Books: Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, V1
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went there to take the waters. Every day he brought her bouquets, and
addressed to her little complimentary speeches, so singular and so droll,
that Josephine was much diverted, as were also the ladies who accompanied
her, among whom were Mesdames de Cambis and de Criguy, and especially
her own daughter Hortense, who was convulsed at his oddities. The truth
is, he was exceedingly amusing, by reason of a certain simplicity and
originality of character, which, however, did not prevent him from being
a person of intelligence; and his eccentricities did not displease Madame
Bonaparte. A sentimental scene took place when this excellent lady left
the springs. Carrat wept, bemoaned himself, and expressed his lasting
grief at not being able to see Madame Bonaparte daily, as he had been
accustomed; and Madame Bonaparte was so kind-hearted that she at once
decided to carry him to Paris with her. She taught him to dress hair,
and finally appointed him her hair-dresser and valet, at least such were
the duties he had to perform when I made his acquaintance. He was
permitted a most astonishing freedom of speech, sometimes even scolding
her; and when Madame Bonaparte, who was extremely generous and always
gracious towards every one, made presents to her women, or chatted
familiarly with them, Carrat would reproach her. "Why give that?" he
would say, adding, "See how you do, Madame; you allow yourself to jest
with your domestics. Some day they will show you a want of respect."
But if he thus endeavored to restrain the generosity of his mistress
towards those around her, he did not hesitate to stimulate her generosity
towards himself; and whenever he took a fancy to anything, would simply
say, "You ought to give me that."
Bravery is not always the inseparable companion of wit, and Carrat gave
more than once proof of this. Being endowed with a kind of simple and
uncontrollable poltroonery, which never fails in comedies to excite the
laughter of the spectators, it was a great pleasure to Madame Bonaparte
to play on him such pranks as would bring out his singular want of
courage.
It should be stated, first of all, that one of the greatest pleasures of
Madame Bonaparte, at Malmaison, was to take walks on the road just
outside the walls of the park; and she always preferred this outside
road, in spite of the clouds of dust which were constantly rising there,
to the delightful walks inside the park. One day, accompanied by her
daughter Hortense, she told Carrat to follow her in her walk; and he was
delighted to be thus honored until he saw rise suddenly out of a ditch; a
great figure covered with a white sheet, in fact, a genuine ghost, such
as I have seen described in the translations of some old English
romances.
It is unnecessary to say, that the ghost was some one placed there by
order of these ladies, in order to frighten Carrat; and certainly the
comedy succeeded marvelously well, for as soon as Carrat perceived the
ghost, he was very much frightened, and clutching Madame Bonaparte, said
to her in a tremor, "Madame, Madame, do you see that ghost? It is the
spirit of the lady who died lately at Plombieres."--"Be quiet, Carrat,
you are a coward."--"Ah, but indeed it is her spirit which has come
back." As Carrat thus spoke, the man in the white sheet advanced toward
him, shaking it; and poor Carrat, overcome with terror, fell backwards in
a faint, and it required all the attentions which were bestowed upon him
to restore him to consciousness.
Another day, while the general was still in Egypt, and consequently
before I was in the service of any member of his family, Madame Bonaparte
wished to give some of her ladies an exhibition of Carrat's cowardice;
and for this purpose there was concerted among the ladies of Malmaison
a plot, in which Mademoiselle Hortense
--[Hortense Beauharnais, born at Paris, 1783, was then just sixteen
years of age. Married Louis Bonaparte and became Queen of Holland,
1806. Died 1837. She was the mother of Napoleon III. --TRANS.]--
was chief conspirator. This incident has been so often narrated in my
presence by Madame Bonaparte, that I am familiar with the ludicrous
details. Carrat slept in a room adjoining which there was a closet.
A hole was made in the wall between these rooms, and a string passed
through, at the end of which was tied a can filled with water, this
cooling element being suspended exactly over the head ,of the patient's
bed. This was not all, for they had also taken the precaution to remove
the slats which supported the mattress; and as Carrat was in the habit of
going to sleep without a light, he saw neither the preparations for his
downfall, nor the can of water provided for his new baptism. All the
members of the plot had been waiting for some moments in the adjoining
closet; when he threw himself heavily upon his bed, it crashed in, and at
the same instant the play of the string made the can of water do its
effective work. The victim at the same time of a fall, and of a
nocturnal shower-bath, Carrat cried out against his double misfortune.
"This is horrible," he yelled at the top of his voice; while Hortense
maliciously said aloud to her mother, Madame de Crigny (afterwards Madame
Denon), Madame Charvet, and to several others in the room, "Oh, Mamma,
those toads and frogs in the water will get on him." These words, joined
to the utter darkness, served only to increase the terror of Carrat, who,
becoming seriously frightened, cried out, "It is horrible, Madame, it is
horrible, to amuse yourself thus at the expense of your servants."
I do not say that the complaints of Carrat were entirely wrong, but they.
served only to increase the gayety of the ladies who had taken him for
the object of their pleasantries.
However that may be, such was the character and position of Carrat, whom
I had known for some time, when General Bonaparte returned from his
expedition into Egypt, and Carrat said to me that Eugene de Beauharnais
had applied to him for a confidential valet, his own having been detained
in Cairo by severe illness at the time of his departure. He was named
Lefebvre, and was an old servant entirely devoted to his master, as was
every one who knew Prince Eugene; for I do not believe that there has
ever lived a better man, or one more polite, more considerate, or indeed
more attentive, to those who served him.
Carrat having told me that Eugene de Beauharnais
--[Born 1781, viceroy of Italy 1805. In 1806 married the daughter
of the King of Bavaria. Died 1824. Among his descendants are the
present King of Sweden and the late Emperor of Brazil. --TRANS.]--
desired a young man to replace Lefebvre, and having recommended me for
the place, I had the good fortune to be presented to Eugene, and to give
satisfaction; indeed, he was so kind as to say to me that my appearance
pleased him, and he wished me to enter upon my duties immediately. I was
delighted with this situation, which, I know not why, painted itself to
my imagination in the brightest colors, and without loss of time, went to
find my modest baggage, and behold me valet de chambre, ad interim, of M.
de Beauharnais, not dreaming that I should one day be admitted to the
personal service of General Bonaparte, and still less that I should
become the chief valet of an Emperor.
CHAPTER II.
It was on Oct. 16, 1799, that Eugene de Beauharnais arrived in Paris on
his return from Egypt; and almost immediately thereafter I had the good
fortune to be taken into his service, M. Eugene being then twenty-one
years of age. I soon after learned a few particulars, which I think are
little known, relative to his former life, and the marriage of his mother
with General Bonaparte.
His father, as is well known, was one of the victims of the Revolution;
and when the Marquis de Beauharnais had perished on the scaffold, his
widow, whose property had been confiscated, fearing that her son,
although still very young, might also be in danger on account of his
belonging to the nobility, placed him in the home of a carpenter on the
rue de l'Echelle where, a lady of my acquaintance, who lived on that
street, has often seen him passing, carrying a plank on his shoulder. It
seems a long distance from this position to the colonelcy of a regiment
of the Consular guards, and the vice-royalty of Italy.
I learned, from hearing Eugene himself relate it, by what a singular
circumstance he had been the cause of the first meeting between his
mother and his step-father. Eugene, being then not more than fourteen or
fifteen years of age, having been informed that General Bonaparte had
become possessor of the sword of the Marquis de Beauharnais, took a step
which seemed hazardous, but was crowned with success. The general having
received him graciously, Eugene explained that he came to beg of him the
restoration of his father's sword. His face, his bearing, his frank
request, all made such a pleasant impression on Bonaparte, that he
immediately presented him with the sword which he requested. As soon as
this sword was in his hands he covered it with kisses and tears; and the
whole was done in so artless a manner, that Bonaparte was delighted with
him.
Madame de Beauharnais, being informed of the welcome the general had
given her son, thought it her duty to make him a visit of gratitude.
Bonaparte, being much pleased with Josephine in this first interview,
returned her visit. They met again frequently; and as is well known, one
event led to another, until she became the first Empress of the French;
and I can assert from the numerous proofs that I have had of this fact,
that Bonaparte never ceased to love Eugene as well as if he, had been his
own son.
The qualities of Eugene were both attractive and solid. His features
were not regular, and yet his countenance prepossessed every one in his
favor. He had a well-proportioned figure, but did not make a
distinguished appearance, on account of the habit he had of swinging
himself as he walked. He was about five feet three or four inches --
[About five feet six or seven inches in English measurement. --TRANS.]--
in height. He was kind, gay, amiable, full of wit, intelligent,
generous; and it might well be said that his frank and open countenance
was the mirror of his soul. How many services he has rendered others
during the course of his life, and at the very period when in order to do
so he had often to impose privations on himself.
It will soon be seen how it happened that I passed only a month with
Eugene; but during this short space of time, I recall that, while
fulfilling scrupulously his duties to his mother and his step-father, he
was much addicted to the pleasures so natural to his age and position.
One of his greatest pleasures was entertaining his friends at breakfast;
which he did very often. This amused me much on account of the comical
scenes of which I was often a witness. Besides the young officers of
Bonaparte's staff, his most frequent guests, he had also frequently at
his table the ventriloquist Thiemet, Dugazon, Dazincourt, and Michau of
the Theatre Francais, and a few other persons, whose names escape me at
this moment. As may be imagined, these reunions were extremely gay;
these young officers especially, who had returned like Eugene from the
expedition to Egypt, seemed trying to indemnify themselves for the recent
privations they had had to suffer. At this time ventriloquists, among
whom Thiemet held a very distinguished position, were the fashion in
Paris, and were invited to private gatherings. I remember on one
occasion, at one of these breakfasts of Eugene's, Thiemet called by their
names several persons present, imitating the voices of their servants, as
if they were just outside the door, while he remained quietly in his
seat, appearing to be using his lips only to eat and drink, two duties'
which he performed admirably. Each of the officers called in this manner
went out, and found no one; and then Thiemet went out with them, under
the pretext of assisting them in the search, and increased their
perplexity by continuing to make them hear some well-known voice. Most
of them laughed heartily at the joke of which they had just been the
victims; but there was one who, having himself less under control than
his comrades, took the thing seriously, and became very angry, whereupon
Eugene had to avow that he was the author of the conspiracy.
I recall still another amusing scene, the two heroes of which were this
same Thiemet, of whom I have just spoken, and Dugazon. Several
foreigners were present at a breakfast given by Eugene, the parts having
been assigned, and learned in advance, and the two victims selected.
When each had taken his place at table, Dugazon, pretending to stammer,
addressed a remark to Thiemet, who, playing the same role, replied to
him, stammering likewise; then each of them pretended to believe that the
other was making fun of him, and there followed a stuttering quarrel
between the two parties, each one finding it more and more difficult to
express himself as his anger rose. Thiemet, who besides his role of
stammering was also playing that of deafness, addressed his neighbor, his
trumpet in his ear:
"Wha-wha-what-do-does he say?" --"Nothing," replied the officious
neighbor, wishing to prevent a quarrel, and to supply facts while
defending the other stammerer.--"Soso-he-he-he-he's mamaking fun of me!"
Then the quarrel became more violent still; they were about to come to
blows, when each of the two stammerers seizing a carafe of water, hurled
it at the head of his antagonist, and a copious deluge of water from the
bottles taught the officious neighbors the great danger of acting as
peacemakers. The two stammerers continued to scream as is the custom of
deaf persons, until the last drop of water was spilt; and I remember that
Eugene, the originator of this practical joke, laughed immoderately the
whole time this scene lasted. The water was wiped off; and all were soon
reconciled, glass in hand. Eugene, when he had perpetrated a joke of
this sort, never failed to relate it to his mother, and sometimes to his
stepfather, who were much amused thereby, Josephine especially.
I had led for one month a very pleasant life with Eugene, when Lefebvre,
the valet de chambre whom he had left sick at Cairo, returned in restored
health, and asked to resume his place. Eugene, whom I suited better on
account of my age and activity, proposed to him to enter his mother's
service, suggesting to him that he would there have an easier time than
with himself; but Lefebvre, who was extremely attached to his master,
sought Madame Bonaparte, and confided to her his chagrin at this
decision.
Josephine promised to assist him; and consoled him by assurances that she
would suggest to her son that Lefebvre should reassume his former
position, and that she would take me into her own service. This was done
according to promise; and one morning Eugene announced to me, in the most
gratifying manner, my change of abode. "Constant," he said to me,
"I regret very much that circumstances require us to part; but you know
Lefebvre followed me to Egypt, he is an old servant, and I feel compelled
to give him his former position. Besides, you will not be far removed,
as you will enter my mother's service, where you will be well treated,
and we will see each other often. Go to her this morning; I have spoken
to her of you. The matter is already arranged, and she expects you."
As may be believed, I lost no time in presenting myself to Madame
Bonaparte. Knowing that she was at Malmaison, I went there immediately,
and was received by her with a kindness which overwhelmed me with
gratitude, as I was not then aware that she manifested this same
graciousness to every one, and that it was as inseparable from her
character as was grace from her person. The duties required of me, in
her service, were altogether nominal; and nearly all my time was at my
own disposal, of which I took advantage to visit Paris frequently. The
life that I led at this time was very pleasant to a young man like
myself, who could not foresee that in a short while he would be as much
under subjection as he was then at liberty.
Before bidding adieu to a service in which I had found so much that was
agreeable, I will relate some incidents which belong to that period, and
which my situation with the stepson of General Bonaparte gave me the
opportunity of learning.
M. de Bourrienne has related circumstantially in his memoirs the events
of the 18th Brumaire; --[The 18th Brumaire, Nov. 9, 1799, was the day
Napoleon overthrew the Directory and made himself First Consul.-TRANS.]--
and the account which he has given of that famous day is as correct as it
is interesting, so that any one curious to know the secret causes which
led to these political changes will find them faithfully pointed out in
the narration of that minister of state. I am very far from intending to
excite an interest of this, kind, but reading the work of M. Bourrienne
put me again on the track of my own recollections. These memoirs relate
to circumstances of which he was ignorant, or possibly may have omitted
purposely as being of little importance; and whatever he has let fall on
his road I think myself fortunate in being permitted to glean.
I was still with Eugene de Beauharnais when General Bonaparte overthrew
the Directory; but I found myself in as favorable a situation to know all
that was passing as if I had been in the service of Madame Bonaparte, or
of the general himself, for my master, although he was very young, had
the entire confidence of his stepfather, and, to an even greater degree,
that of his mother, who consulted him on every occasion.
A few days before the 18th Brumaire, Eugene ordered me to make
preparations for a breakfast he wished to give on that day to his
friends, the number of the guests, all military men, being much larger
than usual. This bachelor repast was made very gay by an officer, who
amused the company by imitating in turn the manners and appearance of the
directors and a few of their friends. To represent the Director Barras,
he draped himself 'a la grecque' with the tablecloth, took off his black
cravat, turned down his shirt-collar, and advanced in an affected manner,
resting his left arm on the shoulder of the youngest of his comrades,
while with his right he pretended to caress his chin. Each person of the
company understood the meaning of that kind of charade; and there were
uncontrollable bursts of laughter.
He undertook then to represent the Abbe Sieyes, by placing an enormous
band of paper inside of his neckcloth, and lengthening thus indefinitely
a long, pale face. He made a few turns around the room, astraddle of his
chair, and ended by a grand somersault, as if his steed had dismounted
him. It is necessary to know, in order to understand the significance of
this pantomime, that the Abbe Sieges had been recently taking lessons in
horseback, riding in the garden of the Luxembourg, to the great amusement
of the pedestrians, who gathered in crowds to enjoy the awkward and
ungraceful exhibition made by this new master of horse.
The breakfast ended, Eugene reported for duty to General Bonaparte, whose
aide-de-camp he was, and his friends rejoined the various commands to
which they belonged.
I went out immediately behind them; for from a few words that had just
been dropped at my young master's, I suspected that something grave and
interesting was about to take place. M. Eugene had appointed a
rendezvous with his comrades at Pont-Tournant; so I repaired to that
spot, and found a considerable gathering of officers in uniform and on
horseback, assembled in readiness to escort General Bonaparte to Saint-
Cloud.
The commandant of each part of the army had been requested by General
Bonaparte to give a breakfast to their corps of officers; and they had
done so like my young master. Nevertheless, the officers, even the
generals, were not all in the secret; and General Murat himself, who
rushed into the Hall of the Five Hundred at the head of the grenadiers,
believed that it was only a question of exemption, on account of age,
that General Bonaparte intended to propose, in order that he might obtain
the place of director.
I have learned from an authoritative source, that when General Jube, who
was devoted to General Bonaparte, assembled in the court of the
Luxembourg, the guard of the directors of which he was commander, the
honest M. Gohier, president of the Directory, put his head out of the
window, and cried to Jube: "Citizen General, what are you doing down
there?"--"Citizen President, you can see for yourself I am mustering the
guard."--"Certainly, I see that very plainly, Citizen General; but why
are you mustering them?"--"Citizen President, I am going to make an
inspection of them, and order a grand maneuver. Forward--march!" And
the citizen general filed out at the head of his troop to rejoin General
Bonaparte at Saint-Cloud; while the latter was awaited at the house of
the citizen president, and the breakfast delayed to which General
Bonaparte had been invited for that very morning.
General Marmont had also entertained at breakfast the officers of the
division of the army which he commanded (it was, I think, the artillery).
At the end of the repast he addressed a few words to them, urging them
not to alienate their cause from that of the conqueror of Italy, and to
accompany him to Saint-Cloud. "But how can we follow him?" cried one of
his guests. "We have no horses."--"If that alone deters you, you will
find horses in the court of this hotel. I have seized all those of the
national riding-school. Let us go below and mount." All the officers
present responded to the invitation except General Allix, who declared he
would take no part in all this disturbance.
I was at Saint-Cloud on the two days, 18th and 19th Brumaire. I saw
General Bonaparte harangue the soldiers, and read to them the decree by
which he had been made commander-in-chief of all the troops at Paris, and
of the whole of the Seventeenth Military Division. I saw him come out
much agitated first from the Council of the Ancients, and afterwards from
the Assembly of the Five Hundred. I saw Lucien Bonaparte brought out of
the hall, where the latter assembly was sitting, by some grenadiers, sent
in to protect him from the violence of his colleagues. Pale and furious,
he threw himself on his horse and galloped straight to the troops to
address them; and when he pointed his sword at his brother's breast,
saying he would be the first to slay him if he dared to strike at
liberty, cries of "Vive Bonaparte! down with the lawyers!" burst forth
on all sides; and the soldiers, led by General Murat, rushed into the
Hall of the Five Hundred. Everybody knows what then occurred, and I will
not enter into details which have been so often related.
The general, now made First Consul, installed himself at the Luxembourg,
though at this time he resided also at Malmaison. But he was often on
the road, as was also Josephine; for their trips to Paris when they
occupied this residence were very frequent, not only on Government
business, which often required the presence of the First Consul, but also
for the purpose of attending the theater, of whose performances General
Bonaparte, was very fond, giving the preference always to the Theatre
Francais and the Italian Opera. This observation I make in passing,
preferring to give hereafter the information I have obtained as to the
tastes and habits of the emperor.
Malmaison, at the period of which I speak, was a place of unalloyed
happiness, where all who came expressed their satisfaction with the state
of affairs; everywhere also I heard blessings invoked upon the First
Consul and Madame Bonaparte. There was not yet the shadow of that strict
etiquette which it was necessary afterwards to observe at Saint-Cloud, at
the Tuileries, and in all the palaces in which the Emperor held his
court. The consular court was as yet distinguished by a simple elegance,
equally removed from republican rudeness and the luxuriousness of the
Empire. Talleyrand was, at this period, one of those who came most
frequently to Malmaison. He sometimes dined there, but arrived generally
in the evening between eight and nine o'clock, and returned at one, two,
and sometimes three in the morning.
All were admitted at Madame Bonaparte's on a footing of equality, which
was most gratifying. There came familiarly Murat, Duroc, Berthier, and
all those who have since figured as great dignitaries, and some even as
sovereigns, in the annals of the empire.
The family of General Bonaparte were assiduous in their attentions; but
it was known among us that they had no love for Madame Bonaparte, of
which fact I had many proofs. Mademoiselle Hortense never left her
mother, and they were devotedly attached to each other.
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