sup-
posed to be written by a private soldier from a town in the
duchy of Brunswick. It contained enthusiastic praise of
* M. Daru, Intendant of the Emperor's household, was at this period made
Intendant of the army. His severity in raising the war contributions is remem-
bered to this day in Prussia. He left a terrible reputation behind him, and yet
those who knew him well will attest that he was a man of moderate opinions,
with a taste for literature, and lilted by his friends. But at that time obedience
was the first duty. The Emperor required it, both in manner and matter. The
qualities or the vices of masters are reflected in those who serve them.
\ Bulletin of the l^th of October : " The Queen is a handsome woman, but
she has little intelligence," etc. And later : " It is said in Berlin, ' The Queen
was so good, so gentle ! ' But since that fatal interview with the handsome Em-
peror, how changed she is ! "
468 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
French valor, which it attributed to the military system
adopted in our army. "It is also certain," ' continues the
writer, " that any soldier who can say to himself, ' It is not
impossible for me to become a Marshal of the Empire, a
Prince, or a Duke, as it has happened to others,' must be
greatly encouraged by that thought. It was quite another
thing at Eossbach. The French army was commanded then
by gentlemen who owed their military rank only to their
birth, or to the patronage of a Pompadour ; and the troops
were of so-called soldiers, on whose track, after their defeat,
were found nothing but pigtails and powdering-bags."
When the Emperor made his entry into Berlin on the
26th of October, in the midst of acclamations, he vented his
displeasure on those among the Prussian nobles who were
presented to him. " My brother the King of Prussia," he
said, " ceased to be King from the day on which he failed to
have Prince Louis hanged, when he dared to go and break
his Minister's windows." * And to Count IsTesch he said
roughly, " I will bring the nobles of this Court down so low
that they shall be obliged to beg their bread."
By violent speeches of this land, which were published,
the Emperor not only gratified his anger against the instiga-
tors of the war, but imagined that he fulfilled obligations
toward our Revolution. Although he was a determined
counter-revolutionist, he was obliged from time to time to
render some homage to the ideas which, by a fatal deviation,
had produced his own accession. A mistaken longing for
equality, a noble desire for liberty, were the causes of our
civil discord ; but in his thirst for power he gave us no en-
couragement toward that freedom which, if we succeed in
obtaining it, will be the most glorious conquest of our times,
but limited himself, in his bargain with the age, to advancing
equality only. The love of liberty is an unselfish sentiment,
which a generous ruler ought at the present day to foster in
* The young Prince had perpetrated this garrison pranlc on M. ITaugwitz's
windows, when the latter, having returned from France, was advising peace.
THE EMPEROR AND TEE REVOLUTIOK 469
his people ; but Bonaparte only sought to aggrandize his own
power. Sometimes, with entire f orgetfulness of his own ori-
gin, he spoke and acted as if he were a king by the grace
of God, and then every word of his became, as it were, feu-
dal ; while at other times he affected a sort of Jacobinism,
and then he would abuse legitimate royalty, treat our old
memories with disdain, and denounce the nobility to the ple-
beians of every country. Never did he seek to establish the
true rights of nations ; and the unostentatious aristocracy of
letters and of a noble civilization was far more displeasing to
him, in reality, than that of titles and privileges, which he
could make use of as ho pleased.
On the 29th of October M. de Talleyrand left Mayence
to join the Emperor, who had sent for him. M. de Kemu-
sat felt much regret at his departure. He had found his
society a great resource ; the somewhat solemn idleness of
court life made them necessary to each other. M. de Talley-
rand, having recognized both the trustworthiness and the
superior abilities of my husband, would throw aside his
habitual reserve in his company, and would confide to him
his views on passing events and his opinion of their common
master. An aristocrat by taste, by conviction, and by birth,
M. de Talleyrand approved of Bonaparte's repression of what
he regarded as the excesses of the Revolution ; but he would
have wished that a headstrong temper and a determined will
had not led the Emperor aside from a course in which his
own prudent counsels might have guided him aright. He
was thoroughly conversant with the European political situa-
tion, and better versed in the law of nations than in their
true rights, and he propounded with accuracy the diplomatic
course that he would have had the Emperor follow. He was
alarmed at the possible preponderance of Russia in.Europe,
and was in favor of founding an independent power between
us and the Russians. For this reason he encouraged the ar-
dent, though vague, desires of the Poles. " A kingdom of
Poland," he used to say, " ought to be established. It would
470 MEMOIRS OF MADAMS BE R^MUSAT.
be the bulwark of our independence ; but it ougbt not to be
done by halves." "With his head full of this plan, he started
to join the Emperor, resolved on advising him to turn his
brilliant success to good account.
After M. de Talleyrand's departure, M. de Eemusat wrote
me that the dullness of his life was extreme. The Court at
Mayence was monotonously regular. There, as elsewhere
and in all places, the Empress was gentle, quiet, idle, and
averse to take anything on herself, because, whether far or
near, she dreaded the displeasure of her husband. Her
daughter, who was delighted to escape from her wretched
home, spent her time in diversions of a nature somewhat too
childish for her rank and position.* Hortense rejoiced with
her mother over the promising qualities of her little son, then
full of life and beauty, and very forward for his years.
The German princes came to pay their court at Mayence ;
great banquets were given ; elegant costumes were worn ;
there was much walking and driving about, and great eager-
ness for news. The Court wanted to return to Paris ; the
Empress wanted to go to Berlin ; and there, as elsewhere, all
was dependent on the will of one man.
In Paris life was dull, but tranquil. The absence of the
Emperor was always a relief : if people did not speak more
freely, they seemed better able to breathe, and this sense of
alleviation was especially to be observed in persons connected
with his Government. The impression produced by the Em-
peror's victories became weaker every day ; and a tangible
proof was thus afforded to the world that lasting national
enthusiasm could no longer be kindled by success in war.
Prince Eugene's army was marching onward in Albania,
* It is evident that Queen Hortense and her Court amused themselves lilie
Bchool-girls, This was a result of their intimacy while at Mme. Campan's
school. Napoleon III. seemed to have Inherited his mother's tastes in this re-
spect. Even when long past youth, he liked children's games, blind-man's-buff
and others. Only on these occasions did he clear his brow and seem happy,
and even amiable ; which was by no means the case in his intercourse with the
world, social or political, for his manner was extremely cold. — P. R.
TAKING OF LUBEOK. 471
and Marshal Marmont was holding in check the Eussians,
who were moving on that side. A fresh proclamation was
issued by the Emperor to his soldiers : it announced a rup-
ture with Russia and an onward march, promised fresh tri-
umphs, and alluded to the " love " of Bonaparte for his army.
Marshal Brune,* commanding the reserves stationed at Bou-
logne, issued on this occasion a curious order 'of the day,
which was published by command in the " Moniteur " :
" Soldiers : You will read at mess, every day for a fort-
night, the sublime proclamation of his Majesty the Emperor
and King to the Grand Army. You will learn it by heart ;
each one of you will shed tears of courage, and will be filled
with the irresistible enthusiasm inspired by heroism."
In Paris, no one was moved to tears, and the prolongation
of the war filled us with dismay.
Meanwhile, the Emperor remained at Berlin, where he
had established his headquarters. He announced in his bul-
letins that the great Prussian army had vanished like an
autumnal mist, and he ordered his lieutenants to complete
the conquest of all the Prussian states. At the same time a
war-tax of one hundred and fifty millions was raised ; the
towns surrendered one by one— Kiistrin and Stettin first,
Magdeburg a little later. Liibeck, which had offered resist-
ance, was stormed and horribly pillaged ; there was fighting
in every street ; and I remember that Prince Borghese, who
took part in the assault, gave us some particulars of the cru-
elty practiced by the soldiers in that unfortunate town.
" What I then saw," he told us, " gave me an idea of the
bloodthirsty intoxication which resistance at first, and victory
afterward, can produce in soldiers." He added : " At such
a moment every officer is a mere soldier. I was beyond all
self-control ; I felt, like everybody else, a sort of passionate
* He was magsacrcd at Avignon in 1815. [In M. Jules Clarctie's " Camille
Desmoulins," an interesting account of the early career of Brune is to be found.
It is to his pencil that we owe the only existing portrait of Camille's wife, Lu-
cille.— Teanslatoks.]
472 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E:6MUSAT.
longing to exert my strength against people and tilings. I
should be ashamed to recall some absurdly horrible acts
which I committed. In the midst of imminent danger, when
one must cut one's way with the sword, with everything
around in flames, when the thunder of cannon or the rattle
of musketry mingles with the cries of a dense crowd, in
which are people pressing in every direction, either seeking
others or trying to escape from them, and all this in the nar-
row space of a street, then a man loses his head completely.
There is no act of atrocity or of foUy that he will not com-
mit. He will wantonly destroy without profit to anybody,
and will give himself up to an uncontrollable delirium of
evil passions."
After the fall of Liibeck, Marshal Bemadotte remained
there some time as governor of the town, and it was then
that he began to lay the foundation of his future greatness.
He behaved with perfect equity, and did his best to assuage
the evils that had been caused by war. Strict discipline was
maintained among his troops ; the gentleness of his bearing
attracted and consoled, and he won the admiration and sin-
cere affection of the people.
During the Emperor's stay at Berlin, the Prince of Hatz-
f eld, who had remained there, and who, said the bulletins,
"had accepted the post of governor," kept up a secret corre-
spondence with the King of Prussia, in which he gave full
accounts of the movements of our army. One of his letters
was intercepted, and the Emperor gave orders for his arrest
and trial before a military court. His wife, who was with
child, was in despair ; she obtained an audience of the Em-
peror, and threw herself at his feet. He showed her the
Prince's letter, and when the poor young wife gave way to
her sorrow, the Emperor, moved with pity, bade her rise,
and said to her: "You have the original document, on
which your husband may be condemned, in your own hand.
Take my advice ; profit by this moment to burn it, and then
there will be no evidence to condemn him." The Princess,
OOFOBATULATIONS. 473
without a moment's delay, threw the paper into the fire, and
bathed the Emperor's hands with her tears. This anecdote
made a greater impression on Paris than all our victories.*
Our Senate sent a deputation to Berlin with congratula-
tions on so triumphant a campaign. The Emperor intrusted
the envoys, on their return to Paris, with the sword of Fred-
erick the Great, the ribbon of the Black Eagle worn by him,
and several flags, among which, says the " Moniteur," " there
are several embroidered by the hands of that fair Queen
whose beauty has been as fatal to the people of Prussia as
was the beauty of Helen to the Trojans."
Every day our generals invaded some new district. The
King of Holland had advanced into Hanover, which was
again being attacked by us ; but all at once we heard that he
had returned to his own states, either because he disliked
acting merely as one of his brother's lieutenants, or because
Bonaparte preferred that his conquests should be made by
his own generals. Marshal Mortier took possession of the
* The Emperor describes this scene to the Empress in the following terms :
" I have received your letter. You seem vexed at my speaking ill of women.
It is true that I hate a scheming woman beyond everything. I am accustomed
to good, gentle, and conciliating yomen ; and such women I love. If I am
spoiled by them, it is not my fault, but yours. But you will see I have been very
kind to one good and kindly wom.in — Mme. de Hatzfeld. When I showed her
her husband's letter, she said, sobbing and with deep feeling, but so innocently,
' Oh, yes, that is indeed his handwriting ! ' As she read it the tone of her voice
went to my heart. I felt sorry for her, and I said, ' Well, madame, throw the
letter in the fire, and I shall not be able to punish your husband.' She burned
the letter and seemed very happy. Since then her husband has kept himself
quiet. Two hours later, and he was a lost man. So, you see, I like women who
are kind and simple and gentle, but it is because they only are like you. — Ber-
lin, November 6, 1806, 9 p. m." These stories oonoide. It was said, however,
at the time, that the Emperor, who had made up his mind to be severely just,
perceived that the incriminating letter was of an anterior date to that at which,
according to the usages of war, it could have been considered as an act of es-
pial, and that the whole scone was then arranged for dramatic effect. Another
account was that Mme. de Hatzfeld herself, on glancing over the letter, pointed
out the date to the Emperor, who immediately osclaimed, " Oh, then burn it ! " —
P. E.
474 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B.&MTJSAT.
city of Hamburg on the 19tli of November, and an enor-
mous quantity of English merchandise was confiscated. A
number of auditors belonging to the Council of State were
sent from Paris ; among them were M. d'Houdetot and M,
de Tournon.* These auditors were made Intendants of
Berlin, Bayreuth, and other towns. By these young and
active proconsuls the conquered states were governed in the
interests of the conqueror, and Tictory was immediately fol-
lowed by an administration which turned it to the best ad-
vantage.
The Emperor gained the affections of the young of every
rank, by giving them opportunities for action, for seK-asser-
tion, and for exercising an absolute authority. Thus, he
often said, " There is no conquest I could not undertake, for
with the help of my soldiers and my auditors I could con-
quer and rule the whole world." We may suppose that the
habits and the despotic notions that these young men brought
back into their own country were rather perilous when the
government of French provinces was confided to them.
Most of them found it difficult not .to rule those provinces
like a conquered country. These young men, who were
raised early in life to such important posts, are at the present
time idle and without prospects, owing to the straitening of
our territory. They fret under their enforced idleness, and
form one of the most serious difficulties with which the
King's Government is confronted.
The conquest of Prussia was completed, and our troops
marched into Poland. The season was far advanced ; they
had not seen the Kussians, but it was known that they were
approaching; a severe and difficult campaign was antici-
pated. The cpld was not severe, but the march of our sol-
diers was impeded by the marshy soil, in which men, guns,
and carriages were continually sinking. The accounts of
the sufferings endured by the army are terrible. Whole
* M. d'Houdetot became a peer of France under the Restoration, and M. de
Toumon Prefect of the Gironde.— P. R. '
A FAMOUS DEGREE. 475
Bquadrons often sank up to tlie middle of the men's bodies
in the marsh, and it was impossible to save them from a lin-
gering death. Although the Emperor was determiaed to
make the most of his victories, he felt the necessity of giv-
ing some repose to his troops, and he eagerly accepted the
King of Prussia's offer of a suspension of hostilities, during
which he was to remain on one bank of the Yistula, and the
Prussians on the other. But it is probable that the condi-
tions he annexed to this armistice were too severe, or per-
haps it was only proposed by Prussia in order to gain time
and effect a junction with the Pussians ; for the negotiations
dragged slowly along, and the Emperor, on learning the
movements of the Eussian general, Benningsen, suddenly
left Berlin on the 25th of November. He announced fresh
danger and fresh success to his troops by the following
spirited words, with which he closed his proclamation :
"How should the Russians overthrow such designs? Are
not they and we alike the soldiers of Austerlitz ? "
A famous decree, dated from Berlin and preceded by a
lengthy preamble, appeared at the same time, in which sun-
dry grievances were set forth. This decree proclaimed the
British Isles to be in a state of blockade, and it was only a
reprisal on the usage of 'England, who, when she enters upon
a war, declares a universal blockade, and in virtue thereof
authorizes her ships to take possession of all other vessels in
whatsoever seas. The Berlin decree divided the empire of
the world in two, opposing the power of the Continent to
the power of the seas. Every Englishman who should be
found either in France or in any state occupied by us, or
under our influence, was to become a prisoner of war, and
this hard enactment was notified to all our sovereign allies.
Thenceforth it was manifest that the stniggle which was
beginning, between despotic power in all its ramifications
and the strength of such a constitution as that which rules
and vivifies the English nation, could end only by the com-
plete destruction of one of the assailants. Despotism has
w
476 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
fallen, and, notwithstanding the terrible cost to ourselves,
we oiight to be grateful to Providence for the salvation of
nations and the lessons taught to posterity.
On the 28th of November Murat made his entry into
Warsaw. The French were enthusiastically received by
those among the Poles who hoped that the liberty of their
country would result from our conquests. In the bulletin
which announced the entry these words occur : " Will the
kingdom of Poland be restored ? Grod alone, who holds in
His hand the direction of events, can be the arbiter of this
great political problem." Thenceforth Bonaparte's family
began to covet the throne of Poland. His brother Jerome
had some hopes of obtaining it. Murat, who had displayed
brilliant valor throughout aU the campaign, was the first to
be sent to Warsaw, and made his appearance there in the
theatrical costume that he affected — plumed bonnet, colored
boots, and richly laced cloak. His dress resembled that of
the Polish nobles, and he flattered himself that one day that
great country would be committed to his rule. His wife
received many congratulations in Paris, and this, perhaps,
made the Emperor, who disliked to be forestalled on any
point, change his mind. I know that the Empress also had
hopes of the Polish crown for her son. When the Emperor,
at a later date, became father of a natural son, of whose fate
I am at present uninformed, the Poles fixed their hopes on
that child.
Writers better acquainted with the secrets of diplomacy
than I may explain why Boiiaparte did not carry out, but
merely sketched, his plans for Poland, notwithstanding his
own personal proclivities and M. de Talleyrand's influence
and opinions on the subject. It may be that events suc-
ceeded each other with such rapidity, and clashed so rudely,
that due care could not be bestowed on the projected enter-
prise. Subsequently to the Prussian campaign and the treaty
of Tilsit, the Emperor often regretted that he had not pushed
his innovations in Europe to the extent of changing every
A CITIZEN KING. 477
existing dynasty. " There is nothing to be gained," he used
to say, " by leaving any power in the hands of people whom
we have made discontented. There is no use in half mea-
sures ; old works wiU not drive new machines. I ought to
have made all other kings accessory to my own greatness,
and, so that they should owe everything to me, they ought
not to have had any greatness in the past to point to. Not
that in my eyes this was of much value — certainly not of
value equal to that of founding a new race ; but nevertheless
it has a certain influence over mankind. My sympathy with
certain sovereigns, my compassion toward suffering nations,
my fear, I know not why, of causing an utter overthrow of
all things, withheld me. I have been greatly in the wrong,
and perhaps I may have to pay for it dearly."
When the Emperor spoke in this sense, he took pains to
dwell on the necessity imposed by the Revolution of the
renewal of all things. But, as I have already said, he in his
secret heart thought he had done enough for the Revolution
in changing the frontiers of states and the sovereigns who
ruled them. A citizen King, chosen either from among his
own kinsfolk, or from the ranks of the army, ought, he con-
sidered, to satisfy all the citizen classes of modern society by
his sudden elevation ; and, provided the depotism of the new
sovereign could be turned to the advantage of his own pro-
jects, he should not be interfered with. It must be owned,
however, that if " the spirit of the age," as Bonaparte called
it, had resulted only in nations being governed by men whom
a lucky chance had drawn from their native obscurity, it was
scarcely worth while to make such a fuss about it. If we are
to be ruled by a despot, surely the despot who can point to
the greatness of his ancestors, and who exercises his author-
ity in virtue of ancient rights made sacred by ancient glory,
or even in virtue of rights whose origin is lost in the obscu-
rity of ages, is the least mortifying to human pride.
At the close of the war Poland found that she was free
only in that portion of the country which had been seized
4Y8 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
by Prussia. His treaties with the Emperor of Russia, the
temporary need of repose, the fear of displeasing Austria by
interfering with her possessions, cramped Bonaparte's plans.
It may be that they could not have been carried out ; but,
being only half attempted, they bore within them the ele-
ments of their own destruction.
The advantages and disadvantages of the continental
policy with regard to the English nation have often been
discussed. I am not competent either to state the objections
raised to this system or the reasons for which many disinter-
ested persons approve of it; still less would I venture to
draw hasty conclusions. The system in question imposed
conditions on the alhes of France which were too much in
opposition to their interests to be long endured by them ;
for, although it encouraged continental industry, it interfered
with the luxuries of life, and with some few of its daily ne-
cessaries. It was also felt to be an act of tyranny. More-
over, it caused every Englishman to share the aversion of
the British Government toward Bonaparte, because an at-
tack upon trade is an attack on the fountain-head of every
Englishman's existence. Thus the war with us became a
national one for our enemies, and from that time was vigor-
ously carried on by the English.
Meanwhile I have heard it said by well-informed persons
that the consequence of this rigorous policy would in the
end strike a fatal blow at the English Constitution, and that
on this account especially it was advantageous to pursue it.
The English Government was obliged, in order to act with
the same rapidity as the enemy, to encroach little by little
on the rights of the people. The people made no opposition,
because they felt the necessity of resistance. Parliament,
less jealous of its liberties, would not venture on any opposi-
tion ; and by degrees the English were becoming a military
people. The national debt was increased, in order to afford
supplies to the coalition and the army ; the executive was
becoming accustomed to encroachments which had been tol-
APPOINTMENTS AND DEGREES. 479
erated in the beginning, and it would willingly have main-
tained them as an acquired right. Thus, the strained situa-
tion into which every Government was forced by the Em-
peror was changing the Constitution of Great Britain, and
possibly, had the continental system lasted for a length of
time, the English could only have recovered their hberties
through violence or sedition. This was the Emperor's secret
hope. He fomented rebellion in Ireland ; supported as he
was by every absolute sovereign on the Continent, he helped
and protected the Opposition in England by all the means
in his power, while the London newspapers in his pay stirred
up the people to claim their liberties.
At a later period I heard M. de Talleyrand, who was
greatly alarmed at this contest, express himself with more
warmth than he usually displays in stating his opinions.
" Tremble, foolish people that you are," said he, " at the
Emperor's success over the English ; for, if the English Con-
stitution is destroyed, understand clearly that the civilization
of the world will be shaken to its very foundations."
Before leaving Berlin the Emperor issued several decrees,
dated thence, showing that, although he was at the camp, he
had both leisure and will to attend to other pursuits besides
those of war. Such were the appointment of certain pre-
fects, a decree for the organization of the Naval Office, and
one designating the site of the Madeleine, on the Boule-
vard, for the monument to be erected to the glory of the
French army. Competition for designs for this monument
was invited by circulars from the Minister of the Interior,
which were distributed in every direction. Numerous pro-
motions were made in the army, and there was a general dis-
tribution of crosses.
On the 25th of November the Emperor departed for
Posen. The bad state of the roa.ds obliged him to exchange
his traveling-carriage for a country wagon. The Grand Mar-
shal of the Palace was overturned in his oaleche, and dislo-
cated his collar bone. The same accident happened to M. de
36
480 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
Talleyrand's carriage, but he escaped without hurt ; on ac-
count of his lameness, he had to remain four and twenty
hours on the road in his overturned carriage, untU means
could be found to enable him to continue his journey. About
this time he took occasion to answer a letter I had written to
him. "I reply to your letter," he writes, "in the midst of
the mud of Poland ; next year, perhaps, I may address you
from the sandy deserts of I know not what country. I beg
you to remember me in your prayers." The Emperor was
only too much inclined to despise the obstacles that destroyed
part of his army. Moreover, it was imperative to march on-
ward. The Russians were advancing, and he did not choose
to await them in Prussia.
On the 2d of December the Senate was convoked in
Paris. The Arch-Chancellor read a letter from the Emper-
or, giving an account of his victories, promising others in
the future, and requesting a senatus consultum which should
order an immediate levy of the conscripts of 1807. This
levy, in ordinary times, was made in September only. A
commission was appointed for form's sake. This commis-
sion sat in consultation upon the request for one morning
only, and the next day but one — that is, on the 4th — the
senatus consultum was reported.
It was also about this epoch that the dispute between the
Academy and Cardinal Maury was settled. The Emperor de-
cided the question, and a long article appeared anonymously
in the " Moniteur," which ended with these words : " The
Academy, doubtless, has no wish to deprive a man, whose
great abilities were conspicuous during a time of civil dis-
cord, of a right ■jvhich custom confers upon him. His ad-
mission to the Academy was another step toward the entire
oblivion of past events which can alone insure the duration
of the tranquillity that has- been restored to us. This is a
long article on a subject which is apparently of very small
importance; nevertheless, the light in which some persons
have endeavored to place it gives rise to serious eonsidera-
TEE KINO OF SAXONY. 481
tion. We perceive to what fluctuations we sbould once
more be exposed, into what uncertainty we should again be
thrown, only that fortunately for us the helm of the state is in
the hands of a pilot whose arm is strong, whose steering is
steady, and who has but one aim in view — the happiness of
the country." *
While Bonaparte forced his soldiers to endure terrible
hardships of all kinds in the prosecution of the war, he lost
no opportunity of proving that nothing interfered with the
interest he, in the midst of camps, took in the progress of
civilization.
An order of the day, dated from headquarters of the
Grand Army, is as follows : " In the name of the Emperor.
The University of Jena, its professors, teachers, and students,
its possessions, revenues, and other prerogatives whatsoever,
are placed under the special protection of the commanders
of the French and allied troops. The course of study will
be continued. Students are consequently authorized to re-
turn to Jena, and it is the Emperor's intention to favor that
town as much as possible."
The King of Saxony, subdued by the power of the con-
queror, broke off his alliance with Prussia and concluded a
treaty with the Emperor. During a long reign this prince
had enjoyed the blessings of peace and order. Venerated
by his subjects, and occupied solely with their welfare, no-
thing but the hurricane of Bonaparte's success could have
brought the horrors of war among the peaceful valleys of
his kingdom. He was too weak to resist the shock ; he sub-
mitted, and tried to save his people by accepting the victor's
terms. But his fidelity to treaties could not save him, be-
cause Saxony subsequently became of necessity the battle- •
* I was under the impression that the grave dispute between Cardinal Maury
and the Institute was finally decided against the claims of the former. At any
rate, many years later, M. de Salvandy, in receiving the Bishop of Orleans into
the Academy, addressed him as Monsieur. He was guided probably by prece-
dent, and no question was raised on the subject. — P. R.
482 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE bMUSAT.
field on which the neighboring sovereigns contendfid more
than once for victory.
Meanwhile, Paris and its inhabitants became every day
more gloomy. The bulletins contained only vague accounts
of bloody conflicts, with small results. It was easy to infer,
from occasional allusions to the severity of the season and the
ruggedness of the country, that our soldiers had great obsta-
cles to surmount and much suffering to bear. Private letters,
although cautiously written, or they would not have reached
their destination, betrayed general anxiety and distress. The
least movements of our army were represented as victories,
but the Emperor's very triumphs involved him iu difficulty.
The distinct advantage with which the campaign had
opened made the Parisians hard to please as the war went on.
Much trouble was taken to keep up the enthusiasm. The
bulletins were solemnly read at the theatres ; guns were fired
from the Invalides immediately on receipt of news from the
army ; poets were paid for hastily written odes, chants of
victory, and interludes, which were splendidly represented
at the Opera,* and on the following day articles written to
order commented on the heartiness of the applause.f
* The Emperor frequently rebukes the haste of those who were commissioned
to sound his praises at the Paris theatres. He writes to Cambac6rfes from Ber-
lin, on the 21st of November, 1806 : " If the army tries its best to do honor to
the nation, it must be owned that literary men do much to discredit it. I read
yesterday the wretched verses that were sung at the Opera. Keally they are
quite a mockery. How can you allow impromptus to be sung at the Opera ?
They are only fit for vaudevilles. Express my displeaaure to M. de Lu9ay. He
and the Minister of the Interior could surely get something passable composed ;
but, to insure this, it must not be represented earlier than three months after it
is ordered. People complain that we have no literature ; that is the fault of the
Minister of the Interior. It is absurd to order an eclogue as you might order a
' gown." He meant, apparently, that the victories of Jena and Eylau should have
been foreseen three months beforehand. M. de Lu9ay, a Chamberlain, had
charge of the theatres in the absence of the superintendent, the First Chamber-
lain, who was detained, as we have seen, at Mayence. — P. R.
\ Quotation from the " Moniteur " : " Last night the following words were
read at the Opera House : ' The Emperor is in the enjoyment of perfect health.'
It is impossible to conceive the enthusiasm produced by these words."
BATTLE OF E7LAU. 483
The Empress, who was restless, idle, and tired of May-
ence, wrote continually, begging to be allowed to go to Ber-
lin. The Emperor was on the point of yielding to her, and
I learned from M. de Kemusat with fresh sorrow that in all
probability his absence would be prolonged. Eut the arrival
of the Russians, and the obligation he was under of march-
ing into Poland, made Bonaparte change his mind. More-
over, he was informed that Paris was dull, and that the
tradespeople were complaining of the harm done them by
the general uneasiness. He sent orders to his wife to return
to the Tuileries, there to keep up the accustomed splendor
of her Court, and we all received commands to amuse our-
selves ostentatiously.*
Meanwhile, after a few partial engagements, the Emper-
or determined on going into winter quarters ; but the Kus-
sians, who were better used to the severity of the climate and
the rudeness of the country, would not allow of this, and after
measuring their strength in some bloody encounters, where
our success was dearly bought, the two armies met face to
face near the village of Preussisch Eylau, which has given its
name to a sanguinary battle. One shudders even now at the
description of that terrible day. The cold was piercing,
and the snow falling fast ; but the opposition of the elements
only increased the ferocity of both armies. For twelve hours
they fought, without either side being able to claim the vic-
tory. The loss of men was immense. Toward evening the
Eussians retreated in good order, leaving a considerable num-
ber of their wounded on the field of battle. Both sovereigns,
Eussian and French, ordered the Te Deum to be sung. The
fact is, this horrible butchery was to no purpose, and the
Emperor afterward said that, if the Eussian army had at-
tacked him on the following day, it is probable he would
have been beaten. But this was an additional reason for
him to exult over the victory loudly. He wrote to the bish-
* On this occasion M. de Talleyrand said : " Ladies, this is no laughing mat-
ter ; the Emperor Insists on your amusing yourselves."
484 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
ops, informed the Senate of his alleged success, contradicted
in his own journals the foreign versions of the event, and
concealed as much fis possible the losses that we had sus-
tained. It is said that he visited the battle-field, and that
the awful spectacle made a great impression on him. This
would seem to be true^ because the bulletin in which the fact
is stated is written in a very simple style, unlike that of the
others, in which he generally figures in a theatrical atti-
tude.
On his return, he ordered a very fine painting from Gros
the artist, in which he is represented among the dead and
dying, lifting his eyes to heaven, as if praying for resigna-
tion. The expression given to him by the painter is ex-
tremely beautiful. I have often gazed at the picture with
emotion, hoping with all my heart — for it still desired to
cling to him — that such had really been the expression of
his countenance on that occasion.*
M. Denon, Director of the Museum, and one of the most
obsequious servants of the Emperor, always followed him in
his campaigns, in order to select objects of value in every
conquered city, to add to the treasures of that magnificent
collection. He fulfilled his task with exactness, which,
people said, resembled rapacity, and he was accused of ap-
propriating a share of the plunder. Our soldiers knew him
only by the name of " The Auctioneer." After the battle
of Eylau, and while at Warsaw, he received orders to have
a monument erected in commemoration of the day. The
more doubtful it was, the more the Emperor insisted on its
being held to be a victory. Denon sent to Paris a poetical
account of the Emperor's visit to the wounded. Many per-
sons have declared that the painting by Gros represented a
fiction, like that of the visit to the pest-stricken at Jaffa.
But why should it be denied that Bonaparte could sometimes
feel?
* In a bulletin of the time wc read as follows : " Such a spectacle is calcu-
lated to inspire princes with a lore of peace and a horror of war."
BATTLE OF EYLAU. 485
The subject was open to competition among our principal
painters. A considerable number of sketches were sent in.
Gros obtained every vote, and the choice fell upon him.
The battle of Eylau was fought on the 10th of February,
1807.
CHAPTER XXIII.
(1807.)
The Eetum of the Empress to Paris — The Imperial Family — Junot— Fouoh^— The
Queen of Holland — Levy of the Conscripts of 1808 — Theatricals at Court — Let-
ter from the Emperor — Siege of Dantzio — Death of the Empress of Austria —
Death of Queen Hortonse's Son — M. Decazes — The Emperor's Want of Feeling.
Aftee the battle of Eylau, both armies were forced to
come to a bait, in consequence of the confusion produced by
a tbaw, and both went into winter quarters. Our troops
were in cantonments near Marienwerder, and the Emperor
established himself in a country-house near Osterode.*
The Empress had returned to Paris at the end of Janu-
ary. She was out of spirits, vaguely anxious, and not over-
pleased with those members of the Court who had accom-
panied her to Mayence. Besides this, she was in a state of
nervousness, as she always was during the Emperor's abs6nce,
for she dreaded his disapproval of her actions. She was most
gracious, and showed all her former friendship for me. It
was said by some members of the Court that her low spirits
were partly caused by tender feelings which she entertained
toward a certain young equerry, then absent with the Em-
peror. I never inquired into the truth of this story, nor did
she ever mention it to me ; but, on the contrary, she was dis-
tressed by the stories she was told by some Polish ladies then
in Paris, concerning the Emperor and a young countrywoman
* The Emperor toot up his residence at Osterode, or in the neighborhood, on
the 22d of February, 1S01.—F. K.
THE RETURN OF TEE EMPRESS TO PARIS. 487
of theirs. Her affection for her husband was always dashed
with the dread of divorce ; and, of all her feelings, this was,
I believe, the strongest. She would occasionally introduce
a few words on the subject in her letters to Bonaparte, but
he never made the least reply to them.*
She tried to conform to the Emperor's wishes. She gave
and accepted invitations, and could at any time find relief
from her cares in the delight of displaying a magnificent
dress. She behaved to her sisters-in-law coldly, but with
prudence ; she received a great number of persons, and al-
ways graciously, and she never said a word that was not
studiously insignificant.
I once suggested to her that she might divert her mind
by going to the theatre ; but she told me that she did not
derive enough amusement from the plays to go incognito,
and that she could not venture to go publicly. " Why, ma-
dame?" I asked her. "I think the applause you would
receive would be pleasing to the Emperor." " You do not
know him, then," was her reply. " If I was received with
much cordiality, I am sure he would be jealous of any little
triumph which he would not have shared. When I am ap-
plauded he likes to take part in my success ; and I should
only mortify him by seeking any when he can not be present."
The uneasiness of the Empress Josephine was increased
by any appearance of mutual understanding between several
persons about her ; she always imagined they were conspir-
ing to injure her. Bonaparte had infected her with his habit-
ual suspicion. She felt no fear of Mme. Joseph Bonaparte,
* The Emperor's Correspondence, published in the reign of Napoleon III.,
reveals some replies -which Josephine did not confide to her friend. For in-
stance, in a letter of the 31st of December, 1806, he says : " I laughed heartily
OTer your last letters. Polish ladies are not so lovely as you imagine. I re-
ceived your letter in a wretched bam, in the midst of storm and wind, and
where straw was my only bed." A few days later he writes from Warsaw,
January 19, 1807 : " My dearest, I am grieved at the tone of your letters, and
at what I hear about you. I forbid tears, sadness, and anxiety ; you must be
gay, bright, and happy." — P. R.
488 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE ESmUSAT.
who, although at that time Queen of Naples, was residing
quietly at the Luxembourg Palace, being reluctant to exchange
her peaceful life for that of a sovereign. The two Princes —
one the Arch-Chancellor, the other the Arch-Treasurer of
the Empire — were timorous and reserved ; they paid her an
assiduous court, and inspired her with no distrust.
Princess Borghese, who combined constant ill health with
a life of intrigue, joined in no political schemes, excepting
such as were common to the whole family. But the Grand
Duchess of Berg caused her sister-in-law constant jealousy
and apprehension. She lived in great splendor at the Elysee-
Bourbon Palace. Her beauty was set off by the most exqui-
site dress ; her pretensions were . great, her manners affable
when she thought it prudent, and more than affable to men
whom she wished to fascinate. She was unscrupulous when
intent on injuring, and she hated the Empress, yet never lost
her self-control. Of such a woman Josephine might well be
afraid. At this time, as I have said, Caroline was desirous
of obtaining the crown of Poland, and she endeavored to
make friends among the influential members of the Govern-
ment who might be useful to her. General Junot, Govern-
or of Paris, became one of her ardent admirers, and, either
from a reciprocal feeling or from interested motives, she con-
trived to make his tender sentiments serve her purpose ; so
that the Governor of Paris, in his reports to the Emperor — a
certain branch of police being in his charge — always gave
favorable accounts of the Grand Duchess of Berg.
Another intimacy, in which there was no question of love,
but which was of great use to her, was that between Fouche
and herself. Fouche was on bad terms with M. de Talley-
rand, who was no favorite of Mme. Murat's. She wanted to
S3cure her present position, and especially to elevate her hus-
band in spite of himself. She hinted to the Minister of Po-
lice that M. de Talleyrand would contrive to have him re-
moved, and she tried to gain his affection by a number of
other little confidential communications. This intimacy gave
THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND. 489
daily recurring distress to the poor frightened Empress, who
narrowly watched all her words and actions. Parisian soci-
ety concerned itself little with these Court secrets, and took
no interest in the members of the Court circle. We had the
appearance of being, and we were in fact, merely a living
puppet-show, set up to surround the Emperor with what
seemed to him necessary state. The conviction that no one
had any influence over him led people to concern themselves
little with his surroundings. Every one knew beforehand
that his will only would finally determine all things.
Meanwhile, the sovereigns who were either related or
allied to the Emperor sent deputations to Poland, to con-
gratulate him on his victories. From Naples, Amsterdam,
and Milan came envoys to Warsaw, offering homage from
the various states. The kingdom of Naples was disquieted
by disturbances in Calabria only, but this was enough to keep
it in agitation. The new King, a lover of pleasure, did not
carry out with sufficient firmness the plan which the Em-
peror had laid down for the kingdoms he had called into
existence. The Emperor also found fault with his brother
Louis ; but those reproaches did honor to the latter.
Louis's domestic affairs became every day more deplora-
ble. Mme. Louis, who had enjoyed some liberty at Mayence,
no doubt found it hard to return to the dreary bondage in
which she was held by her husband ; and the depression,
which she did not sufficiently conceal", embittered him, per-
haps, still more. The division between them increased until
they lived apart in the palace — she in retirement with two
or three of her ladies, and he immersed in affairs, and making
no secret of his dissatisfaction with his wife. He would not
allow the Dutch to impute all the blame of the notorious
domestic troubles to him. Who can say to what such a
position of affairs might have led, but for the common
misfortune which shortly fell upon the unhappy pair, and
which drew them together in a common sorrow ?
Toward the end of the winter an order from the Em-
490 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
peror reached Paris, to the effect that the newspapers were
to remind persons distinguished either in art or science
that the decree, dated from Aix-la-Chapelle, 24:th Fractidor,
year 12,* concerning the decennial prizes, was to come into
effect at the expiration of one year and eight months from
the then date. This decree promised considerable rewards
to every author of an important work, of any kind whatsoever.
The prizes were to be assigned at intervals of ten years,
dating from the 18th Brumaire, and the jury which was to
allot them was to consist of members of the Institute. This
project has real greatness in it ; we shall see, hereafter, how
it fell to pieces in consequence of a fit of ill humor on the
part of the Emperor.
In March the Vice-Queen of Italy gave birth to a daugh-
ter, and the Empress was much pleased at being grand-
mother to a little princess related to all the greatest powers
in Europe.
During the suspension of war on both sides, from the
inclemency of the season, the Emperor took every means to
insure that in the spring his army should be more formidable
than ever. The kingdoms of Italy and Naples had to furnish
further contingents. Men bom under the smiling skies of
those beautiful lands were suddenly transported to the wild
banks of the Vistula ; and they might wonder at the change,
until others were seen marching from Cadiz, to perish be-
neath the walls of Moscow, thus affording a proof of the
courage and strength of which men are capable, and also of
what can be done by the strength of the human wiU. The
army was reorganized ; our newspapers were filled with col-
umns of promotions, and it is curious, among these military
decrees, to come upon one dated, like the rest, from Osterode,
appointing bishops to vacant sees both in France and in Italy.
But, notwithstanding our victories, or perhaps because of
them, our army had suffered considerable loss. The extreme
humidity of the climate caused sickness among the troops.
* September 11, 1804.— P. R.
LEVY OF THE C0NSGBTPT8 OF 1808. 491
Eussia was evidently about to make an immense effort. The
Emperor felt that this campaign must be decisive ; and, not
feeling satisfied that the numerous troops furnished to him
were sufficient to insure victory, he put his own power and
our submission to the test. After having, at the end of De-
cember, 1806, levied the conscription for 1807, he demanded
from the Senate in April the levy for 1808. The Prince of
ISTeufch^tel's report, which was published in the " Moniteur,"
announced that during the year the army had been augmented
by one hundred and sixty thousand men, levied by the con-
scriptions of 1806 and 1807; sixteen thousand men were
non-combatants either from sickness or superannuation, and,
without troubling himself with calculations, which it was too
certain no one would venture to make, because it was our
system to conceal our losses, he put down the " casualties "
of the campaign at fourteen thousand men. As our army
had been increased by only a hundred and thirty thousand
efficient soldiers, prudence required that the eighty thousand
men of the conscription of 1808 should be raised, and drilled,
each in his own department. " Were this delayed," said the
report, " the men would have to march at once to the seat
of war ; but, by making the levy six months in advance, they
will acquire strength and knowledge, and will be better able
to defend themselves."
State Councilor Eegnault de St. Jean d'Angely, who was
the bearer of the Imperial message to the Senate, paused
when he came to this portion of the report, and called the
attention of the Senators to the paternal goodness of the Em-
peror, who would not allow the new conscripts to brave the
dangers of war without some previous preparation. The
Emperor's letter announced that the whole of Europe was
again in arms — that two hundred thousand recruits had been
raised in England ; and declared his own desire for peace, on
condition that the English were not prompted by passion to
seek their own prosperity in our abasement.
The Senate passed the required decree, and voted an ad-
492 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EtMVSAT.
dress of congratulation and thanks to the Emperor. He must
have smiled on receiving it.
The minds of men who wield absolute power need to be
very generous, in order to resist the temptation to despise
the human species — a temptation which is only too well jus-
tified by the submission that is accorded to them. When
Bonaparte beheld a whole nation giving him its life-blood
and its treasure in order to satisfy his insatiable ambition,
when educated men of that nation consented to veil his acts
of invasion on the human will in plausible phrases, how could
he fail to regard the whole world as a vast field, open to the
first person who would undertake to occupy and till it?
Heroic greatness of soul alone could have discerned that the
adulatory words and the blind obedience of the citizens who
were isolated by the tyranny of his institutions, and then
decimated at his command, were dictated by constraint only.
And yet, although Bonaparte had none of those generous
feelings, reasonable observation might have shown him that
the alert obedience with which the French marched to the
battle-field was but a misdirection of that national spirit
which a great Eevolution had aroused in a great people.
The cry of liberty had awakened generous enthusiasm, but
the confusion that ensued had rendered men afraid to com-
plete their work. The Emperor skillfully seized on this mo-
ment of hesitation, and turned it to his own advantage. For
the last thirty years the French character has been so de-
veloped that the bulk of our citizens of every class have
been possessed by the desire to live, or, if to live were im-
possible, by the desire to die, for some particular object.
Bonaparte did not, however, invariably mistake the bent of
the genius of the people whom he had undertaken to rule,
but he felt within himself the strength to control it, and he
directed it, or rather misdirected it, to his own advantage.
It was becoming hard to serve him ; feelings which
seemed instinctively to warn us of what was to come were
not to be repressed. Many were the sad reflections of my
SAD REFLEOTIOFS. 493
husband and myself — I remember tbem well —in the midst
of the splendor and luxury of a position for which we were
no doubt envied. As I have said, our means were small
when we joined the First Consul's Court. His gifts, which
were sold rather than freely bestowed, had surrounded us
with luxury on which he insisted. I was still young, and I
found myself enabled to gratify the tastes of youth and to
enjoy the pleasures of a brilliant position. I had a beautiful
house ; I had fine diamonds ; every day I might vary my
elegant dress ; a chosen circle of friends dined at my table ;
every theatre was open to me ; there was no fete given in
Paris to which I was not invited ; and yet even then an in-
explicable cloud hung over me. Often on our return from
a splendid entertainment at the Tuileries, and while still
wearing our garb of state — or shall I say, of servitude ? — my
husband and I would seriously discuss all that was passing
around us. A secret anxiety as to the future, an ever-grow-
ing distrust of our master, oppressed us both. Without dis-
tinctly knowing what we dreaded, we were aware that there
was something to dread. " I am unfitted," my husband used
to say, " for the narrow and idle life of a Court." " I can
not admire," I would say to him, " that which costs so much
blood and misery." We were weary of military glory, and
shocked at the fierce severity it often inspires in those who
have gained it ; and perhaps the repugnance we felt for it
was a presentiment of the price which Bonaparte was to
make France pay for the greatness that he forced upon her.
To these painful feelings was added the fear of being
unable to feel any affection for him whom we must still con-
tinue to serve. This was one of my secret troubles. I clung
with the enthusiasm of youth and imagination to the admi-
ration for the Emperor that I desired to retain ; I sincerely
tried to deceive myself with regard to him ; I eagerly re-
called cases when he had acted up to my hopes. The strug-
gle was painful and vain, but I suffered more after I had
relinquished it. In 1814 numbers of people wondered at my
494: MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
ardent desire for the fall of tlie founder of our fortune, and
for the return of those who would ruin it ; they accused us
of ingratitude in so promptly forsaking the cause of the Em-
peror, and honored us with their surprise because of the pa-
tience with which we endured our heavy loss. They were
unable to read our hearts ; they were ignorant of the impres-
sions that had been made on us long before. The return of
the King ruined us, but it set our hearts and minds at lib-
erty. It promised a future in which our child might freely
yield to the noble inspirations of his youth. "My son," said
his father, " will perhaps be poor, but he will not be shackled
and hampered as we have been." It is not sufficiently
known in the world — ^that is, in the regulated and factitious
society of a great city — that there is happiness in a position
which allows of the complete development of one's feelings
and of freedom in all one's thoughts.
On the feast of St. Joseph,* Princess Borghese and Prin-
cess Caroline f gave a little fete in honor of the Empress. A
large party was invited. A comedy or vaudeville was acted,
full of verses in honor of the Emperor and in praise of Jose-
phine. The two Princesses represented shepherdesses, and
looked exquisitely lovely. General Junot took the part of a
soldier just returned from the army, and in love with one of
the young girls. The position seemed to suit them perfectly,
whether on the stage or elsewhere. But Bonaparte's two
sisters, although Princesses, sang out of tune ; and, as each
could detect this in the other, she ridiculed her sister's per-
formance. Both my sister and I took part in the piece. I
was greatly amused at the rehearsals by the mutual spiteful-
ness of the two sisters, who had little love for each other,
and the vexation of the author and the composer. Both
thought a good deal of the production ; they were annoyed
at hearing their verses and songs badly rendered ; they dared
not complain, and, when they ventured on timid remon-
strance, every one hastened to silence them.
* March 19, 1807.— P. R. f Mme. Murat, Grand Duchess of Berg.
SIEGE OF DANTZIC. 495
The play was ill performed. The Empress cared little
for the insincere homage of her sisters-in-law, and remem-
bered that on this same stage, a few years before, she had
seen her own children, young, gay, and loving, touch even
Bonaparte's heart by offering him flowers. She told me that
during the whole evening this recollection had been present
with her. She was now away from her husband, anxious
about him, uneasy about herself, far from her son and daugh-
ter. Ever since the day she ascended the throne she had
regretted her happier past.
On the occasion of her fete-day the Emperor wrote af-
fectionately to her : " I dislike very much being so far away
from you. The chill of the climate seems to lay hold of
my heart. We are all longing for Paris, that Paris which
one regrets in every place, and for whose sake we are always
in pursuit of glory, and after all, Josephine, only that we
may be applauded on our return by the crowd at the Opera.
"When spring comes, I hope to beat the Kussians thoroughly,
and then, mesdames, we will go home, and you shall crown
us with laurel."
During the winter the siege of Dantzic was begun. Bo-
naparte took it into his head to give some glory (as he called
it) to Savary. The military reputation of the latter did not
stand very high with the army ; but he was useful to the
Emperor in other ways, and covetous of reward. The Em-
peror foresaw that some day he would be obliged to give
him, a decoration, in order to be able to use him as occasion
might arise ; so he chose to say that Savary had obtained an
advantage of some kind over the Eussians, and bestowed on
him the grand cordon of the Legion of Honor. Military
men disapproved, but Bonaparte cared as little for them as
for others, and to bestow reward independently of merit or
desert was a favorite exercise of his independence.
He seldom left his headquarters at Osterode,* except for
the purpose of inspecting the various cantonments. He
* He resided in Finckestein Castle, near Osterode.
37
496 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE M^MUSAT.
issued decrees on a great number of subjects. He wrote *
a letter to M. de Champagny, the Minister of tlie Interior,
wbich was mentioned in the " Moniteur," ordering him to
announce to the Institute that a statue would be presented
to it in honor of D'Alembert, the French mathematician,
who, more than any other, had contributed to the advance-
ment of science.f
The bulletins contained statements of the position of the
army only, and of the Emperor's health, which continued to
be excellent. He often rode forty leagues in a day. He
continued to make numerous promotions in his army, which
were published in the " Moniteur " indiscriminately, and un-
der the same date with the appointment of certain bishops.
The Empress of Austria's death occurred at this time.
She was only thirty-four years of age. She left four sons
and five daughters. The Princes of Bavaria and Baden, and
some others belonging to the Confederation of the Rhine,
were staying with the army and paying court to the Em-
peror. When the day's work was over, he attended concerts,
given for him by Paer the musician, whom he had met at
Berlin, and whom he engaged in his service and brought
back with him to Paris. M. de Talleyrand's society was no
doubt a great resource to the Emperor, but he frequently left
him, in order to pass some days in great state at Warsaw,
where he conversed with the nobles, and kept up the hopes
which it was thought desirable they should not abandon. It
* That is, a letter was written by his orders. Bonaparte writes very badly ;
he never takes the trouble to form even one letter in a word correctly.
f This is the Emperor's letter :
" M. Champagnt : Being desirous of placing in the Salle des Stances of the
Institute tho statue of D'Alembert, as that of the French mathematician who,
in the last century, contributed most to the advancement of this, the chief of
all sciences, we request you to make our decision known to the first class of the
Institute. We thus convey to it a proof of our esteem, and of our constant
intention to grant reward and encouragement to the labors of that society,
which is so important to the prosperity and the welfare of our people.
"Osterode, 18th March, ISOY."— P. R.
DEATH OF QUEEiT HORTENSE'S SON. 49Y
was at "Warsaw that M. de Talleyrand negotiated on the Em-
peror's behalf with ambassadors from the Porte and from
Persia. Bonaparte permitted them to witness some ma-
ncBuvres by a part of his army. At "Warsaw also a suspen-
sion of arms between France and Sweden was signed.
The difficulty about the Monseigneur having been set-
tled, Cardiaal Maury was admitted to the Institute, and de-
livered a panegyric on the Abbe de Kadovilliers as the usual
reception speech. An immense crowd was present, but the
Cardiaal disappointed public expectation. His discourse was
long and tedious, and it was justly inferred that his"abilities
were absolutely worn out. His pastorals and some Lenten
sermons which he preached subsequently confirm that im-
pression.
The death of her little grandson, Napoleon, on the 5th of
May, was a severe blow to the Empress. The child, after a
few days' illness, died of croup.. The despair of the Queen
of Holland surpassed description. She clung to the body of
her son, and had to be removed by force. Louis Bonaparte,"
who was terrified as well as grieved at the state of his wife,
treated her with great tenderness, and their loss brought
about a sincere, though only temporary, reconciliation be-
tween them. At intervals the Queen became completely
delirious, shrieking, calling on her son, and invoking death ;
and she was unable to recognize those who approached her.
"When reason partly returned, she remained buried in pro-
found silence, and was indifferent to all around. At times,
however, she would gently thank her husband for his care,
in a manner which showed her deep regret that such a mis-
fortune had been needed to change their mutual feelings.
On one of these occasions, Louis, true to his strange and jeal-
ous temper, while standing beside his wife's bed, and prom-
ising her that in future he would do all he could to make her
happy, insisted on her confessing the faults he imagined she
had committed. " Confide your errors to me," he said ; " I
will forgive them all. "We are about to begin a new life
498 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
which will for ever efface the past." With all the solemnity
of grief, and in the hope of death, the Queen assured him
that, ready as she was to appear before the throne of God,
she had not even the semblance of a guilty thought of which
to accuse herself. The King, still unconvinced, asked her to
swear this ; but, even after she had taken an oath of her truth,
he could not believe her, but recommenced his importunities,
until his wife, exhausted by her grief, by the answers she
had made, and by this dreadful persecution, felt herself about
to faint, and said : " Leave me in peace ; I shall not escape
from you. We will resume the subject to-morrow." And
with these words she again lost consciousness.*
When the young Prince's death was made known in
Paris, a courier was dispatched to the Emperor, Mme. Murat
started for the Hague, and a few days later the Empress went
to Brussels, whither Louis himself brought his wife and their
suiwiving little son, in order to place them under the care of
the Empress. He seemed to be in great grief, and to be
very anxious about Queen Hortense, who remained in a state
approaching delirium. It was settled that, after a few days'
repose at Malmaison, she was to pass several months in the
Pyrenees, where her husband would subsequently join her.
After staying one day at the palace of Lacken, near Brussels,
the King returned to Holland, and the Empress, her daugh-
ter, the latter's second son, thenceforth of necessity called
]!fapoleon, and the Grand Duchess of Berg, who was ill cal-
culated to console two persons whom she so greatly disliked,
came back to Paris. M. de Eemusat, who was in attendance
on the Empress on this melancholy journey, told me on his
return of the attention with which Louis had treated his
wife, and that he had observed that Mme. Murat was dis-
pleased by it.
Mme. Louis Bonaparte remained at Malmaison for a fort-
night in profound retirement and deep dejection. Toward
the end of May she left for Cauterets. She was indifferent
* It is from the Queen herself that I heard those facta.
QUEEN HOBTENSE'S DESPAIR. 499
to all things, tearless, sleepless, speechless. She would press
the hand of any one who spoke to her, and every day, at
the hour of her son's death, she had a violent hysterical
attack. I never beheld grief so painful to witness. She
was pale, motionless, her eyes rigidly fixed — one could
not but weep on approaching her; then she would utter
these few words : " Why do you weep ? He is dead — I
know it well ; but I do not suffer. I assure you I feel no-
thing." *
During her journey to the south, a tremendous storm
roused her from this state of lethargy. There had been a
storm on the day that her son died. "When the thvmder
roared this time, she listened to it attentively ; as it increased
in violence, she was seized with a terrible nervous attack,
* This description of Hortense's' despair is by no means exaggerated. My
grandfather -writes as follows to his wife, from Brussels, whither he had accom-
panied the Empress: "May 16, ISOY. The King and Queen arrived here yes-
terday. The interview with the Empress was painful to her only, and how could
it be otherwise ? Picture to yourself that the Queen, whose health in other re-
spects is fairly good, is exactly in the state in which Nina is represented on the
stage. She has but one idea — that of her loss ; she speaks but on one subject
— it is of him. Not a single tear, calm and cold, her eyes almost fixed, an
almost absolute silence, which she only breaks to rend the heart of her hearers.
If she meets any one whom she had formerly seen with her son, she looks at
him with kindness and interest, and says in a very low voice, ' You know he is
dead.' When she saw her mother, she said to her: ' He was here with me not
long ago ; I held him on my knee.' Perceiving me a few moments after-
ward, she beckoned to mo to draw near. ' You recollect Mayence ? He acted
there with us.' When ten o'clock struck, she turned to one of her ladies.
' You know,' she said, ' that it was ten o'clock when he died.' In this manner
only she breaks her almost continual silence. Withal she is kind, sensible, and
reasonable. She is perfectly aware of her state ; she even speaks of it. She is
fortunate, she says, ' in being unable to feel. She would have suffered too much
otherwise.' She was asked whether seeing her mother had not caused her emo-
tion. ' No,' she answered ; ' but I am very glad to have seen her.' On being
told how much Josephine was hurt by the little feeling she evinced on seeing
her again, ' Oh, she must not vex herself,' she answered ; ' that is my nature.' To
everything addressed to her on other subjects, she answers : ' I do not care ; let
it bo as you like.' She imagines she wants to be alone with her grief; she will
not, however, visit spots which recall the memory of her son." — P. R.
X
500 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
followed by a flood of tears ; and from that instant slie re-
gained the power of feeling and of suffering, and gave her-
self up to a profound grief which never completely subsided.
Although I can not continue her history withoiit anticipating
dates, I will nevertheless conclude this episode in her hfe at
once. She took up her abode among the mountains with a
small suite, and tried to escape from herself by continually
walking, so as to exhaust her strength. In a state of con-
stant painful excitement, she wandered through the valleys
of the Pyrenees, or cHmbed the rocks, attempting the most
difficult ascents, and seemed, I have been told by others, as
if only bent on wearing herself out.
At Cauterets she met by chance with M. Decazes, who
was then young, unknown to fame, and, like the Queen, in
deep grief. He had lost his young wife,* and was in bad
health. These two met and understood each other's grief.
It is extremely probable that IVTme. Louis, who was too un-
happy to restrict herself to the conventionalities of her rank,
and refused to receive unsympathetic persons, was more ac-
cessible to a man suffering from a sorrow like her own. M.
Decazes was young and handsome ; the idle sojourners at a
watering-place and the inconsiderate tongue of scandal pre-
tended there was something more than friendship in this.
The Queen was too much absorbed in her sorrow to take
notice of anything that was going on around her. Her only
companions were young friends devoted to her, anxious
about her health, and eager to procure her the least allevia-
tion. Meanwhile letters were written to Paris full of gossip
about the Queen and M. Decazes.
At the end of the summer King Louis rejoined his wife
in the south of France. It would seem that the sight of the
sorrowing mother and of his only surviving son softened his
heart. The interview was affectionate on both sides, and
the married pair, who for long had lived in esti-angeraent,
* A daughter of M. Mari-ois, President of the Court of Cassation.
A REGONGILIATION. 601
were once more reconciled.* Had Louis returned immedi-
diately to the Plague, it is probable that the reconciliation
would have been lasting ; but he accompanied his wife to
Paris, and their domestic union displeased Mme. Murat. I
was told by the Empress that at first, on their return to
Paris, her daughter was deeply touched by the grief of her
husband, and said that, through suffering, a new bond had
been formed between them, and that she felt she could for-
give the past. But Mme. Murat — or so the Empress be-
lieved on what appeared to be good grounds — began once
more to disturb her brother's mind. She related to him,
without appearing to believe them herself, the stories told of
the Queen's meetings with M. Deeazes. Less than this would
have sufficed to rekindle Louis's jealoiisy and suspicion.f I
can not now remember whether he had himself met M. De-
eazes in the Pyrenees, or whether he had merely heard him
spoken of by his wife ; for, as she attached not the least im-
portance to her acquaintance with him, she often said, before
other persons, how much she had been touched by the simi-
larity of their sorrows, and how deeply she felt, in her own
grief, for the desolation of the bereaved husband.
The Empress, who was alarmed at the emaciated condi-
tion of her daughter, and who feared for her the fatigue of
another journey, as well as the climate of Holland, entreated
the Emperor, who had then returned to Paris, to persuade
Louis to allow his wife to remain in Paris for her confine-
ment. The Emperor obtained permission for her by com-
manding Louis to grant it. The latter, who was angry, em-
bittered, and no doubt ill pleaSfed at being forced to return
alone to the gloomy mists of his kingdom, and who was beset
* Their third son, afterward Napoleon III., was bom on the 3d of Ajn-il,
1808,
f Louis Bonaparte himself procured for M. Deeazes an unimportant post in
the household of Mme. Bonaparte, his mother. He never appeared at Court
nor in society. Who would have believed then that, a few years later, he would
be a peer of Franco and the favorite of Louis XVIIL ?
502 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BJ^MUSAT.
by his own bad temper, resumed his suspicions and lus ill
humor, and once more vented both on his wife. At first she
could hardly believe him to be in earnest ; but, when she
found herseH again insulted, when she began to understand
that even in her sorrow she was not respected, and that she
had been thought capable of an intrigue at a time when she
had been only longing for death, she fell into a state of utter
dejection. Indifferent to the present, to the future, to every
tie, she felt contempt for her husband, which perhaps she
allowed to be too plainly perceptible, and she thought only
of how she might contrive to live apart from him. All this
took place in the autumn of 1807. When I shall have
reached 'that date, I may have more to say about this un-
happy woman.
The Empress shed many tears over the death of her
grandson. Besides the ardent afEection she had cherished
for this child, who was of a lovable disposition, her own posi-
tion was, she felt, endangered by his death. She had hoped
that Louis's children would make up to the Emperor for her
lack of offspring, and the terrible divorce, which cost her so
often such agonizing dread, seemed after this sad loss once
more to threaten her. She spoke to me at the time of her
secret fears, and I had much difficulty in soothing her.
Even at the present day the impression produced by M.
de Fontanes's fine speech on this misfortune, into which he
contrived to introduce a remarkable description of Bona-
parte's prosperity, is not yet forgotten. The Emperor had
ordered that the colors taken from the enemy in this last
campaign and the sword of Frederick the Great should be
borne in state to the Invalides. A Te Deum was to be sung,
and an oration delivered in the presence of the great digni-
taries, the Ministers, the Senate, and the pensioners them-
selves. The ceremony, which took place on the 17th of
May, 1807, was very imposing, and the speech of M. de Fon-
tanes will perpetuate for us the remembrance of those sacred
spoils, which have since been restored to their former owners.
FAMILY LIFE OF KING OF HOLLAND. 503
The orator was admired for aggrandisdng-his hero, and yet
for refraining from insult to the vanquished, and for reserv-
ing his praise for what was really heroic. It was added that,
strictly speaking, his praise might be taken for advice ; and
such was the state of submission and fear in those days
that M. de Fontanes was held to have displayed remarkable
courage.
In his peroration he described his hero surrounded with
the pomp of victory, but turning from it to weep over a
child.* But the hero did not weep. He was at first pain-
* This incident is alluded to in the Introduction to this work, when the Court
of Napoleon is mentioned. I have allowed the repetition to stand, as the fur-
ther details given here are interesting. I add to these, in order better to depict
the family life of the King and Queen of Holland, the following letter, written
to the King by his brother, and dated Finekestein, April 4, 180Y, about a month
before the child's death: "Your quarrels with the Queen are becoming public
property. Do show in your own home the paternal and effeminate character
that you show in your government, and evince in matters of business the severity
you display at home. You manage your young wife as you would a regiment.
. . . You have the best and most virtuous of wives, and you make her wretched.
Let her dance as much as she likes ; it is natural at her age. My wife is forty,
but from the battle-field I write, telling her to go to balls. And you want a girl
of twenty, who sees her life passing away, who retains all its illusions, to live
like a nun, or like a nurse, always washing her baby ! You interfere too much
in your home, and not enough in your government. I would not tell you all this,
only for the interest I bear you. Make the mother of your children happy ;
there is but one way — it is to show her great esteem and confidence. Unfortu-
nately your wife is too good ; were you married to a coquette, she would lead
you by the nose. But your wife is proud, and she is shocked and grieved at the
mere idea that you can think ill of her. You should have had a wife like some
I know of in Paris. She would have played you tricks, and would have tied you
to her apron-string. It is not my fault ; I have often told your wife so." In
this sensible letter, full of the sagacity and vulgarity with which Napoleon
looked at the ordinary events of life, the identity of his opinions with those of
the author of these Memoirs, as to the cause and character of the conjugal dis-
cord of which they are treating, is remarkable. King Louis is too stiff, too
austere, too jealous. His wife has tastes natural to youth and to imagination.
Her husband misjudges, humbles, depresses, and offends her. Then comes the
death of the young Prince, and this affliction, equally felt by both parents, draws
them together in a common sorrow, lasting on the part of the Queen, and for a
time her one only thought, and not hers only, but her mother's as well. In
Napoleon's published letters he appears to be grieved at first, but afterward
504 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
fully affected by the boy's death, then shook off the feeling
as soon as possible. M. de Talleyrand told me afterward
that the very next day after hearing the news the Emperor
was conversing freely and just as usual with those around
him, and that when he was about to grant an audience to
some of the great nobles from the Court of "Warsaw, who
came to offer their condolence, he (M. de Talleyrand) thought
himseK obliged to remind him to assume a serious expression,
and ventured to offer a remark on his apparent indifference,
to which the Emperor replied that " he had no time to amuse
himself with feelings and regrets like other men."
weary of their continual sadness. There is a curious mixture of kindness and
imperious egotism in his manner of comforting them, or of commanding them
to be comforted. I have quoted some of these letters. Here is another, dated
Friedland, June 16, 180Y : " My daughter, I have received your letter dated from
Orleans. I am grieved at your sorrow, but I should like you to be more coura-
geous. To live is to sufEer, and a brave man always struggles to be master of
himself. I don't like to see you unjust toward little Napoleon Louis and toward
all your friends. Tour mother and I thought we were dearer to you than it
seems we are. I won a great victory on the 14th of June. I am in good health,
and send you my love." It will be seen how greatly the Emperor and Josephine's
Lady-in-Waiting differ in their estimate of Queen Hortense from the general
opinion of her character, which yet does not appear to have been altogether un-
founded. It is probable that both were swayed by their unfavorable opinion of
the Emperor's brothers. This was certainly deserved, especially by Louis, who
had no redeeming quality to atone for his defects. — ^P. K.
CHAPTER XXIV.
(1807.)
The Duke of Dantzic — Fouoh^'s Police— Battle of Friedland— M. do Lameth —
Treaty of Tilsit — Eetum of the Emperor — M. de Talleyrand — The Ministers —
The Bishops.
Meanwhile tlie severity of winter gradually lessened in
Poland, and everything indicated a renewal of hostilities.
The bulletin of the 16th of May informed us that the Em-
peror of Eussia had rejoined his army ; and the temperate
language in which the sovereigns were spoken of, together
with the epithet of " brave soldiers " applied to the Rus-
sians, made us understand that a vigorous resistance was ex-
pected. The siege of Dantzic was intrusted to Marshal Le-
f ebvre ; some skirmishing took place, and finally, on the 24th
of May, Dantzic capitulated. The Emperor immediately re-
moved thither. To reward the Marshal, he made him Duke
of Dantzic, and, together with the title, granted him a con-
siderable sum of money. This was the first creation of the
kind. He pointed out its advantages, in his own way, in a
letter which he wrote to the Senate on the occasion ; and he
endeavored to lay particular stress on those reasons for this
step which would be least unwelcome to lovers of equality,
whose opinions he was always careful to respect. I have
often heard him speak of the motives which led him to create
an intermediate caste, as he called it, between himself and
the vast democracy of France. His reasons were, the neces-
sity of rewarding important services in a way not onerous to
506 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
the state, and of contenting French vanity,* and also that he
might have a court about him, like the other sovereigns of
Europe. " Liberty," he used to say, " is needed by a small
and privileged class, who are gifted by nature with abilities
greater than those of the bulk of mankind. It can therefore
be restricted with impunity. Equality, on the other hand,
delights the multitude. I do not hurt that principle by giv-
ing titles to certain men, without respect of birth, which is
now an exploded notion. I act monarchicaUy in creating
hereditary rank, but I remain within the principles of the
Kevolution, because my nobility is not exclusive. The titles
I bestow are a kind of civic crown ; they may be won by
good actions. Besides, it is a sign of ability when mlers
communicate to those they govern the same impulses they
have themselves. Now, I move by ascending, and the na-
tion must rise in the same way."
On one occasion, after laying down this system in his
wife's presence and mine, he suddenly paused — he had been
walking up and down the room, as was his habit — and said :
" It is not that I do not perceive that all these nobles whom
I create, and especially the dukes whom I endow with enor-
mous sums of money, will become partially independent of
me. Their honors and riches will tempt them to get loose,
and they wiU acquire probably what they will call the spirit
of their class." On this he resumed his walk and was silent
for a few minutes ; then, turning to us abruptly, he added,
with a smile of which I can not attempt to analyze the ex-
pression, " Ah, but they won't run so fast but that I shall be
able to catch them ! "
Although Lefebvre's military services were a sufficient
reason for the gifts which the Emperor assigned to him from
the battle-field, yet the mocking humor of the Parisians, un-
* " You will say, perhaps," said the Emperor, " that I shall be creating a
court nobility, but these nobles will have won their rank by their swords."
" By their swords ? " said my grandmother ; " you mean their bayonets." The
Empress laughed. — ^P. B.
FOUOH^'S POLICE. 507
affected by even justly won glory, exercised itself upon the
dignity of the new Duke. There was something of the bar-
rack-room about him which partly encouraged this, and his
wife, who was old and excessively homely in her manners,
became the object of general ridicule. She openly expressed
her preference for the pecuniary part of the Emperor's gifts,
and when she made this admission in the drawing-room at
Saint Cloud, and the simplicity of the speech made some of
us laugh, she reddened with anger and said to the Empress,
" Madame, I beg you to make your young hussies hold their
tongues." It may be imagined that such a sally did not
lessen our mirth.*
The Emperor would willingly have put a stop to jesting
on these points, but that was beyond his power ; and, as it
was loiown that he was sensitive on the subject, this was a
favorite way of retaliating upon him for his tyranny.
Witty sayings and calemhourgs were current in Paris, and
written off to the army. The Emperor, in his vexation,
rebuked the Minister of Police for his carelessness. The
latter, affecting a certain disdainful liberality, replied that he
thought he might as well leave idle people amusement of
this kind. However, on learning that contemptuous or ill-
natured remarks had been made in any Paris drawing-room,
the Minister would send for the master or mistress of the
house, advise them to keep a better watch over their guests,
and dismiss them full of an undefined suspicion of their
social circle.
Afterward the Emperor contrived to reconcile the old to
the new nobility, by offering the former a share in his gifts ;
* Certain sayings of the Marshal Duke of Dantzio have a soldier-litc ring.
Ho was lamenting to my grandfather the misconduct of a son. " You see," he
said, " I am afraid he may not die well." Once, when he was vexed by the tone
of envy and unkindnoss with which a companion of his childhood, on meeting
him again in his prosperity, spoke of his riches, titles, and luxury, he answered
him : " Well, now, you shall have it all, but at cost price. Wc will go down
into the garden ; I will fire at you sixty times, and then, if you are not killed,
everything shall be yours." — P. R.
508 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SMUSAT.
and they, feeling that every concession, however small in
itself, was a recognition of their privileges, did not disdain
favors which replaced them in their former position.
MeanAvhile, the army was strongly reenforced. All our
allies contributed to it. Spaniards hurried across France in
order to fight against Eussians on the Yistula ; not a sover-
eign ventured to disobey the orders he received. The bul-
letin of the 12th of June announced that hostilities had re-
commenced ; it also contained an account of the efforts that
had been made to bring about a peace. M. de Talleyrand
anxiously desired this ; perhaps the Emperor himself was not
averse to it : but the English Government refused to con-
sent ; the young Czar flattered himself that Austerlitz would
be forgotten ; Prussia was weary of us and wishing for the
return of her King ; Bonaparte, as conqueror, imposed severe
conditions, and war broke out again. Some partial engage-
ments were to our advantage, and our usual activity was re-
sumed. The two armies met at Friedland, and we gained
another great and hardly contested victory. Yet, notwith-
standing our success, the Emperor felt assured that, when-
ever he should be pitted against the Eussians, he must be
prepared for a severe straggle, and that on himself and
Alexander depended the fate of the Continent.
A considerable number of our general officers were
wounded at Eriedland. M. de ISTansouty, my brother-in-law,
behaved most gallantly : in order to support the movements
of the army, he endured the enemy's fire for several hours at
the head of his division of heavy cavalry, maintaining his
men, by his own example, in a state of very trying inaction,
which may he said to have been as sanguinary as the thick of
the fight. Prince Borghese was sent from the battle-field to
Saint Cloud to convey the ncAvs of victory to the Empress ;
he held out at the same time the hope of an early peace, and
the rumor, which was soon spread, was no little enhancement
of the victory.
The battle of Friedland was followed by a rapid march
M. DE LAUETH. 509
of our troops. The Emperor reached the village of Tilsit,
on the banks of the Niemen. The river separated the two
armies. An armistice was proposed by the Kussian com-
mander and accepted by ns ; negotiations were begun.
While these events were taking place, I had gone to Aix-
la-Chapelle, where I was leading a quiet life, and waiting,
like the rest of Europe, for the end of this terrible war. I
met there M. Alexandre de Lameth, who was Prefect of the
department. After taking a conspicuous part at the begin-
ning of the Revolution, he had emigrated, and, after long
years in an Austrian prison, had eventually returned to
France at the same time as M. de la Fayette. Entering the
Emperor's service, he attained the post of Prefect of the
department of the Eoer, as it was called, and managed it
extremely well. The education I had received, the opinions
I had heard expressed by my mother and her friends, had
prejudiced me strongly against all who had aided the devo-
lution in 1789. I looked upon M. de Lameth as simply fac-
tious and ungrateful toward the Court, and as having thrown
himself into opposition as a means of obtaining a celebrity
flattering to his ambition. I was still more inclined to hold
this opinion, because I found that he was a great admirer of
Bonaparte, who certainly did not govern France on a system
which emanated from the Constituent Assembly. But it
may be that, like the majority of Frenchmen, our anarchy
had sickened him of liberty so dearly bought, and that he
sincerely welcomed a despotism which restored order to the
country.
My acquaintance with him gave me the opportunity of
hearing him discourse upon the rights of citizens, the balance
of power, and liberty in a restricted sense. M. de Lameth
defended the intentions of the Constituent Assembly, and I
had no inclination to dispute the point with him ; it seemed
of little importance at the date we had then reached. He
attempted to justify the conduct of the deputies in 1T89 ;
and, though I was unequa] to arguing with him, I felt con-
510 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMuSAT.
fusedly that he was wrong, and that the Constituent Assem-
bly had not fulfilled its mission with due impartiality and
conscientiousness. But I was struck with the utility to a na-
tion of less ephemeral institutions, and the ardent words to
which I listened, together with the depression produced in
me by our endless wars, sowed in my mind the seeds of
wholesome and generous thought, which subsequent events
have developed in full. But, whatever our ideas may have
been at that time, our reason or our instinct was forced to
bend before the triumphant fortune which was then raising
Napoleon to the zenith of his fame. He could no longer be
judged by ordinary rule ; fortune was so constantly at his
side that, in rushing onward to the most brilliant as well as
the most deplorable excesses, he seemed to be obeying des-
tiny.*
* It appears probable, and is indeed made manifest in these pages, that M.
de Lameth's conversation contributed to tlie political and liberal education of
their author. It will perhaps be found amusing to contrast the influence these
conversations had over her with her prejudices against him, and her somewhat
severe judgments when they first met. It must not be forgotten that my grand-
mother was only twenty-six when she met M. de Lameth at Aix-la-Chapelle, and
that she had left her mother's quiet, simple, and saddened home for the Court
of the First Consul. It is not surprising that it took some years to form her
judgment, and that she did not all at once attain to constitutional truth. The
gradual progress of this remarkable mind is precisely one of the charms of her
letters and of these Memoirs. She writes to her husband from Aix-la-Chapelle,
on the 4th of July, 1807, in the following terms : " The Prefect is very nice, but
he is no longer the elegant and distinguished man you describe to me. He does
not look young, has an eruption on his face, can only talk about his department,
and is always at work at it. He does not know a word of anything out of Aix-
la-Chapelle, never opens a book, and ouly attends to business. He seems pop-
ular here, and lives with great simplicity." A few days later, on the 17th of
July, she writes : " I could like the Prefect well enough ; his manners are fine,
but he is too much of a Prefect ; he talks of nothing but his department, and
seems to thmk of nothing but his administration. You see that he is not the
Lameth of former times, except in certain constituent opinions which he likes
to put forward. But it is remarkable that he always leads the conversation to
the scenes of the past, and takes pleasure in recalling his connection with the
former Court, and the favor in which he was held. When he talks in this way,
one can but look at him and say nothing ; ho does not, however, seem to take
one's silence at all amiss. I think the Prefect more agreeable now ; he comes
LETTER TO THE BISHOPS. 511
In the mean time the important political circumstances
gave rise, at Aix-la-Chapelle as well as in Paris, to rumors
of every kind. The kingdom of Poland was to be founded,
and given to Jerome Bonaparte, who was to marry a daugh-
ter of the Emperor of Austria, and our Emperor was to
carry out the old project of the divorce. The public mind
was excited by the gigantic proportions of actual events, and
became more and more possessed by that longing- for the
extraordinary which the Emperor so ably turned to advan-
tage. And, indeed, why should not the country, seeing what
was happening, expect that anything might happen ? Mme.
d'Houdetot, who was then living, said of Bonaparte, " He
diminishes history and enlarges imagination." *
After the battle of Friedland the Emperor wrote a really
fine letter to the bishops. The following phrase occurs in it :
" This victory has commemorated the anniversary of the bat-
tle of Marengo — of that day when, still covered with the dust
of the battle-field, our first thought, our first care, were for
the reestablishment of order and peace in the Church of
to see me sometimes in the morning, and after a few minutes he contrives to
turn the conversation on the outbreak of the Eevolution, on the Constituent
Assembly, and its ideas of regeneration and liopes of reform. He puts all this
after his own fashion, and tells stories which I affect to believe, and which I do
not in reality altogether reject, because I partake of the disposition, natural in
this age, to excuse a good many of the political errors of the past. Yesterday
I made him tell me the whole story of his captivity, and, although I think the
King of Prussia did right in arresting this trio, I also think that they were hard-
ly treated. I must say I pitied them, especially poor Mme. Laraeth, their mother,
who in the later days shared her son's prison, and had to climb six hundred steps
to the cell. He tells the story very well. I was particularly struck by the obli-
gation which he imposed upon himself to dance by way of taking exercise. For
thirty-nine months, every day at the same hour, he danced to his own singing ;
and he confessed to me that he often found tears running down his cheeks dur-
ing the melancholy performance. It was on concluding this solitary dance one
day that he determined to cut his throat with a razor, and was prevented by a
servant."— P. R.
* At this period M. de Chateaubriand had returned from the journey to the
Holy Land, which he had undertaken in order to make studies for the work
(" Les Martyrs ") which he was then contemplating.
38
512 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
France." In Paris the Te Deum was sung and the city was
illuminated.
On the 25th of June the two Emperors, having embarked
one on each bank of the Niemen, in presence of a portion of
the two armies, set foot at the same moment in the pavil-
ion that had been erected for them on a raft in the middle
of the river. They embraced- on meeting, and remained to-
gether for two hours. The Emperor Napoleon was accom-
panied by Dumas, his Grand Marshal, and Caulaiucourt, his
Grand Equerry; the Gzar,.by his brother Constantine and
two great personages of his Court. In that interview the
peace was definitely settled. Bonaparte consented to restore
a portion of his states to the King of Prussia, although
his own inclination was toward a complete change of the
form of the conquered countries, because an entire trans-
formation would better suit his policy, which had universal
dominion for its basis. He was, however, obliged to sacrifice
some part of his projects during this final treaty. The Czar
might still be a formidable enemy, and !N"apoleon knew that
France was growing weary of the war and demanded his
presence. A longer campaign would have led the army into
enterprises of which none could foresee the issue. It was,
therefore, necessary to postpone a portion of the great plan,
and once more to call a halt. The Poles, who had reckoned
upon complete liberation, beheld the portion of Poland that
had belonged to Prussia turned into the duchy of Warsaw,
and given to the King of Saxony as in pledge. Dantzic be-
came a free town, and the King of Prussia undertook to
close his ports to the English. The Emperor of Eussia
offered to mediate with England for peace ; and Napoleon
imagined that the great importance of the mediator would
terminate the quarrel. Plis vanity was deeply concerned in
bringing our insular neighbors to recognize his royalty.*
* When the Emperor learned, shortly afterward, that the English Govern-
ment refused to make peace, he exclaimed : " Very well, then! The war shall
recommence, and it shall be to the death for one of the two states."
TREATY OF TILSIT. 513
He frequently said afterward that he felt at Tilsit that the
question of continental empire would one day be decided
between the Czar and hiinseK; and that the magnanimity
which Alexander displayed,* the young Prince's admira-
tion of him, and the genuine enthusiasm with which he
had been inspired in his presence, had captivated him,
and led him to desire that, instead of a total rupture,
a iirm and lasting alliance should take place, which might
lead to the division of the continent between two great
sovereigns.
On the 26th the King of Prussia joined the illustrious
party on the raft, and after the conference the three sov-
ereigns repaired to Tilsit, where they remained while the
negotiations lasted, exchanging visits every day, dining
together, holding reviews, and appearing to be on the best
possible terms. Bonaparte employed all the resources of
his mind on this occasion, and kept a close watch over him-
self. He flattered the young Emperor, and completely cap-
tivated him. M. de Talleyrand completed the conquest by
the skill and grace with which he sustained and colored his
master's policy ; so that Alexander conceived a great friend-
ship for him, and trusted him entirely. The Queen of
Prussia came to Tilsit, and Bonaparte did all he could to
efface the impression of his bulletins, by treating her with
the utmost attention. f IlTeither the Queen nor her husband
could complain. They, the two dispossessed, were forced
to receive what was restored to them of their states with
gratitude. These illustrious conquered ones concealed their
pain, and the Emperor beHeved that he had gained them to
his cause by reestablishing them in the parceled-out king-
dom from which he was unable to drive them altogether.
* Alexander was then thirty years old, very handsome, and of fine manners.
f The Emperor wrote to the Empress: "Tilsit, June 8, ISOY. The Queen
of Prussia has been really charming, and full of coquetry toward me. But
don't be jealous : I am a waxed cloth off which all that slides. It would cost
me too dear to play the gallant." — P. K.
514 MEMOIRS OF MADAME J)E R^MUSAT.
He secured to himself in his treaty means of constant super-
vision, by leaving French garrisons in the states of certain
second-rate' princes ; for instance, in Saxony, Ooburg, Olden-
burg, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin. A portion of his army
still remained on the northern coast, because it appeared that
the King of Sweden would not enter into the treaty. And,
lastly, this war gave birth to a new kingdom, composed of
Westphalia and a portion of the Prussian states. Jerome
Bonaparte was adorned with this new kingship, and his
marriage with the Princess Catherine was arranged.
M. de Talleyrand and Prince Kourakine signed this
treaty on the 9th of July, 1807, and the Emperor, wearing
the decoration of the Russian Order of St. Andrew, immedi-
ately visited'the Czar. He asked to see the Russian soldier
who had conducted himself best during the campaign, and
gave him the cross of the Legion with his own hand. The
two sovereigns embraced anew, and parted, after having
promised each other an eternal friendship. Decorations
were distributed on both sides. Farewells were exchanged
with great pomp between Bonaparte and the King of Prus-
sia, and the Continent was once more pacified.
It was impossible to withhold admiration from glory
such as this, but it is certain that the country took much
less part in it than formerly. People began to perceive that
it was of the nature of a yoke for ns, though a brilliant one ;
and, as they were coming to know and distrust Bonaparte,
they feared the consequences of the intoxication which his
power might produce in him. Lastly, the predominance of
the military element was exciting uneasiness ; the foreseen
vanities of the sword wounded individual pride. A secret
trouble mingled with the general admiration, and the gloom
which it produced was chiefly observable among those whose
places or whose rank must bring them again into contact
with Napoleon. We wondered whether the rude despotism
of his manners would not be more than ever apparent in all
his daily actions. We were still smaller than before in his
RETURN OF THE EMPEROR. 615
sight, by all the difference of his added greatness, and we
foresaw that he- would make us feel this. Each of us made
his examination of conscience with scrupulous care, seeking
to discover on what point our hard master would manifest
his displeasure on his return. Wife, family, great dignita-
ries, Ministers, the whole Court — in fact, everybody suffered
from this apprehension ; and the Empress, who knew him
better than anybody else, expressed her uneasiness, in the
simplest way, saying, " The Emperor is so lucky that he will
be sure to scold a great deal." The magnanimity of kings
consists in elevating those around them by pouring out upon
them a portion of their own moral greatness ; but Bonaparte,
who was naturally jealous, always isolated himself, and
dreaded anything like sharing. His gifts were immense
after this campaign, but it was perceived that he paid for
services ia order that he might hear no more of them ; and
his recompenses were so evidently the closing of an account
that they excited no gratitude, while they did, on the con-
trary, revive claims.
While the momentous interviews of Tilsit were taking
place, nothing happened at Paris except' the removal of
the body of the young Napoleon from Saint Leu, in the
valley of Montmorency (the residence of Prince Louis), to
ISTotre Dame. The Arch-Chancellor received the coffin at
the church, and it was committed to the care of the Car-
dinal Archbishop of Paris (De Belloy) until the termina-
tion of the repairs of Saint Denis, when it was to be placed
in the ancient abbey. The vaults which had contained the
ashes of our kings were then in course of reconstruction.
The scattered remains, which had been outraged during the
Keign of Terror, were now collected together, and the Em-
peror had given orders for the erection of expiatory altars
in reparation of the sacrilege that had been perpetrated upon
the illustrious dead. This fine and princely idea did him
great honor, and was fitly extolled by some of the poets of
the period.
516 MEMOIRS OF MADAME I)E RtMUSAT.
When the Emperor returned to France, his wife was
living at Saint Cloud with all possible preckntion and the
strictest prudence. His mother was living quietly in Paris ;
her brother, Cardinal Fesch, resided with her. Mme. Murat
inhabited the Elysee, and was skillfully conducting a number
of small schemes. The Princess Borghese was leading the
only kind of life she understood or cared for. Louis and his
wife were in the Pyrenees ; they had left their child with
the Empress. Joseph Bonaparte was reigning at l^aples,
benevolently but feebly, disputing Calabria with the rebels,
and his ports with the English. Lucien was Kving at Rome,
devoting himseK to leisure and the fine arts. Jerome brought
back a crown ; Murat, a strong desire to obtain one, and a
deeply cherished animosity against M. de Talleyrand, whom
he regarded as his enemy. He had formed an intimacy with
Maret, the Secretary of State, who was secretly jealous of
the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and he highly approved
of his wife's friendship with Fouch6. These four persons
were well aware that the Emperor had conceived, and was
cherishing, the project of a divorce and an illustrious alli-
ance ; and they endeavored by every means to destroy the
last links which still bound Josephine to Bonaparte, so that
they might please the Emperor by aiding him to carry out
this idea, and might also foil the Beauharnais and prevent
M. de Talleyrand from acquiring a fresh claim to the con-
fidence of his master. They wanted to have the direction
of this affair in their own hands only.
M. de Talleyrand had been laboring for several years to
acquire a European reputation, which, on the whole, he well
deserved. No doubt he had more than once approached the
subject of the divorce, but he was especially anxious that
this step should lead to the Emperor's contracting a great
alliance, of which he (M. de Talleyrand) should have the
negotiation. So that, so long as he did not feel certain of
succeeding in his objects, he contrived to restrain the Em-
peror in this matter by representing to him that it was
M. BE TALLEYRAND'S NEW DIGNITY. 517
of the utmost importance to select the fitting moment for
action. When he returned from this campaign, the Emperor
seemed to place more confidence than ever in M. de Talley-
rand, who had been very useful to him in Poland and in
each of his treaties. His new dignity gave M. de Talleyi-and
the right to replace Prince Joseph wherever the rank of
Grand Elector called him ; but it also obliged him to relin-
quish the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was beneath
his present ranlf. He was, however, entirely in JSTapoleon's
confidence with respect to foreign affairs, and was consulted
by him in preference to the real Minister. Some woald-be
wise persons claimed afterward to have foreseen that M. de
Talleyrand was exchanging a secure post for a brilliant but
precarious position; and Bonaparte himseH let it appear
sometimes that he had not returned from Tilsit without feel-
ing some displeasure at the preponderance of his Minister in
Europe, and that he was annoyed at the generally prevalent
belief that M. de Talleyrand was necessary to him. By
changing his ofiice, and availing himself of his services in
consultation only, he made use of him just as he wished,
while reserving the power of setting him aside or of not
following his guidance whenever either course should suit
him. I remember an anecdote which illustrates this position
of affairs. M. de Champagny, a clever but narrow-minded
man, was transferred from the Ministry of the Interior to
that of Foreign Affairs, and M. de Talleyrand, on presenting
to him the various persons who were to be under his author-
ity, said : " Here, sir, are many highly commendable persons.
They will give you every satisfaction. You will find them
capable, punctual, exact, and trustworthy, but, thanks to my
training, not at all zealous." At these words M. de Cham-
pagny expressed some surprise. "Yes," continued M. de
Talleyrand, affecting the utmost seriousness ; " with the ex-
ception of a few dispatching clerks, who fold up their covers
with undue precipitation, every one here observes the great-
est calmness, and all are totally unused to haste. When you
518 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
have had to transact the business of the interests of Europe
with the Emperor for a little while, you will see how im-
portant it is not to be in any hurry to seal and send off his
decisions." M. de Talleyrand amused the Emperor by re-
lating this incident, and describing the crestfallen and as-
tonished air with which his successor received the useful
hint. It will not be inappropriate to place here a statement
of the cumulative income of which M. de Talleyrand was at
this time in the receipt :
Francs,
As Grand Elector 330,000
As Grand Chamberlain 40,000
From the Prinplpallty of Benevento 120,000
As Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor 5,000
Total 495,000
Certain endowments were afterward added to this sum. His
personal fortune was estimated at three hundred thousand
louis per annum ; I never knew whether this was correct.
The various treaties brought him immense sums of money
and presents of enormous value. He lived in great style,
and made very handsome allowances to his brothers. He
bought the fine estate of Valengay, and furnished the house
most luxuriously. At the time of which I am now speak-
ing he had a fancy for books, and his library was superb.
That year the Emperor ordered him to make a sumptuous
display, and to purchase a house suitable to his dignity as a
prince, promising that he himself would pay for it. M. de
Talleyrand bought the Hotel de Monaco, Hue de Varenne,
enlarged it, and decorated it extensively. The Emperor,
having quarreled with him, did not keep his word, but threw
him into considerable embarrassment by obliging him to pay
for this palace himself.
In concluding my sketch of the position of the Imperial
family, I must add that Prince Eugene was then governing
his fair realm of Italy with wisdom and prudence, happy in
THE MINISTERS. 519
tte affection of his wife, and rejoicing in the birth of their
little daughter.*
The Arch-ChanceUpr Oambacer^s, who was cautious both
by nature and training, remained in Paris, maintaining a cer-
tain state assigned to him by the Emperor, and which de-
lighted his childish vanity. With equal prudence he pre-
sided over the State Council, conducting the debates with
method and discernment, and contriving that the prescribed
limits should never be exceeded.f Le Brun, the Arch-
Treasurer, interfered little with affairs ; he kept up a certain
state, and managed his own revenues, giving no cause of
offense and exerting no influence.
The Ministers confined themselves to their respective
duties, preserving the attitude of attentive and docile clerks,
and conducting the affairs with which they were intrusted on
a uniform system, which had for its basis the wiU and the
interests of their master.:]: Each one's orders were the same :
^^ Pronvptitude and submission." The Minister of Police
allowed himself a greater liberty of speech than the others.
He was careful to keep on good terms with the Jacobins, for
whose good behavior he made himseK responsible to the Em-
peror. On this very account he was a little more indepen-
dent, for he was at the head of a party. He had the direc-
tion of the various branches of police set over France, and
was master of the details. Bonaparte and he may have often
* Doubtless the Princess had not followed the advice which the Emperor
gave her in a letter written in August, 1806 : " My daughter, your letter of the
10th of August gave me great pleasure. I thank you for all your kind expres-
sions. You are right to trust fully to me. Take great care of your health just
now, and try not to present us with a girl. I could give you a prescription, but
you would not believe in it ; it is to take a little pure wine every day." — P. E.
f In his capacity as a great dignitary of state he received a salary of three
hundred and thirty thousand francs, or one third of the million which was as-
signed to a French prince ; and the Emperor added to this the six hundred thou-
^sand francs which he received as Consul. Le Brun, the Arch-Treasurer, had a
salary of five hundred thousand francs.
\ Generally speaking, the Ministers received salaries of two hundred and
ten thousand francs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs received more than this.
520 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
told eaeli other falsehoods in their interviews, but probably
neither of them was deceived.
M. de Champagny, subsequently Due de Cadore, who
had been Minister of the Interior, was placed at the head of
foreign affairs, and was succeeded in his former post by State
Councilor Cretet, who had been at first Director-General of
Public "Works (Fonts at Chaussees). He was not a clever
man, but hard-working and assiduous, and that was all that
the Emperor required.
Eequier, the Chief Judge, subsequently Due de Massa,
of whom I have already spoken, administered justice with
persevering mediocrity. The Emperor was anxious that nei-
ther the authority nor the independence of the law should
increase.
The Prince de Neufch^tel made an able War Minister.
General Dejean was at the head of the Commissariat De-
partment. Both were under the personal superintendence
of the Emperor.
M. Gaudin, the wise Minister of Finance, observed an
order and regularity in the management of taxes and receipts
which rendered him valuable to the Emperor. This was his
sole employment. Afterward he was created Due de Gaeta.
The Minister of the Treasury, M. Mollien, subsequently
created a count, showed more talent and much financial
sagacity.
M. Portalis, the Minister of Public Worship, was a man
of talent and ability, and had maintained harmony between
the clergy and the Government. It must be stated that the
clergy, out of gratitude for the security and consideration
which they owed to Bonaparte, submitted to him very will-
ingly, and were partisans of a despotic authority conducive
to universal order. When he demanded the levy of the con-
scripts of 1808, of which I have already spoken, he ordered
the bishops, according to his usual custom, to exhort the
peasantry to submit to the conscription. Their pastoi-al let-
ters were very remarkable. In that of the Bishop of Quim-
DEATH OF M. PORTALIS. 521
per were these words : " What French heart will not ardently
bless Divine Providence for having bestowed on this mag-
niiicent empire, when it was on the point of being for ever
crushed beneath blood-stained ruins, the only man who, as
Emperor and King, could repair its misfortunes and throw a
veil of glory over the period of its dishonor ? "
The death of M. Portalis occurred during this year, and
he was succeeded by an excellent though less able man, M.
Bigot de Pr^amenen, Councilor of State, who was subse-
quently made a count.
In conclusion, the ITaval Minister had little occupation
from the time that Bonaparte, giving up the hope of subdu-
ing England at sea, and vexed with the failure of all his
maritime undertakings, had ceased to interest himself in
naval affairs. M. Decres, a man of real ability, was alto-
gether pleasing to his master. His manners were rather
rough, but he flattered Bonaparte after an unusual fashion.
He cared little for public esteem, and was wOling to bear the
odium of the injustice with which the Emperor treated the
French navy, so that it never appeared to emanate from
Bonaparte himself. With unfaltering devotion, M. Decres
incurred and endm'ed the resentment of all his former com-
panions and friends. The Emperor afterward made him a
duke.*
At the time of which I am writing the Court atmosphere
was cold and silent. There, especially, we were all impressed
with the conviction that our privileges depended solely on
the will of the master ; and, as that will was apt to be capri-
cious, the difficulty of providing against it led each individual
to avoid taking needless action, and to restrict himself to the
more or less narrow circle of the duties of his office. The
ladies of the Court were stiU more cautious, and did not
attempt anything beyond winning admiration either by their
* Admiral D^cr&s was bom in 1761, and was murdered in Paris on the 7th
of December, 1820. He was Naval Minister from 1801 to 1814, and again dur-
ing the Hundred Days. — P. R.
522 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Rl^MUSAT.
beauty or tlieir attire. In Paris itself people were becoming
more and more indifferent to the working of a mechanism of
wliicli they could see the results and feel the power, but in
whose action tliey knew they could have no share. Social
life was not wanting in attractions. French people, if they
are but at peace, will immediately seek for pleasure. But
credit was restricted, interest in national affairs was languid,
and all the higher and nobler sentiments of public life were
wellnigh paralyzed. Thoughtful minds were disturbed, and
true citizens must have felt that they were leading useless
lives. As a sort of compensation, they accepted the plea^
sures of an agreeable and varied social existence. Civiliza-
tion was increased by luxury, which, whUe enervating the
mind, makes social relations pleasanter. It procures for peo-
ple of the world a number of little interests, which are al-
most always sufficient for them, and with which they do not
feel ashamed of being satisfied, when for a length of time
they have been suffering from the greater political disorders.
The recollection of the latter was still fresh in our memory,
and it made us prize this period of brilliant slavery and ele-
gant idleness.
CHAPTER XXY.
(1807.)
Vexations at Coui't — Friendship with M. de Talleyrand — General Eapp — General
Clarke — Session of the Legislative Bodies — The Emperor's Speech — Fetes of the
15th of August — Marriage of Jerome Bonaparte — Death of Le Brun — The Abbe
DeliUe — M. de Chateaubriand — Dissolution of the Tribunate — The Court re-
moves to Fontainebleau.
When the Emperor reached Paris on the 27th of July,
1807, I was still at Aix-la-Chapelle, and was beginning to
feel anxious as to the temper in which he had returned. I
have already said that this was a prevailing uneasiness at
Court whenever he was expected. I could mate no inquiries,
for none dared to write openly to their correspondents ; thus
it was only when I myself returned that I could learn any
particulars.
The Emperor came back elated at his inconceivable good
fortune, and it soon became evident that his imagination ex-
aggerated the distance between himself and every other per-
son. He showed, moreover, increased indignation at what
he called the "gossip of the Paubourg Saint Germain."
The first time that he saw M. de Eemusat, he rebuked him
for not having given information respecting the persons in
society in Paris, in some letters he wrote to Duroc, Grand
Marshal of the Palace. " You are in a position," said he,
" to know what is said in a number of drawing-rooms, and
it is your duty to keep me informed. I can not accept the
slight excuses on which you have withheld information from
me." To this M. de E^musat replied that there was very
524 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE StMUSAT.
little to withhold, because people were naturally careful as
to what they said before him, and that he would have been
loath to attach any importance to idle words, which might
have caused serious consequences to those who had uttered
them, often without any really hostile feeling. On such an
answer being made to him, the Emperor would shrug his
shoulders, turn on his heel, and say to Duroe or to Savary :
" I am very sorry, but Kemusat will not get on ; he is not
devoted to me as I understand devotion."
It may be thought, at least, that a man of honor, who
was determined rather to mar his prospects than to purchase
fortune by a sacrifice of his self-respect, would have been
placed by that very resolution out of danger of those quarrels
which result from what, alike in city and Court, is called
tittle-tattle. But such was not the case ; Bonaparte liked
nobody to be at peace, and he knew admirably well how to
compromise or embroil those who most desired to live in
quiet.
It will be remembered that, during the stay of the Em-
press at Mayence, some ladies of the Court, of whom Mme.
de la Kochef oucauld was the chief, had ventured to criticise
the Prussian war with some severity, and to compassionate
Priace Louis, and stiU more the beautiful and cruelly insulted
Queen. The Empress, displeased by their freedom, had
written full accounts to her husband of this movement of
sympathy, begging him never to let it be known that she
had mentioned the matter to him. That she had done so
she confided to M. de Eemusat, who expressed his disap-
proval, but kept her secret. When M. de Talleyrand joined
the Emperor, he too related what had been taking place at
Mayence, but more with the intention of amusing Napoleon
than from any hostility toward the Lady of Honor, whom he
neither liked nor disliked. Bonaparte was, however, greatly
displeased with her, and the first time they met he reproached
her with his usual violence for her opinions and her utter-
ances. Mme. de la Eochefoucauld was taken by stirprise,
VEXATIONS AT COURT. ' 525
and, for want of a better excuse, denied everything. The
Emperor rejoined by a positive reiteration, and, when she in-
quired who had made this fine report about her, he instantly
named M. de Eemusat. On hearing this, Mme. de la Eoche-
foueauld was astounded. She was friendly to my husband
and to me ; and, believing rightly that she might rely on our
discretion, she had often confided her most secret thoughts
to us. She felt, therefore, extreme surprise and anger, the
more so that she herself was a sincere person, and incapable
of such baseness as that attributed to my husband.
Being thus prejudiced against him, she avoided any op-
portunity of explanation, but was cold and constrained in her
demeanor. For a long time he could not understand the
reason of the estrangement ; but, a few months afterward,
some circumstances connected with the divorce rendered cer-
tain interviews and conversations between Mme. de la Roche-
foucauld and ourselves necessary, and she questioned my hus-
band on the matter which I have just related, and then learned
the whole truth. She had made an opportunity of speaking
freely to the Empress, who did not undeceive her, but al-
lowed suspicion still to rest on M. de Eemusat, adding only
that !M. de Talleyrand had probably said more than he.
Mme. de la Rochefoucauld was an intimate friend of M. de
Segur, Grand Master of Ceremonies, and she confided her
feelings to him. For a time this caused a coohiess between
him and us ; it also set him against M. de Talleyrand, the
sharpness and occasional bitterness of whose satire leagued
all commonplace people together against him, and he amused
himself mercilessly at their expense. They took their re-
venge when and how they could. The Emperor did not
confine his reproaches to persons of the Court ; he complained
likewise of high society in Paris. He rebuked M. Fouche
for the imperfection of his supervision ; he sent certain ladies
into exile, threatened some persons of distinction, and im-
plied that, to avoid the effects of his displeasure, former acts
of indiscretion must be repaired by steps which would show
526 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S^MUSAT.
that Lis authority was recognized. Many persons felt them-
selves in consequence obliged to be presented at Court ; some
few made their own safety a pretext for this, and the splen-
dor of his Court was increased.
As he always took care to make his presence felt by dis-
turbing everybody, he did not spare his own family. He
severely, though very ineffectually, scolded his sister Pau-
line for her lightness of conduct, which Prince Borghese
beheld with real or affected indifference. Nor did he hide
from his sister Caroline that he was aware of her secret and
ambitious projects. She bent before the inevitable storm
with her usual suppleness, and brought him by degrees to
own that, with such blood running in her veins, she was not
very guilty in desiring a superior rank, while she took care
to make her defense with all her usual charm. When he
had thus, to use his own expression, roused up everybody
all round, he felt satisfied with the terror he had excited,
and, appearing to forget what had passed, resumed his cus-
tomary way of life.
M. de Talleyrand, whose return occurred a little later,
expressed great pleasure at meeting M. de Eemusat. He
now took up a habit of frequently coming to see me, and
our intimacy became closer. I recoUect that, at first, not-
withstanding the gratitude with which his kindness inspired
me, and the great pleasure I felt in his conversation, I was
for a long time ill at ease in his company. M. de Talleyrand
was justly reckoned as a very clever man; he was a very
important personage ; but he was said to be hard to please
and of a sarcastic disposition. HJis manners, although highly
polished, seem to place the person whom he is addressing in
a relatively inferior position. ^Nevertheless, as the customs
of society in France always accord to women a certain im-
portance and liberty, they could, if they chose, hold their
own with M. de Talleyrand, who likes women and is not
afraid of them. Tet few of them chose to do so ; the desire
of pleasing restrained them. They hold themselves in a
FBIENDSHIP WITH M. BE TALLEYRAND. 52?
sort of bondage to him, and, in fact, to use a common ex-
pression, they have spoiled him. Lastly, as he is reserved,
hlase on a multitude of subjects, indifferent on many others,
and with feelings difficult to touch, a woman who designs to
conquer or retain him, or even only to amuse him, under-
takes a hard task.
All that I knew about him, all that I discovered in be-
coming more intimate with him, made me constrained in his
presence. I was gratified by his friendliness, but I did not
venture to teU him so ; I was afraid of disclosing my habit-
ual thoughts and anxieties, because I imagined they would
excite his sarcasm. I asked him no questions either about
himself or on public affairs, for fear he might think me
curious. My mind was strained in his presence, so that T
sometimes experienced actual fatigue. I listened to him
with the greatest attention, in order that, even if I could
not always reply fittingly, at least I should have procured
him the pleasure of an attentive auditor; for I own that
pride was flattered by his preference for me. When I think
it all over now, I am amused at the mingled distress and
pleasure which I experienced when my folding-doors were
opened (on both sides) and the Prince of Benevento was an-
nounced. Large drops sometimes stood on my forehead
from the efforts I made to express myself wittily, and there
is no doubt that I was in consequence less agreeable than
had I behaved more naturally, when, at any rate, I should
have had the advantage of sincerity and of harmony in my
whole deportment. Although naturally grave and inclined
to deep feeling, I tried to emulate the lightness with which
he could pass from one subject to another. I was kind-
hearted by nature, and averse to malicious talk, and yet I
was always ready to smile at his jests. At the beginning,
then, he exerted over me the influence which was customary
to him ; and, had our intimacy continued on the same foot-
ing, I should have seemed to him but one woman the more
to swell the ranks of those worshipers who rivaled each
39
528 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Bl^MUSAT.
other in applauding Lis defects and encouraging the worst
points of his character. Pie would probably have ended by
breaking with me, for I should have ill sustained a role for
which I was so little suited. I will presently relate the
painful circumstances which made me resume my natural
character, and which caused me to conceive a sincere affec-
tion for him, which has never wavered.
Our new-formed intimacy was soon remarked at Court,
and the Emperor did not at first seem displeased. M. de
Talleyrand was not without influence over him ; the opinions
he pronounced in speaking of M. de Kemusat were of service
to us ; a few words let us perceive that we were held in in-
creased esteem. The Empress, who found in most things a
subject for fear, showed me great kindness, thinking I might
serve her cause with M. de Talleyrand. His enemies at
Court watched us, but, as he was powerful, we were treated
with great consideration. His numerous circle of acquaint-
ance began to look with curious eyes on a quiet, straightfor-
ward, and taciturn man, who never flattered and was incapa-
ble of intrigue, yet whose abilities were praised, and whose
society was courted by M. de Talleyrand. I myself, a little
person of twenty-seven years of age, ordinary-looking, cold
and reserved, in nowise remarkable, devoted to the duties of
a pure and virtuous life, thus distinguished by the notice of
so eminent a personage, also became an object of attention !
It was probable that M. de Talleyrand, being just then in
want of amusement, found something novel and attractive in
gaining the aifection of two persons completely oxitside his
own sphere of ideas, so that, when wearied by the constraint
of his existence, he turned sometimes with relief to a com-
panionship which he knew he could trust ; while our attach-
ment to him, openly professed at a time when his disgrace
shook our own. position, caused a solid friendship to succeed
to mutual liking.
It was then that, visiting oftener at his house, which we
had not before this been in the habit of frequenting, I be-
FRIENDSHIP WITH M. BE TALLEYRAND. 529
came acquainted with a section of society Mtlierto almost
unknown to me. There were always a number of people at
M. de Talleyrand's — foreigners who paid him obsequious at-
tention, great nobles of the former order of things, and men
of the new, all wondering at finding themselves under the
same roof — all remarkable for some reason or other, but
whose character was not always equal to their celebrity.
Well-known women were there also, of whom it must be
said he had in general been rather the lover than the friend,
and who were on the kind of terms with him that he pre-
ferred.
His wife must be named first among the persons to whom
I allude. Her beauty was daily waning on account of her
increasing size. She was always handsomely dressed, and
occupied by right the place of honor, but was unacquainted
with most of the company. M. de Talleyrand never seemed
to perceive that she was present ; he never spoke to her, still
less did he listen to what she said, and I believe he suffered
acutely, but with resignation, for the error which had forced
him into this extraordinary marriage. His wife seldom went
to Court : the Emperor treated her coldly, and she received
no consideration there. It never occurred to M. de Talley-
rand to complain of this, nor yet of the compensation she
was said to seek in the attentions of certain strangers. Bona-
parte would sometimes jest on this subject with M. de Tal-
leyrand, who would answer with indifference and let the
matter drop. Mme. de Talleyrand habitually disliked all
her husband's friends, whether men or women. It is prob-
able that she made no exception in my favor, but I always
behaved to her with such ceremonious civility, I held myself
so totally aloof from her private affairs, that we scarcely came
into contact.
In these reception-rooms I also met some old friends of
M. de Talleyrand, who began to regard me with curiosity,
much to my amusement. Among these were the Duchesse
de Luynes and the Princesse de Vaudemont, both of them
530 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
excellent women. They were sincerely attached and true to
him, and very kind to me because they saw that my regard
for him was sincere, straightforward, and without any ulte-
rior design. The Vicomtesse de Laval was less well pleased,
and, being rather ill-natured, she judged me with some se-
verity. The Princesse de Lieskiewitz, sister of Prince Ponia-
towski, had lately made the acquaintance of M. de Talleyrand
at Warsaw, and had followed him to Paris. This poor lady,
notwithstanding her forty-five years and her glass eye, was
unfortunately passionately in love with him ; and her attach-
ment, of which he was manifestly weary, made her alive to
the least preference shown by him. It is possible she may
have honored me with a little jealousy. The Princesse. de
X yielded to the same infirmity, for it was truly an
infirmity to "love" M. de Talleyi'and. I also met the
Duchesse de Fleury,* a very clever woman, who had ob-
tained a divorce from her husband, M. de Montrond ; f
Mesdames de Bellegarde, whose only claim to importance in
society was their extreme license of speech ; Mme. de K ,
to whom M. de Talleyrand paid attention, in order to keep
on good terms with the Grand Equerry ; Mme. de Brignoli,
one of the Ladies-in-Waiting — a very agreeable and elegant
Genoese ; and Mme. de Souza, formerly Mme. de Flahaut —
a talented woman, who had been in her early youth a friend
of M. de Talleyrand, and for whom he still retained much
regard. She had written several pretty tales, and was, at
the time of which I speak, the wife of M. de Souza, who
had been ambassador to Portugal. Lastly, I met the am-
■ * The Duchesse de Floury resumed her maiden name, calling herself the
Comtesse Aimee de Coigny. Andr6 Chanter's ode, " \- la Jeune Captive," was
written for her.
\ Montrond is a professional gambler and a well-known wit. He amused
M. de Talleyrand, to whose reputation his intimacy with this person was hurt-
ful ; he was always in opposition to the Government, was exiled by the Empei^
or, and was defended by M. de Talleyrand with an obstinacy worthy of a better
cause.
FRIENDSHIP WITH M. DE TALLEYRAND. 531
bassadresses, the foreign princesses then in Paris, and a great
number of all the distinguished people in Europe.
I was entertained by this social magic lantern ; but,
warned by an instinctive feeling to make no friendships
among the crowd, I always stood on the strictest ceremony,
and much preferred receiving M. de Talleyrand at my own
fireside. My own circle felt some surprise at his so frequent-
ly joining us — some of my friends were even alarmed ; for
he inspired a general apprehension lest, immersed in impor-
tant afEairs as he was, he might find himself in a dangerous
position and drag us down in his fall. We did not share
the alarm of these friends, as perhaps we ought to have done.
M. de Kemusat's office as First Chamberlain brought us into
contact with M. de Talleyrand, and it was pleasanter that
our intercourse should be friendly ; we held aloof from all
serious affairs, and had no thought of benefiting by his influ-
ence. Disinterested persons are apt " to deceive themselves
on this head ; they imagine that others must know, or at any
rate must perceive, what their real motives are, and as they
act with simple sincereity they do not apprehend that they
will be suspected of double-dealing. It was a great blunder,
at that time, to expect to be estimated at one's real worth.
The Emperor saw Louis's second son when he went to
Saint Cloud, and treated him affectionately, so that the Em-
press began to hope he would think of this child as his heir,
as he had formerly thought of the elder boy. Bonaparte had
been impressed by the extreme rapidity of the progress of
the disease that had so suddenly carried off the elder brother,
and he offered a competitive prize of twelve thousand francs
for essays upon the malady called croup. Some valuable
works were published in consequence.
The pacification of Europe did not at once bring back the
whole army to France. In the first place, the King of
Sweden, prevailed on by the English Government, and in
spite of the opposition of his people, announced the rupture
of his armistice with us. Thirteen days after the signature
532 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
of peace at Tilsit, a partial war broke out in Pomerania.
Marshal Mortier was at the head of this expedition ; he en-
tered Stralsund, and obliged the King of Sweden to take ship
and escape. On this the English sent a considerable fleet to
the Baltic, and, having attacked Denmark, laid siege to Co-
penhagen, of which they soon obtained possession. These va-
rious events were chronicled in the " Moniteur," accompanied
with notes attacking the English as usual, while the aberration
of mind of the King of Sweden was proclaimed to Europe.*
Speaking of the subsidy which the English Government
allowed the Swedes for carrying on the war, the Emperor
expressed himself as follows in the "Moniteur": "Gallant
and unfortunate Swedes, this subsidy costs you dear! If
England could only repair the harm she does to your trade
and to your honor, or could replace the blood she has already
cost and still costs you ! But you must feel that you are to
be pitied for having lost all your privileges and all consid-
eration, and for being, thus defenseless and disorganized, sub-
ject to the caprices of an invalid King."
General Eapp f remained at Dantzie as governor, with a
garrison. He was a brave and honest man — rather rough
in his ways, faithful, frank, careless of what went on about
him, and of everything except the orders he received. He
served his master with great fidelity, more than once nearly
losing his life for him, without having ever made the least
inquiry into the qualities or the vices of his character.
The Emperor also considered himself bound to support
the new constitution established in Poland by the King of
Saxony, and sent a considerable garrison thither to be added
to the Polish garrison. Marshal Davoust had the command
of this cantonment. By thus dispersing his troops through
Europe, Bonaparte secured his influence over his allies, kept
* It would appear that, in fact, his mind was not very sound. We are
Bpealting of Gustavus IV., who was dethroned in 1809. — P. R.
f Aide-de-camp to Bonaparte. He was made a peer of Franco by the last
decree passed in the year 1819.
GENERAL CLARKE. 533
his soldiers in practice, and relieved France from the burden
of supporting so many armed men. His aggressive policy
obliged him to be always in readiness; and, moreover, to
insure the entire devotion of his army, it was necessary to
keep the men far from their homes. He succeeded in so
completely altering the nature of his troops that they be-
came unreservedly devoted to his service ; they lost all na-
tional sentiment, and cared only for their chief, for victory,
and for plunder, which in the eyes of a soldier is a great
embellishment of danger. They drew down by degrees on
the fatherland which they had forgotten those feelings of
hatred and revenge which resulted in the European crusade
against us in 1813 and 1814.
Fresh adulation awaited the Emperor on his return.
Language was exhausted for formulas of praise, to which he
listened with disdainful composure. There is little doubt,
however, that his indifEerence was feigned; for he loved
praise from no matter what lips, and more than once he was
duped by it. There were men who had iafluence over him
only because their compliments were inexhaustible. Unfail-
ing admiration, even though somewhat foolishly expressed,
never failed to please him.
On the 10th of August he sent a message to the Senate,
announcing the elevation of M. de Talleyrand to the dignity
of Vice-Grand Elector, and that of Marshal Berthier to the
rank of Yice-Grand Constable. General Clarke succeeded
to the latter as Minister of War, and found opportunities for
displaying the devoted admiration to which I have alluded,
even more fully than before. The Emperor's habitual at-
tention to all war matters, the high intelligence of Berthier,
Major-General of the army, and the careful administration
of General Dejean, the chief of the Commissariat, made any
great abilities in General Clarke unnecessary. Punctual,
upright, and submissive, he fulfilled all the requirements of
his position. MM. Champagny and Cretet obtained the two
ministerial posts of which I have spoken, and State Coun
534 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
cillor Eegnault was made State Secretary to the Imperial
Family.
Meanwhile we read every day of fresh military promo-
tions, of the distribution of rewards, of the creation of offi-
cial posts — ^in fact, of everything that tends to keep ambi-
tion, covetousness, and vanity on the alert. Then the Corps
Legislatif opened its session. M. de Fontanes, who, as usual,
was named President, made, as usual, a fine speech on the
truly brilliant position of France. A very great number of
laws appertaining to rule and order were brought before the
Assembly for its sanction, as was likewise a budget which
proclaimed our finances to be in a flourishing condition ; and,
lastly, an account of the public works of all lands in contem-
plation, or begun, or already terminated, in all parts of the
Empire. The cost of all these was defrayed by the contri-
butions exacted throughout Europe, and all France might
witness improvements which nevertheless did not augment a
single tax. The Emperor, in addressing the legislative bod-
ies, spoke to the whole French nation ; gave them an account
of his victories ; mentioned the 5,1Y9 officers and the 123,000
subalterns and privates taken prisoners in this war ; spoke of
the complete conquest of Prussia, of his soldiers encamped
on the banks of the Vistula, of the fall of the power of Eng-
land, which, he said, must be the result of so many victories ;
and ended by an expression of satisfaction with the nation,
which had so faithfully served him in gaining for him such
triumphant success. "Frenchmen," he said, "I am well
pleased with you ; you are a good and a great people."
The opening of the Corps Legislatif was an imposing
ceremony. The hall had been lavishly decorated ; the dress
of the deputies was handsome, that of the courtiers sur-
rounding the Emperor was magnificent, and he himself was
resplendent in gold and diamonds on that day. Although
in every ceremonial he was too precipitate, the great pomp
he insisted upon took the place of that dignity which was
wanting. When Bonaparte, in the course of any ceremony,
BONAPARTE'S INGOSBEGT PBONUNGIATION. 535
had to walk toward the throne prepared for him, he always
seemed to rush at it. One could not but feel, on observing
him, that this was no legitimate sovereign taking peaceful
possession of tlie royal seat bequeathed to him by his ances-
tors ; but an alhpowerful master, who, each time that he wore
the crown, seemed to reiterate the words he had once uttered
at Milan, " Guai a chi la tocchera."
On these state occasions Bonaparte's incorrect pronuncia-
tion was a great drawback. In general he had his speech
drawn up for him. M. Maret, I believe, most frequently un-
dertook that task, but sometimes it fell to M. Vignaud, or
even to M. de Fontanes ; and he would try to learn it by
heart, but with little success ; for the least constraint was in-
supportable to him. He always ended by resolving to read
his speech, and it. was copied out for him in a large hand ;
for he was little accustomed to read writing, and could
have made nothing out of his own. Then he would be in-
structed in the proper pronounciation of the words; but
when he came to speak he forgot his lesson, and in a muf-
fled voice, with lips scarcely parted, would read the speech
in an accent more strange even than it was foreign, most
unpleasant, and indeed vulgar. I have heard numbers of
persons say that they always felt a painful sensation on hear-
ing him speak in public. The indisputable testimony of his
accent to the fact that he was a foreigner struck painfully
on the ear and the mind alike. I have myself sometimes
experienced this involuntary sensation.
The fetes -of the 15th of August were splendid. The
whole Court, glittering with precious stones, was present at a
concert in the palace, and at the ballet which followed it.
The reception-rooms of the Tuileries were thronged with a
brilliant and gorgeous company; there were ambassadors,
the greatest nobles of all Europe, princes, and many kings
who, although new-made, appeared in becoming state. There,
too, were lovely women, magnificently attired, who, together
with the first musicians in the world, and all that the opera-
536 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
ballets could lend of grace and elegance, combined to form a
scene of Oriental splendor.
Public games and rejoicings were given to tbe city of
Paris. The Parisians, who are naturally gay when gathered
together, and eager to join any crowd, hurried into the
streets to see the illuminations and the fireworks, and showed
the delight they felt in scenes of pleasure and in the beauty
of the season. But there were no acclamations in honor of
the Emperor. There seemed to be no thought of him, as
the people enjoyed the amusements he had provided for
them ; but every one diverted himself according to his own
character and taste, and these, perhaps, make the French the
least serious people in the world, but the most pleasant.
English people who were present at these rejoicings were
quite astonished at the good order, the frank gayety, and the
harmony which reign on such occasions throughout all classes
of society. Every one enjoys himself, and does not think of
interfering with his neighbor's enjoyment ; there is no quar-
reling nor ill humor, no revolting and dangerous drunkenness.
Women and children may mix with impunity in the crowd,
and are protected. People who are strangers to each other
take their pleasure together ; they sing and laugh in chorus,
though they have never met before. On such occasions an
unobservant sovereign might easily be misled. This consti-
tutional hilarity, temporarily called forth by extraneous cir-
cumstances, may be mistaken for the expression of the feel-
ings of a contented and loyal people. But, if the sovereigns
who are destined to reign over Frenchmen do not want to
be deceived, they will interrogate their own conscience
rather than the popular cry, if they would learn whether
they inspire affection and give happiness to their people.
In this respect the flattery of a Court is really astonish-
ing ; numbers of courtiers, in describing the behavior of the
Parisian public, endeavored to represent it to the Emperor
as a proof of the people's gratitude toward him ! I will not
affirm that he was never deceived by this, but for the most
MARRIAOE OF JM6mE BONAPARTE. 537
pai't he remained stolidly unmoved. Bonaparte seldom lis-
tened to others, and joyousness was foreign to his nature.
During the month of August several of the German
princes arrived in Paris — some in order to visit the Emperor,
others to solicit some favor, or some liberty in behalf of
their petty states.
The Prince Primate of the Confederation of the Ehine
came at about this time, to celebrate the marriage of Prin-
cess Catherine of "Wiirtemberg, who herself arrived on the
21st of August. She was, I think, about twenty years of age,
and was a nice-looking girl ; her figure was already rather
stout, and seemed to indicate that she would take after her
father, whose size was so enormous that he could only sit on
chairs specially constructed for him, and had to dine at a
table which had been hollowed out in a semicircle to make
room for his unwieldy figure.
This King of Wiirtemberg was a very able man, but had
the reputation of being the most worthless prince in Europe.
He was hated by his subjects, who, it is said, more than once
tried to rid themselves of him. He is now dead.
The marriage of Princess Catherine and the King of
"Westphalia * took place at the Tuileries with great splendor.
The civil ceremony was performed in the Gallery of Diana,
as in the case of the Princess of Baden's wedding ; and on
Sunday, the 23d, at eight in the morning, the religious mar-
riage was solemnized at the Tuileries, in presence of the
whole Court.
The Prince and Princess of Baden had also come to Paris.
She was prettier than ever. The Emperor did not appear to
notice her particularly. I will speak of her again presently.
The King and Queen of Holland arrived at the end of
August. They seemed to be on good terms, but still de-
pressed on account of their loss. The Queen was thin, and
sufifering all the malaise of an early stage of pregnancy. She
had been a very short time in Paris when seeds of the old
* Jerome Bonaparte.
538 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
distrust and disquiet were once more sown in the mind of
her husband. Evil tongues insinuated falsehoods respecting
the life that the unhappy woman had led at the Pjrenean
watering-place. Her grief, the tears that were still flowing,
her downcast air, her too evident ill health, failed to disarm
her enemies. She talked of the excursions she had made
among the mountains, and of the soothing effect of the
mountain scenery. She told how she had met M. Decazes,
and pitied the profound grief into which his wife's death had
plunged him. All this she related in the most frank and
simple manner, but calumny laid hold of it, and the sus-
picions of Louis were reawakened. He wished, naturally
but selfishly, to take his wife and son back to Holland.
Mme. Louis was as submissive as he could require her to be ;
but the Empress, alarmed by the declining state of her
daughter, insisted on a. consultation of physicians being held.
The doctors were unanimous in pronouncing the climate of
Holland unfit for a woman in the Queen's situation, whose
chest was already delicate ; and the Emperor settled the ques-
tion by announcing that he intended to keep his step-daugh-
ter and her child with himself for the present. The King
submitted sullenly, and bitterly resented to his wife a deci-
sion which she had not solicited, but which, I believe, was in
accordance with her wishes. Discord once more reigned in
that wretched household ; and Queen Hortense, profoundly
offended this time by the jealous suspicions of her husband,
lost for ever the interest which she had recently felt in him,
and conceived a positive aversion toward him. " From that
time forth," she has often said to me, " I was fully aware
that my unhappiness must always be irremediable. I re-
garded my hopes as entirely and irrevocably ruined. All
grandeur inspired me with horror. As for the throne, and
what so many people called my ' luck,' I cursed them many
a time. I was a stranger to every enjoyment of life. All
my dreams had vanished ; I was wellnigh dead to all that
was passing around me."
M. DE CHATEAUBRIAND. 539
About this time the Academy lost two of its most dis-
tinguished members : Le Brun the poet, who has left some
beautiful odes and the reputation of great poetical talent, and
M. Dureau de la Malle, the esteemed translator of Tacitus
and the intimate friend of Delille.
M. Delille lived peacefully in the enjoyment of a mod-
erate fortune, surrounded by friends, popular in society, left
to his repose and his freedom by the Emperor, who had
given up the idea of conquering him. He published certain
works from time to time, and reaped the reward of his natu-
ral amiability in the favor with which they were received.
His life was indeed a peaceful one, untroubled by any bitter
thoughts or hostile opinions. M. DeUlle was a professor at
the College of France, and received the salary of a chair of
literature, but Le Gouve did its work for him. This was
the only boon which he consented to accept from Bonaparte.
He prided himself on preserving a faithful remembrance of
Queen Marie Antoinette, whom he called his benefactress.
It was known that he was composing a poem in honor of
her, the King, and the emigres, but no one resented this to
him. A Government which was always anxious to efface
such memoirs respected them in Delille, and would not have
ventured to incur the odium of persecuting the amiable,
grateful, and generally beloved old man.
The two vacant seats in the Academy were much dis-
cussed in the salons of Paris. M. de Chateaubriand was
mentioned for one of them. The Emperor was angry with
him, and the young writer — who was pursuing a course
which gained him celebrity, procured him the support of a
party, and nevertheless did not expose him to any real dan-
ger— kept up an opposition which gained strength from the
fact that it excited the Emperor's anger. The French
Academy, imbued at ^hat time with the revolutionary and
would-be philosophical incredulity that had come into fash-
ion in the last century, opposed the choice of a man who had
hoisted rehgious colors as the banner of his genius. It was
540 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
said, by tliose who most frequented M. de Chateaubriand's
society, that the habits of his life were by no means in har-
mony with the precepts that adorned his compositions. Ex-
cessive pride was imputed to him. Women, captivated by
his talents, his peculiar manner, his handsome face, and his
reputation, vied with each other in admiring and petting
him, and he showed himself by no means insensible to their
advances. His extreme vanity, the exalted opinion of him-
self which he entertained, made us aU believe that, if the
Emperor had only coaxed him a little, he would have suc-
ceeded in gaining him over to his side, although, of course,
he would have had to pay the high price at which M. de
Chateaubriand himself would have rated his partisanship.*
The silent labors of the Corps Legislatif were continued.
It ratified all the laws that emanated from the Council of
State, and the admiaistrative organization of the power of the
Emperor was completed without opposition. It was now cer-
tain that he could rule France, by the strength of his own ge-
nius and by the proved ability of the members of this Council
of State, with an appearance of legality wliich reduced the
country to silence and pleased his orderly mind ; and, regard-
ing the remains of the Tribunate as merely a center of oppo-
sition, which, however feeble, might be troublesome to him,
he resolved to make an end of it. The Tribunate had been
considerably lessened in number under the Consulate.f By
a senatus oonmltum the tribunes were transferred to the
Corps Legislatif, and the session was immediately closed.
The speeches delivered at the last sitting of the Tribunate
are remarkable. It is surprising that men should mutually
* He continued to publish fragments of the " Itin^raire" of his journey in
the newspapers, and they were eagerly read. This was as much a matter of
party spirit as of taste. A small war was thus waged against Bonaparte, and
he resented it, as he resented opposition of every sort.
f The Tribunate instituted by the Constitution in the year 8 was installed on
the 1st of January, 1800. The number of its members had been reduced on the
4th of August, 1802; and on the 19th of August, 1810, it was entirely sup-
pressed.— P. R.
DISSOLUTION OF THE TRIBUNATE. 541
consent to act sncli a farce, and yet we had become so much
accustomed to that sort of thing, that nobody noticed it par-
ticularly at the time.
Eirst, M. Beranger, Councilor of State, appeared with
certain of his colleagues, and, after having recapitulated the
services which the Tribunate had rendered to France, he
went on to say that the new decree was about to confer on
the Corps Legislatif a plenitude of importance which guar-
anteed national rights. The President replied, on behalf of
the entire Tribunate, that this resolution was received with
respect and confidence by them all, and that they appreci-
ated its positive advantages. Then a tribune (M. Carrion-
Nisas) moved that an address should be presented to the
Emperor thanking him for the evidence of esteem and re-
gard which he had deigned to offer to the Tribunate ; and
the speaker added that he believed himself to be the inter-
preter of the feelings of each of his colleagues, in proposing
to lay at the foot of the throne, as the last act of an honor-
able existence, an address which should impress the people
with the idea that the tribunes, whose attachment to the
monarchy was unalterable, had received the act of the Sen-
ate without regret, and without solicitude for the country.
This proposition was adopted with unanimity. The Presi-
dent of the Tribunate, Fabre de I'Aude, was named Senator.
At this time the Emperor organized the Cour des Comp-
tes, and, his displeasure with M. Barbe-Marbois having passed
away, he recalled him and made him President of that
Court.
In September the Emperor of Austria married for the
second time. His bride was his first cousin, the daughter
of the old Archduke Ferdinand of Milan. Shortly after-
ward his brother, the Grand Duke of Wiirzburg, who is
now Grand Duke of Tuscany, came to Paris.
The Court was increased from time to time by the ar-
rival of a number of great personages. Toward the end of
September a sojourn at Fontainebleau was announced. On
542 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE MMUSAT.
this occasion the greatest magnificence was to be displayed ;
fetes were to take place in honor of the Queen of West-
' phalia ; the elite of the actors and musicians of Paris were to
be brought down to the palace, and the Court received or-
ders to appear in the utmost splendor. The Princes and
Princesses of the Imperial family brought a portion of their
households, and they, as well as the great dignitaries and the
Ministers who were to accompany the Emperor, were to have
separate tables.
On the 21st of September Bonaparte left Paris with the
Empress, and during the following days the Queen of Hol-
land, the Queen of ISTaples, the King and Queen of West-
phalia, the Grand Duke and Grand. Duchess of Berg, the
Princess Pauline, Madame Mere, the Grand Duke and
Grand Duchess of Baden, the Prince Primate, the Grand
Duke of Wiirzburg, the Princes of Mecklenburg and Saxe-
Gotha, M. de Talleyrand, the Prince de l^eufchdtel, Maret
(Secretary of State), the great ofiicers of the Imperial houses,
several Ministers of the kingdom of Italy, and a number of
Marshals, arrived at Fontainebleau. M. de P^musat, several
Chamberlains, the Ladies of Honor, the Ladies-in- Waiting,
and the Women of the Bedchamber were included in the
traveling party. We were all summoned by a letter from
the Grand Marshal Duroc, which announced to each that
she had been selected by the Emperor. I had just come
from Aix-la-Chapelle, and, being comprised in the list, I re-
joined the Court and my husband at Fontainebleau, after
the delay of a few days in Paris with my mother and my
children.
Marshal Lannes had been nominated Colonel-General of
the Swiss Guard on the 20th of September.
CHAPTEE XXYI.
(i8or.)
The Power of the Emperor — Eesistanoe of the English — The Emperor's Life at
Fontaiuebleau — Plays — Talma — King Jimma — The Princess of Baden — The
Grand Duchess of Berg — Piincess Borghese — Oambac^res — Foreign Princes —
Spanish Affairs — Previsions of M. de Talleyrand — M. de E^musat is made
Supei-intendent of Theatres — The Fortunes and the Difficulties of the Marshala.
Let us suppose an individual, ignorant of all antecedent
events, and suddenly introduced to tlie life of the palace at
Fontainebleau at the time of which I am speaking. That
individual, dazzled by the magnificence of this royal dwell-
ing, and struck by the authoritative air of the master and
the obsequious reverence of the great personages who sur-
rounded him, would undoubtedly have believed that he be-
held a sovereign peacefully seated upon the greatest throne
in the world, in virtue of the joint rights of power and legiti-
macy.*
* This sojourn at Fontainebleau, which lasted nearly two months, is one of
the most interesting episodes of Court life under the Empire. The Emperor
never devoted, I think, so long a period to that life. In its pleasures and its
brilliance, the Empire possessed for the first time a, real Court. Everywhere
else, that which was called so was only a pretense, a parade, in which uniforms
meant more than persons ; but here, as in the Courts of Louis XIV. or Louis
SV., people lived together, met each other, accosted each other, and talked.
There was an obligatory intercourse between all these human beings, and, not-
withstanding the restraint of etiquette and the dread of the master, nature did
occasionally come to the surface and reveal itself. Interests, passions, in-
trigues, weakness, and treasons came into play here ; in a word, the Court was
real.
It would not become me to pronounce upon the ability with which the au-
thor has described these shades of society, and my duty as an editor is restricted
40
544 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE bSmUSAT.
Bonaparte was then king in the eyes of all and in his
own eyes ; he forgot the past, he did not fear the future.
He walked with a firm step, foreseeing no obstacles, or at
least certain that he could easily overthrow any which might
arise. It appeared to him, it appeared to us, that he could
not fall except by an event so tmforeseen, so strange, and
which would produce so universal a catastrophe, that all the
interests of order and tranquillity were solemnly pledged to
his support. He was either the master or the friend of all
the continental kings. He was allied to several of them
either by foreign treaties or by foreign marriages. He had
made sure of Europe by the j)artitions which he had effected.
He had strong garrisons upon its most distant frontiers to
insure the execution of his will, and all the resources of
France were placed absolutely in his hands. He possessed
an immense treasury ; he was in the prime of life, admired,
to writing notes which shall be rather explanatory than laudatory. The public
has, however, so amply proved the esteem in which it holds these Memoirs,
that I shall be excused for saying that my father had anticipated the verdict
of public opinion, and did not hesitate to compare his mother's writings with
those of the standard authors. He has thus recorded his opinion of her de-
scription of the Court at Fontainebleau :
"This chapter, which does not contain any incident, is one of the most
remarkable in the whole work. In the last seven or eight chapters there is too
much reflection, and the writer repeats herself. If my mother could have re-
vised her work, she would have curtailed and suppressed a great deal of it ;
nevertheless, I am convinced that the text ought to remain as it is, and that in
the author's conversations with herself, by the reawakening of her remembrances,
her readers will learn to know and to esteem her. But this chapter on Fon-
tainebleau is worthy of Saint-Simon. In it we find close study and accurate por-
traiture of persons and things, of manners, forms, and demeanor. It lays hold on
the mind ; it causes the reader to live in the world which it reproduces for him.
I know nothing in Saint-Simon superior to the picture of the Court at the death
of the Grand Dauphin. That is the recital of one single night at Versailles,
and it fills one quarter of a volume. Well, it seems to me that in this chapter
on Fontainebleau there is the same sort of charm ; and, although the sojourn
there of Napoleon's Court was not marked by any distinctive event which may
be regarded as a crisis, such as the death of the Dauphin, the vivacity of the
writer's imagination and the fidelity of her narrative lend all the effect of that
realistic prototype to her picture of the Emperor's Court." — P. K.
RESISTANCE OF THE ENGLISH. 545
feared, and scrupulously obeyed. Had lie not then sur-
mounted every obstacle ? *
For all this, a worm was gnawing at the vitals of his
glory. The French Revolution was not a process by which
the public mind was to be led to submit to arbitr.ary power ;
the illumination of the age, the progress of sound principles,
the spread of liberty, were aU against him, and they were
destined to overthrow this brilliant edifice of authority,
founded in opposition to the march of the human intellect.
The sacred flame of liberty was burning in England. Hap-
pily for the welfare of nations, that sanctuary was defended
by a barrier which the armies of Bonaparte could not break
down. A few leagues of sea protected the civilization of the
world, and saved it from being forced to abandon the field
of battle to one who might not perhaps have utterly beaten
it, but who would have stifled it for the space of a whole
generation.
The English Government, jealous of so colossal a power,
and, notwithstanding the ill success of so many enterprises,
though always conquered, never discouraged, found an un-
failing resource against the Emperor in the national senti-
ments. The pride and industry of England, attacked both
in its position and its interests, were equally irritated, and
the people consented eagerly to every sacrifice which was de-
manded of them. Large sums were voted for the augmen-
tation of a naval service which should secure the blockade of
the entire continent of Europe.
The kings who were afraid of our artillery submitted to
the prohibitive system which we exacted of them, but their
people suffered. The luxuries of life, the necessities created
by prosperity, the innumerable wants which are the result
of high civilization, all fought the battle of the English.
* The Emperor was born on the 15th of August, 1*769, and was then thirty-
eight years old. We are so dazzled by his success that we forget his age ; we
ought, however, to remember when we read his history that he was a man, and
at that time a young man. — P. E.
546 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BtMUSAT.
Murmurs arose at St. Petersburg, on the Baltic, in Holland,
in all the French ports ; and the discontent which dared not
express itself took aU the deeper root in the public mind that
it might be long before it could find a voice.
The threats or reproaches which we were suddenly made
aware our Government was addressing to its allies were,
however, indications of the true state of things. We in
France were in complete ignorance of all that was passing
outside of us, without communications (at least of an intel-
lectual kind) with other nations, incredulous of the truth of
the articles written to order in our dull journals ; but, never-
theless, we were led by the line taken in the " Moniteur " to
the conclusion that the Imperial will was balked by the ne-
cessities of the nation. The Emperor had bitterly reproached
his brother Louis with a too feeble execution of his orders in
Holland. He now sent him back to his kingdom with a
positive injunction that his will was to be scrupulously
obeyed.
" Holland,'" said the "Moniteur," "since the new mea-
sures taken there, will no longer correspond with England.
English commerce must find the whole continent closed to
it, and these enemies of the nations must be outlawed. There
are peoples who know not how to do anything but complain ;
they must learn to suffer with fortitude, to take every means
of injuring the common enemy and obliging him to recog-
nize the principles which actuate all the continental nations.
If Holland had taken her measures from the commencement
of the blockade, perhaps England would have already made
peace." ■
At another time every effort was made to stigmatize what
was called the invasion of continental liberties. The English
Government was compared, in its policy, to Marat. "What
did he ever do that was more atrocious ? " was asked. " The
spectacle of a perpetual war is presented to the world. The
oligarchical ringleaders who direct English policy will end,
as all exaggerated and infuriated men do end, by earning the
EESI8TANGE OF THE EKQLISH. 547
opprobrium of their own country and the hatred of other
nations."
The Emperor, when dictating this and similar tirades
against oligarchical governments, was using for his own pur-
poses the democratic idea which he well knew existed in
the nation. When he employed some of the revolutionary
phrases, he believed that he was carrying out the principles
of the 'Eevolution. " Equality " — nothing but " Equality "
— was the rallying-cry between the Eevolution and him.
He did not fear its consequences for himself ; he knew that
he had excited those desires which pervert the most generous
dispositions ; he turned liberty aside, as I have often said,
he bewildered all parties, he falsified all meanings, he out-
raged reason. The power which his sword conferred upon
him he sustained by sophistry, and proved that it was from
motives of sound wisdom that he deviated from the path of
progress and set aside the spirit of the time. He called the
power of speech to his aid, and perverted language to lead
us astray.
That which makes Bonaparte one of the most remark-
able of human beings, which places him aj)art, and at the
head of all those powerful men who have been called to rule
over their fellows, is that he perfectly knew and always con-
tended with his epoch. Of his own free will he chose a
course which was at once diflicult and contrary to the spirit
of his time. He did not disguise this from himself ; he
frequently said that he alone had checked the Revolution,
and that after him it would resume its course. He allied
himself with the Eevolution to oppress it ; but lie presumed
too far upon his strength, and in the end the Eevolution re-
covered its advantage, conquered and re|)ulsed him.
The English Government, alarmed by the fervor with
which the Czar, who was rather fascinated than convinced,
had embraced the policy of the Emperor, closely attentive to
the troubles which were beginning to manifest themselves
in Sweden, uneasy at the sentiments which Denmark mani-
54:8 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtlMUSAT.
fested toward us, and which must lead to the closing of the
Sound against themselves, increased their armament, and
assembled their forces for the blockade of Copenhagen.
They succeeded in taking that city ; but the Prince Royal,
fortified by the love of his people, defended himself bravely,
and fought even after he had lost his capital, so that the
English found themselves obliged to evacuate Copenhagen,
and to content themselves, there as elsewhere, with the gen-
eral blockade.
The Opposition declared against the expedition, and the
Emperor, in his ignorance of the British Constitution, flat-
tered himself that the Parliamentary debates on this point
would be useful to him. Little accustomed to opposition,
he estimated that of a political party in England by the
effect which would have been produced in France had the
same violence of opinion which he remarked in the London
journals been manifested here, and he beheved the English
Government was lost on the evidence of the diatribes of the
" Marning Chronicle." These articles were a welcome ali-
ment to his own impatience, but his hopes always proved
vain. The Opposition declaimed, but its remonstrances
came to nothing, and the Government always found means
to carry on the necessary struggle.
Nothing could exceed the Emperor's anger when he
read the debates in the English Parliament, and the violent
attacks upon himself in which the free English press in-
dulged. He took advantage, on his own part, of the liberty
of the press in England to hire writers in London, who might
print what he wanted with impunity. These duels of the
pen served no purpose. The abuse which he dictated was
answered by abuse of him which reached Paris. All these
articles had to be translated and shown to him. Those
whose duty it was to bring them under his notice trembled
as they did so, so terrible was his anger, whether silent or
displayed in violent passion ; and ill indeed was the fortune
of any one whose position in the household brought him in
THE EMPEEORS LIFE AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 649
contact witli the Emperor immediately after he had read the
English newspapers. We were always made aware of the
state of his temper on those occasions. The officials whose
business it was to provide for his amusements were much to
be pitied. At this time what I must really call the " tor-
ture " of M. de Kemusat commenced. I shall have more to
say of this subject when I have to describe our Court life at
Fontainebleau.
All those persons who were to accompany their Majesties
were assembled, and informed of the rules which they would
have to observe. The different evenings of the week were
to be passed in the respective apartments of the great per-
sonages. On one evening the Emperor would receive ; there
would be music, and afterward cards. On two other even-
ings there would be a play — on one, followed by a ball in
the apartment of the Grand Duchess of Berg, and, on the
other, by a ball in the apartment of the Princess Borghese.
On the fifth, there would be a reception and cards in the
apartment of the Empress. The Princes and Ministers were
to give dinners, and to invite all the members of the Court
in turn. The Grand Marshal was to do the same ; twenty-
five covers were to be laid at his table every day. The Lady
of Honor was likewise to entertain. And, lastly, there was
to be a table for all those who had not received a special
invitation elsewhere. Princes and Kings were to dine with
the Emperor only when invited. He reserved to himself
the liberty of his tete-d-tete dinner with his wife, and chose
whom he pleased when he thought fit to depart from that
rule.
Hunting took place on fixed days, and the guests were
invited to accompany the hunt, either on horseback or in
elegant caleches.
The Emperor took it into his head that the ladies should
have a hunting costume, and to that the Empress agreed
very willingly. The famous costumer Leroy was consulted,
and a very brilliant uniform was arranged. Each Princess
550 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EMUSAT.
selected a different color for herself and her household. The
costume of the Empress was amaranth velvet, embroidered
in gold, with a toque also embroidered in gold, and a plume
of white feathers. All the Ladies-in-Waiting wore amaranth.
Queen Hortense chose blue and silver ; Mme. Murat, pink
and silver ; Princess Borghese, lilac and silver. The dress
was a sort of tunic, or short redingote, in velvet, worn over
a gown of embroidered white satin ; velvet boots to match
the dress, and a toque with a white plume. The Emperor
and all the gentlemen wore green coats, with gold or silver
lace. These brilliant costumes, worn either on horseback or
in carriages, and by a numerous assemblage, had a charming
effect in the beautiful forest of Fontainebleau.
The Emperor liked himting rather for the exercise which
it forced him to take than for the pleasure of the chase itself.
He did not follow the deer very carefully, but, setting off at a
gallop, would take the first road that lay before him. Some-
times he forgot the object of the hunt altogether, and fol-
lowed the winding paths of the forest, or seemed to abandon
himself to the fancy of his horse, being plimged the while in
deep reverie. He rode well, but ungracefully. He preferred
Arab horses, because they are so trained that they stop on
the instant. Horses of this kind were very carefully broken
for him, as, from his habit of starting at full gallop with a
loose rein, he would have been in danger of falling had not
great precaution been taken. He would go down steep hills
at full speed, to the great risk of those who had to follow him
at the same pace. He had a few severe falls, but they were
never alluded to. He would not have liked any mention
of them.
He took up for a while a fancy for driving a caleche or a
buggy, and he was a very unsafe coachman, for he took no
precaution in turning corners or to avoid difficult roads.
He was determined always to conquer every obstacle, and
would retreat before none. One day, at Saint Cloud, he
undertook to drive four-in-hand, and turned the horses,
TEE EMPER0W3 LIFE AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 551
which ho coxild not nicanage, bo awkwardly throtigh a gate-
way, that the carriage was upset. The Empress and some
other persons were in the vehicle and were all throw^n out ;
but, fortunately, no serious accident occurred, and he himself
escaped with a sprained wrist. After that he gave up driv-
ing, remarking, with a laugh, that " in even the smallest
things every man should stick to his own business."
Although he took no great interest in the success of a
hunt, he would scold violently if the deer were not taken,
and be very angry if it were I'epresented to him that he had,
by changing the course, misled the dogs. He was surprised
and impatient at the slightest non-success.
He worked very hard at Fontainebleau, as, indeed, he did
everywhere. He rose at seven, held his lever, breakfasted
alone, and, on the days when there was no hunt, remained
in his cabinet or held councils until five or six o'clock. The
Ministers and Councilors of State came from Paris as if we
had been at Saint Cloud. He never considered distances,
and carried this to such an extent that, having expressed an
intention to " receive " on Sunday, after Mass, as he did at
Saint Cloud, people had to leave Paris in the night in order
to reach Pontainebleau at the prescribed hour. The persons
who had made this journey would be placed in one of the
galleries of the chateau, through which he would walk, some-
times without taking the trouble of rewarding them by a
word or a look for the fatigue and inconvenience they had
undergone.
"While he remained all the morning in his cabinet, the
Empress, elegantly dressed, breakfasted with her daughter
and her ladies, and afterward went into her drawing-room
and received visits from persons living in the chateau. Such
of us as cared to do so might occupy ourselves with needle-
work, and this was a great relief to the fatigue of idle and
trifling conversation. Mme. Bonaparte did not like to be
alone, but she had no taste for any kind of occupation. At
four o'clock we left her ; she then gave herseK up to the
552 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
business of her toilet, we to the business of ours, and this was
a momentous affair. A number of Parisian shopkeepers had
brought their ver_y best merchandise to Fontainebleau, and they
easily disposed of it by presenting themselves at our rooms.
Between five and six o'clock the Emperor would go down
to his wife's apartment, and then go out in a carriage alone
with her for a drive before dinner. At six o'clock we dined,
and afterward we met in the theatre or at the apartment of
the person who was charged with providing the especial
amusement of the particular evening.
The princes, marshals, great officers, or chamberlains who
had the entree, might pi-esent themselves at the Empress's
apartment. They knocked at the door, the chamberlain on
duty announced them, and the Emperor said, "Let them
come in." Ladies would sit down in silence; gentlemen
would remain standing against the wall in the order in which
they entered the room. The Emperpr would generally be
walking backward and forward, sometimes silently and deep
in thought, without taking any notice of those around ; at
others, he would make an opportunity of talking, but almost
without interruption, for it was always difficult to reply to
him, and had become more so than ever. He neither knew
how to put people at their ease nor cared to do so ; for he
dreaded the slightest appearance of familiarity, and he in-
spired all who were in his presence with the apprehension
that some disparaging or unkind word would be said to him
or her before witnesses.
The receptions did not differ much from these more pri-
vate and privileged occasions. All about him suffered from
ennui y he did so himseK, and frequently complained of the
fact, resenting to others the dull and constrained silence '
which was in reality imposed by him. I have heard him say :
" It is a singular thing : I have brought together a lot of peo-
ple at Fontainebleau ; I wanted them to amuse themselves ; I
arranged every sort of pleasure for them ; and here they are
with long faces, all looking dull and tired."
PLATS. 553
" That," replied M. de Talleyrand, " is because pleasure
can not be summoned by beat of drum, and here, just as
when you are with the army, you always seem to say to us
all, ' Come, ladies and gentlemen, forward ! march ! ' " The
Emperor was not annoyed by this speech ; he was in a very
good humor at this time. M. de Talleyrand passed long
hours alone with him, and was then free to say anything he
chose ; but, in a great room and among forty other persons,
M. de Talleyrand was just as silent as the rest.
Of the whole Court, the person who was most oppressed
by the care of the Emperor's pleasures was, beyond all com-
parison, M. de E^musat. The fetes and the plays were in
the department of the Grand Chamberlain, and M. de Ee-
musat, in his capacity as First Chamberlain, had all the re-
siDonsibility and labor. That word is perfectly appropriate,
for the imperious and harassing will of Bonaparte rendered
this sort of business exceedingly troublesome. It always
was, as M. de Talleyrand said, a case of " amusing the Una-
musable."
The Emperor chose to have two plays in the week, and
that they should always be different. Only the actors of the
Comedie Frangaise performed in these plays, which alter-
nated with representations of Italian operas. Nothing but
tragedy was played— Corneille frequently, a few of Eacine's
pieces, and Yoltaire, whose dramatic works Bonaparte did not
like, very rarely.
The Emperor approved the entire repertory for Fontaine-
bleau, positively insisted that the best actors of the company
must perform there, and commanded that the representations
in Paris should undergo no interruption; all the arrange-
ments were made accordingly. Then, all of a sudden, he
would upset the whole arrangement, demand another play or
another actor, and that on the morning of the day on which
the piece, as previously set down, was to be acted. He
would not listen to any observation on the subject, and some-
times would be quite angry about it ; and the best that was
554 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RtMUSAT.
to be hoped for was that he would say, with a smile : " Bah !
take a little trouble, and you will succeed. I wish it to be so ;
it is your business to find the means."
When the Emperor uttered that irrevocable Je le veux,
the words echoed through the whole palace. Duroc, and es-
pecially Savary, pronounced them in the same tone as him-
self, and M. de Eemusat was obliged to repeat them to the
unfortunate actors, who were bewildered and overtaxed by
the sudden efforts of memory, or the entire disarrangement
of their studies, to which they were subjected. Then mes-
sengers would be dispatched at full speed to seek the neces-
sary persons and " properties." The day passed in a whirl
of petty agitation — in the fear that an accident, or an illness,
or some unforeseen circumstance might prevent the execution
of the order ; and my husband, who occasionally came to my
room for a moment's rest, would sigh at the thought that a
reasonable man should be forced to exhaust his patience and
aU the efforts of his intellect in such trifles, which, however,
were of real importance because of the consequences to which
they might lead.
One would need to have lived in courts to realize how
small things can become grave matters, and how hard to
bear is the displeasure of the master, even when its cause is
utterly insignificant. Kings are in the habit of displaying
their displeasure before everybody, and it is unbearable to
receive a complaint or a rebuff in the presence of a number
of people who look on it as if they were at a play. Bona-
parte, the most arbitrary of sovereigns, never hesitated to
" scold " in the harshest way, frequently without the slight-
est reason, and would humiliate or threaten anybody at the
prompting of a whim. The fear which he excited was in-
fectious, and his harsh words resounded long and far.
When with very great trouble one had succeeded in sat-
isfying him, it is not to be supposed that he would testify
that satisfaction. Silence was the best one had to expect.
He would go to the play preoccupied, irritated by reading
TALMA. 555
some English journal, or, perhaps, only fatigued with the
day's hunting, and he would either fall into reverie or go to
sleep. ISo applause was permitted in his presence, and the
silent representation was exceedingly dull and cold. The
Court grew intolerably weary of these eternal tragedies.
The younger ladies simply slept through them ; every one
went away depressed and dissatisfied. The Emperor per-
ceived this, was angry at it, attacked his First Chamberlain,
blamed the actors, insisted on others being found, although
he had the best, and would command different pieces for the
ensuing days, which were received in precisely the same
manner. It rarely happened otherwise, and our theatrical
experiences were, it must be confessed, eminently unpleas-
ant. Those days at Fontainebleau were a constantly recur-
ring source of misery to me ; the frivolity of the thing itself,
and the importance of its conseqiiences, rendered it a great
trial.
The Emperor admired Talma's acting ; he persuaded
"himself that he liked it very much, but I think he rather
knew than felt that Talma was a great actor. He had not
in himseK that which enables one to take pleasure in the
representation of a fiction on the stage ; he was deficient in
education, and his mind was too rarely disengaged, he was
too entirely occupied by his own actual circumstances, to be
able to give his attention to the development of a feigned
passion. He occasionally appeared moved by a scene, or
even by a word pronounced with great effect ; but that emo-
tion detracted from his pleasure as a whole, because he wanted
it to be prolonged in all its strength, and he never took those
.secondary impressions into account, which are produced by
the beauty of the verse or the harmony which a great actor
lends to his entire rdle. In general, he thought our French
drama cold, our actors too measured, and he resented to
others that- he found it impossible to be pleased with what
the multitude accepted as a diversion.
It was the same with regard to music. He had little
556 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
feeling for the arts, but he had an intellectual appreciation
of them, and, demanding from them more than they could
give him, he complained of not having felt what his nature
did not permit him to experience.
The first singers in Italy had been attracted to the Em-
peror's Court. He paid them largely ; his vanity was grati-
fied by the power of taking them away from other sovereigns ;
but he listened to their strains moodily, and seldom with any
interest. M. de Eemusat bethought himself of enlivening
the concerts by a sort of representation of the pieces of
music that were executed in the Emperor's presence. These
concerts were sometimes given on the stage, and they in-
cluded the finest scenes from the Italian operas. The singers
wore the appropriate costumes, and really acted ; the decora-
tions represented the scene in which the action of the song
was supposed to pass. All this was arranged and mounted
with the greatest care, but, like everything else, failed in its
effect. And yet not completely ; for it must be said that, if
so much attention and pains were labor lost so far as hia
pleasure was concerned, the pomp of all these various spec-
tacles and entertainments pleased Bonaparte, for it consorted
with his policy, and he liked to display a superiority which
extended to everything before the crowd of foreigners who
surrounded him.
This same moody and discontented temper, which was
inseparable from him, cast a cloud over the balls and recep-
tions at Fontainebleau. At eight o'clock in the evening,
the Court, all in splendid attire, would assemble in the apart-
ment of the Princess whose turn it was to receive company.
We placed ourselves in a circle, and looked at each other
without speaking. Thus we awaited the arrival of their
Majesties. The Empress came in first, made the tour of the
reception-room with her unfailing grace, and then took her
place and kept silence like the rest, until the Emperor at
length appeared. He would seat himself by her side, and
look on at the dancing with a countenance so little encourag-
THE GOUBT AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 557
ing to gayety, tlaat enjoyment was out of the question on
these occasions. Sometimes, during a pause in the dancing,
he would walk about the room, addressing some trifling re-
marks to the ladies. These observations were, for the most
part, jests about their attire, of anything but a delicate kind.
He withdrew very soon, and shortly afterward the party
would break up.
During the sojourn of the Court at Fontainebleau, a
very pretty woman made her appearance, and attracted the
attention of the Emperor. She was an Italian. . . . M. de
Talleyrand had seen her in Italy, and persuaded the Emper-
or to appoint her " Header " to the Empress. Her husband
was made Keceiver-General. The Empress was at first in-
dignant at the appearance of this fair lady on the scenes ;
but she promptly made up her mind to lend herself with
complacency to what she was powerless to oppose, and this
time she shut her eyes to the state of affairs. The lady was
a quiet person, acquiescent rather than elated; she yielded
to her master from a sort of conviction that she ought not
to resist him. But she made no display, she gave herself no
airs in consequence of her success, and she contrived to com-
bine a real attachment to Mme. Bonaparte with submission
to Bonaparte's fancy for her. The result was that the affair
was conducted without any scandal or disturbance. This
lady was certainly the handsomest woman in the Court,
which boasted a number of beauties. I have never seen
more beautiful eyes, finer features, or a more exquisitely
harmonious face. She was tall, and had an elegant figure,
but she was a little too slight. The Emperor never cared
very much for her ; he told his wife all about the affair at
once, and made her mind quite easy by his unreserved confi-
dence respecting this brief and unsentimental liaison. The
lady was lodged in the palace of Fontainebleau in such a
manner as to be within call whenever he desired her pres-
ence. It was whispered about that she came down in the
evening to his apartment, or he went to hers ; but in the or-
558 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
dinary circle lie did not tallc to her more than, to any other
lady, and the Court paid no great attention to this afiair, be-
cause it was plainly unlikely to lead to any change. M. de
Talleyrand, who had in the first instance persuaded Bona-
parte to select this Italian as a mistress, received his confi-
dences concerning her, and that was all.
If I were asked whether the idleness of our Court life at
Fontainebleau led to the formation of Umsons of a similar
kind on the part of the courtiers, I should hardly know how
to answer that questibn. The Emperor's service demanded
such entire subjection, and involved such close though tri-
fling occupation, that the men had not time for gallantry,
and the women were too much afraid of what Bonaparte
might say of them to yield without very great precaution.
In so cold, constrained, and conventional a society, in which
no one would venture on a word or a movement more than
the others, no coquetry was ever displayed, and every ar-
rangement was made in silence, and with a promptitude
which eluded observation. Another peculiarity of the time
which acted as a safeguard to women was that men took no
pains to please : they merely asserted the pretensions of vic-
tory without wasting time in the preliminaries of love. Thus,
among the Emperor's surroundings, only passing intrigues,
whose denoument both parties seemed anxious to hasten as
much as possible, took place. Besides, Bonaparte desired
that his Court should be grave, and he would not have per-
mitted women to assume the shghtest ascendancy in it. To
himself alone he reserved the right to every kind of liberty.
He tolerated the misconduct of certain members of his own
family, because he knew that he was powerless to restrain
them, and that the attempt to do so only gave the facts ad-
ditional publicity. For the same reason, he would have dis-
sembled the anger he might have felt had his wife allowed
herself any " distractions " ; but at this period she no longer
seemed disposed to do so. I am absolutely unacquainted
with the secrets of her private life, and I always saw her ex-
KINO JISrSmE in love. 559
cluslvely occupied with the difficulties of her own position,
and tremblingly apprehensive of displeasing her husband.
She was entirely devoid of coquetry ; her manner was per-
fectly modest and reserved ; she never spoke to men, except
to find out what was going on ; and her grand subject of
care and dread was the divorce which was always hanging
over her head. Lastly, the women of that Court had great
need to be on their guard and to take care what they did ; for,
whenever the Emperor was informed of anything — and he
always was informed — ^he would invariably make the husband
acquainted with the facts of the case. It is true that he in-
terdicted any complaint or action in consequence. Thus, we
all know that he had made S aware of certain adven-
tures of his wife's, and so imperiously ordered him to dis-
play no anger that S , who was always entirely submis-
sive to him, consented to allow himself to be deceived, and
ended, partly through this weak compliance, and partly
through his desire to think his wife innocent, by not believ-
ing facts which were of public notoriety.
-Mme. de X was at Fontainebleau, but the Emperor
never paid her any attention ; and, if the rumor that the
former Uaison between them was temporarily renewed had
any truth at all in it, the revived intimacy must have been
very transitory, and it did not restore any of her vanished
importance to the lady.
"We had, however, during our stay at Fontainebleau, the
spectacle of one really ardent love-affair. Jerome, as I have
already said, had recently married the Princess Catherine,
and his young wife became deeply attached to him, but very
shortly after their marriage he gave her cause for jealousy.
The young Princess of Baden was at this time a very fasci-
nating person, and on very bad terms with her husband.
She was coquettish, frivolous, gay, and clever, and she had
a great success in society. Jerome fell in love with her, and
his passion seemed to afford her considerable amusement.
She danced with him at all the balls. The Princess Cathe-
41
560 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RJ^MUSAT.
rine, who was even then too fat, did not dance, and' she
would remain seated, sadly contemplating the gayety of the
two young people, who passed and repassed before her, quite
indifferent to the pain they were inflicting on her. At length,
one evening, in the midst of a fete, the good understanding
between them being too plain to be mistaken, the young
Queen of Westphalia was observed to turn deadly pale, and
burst into tears; in another minute she had slid from her
chair and swooned completely away. The ball was inter-
rupted ; she was carried into another room, the Empress and
some of the ladies hastened to her aid, and we heard the Em-
peror address a severe rebuke to his brother, after which he
retired. Jerome, greatly frightened, went at once to his
wife, took her upon his knee, and endeavored to restore her
to consciousness by his caresses. The Princess, on coming
to herself, wept bitterly, and seemed to be unaware that a
number of persons surrounded her. I looked on at this
scene in silence, deeply impressed by its strangeness, by the
sight of this Jerome — whom a succession of circumstances,
all entirely independent of any merit of his own, had raised
to a throne — figuring as the object of the passionate love of
a real Princess, with the right to her love, and also a right
to neglect her. I can not describe what I felt at seeing her
sitting upon his knees, her head upon his shoulder, and re-
ceiving his kisses, while he called her by her name, " Cathe-
rine," over and over again, entreating her to calm herself,
and using the familiar tutoiement. A few minutes later the
young couple retired to their own apartment.
On the following day Bonaparte ordered his wife to
speak strongly to her young niece, and I also was instructed
to make her listen to reason. She received me very well,
and listened to me with attention. I represented to her that
she was compromising her future, and urged upon her that
her duty and her interest alike bound her to live on proper
terms with the Prince of Baden ; that she was destined to
live in other countries than France ; that levity which might
TEE PEIN0E88 OF BADEN. 561
be tolerated in Paris would probably be resented in Ger-
many ; and that she ought most carefully to avoid giving
any excuse for the spread of calumny against her. She ac-
knowledged that she had more than once reproached herself
for the imprudence of her behavior, but that there really was
nothing in it except the desire to amuse herseK ; and she
added that she was quite aware that all her present impor-
tance was due to her being Princess of Baden, for she was no
longer treated at the French Court as she had been in times
past. This was, in fact, quite true ; for the Emperor, who
had outlived his fancy for her, had changed the whole cere-
monial with respect to her, and, paying no attention to the
rules which he had himself laid down at the time of her
marriage, no longer treated her as his adopted daughter, but
accorded her merely the precedence of a Princess of the
Confederation of the Rhine, which came very far after that
of the Queens and Princesses of the Imperial family. Lastly,
she knew that she was a cause of disturbance, and the young
Prince, who did not venture to express his displeasure, mani-
fested it only by his extreme dejection. Our conversation
lasted for a long time, and she was much impressed by it
and by her own reflections. When she dismissed me, it was
with an embrace, and saying, " You shall see that you will
be pleased with me."
That same evening there was a ball, and the Princess ap-
proached her husband, and spoke to him in an affectionate
manner, while toward all others she adopted a reserved de-
meanor, which everybody observed. During the evening
she came to me, and asked me, in the sweetest and most
graceful way, whether I was pleased with her ; and from
that moment, until the end of the sojourn of the Court at
Fontainebleati, not a single disparaging observation could
possibly be made respecting her. She showed no reluctance
to return to Baden ; when there, she conducted herself well.
She has since had children by the Prince, and lived happily
with him ; she also won the affection of his subjects. She is
562 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE E^MUSAT.
now a widow, and has only two daughters left ; but she is
held in high consideration by her brother-in-law, the Emper-
or of KussIS:,* who has on several occasions evinced a great
interest in her.
As for Jerdme, he went shortly afterward to take posses-
sion of his kingdom of Westphalia, where his conduct must
have given the Princess Catherine cause more than once to
shed tears : this, however, did not cure her of her love for
him, for since the Eevolution of 1814 she has never ceased
to share his exile.f
"While pleasure, and especially etiquette, reigned at Fon-
tainebleau, the poor Queen of HoUand lived in the chateau,
as much apart as she could from all ; suffering much from
her condition, grieving incessantly for her son, spitting blood
at the least exei'tion, quite disconsolate, and unable even to
wish for anything except rest. At this time she often said
to me, with tears in her eyes : " I hold by life for my broth-
er's sake only. When I think of him, I take pleasure in
our greatness ; but to myseK it is a torment." The Emperor
displayed invariable esteem and affection for his step-daugh-
ter ; it was always to her that he intrusted the task of con-
veying to her mother such hints as he thought necessary.
Mme. Bonaparte and her daughter were good friends, but
they were too dissimilar to understand each other, and the
former was conscious of a certain inferiority, which affected
her to some extent. And, then, Hortense had experienced
such great trials that she could not deeply compassionate
cares which seemed to her so light in comparison with the
burden that she herself had to carry. When the Empress
would tell her of a quarrel with Bonaparte about some fool-
ish expense or some passing fit of jealousy, or would talk of
her fear of divorce, her daughter would say, with a melan-
* The Princess StSphanie of Baden died in I860.— P. R.
f The Princess Catherine of Wiirtemberg, mother of Prince Napoleon J6-
r&me and Princess Mathilde, died at Lausanne on the 23d of November, 1885.
— P. R.
TEE POOR QUEEN OF HOLLAND. 563
clioly smile, " Are these things misfortunes \ " The two
undoubtedly loved, but I do not think they ever understood,
each other.
The Emperor, who had, I believe, a much greater regard
for Mme. Louis than for his brother, but who was, neverthe-
less, swayed to a certain extent by the spirit of the family,
interfered in their domestic affairs with reluctance and cau-
tion. He had consented to keep his step-daughter with him
until after her confinement, but he always spoke in the sense
of wishing that she should ultimately return to Holland.
She told him repeatedly that she would not go back to a
country in which her child had died, and where misery
awaited her. "My reputation is blasted," said she; "my
health is destroyed ; I expect no more happiness in this life.
Banish me from your Court, if you will ; place me in a con-
vent : I want neither throne nor fortune. Give my mother
peace, and Eugene the eclat which he deserves, but let me
live quietly and in solitude." "When she spoke thus, she
succeeded in touching the Emperor's feelings ; he consoled
and encouraged her, promising her his aid and support, and
advising her to trust to time, but he utterly scouted the idea
of a divorce between her and Louis. He was, no doubt,
thinking of his own, and felt that a repetition of the same
incident in the family would bring them into ridicule. Mme.
Louis submitted, and let time pass by ; but she was privately
quite resolved that nothing should induce her to renew a
union, at the thought of which she shuddered. It did not
seem that the King wished for her return ; on the contrary,
he was embittered against his wife, loved her no better than
she loved him, and in Holland, where he wanted to pass for
a victim, openly accused her. Many people believed his
story: kings easily find credulous ears. One thing is cer-
tain : the husband and wife were most unhappy, but my be-
lief is that, with his disposition, Louis would have made
troubles for himself anywhere, under any circumstances ;
whereas Hortense was eminently calculated for a calm and
564- MEMOIRS OF MADAMS BE B^MUSAT.
happy domestic life. She did not seem to know the mean-
ing of passion ; her mind and feelings were disposed toward
profound quiet.
The Grand Duchess of Berg applied herself to being ex-
tremely agreeable to us all at Fontainebleau. She could be
'very gay and pleasant when she was in the humor, and she
could even assume an air of honhomie. She lived in the
ch4teau at her own expense, very luxuriously, and kept a
sumptuous table. She always used gilt plate, in this out-
doing the Emperor, whose silver-gilt services were used on
state occasions only. She invited all the dwellers in the
palace by turns, receiving them most graciously, even those
whom she did not like, and appeared to be thinking of no-
thing but pleasure ; but, nevertheless, she was not wasting
her time. She frequently saw Count Metternich, the Aus-
trian Ambassador. He was young and handsome, and he
appeared to admire the sister of the Emperor. From that
time forth, whether from a spirit of coquetry or from a far-
sighted ambition which prompted such a measure of precau-
tion, she began to accept the homage of the Minister with
readiness. He was said to be held in high consideration and
to have great influence at .his Court, and he might be placed,
by the course of events, in a position to serve her. "Wheth-er
she had this idea beforehand or not, events justified it, and
Metternich never failed her.
In addition to this, she took the influence of M. de Tal^
leyrand into consideration, and did her best to cultivate him
while keeping up as secretly as possible her relations with
Fouche, who visited her with extreme precaution, in conse-
quence of the displeasure with which the Emperor regarded
any intimacy of the kind. We observed her making up to
M. de Talleyrand in the drawing-room at Fontainebleau,
talking to him, laughing at his hons mots, looking at him
when she said anything remarkable, and even addressing
such observations to him. M. de Talleyrand showed no re-
luctance, but met her advances, and then their interviews
CONJUGAL SCENES. 565
became more serious. Mme. Murat did not conceal from
him that the spectacle of her brothers seated on thrones
inspired her with envy, as she felt herself quite capable of
wielding a scepter, and she reproached him with opposing
this. M. de Talleyrand objected that Murat's abilities were
not brilliant, and made some jokes at his expense, which were
not resented very strongly. The Princess delivered up her
husband to M. de Talleyrand's sarcasms readily enough, but
she urged that she would not leave the whole charge of rul-
ing in Murat's hands ; and she gradually, by certain seductive
methods, led M. de Talleyrand to be less opposed to her
wishes. At the same time she also flattered and cultivated
M. Maret, who, in his heavy way, repeatedly praised the
intelligence and ability of the Emperor's sister to her aU-
powerful brother.
Bonaparte himself had a great opinion of her, and he
found it supported by a variety of testimony which he
knew was not concerted. He began to treat his sister with
greater consideration, whereat Murat, who lost something by
what she gained, thought proper to take offense and com-
plain. Thence ensued conjugal " scenes," in which the hus-
band insisted on resuming his right and his rank. He bul-
lied the Princess, and she was a good deal frightened ; but,
partly 'by adroitness, partly by threats — by being now caress-
ing, and again haughty and distant, by acting on some occa-
sions the submissive wife,, and on others the sister of the
master of all — she bewildered her husband, resumed her
ascendancy, and proved to him that she was serving his in-
terests in all she was doing. It seems that quarrels of the
same kind occurred when she was at Naples, that Murat's
vanity took umbrage, and that he was deeply hurt ; but
every one agrees that, if he made mistakes, it was always
when he ceased to follow her advice.
I have said that the sojourn of the Court at Fontaiue-
bleau was marked by a brilliant succession of foreign visitors.
With the Prince Primate we had very agreeable conversa-
666 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMUSAT.
tions ; he was witty, had fine manners, delighted in recalling
the days of his youth, when he had been acquainted in Paris
with all the men of letters of the epoch. The Grand Duke
of Wiirzburg, who remained all the time at Fontainebleau,
was very good-natured, and put every one at ease with him.
He was passionately fond of music, and had a voice like that
of a precentor; but he enjoyed himself so much when he
was allowed to take a part in a piece of concerted music
that no one had the heart to spoil his harmless pleasure by
smiling at his performance.
Next to the two whom I have just mentioned^ the Piinces
of Mecklenburg were objects of special attention. They
were both young, and very polite — indeed, even obliging —
to everybody. They were in some awe of the Emperor;
the magnificence of his Court dazzled them, and so im-
pressed were they by his power and the splendor amid which
it was displayed that they were in a state of perpetual ad-
miration, and paid court even to the chamberlains.
The Prince of Mecklenburg - StreKtz, brother to the
Queen of Prussia, was rather deaf, and found it difficult to
communicate his ideas ; but the Prince of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, who was also young and very good-looking, was
extremely affable. His object in coming was to endeavor to
obtain the removal of the French garrisons from his states.
The Emperor kept him amused by fair promises ; he ex-
plained his wishes to the Empress, and she listened to him
with gracious patience. The unfailing kindness that distin-
guished Josephine, her sweet face, her lovely figure, the
suave elegance of her person, were not without their effect
on the Prince. "We saw, or believed we saw, that he was
captivated ; she laughed, and was amused. Bonaparte also
laughed, but he afterward took the matter ill. This change
of his humor occurred on his return from a journey to Italy,
which he made at the end of the autumn. The two Princes
were treated with less cordiality toward the close of their
stay in Paris.
FOREIGN PniNGES. 567
I do not think Bonaparte felt any real annoyance, but he
did not choose to be the subject of any kind of jest. The
Prince, no doubt, retained some sort of feeling for the Em-
press ; for she told me that, on the occasion of the divorce,
the Emperor suggested to her that, if she wished to marry
again, she should select the Prince of Mecklenburg as her
husband, and she declined. I am not quite sure whether
she did not tell me that the Prince had written to ask for her
hand.
Such of the Princes as were not invited to the Emperor's
table dined with the Queens, the Ministers, the Grand Mar-
shal, or the Lady of Honor. Mme. de la Rochefoucauld had
a iine suite of rooms, where the foreigners were accustomed
to assemble. She received them with much grace and cor-
diality, and time passed there pleasantly.
How curious a spectacle is a Court ! There we see the
most illustrious personages of the time, men of the highest
social rank ; each one of them is supposed to be occupied
with important interests ; but the silence enforced by pru-
dence and custom reduces all conversation to complete insig-
nificance, and it frequently happens that princes and other
great men, not daring to act like men under such circum-
stances, assume the behavior of mere children. This reflec-
tion was forced upon my mind even more strongly at Eon-
tainebleau than elsewhere. All these foreigners were aware
that they were drawn thither by force. All were more or
less vanquished or dispossessed ; they had come to entreat
either favor or justice ; they knew that in a corner of the
chateau their fate was being decided ; and all of them, as-
suming a similar appearance of good spirits and entire free-
dom of mind, followed the chase, and acquiesced in every-
thing required of them. These requirements included dan-
cing, playing at blind-man's-bu£E, and other games, so that,
being thus employed, no one need either listen or reply to
them. How often have I sat at Mme. de la Eochef oueauld's
piano, playing, at her request, those Italian dances which
56S MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
our lovely Italian inmate had brought into fashion ! Princes,
Electors, Marshals, and chamberlains, conquerors and con-
quered, nobles and plebeians, passed before me, dancing in-
discriminately together ; all the quarterings of Germany con-
trasting with the Eevolutionary swords or the decorated uni-
forms of our " illustration " — an " illustration " much more
real and weighty, at that period, than that of the ancient
title-deeds and patents which the smoke of our guns had
nearly obliterated. I often reflected very seriously on the
events then taking place before my eyes, but I took good
care not to confide these thoughts to any of my companions,
and would not have ventured for the world to smile at either
them or myself. " Herein is the wisdom of courtiers," says
Sully. " It is agreed that, though they all wear grotesque
masks, none shall ever be held to be ridiculous by the oth-
ers ! "
In another place he says : " A truly great man knows
how to be everything by turns and according to circum-
stances— a master or an equal, a king or a citizen. He loses
nothing by thus accommodating himseK in private, provided
that on other occasions he shows himself equally able in po-
litical and military affairs ; the courtier will never forget that
he is in the presence of his master."
But the Emperor was by no means disposed to adopt
these axioms, and, from design as well as from inclination,
he never relaxed his kingly state. And, indeed, a usurper
could, perhaps, hardly do so with impunity.
When the hour struck for us to leave our childish games
in order to present ourselves before him, the expression of
every face became constrained. Each of us wore a serious
countenance, as we proceeded slowly and ceremoniously to
the great apartments. Hand in hand, we entered the Em-
press's anteroom. A chamberlain announced the names.
Then, sooner or later, we were received — sometimes only
those who had the entree, at other times everybody. "We
silently fell into our places, as I have said before, and lis-
BONAPARTE ANORT. 569
tened to the few and vague phrases the Emperor addressed
to each. Wearied like us, he soon called for the card-
tables, to which we would sit down for appearance' sake, and
shortly after the Emperor would retire. ^Nearly every even-
ing he sent for M. de Talleyrand, with whom he sat up far
into the night.
The state of Europe at this time was, doubtless, the ordi-
nary subject of their conversations. The expedition of the
English into Denmark had greatly angered the Emperor.
He found himself totally unable to assist his ally, and this,
added to the destruction of the Danish fleet and the block-
ade established everywhere by English ships, made him
eagerly seek every opportunity of harming them. He ex-
acted with greater urgency than ever that his allies should
devote themselves to carrying out his vengeance. The Em-
peror of Eussia, who had taken steps toward a general peace,
having been repulsed by the English Government, threw
himself thoroughly into the alliance with Bonaparte. On
the 26th of October he made a declaration, by which he an-
nounced that he had broken off all communication with Eng-
land up to the time when she should enter into a treaty of
peace with us. His ambassador. Count Tolstoi, arrived at
Fontainebleau shortly afterward ; he was received with great
honor, and included among the " members of the Journey,"
as it was called.
At the beginning of the month a rupture took place be-
tween ourselves and Portugal. The Prince Eegent of that
kingdom * gave no support to those continental prohibitions
which so harassed the people. Bonaparte grew angry ; vio-
lent paragraphs against the house of Braganza appeared in
the newspapers, the ambassadors were recalled, and our army
entered Spain in order to march on Lisbon. Junot was in
command. In November the Prince Regent, seeing he
could offer no resistance to such an invasion, resolved to
* The Queen, his mother, wa3 still living, but she was insane.
570 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
emigrate from Europe, and to go and reign in Brazil. He
embarked on the 29th of November.
The Spanish Government had taken good care not to op-
pose the passage of the French troops through its territories.
A great deal of scheming was going on at that time between
the Court of Madrid and that of France. For a long time
past there had been a close correspondence between the
Prince of the Peace and Murat. The Prince, absolute mas-
ter of his King's mind, and the implacable enemy of the In-
fante Don Ferdinand, heir to the throne, had devoted him-
self to Bonaparte and served him zealously. He repeatedly
promised Murat to satisfy him on every point, and the latter,
in return, was instructed to promise him a crown (the " king-
dom of the Algarves"), and efficient support from us. A
crowd of schemers, both French and Spanish, were mixed
up in all this. They deceived Bonaparte and Murat as to
the true spirit of Spain, and they most carefully concealed
that the Prince of the Peace was hated throughout the king-
dom. Having gained over this Minister, we fancied our-
selves masters of the country, and we fell willfully into
many errors for which we have since had to pay very dearly.
M. de Talleyrand was not always consulted or believed
on these points. Better informed than Murat, he often
spoke to the Emperor of the true state of the case, but he
was suspected of being jealous of Murat. The latter assert-
ed that it was to injure him that Talleyrand threw a doubt
upon the success for which the Prince of the Peace made
himself answerable, and Bonaparte allowed himself to be
deceived. It has been said that the Prince of the Peace
made enormous presents to Murat ; the latter flattered him-
self that, after betraying the Spanish Minister, and by his
means causing a rupture between the King of Spain and his
son, and finaEy bringing about the wished-for revolution, he
would have the throne of Spain as his reward ; and, dazzled
by this prospect, he would not permit himself to doubt the
truth of all the flattery that was lavished upon him.
CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE KING OF SPAIN. 571
It happened that a conspiracy was suddenly formed at
Madiid against the King ; Prince Ferdinand was accused in
the reports that were made to King Charles, and whether
there was truth in the matter,, or it was only a wretched in-
trigue against the life of the young Prince, the charge was
published widely. The King of Spain, having caused his
son to be put on his trial before a tribunal, suffered himself
to be disarmed by the letters which fear dictated to the In-
fante— letters in which he acknowledged his crime, real or
pretended— and the Court was in a deplorable state of tur-
moil. The King's weakness was extreme; he was infatu-
ated with his Minister, who ruled over the Queen with all
the authority of a master and former lover. The Queen de-
tested her son, to whom the Spanish nation was attached in
consequence of the hatred inspired by the Prince of the
Peace. There was in this situation sufficient to flatter the
Emperor's hopes. If we add the state of Spain itself, the
political incapacity of the effete nobility, the ignorance of
the people, the influence of the clergy, the prevalence of
superstition, the miserable state of the finances, the influ-
ence which the English Government was trying to gain, and
the occupation of Portugal by the French, it is plain that
such a condition of things threatened revolution.
I had often heard M. de Talleyrand talking to M. de Ee-
musat of the situation of Spain. Once, when he was con-
versing with us about the estabKshment of Bonaparte's dy-
nasty, he said, " A Prince of the house of Bourbon is but a
bad neighbor for him, and I do not think he will be able to
retain him." But at this date, in ISOT, M. de Talleyrand,
thoroughly well informed as to the real disposition of Spain,
was of opinion that, far from intriguing by means of a man
of so little capacity and so ill esteemed as the Prince of the
Peace, the way to propitiate the nation was by procuring his
dismissal, and, if the King refused this, by declaring war,
taking part with the people against him, and, according to
events, either dethroning all the Bourbon family or making
AA
573 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE rMUSAT.
a compromise in- Bonaparte's interest by marrying Prince
Ferdinand to a lady of tlie Imperial house. It was toward
this latter plan that M. de Talleyrand was most inclined,
and he predicted even then to the Emperor that any other
line of conduct would involve him in difficulties.
One of the greatest defects of Bonaparte — I do not know
if I have already mentioned it — was to jumble all men to-
gether on the level of his own views, ignoring the differ-
ences in character which manners and customs produce. He
looked upon the Spaniards as he looked upon any other na-
tion. He knew that in France the progress of skepticism
had led to indifference toward the priests, and he persuaded
himself that, by holding forth oh the other side of the Pyre-
nees in the philosophic language which had preceded the
French Eevolution, he would induce the inhabitants of Spain
to join the movement which had carried away the French.
" When I come," said he, " with the words liberty, delmer-
ancefrom superstition, destruotion of the nobility, inscribed
upon my banner, I shall be received as I was in Italy, and
all truly national classes will be with me. I shall rouse a
once generous people from their inertia; I shall develop
them in industry which will increase their wealth, and you
will see that I shall be looked upon as the liberator of Spain."
Murat carried some of this talk to the Prince of the
Peace, who did not fail to assure him that such results were,
in fact, highly probable. M. de Talleyrand's warnings were
vain ; they would not listen to him. This was the first check
to his influence, and it shook it at first imperceptibly, but
his enemies took advantage of it. M. Maret adopted the
tone of Murat, finding that it pleased the Emperor. The
Minister for Foreign Affairs, humiliated at being reduced to
functions of which M. de Talleyrand took the best part from
him, thought proper to adopt and hold a different opinion
from his. The Emperor, thus circumvented, allowed him-
self to be deceived, and a few months later embarked in this
perfidious and deplorable enterprise.
Jf. DE TALLETRAND. 573
"While we were at Fontainebleau, I saw a great deal of
M. de Talleyrand. He often came to my apartment, and
seemed to be amused by my observations about our Court ;
he also gave me his own opinions, which were entertaining.
Sometimes, indeed, our conversations took a serious turn.
He would come in wearied or even displeased with the Em-
peror, and would then dwell upon the more or less hidden
vices of his character ; and, thus enlightening me with truly
funereal gleams, he fixed my as yet unsettled opinions, and
caused me much sincere concern.
One evening, when more communicative than usual, he
told me some of the anecdotes which I have related in these
pages ; and, as he was insisting strongly on what he called
the Tcnavery of our master, representing him as incapable of
a single generous sentiment, he was astonished to observe
that, as I listened, I was weeping silently. " What is it ? "
he exclaimed. "What is the matter with you?" "The
matter is," I replied, " that you make me really wretched.
You politicians do not want to feel any affection for those
you serve. As for me, a poor woman, how do you suppose
I can endure the disgust your stories inspire, and what will
become of me if I must remain where I am without being
able to retain a single illusion ? "
" Child that you are," replied M. de Talleyrand, " must
you always want to put your heart into all you do ? Take
my advice : do not try to feel any affection for this man, but
rest assured that, with all his faults, he is at present necessary
to France. He knows how to uphold the country, and each
of us ought to do his best to aid him. However," added he,
" if he listens to the sage advice he is receiving at present, I
will not answer for anything. He is now embarked in a
pitiable intrigue. Murat wants to be Eng of Spain ; they
are cajoling the Prince of the Peace, and want to gain him
over, as if he had any importance in Spain ! It is fine policy
for the Emperor to arrive in a country with the reputation
of a close alliance with a detested minister ! I know well
574 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE MEMUSAT.
enough that he deceives that minister, and will throw him
over when he perceives that he counts for nothing ; but he
might have spared himself this despicable perfidy.
" The Emperor will not see that he was called by his
destiny to be everywhere and always the man of the nations,
the founder of useful and possible innovations. To restore
religion, morality, and order to France ; to applaud the civili-
zation of England while restraining her policy ; to strengthen
his frontiers by the Confederation of the Khine ; to make
Italy a kingdom independent both of Austria and himself ;
to keep the Czar shut up at home, by creating the natural
barrier which Poland offers — these are what ought to have
been the Emperor's designs, and it was to these that each of
my treaties was leading him. But ambition, anger, pride,
and the fools to whom he listens, often mislead him. He
suspects me whenever I speak to him of ' moderation ' ; and,
if ever he ceases to trust me, you will see he will compromise
both himself and us by imprudence and folly. Nevertheless,
I shall watch over him to the end. I have associated myself
with the creation of his Empire ; I should like it to hold to-
gether as my last work ; and, so long as I can see my way to
the success of my plan, I wiU not renounce it."
The confidence which M. de Talleyrand reposed in me
pleased me very much. He soon saw how well founded it
was, and that, both by taste and by habit, I brought perfect
trustworthiness to our friendly intercourse. With mo he en-
joyed the rare pleasure of being able to speak freely, to give
vent to his feelings without any misgivings, and this just
when he felt inclined ; for I never sought his confidences,
and I always stopped where he pleased. As he was endowed
with great tact, he quickly discerned my reserve and discre-
tion, and they formed a new link between us. When his
business or our duties gave us a little leisure, he would come
to my rooms, where we three passed a good deal of time to-
gether. In proportion as M. de Talleyrand grew more friend-
ly toward me, I felt more at my ease with him, I resumed
AN AGREEABLE PROSPECT. 575
the manners natural to my disposition, the little prejudice of
which I have spoken melted away, and I gave myself up to
a pleasure all the greater to me that it was to be found with-
in the walls of a palace where solicitude, fear, and mediocrity
hindered all real companionship between its inmates.
This intimacy, moreover, became very useful to us. M.
de Talleyrand, aa I have said, talked to the Emperor about
us, and convinced him that we were well qualified to keep
a great house, and to entertain the foreigners who would
undoubtedly frequent Paris in great numbers thenceforth.
Upon this the Emperor determined to give us the means of
establishing ourselves in Paris in handsome style. He in-
creased M. de Eemusat's salary on the condition that, on his
return to Paris, he should set up a house ; he appointed him
superintendent of the Imperial theatres. M. de Talleyrand
was commissioned to announce these favors to us, and I was
very happy to owe them to him. This moment was the cul-
minating point of our position, for it opened to us an agree-
able prospect of ease and many opportunities of amusement.
We received several congratulations, and we experienced the
gi'eatest, the only pleasure of a life passed at Court — I mean
that of becoming important.
In the midst of all these things the Emperor worked in-
cessantly, and issued decrees almost daily. Some of these
were of great utility. For example, he improved the public
offices in the departments, increased the salaries of the cures,
and reestablished the Sisters of Charity. He caused a sena-
tus consuUum to declare the judges irremovable at the end of
five years. He also took care to encourage talent, especially
when his own glory was the aim of its efforts. The " Tri-
omphe de Trajan " was given at the Paris Opera. The poem
was by Esmenard, and both he and the composer received
presents. The work admitted of significant appUcations.
Trajan was represented burning papers that contained the
secret of a conspiracy with his own hand. This recalled
what Bonaparte had done at Berlin. The triumph of Trajan
42
576 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
was represented with magnificent pomp. The decorations
were superb ; the conqueror appeared in a chariot drawn by
four white horses. All Paris flocked to the spectacle ; the
applause was unstinted, and charmed the Emperor. Soon
afterward " La Vestale," the libretto by Mme. Jouy, the
music by Spontini, was performed. This work, which is
good as a poem, and remarkable as a musical composition,
also included a " triumph," which was much applauded, and
the authors received a liberal recompense.
About this time the Emperor appointed M. de Caulain-
court ambassador to St. Petersburg. He had great trouble
in inducing him to accept this mission ; M. de Caulaincourt
was very reluctant to part from a person whom he loved, and
he refused. Bonaparte at length, by dint of flattering and
affectionate persuasions, brought him to consent, promising
that his brilliant exile should not be prolonged beyond two
years. An immense sum was granted to the ambassador for
the expenses of his establishment, and his salary was fixed at
from seven to eight hundred thousand francs. The Em-
peror charged him to eclipse all the other ambassadors in
splendor. On his arrival at St. Petersburg, M. de Caulain-
court found himself at first in an emban-assing position.
The crime of the death of the Due d'Enghien had left a
stain upon him. The Empress-Mother would not see him ;
a great number of ladies refused to receive him. The Czar
received him graciously, and soon conceived a liking for him,
which grew into friendship ; and then the great world, fol-
lowing his example, treated the ambassador with less severity.
When the Emperor learned that a mere memory of this kind
had affected the position of his ambassador, he was aston-
ished. " What ! " said he, " do they remember that old
story ? " He made use of the same expression every time
he found that the circumstance was not forgotten, which in-
deed was frequently ; and he would add : " What childish-
ness ! Kevertheless, what is done, is done."
Prince Eugene was Arch-Chancellor of State. M. de
DIFFICULTIES OF TEE MARSHALS. 577
Talleyrand had to replace the Prince in the discharge of the
functions attached to that post ; so that the former united a
number of dignities in his own person. The Emperor also
began to settle great revenues on his marshals and generals,
and to found those fortunes which seemed immense, and
which were destined to disappear with himself. A man
would find himself endowed with a considerable revenue,
perhaps declared proprietor of a vast number of leagues of
territory in Poland, Hanover, or Westphalia. But there
were great difficulties about realizing the revenues. The
conquered countries gave them up rehictantly, and the agents
sent to collect them found themselves in an embarrassing po-
sition. Transactions and concessions became inevitable; a
portion of the promised sums only could be had. Neverthe-
less, the desire of pleasing the Emperor, the taste for luxury,
an imprudent confidence in the future, induced these men to
place their expenditure on the footing of the presumed in-
come which they expected to receive. Debts accumulated,
embarrassments cropped up, in the midst of this seeming
opulence; the public, beholding extreme luxury, took im-
mense fortunes for granted ; and yet nothing real, nothing
secure, was at the bottom of all this.
We have seen most of the Marshals coming to the Em-
peror, when pressed by their creditors, to solicit aid, which
he granted according to his fancy, or the interests to be
served by binding certain persons to himseK. These de-
mands became excessive, and perhaps the necessity for sat-
isfying them counted for much among the motives of the
subsequent wars. Marshal ISTey bought a house ; its pur-
chase and the sums expended upon it cost him more than a
million, and he has since complained bitterly of the difficul-
ties into which this purchase threw him. Marshal Davoust
was in the same case. The Emperor prescribed to each of
his marshals the purchase of a house, which involved a great
establishment and large expenditure in furniture. Rich
stuffs and precious objects of all kinds adorned these dwell-
578 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT,
ings; splendid services of plate glittered on the Marshals'
tables. Their wives wore valuable jewels ; their eqilipages
and dress cost great sums. This display pleased Bonaparte,
satisfied the shopkeepers, dazzled everybody, and, by remov-
ing individuals from their proper sphere, augmented their
dependence on the Emperor — in fact, perfectly carried out
his intentions.
During this time the old nobility of France lived sim-
ply, collecting its ruins together, finding itself under no
particular obligations, boasting of its poverty rather than
complaining, but in reality recovering its estates by de-
grees, and reamassing those fortunes which at the present
day it enjoys. The confiscations of the National Convention
were not always a misfortune for the French nobility, espe-
cially in cases where the lands were not sold. Before the
Eevolation that class was heavily in debt, for extravagance
was one of the luxuries of our former grands seigneurs.
The emigration and the laws of 1T93, by depriving them of
their estates, set them free from their, creditors, and from
a certain portion of the charges that weighed upon great
houses ; and, when they recovered their property, they prof-
ited by that liberation, which, in truth, they had bought at a
high price. I remember that M. Gaudin, Minister of Fi-
nance, i-elated once before me how the Emperor had asked
him which was the most heavily taxed class in France, and
he had answered that it was still that of the old nobihty.
Bonaparte seemed uneasy at this, and remarked, " But we
must take order with that."
Under the Empire a certain number of tolerably large
fortunes were made ; several persons, military men espe-
cially, who had nothing formerly, found themselves in pos-
session of ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand livres per annum,
because, in proportion as they were remote from the observa-
tion of the Emperor, they could live according to their own
fancy, and expend their income with order and economy.
Of those immense fortunes with which the grandees of
GENERAL RANSOUTY. 579
Bonaparte's Court were so gratuitously accredited, but little
remains ; and on this point, as on many others, the party
who, on the return of the King, thought that the state
might be enriched by seizing upon the treasures supposed to
be amassed under the Empire, advised an arbitrary and vex-
atious measure which led to no result.
At this period my family had a share in the gifts of the
Emperor. My brother-in-law, General Nansouty, was given
the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. He had been
First Chamberlain to the Empress, and was made First
Equerry, replacing M. de Caulaincourt in his absence. He
received a grant of thirty thousand francs in Hanover, and
one hundred thousand francs for the purchase of a house,
which might, if he chose, be of greater value, but which
became inalienable by the fact of this grant. The amount
went toward its price.
CHAPTEE XXVII.
(1807-1808.)
Projects of Divorce.
I THINK it well to devote a separate chapter to the eveBts
which were taking place at Fontainebleau in connection
with the Emperor's divorce at this time. Although Bona-
parte had not spoken to his wife on the subject for some
years, except on occasions when he had some quarrel with
her, and those occasions had become exceedingly rare in
consequence of the amiability and self-control of the Em-
press, it is nevertheless probable that he never entirely lost
sight of the idea. The death of the eldest son of Louis had
deeply impressed him. His victories, while increasing his
power, had also expanded his ideas of greatness; and his
policy, as well as his vanity, was concerned in an alliance
with a European sovereign. The rumor was at first spread
that Napoleon had cast his eyes on the daughter of the King
of Saxony; but an alliance with that Princess would not
have procured him any valuable support for his continental
authority. The King of Saxony reigned only because France
authorized him to reign. Besides this, his daughter was now
at least thirty years of age, and by no means handsome.
Bonaparte, on his return from Tilsit, spoke of her to his
wife in a manner which set Josephine's mind completely at
ease.
The conferences at Tilsit very reasonably inflated Napo-
PROJECTS OF BIVORGE. 681
leon's pride. The admiration which the young Czar felt for
him, the assent which he yielded to certain of his projects,
especially to the dismemberment of Spain, the complaisance
of his new ally with regard to his wishes, all combined to
lead ISTapoleon to form designs of a closer alliance. Wo
doubt he spoke openly of these to M. de Talleyrand, but I
do not think that anything was said about them to the Czar ;
the whole matter was referred to a future, more or less near,
according to circumstances.
The Emperor returned to France. On rejoining his wife,
he once more yielded to that sort of affection with which
she always inspired him, and which was sometimes a trouble
to him, because it rendered him uncomfortable when he had
deeply grieved her.
On one occasion, when he was talking with her about the
quarrels of the King of Holland and his wife, the death of
the young Napoleon, and the delicate health of the only
child remaining to the ill-assorted pair, he spoke of the obli-
gation which might one day be imposed upon himself of
taking a wife who should give him children. He approached
the subject with some emotion, and added : " If such a thing
should happen, Josephine, it will be for you to help me to
make the sacrifice. I shall count upon your love to save me
from all the odium of a forced rupture. You would take
the initiative, would you not ? Ton would enter into my
position, and you would have the courage to withdraw ? "
The Empress knew her husband's character too well to facili-
tate beforehand, by one imprudent word, the step which she
repelled as much as she could ; so that during this conversa-
tion, far from leading him to hope that she would contribute
to soften the effect of such a proceeding by her conduct, she
assured him that she would obey his orders, but that she
would never anticipate them. She made this reply in that
calm and dignified tone which she always did well to assume
toward Bonaparte, and it was not without effect. " Sire,"
said she (it should be remarked that from the beginning of
582 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BJ^MUSAT.
his reign she always addressed him, even when they were
alone, with the forms of ceremonious respect), " you are the
master, and you shall decide my fate. If you should order
me to quit the Tuileries, I will obey on the instant ; but the
least you can do is to give me that order in a positive man-
ner. I am your wife ; I have been crowned by you in the
presence of the Pope. Such honors, at least, demand that
they should not be voluntaidly renounced. If you- divorce
me, all France shall know that it is you who send me away,
and shall be ignorant neither of my obedience nor of my
profound grief." This manner of replying, which was
always the same, did not annoy the Emperor, and even
seemed occasionally to touch him ; for, when on several oc-
casions he recurred to the subject, he frequently wept, and.
was genuinely agitated by contending feelings.
Mme. Bonaparte, who retained her self-control so admi-
rably while in his presence, gave way to excessive emotion
on relating to me all that had passed. Sometimes she wept
bitterly ; at other moments she would dwell on the ingrati-
tude of such conduct. She recalled to mind that when she
married Bonaparte he had considered himself highly honored
by her alliance, and she asserted that it was an odious deed
to repudiate her in his. greatness, after she had consented to
share his low fortunes. Sometimes she became so excited
that she even yielded to apprehensions concerning her per-
sonal safety. " I will never give in to him ; I will demean
myself entirely as his victim ; but, if I stand too resolutely
in his way, who can tell of what he would be capable, or
whether he would resist the necessity of getting rid of me ! "
When she spoke thus, I made every effort to calm her imagi-
nation, which no doubt led her too far. "Whatever I might
think, of the facility with which Bonaparte yielded to politi-
cal necessity, I did not believe for a moment that he would
be capable of conceiving and executing the black designs
of which she then suspected him. But he had acted in such
a way on several occasions, and he had used such language,
PROJEGTS OF DIVORCE. 583
that it was not wonderful that .misery such as hers should
inspire her with suspicions of the sort. And, although I
solemnly declare that in raj conscience I did not believe he
had ever contemplated such a means of getting out of his
difficulty, I was unable to make any other reply to the Em-
press than, " Madame, be quite sure that he is not capable
of going so far."
For my own part, I was astonished that a woman so com-
pletely disenchanted concerning her husband, tortured by a
dreadful suspicion, detached from every affection, and indif-
ferent to fame, should hold so strongly to the enjoyment of
such a precarious royalty ; but, seeing that nothing availed
to disgust her with it, I contented myself with entreating
her, as I had always done, to keep silence, and to maintain
her calm, sorrowful, but determined attitude in the presence
of the Emperor, for I knew well that by these means only
could she turn aside or delay the storm. He knew that his
wife was generally beloved. Day by day public opinion
was becoming alienated from him, and he was afraid of in-
censing it.
When the Empress confided her sorrows to her daughter,
she did not, as I. have already said, find her very capable of
tmderstanding her. Since the death of her child, the sor-
rows of vanity had appeared more than ever inexplicable to
Queen Hortense, and her sole answer to her mother always
was, " How can any one regret a throne ? "
Mme. de la Rochefoucauld, to whom Mme. Bonaparte
also spoke, "was, as I have said, somewhat frivolous, and
passed over everything as lightly as she could. The burden
of the Empress's confidence fell, therefore, upon me. The
Emperor was aware of the fact, but did not at that time
resent it to me. I know he even said to M. de Talleyrand,
" It must be acknowledged that the Empress is well advised."
When his passions gave his intellect a chance, he could esti-
mate fairly and wisely enough conduct which embaiTassed
him, provided it only embarrassed him a little, because he
584: MEMOIRS OP MADAME BE RSMUSAT.
always knew that when he chose he could surmount the light
obstacles that were opposed to him ; and he allowed one to
play one's own cards, because he knew that in the end he
should none the less surely win the game.*
* My father has often quoted this reflection, and many others of the same
kind which occur in these Memoirs, to prove that it was more possible than has
been supposed to oppose the Emperor successfully, and that he was sometimes
capable of enduring contradiction. The impossibility of opposing his plans, or
even of inducing him to hesitate, is his servants' best excuse for their own do-
cility. It is very probable that a more frequent opposition would have acted
upon him, and he was capable of understanding and accepting it at certain mo-
ments ; the difficulty was, doubtless, to discern these moments, and to avoid
rousing, if not his anger, at least his vanity. My father knew from those who
had often spoken with him that this could be done, and that persons who flat-
tered him in tete-ct-tete conversation were unpardonable. His intellect, which
was in general penetrating and just, forced him to yield, at least temporarily, to
the truth. He was even capable of a certain impartiality which he. liked to
parade. I knew two examples of this, which deserve to be recorded.
The first relates to a certain conversation between the Emperor and the son
of Mme. do Stael, just after his return from Italy on the 2Sth of December,
1807. Bourrienne has narrated with tolerable exactness in his Memoirs all
that passed. It was after this interview that the Emperor said, " How can the
Necker family be for the Bourbons, whose first duty, if they ever came back
into France, would be to hang them all ? "
My father learned the following details of this interview: "Auguste de
Stael told me that, after his mother had been exiled, he was obliged to appeal
to the Emperor himself about a claim to a sum of two millions, I think, which
Nocker had left as security in the public treasury. Auguste was straightfor-
ward and upright, and had very exalted moral sentiments, and perfect rectitude
of intention and principle ; and, although he was very young, he did not hesi-
tate to acquit himself of a difficult commission at his mother's desire. He saw
the Emperor, explained his business to him, and was listened to with attention
and even with kindness, although, in fact, the demand never was acceded to
under the Emperor's reign. When he had concluded his statements and was
about to take leave. Napoleon said to him : ' And you, yoxmg man — what do
you do ? What do you intend to be ? One must be something in this
world : what are your plans ? ' ' Sire, I can be nothing in France ; I can not
serve a Government which persecutes my mother.' ' Quite right ; but then, as
by your birth you can bo something out of France, why not go to England ? For,
you see, there are only two nations, France and England ; all the rest are no-
thing.' This saying struck Auguste de Stael most of all the Emperor's conver-
sation ; he regarded it as a great proof of impartiality of mind that the Em-
peror should give this high rank among nations to England, a country with
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 585
Meanwhile we went to Fontainebleau, and tlie fetes, the
presence of foreign princes, and above all the drama which
Bonaparte was preparing for Spain, diverted his mind from
the question of the divorce, and at first everything went
smoothly enough.
My friendship with Talleyrand became confirmed, and
the Empress was rejoiced at this, because she hoped that
when occasion arose it would be useful, or at least conve-
nient, to herself. I have said that just then the sovereigns
of the duchy of Berg and Fouche the Minister of Police
were scheming in concert. Mme. Murat always contrived
to quarrel with anybody who was about the Empress, and
spared no pains for that end. Talleyrand and Fouche were
which he could not live in peace, and which ho made his orators and his journals
insult every day."
Here is a second example of this impartiality of mind. " After the battle
of Torres Vedras," said my father, " General Foy was charged, by his principal
comrades of the Army of Portugal, to endeavor to see the Emperor on return-
ing to France, to make known to him the true state of things, and, lastly, to
explain that another general than Massena was necessary, age and infirmity
having rendered that illustrious warrior unequal to such a command. The
army wanted General Soult. Foy had the sentiments and the position which
Marmont describes in his Memoirs, and which he owed to the friendship of the
latter, who gave him shelter in his camp when he escaped after Moreau's trial.
He did not like the Emperor, and did not know him, and the Emperor neither
liked nor knew him ; nevertheless, he received him, and Foy acquitted himself of
his commission, making his statements and his reflections. The Emperor heard
him, questioned him, and talked to him. He discussed Massena and Soult,
criticising them as freely as if he had been speaking to a familiar confidant.
Ills opinions of the Marshals, in general, were those which we know. Some
were not to be relied upon ; others were stupid. I can not enter into the details,
as I might make a mistake, but once he said, suddenly, ' Ah ! tell me, my sol-
diers fight?' 'How, Sire? Of course they do.' 'But are they afraid of the
English soldiers ? ' ' Sire, they respect them, but they are not afraid of them.'
' No, no ? And yet the English have always beaten them — Cressy, Agincourt,
Malplaquet — ' ' It seems to me. Sire, that at the battle of Fontenoy — ' ' Ah !
the battle of Fontenoy ; that was a day which prolonged the monarchy forty
years beyond the time it ought to have lasted.' The interview occupied three
hours. Foy recalled it with the greatest pleasure, and he added, ' Ever since that
day I have not loved the Empire any better, but I have passionately admired
the Emperor.' "—P. E.
586 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^UUSAT.
jealous and distrustful of eaoli other, and at this period the
great importance of the former gave umbrage to all.
About two or three weeks before the end of our sojourn
at Fontainebleau the Minister of Police arrived one morning.
He remained a long time in the Emperor's cabinet, and was
afterward invited to dine with him, an honor rarely accorded
to any one. During dinner Bonaparte was in high spirits.
Some sort of amusement, I forget what, filled up the evening.
Toward midnight, when every one had retired, one of the
Empress's attendants knocked at my door. My maid told
him I had gone to bed. The man replied that I need not
get up, but that the Empress begged my husband would
come to her at once.
M. de Eemusat, who had not yet left my room, imme-
diately repaired to the Empress's apartment. He found her
half undressed, pale, and in great agitation. She sent away
her women, and, exclaiming that she was lost, placed in my
husband's hands a long letter, written upon large paper, and
signed by Fouehe himseK. In this letter Eouche began by
protesting that his former devotion to her was quite unal-
tered, and assuring her that it was in consequence of that
sentiment he ventured to ask her to consider her position
and the Emperor's. He represented the Emperor as all-
powerful, depicted him at the height of his glory, sovereign
master of France, but accountable to that same France for
the present and for the future which were confided to him.
"We must not disguise from. ourselves, Madame," said he,
" that the political future of France is compromised by the
want of an heir to the Emperor. As Minister of Police, I
am placed in a position to judge of public opinion, and
I know that the succession to such an empire gives rise to
public uneasiness. Picture to yourself what would be the
strength of his Majesty's throne to-day, if it were supported
by the existence of a son." This advantage was dwelt upon
skillfully and at length, as indeed it might well be. Fouehe
then spoke of the opposition between the conjugal afiection
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 587
of the Emperor and Ms policy. He foresaw that he would
never bruig himself to prescribe so grievous a sacrifice, and
he therefore ventured to advise Mme. Bonaparte to make a
courageous effort on her own part, to resign herself, to im-
molate herself for France ; and he drew a very pathetic pic-
ture of the eolat which such an action would cast upon her
now and in the future. Lastly, the letter ended with a
declaration that the Emperor was quite ignorant of its hav-
ing been written, that the writer knew it would be displeas-
ing to him, and earnestly entreated the Empress to keep it a
profoimd secret.
We may easily imagine all the oratorical phrases that
adorned this letter, which had every appearance of having
been written with care and reflection. The first thought of
M. de Hemusat was that Fouche had not attempted such a
proceeding without an understanding with the Emperor ; he,
however, took good care not to indicate this conviction to the
Empress, who was making visible efforts to repel the same
suspicion on her own part, while her tears and agitation
proved that she dared not count upon the Emperor on this
occasion. " What shall I do ? " asked she. " How shall I
avert this storm ? " " Madame," said M. de Eemusat, " I
strongly advise you to go this instant to the Emperor's room,
if he has not yet retired, or, at all events, to go to him very
early to-morrow. Kemember that you must seem to have
consulted nobody. Make him read that letter ; watch him
if you can, but at any rate show him that you are angry at
this side-winded advice, and declare to him anew that you
will only obey positive orders pronounced by himself."
The Empress adopted this advice. She begged my hus-
band to tell M. de Talleyrand all that had occurred, and to
report to her what he said ; then, as it was late, she put off
her conversation with the Emperor until the next morning.
When she showed Bonaparte the letter, he affected to be ex-
tremely angry, and declared that he was totally ignorant of
this proceeding ; that Fouche had exhibited quite uncalled-
588 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EJ^MUSAT.
for zeal, and fhat, if he had not set out for Paris, he should
have been severely reprimanded. The Emperor added that
he -would jDunish the Minister of Police if the Empress
wished it, and would even go so far as to remove him from
the Ministry, should she exact such a reparation. He accom-
panied this declaration with many caresses ; hut his manner
did not convince the Empress, who told me the same day
that she was aware he was greatly embarrassed during this
explanation.
In the mean time the matter was discussed between my
husband and myseH. We saw very clearly that Fouche had
been induced to take this step by a superior order, and we
said to each other that, if the Emperor were seriously think-
ing of divorce, it was exceedingly unlikely Talleyrand would
be opposed to the step. What was" our surprise to find that
at this moment he was so ! Talleyrand listened to us very
attentively, and like a man who was totally unaware of what
had happened. He considered Fouche's letter improper and
ridiculous, and added that the idea of the divorce appeared
to him utterly mistaken. He took vaj view, and that vehe-
mently ; advised that the Empress should take a very high
tone with the Minister of Police, and should tell him that he
had no business to interfere in such a matter. He added
that, if the affair Avere ever arranged, it ought to be settled
without any go-between. The Empress was delighted with
this advice, and she and I together composed a cold and dig-
nified reply to Fouche's letter. Talleyrand read and ap-
proved of this, and desired us to show it to the Emperor,
who, he said, would not venture to find fault with it. He
was right; and Bonaparte, who had not yet made up his
mind, continued to play the same part, to exhibit increasing
anger, to indulge in violent threats, and to declare with so
much iteration that he would dismiss the Minister of Police if
she wished it, that the Empress, tranquillized by degrees and
deceived anew, ceased to feel any resentment toward Fouche,
whom she no longer feared, and refused the offered repara-
PROJECTS OF BIVOSOE. 589
tion, telling her husband that she would not on any account
have him deprive himself of the services of a man who was
useful to him, and that it would be enough if he " scolded
him well."
Fouche came back to Fontainebleau a few days afterward.
In Mme. Bonaparte's pregence her husband treated him with
scrupulous coldness ; but the Minister did not seem to mind
that in the least, which confirmed me in my belief that the
whole thing had been arranged. He repeated to the Em-
press all that he had written. The Emperor told his wife
that he went over precisely the same ground with him. " It
is an excess of zeal," said he. " We must not be angry with
him for it ; it is quite enough that we are determined to
reject his advice, and you Iniow well that I could not live
without you." * Bonaparte repeated these same words to his
wife day and night. He was much more with her than he
had recently been, was really agitated, would take her in his
arms and protest the most passionate love; and in these
scenes, which were at first, as I believe, acted for a purpose,
he involuntarily became quite carried away, and ended by
experiencing sincere emotion.
All that he said was confided to me, and I repeated it to
Talleyrand, who dictated the line of conduct to be observed.
His advice steadily tended to avert the divorce, and he guided
Mme. Bonaparte very well. I could not refrain from letting
him see that I was somewhat astonished he should oppose
a project which had certainly a reasonable political aspect,
and that he should take so much interest in the purely domes-
tic side of the affair. He replied that it was not altogether
so domestic as I imagined. " There is nobody," he said, " in
* The Emperor wrote to Fouche from Fontainebleau, on the 5th of Novem-
ber, 1807, the following letter:
"MoNSiEtTE Focche: For a fortnight past I have been hearing of follies on
your part ; it is time that you should put an end to them, and that you should
cease to meddle, directly or indirectly, in a matter that can not possibly concern
you in any way. Such is my will." — P. K.
590 MEM0TR8 OF MADAME T)E RT&MUSAT.
the palace who ought not to desire that this woman should
remain with Bonaparte. She is gentle and good, she has the
art of keeping him quiet, and she enters quite sufficiently
into everybody's position. She is a refuge for us on a thou-
sand occasions. If a Princess were to come here, we should
find the Emperor break with all the Gourt, and we should
all be crushed."
Giving me these reasons, Talleyrand convinced me that he
was speaking sincerely ; but yet he was not telling me all his
secret, for, while he repeated to me that we must all unite to
avert the divorce, he frequently asked me what would be-
come of me if by any chance the Emperor carried the plan
into effect. I replied that without hesitation I should share
the fate of my Empress. " But," said he, " do you loVe her
weU enough to do that ? " " Certainly," I replied, " I am
attached to her ; nevertheless, as I know her well, as I know
her to be frivolous and hardly capable of a steady affection,
it would not be the dictates of my heart that I should follow
on this occasion, so much as those of propriety. I came to
this Court through Mme. Bonaparte's influence ; I have al-
ways passed in the eyes of the world as her intimate friend ;
I have had the burden and the confidence of that friendship ;
and, although she has been too much taken up with her own
position to care much about me, although she has thrown me
aside and taken me up again, as it suited her convenience, the
public, who can not enter into the secrets of our mutual rela-
tions, and to whom I shall not confide them, would, I am
sure, be astonished if I did not share her exile." " But,"
said Talleyrand, "this would gratuitously put you into a
position which might be very unpleasant for yourself and
your husband, and would perhaps separate you. You would
have to encounter many small difficulties, for which assured-
ly she would not pay you." " I know that as well as you,"
said I. " She is changeable and even whimsical. I can fore-
see that in such a case she would be at first very grateful for
my devotion, then she would get used to it, and finally she
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 591
would think no more about it. But her character shall not
prevent me from acting in accordance with my own, and I
will do*what seems to be my duty without expecting the
smallest reward."
In fact, when speaking, about this time, of the chances of
the divorce, I promised the Empress that I would leave the
Court if ever she left it. She seemed deeply touched by
this declaration, which I made with tears and sincere emo-
tion. Assuredly she ought to have resisted the suspicions
which she afterward conceived against me, and of which I
shall give an account in due time.* I placed only one re-
* The author indicates in this passage, and in another, that, at a later period,
and on the occasion of the divorce, the Empress conceiTed some unjust distrust
of her. I have absolutely no data upon this fact, which had apparently some
importance, because she promises to revert to it. It is, therefore, the more to
be regretted that she was not able to continue this work, at least down to the
epoch of the Emperor's divorce. These scenes, forerunners of the event, give
us a glimpse of the mixture of cunning and impulse, emotion and acting, weak-
ness and obstinacy, which characterized him in so many matters, but in none so
strongly as in his rupture with perhaps the only person whom he ever loved.
It would have been interesting to read the account of the whole, related by one
who had had such opportunities of obsei'ving the actors in the drama. As for
her, she preserved a constant fidelity to the Empress ; and, when the divorce
took place, did not hesitate as to what she should do, although Queen Hortense
herself begged her to reflect before she made up her mind to quit the Court.
The following is the letter in which she announced her resolution to my grand-
father, who had accompanied the Empress to Trianon :
" Malmaison, December, 1809.
" I had hoped for a moment that you would have accompanied the Emperor
yesterday, and that I should have seen you. Independently of the pleasure of
seeing you, I wanted to talk to you. I hope there will be some opportunity for
Trianon to-day, and I will keep my letter ready.
" I was received here with real affection. All is very sad, as you may sup-
pose. The Empress, who has no more need of effort, is greatly cast down ; she
weeps incessantly, and it is really painful to see her. Her children arc full of
courage. The Viceroy is come — he keeps her up as well as possible ; and they
are of the greatest use to her. Yesterday I had a conversation with the Queen
[of Holland]. I will repeat it to you as succinctly as possible. ' The Empress,'
said she, ' has been deeply touched by the readiness which you have shown to
share her fate. I am not surprised at it, but, out of friendship to you, I beg of
you to reflect. Your husband is placed near the Emperor ; all your instincts
43
592 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE SJ^MUSAT.
strietion upon the promise wliich I made ; " I will not be
Lady-in-Waiting to another Empress. If you retire into
some country place, I will follow you, being always liappy to
ought to be on that side. Will not your position be frequently false and embar-
rassing ? Can you bring yourself to renounce the advantages attached to the
service of a young and reigning Empress ? Think of it well ; I give you a-
friend's advice, and you ought to reflect.' I thanked the Queen sincerely, but
replied that I could not perceive any objection to my taking this step, which
appeared the only one proper for me to take ; that, if the Empress foresaw any
difiBculty in retaining in her service the wife of a man who was in the Emperor's,
then I would retire, but that, unless such was the case, I would greatly prefer
to remain with her ; that I thought there might be some advantages for persons
attached to the great Court, but that tteir loss was more than compensated to
me by the consciousness of fulfilling a duty, and of being useful to the Empress,
it she valued my services ; that I did not think the Emperor could be displeased
with my conduct, etc., etc. ' There is only one consideration, Madame,' said I,
in addition, ' which could induce me for one moment to regret the part I have
taken. I will tell you very frankly what that is. It is impossible that there
should not be, in the interior of this little Court here, some indiscretion, some
gossip, something or other which, being repeated to the Emperor, may bring
about a momentary annoyance. The Empress, good as she is, is sometimes
distrustful. I do not know whether the proof of devotion which I am now giv-
ing her will shelter me completely from a passing suspicion which would greatly
grieve me. I acknowledge that, if it should happen, even once, that my husband
or myself were suspected of meditating an indiscretiop, on one side or the other,
I would immediately quit the Empress.' The Queen replied that I was quite
right, and that she hoped her mother would be prudent. She then embraced
me, and said that she knew that the Empress wished in her heart to have me
with her. I needed nothing more, in the mind in which, as you know, I am, to
decide me.
" Now let me know what you think. I know that my position will often be
embarrassing, but with prudence and true attachment may not everything come
right ? Mme. do la Rochefoucauld seems to mo to want to get away — she has
even, I think, said something to the Emperor ; but her position is different.
She will render the same services to the Empress, but without annuity or pen-
sion. In her position that may suit her, but I think I must act otherwise;
and, indeed, the more I question myself, the more I feel that my place is here.
Put all this together, reflect, and then decide ; and remember that I have time.
We are given to the 1st of January.
" One would need to be very happy to find this place pleasant in this season ;
there is an abominable wind, and it is always raining. That, however, has not
prevented a succession of visitors all day long. Each visitor renews her tears.
Nevertheless, it is no harm that all her impressions should be renewed thus in
PR0JEGT8 OF DIVORCE. 693
share your solitude ; and I will never leave you, except you
should quit France."
No .one could tell wliat was really passing in the Emper-
succession ; afterward she will rest. I think that I shall remain at Malmaison
until Saturday ; I wish you could come then, because we really must meet and
be a little while together. This morning (19th December, 1809) I could not
find an opportunity of sending my letter ; I hope there will be one this evening.
The Empress has passed a deplorable day ; she receives visitors, which renews
her grief, and then every time anything reaches her from the Emperor she gets
into a terrible state. Wc must find means, either through the Grand Marshal
or the Prince de Neufchatcl, to induce the Emperor to moderate the expression
of his regret and his affliction when he writes to her, because, when he dwells in
this way upon his grief, she falls into real despair, and seems to lose her head
completely. I do all in my power for her ; it gives me terrible pain to see her.
She is gentle, sad, and affectionate — ^in fact, heart-rending. By affecting her so
deeply, the Emperor increases her sufferings. In the midst of all this she
never says a word too much, she never utters a bitter complaint ; she is really
like an angel. I induced her to take a walk this morning ; I wanted to try to
fatigue her body in order to rest her mind. She complied mechanically. I
talked to her, I questioned her, I did all I eould ; she seconded my efforts, un-
derstanding my intentions, and seemed grateful to me in the midst of her sor-
rows. At the end of an hour I acknowledge that I was almost fainting with
the effort that I had made, and for a few minutes was as weak as herself. ' It
seems to me sometimes,' said she, ' that I am dead, and that there remains to
me only a sort of vague faculty of feeUng that I am dead.' Try, if you can, to
make the Emperor understand that he ought to write to her encouragingly, and
not in the evening, for that gives her terrible nights. She does not know
how to bear his regrets ; no doubt she could still less bear his coldness, but
there is u medium iu all this. I saw her yesterday in such a state, after the
Emperor's last letter, that I was on the point of writing myself to Trianon.
Adieu.
" I do not say much to you of my own health ; you know how feeble it is,
and all this tries it. After this week I shall want a little rest with you. To
find anything pleasant, I must get home."
My grandmother's letters are few at this time, unfortunately, and I can not
supply the missing chapters either by narrative or by quotations. I only know
that her fears were not realized, in so far as the indiscretions and gossip of the
Court were concerned ; but she and her husband were involved iu the disgrace
of Talleyrand. It is true that my grandfather remained First Chamberlain even
after the Prince of Benevento had been deprived of his pensions as Grand
Chamberlain ; but he did not recover, nor did he seek, the good will of the
Court or the confidence of the Emperor. This will be more fully explained in
the Appendix. My grandmother went only once, I think, to the Tuileries, to be
594 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BI^MUSAT.
or's mind, and he had once said to his wife : " If you quit
me, I would not have you lose state or rank by it ; you shall
reign somewhere, perhaps even at Eome." It is to be re-
marked that when he was thus speaking the Pope was in
that same Home, and that there was no reason to suppose he
would have to leave the city. But the most serious events
seemed perfectly simple to Napoleon ; and from time to
time, if one listened attentively, a word dropped here and
there sufficed to indicate the succession of projects which he
was forming.
M. de Eemusat thought with me respecting ray proper
line of conduct. He was perfectly alive to the inconvenience
which might possibly result from it ; but that consideration
did not deter him, and he repeated to the Empress that she
might count upon my fidelity in her misfortunes, should
they ever fall upon her. We shall see that she was after-
presented to the new Empress with great ceremony, and on another day to re-
ceive some injunctions from the Emperor. This latter circumstance deserves to
be related in detail. It was at the end of 1812, or the beginning of 1813. The
Duo de Friuli came to see her, to the great astonishment of my grandparents,
for he never made visits. He was charged by the Emperor to order her to re-
quest an audience, as the Emperor wished to speak to her of the Empress Jo-
sephine. There were no means of disobeying this command, and no reasons for
wishing to do so ; she requested an audience, and was received. My father did
not Ijnow the details of this interview ; he only knew that the Emperor desired
her to induce the Empress to go to a distance from Paris. What were his mo-
tives ? Josephine's debts were among the number, and also things that were
said in her salon. I do uot think that his complaints went any further, and the
Emperor exhibited no anger. As for the Lady-in- Waiting, the Emperor was
neither kind nor unkind to her ; but he did not encourage her by any word to
speak to him of herself, and she took good care not to do so. This was the last
time that she saw Napoleon. Afterward she had to fulfill his commission, and
this was a difficult task. She wrote a long letter to the Empress, who was then
staying, I believe, at Geneva. The matter was all the more difficult that the
Emperor had exacted that she should not name him, and that the advice should
not seem to come from him. Although it seems that the Empress Josephine
could hardly have been deceived, my father believes that this letter was ill
received by her, and it was even printed in some Memoirs written under the
inspiration of Queen Hortense, with reflections more or less severe upon the
author. — P. E.
PBOJEGTS OF BIVOROE. 595
ward induced to place no reliance upon a promise which was
given with perfect sincerity.
It was at this period, and upon the subject of the di-
vorce, that we had certain conversations with Mme. de la
Eochefoacauld, which brought about the explanations to
which I have previously referred, and that M. de Eemusat
became acquainted with what had passed respecting him on
his return from the Prussian campaign. These new lights
added considerably to the painful impression of our succes-
sive discoveries relating to the Emperor's character.
I-will now tell what I learned of the motives which in-
duced Talleyrand and the Minister of Police to act in the
manner which I have just recorded. I have said that Fou-
che, who was fascinated by Mme. Murat, was forced in con-
sequence to break with what was called " the party of the
Beauharnais." I do not know whether he really wished to
do so ; but, when a man mixes himself up in certain intrigues
in which women play a part, he can not tell at what point he
may be able to stop, because there are so many little sayings,
little denunciations, and little treacheries, that in the end he
gets lost among them. Mme. Murat, who detested her sis-
ter-in-law, and did aU in her power to drive her off the
throne, longed for an alKanee with a European Princess for
her own pride's sake, and plied the Emperor with flattery on
this point. Fouche thought that it would be useful to the
new dynasty to be supported by a direct heir. He knew
Bonaparte too well not to foresee that, sooner or later, policy
would take precedence of every other consideration with
him. He was afraid that he himself might not be employed
in this 'affair, which seemed to be entirely in Talleyrand's
line, and he was anxious to deprive him of the honor and
the advantages of such a negotiation. "With this intention
he broke the ice with the Emperor, and spoke to him on the
important point. Finding him disposed to entertain it, he
dwelt upon all the motives which were so easy to urge, and
ultimately succeeded in extracting from Bonaparte an order,
BB
596 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MTJSAT.
or at least a proposal, that he should play the part of media-
tor between the Emperor and the Empress in all negotiations
on the point. He went further 5 he made public opinion
declare itself ! With the assistance of the police, he got
speeches made on the subject of the divorce at several places
of general assembly in Paris. The people began to discuss
in the cafes the necessity of the Emperor's having an heir.
These utterances, which were prompted by Fouehe, were
reported by him and the rest of the police, who gave an
exact account of all that took place ; and the Emperor be-
lieved that the public were far more occupied with this sub-
ject than they really were.
On his return from Fontainebleau, Fouch^ told the Em-
peror that there was great excitement in Paris, and that the
populace might possibly assemble under his windows and
ask him to contract another marriage. The Emperor was at
first taken with this idea, from which M. de Talleyrand
adroitly contrived to turn him aside. Not that the latter
had really any repugnance to the divorce, but he wanted it
to be effected in his own way, at his own time, and with
great utility and dignity. He was quick to perceive that the
zeal of Fouehe tended to deprive him of the palm, and he
could not endure that any other scheme should take the place
of his on his own ground.
France had formed a close alliance with Pussia-, but M.
de Talleyrand, who was very able in the use he made of his
knowledge of the actual state of Europe, thought it necessary
to keep a close watch on Austria, and had already come to
the conclusion that another tie between us and that Power
would be the most useful move for us. Besides, he knew
that the Empress-Mother of Russia did not share the Czar's
admiration for Napoleon, and that she would refuse to give
us one of her daughters for an Empress. Again, it was pos-
sible that a hurried divorce might not be quickly followed
by a marriage, and the Emperor would in that case be placed
in a disagreeable position. The contest which might break
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 597
out at any moment in Spain -wotild. rouse the attention of
Europe, and it was not a moment to engage ourselves in two
enterprises, both of which would demand grave deliberation.
These were, no doubt, the considerations which led M. de
Talleyrand to thwart Fouch^, and to espouse the interests of
Mme. Bonaparte for the time being. Neither she nor I was
clever enough to see through his motives at the time, and it
was not until afterward that I became aware of them. M.
de Eemusat had not so much confidence in M. de Talley-
rand's apparent acquiescence in what we desired, but he was
of opinion that we might turn it to account ; so that, with
various intentions, we were all pursuing the same course.
While the Emperor was in Paris, in the short interval
between his journey to Italy and his journey to Bayonne,
while Eouche was constantly plying him with what he stated
to be popular opinions, M. de Talleyrand seized an opportu-
nity of showing him that in this instance the Minister of
Police was misleading him.* " Fouch^," he said to the Em-
peror, " is, and always will be, a revolutionist. Look well
to it, and you will see that he would lead you, by factious
means, to an act that should only be accomplished with the
parade and pomp befitting a monarch. He wishes that a
mob, collected by his orders, should come and vociferously
demand of you an heir, just as they forced concessions from
Louis Xyi., who was never able to refuse them. When you
have accustomed the people to meddle with your affairs after
this fashion, how do you know that it will not occur to them
to do so again, and how can you tell what they may subse-
quently demand of you ? And, after all, no one will be
duped by these gatherings, while you will be accused of hav-
ing got them up." The Emperor was impressed by these
observations, and imposed silence upon Fouche.
* The Emperor left Fontainebleau on the 16th of December, 1807, and ar-
rived at Milan on the 21st of the same month. He returned to Paris from Italy
on the 1st of January, and left again for Bayonne on the 2d of April, 1808.
—P. E.
598 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
From that moment the question of the divorce was no
longer discussed in the caf 6s, and the " national wish " re-
mained unexpressed. The eflEect on the Emperor of this si-
lence was favorable to his wife, and she felt somewhat reas-
sured. He continued, however, to show great agitation at
times, and their intercourse was constrained and often inter-
rupted by long fits of silence ; after which he would return
to the subject, dwelling upon the disadvantage of not having
a direct posterity on which to found his dynasty, and saying
that he did not know what to do. He suffered much from
conflicting feelings at this time.
He was particularly confidential with M.. de Talleyrand,
who repeated to me a portion of their conversations. " In
'separating myself from my wife," Bonaparte said, "I re-
nounce all the charm which her presence gives to my home-
life. I should have to study the tastes and habits of a
young wife. This one accommodates herself to everything ;
she understands me perfectly, and I should be making
her an ungrateful return for all she has done for me. The
people care little for me as it is, and then it would be much
worse. She is a link between me and them, and especially
between me and a certain party in Paris, which I should
have to give up." After regrets of this kind, he would
dwell upon the reasons which made it a state question ; and
M. de Talleyrand told my husband it was his conviction that
this creditable hesitation would one day give way before
political considerations — ^that the divorce might be delayed,
but that it was vain to hope that it could be ultimately
avoided. He concluded by saying that we might rely upon
it he had no influence in the matter, and that the Empress
would do well to adhere to the course which she had
adopted.
M. de Eemusat and I agreed that we would say nothing
to the Empress about the first part of this statement, which
would have so much increased her apprehensions as perhaps
to betray her into some false step ; and we saw no use in
PROJECTS OF BIVOROE. 599
inspiring her with distrust of M. de Talleyrand, who had at
that time no interest in injuring her, but who might have
had such an interest had she allowed an imprudent word to
escape her. For my part, I resolved to await the future
without trying to foresee it, and to be guided by the pru-
dence and dignity which should always distinguish those
who hold a prominent position, and who are surrounded
by a hundred eyes that watch, and a hundred mouths
ready to repeat all they say. It was at this period that the
Emperor said to M. de Talleyrand, " The Empress is well
advised."
Shortly before his departure for Bayonne, another expla-
nation on the subject of the divorce took place. This was
the last at this time, and it showed that the Emperor, willful
as he was, was yet capricious in his moods, and that he was
sometimes carried away by genuine feeling.
M. de Talleyrand, coming out of the Emperor's cabinet
one morning, met M. de Kemusat, and said to him, as they
walked toward his carriage : " I think your wife will have to
meet the trial that she fears sooner than she anticipates. The
Emperor is again most eager on the subject of a divorce ; he
has spoken to me of it as of a thing almost decided upon,
and we shall all do well to take it as such, and not vainly
oppose it." My husband repeated these words to me ; they
caused me great pain. There was to be a reception at Court
that evening. I had just lost my mother, and did not go
into society.* M. de Eemusat returned to the palace to
* At the beginning of the year 1808 Mme. de Vergennes, who had been ill
and suffering for a long time, became much worse. She was afflicted with pains
which she called rheumatic, and she died on the lYth of January, 1808, of gan-
grene of the throat.
This was a terrible sorrow to her daughter, and made a great change in the
lives of all her children. My father always preserved a lively recollection of
this clever and witty woman, although at the time of her death he was only
eleven years old. Mme. de Vergennes's position in society was sufficiently im-
portant to induce M. Suard to write an article about her in " lia Publiciste."
This kind of public eulogy was then much less usual than it is now. — P. R.
600 MEMOmS OF MADAME DE BJSmUSAT.
superintend the play that was to be performed. The apart-
ments were crowded. Princes, ambassadors, and courtiers
were all assembled, and at length the order was gi^en to be-
gin the play, without waiting for their Majesties, who would
not appear. The fete went off badly, and the guests dis-
persed as soon as they could.
M. de Talleyrand and M. de Eemusat, before leaving the
palace, went to the private apartments of the Emperor,
where they were told that he had retired with his wife at
eight o'clock, that he had ordered the door to be closed, and
that he should not be disturbed until the next day. M. de
Talleyrand went away in dudgeon. "What a devil of a
man ! " said he. "How he yields to sudden impulses, as if
he did not really know what he wanted ! Why can he not
come to some decision, and cease making us the puppets
of his moods, not knowing what attitude we are to assume
toward him ? "
The Empress received my husband the next day, and
told him that at six o'clock she had joined the Emperor at
dinner ; that he was then sad and silent ; that afterward she
had left him to dress for the evening, and while she was
preparing for the reception an attendant came to fetch her,
saying that the Emperor was ill. She found him sufEering
from severe spasms, and in a highly nervous state. On
seeing her, he burst into tears, and, drawing her toward the
bed on which he had thrown himself, without taking heed
of her elegant attire,* he folded her in his arms, repeating
again and again, " My poor Josephine, I can not leave you."
She added that his state inspired her with more compassion
than tenderness, and that she kept saying to him time after
time : " Sire, be calm ; make up your mind what you really
want to do, and let us have an end of these scenes." Her
words seemed only to add to his excitement, which became
so excessive that she advised him to give up the idea of
appearing in public, and to go to bed. He consented to this,
but only on condition that she would remain with him ; and
PROJECTS OF DIVORCE. 601
she was obliged at once to undress and to share that bed;,
which, she said, he literally bathed with his tears, repeating
constantly, " They harass me, they torment me, they make
me miserable ! " and the night was thus passed in alternate
fits of tenderness and intervals of agitated sleep. After
this evening he gained command over himself, and never
ag^in gave way to such vehement emotion.
The Empress alternated between hope and fear. She
placed no reliance on these pathetic scenes, and declared that
Bonaparte passed too quickly from tender protestations to
quarreling with her about flirtations of which he accused her,
or to other subjects of complaint ; that he wanted to break
down her resistance, to make her ill, or perhaps even worse
— for, as I have already said, her imagination pictured every
extreme. Sometimes she would say that he was trying to
disgust her with him by incessantly tormenting her. It is
true that, either intentionally or because of his own agita-
tion, he kept her in a constant state of unrest, which affected
her health.
Fouche talked openly of the divorce, to the Empress, to
me, and to every one, saying that he might be dismissed, but
that he should not be prevented from offering good advice.
M. de Talleyrand listened to him in disdainful silence, and
consented to being considered by the public to be opposed
to the divorce. Bonaparte saw through all this, without
blaming the conduct of the one or the other, or, indeed,
that of any one.*
The Court observed even stricter silence than usual, for
* The Emperor, howerer, continued, when he thought it useful, to scold
Fouche about his indiscretions. He wrote to him from Venice on the 13th of
November, ISOY: "I haye already made known to you my opinion on the folly
of the measures which you have taken at Fontainebleau with reference to my
private affairs. After reading your bulletin of the 19th, and being well informed
of the opinions which you openly declare in Paris, I can but repeat to you that
your duty is to be guided by my will, and not by your own caprice. By behaving
otherwise, you lead the public astray, and you go off the track which should be
followed by every man of honor."
602 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE S^MUSAT.
tliere was no positive indication as to which of these great
personages it would be prudent to side with.
In the midst of these troubles the tragic event in Spain
took place, and the divorce question was for a time laid
aside.
CHAPTER XXYIII.
(1807-1808.)
Eetiim from Fontainebleaii — The Emperor's Journey in Italy — The Youth of M. de
Talleyrand — Fetes at the Tuileries — The Emperor and the Artists — The Em-
peror's Opinion of the English Government — The Marriage of Mile, de Tascher
— Count Eomanzoff— Marriage of Marehal Berthier — The University — Affairs of
Spain.
At or about this time M. Mole was nominated Prefect of
the Cote-d'Or. The Emperor, who had remarked his abili-
ties on many occasions, had to a certain extent adopted him,
and in his own mind decided on his promotion. He was
more and more pleased by his conversations with him, in
which he brought out all that was most remarkable in Mole's
mind, and Bonaparte knew how to attract the sympathies of
youth. M. M0I6 showed some dislike to the idea of leaving
Paris, where he was pleasantly settled with his family. " We
must not hurt people's feelings," the Emperor said to him,
" by sudden promotions. Besides, some experience in the
affairs of administration wiU be very useful . to you. I will
only keep you one year at Dijon, and then you shall return,
and you will have reason to be pleased with me." He kept
his word to M. Mole.
The sojourn of the Court at Fontainebleau came to an
end toward the middle of November, at which there was
general satisfaction ; for every one was tired of the fetes, and
the restraiat which they occasioned. Most of the foreign
princes returned to their homes, dazzled by our magnificence,
which had been " administered," if I may be permitted the
604 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RJ^MUSAT.
expression, with the most perfect order ; for the Emperor
would not have allowed any other system in the management
of his private affairs. He was very much pleased when M.
de Remusat asked of him only 150,000 francs for the ex-
penses incurred for the fetes and plays; and certainly, if
this sum be considered relatively to the results produced, it
is evident that minute attention must have been paid to
every detail of the expenditure. The Emperor, who wished
to be informed of all these details, referred on this occasion
to the sum that it formerly cost the Court of France to make
such journeys, and he drew the comparison with a compla-
cency justified by the facts. The household was strictly
administered by the Grand Marshal, and the accoimts were
kept and paid with the utmost regularity.
Duroc acquitted himself remarkably well of this charge,
but with a harshness of manner which was doubtless inspired
by his master's severity. When the Emperor scolded, the
consequences were felt by every servant in the palace, in the
rude treatment to which they were subjected. Discipline
was strict, and punishments were severe ; vigilance was never
relaxed, so that each one was always to be found at his post,
and everything was done with silent regularity. Every abuse
was guarded against, and all wages were paid punctually and
in advance. In the offices, and in the kitchens, a plate of
soup or a glass of eau suoree was not given out without the
authorization of the Marshal, who was invariably informed
of all that happened in the palace. His discretion never
failed, and he repeated whatever occurred to the Emperor
only.
The Emperor left Fontainebleau to make a short tour in
Italy. He wished to visit Milan again, to show himself in
Yenice, and to communicate with his brother Joseph ; and I
believe he wished to arrive, above all, at a decision with
regard to the kingdom of Italy — a decision by which he
hoped to reassure Europe. He also intended to signify to
the Queen of Etruria, daughter of the King of Spain, that
A SHORT TOUR IN ITALY. 605
she must quit her kingdom. As he was secretly preparing
to invade Spain, he admitted that the idea of the union of
the crowns of France and Italy had alarmed Europe. In
naming Eugene as successor to the throne of Italy, he wished
it to be understood that this union was not to last for ever,
and believed that the concession which did not dispossess
him would be received, and the power of his successor be
thus limited.
Murat, who had every interest in keeping up daily com-
munication with his brother-in-law, obtained permission to
accompany him ifl. this little tour, to the great annoyance of
M. de Talleyrand, who foresaw that advantage would be
taken of his absence to frustrate his plans.
The Emperoi'left Fontainebleau on the 10th of ITovem-
ber, and the Empress returned to Paris. The Prince Pri-
mate remained there some time longer, as well as the Princes
of Mecklenburg. They came to the Tuileries every evening,
where they played or conversed, and listened to the music.
The Empress talked more with the Prince of Mecklen-
burg-Schwerin than with the others: this was remarked
upon, as I have mentioned before. Most people laughed,
and attached so little importance to it as even to joke with
the Empress herself about it. Others viewed the subject
more seriously, and wrote to the Emperor ; and on his return
he rebuked her severely. Although accustomed to gratify
all his own fancies, he was very severe on those of others.
During this journey, a vaudeville was represented at one
of the small theatres with such success that every one wished
to see it, Mme. Bonaparte as well as others. She requested
M. de Pemusat to get her a box, and in a simple dress, and
in a carriage without arms, she went privately to the theatre,
accompanied by some ladies and the two Princes of Mecklen-
burg. This was immediately reported at Milan, and the
Emperor wrote a furious letter to his wife, and on his return
reproached her for a want of dignity. I even remember
that, in his annoyance, he reminded her that the last Queen
606 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
of France had done herself the greatest harm by forgetting
what was due to her rank, and indulging in frivolities of a
similar kind.
During his absence the Imperial Gruard made a triumphal
entry into Paris. The Prefect received them with a speech,
and many fetes were given in their honor.
As I have said elsewhere, the Sisters of Charity were re-
established. They assembled, by order of the Minister of
the Interior, in the apartments of Mme. Mere, where he dis-
tributed medals to them. The Emperor wished his mother
to be at the head of every charitable institution, but there
was nothing in her manner to make her popular, and she
acquitted herself of the task imposed on her without ability
or taste.
The Emperor appeared to be satisjB.ed with the adminis-
tration of affairs in Italy, and traveled from one end of the
country to the other. He went to Yenice, where he was
joined by his brother Joseph, and by the King and Queen of
Bavaria. Mme. Bacciochi went to solicit an extension of her
estates.
During this time Eussia broke completely with England.
A part of our army, stiU in the north of Germany, held the
King of Sweden in check. Bemadotte was at Hamburg in
communication with the malcontent Swedes, and he acquired
a personal reputation which he carefully maintained. He
expended large sums in bribes. It is not likely that he could
have had an idea at that time of what was afterward to hap-
pen ; buthis ambition, as yet vague, led him to turn every
happy chance that befell him to account, and at that period
one might, in certain situations, undertake everything and
hope for anything.
The Prince of Brazil left Lisbon on the 29th of Novem-
ber, and General Junot entered that city a few days after-
ward with our army, declaring, according to custom, that we
came to free the Portuguese from the yoke of the English.
Toward the end of the month the Emperor, having as-
MELANGHOLY DUTIES. 607
sembled the Corps Legislatif at Milan, declared that he
solemnly adopted Eugene, who became heir to the crown of
Italy should the Emperor have no male issue. At the same
time he endowed him with the title of Prince of Venice,
and he created the little princess, who was just bom, Prin-
cess of Bologna. He then returned to Paris, where he
arrived on the 1st of January, 1808.
I was engrossed just then by melancholy duties. On my
return from Fontainebleau, I had found my mother ill. She
continued for some time in a languid state without actually
causing me anxiety. ISTotwithstanding her illness, she evinced
great satisfaction at the improvement that had taken place
in our position, and I began during the^ first days of her ill-
ness to put our establishment on the footing which the Em-
peror desired. Toward the end of December my mother's
state became so alarming, that we thought of nothing but
the care she needed, and our house was closed to visitors.
Three weeks afterward we had the misfortune to lose her,
and one of the most tender ties of my life, one of its dear-
est enjoyments, was lost to me for ever. My mother was in
every way a remarkable person. She was possessed of great
talent and judgment, which were much appreciated in socie-
ty. She was useful and agreeable to us at every moment of
the day. She was universally regretted, and her loss over-
whelmed us with grief. My husband wept for her like a
son ; we were pitied even at Court, because even there her
worth was appreciated. The Emperor expressed himself
kindly on hearing of our calamity, and spoke of it in suit-
able terms to M. de Eemusat when he saw him ; but, as I
have already said, the life of retirement, into which good
taste, as well as my sorrow, caused us to withdraw, was op-
posed to his views, and two or three months afterward he
deprived us of that increase to onr income which he had
granted us that we might entertain in good style, on the pre-
text that it was now useless to us. Thus we were left en-
cumbered with debts which he had obliged us to contract.
608 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSAT.
1 passed that winter very sorrowfully. I wept bitterly
for my mother ; I was separated from my eldest son, whom
we had placed at college, so that he might cultivate those
talents for which he has since been remarkable, and which
were even then noticeable ; my health was bad, and my
spirits were depressed. My society could not have been very
amusing to M. de Talleyrand, yet he did not forsake me in
my sadness. He was, on the contrary, one of the most as-
siduous and attentive of our visitors. He had known my
mother formerly, and he liked to speak of her, and to listen
to aR my recollections of her. In the depth of my sorrow
I lost all my little ambition to appear clever, and I did not
endeavor to check my tears in his presence.
When alone with my husband and me, he showed no im-
patience with my grief nor with the tenderness of M. de
Remusat's efforts to console me. It seems to me now, on
thinking of it, that he observed us with curiosity. His own
life had been devoid of natural afieetions, and ours was a
novel spectacle to him, which touched him not a little. He
then learned for the first time what mutual love, united with
moral principle, can do to give comfort and courage amid the
trials of life. That which he witnessed in my house ap-
peared to rest him after what passed elsewhere, and colored
even his recollections, for more than once at this time he
spoke to me of himself with regret, and, I might almost say,
with disgust. We responded to his affection with gratitude
which sprang from our hearts. He came to see. tis more and
more frequently, and he remained a long time at each visit.
"We no longer jested at or ridiculed others. Kestored to my
better self, I let him see to the depths of a sensitive nature,
which domestic happiness had rendered sympathetic. In my
sorrow and deep melancholy, and in my ignorance of all that
was taking place outside, I led him into regions until then
unknown to him ; their discovery seemed to give him plea-
sure, and by degrees I might say what I chose to him. He
even allowed me to censure and judge him severely, which I
TEE YOUTH OF M. DE TALLEYRAND. 609
occasionally did. He never grew angry at my sincerity ; and
from this time there existed between us a friendship very
precious to both. When I succeeded in awakening any emo-
tion in him, I was as much elated as if I had gained a vic-
tory ; and he was grateful to me for having stirred his soul,
which had fallen asleep from habit or through indifference.
On one occasion, when, impatient at his inconsistency, I
went so far as to say, " Good heavens ! what a pity it is that
you have taken such pains to spoil yourself, for I can not
help beUeving that the real you is better than you are," he
smiled and said : " Our entire life is influenced by the manner
in which we pass the early years of it ; and, were I to tell
you how my youth was spent, you would cease to wonder at
many things that now astonish you."
Then he told me that, being lame and the eldest of his
family, and having by this accident disappointed the hopes
and prevented the fulfillment of that custom which before
the Revolution destined the eldest son of every noble family
to a military career, he had been discarded from his home,
and sent to live with an old aunt in one of the provinces.
Without returning to his parents' roof, he had then been
placed in a seminary, and it was intimated to him that he
was to become an ecclesiastic — a profession for which he had
not the slightest taste. During the years which he passed at
Saint Sulpice, he was almost always obliged to stay in his
room and alone, his infirmity rarely permitting him to remain
long standing, or to take part in the active amusements of
the young. He then fell into a deep melancholy, foimed a
low opinion of social life, and revolted against the priestly
state, to which he had been condemned in spite of himself.
He held that he was not bound scrupulously to observe the
duties that had been imposed upon him without his consent.
He added that he felt a profound disgust to the world, and
anger at its prejudices, and that he only avoided falling into
despair by encouraging in himself complete indifference to-
ward all men and all things. When at length he returned
610 ' MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE SJ^MUSAT.
to his parents, he was received by them with the greatest
coldness, and as if he were displeasing in their sight, and he
never had a word of consolation or kindness addressed to
him.*
"You see," he would say to me, "that I must either
have died of grief, or become callous to all that must ever
be wanting in my life. I chose the latter alternative, and I
am now willing to admit to you that I was wrong. It would
have been better to have resigned myself to sufEer, and to
have kept alive the faculty of feeling with acuteness ; for
this cold-heartedness, with which you reproach me, has often
disgusted me with myself. I have not loved others enough,
but I have loved myself no better. I have never taken suffi-
cient interest in myself.
" On one occasion I was drawn out of this indifference
by my love for the Princess Charlotte de Montmorency.
She was much attached to me, and I rebelled more than
ever against the obstacle which prevented my marrying her.
" I made several efforts to get a dispensation from vows
that were odious to me. I think I should have succeeded
if the Eevolution, which then broke out, had not prevented
the Pope from granting m.e what I wished. Tou will easily
* Among the anecdotes of the youth of M. de Talleyrand, I must not omit to
relate one which I heard from my father, who evidently heard it from his
mother. M. de Talleyrand was studying theology, when, coming out of the
church of Saint Sulpice, where he had been listening to a sermon, he observed
on the steps a pretty young woman, elegantly dressed. It was raining, and she
seemed embarrassed. He offered her his arm and one of those little umbrellas,
the very reverse of ours, that were then begirming to be fashionable. She
accepted his offer, and he accompanied her home. She invited him to call on
her, and they became acquainted. The lady was Mile. Luzy, who was studying
to join the Comfidie Fran9aise. She told him that she was inclined to piety,
that she had no taste for the stage, and that, against her will, she was obliged
by her parents to adopt that profession. "That is just my own case," he
answered. " I have no inclination for the seminary or the Church ; my parents
are forcing me into it." They sympathized with each other on this subject, and
this mutual confidence respecting their mistaken vocations created a tie between
them, such as is easily formed at twenty years of ago. — ^P, E.
M. BE TALLEYRAND'S NATURE. 611
understand that, in the disposition of my mind, I hailed that
Revolution with eagerness. It attacked the principles and
the customs of which I had been a victim ; it seemed to me
just what I wanted to break my chains, and so in every way
it was pleasing to me. I espoused it readily, and, since then,
events have disposed of me."
"When M. de Talleyrand spoke to me in this manner, I
pitied him with my whole heart, because I fully understood
the sad influence which his unhappy youth had exercised
over all the rest of his life ; but I felt persuaded, too, that a
more vigorous character might have avoided falling into
such errors, and I frankly deplored to him that he should
have so stained his life.
A most fatal indifference to good and evil, right and
wrong, formed the basis of M. de Talleyrand's nature ; but
we must do him the justice to admit that he never sought to
make a principle of what was immoral. He is aware of the
worth of high principle in others ; he praises it, holds it in
esteem, and never seeks to corrupt it. It appears to me that
he even dwells on it with pleasure. He has not, like Eona-
parte, the fatal idea that virtue has no existence, and that the
appearance of it is only a trick or an affectation the more. I
have often heard him praise actions which were a severe
criticism on his own. His conversation is never immoral or
irreligious; he respects good priests, and applauds them;
there is in his heart both goodness and justice ; but he does
not apply to himself the rule by which he judges others.
He regards himself as a being apart ; all things are different
for him. He has long been lylase on every point, and he
seeks for excitement as a fastidious palate seeks pungent
food. All serious reilections applied to moral or natural
sentiments are distasteful to him, because they lead him into
a train of thought which he fears, and from which he tries
to escape by a jest or a sarcasm. A combination of circum-
stances has surrounc'ed him with persons of light or depraved
character, who have encouraged him in a thousand follies.
612 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B^MUSAT.
These people are congenial to him, because they draw him
away from his own thoughts; but they can not save him
from profound weariness, and from that he seeks refuge in
great affairs. These affairs do not fatigue him, because he
rarely enters into them completely ; indeed, he seldom enters
heart and soul into anything. His intellect is lofty, and
often just ; he perceives correctly ; but he has a certain care-
lessness and desultoriness about him, which make him disap-
point one's hopes. He pleases much, but satisfies never, and
at last inspires one with a sort of pity, which leads, if one
sees much of him, to real affection.
I believe that our intimacy did him good while it lasted.
I succeeded in rousing in him feelings that had long slum-
bered, and in awakening him to more elevated thoughts ; I
interested him in many subjects that were new to him, or
which he had forgotten. To me he owed many fresh sym-
pathies ; he owned this, and was grateful for it. He often
sought my society, and I appreciated his doing so, because I
never flattered his weaknesses, but spoke to him in a style
that he had not been accustomed to.
He was at that time strongly opposed to the plots that
were being concocted against Spain. The truly diabolical
artifices employed by the Emperor, if they did not offend
his moral sense, were at least very displeasing to that good
taste which M. de Talleyrand displayed in political as well
as in social life. He foresaw the consequences, and prophe-
sied to me what they would be. " This ill-advised man," he
said, " will call his whole position in question again." He
was always anxious that war should be frankly declared
against the King of Spain, if he would not accede to what
was required of him ; that advantageous conditions should be
dictated to him ; that the Prince of the Peace (Godoy) should
be sent away, and an alliance by marriage effected with the
Infante Ferdinand.
Put the Emperor conceived that additional security would
be guaranteed to him by the expulsion of the house of Bour-
f£:tes at the TUILEBIES. 613
bon, and was obstinate in his views, being once more the
dupe of the schemers by whom he was sun-ounded. Murat
and the Prince of the Peace flattered themselves with the hope
of gaining two thrones, but the Emperor had no notion of
giving them any such satisfaction. Pie deceived them, and
beHeved too easily in their readiness to facilitate his plans in
the hope of securing their own. Thus every one in this
affair overreached every one else, and was at the same time
deceived.
The winter passed brilliantly. The theatre in the Tuile-
ries was finished; on reception days theatrical representa-
tions were given, most frequently in Italian, and sometimes
in French. The Court attended in. full dress, and tickets
for the upper galleries were distributed to the citizens. We,
too, formed a spectacle to them. Everybody was eager to
be present at these representations, where there was a great
display of splendor.
Full-dress and masked balls were given. These were
novelties to the Emperor, and he liked them. Some of his
Ministers, his sister, Murat, and the Prince de If eufchitel,
received orders to invite a certain number of persons belong-
ing to the Court or to the city. The men wore dominoes,
the women elegant costiimes, and the pleasure of being dis-
guised was almost the only one they enjoyed in these assem-
blies, where it was known that the Emperor was present,
and where the fear of meeting him made the guests silent
and circumspect.
He was closely masked, and yet easy to recognize by that
peculiar air and gait which he could not disguise, as he
walked through the rooms, generally leaning on the arm of
Duroc. He accosted the ladies freely, and was often very
unscrupulous in his remarks to them ; and, if he was an-
swered, and unable at once to recognize who it was that
spoke to him, he would pull off the speaker's mask, reveal-
ing himself by this rude act of power. He also took great
pleasure, under cover of his disguise, in seeking out certain
614 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
husbands and tormenting tliem with anecdotes, true or false,
of their wives. If he learned afterward that these revelations
had been followed by unpleasant consequences, he became
very angry ; for he would not permit the displeasure which
he had himself excited to be independent of him. It must
be said, because it is the truth, that there is in Bonaparte a
natural badness, which makes him like to do evil in small as
well as in great things.
In the midst of all these amusements he worked hard,
and was much occupied by his personal strife with the Eng-
lish Government. He devised various methods for sustain-
ing his continental policy. He flattered himself that, by
articles in the newspapers, he could subdue the discontent
caused by the increase in the price of sugar and coffee, and
the scarcity of English merchandise. He encouraged every
new invention, and believed that the sugar extracted from
beet-root and other things would enable us to dispense with
the help of foreigners in certain productions, such as the
making of colors. He caused the Minister of the Interior to
address a public report to him, stating that he had obtained,
through the Prefects, letters from the Chambers of Com-
merce in approbation of the system, which, although it
might involve some temporary privations, must ultimately
secure the freedom of the seas.
The English were molested everywhere. They were
made prisoners at Verdun ; their property was confiscated in
Portugal ; Prussia was forced into a league against them ;
and the King of Sweden was menaced because he obstinately
persisted in maintaining his alliance with them.
The cord was thus tightened at both ends and stretched
to its utmost. It became impossible not to see that only the
ruin of one or the other of the contending parties could ter-
minate the quarrel, and wise people became profoundly anx-
ious. As, however, we were always being deceived, we re-
garded the journals with constant distrust. "We read them,
indeed, but without believing what they stated.
TEE EMPEROR'S RESPEOT FOR ARTISTS. 615
The Emperor exhausted himself in writing, but he did
not convince us. He became deeply incensed at this want
of confidence, and each day his aversion to the Parisians in-
creased. It hurt his vanity to find that he was not believed,
and the exercise of his power was incomplete when its influ-
ence could not be extended to the very thoughts of the people.
In order to please him, one had to be credulous. " You like
Berthier," said M. de Talleyrand to Bonaparte, " because he
believes in you."
Occasionally, as a change from political articles, the
newspapers would relate the daily words and actions of the
Emperor. For example, we were told how he had gone to
see the picture of his coronation painted by David, and had
. much admired it, and how he had surprised the painter by
his acute observations ; also, that when he was leaving the
studio he had taken off his hat and saluted David, in proof
of " the sentiments of benevolence which he hestowed on all
artistsP
This reminds me that he once found fault with M. de
Lugay, one of the Prefects of the Palace, who had the super-
intendence of the Opera, with being too distant in his man-
ner to the actors who went to him on business. "Are you
aware," he said, " that talent of any Mnd is positive power,
and that even I take off my hat when I receive Talma ? "
There was, no doubt, some exaggeration in this statement ;
but it is nevertheless true that he was very gracious to artists
of any distinction, that he encouraged them by his liberality
and his praise ; provided, however, that they were always
willing to dedicate their art to his praises, or to the further-
ance of his projects ; for any great reputation acquired with-
out his concurrence seemed to offend him, and he had no
sympathy with glory that he had not bestowed. He perse-
cuted Mme. de Stael because she overstepped the line he.
had laid down for her, and he neglected the Abbe Delille,
who lived in retirement far from him.
At this period two distinguished artists, Esmenard and
616 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MHSAT.
Spontini, produced the opera entitled " La Vestale," whicli
had an immense success. The Emperor — I know not for
what reason — was determined to prefer the French music of
Lesueur, the author of " Les Bardes," and was greatly dis-
pleased with the Parisians for not thinking as he did in the
matter. He thenceforth cherished a prejudice against all
Italian music, and the influence of this was felt when the
distribution of the decennial prizes took place.
On the 21st of January, 1808, the assembled Senate
granted a levy of eighty thousand men on the conscription
of 1809. Eegnault, the Councilor of State, who was, as
usual, the speaker on the occasion, argued that even as the
preceding levies had served to secure the continental peace,
so this one would at length obtain for us the freedom of the
seas; and no one opposed this reasoning. "We knew that
Senator Languenais and some others occasionally tried, dur-
ing the Emperor's reign, to make certain representations to
the Senate on the subject of these severe and numerous
levies; but their observations dispersed themselves in the
air of the senatorial palace, and effected no change in deci-
sions which had been arrived at beforehand. The Senate
was timid and submissive ; it inspired no confidence in the
national mind, and had even come by degrees to be regarded
with a sort of contempt. Men are severe toward their fel-
lows ; they do not pardon each other's weaknesses, and they
applaud virtues of which they themselves are seldom ca-
pable. In short, whatever tyranny may be exercised, public
opinion is more or less avenged, because it is invariably
heard. I^o despot is ignorant of the feelings which he in-
spires and the condemnation which he excites. Bonaparte
knew perfectly well how he stood in the esthnation of the
French nation, for good or evil, but he imagined that he
could override everything.
In the report made to him by his Minister of "War, Gen-
eral Clarke, on the occasion of the fresh levies, we find
these words : " A vulgar policy would be a calamity for
THE EMPEEOE'S OPINION OF ENGLAND. 617
France ; it would hinder those great results which you have
prepared." No one was duped by this formula. The ques-
tion in the comedy, " Qui est oe done -qxCon trompe id ? "
was appropriate to the occasion ; but everybody kept silence,
and that was enough for Napoleon. Shortly after, the towns
of Kehl, Cassel, Wesel, and Flushing were united to the
Empire, being regarded as keys which it was necessary we
should hold in our hands. At Antwerp great works were
carried on, and all was stir and activity.
When the English Parliament opened, the Emperor evi-
dently hoped for a disagreement between the English Gov-
ernment and the nation. There was a great deal of sharp
dissension, and the Opposition declaimed in its usual style.
The Emperor helped it with aU his might. The tone of the
notes in the " Moniteur " was very violent ; certain English
journalists were subsidized, and there is no doubt Bonaparte
flattered himself that he would be able to bring about a
revolt. But the English Ministry was pursuing a course
which, though difficult, was honorable to the country, and it
had a majority at every vote. The Emperor was incensed,
and declared that he " could not understand that form of
liberal government in which the voice of the popular party
never had any weight." Sometimes he would say, with a
sort of paradoxical audacity : " In reality, there is more lib-
erty in France than in England, because nothing can be
worse for a nation than the power of expressing its will
without being listened to. "When all is said, that is the
merest farce, a vain semblance of liberty. As for me, it is
not the case that the true state of France is kept from me.
I know everything, for I have exact reports, and I would
not be so mad as to venture on doing anything in direct op-
position to French interests or to the French character. In-
telligence of all kinds comes to me as to a common center,
and I act in accordance with it ; whereas our neighbors
never depart from their national system, maintaining the
oligarchy at any price ; and in this age men are more ready
618 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^^MUSAT.
to accept the authority of one able and absolute man than
the humiliating power of an effete nobility."
When Bonaparte talked thus, it was hard to know whether
he was trying to deceire others or to deceive himself. Was
it that his imagination, which was naturally lively, exerted
its influence over his intellect, which was generally mathe-
matical ? Did the lassitude and inaction of the nation de-
ceive him ? Was he trying to persuade himself that what
he desired was the case ? We have often thought that he
forced himself to do this, and that he sometimes succeeded.
Besides, as I have already said, Bonaparte always believed
that he was acting in conformity with the spirit of the Eevo-
lution, by attacking what he called oligarchs. At every turn
he would insist upon equality, which in his mouth meant
leveling. Leveling is to equality exactly what despotism is
to liberty ; for it crushes those faculties and neutralizes those
situations to which equality opens a career. The aristocracy
of classes levels, in fact, all that exists outside those privi-
leged classes, by reducing strength to the condition of weak-
ness, and merit to the condition of mediocrity. True equal-
ity, on the contrary, by permitting each to be that which he
is, and to rise as high as he can, utilizes every faculty and
all legitimate influence. It also forms an aristocracy, not of
class, but of individuals — an aristocracy which draws into it
all who deserve to form a portion of it.
The Emperor felt this distinction, and, notwithstanding
his nobles, his decorations, his senatorships, and aU his fine
talk, his system tended solely to base his absolute power
upon a vast democracy, also of the leveling order, with
political rights which, although they had the appearance jof
being accorded to all, were in reality within the reach of
none.
Toward the beginning of February the marriage of Mile,
de Tascher, Mme. Bonaparte's cousin, was solemnized. She
was raised to the rank of Princess, and her husband's rela-
tives were in the greatest delight, and remarkably obsequious
COUNT EOMANZOFF. 619
on the occasion. They flattered themselres that they would
be exalted to a great position ; but the divorce undeceived
the D'Arenberg family, and they qilarreled with the young
Princess, who had not brought them quite so miich as they
expected.
At this time Count RomanzofE, the Kussian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, amved in Paris. He was a man of knowl-
edge and of sense, and he came there full of admiration for
the Emperor, and affected by the genuine enthusiasm that
his own young sovereign felt for Ifapoleon. Pie was, however,
pufficiently master of himself to observe the Emperor with
close attention. He perceived the constraint of the Parisians,
who looked on at all the glory of the army without appropri-
ating it to themselves. He was struck with certain remark-
able disparities, and he formed a modified judgment which,
no doubt, had afterward some .influence on the Czar. The
Emperor said to him on one occasion, " How do you consider
that I govern the French ? " " Sire," he replied, " a little
too seriously."
Bonaparte, with the aid of a senatus Gonsultum, created
a new " grand dignity of the Empire," under the title of
" Governor-G-eneral beyond the Alps " ; and he conferred this
dignity on Prince Borghese, who was sent to Turin with his
wife. The Prince was obliged to sell the finest statues in the
Villa Borghese to the Emperor, and they were placed in our
Museum. This collection of all the masterpieces that Eu-
rope had possessed was superb. They were grouped in the
Louvre with the greatest care and elegance, and that was a
conquest of a kind which appealed eloquently to French
vanity and French taste.
Bonaparte had a report made to him, in a sitting of the
Council of State, upon the progress of science, letters, and
art since 1T89, by a deputation, at the head of which was
M. de Bougainville. After the report had been read, he re-
plied in these terms : " I have heard you upon the progress
of the human mind in these latter days, in order that what
CO
620 ** MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
you say to me may be heard by all nations, and may silence
the detractors of our age, who are endeavoring to force the
human mind to retrograde, and who seem to aim at its ex-
tinction. I desired to know what remains for me to do for
the encouragement of your labors, in order to console myself
for being unable to contribute otherwise to their success.
The welfare of my people and the glory of my throne are
equally interested in the prosperity of the sciences. My
Minister of the Interior shall make me a report upon all
your demands ; yon may confidently count upon my protec-
tion." Thus did the Emperor occupy himself with every-
thing at the same time, and thus ably did he associate all
that was illustrious with the eclat and the grandeur of his
reign.
I have already said that he was desirous of founding
families which should perpetuate the remembrance of the
dignities that he had accorded to those whom he favored.
He was greatly annoyed at the resistance he had met with from
M. de Caulaincourt, who had gone away to Kussia, declaring
very positively that, as he could not marry Mme. de , he
would never marry.
The Emperor did his best to overcome the opposition
which he also encountered from the man for whom he cared
most — Marshal Berthier, Prince de Neufchatel. Berthier
had been for many years deeply attached to an Italian lady,
who, although she was nearer fifty than forty, was still re-
markably beautiful. She exercised supreme influence over
him, even to the extent of making him pardon several acts
of levity which she did not hesitate to indulge in before his
eyes. These she represented in any colors which she chose,
and he forgave them.
Marshal Berthier, who was importuned on this point by
the Emperor, would often entreat his master to spare him
with respect to this cherished weakness, for the sake of his
fidelity ; and Bonaparte would laugh at him, get angry, re-
turn to the charge, but could never conquer his resistance.
MARRIAGE OF MARSHAL BERTHIER. 621
This went on for years ; but at length, by dint of talking
and urgency, he carried his point, and Berthier, although he
shed bitter tears on the occasion, consented to marry a prin-
cess of the house of Bavaria.* The Princess Marie was
brought to Paris, and the marriage was solemnized in the
presence of the Emperor and Empress. Berthier's bride was
by no means handsome, or calculated to make her husband
forget the sentiments which he had cherished for so long ;
and, indeed, his passion for the Italian lady ended only with
his life. The Princess was an excellent person, but in no
way remarkable. She was liked at the French Court, and
she was always of the opinion that she had made a good
marriage. The Prince de NeufchAtel, who was largely en-
dowed with gifts by the Emperor, possessed an immense
revenue, and the household of three lived on the best possi-
ble terms. After the Pestoration they lived in Paris. The
Marshal, who was iU with fever when Bonaparte returned
from Elba on the 20th of March, 1815, was so terrified by
that event that he lost his senses, and either threw himself
or fell out of a window,f and was killed. He left two sons.
The Princess remained in Paris, and the fair Italian keeps
up her former relations with her. %
At this time the Emperor showed more plainly than ever
what a monarchical turn his ideas were taking, by founding
the institution of the " Majorats." That institution was ap-
proved by many, blamed by others, envied by a certain class,
* The Princess Marie Elizabeth was a daughter of the Duke of Bavaria-
Birkenfeld.
■j- The King had made him captain of one of his companies of the body-
guard. Berthier had followed him to Ghent.
X The death of the Prince de NeufohS,tel is surrounded by tragic and myste-
rious circumstances. Some persons assert that he threw himself out of a win-
dow during an attack of fever ;• others, that he was assassinated and thrown into,
the street by a gang of masked men. He had been one of the first among the
Marshals to abandon the Emperor, and had- recognized the new Government
even before the abdication at Fontainebleau. The Due de Rovigo accuses him
in his Memoirs of having formed a plot against the life of the Emperor.
622 MEMOIRS OF MADAMS BE R^MUSAT.
and readily adopted by many families, who welcomed this
opportunity of conferring importance on their eldest, sons
and perpetuating their name. The Arch-Chancellor carried
the decree to the Senate, and represented in his speech that
hereditary distinctions were of the essence of monarchy, that
they kept alive what is in France called honor, and that our
national character should lead us to approve them. He then
proceeded to pacify the men of the Eevolution by adding
that all citizens would be none the less equal before the law,
and that distinctions impartially accorded to all who merited
them ought to stimulate the zeal of all without exciting the
jealousy of any. The Senate received all this with its ordi-
nary approbation, and voted an address of thanks and admi-
ration to the Emperor.
M. de Talleyrand warmly praised this now institution.
He could .not understand a monarchy without a nobility. A
council was created to superintend the administration of the
laws by which the foundation of a Majorat was to be ob-
tained. M. de Pasquier, chief Master of Eequests, was
named Procurator-General ; titles were granted to those who
held great offices in the state. This was at first ridiculed,
because certain names allied themselves oddly enough to the
title of Count or Baron ; but the public soon got accustomed
to it, and, as all hoped to arrive at some distinction, they tol-
erated and even approved the new system.
The Emperor was ingenious in his method of demonstrat-
ing to all parties how entirely they ought to approve of these
creations. " I am securing the Pevolution," said he to one
party ; " this intermediate class which I am founding is emi-
nently democratic, for everybody is called to it." "It will
support the throne," said he to the grands seigneurs. Theii
he added, turning toward those who wanted a modified mon-
.archy : " It will oppose itself to the encroachments of abso-
lute authority, because it will itself be a power in the state."
To genuine Jacobins he said, "You ought to rejoice, for
here is the old noblesse finally annihilated " ; and to that old
TEE UNIVERSITY. 623
noblesse he said, " By arraying yourselves in new dignities,
you resuscitate yourselves and perpetuate your ancient rights."
We listened to him ; we wished to believe him ; and, besides,
he did not give us much time to reflect — he earned us away
in the whirlwind of contradictions of every kind. He even
imposed his benefits by force when it was necessary ; and
this was an adroitness the more, for there were people who
wanted to be forced to accept.
Another institution which seemed really grand and im-
posing succeeded this one. I allude to the University. Pub-
lic instruction was concentrated in a clear and comprehen-
sive system, and it was admitted that the decree was very
nobly conceived.
Ultimately, however, that which happened to everything
else happened to the University ; Bonaparte's own despotic
disposition took fright at the powers which he had accorded,
because they might possibly become obstacles to certain of
his desires. The Minister of the Interior, the Prefect, the
general administration — that is to say, the absolute system —
mixed itself up with the operations which the University
corps were attempting, contradicted them, and overruled
them when they indicated the very least traces of inde-
pendence. In this respect also we present the spectacle
rather of a fine fagade than of a solid building.
M. de Fontanes was nominated Grand Master of the Uni-
versity. This choice, which was also generally approved, suit-
ed tlie purpose of the master, who was so jealous of preserv-
ing his daily and hourly authority over men and things. M.
de Fontanes, whose noble intellect and reputation for perfect
taste had procured him a very distinguished position, injured
these qualities by carelessness and inertness, which rendered
him incapable of making a stand when it was necessary. I
must place him also, I fear, among the fine fagades.
Nevertheless, something was gained by this creation ; or-
der was restored to education, the scope of study was extend-
ed, and young people were occupied. It has been said thai,
45
624 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
under the Empire education at the Lye^es was entirely mili-
tary, but that was not the case. Letters were carefully cul-
tivated, sound morals were inculcated, and strict surveillance
was practiced. The system of education was, however, nei-
ther sufficiently religious nor sufficiently national, and the
time had come when it was necessary that it should be both
one and the other. No effort was made to impart to young
people that moral and political knowledge which trains citi-
zens, and prepares them to take their part in the labors of
their Government. They were obliged to attend the schools,
but nobody spoke to them of their religion ; they heard much
more about the Emperor than they heard about the state,
and they were incited to a desire for military fame. Yet,
notwithstanding these drawbacks, and although the youth of
the French nation is not all that it ought to be, it has been
developed to a remarkable extent, and a great difference may
be discerned between those who have availed themselves of
the public education offered to all and those who have held
aloof from it. Mistrust, party spirit, and a sort of general
misgiving induced the old French nobility and a portion of
the wealthy class to keep their children with themselves, and
to rear them in a number of prejudices, for which they are
now suffering. The pupils of the Lycees acquired a superi-
ority by their public education, which it would now be vain
to dispute.
The decree which created the University, after having
regulated the functions of those who were to compose it,
fixed their salaries at high rates. The officials were given a
handsome costume and an imposing organization. After the
Grand Master (the Bishop of Bazas) came M. de Villaret as
Chancellor. M. Delambre, permanent secretary of the fii-st
class of the Institute, who was held in high consideration,
both for his learning and character, was Treasurer. The
Council of the University was composed of distinguished
men ; the names of M. de Beausset, formerly Bishop of Alais,
and now Cardinal, of M. Cuvier, M. de Bonald, M. de Frays-
THE EMPEROR AND TEE PARISIAN'S. 625
Binous, Royer-CoUard, etc., were included in tlie number.
The professors were chosen with great care. In short, this
creation met with universal approbation ; but ensuing events
hindered its action in the first place, and afterward disorgan-
ized it like all the rest.
On the 23d of March, 1808, the Court went to Saint
Cloud. The Emperor always left Paris as soon as he could :
he disliked living at the Tuileries, because of the impossibil-
ity of walking about there freely ; and then, the greater liis
power and splendor became, the more ill at ease he found
himself in the presence of the Parisians. He could not en-
dure any restraint, and he knew that in the city people were
aware of the language which he was in the habit of using,
and the violence to which he gave way. He excited curios-
ity, which annoyed him ; he was coldly received in public ; a
number of stories about him got into circulation ; in short,
he was obliged to put some constraint upon himself. Thus
his sojourns in Paris became more and more brief, and he
began to'^talk of inhabiting Versailles. The restoration of
the palace was decided upon, and Bonaparte observed more
than once that in reality he had no occasion to be in Paris,
except during the session of the Corps Legislatif. When
he rode or drove to any distance from the town, he used
to say, as he approached it on his return, "Here we are
again, in the great Babylon." He even formed plans for the
transplantation of the capital to Lyons. It was only in
imagination that he contemplated such a displacement, but
he took pleasure in the idea, and it was one of his favorite
dreams.
The Parisians were perfectly well aware that Bonaparte
did not like them, and they avenged themselves by sarcastic
jests and anecdotes, which were for the most part pure in-
ventions. They were submissive to him, but cold and satiri-
cal. His courtiers adopted the antipathy of their master,
and never spoke of Paris without some disparaging epithet.
More than once I have heard the Emperor say, moodily.
626 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE StMUSAT.
" They have not yot pardoned me for pointing my guns
upon them on the 13th Vend^miaire."
An authentic collection of the observations that Bona-
parte made upon his own conduct would be a very useful
book to many sovereigns, and to their advisers. When at
the present time (I write in 1819) I hear people, who seem
to me to be mere novices in the art of governing men, affirm
that nothing is so easy as to impose one's will by force, and
that by trusting to the bayonet one may constrain a nation
to endure any regime which may be inflicted upon it, I recall
what the Emperor used to say about the difficulties which
had arisen from his first steps in his political career, the
complications produced by the employment of force against
the citizens, which beset him from the very day after that
on which he had been obliged to avail himself of so terrible
a resource.
I have heard his Ministers say that, when any violent
measure was proposed in the Council, he would put the
question, " Can you answer for it that the people will not
rise % " and that the smallest papular movement always ap-
peared to him grave and ominous. I have seen him take
pleasure in describing, or in listening to a description of, the
various emotions that are experienced upon the field of battle,
and turn pale at a narrative of the excesses of a people in
revolt ; and, if, when riding through the streets of Paris on
horseback, a workman threw himself in his way to implore
some favor, Bonaparte's first movement was always to shud-
der and recoil.
The generals of the Guard had strict orders to prevent
contact between the people and the soldiery. " I could not,"
said Bonaparte, " take the part of the latter." If any quar-
rel took place between soldiers and citizens, the soldiers were
invariably punished and sent away. It is true they after-
ward received compensation money, which quieted them.
All this time the north of Europe was in a state of agita-
tion. Tlie King of Sweden was too faithful to the policy
AN IMPENDING STORM. 627
imposed upon him by the English Government for the inter-
ests of his subjects. He excited increasing discontent among
the Swedes, and his conduct bore witness to the condition of
his brain. The Emperor of Eussia having declared war
against him, and having at the same time commenced an
expedition to Finland, M. d'Alopeus, the Russian ambassa-
dor at Stockholm, was placed under arrest in his own house,
contrary to all the rights of nations.
On tliis occasion the notes in the " Moniteur " were elo-
quent indeed. One of them was as follows : " Poor Swed-
ish nation, into what hands have you fallen ? Tour Charles
XII. was, no doubt, a little mad, but he was brave ; and
your King, who went to play braggart in Pomerania while
the armistice existed, was the first to run away when the
same armistice, which he broke, had expired." Such lan-
guage as this could only announce an impending storm.
At the beginning of the month of March the King of
Denmark, Christian VII., died ; and his son, who had long
been Eegent, ascended the throne under the title of Fred-
erick y., in the fortieth year of his age.
It is remarkable that, at a period when the troubled na-
tions seemed to have need of sovereigns of more than ordi-
nary intelligence and wisdom, several of the thrones of Eu-
rope were filled by princes who had but little use of reason,
and in some instances had none at all. Among those unfor-
tunate sovereigns were the Kings of England, Sweden, and
Denmark, and the Queen of Portugal.
Popular discontent manifested itself on the occasion of
the arrest of the Eussian ambassador at Stockholm. The
King left that city and retired to the Castle of Gripsholm,
from which he issued orders for war, either against the Rus-
sians or against the Danes.
All eyes were, however, soon turned away from what
was passing in the north, to fix themselves upon the drama
which was beginning in Spain. The Grand Duke of Berg
had been sent to take the command of our army on the
628 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE B^MUSA T.
banks of the Ebro. The King of Spain, who was feeble,
timid, and niled by his Minister, made no opposition to the
passage of the foreign troops through his country, toward
Portugal as it was represented. The national party of the
Spaniards, at whose head was the Priuce of the Asturias,
were incensed at this invasion, for they discerned its conse-
quences. They saw that they were sacrificed to the ambi-
tion of the Prince of the Peace. A revolt against that
Minister broke out ; the King and Queen were attacked, and
prepared to quit Spain. This was what the Emperor want-
ed, for he was bent upon dethroning the Prince of the Astu-
rias afterward, and beUeved that he should easily succeed in
doing so. I have already said that the Prince of the Peace,
won by the promises that had been made to him, had de-
voted himself to the policy of the Emperor, who began by
making the tremendous mistake of introducing French influ-
ence into Spain under the auspices of a detested Minister.
Meanwhile the people of Madrid flocked to Aranjuez,
and sacked the palace of the Minister, who was obliged to
hide himself to escape the fury of the mob. The King and
Queen, greatly alarmed at the danger of their favorite, and
almost equally grieved, were forced to demand that he
should resign ; and on the 16th of March, 1808, the King,
yielding to pressure from aU sides, abdicated in favor of his
eon, announcing that his health compelled him to seek a
better climate. This act of weakness checked the revolt.
The Prince of the Asturias took the name of Ferdinand
VII., and his first act of authority was to confiscate the
property of the Prince of the Peace. But he had not sufii-
cient strength of character to profit fully by the new situa-
tion. He was frightened by his rupture with his father, and
hesitated at the moment when he ought to have acted. On
the other hand, the King and Queen played the game of the
Emperor by calling the French army to their aid. The
Grand Duke of Berg joined them at Aranjuez, and prom-
ised them his dangerous assistance. The vacillation of the
AFFAIRS OF SPAIN. 629
authorities, the fear inspired by our arms, the intrigues of
the Prince of the Peace, the severe and imperious measures
of Murat, all combined to produce trouble and disorder in
Spain; and the unfortunate reigning family speedily per-
ceived that this disorganization was about to turn to the
advantage of the armed mediator, who assumed the posi-
tion of a judge. The " Moniteur " gave an account of these
events, deploring the misfortune of King Charles IV. ; and
a few days later the Emperor, accompanied by a brilliant
Court, left Saint Cloud, under the pretext of making a jour-
ney into the south of France.
I shall give the details of all these events when I reach
the fourth epoch of these Memoirs. We were in the dark
about them at the time of their occurrence. We asked our-
selves, what was the Emperor going to do ? Was this new
journey an invasion ? All these secret intrigues, to which
we had no clew, excited our attention and curiosity, and the
public disquiet increased daily.
M. de Talleyrand, whom I saw frequently, was exceed-
ingly dissatisfied, and openly blamed all that was done and
was about to be done. He denounced Murat, declaring that
there was perfidy somewhere, but that he was not mixed up
with it, and repeating that had he been Minister of Eoreign
Affairs he would never have lent his name to such devices.
The Emperor was exceedingly angry at this freely expressed
condemnation. He saw that approbation of a new kind was
felt for M. de Talleyrand ; he listened to denunciations of
his Minister, and their friendship was interrupted. He has
frequently asserted that M. de Talleyrand advised this Span-
ish affair, and only attempted to get out of it when he per-
ceived that it was a failure. I can bear witness to the fact
that M. de Talleyrand severely condemned it at the period
of which I am writing, and expressed himself with so much
vehemence against such a violation of all the rights of na-
tions that I had to advise him to moderate his language.
What he would have advised I can not say, because he never
630 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R^MUSAT.
explained himself on that point, and I have now stated all
that I know. It is, however, certain that the public were
with him at this time, and declared for him because he did
not dissemble his dissatisfaction. " This," he said, " is a
base intrigue. It is an enterprise against a national aspira-
tion ; we declare ourselves thereby the enemy of the people ;
it is a blunder which will never be repaired." Events have
proved that M. de Talleyrand was right, and that from that
fatal event the moral decline of him who at that time made
all Europe tremble may be dated.*
About this time the mild ao-d gentle Queen of il^aples set
out to rejoin her husband in Spain, and to take her place
upon a throne from which she was destined to descend be-
fore very long.
* Talleyrand's opposition to the war with Spain has been often denied, and
by the Emperor himself. My grandmother's testimony leaves not the slightest
doubt of the fact, which does so much honor to the good sense and the perspi-
cacity of the Grand Chamberlain. M. Beugnot records an almost identical con-
versation in his Memoirs. " Victories," said the Prince to him, " can not efface
such deeds, because there is vileness in them, deceit and trickery. I can not
tell what will happen, but you will see this will never be forgotten by anybody."
CHAPTEE XXIX.
(1808.)
The War with Spain — The Prince of tlie Peace— The Pjinoe of the Asturias— The
Abdication of King Charles IV. — The Departure of the Emperor— His Sqiourn
at Bayonne — Letter of the Emperor — Arrival of the Piiiioes in France — Birth
of the Second Son of the Queen of Holland — ^Abdication of the Prince of the
Asturias.
On tlie 2d of July, 1808, the Emperor set out on the
pretext of visiting the sovithem provinces, but in reality to
watch what was going on in Spain. I will give an idea of
what that was as succinctly as possible.*
The transactions of Charles IV. with the different Gov-
ernments of France were well known. After having vainly
attempted in 1793 to save the life of Louis XVI., at the
close of a war nobly undertaken but unskillfuUy conducted,
the Spaniards had to submit to the dictation of the conqueror,
and the French Government had always meddled more or less
in their affairs since that time.
* I haTG thought it right to publish this chapter, or rather this fragment of
a chapter, the last which my grandmother wrote, although It is quite unfinished,
and there is nothing in it except the historical narrative of events at Aranjuez
and Bayonne. She probably thought it necessary to preface by a statement of
facts the reflections which she would afterward have to make upon the moral
and political effect of these events, the rupture which they brought about be-
tween the Emperor and Talleyrand, and the influence of that rupture upon her
own position and that of her husband. Her narrative agrees perfectly with JI.
Thiers's account of these incidents, nor does she paint the picture in darker
colors than those which he has used. The gravest point^^that is to say, Savary's
mission to the Prince of the Asturias — is treated by the great historian in a.
manner which confirms, and even goes beyond, the statements of those Me-
moirs.— P. K.
632 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE RiMUSAT.
At the head of the administration was Emanuel Godoy —
a man of ordinary capacity, who had risen to the position
which he now held, and was governing the Spains, as the
result of the feelings with which he had inspired the Queen.
On him had been heaped all the dignities, honors, and trea-
sures which any favorite could possibly obtain. He was bom
in 1768, of a noble family, and placed in the royal Body-
guard in 1787. The Queen took him into favor, and he rose
rapidly from rank to rank, becoming lieutenant-general,
Duke of Alcudia, and in 1792 Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In 1795 he was made Prince of the Peace. After the treaty
which he concluded with France in 1798, with so little honor
to himself, he ceased to be Minister ; but lie still directed
affairs, and all his life he exercised complete empire over
King Charles IV., who strangely shared the infatuation of
the Queen his wife. The Prince of the Peace married a
niece of the King.
The good understanding whicb existed between France
and Spain appeared to be intact until the opening of the
Prussian campaign, when the Prince of the Peace, believing
that the war would injure the fortunes of the Emperor, pro-
posed to arm Spain, so that the country should be ready to
profit by events which might enable it to shake off the French
yoke. He issued a proclamation, inviting all Spaniards to
enroll themselves. This proclamation reached the Emperor
on the battle-field of Jena, and many persons have said that
from that moment he was resolved on tbe destruction of the
house of Bourbon in Spain. After his great victories he
distributed the Spanish troops over all points of Europe, and
the Prince of the Peace obtained his protection only at the
price of submitting to his policy.
Bonaparte often asserted in 1808 that at Ti]sit the Czar
had approved his designs upon Spain ; and, in fact, the inter-
view of the two Emperors took place so amicably at Erfurt,
immediately after the overthrow of Charles IV., that it is
very likely they had mutually authorized each other to pursue
THE PRINCE OF THE PEAOE. 633
their projects, the one toward the north and the other toward
the south. But I can not tell to what extent Bonaparte de-
ceived the Emperor of Russia, nor whether he did not begin
by hinting to him the division of the states of King Charles
IV. which he was pretending to prepare, and the equivalent
in Italy which he feigned to intend to give him. Perhaps
he had not yet arranged his plan for entirely dispossessing
him, and it is quite certain that M. de Talleyrand was not in
the plot.
Murat, in his correspondence with the Prince of the
Peace, bribed him with the government of a portion of
Portugal, which, he said, should become the kingdom of the
Algarves. Another portion of Portugal was to belong to
the King of Etruria, and Etruria was thenceforth to become
the empire of King Charles lY., who was to keep the Amer-
ican colonies, and at the general peace to take the title of
Emperor of the Two Americas.
In 1807 a treaty on these bases was concluded at Fontaine-
bleau, without the knowledge of M. de Talleyrand, and the
passage of our troops through Spain for the conquest of
Portugal was granted by the Prince of the Peace. At Milan
the Emperor signified to the Queen of Etruria that she was
to return to her father. Meanwhile the Prince of the Peace
was becoming more and more odious to the Spanish nation,
and was especially hated by the Prince of the Asturias. The
latter, impelled by his own feelings and by the advice of
those who surrounded him, distressed by the increasing
alienation of his mother and the weakness of his father,
alarmed at the entry of our troops, which made him suspect
some fresh plot, and especially indignant that the Prince of
the Peace should endeavor to make him contract a marriage
with the sister of the Princess, wrote to Bonaparte to apprise
him of the grievances of the Spaniards against the favorite,
and to request his support and the hand of a lady of the
Bonaparte family. To this request, which was probably
inspired by the ambassador of France, the Emperor made
634 MEMOIRS OF MADAME T)E R^MUSAT.
no immediate reply. Shortly afterward the Priace of the
Asturias was denounced as a conspirator and arrested, and his
friends were exiled. Several notes denunciatory of the exac-
tions of the Prince of the Peace were found among his papers,
and on this a charge of conspiracy was founded. The Queen
pursued her son with determined enmity, and the Prince of
the Asturias was about to be brought to trial when letters from
the Emperor, signifying that he would not permit a question
of the project of marriage to be raised, reached Madrid. As
it was upon this point that the accusation of conspiracy was
to bear, the charge had to be abandoned. The Prince of the
Peace wanted to take credit for indulgence, and pretended
that he had solicited and obtained pardon for the Prince of
the Asturias. King Charles IV. wrote to the Emperor, giving
him an account of the affair and of his own conduct ; and
Bonaparte became adviser and arbitrator in all these difficul-
ties, which so far were favorable to his own designs. These
events took place in October, 1807.
Meanwhile our troops were establishing themselves in
Spain. The Spaniards, surprised by this invasion, com-
plained bitterly of the weakness of their sovereign and the
treason of the favorite. It was asked why the Spanish
armies were sent to the frontiers of Portugal, far from the
center of the kingdom, which was thus delivered over with-
out defense. Murat was marching toward Madrid. The
Prince of the Peace sent a creature of his own, one Izquier-
do, to Fontainebleau for final instructions. This man had
an interview with M. de Talleyrand, in which the latter in-
formed him of the error into which the Prince of the Peace
had fallen, and showed him that the treaty just signed at
Fontainebleau involved the complete destruction of the
power of Spain. Izquierdo, thunderstruck at all he heard,
returned immediately to Madrid, and the Prince of the Peace
began to perceive how he had been tricked. But it was too
late. The troops were recalled, and a project of imitating
the conduct of the Prince of Brazil by abandoning the Con-
THE ABDWATION OF CHARLES IK. 635
tinent was discussed. Tlie Court was at Aranjuez ; its prep-
arations, however, could not be so secretly conducted but
that they transpired in Madrid. The excitement in the city
was increased by intelligence of the approach of Murat and
of the intended departure of the King, and soon broke out
into a revolt ; the people went in crowds to Aranjue?, the
King was detained as a prisoner in the palace, and the house
of the Prince of the Peace was sacked, while he himself
was thrown into prison, barely escaping from the fury of the
populace. Chai'les IV. was forced to disgrace his favorite
and banish him from Spain. On the following day the King,
either feeling himself too weak to rule over a country about
to become the scene of discord, or successfully coerced by
the opposite party, abdicated in favor of his son.
All this took place at a few leagues' distance from Madrid,
where Murat had established his headquarters. On the 19th
of March, 1808, Charles IV. wrote to the Emperor that, on
account of his health, he was unable to remain in Spain, and
that he had just abdicated in favor of his son. This occur-
rence upset all Bonaparte's plans. The fruit of the device
which he had been planning for six months was snatched
from him ; Spain was about to pass under the sway of a
young Prince who, judging by resent events, appeared ca-
pable of taking strong measures. The Spanish nation would,
no doubt, eagerly embrace the cause of a sovereign whose
aim would be the deliverance of his country. Our army was
coldly received at Madrid. Murat had already been obliged
to have recourse to severe measures for the maintenance of
order. A new plan was necessary, and it was needful, above
all, to be nearer the theatre of events, so as to estimate them
aright.
For these reasons the Emperor resolved on going to Ba-
yonne. He left Saint Cloud on the 2d of April, parting with
coolness from M. de Talleyrand, and abstaining from any dis-
closure of his plans. The " Moniteur " announced that the
Emperor was about to visit the southern departments, and
636 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RMuSAT.
not until the 8tli of April, after meager accounts of what
was taking place in Spain, did we learn that his presence at
Madrid was not only desired, but expected.
The Empress, who was both fond of traveling and averse
to being separated from her husband, obtained permission to
make the journey after his departure, and she soon joined
him at Bordeaux.
M. de Talleyrand was uneasy and displeased at the Em-
peror's movements. I am inclined to think that for a long
time past, as much from his dislike to Murat as on account
of other projects of which I am ignorant, he had favored the
party by whom the Prince of the Asturias was guided. On
this occasion he found himself put aside, and realized for the
first time that Bonaparte was learning to do without him.
In Paris we were all mystified at what was going on. The
ofiicial articles in the " Moniteur " were extremely obscure ;
nothing that emanated from the Emperor could surprise us ;
but even curiosity was at last wearing out, and, moreover, no
great interest was felt in the royal house of Spain. There
was, therefore, very little excitement, and we waited for
time to enlighten us. France was growing used to expect
that Bonaparte would use her simply for his own personal
ends.
Meanwhile Murat, who was acquainted with some of the
Emperor's projects, and who saw that some of them must
fail through the abdication of Charles IV., acted with skillful
duplicity at Madrid. He contrived to avoid recognizing the
Prince of the Asturias, and all the evidence leads to the con-
clusion that he contributed to excite the old King's desire to
resume his crown. A dispatch from General Monthion, who
had been sent as envoy to Charles lY. at Aranjuez, was pub-
lished in the " Moniteur," and Europe was informed that the
King had made bitter complaints of his son, had declared'
that his abdication was forced, and had placed himself in the
Emperor's hands, with a special request that the life of the
Prince of the Peace should be spared. The Queen, in still
THE EMPEROR'S SOJOURN AT BAYONNE. 63Y
more passionate terms, accused her son, and seemed entirely
engrossed by anxiety for the fate of her favorite.
The Spaniards had accepted the abdication of their King,
and were rejoiced to be rid of the yoke of the Prince of the
Peace. They were impatient, especially at Madrid, of the
presence of the French, and of their reserved behavior
toward the young sovereign ; and Murat could repress the
growing excitement only by measures of severity, necessary
under the circumstances, but which completed the detesta-
tion in which we were held.
On the Emperor's arrival at Bayonne, he took up his
abode at the Chdteau de Marrac, about a mile from the town.
He was uncertain as to what might come of his present un-
dertaking, and as a last resource was prepared to go to Ma-
drid ; but he was fully determined not to let the fruit of his
endeavors escape him. No one about him was in the secret :
he controlled the actions of all without confiding in any one.
In the Abbe de Pradt's "History of the Revolution in
Spain," there are some interesting notes and comments on
the force of" character which enabled the Emperor to bear
quite alone the secret of his vast conceptions. The Abbe de
Pradt was at that time Bishop of Poitiers, and Bonaparte,
on passing through the city, attached him to his suite, be-
lieving he should be able to make use of his well-known tal-
ent and inclination for intrigue.
Several persons who accompanied the Emperor on this
journey told me that their sojourn at Marrac was dull, and
that they all wished for a climax to the events then taking
place, in order that they might return to Paris.
Savary was dispatched to Madrid, and in all probability
received orders to bring back the Prince of the Asturias at
any cost. He accomplished his mission with the exactitude
for which he was remarkable, and which forbade him from
criticising either the orders he received or the means neces-
sary to their fulfillment. On the Yth of April Savary pre-
sented himself to the Prince of the Asturias at Madrid. He
638 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BMMUSAT.
announced the Emperor's journey into Spain as certain, as-
sumed tTie character of an ambassador coming to congratu-
late a new King, and bound himself, in the name of his
master, not to meddle with any Spanish affairs if the sover-
eign's dispositions were friendly toward the Emperor, ' He
next insinuated that negotiations would be greatly expedited
by the Prince's moving forward to meet the Emperor, who
intended very shortly to repair to Madrid ; and to the sur-
prise of every one, to the surprise of posterity also, he con-
trived to persuade the Prince of the Asturias and his Court
to undertake the journey. We can hardly doubt that advice
on this occasion V7as backed by threats, and that the unfortu-
nate young Prince was caught in a multitude of snares, all
spread for him at once. He was, no doubt, given to under-
stand that this was the price at which his crown must be
purchased, and that, as the Emperor wished him to take this
step, no help would be afforded him unless he consented to
it ; the bait that the Emperor vrould meet him on the way
was also held out, and nothing was at first gaid about his
crossing the frontier.
The Prince of the Asturias found himself involved by
circumstances in an enterprise beyond his strength ; he was
more the puppet than the chief of the party who had placed
him on the throne, and he could not quite reconcile himself
to the position of a son in open rebellion against his father.
Moreover, he was intimidated by the presence of our troops,
and dared not answer to his people for the safety of their
country if he resisted us. His advisers were alarmed, Sa-
vary's counsels were mingled with threats, and the unhappy
Prince, who was influenced by the most generous sentiments,
consented to a step which was the proximate cause of his
ruin. I have heard Savary say that the orders he had re-
ceived were so positive that, when once he had him on the
road to Bayonne, he would not have suffered him to turn
back for any consideration in the world ; and, some faith-
ful adherents having conveyed a warning to the Prince, he
LETTER OF TEE EMPEROR. G39
watched him so closely that he felt assured no human power
could snatch him from his grasp.
To further this wicked and ably laid j^lot, the Emperor
wrote the following letter, which was subsequently published.
It was handed to the Prince of the Asturias at Vittoria, and
I transcribe it here, as it throws a light on the events which
followed :
" Eayonne, April, 1808,
" My Beother : I have received your Royal Highness's
letter. In the papers of the King, your father, you must
have seen proofs of the interest I have always felt in your
Koyal Highness. You will permit me, under present cir-
cumstances, to address you loyally and frankly.
" I hoped, on reaching Madrid, to have persuaded my
illustrious friend to undertake some necessary reforms in his
states, and to satisfy in some measure the public opinion of
the country. The dismissal of the Prince of the Peace
seemed to me to be necessary both for his own happiness
and that of his subjects. Ailairs in the north have delayed
my journey. Certain events have taken place at Aranjuez.
I pronounce no judgment on these, nor on the conduct of
the Prince of the Peace ; but I know this well, that it is
dangerous for kings to accustom their people to shed blood
and to administer justice to themselves. I pray God that
your Koyal Highness may not learn this one day by your
own experience. It is not in the interest of Spain to injure
a Prince who is husband to a Princess of the blood royal,
and who has so long reigned over the kingdom. He has
now no friends, nor will j'our Highness have any if misfor-
tune overtake you. Men are always ready to make us suffer
for the honors they have paid us. Besides, how could pro-
ceedings be taken against the Prince of the Peace without
implicating the Queen and the King, your father ? Such a
lawsuit will encourage dissensions and faction, and the con-
sequences will be fatal to your crown. Your Poyal High-
ness has no other claim to it than that conferred on you by
46
640 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE Rl^MUSAT.
your mother ; if the lawsuit reflects dishonor on her, your
Royal Highness's rights will be thereby destroyed. Close
your ears, therefore, to weak and perfidious counsel ; you
have no right to sit in judgment on the Prince of the Peace.
His crimes, if he is accused of any, are absorbed in the rights
of the throne. I have often expressed a desire that the
Prince of the Peace should be removed from the conduct of
affairs. The friendship of King Charles has often induced
me to keep silence, and to turn away my eyes from his weak
attachment. "Wretched creatures that we all are ! our motto
should be, ' Weakness and Error.' But all may be arranged.
Let the Prince of the Peace be banished from Spain ; I will
offer him a refuge in France.
" As to the abdication of King Charles lY., he made it
at a time when my army was occupying Spain, and in the
eyes of Europe and of posterity I should appear to have sent
large numbers of troops thither merely in order to turn my
ally and my friend off his throne. As a neighboring sover-
eign, I may be allowed to wait for full and entire informa-
tion before recognizing this abdication. I say to your Eoyal
Highness, to all Spaniards, and to the whole world, if the
abdication of King Charles lY. is spontaneous, if it has not
been forced on him by the insurrection and the tumult at
Aranjuez, I will make no difficulty about recognizing it, and
will acknowledge your Poyal Highness to be King of Spain.
I desire, therefore, to converse with you to this end. The
caution with which I have watched these things for the last
month should be a guarantee of the support I would afford
you if, in your turn, a factious spirit, of whatever kind,
should disturb you on your throne. When King Charles
informed me of the events of last October, I was painfully
impressed by them, and I may have contributed, by the sug-
gestions I then made, to the happy ending of the Escurial
affair. Your Eoyal Highness was greatly to blame :. no
other proof of this is needed than the letter you addressed
to me, which I have persistently ignored. When, in your
THE DEPARTURE OF THE YOUNG KIXO. 641
turn, you are a King, you will know how sacred are the
rights of a throne. Any advances made to a foreign sover-
eign are criminal. Your Royal Highness mnst be on your
guard against outbursts of popular feeling. A few of my
soldiers might be murdered in isolated situations, but the
destruction of Spain would be the result. I already perceive
with regret that letters from the Captain- General of Cata-
lonia have been distributed about Madrid, and that every-
thing has been done to promote disturbance there.
" I have now fully explained myseM to your Royal High-
ness; you perceive that I am hesitating between various
ideas, which require confirmation. You may be assured that,
in any case, I shall treat you as I would treat the King, your
father. I beg you to believe in my desire for conciliation,
and to grant me an opportunity of proving my good will and
high esteem."
We see by this letter that the Emperor still reserved to
himseK the right of judging of the validity of the abdication
of Charles lY. It appears, however, that Savary flattered
the young King into the belief of more positive approbation
than was actually contained in the letter, while Murat was
secretly urging King Charles .to retract. By thus writing to
the Prince of the Asturias, the Emperor contrived a means
of saving the Prince of the Peace, if necessaiy, from taking
part with Charles lY., and finally of blaming the first symp-
tom of rebellion against his father on the part of the Prince
of the Asturias. It was known, however, at this period that
the ambassador of France had suggested to the Prince the
demand which he had made for the hand of a Princess of
the Imperial family in marriage. It was this demand which
had most deeply offended the favorite.
The Prince of the Asturias left Madrid on the 10th of
April. He received tokens of affection from his people on
his way, and great anxiety was everywhere displayed at his
approach to the frontier. Savary reiterated his assurances
642 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
that by pushing on farther they must meet the Emperor, and
kept the Prince under strict guard. On reaching Burgos,
the Prince's council began to take alarm ; but they continued
their route to Yittoria, where the people unharnessed the
horses from the carriage, the guard had to force a passage,
and this was done almost against the will of the Prince,
whose hopes were fading.
" At Yittoria," Savary told me afterward, " I thought for
an instant that my prisoner was about to escape, but I took
care he should not. I frightened him." " But," I answered,
" do you mean that, if he had resisted, you would have killed
him?" "Oh no," he said; "but I protest that I would
never have let him go back."
The Prince's councilors, however, were reassured by the
reflection that a marriage would conciliate all parties, and,
being unable to understand the immensity of the Imperial
projects, they looked upon such an alliance, together with
the sacrifice of a few men and of the liberty of trade, as the
conclusion of a definitive treaty. They yielded, therefore, to
the soldierly arguments of Savary, and finally crossed the
frontier.
The royal party entered Bayonne on the 21st of April.
Those persons of the household who were then in attendance
on the Emperor discovered, by the change in his temper,
how important for the success of his projects was the arrival
of the Infantes. Until then he had seemed full of care, con-
fiding in no one, but dispatching courier after courier. He
dared not reckon on the success of his plan. He had invited
the old King to come to him, who, as well as the Queen and
the favorite, had just then nothing better to do; but it
seemed so likely that the new King would take advantage of
the revolt about to break out in 'Spain and would rouse the
new-born enthusiasm of all classes for the deliverance of
their country, that, until the actual moment when he was
informed that the Prince had crossed the Pyrenees, the Em-
peror must have looked on the event as wellnigh impossible.
THE EMPEROR'S DOUBLE-DEALING. 643
He has since said that, dating from this blunder, he had no
longer a doubt of the incapacity of King Ferdinand.
On the 20th of April the Queen of Holland gave birth
to a son, who was named Louis.*
At this time the painter Robert died. He was famous
for his artistic talent, his taste in architecture, and was, be-
sides, an excellent and very clever man.f
The Abbe de Pradt has narrated all the circumstances of
the arrival of the Princes ; and, as he witnessed it, I again
refer to his work, without feeling bound to quote from it
here. He says that the Emperor came from Marrac to Ba-
yonne ; that he treated the Prince of the Asturias as an
equal ; that he invited him the same day to dinner, treating
him with royal honors ; and that it was not until the evening
of that day, when the Prince had returned to his dwelling,
that Savary again came to him, with orders to inform him
of Bonaparte's intentions. These intentions were to over-
throw the reigning dynasty, in order to put his own in its
place, and consequently the abdication of the whole family
was demanded. The Abbe de Pradt is naturally astounded
at the part which the Emperor played during the day, and
one can hardly conceive why he gave himself the trouble to
act a character in the morning so contrary to that of the
evening.
Whatever were his motives, one can understand the
amazement of the Spanish Princes, and what must have
been their regret, having thus delivered themselves into the
hands of their inflexible enemy. From that time they made
* This child became the Emperor Napoleon III. The singular fate which
decreed liis birth on the very day of the arrival of the Infantes at Bayonne, at
tlie time when the crime and the blunder of the Spanish war was beino' accom-
plished, may commend itself to fatalistic historians. — P. R.
f This does not mean L6opold Eobert, who is better known by this genera-
tion, but a Hubert Robert, born in ITSS, made a member of the Academy in
176B, and known by pictures of ruins, in which the classical taste begins to be-
tray some modern, or, as they would have been called a little later, romantic
tendencies.
DD
644 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE EJIMUSAT.
efforts, not to fly — for they quickly perceived that flight was
impossible — ^bnt to inform the Junta, sitting at Madrid, of
their captivity and of the intentions which would cause the
ruin of the last Bourbons. The greater number of their
messengers were stopped, but some few got away safely ; the
news they carried excited indignation in Madrid, and thence
throughout Spain. Some provinces protested; in several
towns the people rose in revolt ; in Madrid the safety of the
French army was endangered. Murat redoubled his sever-
ity, and became a,n object of hatred, as well as terror, to all
the inhabitants.
Every one knows now how greatly the Emperor deceived
himself as to the condition of Spain and the character of the
Spaniards. He was influenced in this odious undertaking
by those same defects of character and judgment which had
on other occasions led him into such grave errors : first, his
determination to prevail by sheer force, and his thirst for
instant submission, which made him neglect intermediaries,
who are not always to be despised with impunity ; and, sec-
ondly, an obstinate conviction that men are but very slight-
ly influenced by their mode of government, and that national
differences are so unimportant that the same policy vsdll an-
swer equally well in the north or in the south, with Ger-
mans, Frenchmen, or Spaniards. He has since admitted
that he was greatly mistaken in this. When he learned
that there existed in Spain a higher class, aware of the bad
government under which it lived, and anxious for some
changes in the constitution, he did not doubt but that the
people too would swallow the bait if a revolution like that
of France were offered to them. He believed that in Spain,
as elsewhere, men would be easily roused against the tempo-
ral power of the priesthood. His keen perception appre-
ciated the movement which had caused the revolt of Aran-
juez, and had placed the reins of power in the hands of a
weak Prince, too evidently lacking ability to make or con-
trol a revolution ; and he imagined, overleaping time and the
SPAIN m A STATE OF ANARCHY. 645
obstacles or eircumstances which cause delay, that, the first
impulse of movement having been given to Spanish institu-
tions, a complete change would ensue. He believed himself
to be even rendering a service to the nation in thus fore-
stalling events, in seizing on the Spanish revolution before-
hand, and in guiding it at once to the goal which he thought
it destined to reach.
But even were it possible to persuade a whole nation, and
to induce it to accept, as the outcome of a wise foresight,
those things- which it can never understand except through
the teaching of facts and often of misfortune, the hatefnl-
ness of the means employed by the Emperor blasted him in
the eyes of those he wished to win, and whom he believed
he was serving ; '■'■for the heart of Jehu was Tiot upright, nor
his hands clea/nP that Spain should receive him as the re-
former whom she needed. Moreover, a foreign yoke was
offensive to Spanish pride ; while secret machinations, the
imprisonment of the sovereigns, unconcealed contempt for
religious beliefs, the threats that were used, the executions
that followed on them, and, later, the exactions and cruelties
of war, aU concurred to prevent any concord. The two con-
tending parties, each inflamed against the other, were soon
filled with a furious longing for mutual destruction. The
Emperor himseK sacrificed everything rather than yield; he
was lavish of men and money only that he might prove him-
self the strongest, for he could not endure the shame of de-
feat before the eyes of Europe, and a bloody war, terrible
disasters, were the result of his wounded pride and his tyran-
nical wiU. AH he did, therefore, was to throw Spain into a
state of anarchy. The people, finding themselves without
an army, believed that the defense of the soil devolved upon
them ; and Bonaparte, who took pride in being the elect of
the people, and who also felt that therein lay his security-
Bonaparte, who, to be consistent in his theories, should never
have waged war except on kings — found himself, after a few
years, cut adrift from that policy on which he had founded
646 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
his power wMle lie revealed to the whole world that he used
that power for his personal advantage only.
Although he was conscious of some of these future diffi-
culties, he continued to tread the devious path on which he
had entered. The Prince of the Asturias refused to sign
an act of abdication, and this caused him great pei-plexitj.
Fearing that the Prince might escape him, he caused him to
be strictly watched ; he tried him by every kind of persua-
sion and threat, and all who surrounded the Emperor soon
became aware of the state of perturbation into which he had
again fallen. Duroc, Savary, and the Abb^ de Pradt were
enjoined to bribe, to persuade, or to terrify the Prince's
councilors. But how is it possible to persuade people to
consent to their own fall from power ? If we abide by the
Emperor's opinion, that every member of the reigning family
was equally stupid and incapable, the wiser course would still
have been to have left them in possession of the throne ; for
the necessity of taking action in times that were becoming
so difficult must have led them into many faults, of which
their enemy might have taken advantage. But, by the out-
rageous insults put upon them, by the violation of every
human right in their regard, by the inaction to which they
were forced, by imposing on them the simple and pathetic
character of victims, their part was made so easy to play that
they became objects of interest without having to take the
smallest pains to excite that sentiment. With respect to the
Spanish Princes and the Pope, the Emperor committed the
same blunder and incurred the same penalty.
Meanwhile, he was determined to end this state of men-
tal anxiety, and he decided on sending for King Charles IV.
to Bayonne, and on openly espousing the cause of the de-
throned old monarch. He foresaw that this course of action
must be followed by war, but he flattered himself — ^liis vivid
imagination was always ready to flatter him when he had
fully decided on any step — that this war would resemble all
the others. " Yes," he said, " I feel that I am not doing
ABDICATION OF THE PRINCE OF TEE ASTUBIA8. 6i7
right ; but why do not they declare war on me ? " And
when it was pointed out to him that he could scarcely expect
a declaration of war from persons removed from their own
territory and deprived of their liberty, he exclaimed : " But
why did they come, then ? They are inexperienced young
men, and have come here without passports. I consider this
enterprise as very important, for my navy is defective, and
it will cost me the six vessels I have now at Cadiz." On
another occasion he said : " If this were to cost me eighty
thousand men, I would not undertake it ; but I shall not
need twelve thousand. It is a mere trifle. The people here
don't know what a French brigade means. The Prussians
were just the same, and we know how they fared in con-
sequence. Depend upon it, this will soon be over. I do
not wish to harm any one, but, when my big political car is
started, it must go on its way. Woe to those who get imder
the wheels ! " *
Toward the end of April the Prince of the Peace arrived
at Bayonne. Murat had released him from the captivity in
which he was held at Madrid. The Junta, under the presi-
dency of Don Antonio, brother to Charles IV., gave him up
unwillingly, but the time for resistance was over. The fa-
vorite had lost any hope of future sovereignty, his life was
in danger in Spain, and the Emperor's protection was his
only resource ; therefore there was little doubt but that he
would agree to anything required of him. He was instruct-
ed to guide King Charles in the path the Emperor wished
him to follow, and he acquiesced without a word.
I can not refrain from transcribing some reflections of
the Abbe de Pradt, which seem to me to be very sensible
and appropriate here.
"At this period," he says, "that part of the scheme
which concerned the translation of Joseph to Madrid was
not as yet made public. It may have been discerned, but
* " M^moires Historiques sur la Kevolution en Espagne, par I'auteur du Oon-
gres de Vicnne." Paris, 1816.— P. R.
64:8 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EJ^MUSAT.
.Napoleon had not disclosed it. In the interviews with
Napoleon which the negotiation with M. Escoiqniz procured
for me he never made any allusion to it. He left to time
the task of unfolding each feature of a plan which he re-
vealed cautiously and by slow degrees, and after he had
cherished it for a long succession of days in his own mind,
without relieving himseK of the burden by one indiscreet
word. This was sad misuse of moral strength, but it proves
how great is the self-mastery of a man who can thus control
his words, especially when naturally inclined to indiscretion,
as Napoleon was, particularly when he was angry."
King Charles IV. reached Bayonne on the 1st of May,
accompanied by his wife, their youngest son, the daughter
of the Prince of the Peace, and the Queen of Etruria and
her son. Shortly afterw^ard Don Antonio arrived also ; he
had been obliged to leave the Junta and to joiu his relatives.
00]SrOLUSIOK
The Memoirs of my grandmother come to an end here,
and general regret will, no doubt, be felt that she was pre-
vented by death from continuing them, at any rate so far as
the diyorce from the Emperor, which, from the very begin-
ning, hangs threateningly over the head of the fascinating,
lovable, and yet somewhat uninteresting Josephine. No
one can supply what is wanting here ; even the correspond-
ence of the author affords little political information respect-
ing the succeeding period, and during the latter part of her
life she seldom spoke of what she had witnessed or endured.
My father entertained at times the idea of continuing her
narrative, by putting together what ' he had heard from his
parents, anecdotes or expressions of their opinions in the
last days of the Empire, and what he himself knew concern-
ing their lives. He did not carry out his plan in its entirety,
nor did he leave anything on the subject complete. His
notes, however, seem to me to be valuable, and give the
ending of the great drama which has been described in the
foregoing pages. It will be interesting to read them as a
continuation of the Memoirs, which they complete, although
he has recorded his opinions concerning the latter days of
the Empire, and the period when he himself entered politi-
cal life, in a more extensive work. His political views and
clear definition of the conduct of officials and of citizens in
650 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RI^MUSAT.
times of difficulty deserve to be made known. I have added
this chapter to the Memoirs, and published the notes of
vsrhich I speak in their original unstudied form, confining my-
self to the slight modifications necessary to make the narra-
tive succinct and clear.
The Spanish sovereigns arrived at Bayonne in May, 1808.
The Emperor dispatched them to Fontainebleau, and sent
Ferdinand YII. to Valengay, an estate belonging to M. de
Talleyrand. Then he himself returned, after having trav-
eled through the southern and western departments, and
made a political journey into La Yendee, where his presence
produced a great effect. He reached Paris about the middle
of August. Count de E^musat writes :
" My father, who was then First Chamberlain, was ap-
pointed to receive the Spanish Bourbons at Fontainebleau.
He accomplished his task with the attention and courtesy
habitual to him. Although on his return he gave us an ac-
count which conveyed no exalted idea of the King, the
Queen, or the Prince of the Peace, who accompanied them,
he had treated these dethroned Princes with the respect
due to rank and misfortune. It would seem that some of
the other Court officials had behaved in a different fashion,
rather from ignorance than from ill feeling. Charles IV.
noticed this, and said, ' Kemusat, at any rate, knows that I
am a Bourbon.'
" M. de Talleyrand happened to be actually staying at
Yalengay when the Emperor sent him orders to proceed
thither, with an evident intention of committing him to the
Spanish affair, to receive the three Infantes. He was not
altogether pleased with the task, nor on his return did he
refrain from sarcastic remarks concerning these strange de-
scendants of Louis XIY. He used to tell tis that they bought
children's toys at all the booths at the neighboring fairs, and
when a poor person begged an alms of them they would give
him a doll. He afterward accused them of dilapidations at
Yalengay, and cleverly mentioned the fact to Louis XYIII.,
CONCLUSION. 651
who, being desirous to dismiss him from Court, while he had
not the courage to order him to go, took occasion to praise
the beauty and splendor of his seat at Yalengay. ' Yes, it
is pretty fair,' he said, ' but the Spanish Princes entirely
spoiled it with the fireworks on St. Napoleon's Day.'
" Although M. de Talleyrand was aware that his position
with the Emperor was altered, yet he found Bonaparte
when he joined him well disposed and inclined to trust him.
There was no perceptible cloud between them. The Em-
peror had need of him for the conference at Erfurt, to which
they went together at the end of September. My father
was in attendance on the Emperor. The letters which he
doubtless wrote thence to my mother have not been found ;
but their correspondence was so strictly watched, and must
therefore have been so reserved, that its loss is, I fancy, of
little importance. My father's general letters referred to the
good understanding between the two Emperors, their mutual
finessing, and the fine manners of the Emperor Alexander.
" M. de Talleyrand composed a narrative of this Erfurt
conference, which he was in the habit of reading aloud. He
used to boast, on his return, that as the two Emperors en-
tered their respective carriages, each about to journey in a
different direction, he had said to Alexander, while attending
him, ' If you could only get into the wrong carriage ! ' He
had discerned some fine qualities in the Czar, and had en-
deavored to win favor, by which he profited in 1814 ; but,
at the time of which I am writing, he looked on a Kus-
sian alliance as a merely accidental necessity during a war
with England, and he persistently held that friendship with
Austria, which would eventually become a basis for an alli-
ance with England, was the true system for France in Eu-
vj-ope. His conduct of political affairs, whether at the time
of Napoleon's marriage, or in 1814, in 1815, or, again, in the
reign of Louis Philippe, was always consistent with this
theory. He often spoke of it to my mother.
" My mother, in order to complete the history of the year
652 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EJ^MHSAT.
1808, would have had to narrate, first, the Erfurt conference,
according to the narratives of M. de Talleyrand and of my
father ; and, secondly, the reaction of the Spanish affair on
the Court of the Tuileries and on Parisian society. The Roy-
alist section of the Court and society was deeply moved by the
presence of the ancient Bourbons at Fontainebleau. Here, I
think, she would have placed the disgrace and exile of Mme.
de Chevreuse.
" The Emperor came back from Erfurt in October, but
he merely passed through Paris, and started immediately for
Spain, whence he returned at the beginning of 1809, after
an indecisive campaign.
"Public opinion was far from favorable to his policy.
For the first time the possibility of his loss had occurred to
the minds of men, especially of his sudden death in the
course of a war in which a motive of patriotism might nerve
an assassin's hand. Various reports, partly loyal and partly
malicious, had made the progress of disapprobation and
discontent known to him. Talleyrand and Fouche had not
hesitated to confirm those reports. The former, especially,
was always bold, and even imprudent, as are all men who are
proud of their powers of conversation and believe in them
as in a force. Fouche, who was more reserved, or less often
quoted in society, probably went further in fact. After his
positive fashion, he had been practically considering the
hypothesis of the opening up of the Imperial succession, and
this consideration had brought him nearer to M. de Talley-
rand's opinions.
" The Emperor returned in an angry mood, and vented
his irritation on the Court, and especially at the Ministerial
Council, in the celebrated scene in which he dismissed M. de
Talleyrand * from his post of Grand Chamberlain, and put
M. de Montesquiou in his place.
" That important functionaries of the Empire, such as
Talleyrand and Fouche, as well as other less prominent per-
* Thiers's "Histoire du Consiilat et de I'Empire," vol. x., p. 17.
CONCLUSION. 653
sons, should have behaved as they did on this occasion, has
been severely commented on. I am ready to admit that
vanity and talkativeness may have led Talleyrand and Fouche
to say more than was prudent ; but I maintain that, under
an absolute government, it is necessary that men holding im-
portant offices should, in the case of public danger, or on
perceiving that affairs are being badly directed, not be afraid
to encourage, by a prudent opposition, the moral resistance
which alone can slacken or even divert the mistaken course
of authority. Still more, if they foresee the possibility of
disaster, against which no preparations have been made, they
should take thought concerning what may yet be done. That
the pride of absolute power should be mortified, that en-
deavors should be made to overcome and to suppress that
resistance when it is too isolated to avail, I understand. But
it would be none the less a boon to the state and for the ruler,
if this opposition were sufficiently powerful to oblige him to
modify his plans and to reforn»his life.
" "With regard to the case in point, let us suppose that,
instead of imputing the disapprobation of Talleyrand or of
Fouche to intrigue or treason, Napoleon had received re-
ports from Dubois, or others who had presented it as a proof
of the universal discontent ; that his Prefect of Police, him-
self sharing them, had pointed out to him that these senti-
ments were felt and expressed by Cambaceres, by Maret, by
Caulaincourt, by Murat, lastly by the Due de Gaeta, whom
Thiers quotes on this occasion — in short, by every important
personage in the Court and the Government — ^would the
service rendered to the Emperor have been an evil one?
And would not this unanimous opposition have been the
only means likely to enlighten him, to arrest his steps, to
turn him from the way of perdition at a period when it was
not yet too late ?
" As to the reproach addressed to Talleyrand or others,
that they censured the Government after having approved
and served it, that is a natural one in the mouth of Napo-
654 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE EilMUSAT.
leon, who, moreover, did not hesitate to exaggerate it by
falsehood. But in itself it is f oolieli ; otherwise all honest
men must hold themselves forbidden, because they have once
belonged to a certain goTemment, because they have for-
merly supported, cloaked, or even justified its faults, either
in error or from weakness, to grow vriser as dangers thicken
and circumstances become developed. Unless we are re-
solved on unceasing opposition or on ujilimited submission,
a time must come when we no longer approve what we
approved yesterday, when we feel bound to speak although
hitherto we have been silent, and when, drawbacks striking
us more forcibly than advantages, we recognize defects which
we had hitherto endeavored or pretended to ignore, and faults
which for a long time we have palliated ! After all, this is
what happened in France with regard to JSTapoleon, and the
change took place in the mind of officials and citizens alike,
except when the former were blinded by servility or cor-
rupted by a base ambition. •
" In our own modest sphere we never had to decide
under the Empire, except upon the direction of oui- wishes
and feelings, for we never took any part in politics ; yet we
■ had to solve for ourselves that question which continually
recurs to me when I reperuse the Memoirs or the letters in
which my mother has preserved her impressions and her
thoughts.
" My mother would have had to allude, at any rate indi-
rectly, to this grave subject in narrating the disgrace of M.
de Talleyrand. She saw him, at that time, at least as often
as formerly; she heard his own statements. Nothing was
better known just then to the public than the cold silence
(equally far removed from weakness and from insolence)
with which, leaning against a console on account of his lame-
ness, he listened to the Emperor's philippic. As is the cus-
tom under absolute monarchy, he swallowed the affront, and
continued to present himself at Court with a coolness which
was not to be mistaken for humility ; and I have no recollec-
00N0LU8I0N. 655
tion that his attitude under the Empire was ever accused of
weakness from that day forth. It must, of course, be under-
stood that the rules of the point of honor are not in this
case as they are understood in a free country, nor the philo-
sophic laws of moral dignity as they are understood outside
the world of courts and polities.
"My mother would, after this, have had to relate our
own little episode in the drama. I am not sure whether the
Emperor, on his arrival, felt or showed any displeasure toward
my father. I do not know whether it was not subsequent
reports which caused our disgrace. In any case, my father
did not become immediately aware of the truth, either be-
cause it was so far from his thoughts that he suspected no-
thing, or because the Emperor did not think of him at first.
He was a friend of M. de Talleyrand's, and in his confidence
up to a certain point : this in itself was a motive for suspicion
and a cause of disfavor. "We had written no letter and taken
no step that could tell against us, and I remember that even
our speech was very guarded, and that, could the police spies
have witnessed the interviews with M. de Talleyrand in my
mother's little drawing-room, where my parents habitually
received him alone, they could have discovered nothing
whereon to found a police report. Such reports were made,
however ; my father felt no doubt about that, although the
Emperor never displayed his resentment by any outbreak,
nor did he even enter into any serious explanation. But he
acted toward him with a cold malevolence and harshness
which made his service intolerable. Thenceforth my parents
felt themselves in a painful position with the sovereign,
which might, perhaps, lead to their quitting the Court.
" There was no ameKoration in this state of things when
ISTapoleon, who had gone to Germany in April, 1809, came
back to Fontainebleau on the 6th of October, the conqueror
of "Wagram, and proud of the peace just signed at Vienna.
Victories, however dearly bought, did not make him more
generous or kindly. He was still performing work impor-
47
656 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE E^MUSAT.
tant enougli to be vain of his power, and, if it had been
put to severe tests, that was a stronger reason why he desired
it to be respected. However, he found, in reverting to the
recent souvenir of the descent of the English iipon Walche-
ren, a state of things in Spain quite unsatisfactory, a quarrel
with the Holy See pushed to its last extremities, and public
opinion more restless about his inclination for war than re-
assured by his victories — defiant, sad, even critical, and be-
setting with its suspicions the man whom it had so long en-
vironed with its fallacies.
"This time Fouch^ was the object of his thoughts.
Fouche had acted in his own way at the moment of the
descent of the English. He had assumed authority, he
had made an appeal to public sentiment, he had reorganized
the national guard, and employed Bernadotte on our side.
Everything in these proceedings, both the conception and
the details, had greatly displeased the Emperor. All his ill-
temper was concentrated upon Fouche ; and, besides, as he
had come back resolved upon the divorce, it was difficult to
hold M. de Talleyrand aloof from a deliberation in which
the knowledge of the condition of Europe should have a
decisive weight. In this must be still seen one of those
proofs, at that time less frequent each day, of the almost
impartial justice of his mind. He was sometimes heard to
say : ' It is Talleyrand alone who understands me ; it is only
Talleyrand with whom I can talk.' He consulted him, and
at other moments spoke of placing him at Vincennes. Thus
he did not fail to call him when he deliberated upon his
marriage. M. de Talleyrand strongly insisted that he should
unite himself to an Archduchess. He even thought that the
Emperor had sought an interview with him because his in-
tervention in this matter would contribute to decide Austria.
What is certain is the fact that he has always alluded to his
conduct in this instance as one of the guarantees he had
given of his fundamental opinion in regard to the alliances
of France and the conditions of the independence of Europe.
CONCLUSION. 657
" It is seen how, in all these matters — the state of opinion
during the campaign of the Danube, the deliberations rela-
tive to the divorce, those which preceded the marriage with
Marie Louise — the Memoirs of my mother would have been
instructive and interesting. It is unhappily impossible to
supply this last link. I am only able to recall that she said
that the Empress was wrong in doubting her fidelity on one
occasion, probably relative to the divorce. She has an-
nounced that this matter was explained. I can not explain
it in its place, and I have no recollection that she ever
spoke to me of it. At the moment of the divorce her devo-
tion was appreciated, and Queen Hortense went so far as to
consult with her in regard to it twice before enlisting her
irrevocably in favor of her mother.* I have no wish to
over-estimate the value of what she did in that matter ; the
most refined delicacy dictated her conduct; and, besides,
with her deplorable health, her forced inactivity, her former
relations to Josephine, and our new situation near the Em-
peror, she would have had in a renovated Court, near a new
Empress, a most awkward and painful position. It may be
conceived, indeed, that nothing in all that I am going to re-
call restored our credit at the Court, and my family remained
there irreparably lessened in its influence. The Emperor,
however, approved of my mother's remaining with the Em-
press Josephine. He even praised her for it ; this suited her.
He regarded her as a person on the retreat, with whom he
no longer need to concern himself. Having less to expect
from him, less to demand from him, he reproached us less ia
his thought for omitting to do anything on our part to please
him. He left my father in the circle of his official duties,
to which his character and a certain mingling of discontent
and fear kept him closely enough confined. It was almost
established in the mind of !N"apoleon that he had nothing
more to do for us, and he no longer thought of us.
* I have given, in a note to Chapter XXVII., the letter -which recounts this
conversation, — P. K.
658 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE R'&MUSAT.
" This new si'tuation makes it evident that the Memoirs
of my mother would have lost their interest. She no longer
visited the Court, going once only to be presented to the
Empress Marie Louise; then she had later an audience of
the Emperor, who wrote to her asking it.* She would,
therefore, have had nothing to relate of which she had been
a witness in the imperial palace. She was no longer placed
under obligations by any relations with the great personages
of the state — at least she considered herself relieved of them ;
and yielding, perhaps too readily, to her tastes, and her suf-
ferings, she gradually isolated herscK from everything that
would remind her of the Court and of the Government.
" However, as my father did not cease to frequent the
palace to the end, as the confidence in M. de Talleyrand
seemed not to diminish, and, finally, as the rapid and declin-
ing steps in the affairs of the Emperor more and more affect-
ed public opinion, and soon stirred up the restless attention
of the nation, my mother had still much with which to be-
come acquainted, and much to observe, and she would have
been able to give to the painting of the last five years of the
Empire a positive historic value.
" Some reflections on many events of those five years
will be taken, if it is desired, as a remembrance of what I
have heard, during this same time, from the lips of my
parents.
"Among the events of that year, 1809, one of the most im-
portant, and which made the least noise, was the action of the
Emperor in regard to the Pope. The facts were not well
understood when they took place, and, it is necessary to say,
that among the nation that Louis XIII. put under the protec-
tion of the Holy Virgin no one thought of them. The Emper-
or had begun by causing the Koman States to be occupied,
then went on by dismembering them, then by demanding from
the Pope that he should make war upon England, then by
* I have spoken in a note of this audience, and of the letter which fol-
lowed.—P. K.
CONCLUSION. 659
driving him from tlie city of Kome, then by depriving him
of all temporal power, then, finally, by causing him to be
arrested and guarded as a prisoner. How strange all this,
assuredly ! And yet it seemed^that no government of Catho-
lic Europe seriously offered assistance to the common father
of the faithful. The Pope certainly, deliberating in 1804
whether he should crown Napoleon, had not objected on the
ground that it was he who, in that year, had caused the Duke
d'Enghien to be shot. The Emperor of Austria, deliberating
in 1809 whether he should give his daughter to Napoleon,
did not object on the ground that it was he who, in that
same year, had placed the Pope in prison. It is true that at
that time all the sovereigns of Europe had, in that which
relates to pontifical authority, entirely different ideas from
those ascribed to them, and from those attributed to them
to-day. The house of Austria, in particular, had for a tra^
ditional rule that political testament in which the Duke of
Lorraine, Charles V., recommends that the Pope should be
reduced to the single domain of the court of Eome, and
makes sport ' of the delusion of excommunications, when
the real point is that Jesus Christ never established the tem-
poral power of the Church, and that the latter can possess
nothing without contradicting his example and without com-
promising his Grospel.'
" In a letter of my mother she advised my father, in the
autumn of 1809, not to allow 'Athalie' to be represented
at Court, at a moment when it might be said that there were
some allusions to papal affairs in that struggle of a queen and
a priest, and in presence of a prince so pious as the King of
Saxony, who was preparing to visit the Emperor. In this
incident was the maximum of evidence of the direction of
her thoughts excited by a tyrannic act of which so much
would now be heard, and in regard to which public opinion
would certainly be no more divided. I have not heard it
said that a single officer in this immense empire would have
separated himself from a government of which the head was
660 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE S^MUSAT.
excommunicated, if not by name, at least impliedly, by the
bull launched against all the authors or abettors of the at-
tempts against pontifical authority. I can not refrain from
alluding to the Due de Cadore. He was a man not without
intelligence nor without honesty ; but, accepting as indispu-
table laws the intentions of the Emperor, after having em-
ployed his ministry in the spoliation of the Spanish dynasty,
he concurred with the same dociKty ia. that of the sovereign
Pontiff, and, himself excommunicated as a 7nam,datory, abet-
tor, and counselor, he maintained with great composure that
Napoleon could resume that which Charlemagne had given,
and that now France was in the presence of Eome by the
rights of the Gallic Church.
" The situation of the Empire at the end of 1809 is sum-
marized in these words by the great historian of the Empire :
' The Emperor had made himself, at Vincennes, the rival of
the regicides ; at Bayonne, the peer of those who would de-
clare war on Europe to establish a universal republic ; at the
Quirinal, the peer certainly of those who had dethroned Pius
VI. to create the Eoman Kepublic'
" I am not one of those who assist by declamation in in-
tensifying the odium of these acts. I do not regard them as
unheard-of monstrosities reserved to our century; I know
that history is full of examples with which it is not difficult
to compare themj and that analogous outrages can be found
in the life of sovereigns for whom posterity has preserved
some respect. It would not be difficult to find in the history
of the severities of the reign of Louis XIV. executions which
are not incomparable with the death of the Due d'Enghien.
The affair of the Man in the Iron Mask, especially if, as it is
difficult not to believe, this man was a brother of the King,
is nothing that the murder of Vincennes need be envious of ;
and power and deception are not less worthily arrayed in the
act by which Louis XIV. seized Lorraine in 1661 than in
the fraudulent dismemberment of Spain in 1808. I see in
the abduction of the Pope hardly more than its equivalent if
CONCLUSION. 661
we revert to the middle ages. I will add that, even after
these acts, for ever to be condemned, it was still possible, by
the use of a little wisdom, to have assured the repose, the
prosperity, and the grandeur of France to the extent that no
name in history would have been more honored than that
of Napoleon. But if any one imagines that this is what he
has not done ; that all the wars thereafter undertaken were
no more than the mad preparatory steps to the ruin of the
country ; and that thenceforward the character of the man
already loaded with such misdeeds was afflicted with a super-
ciliousness and a harshness which were discouraging to his
best servants, it is essential to clearly understand that, even
at Court, all those whom the servile complaisance of false
judgment had not led astray, sadly disabused, could rightly
serve without confidence, admire without affection, fear more
than hope, desire lessons of opposition to a terrible power,
in his successes to dread his intoxication, and in his misfor-
tunes to weep for France rather than him.
"Such, in fact, is the spirit in which these Memoirs
would have been continued, and it will even be found that,
by a kind of retroactive effect, this spirit is shown in the
recitals anterior to 1809. At the epoch in which history was
enacting, this spirit was slow in manifesting itself, as I have
now described it. Years glided away in sadness timid and
defiant, but without hate, and each time that a happy circum-
stance or a wise measiire gave their light to them, the star
of hope resumed the ascendant, and one tried to believe that
the progress in the direction of evil would have an end.
" The years 1810 and 1811 are the two tranquil years of
the Empire. The marriage in the one and the birth of the
King of Eome in the other seemed pledges of peace and sta-
bility. The hope would have been without shadows, the se-
curity entire, if the torn veil through which the Emperor
could be seen had not revealed passions and en-ors, seeds
always productive of gratuitous mistakes and senseless at-
tempts. It was seen that the love of excess had taken pos-
session of him, and was carrying all before it. Besides the
662 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE R^MUSAT.
interminable duration of a war witli England, with no possi-
bility of gloriously conquering her, or of doing her any in-
jury that was not damaging to us, and the continuation of a
struggle in Spain difficult and unfortunate, were two trials
that the pride of the Emperor could not long endure in
peace. It was necessary that he should preserve his reputa-
tion at all cost, and that by some astounding successes he
should cause to be forgotten those obstinate checks to his
fortune. Sound judgment pointed out that the Spanish
question was the one to end, I do not say by a return to
justice and by a generous concession — the Bonapartes are
not among those to whom such measures suggest themselves
— ^but by force. It can readily be believed that, had the
Emperor concentrated all the resources of his genius and of
his Empire upon the resistance of the Peninsula, he would
have conquered it. Unjust causes are not always destined to
fail in this world, and the Emperor ought to have seen that,
in humiliating Spain, he was preparing the occasion, so vain-
ly sought, for striking England, since that nation rendered
itself vulnerable by landing her armies on the Continent.
Such an occasion made it worth while that something should
be risked. !Napoleon should have gone there in person, and
himself entered the lists with Arthur "Wellesley. What
glory, on the other hand, and what fortune did he not re-
serve to himself and to his nation, in persistently adjourning
the struggle, and in confronting them both finally on the
mournful plains of Waterloo !
" But the Emperor had no relish for the Spanish ques-
tion ; he was tired of it. It had never yielded a pleasant or
glorious moment. He haK understood that he had begun it
unjustly and conducted it feebly; that he had singularly
misconceived its difficulty and importance. He tried to have
a contempt for it, in order not to be humiliated by it ; he
neglected it, in order to avoid its anxieties. He had a child-
ish repugnance, if it was nothing worse, to i-isking himself
in a war whicl^ did not appeal to his imagination. Shall we
dare say that he was not absolutely sure of doing the work
conclusion: 663
AvoU, and that the dangers of reverses turned him from an
enterprise which, even well carried to its conclusion, would
have gone too slowly and with too many difiBculties to have
increased his grandeur? A ready extemporizer, his plan
seemed to be to allow everything to die of old age that dis-
pleased him, and to build up his fortune and fame in some
new enterprise. These causes, joined to the logical develop-
ments of an absurd system, and to the developments natural
to an uncontrollable temper, annulled all the guarantees of
prudence and safety that the events of the years 1810 and
1811 seemed to have given, turned him from Spain to Rus-
sia, and brought about that campaign of 1812 which logically
drew him on to his destruction.
" Two years in which hope had the ascendancy of fear,
and three years in which fear left very little place for hope
— ^here we have the division of the live last years of the reign
of ISTapoleon.
" In speaking of 1810 and 1811, my mother would have
had to show how the two events, which ought to have in-
spired in the Emperor the spirit of conservation and of wis-
dom, his marriage and the birth of his son, served in the
sequel only to exalt his pride. In the interval all the ob-
stacles between him and the execution of his will are seen to
be removed. For instance, since, long ago, he does not par-
don Fouche for having a will of his own. Foueh6 showed
that he desired peace. A violent scene occurs to recall that
of which Talleyrand had been the object, and the Due de
Kovigo becomes Minister of Police, a choice which beguiles,
without doubt, the hopes of the Emperor and the fears of
the public, but which seems, however, to expand still more
the area in which arbitrary power has sway. The existence
of Holland and the indocible character of its King are still
an obstacle, at least a limit. The King is.compelled to abdi-
cate, and Holland is declared French. Eome itself becomes
the capital of a department, and the domain of St. Peter is
united, as formerly Dauphin^ was, to furnish a title for the
heir to the Empire. The clerical order, driven with a high
664 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE RJ6mUSAT.
band, is violated in its customs and in its traditions. An ap-
pearance of a council is attempted and broken up, and prison
and exile impose silence on the Chnrcli. A councilor, sub-
missive but modest, executes the wishes of his master, but
does not glorify him ; he lacks enthusiasm in his servitude :
Champagny is set aside for Maret and the lion is let loose in
Europe, and no voice, is heard which rouses it to madness.
And as, during this time, the fortune of the conqueror and
the liberty of the people have found the one its limit, the
other its bulwark in those immortally celebrated lines of
Torres- Yedras, it becomes essential that this restless and
maddened force should dash itself in pieces upon Moscow.
" This last period, so rich for the political historian in its
terrible pictures, has but little value to the simple observer
of the interior scenes of the government. The cloud became
dense around power, and France knew as little what was
done as if she had been lost by a throw of dice. Neverthe-
less, there was still the work of drawing the iastructive pic-
ture of hearts and of minds ignorant and restless, indignant
and submissive, desolated, reassured, imposed upon, uncon-
cerned, depressed — all that at intervals, and sometimes con-
centrated into an hour ; for despotism, which always feigns
to be happy, ill prepares the masses of the people for mis-
fortune, and believes in courage only when it has deceived it.
" It is, I think, to this description of public sentiments
that my mother would have been able to consecrate the end
of her Memoirs, for she knew something of what everybody
saw. M. Pasquier, whom she saw every day, observed, by
taste as well as by a sense of duty, the discretion prescribed
to his functions. Accustomed to conversations with the
class of persons whom he ruled without restraint, he was
during a great length of time careful to take political notes,
when all the world was fi-ee to talk politics. The Due de
Rovigo, less discreet, divulged his opinions rather than the
facts ; and the conversations of M. de Talleyrand, more frank
and more confident, were hardly more than the disclosure of
his judgments and of his predictions."
POSTSCRIPT.
In the first volume of these Memoirs I attempted to re-
trace the chief events of my grandmother's. life, and I also
narrated the circTimstances which induced her to rewrite the
manuscript unhappily destroyed in 1815. I considered it
necessary to a right comprehension and appreciation of her
views that the reader should learn how she had been brought
up, what were the position and circumstances of her parents,
for what reasons she accepted a place at Bonaparte's Court,
through what phases of enthusiasm, hope, and disenchant-
ment she passed, how by degrees liberal opinions gained a
hold upon her, and what influence her son, when he began
to make a figure both in society and in political life, exercised
over her.
However strong may be his confidence in the success of a
publication, it is the duty of an editor to avail himself of
every aid, and to make sure, or nearly so, that the author
shall in everything be understood. This was all the more
necessary in the present instance, because the editor, brought
up to entertain the same sentiments, and accustomed to hear
the same opinions and the same anecdotes repeated around
him, might well be afraid of deceiving himself respecting
the worth or the success of these reminiscences. Relatives
are seldom good judges either of the intellectual or physi-
cal attributes of their kin. Family beauties or prodigies,
admired by the fireside or in select coteries, are frequently
666 P0ST80SIPT.
found to be insignificant personages on a larger stage, and
when seen in broader daylight. I therefore thought it well
to relate all that might be needed for the instruction of the
reader, and, by introducing him into the private life of the
author, to account for a mixture of admiration and severity
in these Memoirs which sometimes appears contradictory. I
should have been excused for adding my own comments upon
the ability of the writer and the character of her hero ; in-
deed, such comments would have furnished the subject of a
preface, of the kind that we are told ought to precede every
work of serious importance. But I carefully avoided writing
any such preface, because I had one to ofEer which would
enhance the value of the book to the public, as it enhances it
to myself — a preface written by my father more than twenty
years ago. I may print that preface now, for success has
justified his previsions and our hopes.
"When my father wrote the pages that I am about to lay
before the reader, the Second Empire was still in existence,
and to all appearance secure. Nothing short of a persistent
trust in the undeviating principles of justice and liberty could
have led any one to believe that its fall was possible or prob-
able. Since then the fullness of time has come, and events
have marched with a rapidity which could not have been
foreseen. Similar errors have brought about similar re-
verses ; the moody and wavering mind of Napoleon III. has
led him to adopt the same course which ruined the brilliant
and resolute geiiius of the great Emperor. My father for the
third time beheld the foreigner in France, and vanquished
France seeking in liberty a consolation for defeat. He suf-
fered by our misfortunes, as he had suffered by them fifty
years earlier, and he had the melancholy honor of repairing
a portion of those misforttmes, of hastening the day of the
final deliverance of our soil. He contributed to the foun-
dation of a liberal and popular Government on a heap of
ruins. The last years of the Empire, the War, the Com-
mune, the difiicult accession of the Eepiiblic through so
POSTSCRIPT. 667
many perils, had no power to change his convictions ; and
he would think to-day just what he wrote twenty-two years
ago of the vices of absolute power, of the necessity for
teaching nations what conquerors cost them, of the right
of hie mother to set down her impressions, and of the duty
of his son to publish them.
Paul de Eemusat.
11.
" Laffitie, November, ISST.
" I HAVE once more taken up, after a long lapse of time,
the manuscript of these Memoirs, which my mother com-
posed nearly forty years ago ; and, having attentively re-
perused it, I now leave it to my sons and to their cMldren,
with an injunction to publish it. I believe that it will prove
a usef al historical testimony, and, combined with her corre-
spondence, will be a most interesting monument to the intel-
lect and the heart of a gifted and good woman. This work
will perpetuate the memory of my mother.
" At whatever epoch these Memoirs may appear, I fore-
see that they will not find the public ready to receive them
entirely- without protest, and with satisfaction complete at all
.points. Even should the Imperial restoration which we now
witness not be destined to a prolonged future — should it not
be, as I hope it may not be, the final government of the
France of the Revolution — I tuspect that, whether through
pride, weakness, or imagination, France, as a whole, will con-
tinue to entertain a tolerably exalted opinion of Napoleon,
which it will be reluctant to submit to the free examination
of politics and philosophy. lie vfas one of those great men
who are placed from the beginning in the sphere of fancy
rather than in that of reason, and in his case poetry has taken
the lead of history. A somewhat puerile sympathy, a some-
what weak generosity, has almost always made the pation
EE
068 POSTSOBIPT.
refuse to impute to Bonaparte those awful ills wUeli he
brought down upon France. The nation has pitied him the
most for its own misfortunes, and thought of him as the
noblest victim of the calamities of which he was the author.
I know that the sentiments which have led France to make
this strange mistake are excusable and even praiseworthy ;
but I also know that national vanity, the lack of seriousness
of mind, levity which takes little heed of reason and justice,
are the sources of this patriotic error. Let us lay aside the
question of principle — since the nation chooses to resolve
that question diflEerently at different times, and glories in
despising liberty at intervals — and let us speak only the lan-
guage of national independence. How can he be in the
eyes of the people the hero of that independence who twice
brought the foreign conqueror into the capital of France,
and whose government is the only one which, for five hun-
dred years, since the time of the mad King Charles YI., left
French territory smaller than it found it ? Even Louis XV.
and Charles X. did better than that. Nevertheless, I am
convinced the multitude will abide in its error, and non au-
feretur ab ea.
" It is, then, very unlikely that the spirit in which my
mother has written will ever be popular, or that all her read-
ers win be convinced. I am prepared for this, but I also
tliink that among thoughtful people the truth will make its_
way. Infatuation will not have an endless duration, and,
notwithstanding certain obstinate prejudices, public opinion
— especially if liberty be at length restored to us and remain
with us — will be enlightened, and will never again sacrifice
the rights of reason and those of the public conscience to
glory. Will my mother appear sufficiently impartial to
these more impartial judges ? I believe she will, if they take
account of the time at which she wrote, and also of the sen-
timents and ideas which inspired her ; and so I have no hesi-
tation in delivering up her Memoirs to the judgment of the
world.
POSTSCRIPT. 669
" ' The further I go,' wrote my mother to me, ' the more
I am resolved that, until my death, you shall be my only
reader, and that is enough for me.' * And again : ' Your
father says he knows no one to whom I could show what I
am writing. He says nobody carries so far as I do " the tal-
ent of being true." That is his expression. Well, then, I
do write for no one, but one day you will find this among
my effects, and you may do with it what yon will.' She was
not without some apprehensions. ' There is a thought which
sometimes troubles me. I say to myself, " If one day my
son should publish all this, what will be thought of me ! "
The idea that I may be supposed to be evil-minded, or, at
least, ill-natured, makes me uneasy. I exhaust myseM with
the effort to find something to praise, but this man was such
an exterminator {assommateur) of worth, and we were brought
so low, that I grow utterly disheartened, and the cry of truth
titters itseK irresistibly. I know no one but you to whom I
would intrust such confidences.' f
" I hold myself formally authorized by these passages to
bequeath the work which my mother confided to me to the
public. As for the opinions which it expresses, taking them
upon myself, I will explain myself freely respecting the
Emperor and the Empire, but not from the purely political
point of view. All that I might say on the subject of des-
potism (which I hate) would be without importance in this
case, since the question is, "What woitld be a just judgment
of the Emperor and the Empire formed by one who had
witnessed the 18th Brumaire, and shared the confident readi-
ness of the nation to divest itself of the charge of its own
destinies, by placing them in the hands of one man 1 I deal
with the moral; and not the political, aspect of the matter.
" Let us first consider the Emperor, and discuss him with
those only who, while finding much to admire in him, are
* Letter of April 24, 1819. I have already quoted this letter in the Intro-
duction.— P. E.
f Letters of September 10 and October 8, 1818.— P. R.
670 POSTSCRIPT.
wiliing to exercise their judgment upon what they admire.
It was commonly said, under his reign, that he despised
men. The motives by which he defended his policy in
his conversations were not taken from among the noble
qualities of the human heart, but from that which he thor-
oughly understood, the imagination of the people. Now,
imagination is^ naturally captivated by grand and beautiful
things, and th^e imagination of the Emperor, which was
vivid and daring, was accessible to this kind of charm. His
extraordinary faculties rendered him capable of great things,
and he employed them, with others, to captivate France, the
world, and posterity. Thence came what was thoroughly
admirable in his power and his life ; and, if we were to con-
sider that only, we could not place him too high. ls"ever-
theless, a close observer will discern that it was by that in-
telligence and imagination, rather than the purely moral sen-
timents of justice and of right, that all was done. Take^ for
example, religion. It was not the truth of religion, it was
its influence and its prestige, which dictated what he did for
its cause ; and so with all the rest. In his contemptuous esti-
mate of humanity, he recognized only two springs of action
— vanity and self -interest ; and to the masterly handling of
these he applied himself with remarkable ability. WhUe by
the eclat of his acts, by the glory of his armsj by a perma-
nent embellishment of conservative social principles, he gave
to his government what was essential to prevent self-love
from blushing at the fact of its connection with it, he care-
fully manipulated, he caressed, he even exalted other senti-
ments more humble, which may oftentimes be harmless, but
which are not noble and virtuous principles. Love of re-
pose, fear of responsibility, preoccupation with the pleasures
of private life, the desire of personal comfort, the taste of
riches, as well in the individual as in the family ; finally, all
the weaknesses which usually accompany these sentiments
when they are exclusive, found in him a protector. It is
from this point of view that he was everywhere recognized
POSTSORIPT. 671
as essential to the preservation of order. But, when men
are goyemed by the springs I am about to call to mind, and
when the goyemor is not upheld or restrained by the senti-
ment of pure and true glory, by the instinct of a soul natu-
rally fi-ank and generous, it is an easy step to the thought
that imagination, vanity, interest are paid with counterfeit
as well as good money; that abuses of power, appearances
of grandeur, success attained at all cost, tranquillity main-
tained by oppression, riches distributed by favor, prosperity
realized by force or made- to seem to exist by falsehood —
that, finally, all the triumphs of artifice or of violence, all
that despotism can wrest from credulity and fear, are things
which also prosper among men ; and that the world is often,
without serious objection, the plaything of the strongest and
most shrewd. But nothing in the nature of the Emperor
preserved him from the temptation of employing such means
for the advancement of his j)0wer. ISTot satisfied with merit-
ing power, he consented, when he could not merit it, to take
it by force or to steal it. He made no distinction between
prudence and cunning, or between true statesmanship and
Machiavelism. Finally, policy is always in the path of de-
ception, and Napoleon was always a deceiver.
" It is deception which, in vaj judgment, most degraded
the Emperor, and, unhappily, with him his empire. For
this reason, it is to be regi-etted that France yielded obedi-
ence to him, that men rendered him service, whatever glory
the nation has gained, whatever probity and whatever talent
the men have shown. One can not wholly ignore the mis-
fortune of having been the dupe or the accomplice, in all
cases the instrument, of a system in which a cunning decep-
tion plays as great a part as wisdom, and violence as genius ;
of a system in which cunning deception and violence must
lead on to the desperate extremes of an unwise policy. To
such a policy France will not consent, and it is only in the
interest of self-love that France exalts the glory of Napo-
leon.
48
672 POSTSCRIPT.
"As to his associates,, they likewise ought certainly not
to have been humiliated by what they did or what they si-
lently sustained. They were right in not publicly denoun-
cing what the nation did not denounce, and in presenting
services loyally rendered, honesty, zeal, devotion, capacity,
the patriotism which they had displayed in the performance
of public duties, as an offset to the bitter denunciations of
their adversaries, to the trifling or corrupt parties, who had
done less or who had done worse. The recollections of the
Convention or those of the emigration could not be brought
against them to any advantage, and, after all, they did well
not to blush at their cause. Their justification is found in
the language of Tacitus, who, even under a despotism, thinks
that praise is due a capable and efficient officer, though he
may practice what he caUs obsequixim et modestia.*
" These last words are applicable to persons of high char-
acter who, like the members of my family, served the Em-
peror without mean selfishness and without special distinc-
tion. But still, when, under his reign itself, eyes were
opened to the character of his despotism — when the wail of
the dying nation had been heard, when later, in refiecting
upon the fall of a dictatorial power and on the succession of
a constitutional power, that policy was brought up for con-
sideration which does not place government and liberty in
the hands of enemies, it was impossible not to revert with
some embarrassment, with some bitterness of heart, to those
days in which example, confidence, admiration, thoughtless-
ness, a justifiable ambition, had united to urge good citizens
to place themselves among the supporters of absolute power.
For he who does not seek to make himself blind, he who is
ready to be honest with himself, will find it impossible to
conceal the fact that dignity of mind and character is lost
under the pressure of a despotism even glorious and neces-
* " ' Agricola,' xlii. I remember that when I read these two words of Taci-
tus, I made them precisely applicable to tho case of my father. They describe
him perfectly."
POSTSCRIPT. 673
sary, and more completely tinder one tliat is harsli and main-
tained without reason. There is no canse of self-reproach
without doubt ; but neither can one praise his own acts, or
be satisfied with what he has done or what he has seen ; and
the more the soul is opened to the convictions of liberty,
the more one turns his eyes with grief to the days in which
liberty was shut out from it — days of voluntary servitude, as
Boetius characterizes it.
" "What it has not been either necessary or proper to say
of one's self to his contemporaries and of the latter to them-
selves, it is a duty to frankly avow when one writes for
himself and for the future. What conscience has felf and
revealed, what experience and reflection have taught, it is
necessary to delineate, or not write at all. Unbiased truth,
disinterested truth, is the controlling thought of the Memoirs.
This is the basis of those of my mother.
" She had suffered intensely during the years in which
her opinions were in opposition to her interests, and during
which the former could have triumphed over the latter only
per abrupta, as Tacitus says, speaking of this same thing,
sed in milium. revpulliccB umm?' Attempts of this kind,
besides, never fall to the lot of a woman ; "and, in a remark-
able letter that my mother wrote to one of her friends.f she
said to her that women at least had always the expedient of
saying in the palace of Csesar :
'Mais le coeur d'Emilie est hors de ton pouvoir.' J
And she declared to her that this line had been her secret
consolation.
" Her correspondence will reveal in its lightest shades, in
its deepest recesses, the sentiments of a pure and active soul.
It will there be seen how she united a generous kindness to
a penetrating observation of all those weaknesses, of all those
* " Agricola,'' xlii.
■f Madame de Barante.
% " But the heart of iErcilia is out of your power."
674 POSTSORIPT.
unhappy circumstances of our nature, which give opportunity
to the painters of morals to display their talents. It will
there also be seen how, after having caused her much suffer-
ing, Napoleon had kept a place in her thoughts ; how this
memory still moved her; and how, when the unhappiness
of his exile at St. Helena was described, she was deeply
affected. "When, in the summer of 1821, the news of the
death of Napoleon was brought to Paris, I saw her melt
with tears, and she always became sad when uttering his
name. As to the men of her time, I will say only one thing :
she had learned to know them at Court. The recollection
she had preserved of it left her no pleasure. I have some-
where seen related a little circumstance that greatly inter-
ested those who witnessed it. It was the time when the
French imitation of Schiller's ' Marie Stuart ' was in fashion.
There was a scene in which Leicester rep sis, by pretending
not to know him, a devoted young- man who, relying on
his secret thoughts, comes to him with a proposal to save
the Queen of Scotland. Talma represented admirably the
haughty cowardice of the courtier, who disavows his own
affection for fear of being compromised, and insolently repels
the man who m^kes him afraid : ' What do you want of
me ? I do not know you.' The act terminated, and in the
box in which we were seated the entire company was struck
with this scene, and my mother in her agitation suffered
some words to escape whose import was : ' That was it pre-
cisely ! I have seen the same thing ! ' When suddenly ap-
peared at the entrance of the box M. de B — — , to whom no
special application could assuredly have been made, but who
had been chamberlain of the Emperor, my mother could
no longer restrain herself. She said to Mrae. de Catellan,
' If you knew, madame ! ' . . . and she wept !
" It may be said that this condition of her mind has in-
fluenced her in coloring her pictures. I do not think it so.
Saint-Simon has also painted a Court, and the despotism in
it was more becoming, more natural, and the characters, per-
POSTSCRIPT. 675
haps, a little more strong in our days. What does he do,
however, if not justify, in his truthful painting, what the
teachers of his time and the moralists of all times have said
of Courts in general ? The exaggeration of Saint-Simon is
in the language. Of a fault he makes a vice ; of a weakness,
a cowardice ; of a negligence, a treason ; and of a hesitation,
a crime. The expression is never strong enough for his
thought, and it is his style which is unjust rather than his
judgment.
" Let us mention a person of a less impulsive mind, more
reserved in her language, and who certainly had her reasons
for seeing with more indulgence than Saint-Simon the people
over whom Louis XIV. reigned. How did Mme. de Mainte-
non speak of the Court ? ' As to your friends of the Court,'
she wrote to Mile, de Glapion, ' they are always with you,
and, if you could see what we see, you would find yourself
seeing (at Saint-Cyr) only irregularities, wayward conduct,
want of light; while we see murders, jealousies, hatreds,
treacheries, insatiable desires, degradations, which are covered
up by the name of grandeur, of courage, etc., for I fly into
a passion in merely permitting myself to think of them.'*
The judgments of my mother are not characterized by such
vivid expressions. But, like Saint-Simon, like Mme. de
Maintenon, she had good reason to think that a constant
personality, which betrays itself by fear, jealousy, complai-
sance, flattery, forgetfulness of others, contempt of justice,
and desire to injure others, reigns at the Court of absolute
kings, and that self-love and interest are the two keys of
every Court secret. My mother has said no more ; and her
diction, without being cold and tame, never exaggerates the
facts with which she deals, and allows, in almost everything
she has been compelled to relate, that excuse demanded by
human weakness in its struggle with bad example, with the
temptation of fortune, and with the seductions of a power
that does not find itself compelled to respect its promises.
* Letter BYS, p. 426, tome ii., edition of 1S57.
676 POSTSCRIPT.
It is not without reason that, when we speak of the Empire,
our eulogies are almost exclusively addressed to its armies,
because, at least, in the business of war, intrepid contempt of
death and of suffering is such a triumphant victory over the
selfishness of ordinary life, that it covers up whatever this
selfishness can suggest, even to the soldiers themselves, of
bitter sacrifices to pride, to envy, to cupidity, to ambition.
"Look through the centuries in which historians and
moralists endeavor to paint in its true colors every evil that
incessantly increases within the sphere of government, espe-
cially in the shadow, or, if Louis XIY. demands it, in the sun
of absolute power. It is strange, in fact, how that which
ought to bring into play only devotion, and to place the bene-
fit of all above personal interest — I mean the service of the
state — furnishes to human selfishness occasions to make mis-
takes and means of being satisfied by the art of concealing
itself. But it is apparent that this has not been said often
enough, for I have not discovered that the evil is soon to
end, or even become less conspicuous. Truth alone, inces-
santly presented to public opinion, can arm it against false-
hoods, of which party spirit and state government raise a
cloud concealing the misfortunes of the body politic. The
masses of the people can never know too well at what price
human insolence sells them the necessary service of a gov-
ernment. In times of revolution especially, misfortune some-
times renders it indulgent to the forms of government which
have fallen, and the system which triumphs covers with a
deceptive veil everything which makes its victory odious.
Truthful books must, some time or other, cause ail masks to
fall, and leave to all our weaknesses the salutary fear of be-
ing some day revealed."
APPENDIX.
N'ote 1, Preface, page xi.
" On the sixth day of Thcrmidor, in the second year of the
French Republic, one and indivisible.
" By a sentence passed on the day aforesaid, in open court,
Sellier being Vice-President, and Foucault, Gamier, Launay,
and Barbier on the Bench, the minute of the verdict was signed
by them and by Tavernier, recording clerk.
" On the declaration of the jury, which sets forth that Jean
Gamier, surnamed Yergennes, the father, ex-count, aged seven-
ty-five years, born at Dijon, in the department of Cote-d'Or,
residing in Paris at No. 4 Rue Neuve-Eustache, and Charles
Gamier, otherwise Vergennes, aged forty-two years, ex-noble,
born at Dijon, in the department of Cote-d'Or, and others, are
convicted of having been the enemies of the people, and of
having conspired against the sovereignty of the people, by
holding communication and correspondence with the internal
and external enemies of the Republic, by supplying them with
men and money in order to contribute to the success of their
arms on French territory, by participating in the plots, con-
spiracies, and assassinations of the tyrant and his wife against
the French people, particularly on the days of the 28th of
February, 1791, and of the 10th of August, 1792, by conspir-
ing in the House of Detention, otherwise the St. Lazare, in
order to escape therefrom, and afterward, by means of the
murder and assassination of the people's representatives, and
especially of the members of the Committee of Public Safety
678 APPENDIX.
and of General Security, to dissolve the Republican Govern-
ment and restore the royal family, and finally by endeavoring
to destroy the unity and indivisibility of the Republic.
" The Public Prosecutor having been heard on the applica-
tion of the law, it appears that the tribunal has condemned to
th-e penalty of death Jean Gamier, otherwise Vergennes, fa-
ther, and Charles Garnier, otherwise Vergennes, son, conform-
ably with articles 4, 5, and 7 of the law of 22d Praii-ial, and
has declared their possessions confiscated to the Republic.
"From the Act of Accusation, drawn up by the Public
Prosecutor on the 5th Thermidor, present month, against the
said Vergennes, father and son, and others, a literal exti-act has
been made as follows :
" That, on examination of papers in possession of the Pub-
lic Prosecutor, it is proved that Dillon, Roussin, Chaumette,
and Hdbart had agents and accomplices in their conspiracies
and their perfidy in every House of Detention, in order to assist
them in their plots and to prepare the carrying out thereof.
Since the sword of Justice has fallen on the most guilty, their
agents, having in their turn become chiefs, have omitted no-
thing in order to attain their end and carry out their plots, de-
structive to liberty.
" The Vergennes, father and son, have always been servile
instruments of the tyrant and his Austrian Committee, and only
assumed a mask of patriotism in order, from the posts they thus
attained, to use the Revolution for the advantage of despotism
and tyranny. They had dealings, moreover, with Audriffet, an
accomplice in Lusignan's plot ; paper? found in the dwelling of
the latter are a proof of their criminal and liberty-destroying
complicity.
" By conformable extracts handed in by the keeper of the
Records, undersigned
"Debet (or Aeet?)."
ISfote 2, Preface, page xv.
As I have already said in the preface, my grandmother was
veiy intimate with Mme. d'PIoudetot, notwithstanding the dif-
ference of their ages, their feelings, and their position. The
APPENDIX. 679
following, written to her husband, during her sojourn with a
lady rendered famous by the " Confessions " of Rousseau and
the Memoirs of Mme. d'Epinay, will not be without interest :
" Sannois, S5d Floreal, year IS {May 12, 1805).
" This morning, when Charles's lessons were over, I went
to see Mme. d'Houdetot in her private room. She seemed to
think me worthy of little confidences of a sentimental nature,
which I received with the more sympathy because, my thoughts
being always with you and saddened by your absence, I am
ready to share in any heart-felt emotion. She showed me some
verses she had written on her former friend, M. de Saint-Lam-
bert, and three portraits of him, and she spoke of past joys, of
memories and regrets, with a sort of childishness and ignorance
of evil, if I may so express it, which seemed to make her ex-
cusable. I am convinced that her society would be dangerous
to a woman of weak character, or to one whose life was not
happy. Any woman who was hesitating between love and
virtue would do well to shun her ; she is a hundred times more
dangerous than an utterly corrupt person. She is so peaceful,
so happy, so free from anxiety as to the next life. It would
seem that she trusts to the words of the Gospel : ' Her sins,
which are many, are forgiven : for she loved much.'
" Do not fear, however, that the sight of this tranquil old
age, following on an erring youth, will upset my principles.
I do not pretend to be stronger than others, and I feel that
my virtue is secure because it is founded on happiness and
on love. I can be sure of myself, because I love you and
am beloved by you. The experience of twelve years has
sufficiently convinced me that my heart was destined for
you alone, but, at the risk of shocking you, let me say that
I should not have been so certain of myself had you not
been my husband."
Some years later, toward the end of January, 1813, Mme.
d'Houdetot expired, at the age of eighty-three, and my grand-
mother wrote the following description of her, which I have
found among her papers :
"Mme. d'Houdetot has just died, after a long and pros-
080 APPENDIX.
perous career. In the midst of political storms, her old age
has been peaceful and her death quiet and calm. Is it from
the exercise of superior powers of reason, or from the courage
of a strong soul, or from fortuitous circumstances, that her life
has been so undisturbed and her death so touching and so
quiet ? Certainly not. Her disposition could not arm her
against the storms of life, but it shielded her from them. Like
certain happy children who instinctively avoid a stumbling-
block, without either having perceived it or being hurt by it,
she passed through the world with a confidence which is usu-
ally the attribute of youth only, and which we are accustomed
to respect, because we know that our warnings would be far
more likely to sadden than to enlighten such pathetic ignorance.
"Mme. d'Houdetot was born in the brilliant and palmy
days of our monarchy. The men of genius who had illumi-
nated the reign of Louis XIV. left behind them a long track
of light, which suiSced to brighten the paths of their succes-
sors. Cardinal Pleury's long and pacific government afEorded
opportunity for the development of art and talent. Mme. d'Hou-
detot, from her youth upward, was in a position to gratify her
tastes and inclinations. She had been given in maiTiage accord-
ing to the custom of the day, and she began by holding a place
in society such as is generally held by young ladies. From
fifteen to twenty all women are very much alike. Brought up
with the same habits, fashioned by the same education, they all
present, more or less attractively, the same appearance of pos-
sessing those qualities which it is absolutely necessary a young
lady should possess. And, generally speaking, not only their
parents but they themselves are ignorant at the time of their
marriage of the qualities and defects which will regulate their
future conduct.
" Hence their first steps in the world are less the result of
their own tastes than that of the second education they receive
from society and from the husbands who have chosen them.
How many women have attained to knowledge of themselves
only after either conquering their feelings or weakly yielding
to them ? How many have remained in utter self -ignorance
from want of opportunities for the development of their incli-
APPENDIX. 681
nations ? A young wife who begins with good and strong
principles, who retains them even in her faults, who knows
how to return to them afterward — such a one is, doubtless, of
a strong and unusual stamp. Mme. d'Houdetot, from whom
this digression is not so far removed as might at first be sup-
posed, can not certainly be comprised among such as these.
Nevertheless, the real sentiment which pervaded all her actions
seems to place her apart from the ordinary class of erring wo-
men.
"Mme. d'Houdetot was brought up like her contempora-
ries. Through particular circumstances she was plafced in the
midst of a society professing opinions which fascinated, though
they did not mislead her. She was surrounded by literary men,
but, though admiring their wit and appreciating their talents,
she did not share in their passions. She was especially intimate
with men who were called at that time philosophers or acade-
micians, and her youthful and lively imagination was amused
at the sharp turn they gave to censure. Their world-wide
jjhilanthropy, which we have often seen exercised at the ex-
pense of individual feelings, charmed her. She became attached
to the dogmas of a sect which preached the love of humanity,
and which either did not or would not foresee that the new
institutions they wished to found could only be built on the
ruins of the old, and that a time of social anarchy must neces-
sarily ensue — which, indeed, is the only part of their plan that
has as yet come to pass. Friendly voices preached this new
doctrine to Mme. d'Houdetot, and embellished it with their
wit and talent. Eager to enjoy, she gave herself little time
for reflection. If one would hear the warnings of reason one
must sometimes consent to an interregnum of pleasure, and
Mme. d'Houdetot could not consent to that. Her various inti-
macies sometimes led her too far, but, if sincere friends have
deplored them, I doubt whether any ever attempted to advise
or warn her. The error was in her heart, and how is it pos-
sible to destroy such illusions ?
" Ko one could possess more — I will not say goodness, but
more kindness than Mme. d'Houdetot. Goodness implies
the choice of good as against evil ; it perceives the evil and
682 APPENDIX.
forgives it. Mme. d'Houdetot never perceived evil in any
one. We have seen her suffer, real pain when the least blame
of any one was expressed in her presence. On such occasions
she would impose silence in a manner which never offended,
for she merely showed that we were inflicting suffering on her.
This tenderness of heart prolonged the feelings and tastes of
her youth.
" A habit of blaming others may, perhaps, sharpen the
mind more than it can expand it ; but it is certain that it con-
tracts the heart, and produces an anticipated dissatisfaction
which takes the charm away from life. Happy are those who
die in their illusions ! The light and transparent veU which
has never been taken from before their eyes gives to all sur-
rounding objects a freshness and a charm that old age does
not tarnish. Thus Mme. d'Houdetot would often say, ' The
pleasures of life have left me, but I can not accuse myself of
having become weary of any one of them.' This temper of
mind made her easy in the ordinary intercourse of life, and in-
dulgent toward young people. She liked them to enjoy plea-
sures she had herself appreciated, and the memory of which
was dear to her, for she felt a sort of gratitude toward every
period of her life.
" The same temperament gave her, at an early age, a great
love for the country. Eager to enjoy every pleasant thing, she
took care not to miss those pleasures which are produced by a
beautiful landscape or a smiling country. She would stand in
ecstasy before a beautiful view, and listen delightedly to the
songs of birds ; she loved to gaze at an exquisite flower ; and
all these tastes she retained to the last day of her life. When
young, she wished to love everything ; and the tastes she had
retained in the evening of life made her old age beautiful and
happy, just as they had contributed to embellish those halcyon
days when each sensation is a separate pleasure.
"Mme. d'Houdetot was passionately fond of poetry, and
herself wrote very pretty verses. Had she published them she
would easily have acquired a celebrity she was far from desir-
ing, for vanity of every kind was alien to her character. Her
talent for verse-making was an agreeable pastime. It was
APPENDIX. 683
guided by her kind heart, and was another source of enjoy-
ment.
" In the autumn of life she was exposed, like every one else,
to the gloomy impressions produced by the political atmos-
phere. But her sweetness of disposition once more came to
her help in those fatal days. During the Reign of Terror she
lived in the country ; her place of retreat was respected, her
kinsfolk surrounded her with attentions. It is quite possible
that her only recollections of this time were those of the family
affection and intimacy, to which danger and anxiety gave a
value unsuspected in days of security and pleasure.
" On our troubles coming to an end, she returned to the
World with all her wonted sweetness, and began again to seek
for a happiness which should not be evanescent. The neces-
sity of loving, which was always her most imperious need,
made her supply the loss of former friends by new ones, young-
er than herself and selected with judgment, whose affection
helped her to forget what she had lost. She imagined that she
honored the memory of those she had formerly loved, and who
were now gone from her, by cherishing her suscej)tibilities in
her old age. She had not sufficient strength to live only on
memories, and did not think herself bound to cease loving be-
fore she ceased to live. A kind Providence still watched over
her, and preserved her old age from the isolation to which it is
usually condemned. Assiduous and delicate attentions adorned
her last days with some of the coloring that had brightened
her spring ; complacent friends consented to let their friend-
ship assume the guise which she had been accustomed to give
to her feelings; Austere Reason might sometimes smile at the
eternal youth of her heart, but the smile was not unkind; and,
at the close of her life, Mme. d'Houdetot still met with the
affectionate indulgence to which childhood only seems to have
a recognized right.
" Moreover, she proved by the courage and constancy of
her last moments that the prolonged indulgence of the feel-
ing of the heart does not diminish its strength. She felt she
was dying, and yet, when on the point of leaving so happy a
life, she uttered but one request, both tender and pathetic.
684 APPENDIX.
' Do not forget me,' she said to her family and friends weeping
round her bed. ' I should he braver if I had not to leave you ;
but at least let me live in your memory ! ' Thus, she stirred
the embers of a life on the point of extinction ; and those two
words, ^ I loveP were the last utterance which her soul in de-
parting breathed toward the Divinity." — P. R.
I^ote S, Preface, page xxxv.
My father's impressions will be described by himself in
another publication, so that it would be useless to dwell upon
them here. Nevertheless, I think it appropriate to let the
reader see in this place, as an illustration of what he then
thought and always continued to think, a song written by him,
and which, like several others of his composition, had a great
success in society. It was written when he was only eighteen
years old, and, though it is not his best, I have selected it be-
cause, as a political song of the early days of the Restoration,
it has all the interest of a source of information, an indication,
and a picture :
LA MARQUISE OU L'ANCIEN EfiGIME.
Air: " Oroyez-moi, bnvons a longs traits."
" Vous n'avez pas vu le bon temps ;
Que je vous plains d' avoir vingt ans ! "
Ainsi parlait une marquise,
Une marquise d'autrefois,
Qui fit sa premifere sottise
En mille sept cent cinquante-trois.
"Ahl disait-elle, quandj'y pense,
Je voudrais m'y revoir enoor :
O'^tait vraiment le sifecle d'or,
Moins le costume et I'innocence.
" Oroyez-moi, c'Stait le bon temps :
Que je vous plains d' avoir vingt ansl
" Mise an convent scion I'usage,
Gr&ce aux lefons du tentateur,
APPENDIX. ' 685
De mes questions avant I'&ge
J'effrayais notre directeur.
Un f r^re de soeur Cuii6gonde,
Le marquis, venait au parloir.
II m'apprit ce qu'il faiit savoir
Pour se presenter dans le monde.
" Croyez-moi, c'^tait le bon temps :
Que je Tous plains d'avoir vingt ans !
" II fit tant que, par convenance,
A m'gpouser il fut r^dult.
Je n'ai pas gard6 souvenance
D'avoir tu son bonnet de nuit.
O'etait un seigneur k la mode.
Pour lul je n'avais auoun go^lt,
Et lui ne m'aimait pas du tout ....
Je n'ai rien vu de si commode.
" Mes enfants, c'etait le bon temps :
Que je vous plains d'avoir vingt ans!
" Oe que j'ai vu ne peut se rendre.
Ah ! les hommes sont bien tomb6s.
Tenez, je ne puis pas comprendre
Comment on se passe d'abb^s.
Qae j'ai vu d'4mes bien conduites
Par leur galante pi^tS !
Sans eux j'aurais bien regrettd
Qu'on ait supprim6 les jdsuites.
" Mes enfants, c'etait le bon temps :
Que je vous plains d'avoir vingt ans!
" C'est un sot metier, sur mon 4me,
Que d'etre jolie aujourd'hui.
Je vois plus d'une jeune femme
S6cher de sagesse et d'ennui.
Plus d'un grande mois aprSs la noce,
J'ai vu, certes j'en ai bien ri,
J'ai vu ma niece et son marl
Tous deux dans le mfeme carrosse !
" Vous n'avez pas vu le bon temps :
Que je vous plains d'avoir vingt ans !
686 APPENDIX.
" H6Ias ! des plaisirs domestiques
Ignorant la solidity,
Petits esprits d^mocratiques,
Voua radotez de liberty.
Oette liberty qu'on encense
West rien qu'un rfeve dangereux.
Ah! de mon temps, pour toe heureux
0'6tait assez de la licence.
" Croyez-moi, o'6tait le bon temps:
Que je Tous plains d'avoir vingt ans !
" Mais, sous un rSgne legitime,
Dedaignant de vaines clameurs,
Eeprenez i, I'ancien regime
Ses lois, afin d'avoir ses mceurs.
Alors, comme dans ma jeunesse,
Un cliaoun sera bon chr6tien.
Vous voyez, je m'amusais bien,
Et n'ai jamais manqu6 la messe.
" Croyez-moi, o'dtait le bon temps !
Que je vous plains d'avoir vingt ans ! "
Note Jf, pages 29 and Jfi.
The " erasures " alluded to by Mme. de Remusat were the
formal removal from the lists of the proscription of the names
of those persons who were relieved from their disabilities by
an act of grace. The French word is radiations, and M.
Littrti does not consider it well employed.- — Teanslatoes.
Note 5, page 272.
The indiscretions or the imprudence of M. Salembemi were
not the only causes of anxiety to my grandparents during this
sojourn in Italy. The following letter from my grandfather
throws a light on this matter :
" JIiLAN, IStli Prairial, year IS {7th June, 1S05).
" I can not allow Coi-visart to leave Milan without intrust-
ing him with a letter for you. He, happier than myself, will
APPENDIX. 687
see you in a week or ten days, while I can not reckon on that
pleasure for at least five weeks to come. Keep this news to
yourself, for the Emperor wishes it to be believed that he will
not be in Paris for two months ; but in reality he intends to
reach Pontainebleau on the 22d or 33d of next month, at latest.
I have another reason for writing by Corvisart, which is that
all our letters are read or liable to be read ; this hampers me
when I want to write confidentially. Salembemi owes his dis-
missal to a letter of his, inclosed with mine, that was read at
the post. Their knowledge of that letter has many times pre-
vented me from writing freely to you, and has often greatly
distressed me. For instance, I should have warned you that
you have again been maligned to the Emperor in reports re-
ceived from Paris, which accuse you of having joined in
Mme. de Damas's malicious stories about the journey in Italy
and the Emperor's brothers. His Majesty has not mentioned
the subject to me, but it has annoyed him, and he has spoken
of it several times to others. He seems to intend that you
should break off all acquaintance with that family. You may
imagine what answers I made to those persons who sjpoke as
from the Emperor, while I was not allowed to give my ex-
planation to himself. Tou understand, of course, that I do not
believe a word of this absurd calumny, and I offered to show
all your letters without exception. But I wanted to know who
had denounced you. I even gave my Avord that, if it were
Fouche, I would abstain altogether from reproaching him. To
this I received no reply, because I am sure M is the author ;
he is always intriguing, and always with the same purpose that
we knew of in the winter. Although you must not write on
the subject either to the Emperor or the Empress, you might
nevertheless call on Fouch^, as a friend, and ask him to render
you the service of telling you candidly whether it is in his re-
ports that you have been accused. You might, perhaps, also
explain the circumstances openly to him, and he would find, I
have no doubt, means to serve us. If you write to the Em-
press— and it would be well for you to do so, for you do not
write to her sufficiently often — you might, without actually
approaching the subject, tell her something of your way of life.
49
688 APPENDIX.
It occurs to me that, as your sister is more intimate than you
with the Damas family, a mistake of identity may have arisen.
Turn all this over in your mind with your usual wisdom, and
take advantage of what at last I am able safely to write to you;
for this has Tbeen going on a long time already. Do not think,
however, that the master is not treating me well ; he might he
kinder, but I have no reason to complain. As for the Empress,
she never talks of anything except of herself and her own con-
cerns. It is impossible to be more selfish than she has become.
Nevertheless she boasts of your letters, and always makes the
Emperor read them." — P. R.
JSfote 6, page 258.
Mme. de Remusat was mistaken in this statement. Mme.
Jerome Bonaparte's father did not accompany her and her
husband to Europe in 1805 ; in fact, Mr. Patterson never re-
visited Europe. A brother of Madame Bonaparte's came to
Europe, and was in Paris for a short time ; he was shut up in
the Temple, and prevented from communicating with his sister,
who was then in England. Mr. Patterson's letter to Napoleon,
which he had intrusted to his son, was taken from the latter. —
TEAlfSLATOES.
INDEX.
AcADEur, titles in, 461 ; contest for
vacant seats in, 639.
Actors, the Emperor's gifts to, 288, 366,
note ; favor met with, 346, 417 ; trials
of, in seeking to please the " Unamus-
able," 274, 564.
Actresses, two remarkable tragediennes,
68, note ; influence of Mile. Mars in
improving dramatic art, 417.
Aix-la-Chapelle, sojourn of the Emperor
at, 201 ; brilliant Court and reception
of German Princes, 203 ; Mme. de KS-
musat's life at, 509.
Alopeus, M. d', arrest of, at Stockholm,
627.
Amiens, ovation at, 79.
Andre, M. d', the ciuse of M. de Kemu-
sat's disgrace with the Emperor in
relation to, 312.
Angely, Saint-Jean d', report of, as
Councilor of State, 251 ; appointment
of, as Secretary ior the status of the
Imperial family, 422 ; adulatory com-
ments on an Imperial message read
to the Senate, 491.
Anglo-American Government, imitation
of, in the Consulate, 159.
Antique medallion, the countenance of
Napoleon compared to, 1, 220.
Antwerp, ceremonial to the First Con-
sul, 84.
Appendix, 677.
Aranjuez, the King of Spain a prisoner
in the palace of, 635.
Arberg, Countess d', a witticism of, 429.
Argenteau, Mercy d', appointed Cham,
berlain to the Emperor, 246.
Army, assemblage of, at Boulogne, 76 ;
the First Consul's satisfaction with,
105 ; extent and animation of, 200,
249 ; weariness of inaction of, 258 ;
panegyric of, 293 ; admiration of, by
the Emperor of Bussia, 304; inspec-
tion of, in the north by Louis Bona-
parte, 323 ; sufferings, 474 ; acces-
sions to, from all quarters, sickness
and loss, reorganization, 490 ; demand
for advanced levies of conscriptions,
491 ; continued reenforcement, 508 ;
levy of eighty thousand men on the
conscription of 1809, 616 ; the troops
in Spain, 627, 634.
Art, Italian treasures of, preserved at
Malmaison, 27 ; progress of, restraint,
patronage by the Emperor, 415.
Artists, influence of, on social customs,
41 ; an oflSce performed by the paint-
er David, 210; distinguished names
and works, 416 ; death of the paint-
er Robert, 643.
Artois, Comte d', services of the Emigres
offered by, to the King of England, 92.
Audo, Fabre de 1', as President of the
Tribunate, 324 ; appointed Senator,
541.
Augusta, Princess, marriage of, to
Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, 328 ;
birth of a daughter to, 490, 607.
Austerlitz, battle of, 304 ; news of, an-
nounced at Parisian theatres, 323 ;
consecration of the Emperor's sword
proposed, 326 ; Bonaparte's proposed
adoption of the children of all fallen
in battle, 327 ; commemoration of,
419.
Austria, Emperor of, uneasiness of, in
relation to Italy, 264 ; preparations of,
for war, 263 ; a mistake imputed to,
690
INDEX.
298 ; ncgotialions of, for peace, 299,
300 ; narrow escape of, at Austerlitz,
304 ; attachment of people to, 302 ;
resolves on war, 303 ; death of Em-
press, 496 ; conversation of, with the
Emperor, 305 ; coalition of, with the
Emperor Alexander, 303 ; definitive
treaty with, 309, 320; second mar-
riage of, 541.
Austria, insecure peace with, following
the treaty of Campo Formio, 275 ; al-
liance of, with -Russia, 282 ; early en-
gagements, 292 ; surprise and terror
of, at the surrender of Ulm, 293 ; the
fate of, as decided at Austerlitz, 303.
Austria, Queen of, death, 476.
Authors, encouragement of, by rewards
and pensions, 65, 346, 366, 490; dis-
cussions in relation to, 51, 65, 101 ;
sketches of, 400.
Baeciochi, M., passion of, for the violin,
134, note.
Baeciochi, Mme., appointment of M. de
Fontanes secured by, 107 ; grievances
of, 169, 170; the principality of Pi-
ombino accorded to, 254, 354;, re-
public of Lucca granted to, 266.
Balbi, Mme. de, banishment of, 352.
Barb^-Marbois, M., displacement of, as
Minister of the Treasury, 345 ; re-
gains favor, and made President of
the Court, 641.
Eassano, establishment of the duchy of,
423.
Bavaria, Elector of, difficulty of, with
the Emperor of Austria, 291; pro-
claimed King by Bonaparte, 329.
Bavaria, invasion of, 291.
Bavaria, Queen of, the Emperor's fancy
for, 329.
Bayonne, sojourn of the Emperor at,
637 ; arrival of the Spanish Bour-
bons at, 650.
Beam, M. de, appointed Chamberlain
to the Empress, 246.
Beauharnais, Mme. de, nature of charm
over Bonaparte, 9 ; appearance of,
23 ; character, 24.
Beauharnais, Uortense de, character, 31 ;
slanders groundless, 31, note; love,
distasteful marriage, 33.
Beauharnais, Eugene de, devotion of, to
Mme. Bonaparte, 28, 207 ; attractions
and virtues, 29 ; praise, 170 ; love of,
for Mmo. do X , 229 ; appointed
"Vice-Arch-Chancellor of State, 241,
note, 242 ; states of Venice taken pos-
session of, 327 ; marriage to the Prin-
cess Augusta, 328 ; just government
of, in Italy, 426, 518 ; the army of, in
Albania, 470 ; adoption of, by the Em-
peror, with the title of Prince of Ven-
ice bestowed on, 607.
Beauharnais and Bonapartes, bitterness
between, 62, 173, 209, 233.
Belgium, journey of the First Consul to,
-76 ; homage at Amiens, 79 ; an inci-
dent at Ghent, 82 ; ceremony at Ant-
werp, 84 ; enthusiasm at Brussels, 86.
Belluno, the duchy of, established by the
Emperor, 423.
Beuevento, duchy of, bestowed on M. de
Talleyrand, 437.
Berlin, the Emperor's entry into, 468 ;
headquarters established at, 471 ;
complete conquest Of all the Prussian
states ordered from, 471.
Bernadotte, Marshal, Ponte Corvo be-
^stowed on, 437 ; praiseworthy course
of, as Governor of Liibeck, 472.
Berthier, Marshal, admiration and
friendship of, for Bonaparte, 76, 88 ;
estate of Grosbois bestowed on, 190 ;
appointment of, as Master of the
Hunt, 197 ; prmcipality of Neuf chatel
granted to, 420; the office of Vice-
Grand Constable bestowed on, 533 ;
marriage of, bv the Emperor's will,
420, note, 62l'; tragic death of, 621,
note.
Birthday of the Emperor, grand celebra-
tion of, throughout France, 283 ; de-
cree for observance of, 419 ; circular
letter from the Minister of the Inte-
rior to influence the celebration of,
443.
Bishops, complimentary pastorals for-
warded to the First Consul by, 120 ;
efforts of, in justification of the war,
106, 293 ; sketches of, 390.
BoUand judged guilty of taking part in
the conspiracy, 182.
Bologna, Princess of, infant daughter
of Prince EugSne, 607.
Bonaparte, sketch of, by Mme. de V\k-
musat, 1 ; account given of himself,
95 ; intellectual capacity, 10, 373 ;
anecdotes of, 12, note, 47, 49, 61, 83,
87; 115, 151, 167, 171,360,437,461,
684, note ; feeling of, for Josephine,
9, 22, 52, 00, 453, 600 ; arbitrariness
INDEX.
691
of, 71, 77, 168, 202, 335, 553 ; moodi-
ness and ill-temper, 2, 81, 119, 666;
melancholy temperament, 81, 95, 537;
sense of justice, 234, 656 ; want of
generous sentiment, 4, 15, 573 ; Imav-
isli propensities of, 4, 6, 7, 573, 671 ;
selfishness, 14, 218, 296, note, 455,
469 ; irreligion, 391, 572 ; instances
of extraordinary emotion, 453, 600 ,
jests of, 22, 78, 221 ; inclination to
reverie, 3, 25, 95, 552 ; imagination,
66, 96, 99, 151, 670; violence of, 12,
60, 206, 273, 372, 624, 548, 551, 554,
652, 671 ; scolding of, 275, 516, 626,
604 ; instances of amiability, 41, 78,
154, 258 ; of tenderness, 14, 63 ; tears,
14, 28, 49, 79, 147, 453, 600, 601 ;
method of controlling others, 4, 71, 96,
228, 277, 296, 330, 838, 389, 392, 444,
670 ; conversations, 82, 95, 135 ; hab-
its, 46, 50, 61, 81, 86, 227, 288, 370,
506, 560; manners, 3, 29, 168, 224,
231, 273, 429, 534, 557, 613 ; love
affairs, 14, 68, 216, 227, 231, 382,
557; contempt for women, 8, 24, 234,
452.
Bonaparte, Mme., beauty, 23, 199, 219,
566 ; Bonaparte's jealousy of, 26, 28,
566, 601 ; elegance of manners, 9,41,
48, 199, 221, 556 ; kindness, 22, 29, 48,
89, 199, 243, 361, 666 ; extravagance,
22, 27, 376 ; jealousy, 62, 61, 104,
204, 216, 330, 486 ; efforts in obtain-
ing pardons, 184, 188 ; delight in
prospect of the coronation, 218 ; taste
of, 23, 41, 377; magnificent attire,
46, 199, 219, 366, 428.
Bonaparte, Jerfime, return from Ameri-
ca, 258 ; arrival of, in Paris, plan of
new marriage for, 449 ; rumors relat-
ing to the kingdom of Poland and an
approaching marriage with an Aus-
trian princess, 511 ; celebration of the
marriage of, 537.
Bonaparte, Joseph, sketch of, 18 ; the
First Consul offended by, 77 ; opposi-
tion to the adoption of the young
Louis Napoleon, 147 ; created Grand
Elector, 166 ; title of Prince received
by, 169 ; appointment to military
rank, 178 ; the divorce favored by,
204 ; discomfiture at the approaching
coronation, 209; Court held by, at
Luxembourg, 289 ; the throne of
Naples conferred on, 420, 424, 425.
Bonaparte, Mme. Joseph, receives an-
nouncement of elevation to the throne
of Naples, 427 ; peaceful life of, 488 ;
departure of, as Queen of Naples, 630.
Bonaparte, Louis, sketch of, 21 ; conju-
gal despotism of, 34, 149, 268, 319,
352, 438, 440, 489, 497, 501, 538 ; ar-
guments against his son's adoption by
Bonaparte, 148 ; title of Prince con-
ferred on, 169 ; appointed member of
the Council of State, 178 ; visit of, to
the Army of the North, 323 ; selec-
tion of, as King of Holland, 436 ;
Dutch favor toward, 440 ; Govern-
ment of, found fault with by the Em
peror, 489, 603, 546.
Bonaparte, Mme. Louis, Bonaparte's
veneration for, 36, 149, 662 ; suffer-
ings, 34, 149, 268, 362, 438, 440,
489, 538, 562 ; pride in Eugfene, 241 ;
tastes, 323, disposition, studies, note ;
visit to the Emperor at Boulogne, 282;
talent, 386 ; life of, as Queen of Hol-
land, 440, 489 ; despair of, at death
of little Louis Napoleon, 497, 499,
note ; visit to France, 498.
Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon, eldest child
of Louis and Hortense, project for the
adoption of, 147 ; promising qualities
of, 440, 470, 602 ; death of, 497.
Bonaparte, Napoleon Louis, second son
of Louis and Hortense, birth of, 206 ;
the Emperor's affectionate treatment
of, a hope to the Empress, 531.
Bonaparte, Napoleon IIL, third son of
Louis and Hortense, birth of, 203,
501, 643.
Bonaparte, Lucien, abilities of, 18 ; ca-
reer of, as ambassador to Spain, 19 ;
infatuation with Mme. Jouberthan,
20, 93, 146 ; exile from France, 21,
146 ; devotion to the fine arts and
leisure of at Rome, 616.
Bondy, M. de, made Chamberlain to the
Emperor, 246.
Bordeaux, the Empress permitted to
join the Emperor at, 636.
Borghese, Prince, attachment to Mme.
Leelerc, marriage, 93 ; declared a
French citizen, 255 ; favor shown to,
330 ; principality of Guastalla grant-
ed to, 420 ; appointment of, as " Gov-
ernor-General beyond the Alps," 619.
Borghese, Princess, lightness of, 364 ;
silver-gilt diimer-services used by,
368 ; court dresses of, 378 ; public
opinion of, 400 ; principality of Guas-
692
INDEX.
talla conferred on, 420, 425 ; dia-
monds possessed by, 428.
" Bossuet's Catechism," 446.
Boull6, Mmo. de, made Lady-in-Wait-
ing, 246.
Boulogne, army assembled at, 76 ; col-
lection of boats, extension of camp,
192 ; review of troops at, 200.
Boulogne, Abb 6 de, instability of, 391.
Bourbons, feeling of the Emperor and
M. de Talleyrand against, 358 ; hope
for the expulsion of, 612, 632 ; plot
for the final ruin of, 637.
Brienne, Mme. de, letters of, 258.
Broglie, Abb6 de, qualities of, 390.
Brune, Marshal, a remarkable order is-
sued by, 471.
Brussels, entry into, 85 ; review of regi-
ments at, 86.
Bulletins, Marat, the author-in-chief of,
289, 291, 292, note, 293, 303, 307,
note ; license of the Emperor in the
composition of, 295 ; attacks on the
Queen of Prussia in, 460, 463, 464,
466 ; reading of, at Parisian theatres,
482.
Burning of the earlier Memoir, xxxviii.
C Mme. de, scheming of, against
Mme. de Damas and Mme. de ll^mu-
sat, 238.
C , Mme. de, marriage of, with M.
de Caulaincourt, 331.
Cadoudal, Georges, conspiracy of, 103 ;
arrest of, 121 ; examination of, 165 ;
noble conduct under trial, sentence
of death, 182; letter to the First
Consul, courage in death, 189 ; Bona-
parte impressed by the character of,
182, 189.
Cadore, the duchy of, established by
Bonaparte, 423.
Cambaofirfes, arrest of the Due d'En-
ghien opposed by, 138, note; speech at
Saint Cloud, 155 ; manners of, as Di-
rector of the Council of State, 258 ;
receptions of, as Arch-Chancellor,
321 ; speech of, in the Senatus-Con-
sultum, 419 ; wisdom of, in presiding
over the State Council, 519.
Campan, Mme., boarding-school of, 31,
216, 316, 381 ; instruction of, in
court etiquette, 177.
Carapo Formio, the Venetian States
yielded to the Emperor of Austria by
tlie treaty of, 264.
Camps, imposing appearance of, 192.
Canisy, Mme. de, added to the list of
Ladies-in- Waiting, 255 ; beauty of,
255, 396.
Cape Finisterre, victory of, claimed by
both English and French, 282.
Caprera, Cardinal, service of, in Belgi-
um, 85, note ; Cross of the Legion of
Honor sent to, 200 ; Princess Ste-
phanie's marriage solemnized by, 429.
Carrion-Nisas, consecration of the Em-
peror's sword suggested by, 325.
Carnot, courageous protest of, against
an Empire, 152.
Catherine, Princess, arrangement for
the marriage of, with Jerome Bona-
parte, 514 ; grand ceremony of the
marriage of, at the Tuileries, 537;
sufferings of, from jealousy, 660, 662.
Caulaincourt, M. de, seizure of the Due
d'Enghien by, 122, 124 ; public opin-
ion against, 132, condemnation of
Bonaparte by, devotion to, note ; ap-
pointed Grand Equerry, 197 ; love
and marriage of, 331 ; appointment
of, as ambassador to St. Petersburg,
576.
Ceremony of the coronation, 221 ; rep-
resentation of, in Chenier's corona-
tion tragedy, 225.
Champagny, M. do. Minister of the In-
terior, circular letter of, 346 ; an-
nouncement of, to the Institute rela-
tive to a statue in honor of D'Alem-
bert, 496 ; transfer of, to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs as successor to M.
de Talleyrand, 517, 520.
Charlemagne, the First Consul's estima-
tion of, 134 ; the empire of, taken as
a model, 336.
Charles, King of Spain, conspiracy
against, 571 ; timidity of, 571, 628;
abdication of, 628, 635 ; the Emper-
or's resolve to espouse the cause of,
646.
Charles, Prince, interview of, with the
Emperor, 311, 312, note.
Chateau of Brienne, Emperor at, 268.
Chateaubriand, resignation of,138,note ;
publication of the " G6nie du Chris-
tianisme," mission to Rome, alienation
from Bonaparte, journey to the Holy
Land, 403 ; unsuccessful efforts of,
on behalf of a cousin condemned to
death, 404 ; bitterness of, 406 ; edi-
tor's correction of the author's opin-
INDEX.
e93
Ion of, 414, note; studies for "Les
Martyrs," 611, note; a seat in the
Academy proposed for, B39 ; contin-
ued opposition of, to the Emperor,
B40.
Ch^nier, tragedy composed by, commem-
orating the coronation, 211 ; hissed
by Parisian audience, 225.
Charon, M., appointment of, as Prefect
to Poitiers, 270.
Cherubini, the Emperor's dislike for,
416.
Chevreuse, Mme. de, appointed Lady-in-
Waiting, appearance of, dislike for
the position,- 3B9, anecdote of, note.
Christian VII., King of Denmark, death
of, 627.
Churches, pastoral letters read in, 29.3.
Clarice, General, made Grand Officer of
the Legion of Honor, 355 ; appoint-
ment of, as Governor of Erfurt, 405 ;
succession of, to Marshal Berthier as
Minister of War, B33.
Clergy, the Emperor's policy in favor-
ing, 84 ; dislike of, 391.
Code of Civil Laws, completion and ap-
proval of, 144.
Colloredo, Count de, attacks on, in the
bulletins, 293, 299.
Cologne, visited by the Emperor and
Empress, 203.
Comedio Fran9aise, pieces prohibited by
the Eevolution again put on the stage
of, 55 ; success of two plays at, 270 ;
performances at Saint Cloud, 274 ;
representation in honor of the Em-
peror, 349 ; difficulties of the actors
of, at Fontainebleau, BBS.
Conclusion, 647.
Conegliano, the duchy of, established by
Bonaparte, 423.^
Confederation of the Rhine, design of,
made public, 447 ; terms of, 448,
449 ; M. de Talleyrand's part in for-
mation of, 448.
Conspiracy led by Georges Cadoudal,
108 ; facts of, made known, 112 ; or-
der for Moreau's arrest, IIB ; taking
of Pichegru, 117 ; death of the lat-
ter in prison, 181 ; Cadoudal seized,
121; death of the Due d'Enghion,
129 ; commutation of M. de Poli-
gnao's sentence, 187 ; pardon of the
Marquis de Rivifere, 189.
Consulate, party views on the exchange
of, for Imperial authority, 158,
Copenhagen, siege and conquest of, by
the English, 532 ; forced evacuation
of, B48.
Coronation, jealousy of the Bonaparte
family on the subject of, 203 ; the
Empress's hope of, 204 ; ceremony of,
privately rehearsed, arrangements of,
by the painter David, 210 ; perform-
ance of, 219 ; cost of, 226.
Coronation of King of Italy, 255, 263.
Corps Diplomatique, indignation of,
against the English Government,
121.
Corps L^gislatif , assemblage of, remark-
able report of, 67 ; complimentary ad-
dresses by, to the First Consiil, 89 ; M.
de Fontanes appointed President of,
107 ; a complimentaiy motion of, 144 ;
address of, to First Consul, 1B3 ; f 6tes
given by, 225 ; opening of, in state,
228 ; the importance of, decreased,
1B5 ; an imposing opening of, 634.
Corneiile, the one French poet under-
stood by Bonaparte, 102.
Corvisart, refusal of, to second Bona-
parte's device to secure an heir, 213 ;
medical treatment of Louis Bona-
parte, 353 ; the Emperor's confidence
in, 371.
Coss6-Brissac, M. de, appointed to at-
tend on the mother of the Emperor,
255.
Costume, of Bonaparte as First Consul,
as Emperor, 47, 211 ; at the corona-
tion, 220 ; general simple style of,
2, 369 ; dress of Mme. Bonaparte, 23,
199, 376, 377; rich uniforms, 46;
costumes of members of the Imperi-
al Court, 47, 211, 368; Bonaparte's
wish for women to dress well, 46,
347 ; Court dresses on the occasion
of the Princess Stephanie's marriage,
428 ; hunting costumes at Fontaine-
bleau, 549.
Councils, ability of the Emperor dis-
played in, 373, 431.
Cour des Comptes, organization of, by
the Emperor, 541.
Court, dullness and monotony of life at,
BO, 198, 350, 389, 552, 55B ; dress,
210, 211, 378, 428, 650; strictness
of, 202, 350, 558 ; silence, 521, 552,
568 ; display, 226, 267, 378, 428,
470, 535, 542; customs, 202, 223,
320, 367, 378, 389, 551, 5!58, 567;
magnificence, 226, 378, 428, 535, 542.
694
INDEX.
Courtomer, M. de, appoictcd Chamber-
lain to the Empress, 246.
Croij, M., made Chamberlain to the Em-
peror, 246.
Cross of Saint Hubert bestowed on M.
de Kemusat, 347.
Crown, refusal of Bonaparte to receive,
, from any hand but his own, 210 ; lau-
rel wreath the design of, 211 ; crown
of the Empress placed on her head
by the Emperor, 210 ; grace of wear-
ing it, 221.
Curve's " motion of order " in the Tri-
bunate, 161 ; Carnot's protest against,
152.
Customs, conyersation restricted, 60,
521, 652, 566, 668 ; state levies of
the Emperor, 813, 373 ; receptions,
321, 430, 549, 662, 666, 568; con-
certs, 378, 556.
Cuvier, favors of the Emperor received
by, 416.
Czar, the terms of peace proposed by,
803 ; attitude and action of, relative
to the treaty, 343, 449, 450 ; final al-
liance with the Emperor, 513.
Dalmatia, the province of, established
as a duchy of the French Empire,
428 ; new contests in, with the Rus-
sians, 433, 442.
Damas, Mme. Charles de, exile of, 2i.7 ;
revocation of sentence, 238 ; second
exile of, 240.
Dandlau, Mme., entertaining tactics of,
186.
Dantzie, siege and capitulation of, 505 ;
Marshal Lefebvre made Duke of, 505.
Daru, M., severity of, as Intendant of the
army, 467, note.
David, portraits of the Emperor by, 416 ;
a story of the Emperor's respect to-
ward, 615.
Davoust, Marshal, renown of, at Jena,
464 ; a garrison sent to Poland com-
manded by, 632.
Decazes, M., meeting of, with Queen
Hortense, gossip in relation to, 500 ;
Louis's jealousy of, 501, subsequent
rank of, note.
Decorations, the wearing of, 266, 322 ;
the order of St. George declined by
the Emperor Alexander, 343.
D6crfes, M., ability and devotion of, as
Naval Minister, 621.
Defeat of two Emperors, 804.
Delille, Jacques, title of Abbe acquired
and dropped by, talents, honors,
works, relations with the Emperor,
400, 615 ; professorship of, respect
felt toward, 539.
Denmark, expedition of the English
into, 647, 569 ; death of the King of ;
accession of I'rederick V., 627.
Denon, M., appointment of, as Director
of the Museum, 66 ; collections made
by, in conquered cities, 484.
Despr^aux summoned to instruct Court
ladies in ceremonious manners, 348.
Devaux, Mme. de, appointed Lady-in-
Waiting, 246.
Diadem of the Enpress, 210, 218.
Diamonds of the Emperor, 47 ; of the
Empress, 210 ; presentation of, to La-
dies-in-Waiting, 211 ; of the Emperor,
220 ; M. de E(5musat's charge of the
crown diamonds taken to Milan for
the coronation, 266 ; crown diamonds
conveyed to Vienna, 800 ; diamonds
worn by ladies of the Court, 379 ; mag-
nificent gifts of, from the Sultan, 436.
Discussion of First Consul on political
rule, 36.
Divorce, early idea of, 147 ; determina-
tion on, 206; anguish of Mme. Bona-
parte, hesitation and tears of Bona-
parte in relation to, 208, 209, 600,
601 ; idea of, abandoned, 209 ; the
subject of , renewed, 611, 580; schem-
ers concerned in relation to, 616 ; con-
versation of the Emperor and Em-
press on the subject of, 581, 600;
Fouche's letter to the Empress, 586 ;
account given the Emperor of the ex-
citement in Paris, speeches on the
subject at places of general assembly,
596 ; efforts of Mme. Murat, 696 ; ad-
vice given the Empress by Mme. de
E6musat, 208, 683 ; by M. do Rc^mu-
sat, 587 ; opposition of M. de Talley-
rand, 588, 696, 601.
Doge of Genoa, mission of, at Milan in
securing the union of his Republic
with the Empire, £64 ; appointment
of, as Senator, 298.
Donauworth, success at, £91.
Drake, Mr., the secret correspondence
of, made public, 121 ; Bonaparte on,
137; complaint of, 150; the Envoy's
proceedings upheld by the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, 161.
Dramatic representations, scenes from
INDEX.
695
the life of 'WiUiam the Conqueror en-
acted, 76; Ch6nier's tragedy, 225;
success of " Le Tartuf e des Mceura "
and " Les Templiers," 270 ; the Em-
peror's want of pleasure in, 276, 555 ;
Corneille's " Menteur " an exception,
289 ; representations at Malmaison,
385 ; at Fontainebleau, 553 ; at the
Tuileries, 613.
Duchesnois, Mile., qualities of, as an
actress, 58 note.
Duroc, General, love for Hortonse, 33 ;
appointed Grand Marshal of the Pal-
ace, 197; wife of, 316 ; character of,
316, 317, note; callousness of, an ad-
vantage to the Emperor, 389 ; admin-
istration of, 604.
Ecclesiastical relations, 8-1, 85, 106, 200,
209, 214, 293, note, 390, 433, 446,
511, 668.
Education, want of, in Bonaparte, 3, 25,
305, 535, 555 ; in Josephine, 24 ; a
decree regulating the education of
princes, 422 ; in young people, 411 ;
study of ancient languages resumed
in public instruction, 91 ; system of
the University, 623, 624.
Egypt, pleasurable recollections of cam-
paign in, 87, 100.
Elector of Treves, petition of, 344.
Emperor, assumes the robes of state,
220; coronation of, 221; letter to
the King of England read in the
Senate, 249 ; bestows the State of
Piombino on Mme. Bacciochi, 264;
annuls tho American, marriage of
J6rome Bonaparte, 259 ; holds a
grand review at Marengo, 260 ; the
crown of Italy accepted, 263 ; recon-
noitre of the Austrian forces, 264 ;
appointments, 197, 198, 228, 246,
255 ; the Austrian war resolved on,
264 ; the Court kept at full dress
parade, 267 ; objections to M. de
Fontanes's " Les Templiers," and ill
humor at its success, 270, and note ;
vexation because the music of " Les
Bardes " is not highly applauded,
271 ; orders the work of the Simplon
Pass, etc., increases the Court by
Italian noblemen and ladies, 271 ;
issues decrees for Italy, augments
the Council of State, 274 ; abandons
the project of the English invasion,
275 ; departs for Boulogne to review
the northern army, 276 ; compels M.
de Talleyrand to marry Mme. Grand,
277; sets out for Strasburg, 287,
289 ; calls out reserves of conscripts
of five years' standing, 287 ; explains
in the " Moniteur " the points of of-
fense against Austria, 288 ; com-
mences the campaign, 291 ; harangues
the troops at Lech Bridge in " words
of fire," 292; reduces Ulm, 293;
induces the King of Naples to re-
main neutral, 298 ; establishes him-
self at Schonbrunn, 299 ; memora-
ble words on the eve of battle,
304 ; meeting with the Emperor
Francis, 305, 309 ; relinquishes the
Tyrol to Austria and immediately re-
pents, 309, 310 ; fear inspired, 202,
224, 246, 621, 626, 652, 554; in-
justice in apportioning fame, 294,
295, note, 465 ; decrees, 254, 259, 287,
297, 419, 476, 490, 575 ; despotism,
270, 338; honors, 266, 326, 333,
349, 533 ; exactions, 240, 244, 272,
623, 664; receives Prince Charles,
311 ; becomes displeased with M. de
K^musat, 312; arrives at Munich,
326 ; proclaims the Elector of Bava-
ria King, 327 ; falls in love with the
Queen of Bavaria, 329 ; proclaims
war against Naples ; 332 ; project of
a new kind of feudality entertained,
337, 447 ; dreads the antagonism of
the Emperor of Russia, 343 ; intro-
duces new court etiquette, 348; re-
wards officers, 366 ; shows contempt
for human nature in the manage-
ment of subordinates, 389, 392 ; fa-
vors the poet Delille, 401 ; has diffi-
culty with M. de Chateaubriand, 403 ;
banishes Mme. de Stael, 408; en-
courages art and science, 416 ; estab-
lishes duchies and fiefs, 423 ; cele-
brates the marriage of his adopted
daughter, 428 ; Louis proclaimed
King of Holland, 436 ; departure on
the Prussian campaign, 451 ; hope
of peace with England, 447 ; stirring
proclamation to soldiers, 468 ; mea-
sures the force of the Prussian cav-
alry at Jena, 464 ; rupture with Rus-
sia proclaimed, 471 ; advances into
Poland, 474 ; plans unfulfilled, 476,
478 ; departure to meet the Russians,
479 ; engages with the foe at Eylau,
483 ; visit to the battle-field, 484 ;
696
INDEX.
meets the Emperor of Russia, 612 ;
concludes a treaty, 514 ; influence
secured over allies by distributing
troops through Europe, 532; an ac-
count of his victories given to the
legislative bodies, 634; anger aroused
by the EngUsh expedition into Den-
mark, 569 ; mistakes in relation to
Spain, 570, 572, 644, 662 ; plot against
the Spanish sovereigns at Bayonne,
637 ; tour to Italy, 604 ; encourage-
ment of arts and sciences, 619 ; be-
ginning of alienation from Talley-
rand, 635; new campaigns in Spain,
652.
Empress, charms all eyes at the corona-
tion, 221 ; is honored by a presenta-
tion, 225 ; feels that Eugfene is not
sufficiently promoted, 229 ; has cause
for jealousy, 231 ; easily forgives,
243 ; petitions for places in the Em-
peror's service are received, 246 ;
presence at the Italian coronation,
263 ; lodgings established at Stras-
burg, 286, 291 ; pride in the Em-
peror, 294 ; sojourn at Munich, plea-
sure in the prospects of her son, 319 ;
happiness interfered with by jealousy
of the Queen of Bavaria, 330 ; has
six hundred thousand francs for per-
sonal expenses, 375 ; debts and chari-
ties, 376 ; hundreds of shawls, 376 ;
morning toilets, 376, 551 ; evening
attire, lace robes, precious stones,
377 ; death-bed array of ribbons and
rose-colored satin, 37S ; rendered un-
happy by the Emperor's fancy for
the youthful Stephanie, 383 ; awed
by the manners of Mme. do Eochef o'u-
cauld, 394; a fine gold-embroidered
gown worn at the marriage of Stepha-
nie, 428 ; receives a pearl necklace
and fine shawls from the Sultan,
436 ; is established at Mayence, 453 ;
receives visits from sovereigns, 459 ;
returns to Paris, a f6te in honor of,
494 ; afaiction in the loss of her grand-
eon, 497, 602 ; journey to Brussels to
meet Queen Hortense, 498 ; idleness
without ennui, 361, 377, 551 ; numer-
ous portraits, 376 ; supposed capti-
vation of the Prince of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, 566; dread of divorce,
502, 682, 601.
Empress-Mother of Russia, refusal of,
to see M. de Caulaincourt, ambassa-
dor to St. Petersburg, 576; the
Czar's admiration for Napoleon un-
shared by, 596.
Empress of Austria, death of, 496.
Enghien, Due de, arrest of, 122 ; grief
of Mme. de Remusat at the murder
of, XX., 122; result of Mme. Bona-
parte's entreaties for, 123 ; account
of the death of, 129 ; public feeling,
140.
England, rupture of, with France, 69 ;
invasion of, in contemplation, 76, 91,
106 ; declared to be in a state of
blockade, 475 ; definite rupture of,
with Russia, 606.
English ambassadors, treatment of, by
the First Consul, 12 ; departure from
Paris, 69.
English Government, causes of conten-
tion with, 67, 68 ; declaration of war,
76 ; agitation, 91 ; enemies for the
French raised by, 275, 341, 433 ; war
against Prussia declared by, 432 ; re-
sistance to Bonaparte's measures pre-
pared for, 478 ; the King of Sweden
Influenced by, 631 ; Denmark attacked
by, 532; blockade of Europe contem-
plated by, 545 ; overtures of peace re-
pulsed by, 508, 669.
English Parliament, message from the
King to, 68 ; debates in, 248, 342,
648, 617.
Erfurt, capitulation of, 465 ; M. de Tal-
leyrand's account of the conference
at, 661 ; return of the Emperor from,
662.
Esm^nard appointed to undertake the
revision of Corneille, Racine, and Vol-
taire, 255 ; honor conferred on, for the
production of new operas, 575, 616.
Etiquette, M. de RSmusat employed in
attention to, 174 ; strict enforcement
of, 198, 350 ; instructions In, 177,
348 ; a new form of, brought from
Germany, 348 ; Mme. Murat's inter-
est in details of, S54 ; the Empress's
unwillingness to submit to, 375.
Etruria, Queen of, the Emperor's will
for the return of, to her father the
King of Spain, signified to, 604, 633.
Europe, blunder of, 288 ; the Emperor's
ambition directed to, 350; destinies
of, affected by decrees of 30th March,
1806, 419, 426 ; position of, discussed,
432 ; interlude of peace in, 514.
Eylau, battle of, 483, 485 ; order for a
INDEX.
697
monument in commemoration of,
484.
Empire, French, foundation of, 152;
intended to transform the sovereigns
of Europe into great feudatories of its
own, 262.
Fashions, for the new court, 210, 227 ;
at Fontainebleau, 549.
Faubourg St. Germain, a watch of, in-
sisted on by the Emperor, 298, 523.
Fayette, Mme. de, appointed Lady of the
Bedchamber, 198 ; literary accom-
plishments of, 411.
Feltre, establishment of the duchy of,
423.
Fultre, Duo de (General Clarke), charac-
ter and career of, 356.
Ferdinand, Infante Don, intrigues
against, 571, 631 ; attachment of the
Spanish nation to, 671 ; accession of,
as Ferdinand VII., 628 ; abdication
of, 647 ; the Emperor's perfidious
conduct toward, 637.
Fesch, Cardinal, opposition to his neph-
ew, the Emperor, in disputes with the
Pope, 17 ; appointment as High Al-
moner, 197; marriage of Bonaparte
and Josephine performed by, 216,
218; selected as coadjutor and suc-
cessor to the Arch-Chancellor of the
German Empire, 436.
Fetes, in Italy, 25 ; at the Tuileries, 68,
90, 428 ; at Amiens, 79 ; Brussels,
85 ; to celebrate the annivei-sary of
the Republic, 90 ; winter of 1804,
107; at Aix-la-Chapelle, 203; fol-
lowing the coronation, 221, 225 ; at
Milan, 263 ; at Genoa, 266 ; in hon-
or of Princess Stephanie's marriage,
450 ; in honor of the Empress, 494 ;
15th of August, 1807, 535 ; at Fon-
tainebleau, 642.
Fezensac, Duo de, sketch of, 357.
Finances, stringency in, 290, 321 ; the
Emperor's improvements in the man-
agement of, 346 ; civil list and other
revenues, 360, 431 ; encouraging state
of, 431.
First Consul, inspires early public con-
fidence, 38, 91 ; journeys to Belgium,
78 ; gives orders for great public
works at Antwerp, 84 ; extraordinary
proceeding at the Church of Sainte
Gudule, noted, 86 ; conversations
with Mme. de K^musat, 95 ; per-
ceives the advantage of a rigorous
course with conspirators, 109; orders
Moreau's arrest, 115 ; sends M. de
Caulaincourt to seize the Duo d'En-
ghien, 122 ; recognizes a crime but
not a blunder in the murder of the
latter, 142 ; e.xerts himself to dispel
the odium of that act, 143 ; finds his
project advanced by the event, 164 ;
expresses admiration of Georges Ca-
doudal, 182, 189; commutes the Due
de Polignac's sentence, 187 ; audi-
ences at Malmaison, 126; manifesto
of opinions delivered, 135; receives
honors, 79, 84, 85, 90, 144 ; engages
in literary discussions, 66, 101 ;
makes violent journalistic attacks on
the English Government, 69; con-
templates a descent upon the shores
of England, constructs flat-bottomed
boats for the invasion, 76, 91 ; deliv-
ers a dinner-party discussion on mili-
tary science, 135 ; sovereignty con-
ceived of, 144 ; empire resolved on,
divorce considered, adoption of the
young Louis Napoleon proposed, 147 ;
scheme of succession drawn up, 148 ;
title of King rejected, 1 51 ; the Sen-
ate's proclamation of the title of Em-
peror, 155 ; inspects the coasts and
reviews the troops at Boulogne, 200 ;
forms an intimacy with Mme. de ,
204 ; demolishes furniture In a rage,
206 ; announces to Mme. Bonaparte
that the Pope is to crown them both,
209 ; goes to meet his Holiness, 214 ;
takes a fancy to Mme. de S , 216,
227, 230; becomes jealous of the
Pope's popularity, 219.
Flags, the Emperor's bestowal of, 324,
325 ; colors taken from the enemy
borne in state to the Invalides, 502.
Fleury, the actor, a present from the
Emperor received by, 288.
Fleury, Duchessc de, cleverness, divorce
of, 530 ; ode addressed to, by Andr6
Ch^nier, note.
Floating gardens at Genoa, 266.
Flotillas of flat-bottomed boats, 76, 91 ;
assemblage of, at Boulogne, 192 ; as-
pect of, 200.
Fontainebleau, Court arrived at, to rc-
■ ceive his Holiness, 212 ; the Pope's
arrival at, 214 ; receptions, remark-
able spectacle of, 215 ; military school
founded at, 346 ; sojourn of the Court
698
INDEX.
at, 542 ; the Spanish sovereigns at,
650.
Fontanea, M. de, appointment of, as
President of the Corps L^gislatif, 107,
134, note ; speeches of, 153, 350, 602 ;
" Les Templiers " read to Bonaparte
by, 270 ; appointment of, as Grand
Master of the University, 623.
Fouch^, dismissal of, accomplished by
M. de Talleyrand, 63 ; characteristics
of, 53, 111, 285 ; renomination of, as
Minister of Police, 199 ; policy of,
257, 298 ; satisfaction of the Em-
peror with, 390 ; enmity toward M.
de Talleyrand, 355, 488 ; relations of,
with the Jacobins, 519; rebukes of,
by the Emperor, 507, 625 ; instru-
mentality of, in the project of di-
vorce, 585 ; the Emperor's displea-
sure with, 656.
Fox, overtures of peace favored by, 341,
441, 447 ; fatal illness of, 441 ; death
of, 450.
France, rejoicing and fear of, in view of
the alliance of the Italian crown, 264 ;
relation of, 324 ; the spell of vic-
tory weakened, 333 ; war become
wearisome to, 464 ; encouraging situ-
ation of, 442 ; brilliant position re-
viewed by M. de Fontanes in the Corps
L^gislatif, 534.
Frasniferes, part taken by, in the con-
spiracy, escape of, 182.
Frederick V., accession of, to the throne
of Denmark, 627.
French nobility, relations of, to the Con-
sular Government, 29 ; course of the
Emperor toward the reconciliation of,
507 ; simple life of, amid the luxury
of the Empire, 678.
Friedland, battle of, 508.
Friuli, Due de (Marshal Duroo), ex-
traordinary traits of, 317, the Edo-
peror's feeling at the death of, note.
Friuli, the duchy of, established by the
Emperor, 423.
Gallery of Diana, dinners at, 46, 379 ;
betrothal ceremony of the Emperor's
adopted daughter performed at, 427.
Gaudin, M. de (Due de Gaeta), Minister
of Finance, admirable management
of, in relation to taxes and receipts,
345, 620.
Gavre, Prince de, appointed Chamber-
lain to the Empress, 246.
Generals, want of justice toward, 295,
note ; transformation of, to chamber,
lains, 391 ; rewards to, 355, 577.
German princes, reception of, by the
Empress at Strasburg, 294.
Germany, honors paid to the Emperor
by, 333 ; etiquette of, 329 ; court
ceremonial of, copied by the Em-
peror, 347 ; confederation with, 448.
George III., complaint of, to Parlia-
ment against the French Government,
68 ; illness of, 121.
Georges, Mile., liaison of the First Con-
sul with, 58.
Gerard, historical portraits by, " Battle
of Austerlitz," "Entry of Henry IV.
into Paris," 415.
Girodet, style of, 415.
Grand Dignitaries, creation of, under
the Empire, 156.
Grand, Mme., beauty of, 276, 281, 282,
note ; residence with M. de Talley-
rand, 277 ; marriage, 278 ; stupidity
of, 281, 282, note; Talleyrand's in-
difference toward the Emperor's cold
treatment of, 280, 529.
Gregorian Calendar, resumption of, 283.
Gr^try, anecdote of, 224.
Gros, eminence of, in art, 415 ; famous
portrait of the Emperor painted by,
484.
Guard of Honor created, 290.
Guerin, effect produced by art of, 415.
Hague, important council held at, 434 ;
constitutional monarchy for Holland
decided on, 436.
Hanover, conquest of, 76 ; bestowed on
the King of Prussia, 342 ; renewed
attack on, by the French, 473.
Hatzfeld, Prince, touching circum-
stances of the release of, 472, 473
note.
H^donville, M., made Chamberlain to
the Emperor, 246.
Holland, the position of, discussed, 432 ;
the desire of, for Louis Napoleon as
King, 436 ; the Emperor's tyrannical
measures suffered from, 441 ; taxa-
tion and blockade of, 459 ; murmura
of discontent from, 546.
Houdetot, M. d', made Auditor to the
Naval Section, 862 ; administration
of, as Intendant in conquered states,
474.
Houdetot, Mme. d' good society at the
INDEX.
699
house of, 67 ; Mme. de Remuaat'a bo-
journs with, 91, 268 ; a note — worthy
comment of, regarding the Emperor,
611 ; sketch of, 680.
Houseliold of the Emperor, great officers
of, 197 ; Ladies-iu-Waiting, Mme. de
la Eochefoucauld, etc., 198, 199 ; sal-
aries of ofBcers, 367 ; table, 368 ;
decoration and furnishing, 369.
Institute of France, reorganization of,
68, note; honors to distinguished
members of, 416 ; Cardinal Maury's
dispute with, 461, 480.
Invalides, distribution of the Cross of
the Legion of Honor at, 199 ; memo-
rial ceremony on the death of the
young Prince Louis Napoleon, 502.
Isabey, miniatures of, 415.
Istria, establishment of, as a duchy, 423.
Italy, campaign in, 25 ; regard of, for
Eugene, 30 ; desire of, for the union of
the Iron Crown with that of France,
253 ; ordinances for, 255 ; the Em-
peror's arrival in, 260 ; coronation of
Bonaparte as King of, 263; the army
of, praised by the Emperor, 327 ; the
States of Venice united to, by a de-
cree of the Emperor, 420; satisfac-
tion of the Emperor with the admin-
istration of affairs in, 606.
Izquierdo, important interview of, with
M. de Talleyrand, 634.
Jacobins, opposition of, feared by Bona-
parte, 109 ; the Minister of Police re-
sponsible for the behavior of, 519.
Jena, battle of, 452, 464 ; the Emperor's
account of, 464, note ; University of,
placed under military protection, 481.
Jouberthon, Mme., Lucien Bonaparte's
love for, 20, 146.
"Journal de I'Empire," narrative by
Talleyrand in, 186.
Journey to Belgium, 76.
Jouy, Mme., honors and recompense to,
576.
Junot, General, an anecdote of, 326 ;
appointment of, as Governor of Paris,
442 ; Mme. Murat's interests served
by, 488 ; the army for the invasion of
Spain in command of, 569 ; entrance
into Lisbon, 606.
Knobelsdorff, succession of, to Lucchc-
sini, the former Prussian envoy, 457.
Kouraklne, Prince, treaty of Tilsit
signed by, 514.
Lac^pfede, M. do, appointed Chancellor
of the Legion of Honor, 89.
Ladies-in-Waiting, precedence over oth-
ers and special places allowed to, 172,
224 ; high rank of several, drawn to
the new Imperial Court, 175, 199
appointments of, 42, 198, 246, 359
title of Countess conferred on, 360
sketches of, 201, 331, 359, 393 ; num-
ber of, increased, 198, 399.
Lameth, M. de. Prefect of the Depart-
ment of the Eoer, the Constituent
Assembly defended by, 509 ; sketches
of, 510, note.
Lancival, Luc de, intrusted with the task
of revising Corneille, Kacine, and Vol-
taire, 255.
Lanaes, Marshal, skirmishes led by,
against Prince Louis of 'Prussia, 463 ;
nomination of, as Colonel-General of
the Swiss Guard, 542.
Lannes, Mme. (Duchess de Montebello),
beauty of, final appointment of, 399.
Laplace, made Chancellor of the Senate,
90 ; favored by the Emperor, 416.
Lo Brun, appointed to administer affairs
in Genoa, 266 ; character of, 322 ; in-
offensive part of, as Arch-Treasurer,
• 519 ; death of, 639.
Lech Bridge, the Emperor's address at,
292.
Lecourbe deprived of the office of chief
judge for speaking in favor of Mo-
reau's innocence, 183.
Lefebvre, General, appointed Prstor,
90 ; title of Duke of Dantzic conferred
on, 505 ; anecdotes of, 507, note.
Legion of Honor, justification of, 89 ;
an English caricature of, 89; ap-
pointment of M. de Lao^pfede as Chan-
cellor, 89 ; distribution of the cross
of, 199 ; decoration of, scut to Cardi-
nal Caprera, 200 ; Savary rewarded
by the grand cordon of, 4D5.
Lemot the sculptor, commission of, at
the Louvre, 346.
Leroy, service of, in designing costumes
for Fontainebleau, 549.
" Les Templiers " of M. de FontancB,
the Emperor's objections to, 270, also
note.
Lesueur, the Emperor's determined pref-
erence for, as the author of the operas
700
INDEX.
of "Les Bardes" and "Trajan," 271,
416, 616.
"Le TartuEe des Mceura," tho Emper-
or's appreciation of, 270.
Letters of Bonaparte, to Josephine, 25,
60, note, 450, note, 469 note, 464, note,
473, note, 487, note, 496, 513, note ; to
Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, 328,
329; to the Queen of Holland, 50,
note ; to the King of England, 249 ;
to Mme. de Montesquieu, 317, note;
to II. Champagny, 417 ; to Marshal
Bcrthier, 420; to Cambac^rfes, 482,
note ; to King Louis, 603, note ; to the
Princess Augusta, 519, note ; to the
Prince of the AsturiaS, 639.
Levees of the Emperor, 313, 372, 551.
Lieskiewitz, Princesse do, infatuation of,
regarding M. de Talleyrand, 630.
Literary receptions, 66.
Literature, Bonaparte's controversies on,
51, 66 ; tastes in, 4, 270 ; wearisome-
ness of the " Iliad," Lemcrcier, Cor-
neille estimated, Molifere, Eacine,
101 ; " Alzire," 127 ; tragedy of Ch6-
nier, 225 ; revision of great worlis,
225 ; " Confessions " of Rousseau,
268, 362; "Les Tcmpliers," 270;
Mold's treatise, 361 ; Delille, 400 ;
works of Chateaubriand, 403 ; Mme.
da Stael, 406 ; Mme. de Genlis, 410 ;
quality of romances, 411 ; les honnes
lelires, 412 ; the poets, 413 ; revcards
decreed, 490.
Louis, Prince of Prussia, the King
urged to "war by, 442 ; death of, 460,
463.
Louis XVIII., protest of, against the ac-
cession of Bonaparte, 190.
Louvre, French pictures collected at, 65 ;
the collection of Prince Borghese ac-
quired by, 619.
Liibeok, storming and pillage of, 471.
Lu9ay, M. de, martial interest of, 290.
Lu9ay, Mme. de, position of, 394.
Lucca, Republic of, conferred on Elisa
(Mme. Bacciochi), 266.
Lucchesini, Marquis de, faithless course
of, as Prussian ambassador to Paris, .
434 ; general career of, 435 ; recall
of, at the request of the Emperor,
457.
Luxembourg, court held at, by Joseph
Bonaparte, 289.
Luzy, Mile., youthful friendship of M.
de Talleyrand for, 610.
Lyceums, establishment of, 91.
Lyons, furniture and hangings furnished
to the palaces by, 369.
Madeleine, the site of, designated by
Imperial decree for a monument to
the French army, 479.
Madrid, the French army at, 635 ; im-
patience of the presence of the
French, 637 ; indignation excited by
the course of the Emperor, 644.
" Majorats," founding of the institution
of, 621 ; granting of the titles of
Count and Baron, 622.
Malle, M. Bureau de la, death of, 539.
Malmaison, purchase of, by Josephine,
26 ; sumptuous decorations of, 27 ;
anxious days at, 122 ; extravagant
sums spent on, by the Empress, 377 ;
vaudevilles at, 386.
Mantle, disputation in regard to, 212,
note, 221.
Marbeuf, M. de, the education of Na-
poleon Bonaparte ordered by, 16.
Marengo revisited, grand review of
troops on the battle-field, 260 ; Eng-
lish comments thereon, 265.
Marescot, Mme. de, appointed Lady-in-
Waiting, 246.
Maret, M., different estimates of, 72,
note; devotion and flattery of, 71,
88, 106, 300, 389 ; contempt of M.
de Talleyrand for, 72, note, 173, 262 ;
duties of, in the Austrian campaign,
289 ; influence of, with the Emperor,
300.
Maret, Mme., addition of, to the list of
Ladies-in-Waiting, 3B9 ; sketch of,
luxury in dress, ambition of, 396.
Marmont, Marshal, the Russians held in
check by, 471.
Marriage of the Emperor and Empress,
215, 218.
Mars, Mile., influence of, in improving
the stage, 417.
Massfena, appointment of, as Marshal,
167 ; reenforcement of the Viceroy
of Italy by, 291 ; success of, 297 ;
the Emperor's judgment of, 392.
Maury, Cardinal, the unenviable part
played by, 267 ; election of, to the
French Academy, dispute of, for the
title of Monsdffneur, 461 ; panegyric
on the Abb6 de Radovilliers delivered
at the Institute by, 497.
Mayence, a meeting of the Emperor
INDEX.
701
with a crowd of princes at, 203 ; the
Empress established at, 453 ; court
life at, 459, 470 ; Queea Hortenso
and her court at, 470, note ; a court
disquietude at, 460, 524.
Mcoklenburg-Schwerin, Prince of, re-
moTal of the French garrisons from
his states sought by, impression made
by the Empress on the fancy of, the
Emperor's ill-feeling in consequence
of, 566, 605.
Mccklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of, sojourn
of, with the Court at Fontainobleau,
566.
Medals struck and distributed, 226.
Melito, Count MLot de, memoirs of, 212,
note.
Melzi, SI. de, Vice-President of the Ital-
ian Republic, rislt of, to the Emperor,
with the desire for a union of the
Italian crown to that of France, 253.
Memoirs, reasons for delay in publica-
tion of, i. ; causes leading to the re-
writing of, xlii.
M6ridan, Loui3,_found guilty of conspir-
acy, 182.
Metternich, Count, Bonaparte's charac-
terization of, 4 ; arrival of, in Paris,
445 ; position and influence, 445 ;
homage paid by, to Mme. Murat,
Grand Duchess of Berg, 446, 564.
Milan, arrival of the Emperor at, 260 ;
coronation and succeeding fetes, 263 ;
subsequent visit to, 597, note, 604,
607.
Jlilanese, M. de E§musat's impressions
of, 259. ' *
" Ministry of General Police," discon-
tinuation and reinstatement of, 53 ;
reconstruction of, 199.
Mol6, M., relations of, to the Govern-
ment, literary work, 361 ; appoint-
ment of, as member of the Committee
of Petitions, 456 ; reason for the Em-
peror's esteem of, 457; nomination
of, as Prefect of the COte-d'Or, 601.
MoUien, M., appointment of, as Minister
of the Treasury, 345 ; talent and sa-
gacity of, in office, 520.
Monge, M., Bonaparte's liking for, 87.
" Moniteur," dialogue on government
contained in, 57 ; dictations by the
First Consul, 70; incomprehensible
paragraphs, 91 ; acte d' accusation
against the conspirators, examina-
tions, etc., ISO; protest of Louis
XTIII., 190 ; address of Bonaparte
to the English Cabinet, 252 ; threat-
enings of storm, 271 ; comment on
the course of the Emperor of Kussia,
275 ; notes addressed to the English
Government, 282 ; causes of com-
plaint against Austria, 288 ; impor-
tant discussion of European politics,
432 ; accounts of receptions of new
princes in their respective states,
439 ; attacks on the English Govern-
ment, 532, 646 ; accounts of move-
ments in relation to Spain, 635.
Montalivet, Mme. de, appointed Lady-in-
Waiting, 246.
Montesquiou, M. EugSne de, an adven-
ture of, at Jena, 465 ; appointment
of, to the post of Grand Chamberlain,
to replace M. de Talleyrand, 652.
Montmorency, Vicomte de, the command
of a company of gendarmes given to,
452.
Montmorency-Matignon, Mme. de, ap-
pointed Lady-in-Waiting, 359 ; agree-
able demeanor of, at Court, an anec-
dote of, 360.
Montmorency, Princess Charlotte de,
the love of M. de Talleyrand for,
610.
Moreau, General, complimentary atten-
tion of the First Consul to, 41 ; alien-
ation, 52 ; acts of, suspicions against,
113 ; arrest, 115 ; trial of, 179 ; send-
ing of, to United States, 190.
Morellet, AbbiS, the First Consul's de-
light in argument with, 66.
Mortefontaine, altercation at, 77 ; mar-
riage of Prince Borghcse and Mme.
Leclerc celebrated at, 93.
Mortemart, M. de, appointed Governor
of Rambouillet, 360.
Mortemart, Mme. de, appointed Lady-in-
Waiting, 359.
Mortier, Marshal, Hamburg taken, and
English merchandise confiscated by,
473 ; expedition in Pomerania head-
ed by, 532,
Mother of First Consul, 16 ; Coss4-
Brissat appointed Chamberlain to,
255 ; distinction of, 379 ; connection
of, with charitable institutions, 606.
Mulgrave, Lord, reply of, to Bonaparte's
letter to the English Government,
250.
Mun, Oomte de. Mile, de Beauharnais's
refusal to marry, 32.
702
INDEX.
Munich, the Empress and the Court at,
300 ; Elector of Bavaria proclaimed
King, 327 ; marriage ol Eug&ne, 328 ;
love affair of the Emperor, 329.
Murat, Marshal, pardon of the Marquis
de Eivifere secured by, 189 ; appoint-
ed Grand Admiral of the Empire with
the rank of Prince, 241, note, 242 ;
functions of, as Governor of Paris,
257 ; duchies of Berg and Cleves
granted to, 342, 420; Talleyrand's
dislike of, 355 ; entry of, into War-
saw, 476 ; army on the Ebro com-
manded by, 627 ; course of, relative
to affairs in Spain, 633.
Murat, Mme., vexations of, 148, 173,
330, 355, 383, 430; ambition of,
229, 488, 565 ; luxury of, 255, 378,
488, 564 ; visit of, at Munich, 319,
330 ; raised to the rank of Grand
Duchess, 342 ; scheming of, 354, 488,
564 ; dinner-services used by, 368,
564 ; attachment of Count Metter-
nich for, 446, 564 ; residence of, at
the Elys6e, 461, 488.
Music, Academy of, encouraged, 346
expenditure for improvement in, 416
engagement of Crescentini, 302
Paer taken to Paris by the Emperor,
496 ; Italian singers attracted to the
Emperor's Court and largely paid,
346, 416, 556 ; prejudice by the Em-
peror against Italian music, 616.
Nansouty, M. de, marriage of, with the
sister of Mme. de E^musat, 40, note,
42 ; a division of cavalry commanded
by, 289 ; distinction achieved by, at
Wertingen, 292 ; promotion of, 330 ;
appointment of, as First Equerry to
the Emperor, 367; bravery of, at
Friedland, 608 ; the Grand Cross of
the Legion of Honor presented to,
679.
Naples, King of, neutrality of, 298.
Naples, war commenced against, 332 ;
conquest of, 333 ; the throne of,
granted to Joseph Bonaparte, 420,
424, 425.
Naval enterprise,' want of success in,
276 ; the Emperor's discouraioment
in relation to, 299 ; general abandon-
ment of, 449, 521.
Nelson, Admiral, pursuance of the
French fleets by, 275 ; victory of, at
Trafalgar, 299.
Neufehatol, Prince de, ability of, as
War Minister, 620.
Ney, Marshal, the army on the coast
commanded by, 76 ; honors of, at
Elchingen, 294 ; the Emperor's opin-
ion of, 392.
Ney, Marechale, suspected of being the
object of the Emperor's love, 230 ;
ambition of, display, 398.
Notre Dame, Cathedral of, decorated
for the coronation, 219.
Opera, compliments in relation to
"Proserpine," 69; n decisive even-
ing at, 143; ovations, 349; perform-
ance of the " Triomphe de Trajan,"
676.
Opposition, course of, 648, 617.
Ossian, a favorite poet of Bonaparte,
early years, 2, 102.
Osterode, the Emperor's winter quar-
ters estabUshed at, 486 ; decrees is-
sued from appointing bishops In
France and Italy, 490 ; a decree for
a statue in honor of D'Alembcrt dis-
patched from, 490.
Oubril, Baron d', arrival of, in Paris, as
ambassador from St. Petersburg,
442 ; negotiations for peace con-
cluded by, 449.
Oudinot, English merchandise confis-
cated by, at Neufchatel, 425, note.
Padua, the province of, established as
a duchy, 423.
Paer, the musician, engagement of, by
the Emperor, 496.
PaisicUo, Bonaparte's appredation of,
3, 69.
Paris, excitement and rejoicings of,
previous to the coronation, 211; ex-
periences of, during the Austrian cam-
paign, 293, 321 ; gloom and dullness
of, 482 ; illuminations and sin^ng of
the Te Deum to commemorate the
victory of Friedland, 512 ; growing
indifference of, to national affairs,
622 ; gayety of, 636 ; the Emperor's
dislike of, 636 ; mystification of, 636.
Pasquier, M., appointment of, as mem-
ber of a Committee of Petitions, 456 ;
the olfice of Procurator-General of
the " Majorats " conferred on, 622.
Patterson, Miss, 258 ; repudiation of,
communicated by the Emperor, note.
Peace of Christmas-Day, 1805, 320.
IFDEX.
YOc
Pearls, great posBession of, by the Em-
press, 22Y ; magnificent gilt of, from
the Sultan, 435.
Pen-portrait of Mme. de K6musat by
the Bishop of Autun, xxv.'
Picbegru, Moreau'a professed relation
with, 180 ; death of, in prison, 145,
181; theories concerning death of,
181, note.
Pictures, a collection of, arranged at
the Louvre by order of the First Con-
sul, 65.
Piombino, State of, bestowed on the
Princess Elisa, 254.
Pitt, death of, considered as an advan-
tage to the Emperor, 341.
Place des luvalidcs, exhibitions at, 346,
449.
Poland, necessary independence of, a
theory maintained by Talleyrand, 448,
469 ; situation of, at the close of the
war, 477 ; rumors regarding the foun-
dation of a kingdom in, 454, 511;
uneasiness of reigning sovereigns in
respect to, 454 ; French troops in,
474 ; ambitions in the Imperial circle
relative to the throne of, 476, 488 ;
constitution established in, by the
King of Saxony, upheld by the Em-
peror, 532.
Polish lady, Mme. Bonaparte's jealousy
of, 14.
Polignac, Due de, deposition of, in trial
of conspirators, 182 ; nobility grieved
by the condemnation of, 183 ; sen-
tence of, commuted, 187 ; rumor con-
cerning attempted escape of, 268.
Polignac, Mme. de, petition of, 186;
fo'rgetfulness of Mme. de E^musat's
service, 188. . _
Pomerania, breaking out of war in,
532.
Pont de Briquea, military headquarters
at, illness of M. de R4musat, Mme. de
Eemusat's sojourn at, 93.
Ponte Corvo, duchy of, bestowed on
Marshal Bemadotte, 437.
Pope, a rumor concerning the abdica-
tion of, reply to, 193; arrival of, in
France, impression made by, meeting
with the Emperor, 214; description
of, 215 ; anecdote of, 217 ; corona-
tion performed by, 219 ; other oJSces,
227 ; admirable behavior of, 214, 219,
222 ; honors to, 218, 228, 257; bap-
tism of the son of Louis Bonaparte,
254 ; departure from Paris, 256 ; the
French Government served by, 433 ;
the Emperor's tyranny toward, 658.
PortaUs, M., Minister of Public Wor-
ship, celebration of the Emperor's
birthday suggested by, 419 ; valuable
service of, in maintaining harmony
between the clergy and the Govern-
ment, 520 ; death of, 521.
Porte, the, France in close alliance with,
433 ; an Ambassador Extraordinary
sent from, 436.
Portugal, continental prohibitions a
cause of rupture with, 569 ; declara-
tion of the object of France toward,
606.
Postscript, 665.
Pradt, M. de, Bishop of Poitiers, arrival
of, at Court, 390 ; connection of, with
the Emperor's suite at Bayonne, in-
teresting notes of, in the " History of
the Revolution in Spain," 637, 643,
647.
Preameneu, M. Bigot dc. Councilor of
State, appointment of, as successcr to
M. Portalis, 521.
Presburg, negotiations at, £08.
Press, war of words between the Eng-
lish newspapers and the "Moniteur,"
69, 70, 91, 92, 106, 120, 282, 434,
648 ; London newspapers subsidized
by the Emperor, 479, 648, 617.
Preussisch-Eylau, battle of, 483.
Priests conciliated, 84, 200.
Prince of the Peace, negotiations of,
with Murat, 570, 672, 613, 633; in-
fluence of, with the King and Queen,
570, 671, 628, 632 ; banishment of,
635 ; release of, by Murat, 647.
Prince Primate of the Confederation of
the Rhine, arrival of, to celebrate the
marriage of Princess Catherine of
Wiirtemberg with the King of West-
phalia, 537 ; wit and fine manners of,
565.
Prussia, imminence of war with, 460;
conquest of, completed, 474 ; a league
against the English forced upon, 614.
Prussia, King of, inclination of, to
maintain alliance with the French,
275 ; neutrality of, 288, 342 ; inchna-
tion of, to peace, 442 ; urged to war
by the Queen and nobility, 342, 450 ;
the Emperor's opinion of, 450, note ;
declared in the Senate to have been
the aggressor, 457; demand of, for
70i
INDEX.
the evacuation of Germany by the
French troops, 458 ; fate of, decided at
Jena, 464 ; Leipsic conquered from,
466 ; the sword and other spoils ac-
quired from, conveyed to Paris, 473 ;
offers to suspend hostilities, 475 ;
the part of, in the treaty of Tilsit,
512.
Prussia, Queen oF, intercession of, be-
tween her husband the King and the
Emperor Alexander, 342 ; war urged
by, 442, 450; influence of, with her
husband, 454 ; expressions of French
ill-will toward, 450, note, 460, 466,
467, note, 473 ; interest of the French
Court in, at Mayence, 460 ; the Em-
peror's conciliations to, on the conclu-
sion of peace, 513.
Public improvements, Mont Cenis, the
Simplon, etc., 271, 345.
Quarrel at St. Cloud, 206.
Kacine, discussed by the First Consul,
103 ; the works of, revised by order
of the Emperor, 255.
Eapp, General, aide-de-camp to Bona-
parte, faithful service of, as Governor
of Dantzic, 532.
Eeconciliationa between Bonaparte and
Josephine, 23, 61, 207, 243.
Ecgnault, M., State Councilor, made
State Secretary to the Imperial fam-
ily, 634.
R6musat, M. de, marriage of, with Mile.
Claire de Vergennes, xi. ; appoint-
ment of, as Prefect, 42 ; service of,
in Belgium in arranging ceremonies,
85 ; appointment of, as First Cham-
berlain, 197; duties of, as "Admin-
istrator of Theatres," xxii., 225, 274,
275, 325, 553 ; displeasure of the
Emperor with, at Milan, 260 ; the
court costumes in charge of, 218 ; the
Empress's household at Strasburg
confided to, 291 ; orders to repair
to Vienna, 300; to Mayence, 450;
the court establishment superintend-
ed by, 460 ; the Emperor's displea-
sure with, 313, 315 ; a decoration
conferred on, 347 ; weariness of court
life, 493 ; renewed displeasure of the
Emperor with, 523 ; the task of re-
ceiving the Spanish Bourbons com-
mitted to, 650 ; the Emperor's cold-
ness and harshness toward, 655.
RSmusat, Mme. de, sketch of, by her
son, xiii. ; by the Bishop of Autun,
XXV. ; bums Memoirs, xxxviii. ; pro-
ject for^eplaeing them, xlii. ; sketch
of, by herself, 394 ; nomination of, as
Lady-in-Waiting, 42 ; attachment of,
to Mme. Bonaparte, 44, 105, 657; jour-
ney to Belgium, 76 ; grief at the death
of the Due d'Enghien, xx., 122 ; con-
versations with Bonaparte, 51, 94, 95,
165 ; attachment to Mme. Bonaparte,
44, 105, 657; the Empress's misun-
derstanding with, 236 ; confidence re-
stored, 239 ; ill-health, 257, note ;
continued invalidism, 286, 439, 452 ;
efforts to please M. de Talleyrand,
527, 574 ; determination of, to share
the fate of the Empress in a with-
drawal from Court, 590.
Republic, last traces of the, 283.
Eequier, M. (subsequently Due de
Masse), administration of, as Chief
Judge, 520.
Riviere, Marquis de, ranked with Georges
Cadoudal at the head of the conspira-
tors, answer to accusations, 182 ; par-
don of, obtained by M. Murat, 189.
Rochefoucauld, Mme. de, appointment
of, as Lady of Honor, 198 ; sketches
of, 201, 246, 393 ; the Empress ac-
companied to Italy by, 257 ; interest
in the Queen of Prussia led by, at
Mayence, 460, 624 ; misunderstand-
ing of, with M. de E^musat, 625 ; re-
ceptions held bv, at Fontainebleau,
567.
Romanzoff, Count, the government of
the French considered by, 619.
Rossbach, a column commemorative of
a former French defeat removed from,
and sent to Paris, 466.
Rousseau, different estimates of th^
" Confessions " of, by Mme. d'Houde-
tot and Mme. de E^musat, 268.
Eovigo, the province of, established as
a duchy of the Empire, 423.
Eoyalists, hope of, 55 ; disturbance,
109 ; disheartenment of, 158.
Russia, Emperor of, importance of con-
ferences with, 248 ; the Emperor's
increase of power displeasing to, 275 ;
motive of, analyzed by Bonaparte,
288 ; sends proposals of peace, 303 ;
anger toward Prussia, 242 ; French
military skill applauded by, 304 ; in-
terview with Savary, 306; declines
INDEX.
705
order of St. George, 343 ; English
policy regaining its influence on, 442 ;
sends an ambassador to Paris, 442 ;
apparent peace with the French made
by, 449 ; refusal of, to ratify the
treaty signed by Baron d'Oubril, 442,
450 ; excites Bonaparte's anger, 466 ;
the fate of the continent largely de-
pendent on, 508 ; friendship with
Bonaparte on the termination of war,
513 ; full alliance with Bonaparte,
569 ; war against Sweden declared
by, 627.
Bussia, announcement of rupture with,
4'71 ; engagements, 483, 485, 495,
605, 608 ; conclusion of peace with,
614.
Saalfeld, skirmishes at, death-wounds
of Prince Louis, 463.
Saint Cloud, Mme. de K^musat's first
evening at, 40 ; customs, 46 ; excite-
ment at, 153 ; visit of the Senate to,
155 ; etiquette of, 177 ; besieged by
petitioners for pardons, 183 ; new
furnishing and decoration of, 202 ;
performance of " Athalie " at theatre
of, 265 ; the Emperor's labors at,
274, 288 ; grand ball at, 430.
Saint Cyr, military school founded at,
346.
Saint Leu, residence of the family of
Louis Bonaparte at, 268.
Salembemi, care of Mme. de R6musat
confided to, 266, troubles with,
note.
Savary, General, negotiations of, with
the Czar, 306 ; advice of, to M. de
Kemusat, 314; character of, 318;
qualities of, an advantage to the Em-
peror, 389 ; the grand cordon of the
Legion of Honor bestowed on, 495 ;
mission of, in inveigling the Prince of
the Asturias to Madrid, 637.
Savary, Mme., elegant dress of, 396.
Saxony, King of, reprimand of, by the
Emperor for favoring the King of
Prussia at the beginning of the war,
465 ; alUanee with Prussia broken off,
and a treaty concluded with the Em-
peror, 481; duchy of Warsaw given
to, as a pledge, 512.
Schimmelpenninek, Grand Pensionary
of Holland, 432.
Schonbrunn, the Emperor in the palace
of, 299, 309, 311 ; Jardiu des Plantes
enriched with Spoils from the gardens
of, 346.
S^gur, M. de, made Grand Master of
Ceremonies, 197 ; zeal of, in foiming
the Guard, 290.
Seigneurs, Grands, disappointment of,
in the new court, 202.
Senate, address of, to First Consul, 152 ;
visit of, to Saint Cloud, 155 ; opening
of, 249 ; fiStes given by, 225 ; mes-
sages from the Emperor to, 241 ; an
important session of, 419 ; war with
Prussia announced to, 457 ; congrat-
ulations from, sent to Berlin, 473 ; a
senatus conmltmn to order a levy of
conscripts, 480.
Shakespeare upheld by Mme. de Remu-
sat in argument with the First Con-
sul, 61.
Sisters of Charity, reestablishment of,
by the Emperor, 575, 606.
^ Souza, Mme. de, talent of, M. do Talley-
rand's regard for, 530.
Spain, war with England announced,
248 ; hostilities commenced, 263 ; en-
trance of French troops into, 669 ;
the Emperor deceived as to the true
spirit of, 670, 644 ; Talleyrand's op-
position to the plots against, 571,612,
629 ; revolt, Ferdinand VII. on the
throne of, 628 ; treaty of Fontaine-
bleau, pZZ, 634.
Spandau, capitulation of, 467.
Spontini, applause and reward of, for
the musical composition of the " Tri-
omphe de Trajan " and " La Vestale,"
675, 616.
Stael, Mme., impression of the works of,
on Mme. de E,6musat, xlii., 414 note ;
influence of, on behalf of M. de Tal-
leyrand, 276 ; banishment of, 352,
408 ; renown of, 407 ; the Emperor's
opinion of, 408; return, exile of a
huTidred days, reappearance, happi-
ness, death, 409 ; remarks of, regard-
ing the Emperor, 447, note.
States of "Venice, taken possession of,
by Prince Eugfene, 327 ; decree for
the union of, with the Kingdom of ■
Italy, 420.
Stephanie, adoption of, by the Emper-
or, 381; the Emperor's fancy for,
marriage to the Prince of Baden, 382 ;
aversion of, to her husband, 384 ;
court splendor on the marriage of,
428 ; King J6rome in love with, 659 ;
706
INDEX.
subsequent admirable course of,
560.
Strasburg, the Court established at, 286.
SucoessioD, rule of, declared for France,
156 ; in duchies and fiefa of the Em-
pire, 423 ; the new Kingdom of Hol-
land, 436.
Sweden, armistice of, with France agreed
on at Warsaw, 497; rupture of ar-
mistice announced by the King of,
631 ; the forces of, held in check, 606.
Sweden, King of, armistice between
Sweden and France broken by, 531 ;
forced escape of, from Stralsund,
532 ; threatenings against, on account
of his alliance with the English, 614 ;
discontent among the subjects of, 627.
Switzerland compelled to decline trade
with England, 432, 441.
Tacitus criticised by Bonaparte for ob-
scurity, 103, 136.
Talhouet, Mmc, journey to Belgium
with Mme. Bonaparte, 76.
Talleyrand, Baron de, made Chamber-
lain in Ordinary, 197 ; marriage of,
to M. de Talleyrand's ward, 278.
Talleyrand, M. de, advice of, for the ae-
sumptiou of royalty, 64, 111, 161;
appointment of, as Grand Chamber-
lain, 197; report presented to the
Senate by, 249 ; appointment of, as
Minister of External Relations, 276 ;
manners of, 64, 451, 526 ; character-
istics of, 88, 284, 460, 527, 611 ; in-
timacy and marriage with Mme. Grand,
276 ; wisdom of, xxix , 301, 469, 630 ;
difficulties of, in the mission at Pres-
burg, SOS ; the Emperor persuaded
by, in making peace, 319 ; dislike of
Fouch6, 262, 284, 488 ; of Maret, 262 ;
renown of, 286, 434, 448, 616, Bona-
parte's consultations of, xxvii., 5, 54,
111, 161, 286, 517, 669, 651, 656 ;
opinions of, regarding Bonaparte, 11,
261, 469, 573; anecdotes of, 74, 88,
479, 601 ; penalty paid for an impru-
dent marriage, 279, 609 ; intimacy of,
with M. de R6musat, 261, 262, note,
280, note, 291, 301, 357, 460, 469,
526 ; friendship with Mme. dc R^mu-
sat increased, 673, 585, 608 ; relin-
quishment of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 617; large income of, 618;
society at the residence of, 529; sketch
of his youth given by himself to Mme.
de Remusat, 609 ; estates of Valen-
^ay and the Hotel de Monaco pur-
chased by, 518; appointment of, as
Vice-Grand Elector, 533 ; attitude of,
in relation to the divorce, 588, 696,
600, 601 ; opposition of, to the plots
against Spain, 570, 571, 612, 629,
630, note ; dismissal of, from the post
of Grand Chamberlain, 652.
Talma, the Emperor's liking for, 276,
665, 615 ; dramatic improvement ef-
fected by, 417 ; war news read by, be-
fore the footlights, 349.
Tascher, Mile., marriage of, with the
Duke of Arenberg, 380, 618.
Theatre Fran9aise, office of M. de R6mu-
sat in organization of, xxii. ; cele-
brated actresses of , 68 ; a commemora-
tive performance at, S26.'
Tilsit, the Emperor's arrival at, 609 ;
terms of the treaty of, 612.
Title of " Your Majesty " first addressed
to Bonaparte, 155.
Tolstoi, Count, reception of, at Fon-
taineblcau as ambassador from Rus-
sia, 569.
Tournon, M. de, made Chamberlain to
the Emperor, 246 ; advantageous gov-
ernment of, as Intendant of con-
quered Prussian towns, 474.
Trafalgar, the defeat at, 299.
Tr6viso, the province of, established as
a duchy of the French Empire, 423.
Tribunate,'the Emperor's resolve for a
discontinuance of, 640, institution,
reduction, and suppression, note ;
speeches at the last sitting of, 541.
Tuilerics, f 6tes at, 58, 90, 428 ; decora-
tion of, 202 ; restraint at, 67 ; a sump-
tuous banquet at, 222 ; grand con-
cert and ballet, 635 ; marriage of
Princess Catherine and the King cf
Westphalia at, 637 ; brilliant display
of the Court, 613.
Turennc, Mme. de, made Lady-in-Wait-
ing, 246.
Tyrol, difficulty respecting the cession
of, 309.
trim, capitulation of, 293.
University, order of education at, 623 ;
distinguished officials and imposing
organization of, 624.
Valen9ay, purchase of, by M. de Talley-
rand, 618 ; the SpanishPrinoe3at,650.
INDEX.
Y07
Valeth, Mmo. de, grievance of, 173 ;
appearance and qualities of, office of,
as Mistress of the Eobes, 394.
Vaudevilles at Malmaison, 385.
Vergennes, M. de, arrest of, in 1793, x. ;
sentence of, 677 ; death of, on the
scaffold, xi.
Vergenuea, Mme. de, character of, ix.,
599 ; esteem of, 44, 79 ; illness and
death, 599, note, 607.
Vicenza, the province of, established as
a duchy, 423.
Vienna, entry of the victorious French
army into, 298 ; surprise of the Em-
peror in, at the small effect produced
on, 309 ; inhabitants rejoiced at the
departure of the army, 326.
Viennese, devotion of the, to a van-
quished Emperor, 310.
Villaret, M. de, appointment of, as Chan-
cellor of the University, 624.
Villequier, restoration of the estate to
the daughters of the Due de Ville-
quier, 82.
VogU(S, Mme. de, 237, 240.
Voltaire, criticism of, by Bonaparte, 103.
Warsaw, entry of the French into, 476 ;
arrivalof various envoys offering hom-
age to the Emperor, 489 ; negotiations
with the Porte and with Persia com-
pleted at, by M. de Talleyrand, truce
between France and Sweden signed
at, 497.
Weakness of a strong mind, 163.
Wertiugen, advantage gained at, by
French cavalry, 292.
Women allowed no influence at court,
123, 235, 3S3, 658.
Wiirzburg, Grand Duke of, visit of, to
Paris, 541 ; agreeable society of, at
Fontainebleau, 506.
S , Mme. de, Eugene captivated by,
229 ; the Emperor in love with, 230 ;
exciting scenes in relation to, at Mal-
maison, 242 ; end of the intimacy,
243.
X , Princesse de, tender regard of,
for M. de Talleyrand, 530.
Tenth of France, military ardor of, 163,
442.
THE END.
MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE MMUSAT,
1802—1808.
WITH PREFACE AND NOTES BY HER GRANDSON.
TRANSLATED BY
MRS. CASHEL HOEY at.d JOHN LILLIE.
Irt 3 vols., 8vo. ----«-- Paper, $1.50=
(Each, volume separately, SO cents.)
"The literary event of the day," remarks a Paris corresponcient, "is tlie appearance
of the 'Memoii'a of Madame de Rdmusat,' edited by hei* grandson, Paul de Rgmusar.
Madame de Remusat was maid of honor to Josephine, with whom she remained from 1802
to 160S, and so followed her in her imperial fortunes."
"It would be easy to multiply quotations from this interesting book, which no one will
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"The most fascinating personal narrative whicb has been published since Madame
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"It brings into broad relief the smallnesses of the great Napoleon ; the intrigues and
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