Books: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v5
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Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne >> Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v5
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On that day the crowd was immense in the Champ-de-Mars and in the Temple
of Mars, the name which at that the Church of the Invalides still
preserved. Lucien delivered a speech on the encouraging prospects of
France, and Lannes made an appropriate address on presenting to the
Government the flags taken at Marengo. Two more followed; one from an
aide de cramp of Massena, and the other from an aide de camp of Lecourbe;
and after the distribution of some medals the First Consul then delivered
the following address:--
CITIZENS! SOLDIERS!--The flags presented to the Government, in the
presence of the people of this immense capital, attest at once the
genius of the Commanders-in-Chief Moreau, Massena, and Berthier; the
military talents of the generals, their lieutenants; and bravery of
the French soldiers.
On your return to the camp tell your comrades that for the 1st
Vendemiaire, when we shall celebrate the anniversary of the
Republic, the French people expect either peace or, if the enemy
obstinately refuse it, other flags, the fruit of fresh victories.
After this harangue of the First Consul, in which he addressed to the
military in the name of the people, and ascribed to Berthier the glory of
Marengo, a hymn was chanted, the words of which were written by M. de
Fontanes and the music composed by Mehul. But what was most remarkable
in this fete was neither the poetry, music, nor even the panegyrical
eloquence of Lucien, -- it was the arrival at the Champ-de-Mars, after
the ceremony at the Invalides, of the Consular Guard returning from
Marengo. I was at a window of the Ecole-Militaire, and I can never
forget the commotion, almost electrical, which made the air resound with
cries of enthusiasm at their appearance. These soldiers did not defile
before the First Consul in fine uniforms as at a review. Leaving the
field of battle when the firing ceased, they had crossed Lombardy,
Piedmont, Mont Cenis, Savoy, and France in the space of twenty-nine days.
They appeared worn by the fatigue of a long journey, with faces browned
by the summer sun of Italy, and with their arms and clothing showing the
effects of desperate struggles. Do you wish to have an idea of their
appearance? You will find a perfect type in the first grenadier put by
Gerard at one side of his picture of the battle of Austerlitz.
At the time of this fete, that is to say, in the middle of the month of
July, the First Consul could not have imagined that the moderate
conditions he had proposed after the victory would not be accepted by
Austria. In the hope, therefore, of a peace which could not but be
considered probable, he, for the first time since the establishment of
the Consular Government, convoked the deputies of the departments, and
appointed their time of assembling in Paris for the 1st Vendemiaire, a
day which formed the close of one remarkable century and marked the
commencement of another.
The remains of Marshal Turenne; to which Louis XIV. had awarded the
honours of annihilation by giving them a place among the royal tombs in
the vaults of St. Denis, had been torn from their grave at the time of
the sacrilegious violation of the tombs. His bones, mingled
indiscriminately with others, had long lain in obscurity in a garret of
the College of Medicine when M. Lenoir collected and restored them to the
ancient tomb of Turenne in the Mussee des Petits Augustins. Bonaparte-
resolved to enshrine these relics in that sculptured marble with which
the glory of Turenne could so well dispense. This was however, intended
as a connecting link between the past days of France and the future to
which he looked forward. He thought that the sentiments inspired by the
solemn honours rendered to the memory of Turenne would dispose the
deputies of the departments to receive with greater enthusiasm the
pacific communications he hoped to be able to make.
However, the negotiations did not take the favourable turn which the
First Consul had expected; and, notwithstanding all the address of
Lucien, the communication was not heard without much uneasiness. But
Lucien had prepared a speech quite to the taste of the First Consul.
After dilating for some time on the efforts of the Government to obtain
peace he deplored the tergiversations of Austria, accused the fatal
influence of England, and added in a more elevated and solemn tone,
"At the very moment when, the Consuls were leaving the Palace of the
Government a courier arrived bearing despatches which the First Consul
has directed me to communicate to you." He then read a note declaring
that the Austrian Government consented to surrender to France the three
fortresses of Ulm, Philipsburg, and Ingolstadt. This was considered as a
security for the preliminaries of peace being speedily signed. The news
was received with enthusiasm, and that anxious day closed in a way highly
gratifying to the First Consul.
Whilst victory confirmed in Italy the destinies of the First Consul, his
brothers were more concerned about their own interests than the affairs
of France. They loved money as much as Bonaparte loved glory. A letter
from Lucien to his brother Joseph, which I shall subjoin, shows how ready
they always were to turn to their own advantage the glory and fortune of
him to whom they were indebted for all their importance. I found this
letter among my papers, but I cannot tell why and how I preserved it.
It is interesting, inasmuch as it shows, the opinion that family of
future kings entertained of their own situation, and of what their fate
would have been had Bonaparte, like Desaix, fallen on the field of
Marengo. It is, besides, curious to observe the, philosopher Lucien
causing Te Deum, to be chanted with the view of influencing the public
funds. At all events I copy Lucien's letter as he wrote it, giving the
words marked in italics [CAPS] and the numerous notes of exclamation
which distinguish the original.
MY BROTHER--I send you a courier; I particularly wish that the First
Consul would give me notice of his arrival twenty-four hours
beforehand, and that he would inform ME ALONE of the barrier by
which he will enter. The city wishes to prepare triumphal arches for
him, and it deserves not to be disappointed.
AT MY REQUEST a Te Deum was chanted yesterday. There were 60,000
persons present.
The intrigues of Auteuil continue.
--[This intrigue, so called from Talleyrand one of its heads, living
in the suburb of Auteuil, arose from the wish of many of the most
influential men to be prepared in case of the death of Napoleon in
any action in Italy: It was simply a continuation of the same
combinations which had been attempted or planned in 1799, till the
arrival of Bonaparte from Egypt made the party choose him as the
instrument for the overthrow of the Directors. There was little
secrecy about their plans; see Miot de Melito (tome i p. 276),
where Joseph Bonaparte tells his friends all that was being proposed
in case his brother fell. Carnot seems to have been the most
probable choice as leader and replacer of Bonaparte. In the above
letter "C----," stands for Carrot, "La F----" for La Fayette, the
"High Priest" is Sieyes, and the "friend of Auteuil" is Talleyrand;
see Iung's Lucien, tome i. p. 411. The postscript seems to refer to
a wretched scandal about Caroline, and Lucien; see Iung's Lucien,
tome i. pp. 411, 432-433. The reader should remark the retention
of this and other documents by Bourrienne, which forms one of the
charges brought against him farther on.
--It has been found difficult to decide between C---- and La F----.
The latter has proposed his daughter in marriage to me. Intrigue has
been carried to the last extreme. I do not know yet whether the High
Priest has decided for one party or the other. I believe that he would
cheat them both for an Orleans, and your friend of Auteuil was at the
bottom of all. The news of the battle of Marengo petrified them, and yet
next day the High Priest certainly spent three hours with your friend of
Auteuil. As to us, had the victory of Marengo closed the First Consul's
career we should now have bean Proscribed.
Your letters say nothing of what I expected to hear. I hope at least to
be informed of the answer from Vienna before any one. I am sorry you
have not paid me back for the battle of Marengo.
The festival of the 14th of July will be very gratifying. We expect
peace as a certainty, and the triumphant return of the First Consul.
The family is all well. Your wife and all her family are at
Mortfontaine. Ney is at Paris. Why do you return with the First Consul?
Peace! and Italy! Think of our last interview. I embrace you.
(Signed) LUCIEN.
On the margin is written--
P.S.-- Read the letter addressed to the Consul, and give it to him AFTER
YOU HAVE CAREFULLY CLOSED IT.
Forward the enclosed. Madame Murat never lodged in my house. Her
husband is a fool, whom his wife ought to punish by not writing to him
for a month.
(Signed) LUCIEN BONAPARTE
Bonaparte, confirmed in his power by the victory of Marengo, remained
some days longer at Milan to settle the affairs of Italy. He directed
one to furnish Madame Grassini with money to pay her expenses to Paris.
We departed amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, and took the road
to Turin. The First Consul stopped at Turin for some hours, and
inspected the citadel, which had bean surrendered to us in pursuance of
the capitulation of Alessandria. In passing over Mont Cenis we observed
the carriage of Madame Kellerman, who was going to meet her husband.
Bonaparte on recognizing the lady stopped his carriage and congratulated
her on the gallant conduct of her husband at the battle of Marengo.
On our arrival at Lyons we alighted at the Hotel des Celestins, and the
loud acclamations of a numerous multitude assembled round the hotel
obliged Bonaparte to show himself on the balcony. Next day he proceeded
to the Square of Bellecour, where, amidst the plaudits of the people, he
laid the first stone of some new buildings destined to efface one of the
disasters of the Revolution.
We left Lyons that evening and continued our journey by way of Dijon.
On our arrival in that town the joy of the inhabitants was very great.
I never saw a more graceful and captivating sight than that which was
presented by a group of beautiful young females, crowned with flowers,
who accompanied Bonaparte's carriage, and which at that period, when the
Revolution had renewed all the republican recollections of Greece and
Rome, looked like the chorus of females dancing around the victor at the
Olympic games.
But all our journey was not so agreeable. Some accidents awaited us.
The First Consul's carriage broke down between Villeneuve-le-Roi and
Sens. He sent a courier to inform my mother that he would stop at her
house till his carriage was repaired. He dined there, and we started
again at seven in the evening.
But we had other disasters to encounter. One of our off-wheels came off,
and as we were driving at a very rapid pace the carriage was overturned
on the bridge at a short distance from Montreau-Faut-Yonne. The First
Consul, who sat on my left, fell upon me, and sustained no injury. My
head was slightly hurt by striking against some things which were in the
pocket of the carriage; but this accident was not worth stopping for, and
we arrived at Paris on the same night, the 2d of July. Duroc, who was
the third in the carriage, was not hurt.
I have already mentioned that Bonaparte was rather talkative when
travelling; and as we were passing through Burgundy, on our return to
Paris from Marengo, he said exultingly, "Well, a few more events like
this campaign, and I may go down to posterity."--"I think," replied I,
that you have already done enough to secure great and lasting fame."--
"Yes," resumed he, "I have done enough, it is true. In less than two
years I have won Cairo, Paris, and Milan; but for all that, my dear
fellow, were I to die to-morrow I should not at the end of ten centuries
occupy half a page of general history!"
On the very day when Desaix fell on the field of Marengo Kleber was
assassinated by a fanatical Mussulman, named Soleiman Haleby, who stabbed
him with a dagger, and by that blow decided the fate of Egypt.
--["This fellah was, at most, eighteen or twenty years of age: he
was a native of Damascus, and declared that he had quitted his
native city by command of the grand vizier, who had entrusted him
with the commission of repairing to Egypt and killing the grand
sultan of the French [Bonaparte being probably intended]. That for
this purpose alone he had left his family, and performed the whole
journey on foot and had received from the grand vizier no other
money than what was absolutely requisite for the exigencies of the
journey. On arriving at Cairo he had gone forthwith to perform his
devotions in the great mosque, and it was only on the eve of
executing his project that he confided it to one of the scherifs of
the mosque" (Duc de Rovigo's Memoirs, tome 1. p. 367)]--
Thus was France, on the same day, and almost at the same hour, deprived
of two of her most distinguished generals. Menou, as senior in command,
succeeded Kleber, and the First Consul confirmed the appointment. From
that moment the loss of Egypt was inevitable.
I have a few details to give respecting the tragical death of Kleber.
The house of Elfy Bey, which Bonaparte occupied at Cairo, and in which
Kleber lived after his departure; had a terrace leading from a salon to
an old ruined cistern, from which, down a few steps, there was an
entrance into the garden. The terrace commanded a view of the grand
square of El Beguyeh, which was to the right on coming out of the salon,
while the garden was on the left. This terrace was Bonaparte's favourite
promenade, especially in the evenings, when he used to walk up and down
and converse with the persons about him, I often advised him to fill up
the reservoir, and to make it level with the terrace. I even showed him,
by concealing myself in it, and coming suddenly behind him, how easy it
would be for any person to attempt his life and then escape, either by
jumping into the square, or passing through the garden. He told me I was
a coward, and was always in fear of death; and he determined not to make
the alteration I suggested, which, however, he acknowledged to be
advisable. Kleber's assassin availed himself of the facility which I so
often apprehended might be fatal to Bonaparte.
I shall not atop to refute all the infamous rumours which were circulated
respecting Kleber's death. When the First Consul received the unexpected
intelligence he could scarcely believe it. He was deeply affected; and
on reading the particulars of the assassination he instantly called to
mind how often he had been in the same situation as that in which Kleber
was killed, and all I had said respecting the danger of the reservoir--
a danger from which it is inconceivable he should have escaped,
especially after his Syrian expedition had excited the fury of the
natives. Bonaparte's knowledge of Kleber's talents--the fact of his
having confided to him the command of the army, and the aid which he
constantly endeavoured to transmit to him, repelled at once the horrible
suspicion of his having had the least participation in the crime, and the
thought that he was gratified to hear of it.
It is very certain that Bonaparte's dislike of Kleber was as decided as
the friendship he cherished for Desaix. Kleber's fame annoyed him, for
he was weak enough to be annoyed at it. He knew the manner in which
Kleber spoke of him, which was certainly not the most respectful. During
the long and sanguinary siege of St. Jean d'Acre Kleber said to me, "That
little scoundrel Bonaparte, who is no higher than my boot, will enslave
France. See what a villainous expedition he has succeeded in involving
us in." Kleber often made the same remark to others as well as to me.
I am not certain that it was ever reported to Bonaparte; but there is
reason to believe that those who found it their interest to accuse others
did not spare Kleber.
Kleber, who was a sincere republican, saw and dreaded for his country's
sake the secret views and inordinate ambition of Bonaparte. He was a
grumbler by nature; yet he never evinced discontent in the discharge of
his duties as a soldier. He swore and stormed, but marched bravely to
the cannon's mouth: he was indeed courage personified. One day when he
was in the trench at St. Jean d'Acre, standing up, and by his tall
stature exposed to every shot, Bonaparte called to him, "Stoop down,
Kleber, stoop down!"-- "Why;" replied he, "your confounded trench does
not reach to my knees." He never regarded the Egyptian expedition with a
favourable eye. He thought it too expensive, and utterly useless to
France. He was convinced that in the situation in which we stood,
without a navy or a powerful Government, it would have been better to
have confined our attention to Europe than to have wasted French blood
and money on the banks of the Nile, and among the ruined cities of Syria.
Kleber, who was a cool, reflecting man, judged Bonaparte without
enthusiasm, a thing somewhat rare at that time, and he was not blind to
any of his faults.
Bonaparte alleged that Kleber said to him, "General, you are as great as
the world!" Such a remark is in direct opposition to Kleber's character.
He was too sincere to say anything against his conviction. Bonaparte,
always anxious to keep Egypt, of which the preservation alone could
justify the conquest, allowed Kleber to speak because he acted at the
same time. He knew that Kleber's sense of military duty would always
triumph over any opposition he might cherish to his views and plans.
Thus the death of his lieutenant, far from causing Bonaparte any feeling
of satisfaction, afflicted him the more, because it almost totally
deprived him if the hope of preserving a conquest which had cost France
so dear, and which was his work.
The news of the death of Kleber arrived shortly after our return to
Paris. Bonaparte was anxiously expecting accounts from Egypt, none
having been received for a considerable time. The arrival of the courier
who brought the fatal intelligence gave rise to a scene which I may
relate here. It was two o'clock in the morning when the courier arrived
at the Tuileries. In his hurry the First Consul could not wait to rouse
any one to call me up. I had informed him some days before that if he
should want me during the night he should send for me to the corridor, as
I had changed my bedchamber on account of my wife's accouchement. He
came up himself and instead of knocking at my door knocked at that of my
secretary. The latter immediately rose, and opening the door to his
surprise saw the First Consul with a candle in his hand, a Madras
handkerchief on his head, and having on his gray greatcoat. Bonaparte,
not knowing of the little step down into the room, slipped and nearly
fell, "Where is Bourrienne?" asked he. The surprise of my secretary at
the apparition of the First Consul can be imagined. "What; General, is
it you?"--" Where is Bourrienne?" Then my secretary, in his shirt, showed
the First Consul my door. After having told him that he was sorry at
having called him up, Napoleon came to me. I dressed in a hurry, and we
went downstairs to my usual room. We rang several times before they
opened the door for us. The guards were not asleep, but having heard so
much running to and fro feared we were thieves. At last they opened the
door, and the First Consul threw on the table the immense packet of
despatches which he had just received. They had been fumigated and
steeped in vinegar. When he read the announcement of the death of Kleber
the expression of his countenance sufficiently denoted the painful
feelings which arose in his mind. I read in his face; EGYPT IS LOST!
CHAPTER III.
Bonaparte's wish to negotiate with England and Austria--
An emigrant's letter--Domestic details--The bell--Conspiracy of
Ceracchi, Arena, Harrel, and others--Bonaparte's visit to the opera
--Arrests--Rariel appointed commandant of Vincennes--The Duc
d'Enghien's foster-sister--The 3d Nivoise--First performance of
Haydn's "Creation"--The infernal machine--Congratulatory addresses--
Arbitrary condemnations--M. Tissot erased from the list of the
banished--M. Truguet--Bonapartes' hatred of the Jacobins explained--
The real criminals discovered--Justification of Fouche--Execution of
St. Regent and Carbon--Caesar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte--Conversation
between Bonaparte and Fouche--Pretended anger--Fouche's
dissimulation--Lucien's resignation--His embassy to Spain--War
between Spain and Portugal--Dinner at Fouche's--Treachery of Joseph
Bonaparte--A trick upon the First Consul--A three days' coolness--
Reconciliation.
The happy events of the campaign of Italy had been crowned by the
armistice, concluded on the 6th of July. This armistice was broken on
the 1st of September, and renewed after the battle of Hohenlinden. On
his return from Marengo Bonaparte was received with more enthusiasm than
ever. The rapidity with which, in a campaign of less than two months, he
had restored the triumph of the French standard, excited universal
astonishment. He then actively endeavoured to open negotiations with
England and Austria; but difficulties opposed him in every direction. He
frequently visited the theatre, where his presence attracted prodigious
throngs of persons, all eager to see and applaud him.
The immense number of letters which were at this time addressed to the
First Consul is scarcely conceivable. They contained requests for
places, protestations of fidelity, and, in short, they were those
petitionary circulars that are addressed to all persons in power. These
letters were often exceedingly curious, and I have preserved many of
them; among the rest was one from Durosel Beaumanoir, an emigrant who had
fled to Jersey. This letter contains some interesting particulars
relative to Bonaparte's family. It is dated Jersey, 12th July 1800, and
the following are the moat remarkable passages it contains:
I trust; General, that I may, without indiscretion, intrude upon
your notice, to remind you of what, I flatter myself, you have not
totally forgotten, after having lived eighteen or nineteen years at
Ajaccio. But you will, perhaps, be surprised that so trifling an
item should be the subject of the letter which I have the honour to
address to you. You cannot have forgotten, General, that when your
late father was obliged to take your brothers from the college of
Autun, from whence he went to see you at Brienne, he was unprovided
with mousy, and he asked me for twenty-five louis, which I lent him
with pleasure. After his return he had no opportunity of paying me,
and when I left Ajaccio your mother offered to dispose of some plate
in order to pay the debt. To this I objected, and told her that I
would wait until she could pay me at her convenience, and previous
to the breaking out of the revolution I believe it was not in her
power to fulfil her wish of discharging the debt.
I am sorry, General, to be obliged to trouble yon about such a
trifle. But such is my unfortunate situation that even this trifle
is of some importance to me. Driven from my country, and obliged to
take refuge in this island, where everything is exceedingly
expensive, the little sum I have mentioned, which was formerly a
matter of indifference, would now be of great service to me.
You will understand, General, that at the age of eighty-six, after
serving served my country well for sixty years, without the least
interruption, not counting the time of emigration, chased from every
place, I have been obliged to take refuge here, to subsist on the
scanty succour given by the English Government to the French
emigrant. I say emigrant because I have been forced to be one.
I had no intention of being one, but a horde of brigands, who came
from Caen to my house to assassinate me, considered I had committed
the great crime in being the senior general of the canton and in
having the Grand Cross of St. Louis: this was too much for them; if
it had not been for the cries of my neighbours, my door would have
been broken open, and I should have been assassinated; and I had but
time to fly by a door at the back, only carrying away what I had on
me. At first I retired to Paris, but there they told me that I
could do nothing but go into a foreign country, so great was the
hate entertained for me by my fellow-citizens, although I lived in
retirement, never having any discussion with any one. Thus,
General; I have abandoned all I possessed, money and goods, leaving
them at the mercy of what they call the nation, which has profited a
good deal by this, as I have nothing left in the world, not even a
spot to put my foot on. If even a horse had been reserved for me,
General, I could ask for what depends on you, for I have heard it
said that some emigrants have been allowed to return home. I do not
even ask this favour, not having a place to rest my foot. And,
besides, I have with me here an exiled brother, older than I am,
very ill and in perfect second childhood, whom I could not abandon.
I am resigned to my own unhappy fate, but my sole and great grief is
that not only I myself have been ill-treated, but that my fate has,
contrary to the law, injured relations whom I love and respect. I
have a mother-in-law, eighty years old, who has been refused the
dower I had given her from my property, and this will make me die a
bankrupt if nothing is changed, which makes me miserable.
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