Books: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v6
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Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne >> Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v6
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Bonaparte laboured to establish iii France not only an absolute
government, but, what is still worse, a military one. He considered a
decree signed by his hand possessed of a magic virtue capable of
transforming his generals into able diplomatists, and so he sent them on
embassies, as if to show the Sovereigns to whom they were accredited that
he soon meant to take their thrones by assault. The appointment of
Lannes to the Court of Lisbon originated from causes which probably will
be read with some interest, since they serve to place Bonaparte's
character in, its true light, and to point out, at the same time, the
means he disdained not to resort to, if he wished to banish his most
faithful friends when their presence was no longer agreeable to him.
Bonaparte had ceased to address Lannes in the second person singular; but
that general continued the familiarity of thee and thou in speaking to
Napoleon. It is hardly possible to conceive how much this annoyed the
First Consul. Aware of the unceremonious candour of his old comrade,
whose daring spirit he knew would prompt him to go as great lengths in
civil affairs as on the field of battle, Bonaparte, on the great occasion
of the 18th Brumaire, fearing his reproaches, had given him the command
of Paris in order to ensure his absence from St. Cloud.
After that time, notwithstanding the continually growing greatness of the
First Consul, which, as it increased, daily exacted more and more
deference, Lannes still preserved his freedom of speech, and was the only
one who dared to treat Bonaparte as a comrade, and tell him the truth
without ceremony. This was enough to determine Napoleon to rid himself
of the presence of Lannes. But under what pretest was the absence of the
conqueror of Montebello to be procured? It was necessary to conjure up
an excuse; and in the truly diabolical machination resorted to for that
purpose, Bonaparte brought into play that crafty disposition for which he
was so remarkable.
Lannes, who never looked forward to the morrow, was as careless of his
money as of his blood. Poor officers and soldiers partook largely of his
liberality. Thus he had no fortune, but plenty of debts when he wanted
money, and this was not seldom, he used to come, as if it were a mere
matter of course, to ask it of the First Consul, who, I must confess,
never refused him. Bonaparte, though he well knew the general's
circumstances, said to him one day, "My friend, you should attend a
little more to appearances. You must have your establishment suitable to
your rank. There is the Hotel de Noailles--why don't you take it, and
furnish it in proper style?" Lannes, whose own candour prevented him
from suspecting the artful designs of others, followed the advice of the
First Consul The Hotel de Noailles was taken and superbly fitted up.
Odiot supplied a service of plate valued at 200,000 francs.
General Lannes having thus conformed to the wishes of Bonaparte came to
him and requested 400,000 francs, the amount of the expense incurred, as
it were, by his order. "But," said the First Consul, "I have no money."
--"You have no money! What the devil am I to do, then?"
But is there none in the Guard's chest? Take what you require, and we
will settle it, hereafter."
Mistrusting nothing, Lannes went to the treasurer of the Guards, who made
some objections at first to the advance required, but who soon yielded on
learning that the demand was made with the consent of the First Consul.
Within twenty-four hours after Lannes had obtained the 400,000 francs the
treasurer received from the head commissary an order to balance his
accounts. The receipt for the 400,000 francs advanced to Lannes, was not
acknowledged as a voucher. In vain the treasurer alleged the authority
of the First Consul for the transaction. Napoleon's memory had suddenly
failed him; he had entirely forgotten all about it. In a word, it was
incumbent on Lannes to refund the 400,000 francs to the Guards' chest;
and, as I have already said, he had no property on earth, but debts in
abundance. He repaired to General Lefebre, who loved him as his son, and
to him he related all that had passed. " Simpleton," said Lefebvre, "
why did you not come to me? Why did you go and get into debt with that
-----? Well, here are the 400,000 francs; take them to him, and let him
go to the devil!"
Lannes hastened to the First Consul. "What!"--he exclaimed, "is it
possible you can be guilty of such baseness as this? To treat me in such
a manner! To lay such a foul snare for me after all that I have done for
you; after all the blood I have shed to promote your ambition! Is this
the recompense you had in store for me? You forget the 13th Vendemiaire,
to the success of which I contributed more than you! You forget
Millesimo: I was colonel before you! For whom did I fight at Bassano?
You were witness of what I did at Lodi and at Governolo, where I was
wounded; and yet you play me such a trick as this! But for me, Paris
would have revolted on the 18th Brumaire. But for me, you would have
lost the battle of Marengo. I alone, yes, I alone, passed the Po, at
Montebello, with my whole division. You gave the credit of that to
Berthier, who was not there; and this is my reward--humiliation. This
cannot, this shall not be. I will----" Bonaparte, pale with anger,
listened without stirring, and Lannes was on the point of challenging him
when Junot, who heard the uproar, hastily entered. The unexpected
presence of this general somewhat reassured the First Consul, and at the
same time calmed, in some degree, the fury of Lannes. "Well," said
Bonaparte, "go to Lisbon. You will get money there; and when you return
you will not want any one to pay your debts for you." Thus was
Bonaparte's object gained. Lannes set out for Lisbon, and never
afterwards annoyed the First Consul by his familiarities, for on his
return he ceased to address him with thee and thou.
Having described Bonaparte's ill-treatment of Lannes I may here subjoin a
statement of the circumstances which led to a rupture between the First
Consul and me. So many false stories have been circulated on the subject
that I am anxious to relate the facts as they really were.
Nine months had now passed since I had tendered my resignation to the
First Consul. The business of my office had become too great for me,
and my health was so much endangered by over-application that my
physician, M. Corvisart, who had for a long time impressed upon me the
necessity of relaxation, now formally warned me that I should not long
hold out under the fatigue I underwent. Corvisart had no doubt spoken to
the same effect to the First Consul, for the latter said to me one day,
in a tone which betrayed but little feeling, "Why, Corvisart says you
have not a year to live." This was certainly no very welcome compliment
in the mouth of an old college friend, yet I must confess that the doctor
risked little by the prediction.
I had resolved, in fact, to follow the advice of Corvisart; my family
were urgent in their entreaties that I would do so, but I always put off
the decisive step. I was loath to give up a friendship which had
subsisted so long, and which had been only once disturbed: on that
occasion when Joseph thought proper to play the spy upon me at the table
of Fouche. I remembered also the reception I had met with from the
conqueror of Italy; and I experienced, moreover, no slight pain at the
thought of quitting one from whom I had received so many proofs of
confidence, and to whom I had been attached from early boyhood. These
considerations constantly triumphed over the disgust to which I was
subjected by a number of circumstances, and by the increasing vexations
occasioned by the conflict between my private sentiments and the nature
of the duties I had to perform.
I was thus kept in a state of perplexity, from which some unforeseen
circumstance alone could extricate me. Such a circumstance at length
occurred, and the following is the history of my first rupture with
Napoleon:
On the 27th of February 1802, at ten at night, Bonaparte dictated to me a
despatch of considerable importance and urgency, for M. de Talleyrand,
requesting the Minister for Foreign Affairs to come to the Tuileries next
morning at an appointed hour. According to custom, I put the letter into
the hands of the office messenger that it might be forwarded to its
destination.
This was Saturday. The following day, Sunday, M. de Talleyrand came as
if for an audience about mid-day. The First Consul immediately began to
confer with him on the subject of the letter sent the previous evening,
and was astonished to learn that the Minister had not received it
until the morning. He immediately rang for the messenger, and ordered me
to be sent for. Being in a very. bad humour, he pulled the bell with so
much fury that he struck his hand violently against the angle of the
chimney-piece. I hurried to his presence. " Why," he said, addressing me
hastily, "why was not my letter delivered yesterday evening?"--"I do not
know: I put it at once into the hands of the person whose duty it was to
see that it was sent."--"Go and find the cause of the delay, and come
back quickly." Having rapidly made my inquiries, I returned to the
cabinet. "Well?" said the First Consul, whose irritation seemed to have
increased. " Well, General, it is not the fault of anybody, M. de
Talleyrand was not to be found, either at the office or at his own
residence, or at the houses of any of his friends where he was thought
likely to be." Not knowing with whom to be angry, restrained by the
coolness of M. de Talleyrand, yet at the same time ready to burst with
rage, Bonaparte rose from his seat, and proceeding to the hall, called
the messenger and questioned him sharply. The man, disconcerted by the
anger of the First Consul, hesitated in his replies, and gave confused
answers. Bonaparte returned to his cabinet still more irritated than he
had left it.
I had followed him to the hall, and on my way back to the cabinet I
attempted to soothe him, and I begged him not to be thus discomposed by a
circumstance which, after all, was of no great moment. I do not know
whether his anger was increased by the sight of the blood which flowed
from his hand, and which he was every moment looking at; but however that
might be, a transport of furious passion, such as I had never before
witnessed, seized him; and as I was about to enter the cabinet after him
he threw back the door with so much violence that, had I been two or
three inches nearer him, it must infallibly have struck me in the face.
He accompanied this action, which was almost convulsive, with an
appellation, not to be borne; he exclaimed before M. de Talleyrand,
"Leave me alone; you are a fool." At an insult so atrocious I confess
that the anger which had already mastered the First Consul suddenly
seized on me. I thrust the door forward with as much impetuosity as he
had used in throwing it back, and, scarcely knowing what I said,
exclaimed, "You are a hundredfold a greater fool than I am!" I then
banged the door and went upstairs to my apartment, which was situated
over the cabinet.
I was as far from expecting as from wishing such an occasion of
separating from the First Consul. But what was done could not be undone;
and therefore, without taking time for reflection, and still under the
influence of the anger that had got the better of me, I penned the
following positive resignation:
GENERAL--The state of my health no longer permits me to continue in your
service. I therefore beg you to accept my resignation.
BOURRIENNE.
Some moments after this note was written I saw Bonaparte's saddle-horses
brought up to the entrance of the Palace. It was Sunday morning, and,
contrary to his usual custom on that day, he was going to ride out.
Duroc accompanied him. He was no sooner done than I, went down into his
cabinet, and placed my letter on his table. On returning at four o'clock
with Duroc Bonaparte read my letter. "Ah! ah!" said he, before opening
it, "a letter from Bourrienne." And he almost immediately added, for the
note was speedily perused, "He is in the sulks.--Accepted." I had left
the Tuileries at the moment he returned, but Duroc sent to me where I was
dining the following billet:
The First Consul desires me, my dear Bourrienne, to inform you that he
accepts your resignation, and to request that you will give me the
necessary information respecting your papers.--Yours,
DUROC.
P.S.:--I will call on you presently.
Duroc came to me at eight o'clock the same evening. The First Consul was
in his cabinet when we entered it. I immediately commenced giving my
intended successor the necessary explanations to enable him to enter upon
his new duties. Piqued at finding that I did not speak to him, and at
the coolness with which I instructed Duroc, Bonaparte said to me in a
harsh tone, "Come, I have had enough of this! Leave me." I stepped down
from the ladder on which I had mounted for the purpose of pointing out to
Duroc the places in which the various papers were deposited and hastily
withdrew. I too had quite enough of it!
I remained two more days at the Tuileries until I had suited myself with
lodgings. On Monday I went down into the cabinet of the First Consul to
take my leave of him. We conversed together for a long time, and very
amicably. He told me he was very sorry I was going to leave him, and
that he would do all he could for me. I pointed out several places to
him; at last I mentioned the Tribunate. "That will not do for you," he
said; the members are a set of babblers and phrasemongers, whom I mean to
get rid of. All the troubles of States proceed from such debatings. I
am tired of them." He continued to talk in a strain which left me in no
doubt as to his uneasiness about the Tribunate, which, in fact, reckoned
among its members many men of great talent and excellent character.
--[In 1802 the First Consul made a reduction of fifty members of the
Tribunate, and subsequently the whole body was suppressed.
--Bourrienne.]--
The following day, Tuesday, the First Consul asked me to breakfast with
him. After breakfast, while he was conversing with some other person,
Madame Bonaparte and Hortense pressed me to make advances towards
obtaining a re-instalment in my office, appealing to me on the score of
the friendship and kindness they had always shown me. They told me that
I had been in the wrong, and that I had forgotten myself. I answered
that I considered the evil beyond remedy; and that, besides, I had really
need of repose. The First Consul then called me to him, and conversed a
considerable time with me, renewing his protestations of goodwill towards
me.
At five o'clock I was going downstairs to quit the Tuileries for good
when I was met by the office messenger, who told me that the First Consul
wished to see me. Duroc; who was in the room leading to the cabinet,
stopped me as I passed, and said, "He wishes you to remain. I beg of you
not to refuse; do me this favour. I have assured him that I am incapable
of filling your office. It does not suit my habits; and besides, to tell
you the truth, the business is too irksome for me." I proceeded to the
cabinet without replying to Duroc. The First Consul came up to me
smiling, and pulling me by the ear, as he did when he was in the best of
humours, said to me, "Are you still in the sulks?" and leading me to my
usual seat he added, "Come, sit down."
Only those who knew Bonaparte can judge of my situation at that moment.
He had at times, and when he chose, a charm in his manners which it was
quite impossible to resist. I could offer no opposition, and I resumed
my usual office and my accustomed labours. Five minutes afterwards it
was announced that dinner was on table. "You will dine with me?" he
said. "I cannot; I am expected at the place where I was going when Duroc
called me back. It is an engagement that I cannot break."--"Well, I have
nothing to say, then. But give me your word that you will be here at
eight o'clock."--"I promise you." Thus I became again the private
secretary of the First Consul, and I believed in the sincerity of our
reconciliation.
CHAPTER XIII.
1802-1803.
The Concordat and the Legion of Honour--The Council of State and the
Tribunate--Discussion on the word 'subjects'--Chenier--Chabot de
l'Allier's proposition to the Tribunate--The marked proof of
national gratitude--Bonaparte's duplicity and self-command--Reply to
the 'Senatus-consulte'--The people consulted--Consular decree--
The most, or the least--M. de Vanblanc's speech--Bonaparte's reply--
The address of the Tribunate--Hopes and predictions thwarted.
It may truly be said that history affords no example of an empire founded
like that of France, created in all its parts under the cloak of a
republic. Without any shock, and in the short space of four years, there
arose above the ruins of the short-lived Republic a Government more
absolute than ever was Louis XIV.'s. This extraordinary change is to be
assigned to many causes; and I had the opportunity of observing the
influence which the determined will of one man exercised over his fellow-
men.
The great object which Bonaparte had at heart was to legitimate his
usurpations by institutions. The Concordat had reconciled him with the
Court of Rome; the numerous erasures from the emigrant list gathered
round him a large body of the old nobility; and the Legion of Honour,
though at first but badly received, soon became a general object of
ambition. Peace, too, had lent her aid in consolidating the First
Consul's power by affording him leisure to engage in measures of internal
prosperity.
The Council of State, of which Bonaparte had made me a member, but which
my other occupations did not allow me to attend, was the soul of the
Consular Government. Bonaparte felt much interest in the discussions of
that body, because it was composed of the most eminent men in the
different branches of administration; and though the majority evinced a
ready compliance with his wishes, yet that disposition was often far from
being unanimous. In the Council of State the projects of the Government
were discussed from the first with freedom and sincerity, and when once
adopted they were transmitted to the Tribunate, and to the Legislative
Body. This latter body might be considered as a supreme Legislative
Tribunal, before which the Tribunes pleaded as the advocates of the
people, and the Councillors of State, whose business it was to support
the law projects, as the advocates of the Government. This will at once
explain the cause of the First Consul's animosity towards the Tribunate,
and will show to what the Constitution was reduced when that body was
dissolved by a sudden and arbitrary decision.
During the Consulate the Council of State was not only a body politic
collectively, but each individual member might be invested with special
power; as, for example, when the First Consul sent Councillors of State
on missions to each of the military divisions where there was a Court of
Appeal, the instructions given them by the First Consul were extensive,
and might be said to be unlimited. They were directed to examine all the
branches of the administration, so that their reports collected and
compared together presented a perfect description of the state of France.
But this measure, though excellent in itself, proved fatal to the State.
The reports never conveyed the truth to the First Consul, or at least if
they did, it was in such a disguised form as to be scarcely recognisable;
for the Councillors well knew that the best way to pay their court to
Bonaparte was not to describe public feeling as it really was, but as he
wished it to be. Thus the reports of the councillors of State only
furnished fresh arguments in favour of his ambition.
I must, however, observe that in the discussions of the Council of State
Bonaparte was not at all averse to the free expression of opinion. He,
indeed, often encouraged it; for although fully resolved to do only what
he pleased, he wished to gain information; indeed, it is scarcely
conceivable how, in the short space of two years, Bonaparte adapted his
mind so completely to civil and legislative affairs. But he could not
endure in the Tribunate the liberty of opinion which he tolerated in the
Council; and for this reason--that the sittings of the Tribunate were
public, while those of the Council of State were secret, and publicity
was what he dreaded above all things. He was very well pleased when he
had to transmit to the Legislative Body or to the Tribunate any proposed
law of trifling importance, and he used then to say that he had thrown
them a bone to gnaw.
Among the subjects submitted to the consideration of the Council and the
Tribunate was one which gave rise to a singular discussion, the ground of
which was a particular word, inserted in the third article of the treaty
of Russia with France. This word seemed to convey a prophetic allusion
to the future condition of the French people, or rather an anticipated
designation of what they afterwards became. The treaty spoke of "the
subjects of the two Governments." This term applied to those who still
considered themselves citizens, and was highly offensive to the
Tribunate. Chenier moat loudly remonstrated against the introduction of
this word into the dictionary of the new Government. He said that the
armies of France had shed their blood that the French people might be
citizens and not subjects. Chenier's arguments, however, had no effect
on the decision of the Tribunate, and only served to irritate the First
Consul. The treaty was adopted almost unanimously, there being only
fourteen dissentient voices, and the proportion of black balls in the
Legislative Body was even less.
Though this discussion passed off almost unnoticed, yet it greatly
displeased the First Consul, who expressed his dissatisfaction in the
evening. "What is it," said he, "these babblers want? They wish to be
citizens--why did they not know how to continue so? My government must
treat on an equal footing with Russia. I should appear a mere puppet in
the eyes of foreign Courts were I to yield to the stupid demands of the
Tribunate.. Those fellows tease me so that I have a great mind to end
matters at once with them." I endeavoured to soothe his anger, and
observed, that one precipitate act might injure him. "You are right," he
continued; "but stay a little, they shall lose nothing by waiting."
The Tribunate pleased Bonaparte better in the great question of the
Consulate for life, because he had taken the precaution of removing such
members as were most opposed to the encroachments of his ambition. The
Tribunate resolved that a marked proof of the national gratitude should
be offered to the First Consul, and the resolution was transmitted to the
Senate. Not a single voice was raised against this proposition, which
emanated from Chabot de l'Allier, the President of the Tribunate. When
the First Consul came back to his cabinet after receiving the deputation
of the Tribunate he was very cheerful, and said to me, "Bourrienne, it is
a blank cheque that the Tribunate has just offered me; I shall know how
to fill it up. That is my business."
The Tribunate having adopted the indefinite proposition of offering to
the First Consul a marked proof of the national gratitude, it now only
remained to determine what that proof should be. Bonaparte knew well
what he wanted, but he did not like to name it in any positive way.
Though in his fits of impatience, caused by the lingering proceedings of
the Legislative Body and the indecision of some of its members, he often
talked of mounting on horseback and drawing his sword, yet he so far
controlled himself as to confine violence to his conversations with his
intimate friends. He wished it to be thought that he himself was
yielding to compulsion; that he was far from wishing to usurp permanent
power contrary to the Constitution; and that if he deprived France of
liberty it was all for her good, and out of mere love for her. Such
deep-laid duplicity could never have been conceived and maintained in any
common mind; but Bonaparte's was not a mind of the ordinary cast. It
must have required extraordinary self-command to have restrained so long
as he did that daring spirit which was so natural to him, and which was
rather the result of his temperament than his character. For my part, I
confess that I always admired him more for what he had the fortitude not
to do than for the boldest exploits he ever performed.
In conformity with the usual form, the proposition of the Tribunate was
transmitted to the Senate. From that time the Senators on whom Bonaparte
most relied were frequent in their visits to the Tuileries. In the
preparatory conferences which preceded the regular discussions in the
Senate it has been ascertained that the majority was not willing that the
marked proof of gratitude should be the Consulate for life; it was
therefore agreed that the reporter should limit his demand to a temporary
prolongation of the dignity of First Consul in favour of Bonaparte. The
reporter, M. de Lacepede, acted accordingly, and limited the prolongation
to ten years, commencing from the expiration of the ten years granted by
the Constitution. I forget which of the Senators first proposed the
Consulate for life; but I well recollect that Cambaceres used all his
endeavours to induce those members of the Senate whom he thought he could
influence to agree to that proposition. Whether from flattery or
conviction I know not, but the Second Consul held out to his colleague,
or rather his master, the hope of complete success Bonaparte on hearing
him shook his head with an air of doubt, but afterwards said to me, "They
will perhaps make some wry faces, but they must come to it at last!"
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