Books: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v6
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Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne >> Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v6
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It will be seen in the sequel that my precaution was not useless, and
that I was right in anticipating the persecution of Bonaparte, provoked
by the malice of my enemies. On the 20th of April Duroc sent me the
following note:
I beg, my dear Bourrienne, that you will come to St. Cloud this
morning. I have something to tell you on the part of the First
Consul.
(Signed) DUROC.
This note caused me much anxiety. I could not doubt but that my enemies
had invented some new calumny; but I must say that I did not expect such
baseness as I experienced.
As soon as Duroc had made me acquainted with the business which the First
Consul had directed him to communicate, I wrote on the spot the subjoined
letter to Bonaparte:
At General Duroc's desire I have this moment waited upon him, and he
informs me that you have received notice that a deficit of 100,000
francs has been discovered in the Treasury of the Navy, which you
require me to refund this day at noon.
Citizen First Consul, I know not what this means! I am utterly
ignorant of the matter. I solemnly declare to you that this charge
is a most infamous calumny. It is one more to be added to the
number of those malicious charges which have been invented for the
purpose of destroying any influence I might possess with you.
I am in General Duroc's apartment, where I await your orders.
Duroc carried my note to the First Consul as soon as it was written. He
speedily returned. "All's right!" said he. "°He has directed me to say
it was entirely a mistake!--that he is now convinced he was deceived!
that he is sorry for the business, and hopes no more will be said about
it."
The base flatterers who surrounded Bonaparte wished him to renew his
Egyptian extortions upon me; but they should have recollected that the
fusillade employed in Egypt for the purpose of raising money was no
longer the fashion in France, and that the days were gone by when it was
the custom to 'grease the wheels of the revolutionary car.'
CHAPTER XVII.
1803.
The First Consul's presentiments respecting the duration of peace--
England's uneasiness at the prosperity of France--Bonaparte's real
wish for war--Concourse of foreigners in Paris--Bad faith of
England--Bonaparte and Lord Whitworth--Relative position of France
and England-Bonaparte's journey to the seaboard departments--
Breakfast at Compiegne--Father Berton--Irritation excited by the
presence of Bouquet--Father Berton's derangement and death--Rapp
ordered to send for me--Order countermanded.
The First Consul never anticipated a long peace with England. He wished
for peace merely because, knowing it to be ardently desired by the
people, after ten years of war he thought it would increase his
popularity and afford him the opportunity of laying the foundation of his
government. Peace was as necessary to enable him to conquer the throne
of France as war was essential to secure it, and to enlarge its base at
the expense of the other thrones of Europe. This was the secret of the
peace of Amiens, and of the rupture which so suddenly followed, though
that rupture certainly took place sooner than the First Consul wished.
On the great questions of peace and war Bonaparte entertained elevated
ideas; but in discussions on the subject he always declared himself in
favour of war. When told of the necessities of the people, of the
advantages of peace, its influence on trade, the arts, national industry,
and every branch of public prosperity, he did not attempt to deny the
argument; indeed, he concurred in it; but he remarked, that all those
advantages were only conditional, so long as England was able to throw
the weight of her navy into the scale of the world, and to exercise the
influence of her gold in all the Cabinets of Europe. Peace must be
broken; since it was evident that England was determined to break it.
Why not anticipate her? Why allow her to have all the advantages of the
first step? We must astonish Europe! We must thwart the policy of the
Continent! We must strike a great and unexpected blow. Thus reasoned
the First Consul, and every one may judge whether his actions agreed with
his sentiments.
The conduct of England too well justified the foresight of Bonaparte's
policy; or rather England, by neglecting to execute her treaties, played
into Bonaparte's hand, favoured his love for war, and justified the
prompt declaration of hostilities in the eyes of the French nation, whom
he wished to persuade that if peace were broken it would be against his
wishes. England was already at work with the powerful machinery of her
subsidies, and the veil beneath which she attempted to conceal her
negotiations was still sufficiently transparent for the lynx eye of the
First Consul. It was in the midst of peace that all those plots were
hatched, while millions who had no knowledge of their existence were
securely looking forward to uninterrupted repose.
Since the Revolution Paris had never presented such a spectacle as during
the winter of 1802-3. At that time the concourse of foreigners in the
French capital was immense. Everything wore the appearance of
satisfaction, and the external signs of public prosperity. The visible
regeneration in French society exceedingly annoyed the British Ministry.
The English who flocked to the Continent discovered France to be very
different from what she was described to be by the English papers. This
caused serious alarm on the other side of the Channel, and the English
Government endeavoured by unjust complaints to divert attention from just
dissatisfaction, which its own secret intrigues excited. The King of
England sent a message to Parliament, in which he spoke of armaments
preparing in the ports of France, and of the necessity of adopting
precautions against meditated aggressions. This instance of bad faith
highly irritated the First Consul, who one day, in a fit of displeasure,
thus addressed Lord Whitworth in the salon, where all the foreign
Ambassadors were assembled:
"What is the meaning of this? Are you then tired of peace? Must Europe
again be deluged with blood? Preparations for war indeed! Do you think
to overawe us by this? You shall see that France may be conquered,
perhaps destroyed, but never intimidated--never!"
The English Ambassador was astounded at this unexpected sally, to which
he made no reply. He contented himself with writing to his Government an
account of an interview in which the First Consul had so far forgotten
himself,-whether purposely or not I do not pretend to say.
That England wished for war there could be no doubt. She occupied Malta,
it is true, but she had promised to give it up, though she never had any
intention of doing so. She was to have evacuated Egypt, yet there she
still remained; the Cape of Good Hope was to have been surrendered, but
she still retained possession of it. England had signed, at Amiens, a
peace which she had no intention of maintaining. She knew the hatred of
the Cabinets of Europe towards France, and she was sure, by her intrigues
and subsidies, of arming them on her side whenever her plans reached
maturity. She saw France powerful and influential in Europe, and she
knew the ambitious views of the First Consul, who, indeed, had taken
little pains to conceal them.
The First Consul, who had reckoned on a longer duration of the peace of
Amiens, found himself at the rupture of the treaty in an embarrassing
situation. The numerous grants of furloughs, the deplorable condition
of the cavalry, and the temporary absence of artillery, in consequence of
a project for refounding all the field-pieces, caused much anxiety to
Bonaparte. He had recourse to the conscription to fill up the
deficiencies of the army; and the project of refounding the artillery was
abandoned. Supplies of money were obtained from the large towns, and
Hanover, which was soon after occupied, furnished abundance of good
horses for mounting the cavalry.
War had now become inevitable; and as soon as it was declared the First
Consul set out to visit Belgium and the seaboard departments to ascertain
the best means of resisting the anticipated attacks of the English. In
passing through Compiegne he received a visit from Father Berton,
formerly principal of the military school of Brienne. He was then rector
of the school of arts at Compiegne, a situation in which he had been
placed by Bonaparte. I learned the particulars of this visit through
Josephine. Father Berton, whose primitive simplicity of manner was
unchanged since the time when he held us under the authority of his
ferule, came to invite Bonaparte and Josephine to breakfast with him,
which invitation was accepted. Father Berton had at that time living
with him one of our old comrades of Brienne, named Bouquet; but he
expressly forbade him to show himself to Bonaparte or any one of his
suite, because Bouquet, who had been a commissary at headquarters in
Italy, was in disgrace with the First Consul. Bouquet promised to
observe Father Berton's injunctions, but was far from keeping his
promise. As soon as he saw Bonaparte's carriage drive up, he ran to the
door and gallantly handed out Josephine. Josephine, as she took his
hand, said, "Bouquet,--you have ruined yourself!" Bonaparte, indignant
at what he considered an unwarrantable familiarity, gave way to one of
his uncontrollable fits of passion, and as soon as he entered the room
where the breakfast was laid, he seated himself, and then said to his
wife in an imperious tone, "Josephine, sit there!" He then commenced
breakfast, without telling Father Becton to sit down, although a third
plate had been laid for him. Father Becton stood behind his old pupil's
chair apparently confounded at his violence. The scene produced such an
effect on the old man that he became incapable of discharging his duties
at Compiegne. He retired to Rheims, and his intellect soon after became
deranged. I do not pretend to say whether this alienation of mind was
caused by the occurrence I have just related, and the account of which I
received from Josephine. She was deeply afflicted at what had passed.
Father Berton died insane. What I heard from Josephine was afterwards
confirmed by the brother of Father Becton. The fact is, that in
proportion as Bonaparte acquired power he was the more annoyed at the
familiarity of old companions; and, indeed, I must confess that their
familiarity often appeared very ridiculous.
The First Consul's visit to the northern coast took place towards the end
of the year 1803, at which time the English attacked the Dutch
settlements of Surinam, Demerara, and Essequibo, and a convention of
neutrality was concluded between France, Spain, and Portugal. Rapp
accompanied the First Consul, who attentively inspected the preparations
making for a descent on England, which it was never his intention to
effect, as will be shortly shown.
On the First Consul's return I learned from Rapp that I had been spoken
of during the journey, and in the following way:--Bonaparte, being at
Boulogne, wanted some information which no one there could give, him.
Vexed at receiving no satisfactory answer to his inquiries he called
Rapp, and said, "Do you know, Rapp, where Bourrienne is?"--"General, he
is in Paris."--" Write to him to come here immediately, and send off one
of my couriers with the letter." The rumour of the First Consul's sudden
recollection of me spread like lightning, and the time required to write
the letter and despatch the courier was more than sufficient for the
efforts of those whom my return was calculated to alarm. Artful
representations soon checked these spontaneous symptoms of a return to
former feelings and habits. When Rapp carried to the First Consul the
letter he had been directed to write the order was countermanded.
However, Rapp advised me not to leave Paris, or if I did, to mention the
place where I might be found, so that Duroc might have it in his power to
seize on any favourable circumstance without delay. I was well aware of
the friendship of both Rapp and Duroc, and they could as confidently rely
on mine.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1803.
Vast works undertaken--The French and the Roman soldiers--Itinerary
of Bonaparte's journeys to the coast--Twelve hours on horseback--
Discussions in Council--Opposition of Truguet--Bonaparte'a opinion
on the point under discussion--Two divisions of the world--Europe a
province--Bonaparte's jealousy of the dignity of France--The
Englishman in the dockyard of Brest--Public audience at the
Tuilleries--The First Consul's remarks upon England--His wish to
enjoy the good opinion of the English people--Ball at Malmaison--
Lines on Hortense's dancing--Singular motive for giving the ball.
At the time of the rupture with England Bonaparte was, as I have
mentioned, quite unprepared in most branches of the service; yet
everything was created as if by magic, and he seemed to impart to others
a share of his own incredible activity. It is inconceivable how many
things had been undertaken and executed since the rupture of the peace.
The north coast of France presented the appearance of one vast arsenal;
for Bonaparte on this occasion employed his troops like Roman soldiers,
and made the tools of the artisan succeed to the arms of the warrior.
On his frequent journeys to the coast Bonaparte usually set off at night,
and on the following morning arrived at the post office of Chantilly,
where he breakfasted. Rapp, whom I often saw when he was in Paris,
talked incessantly of these journeys, for he almost always accompanied
the First Consul, and it would have been well had he always been
surrounded by such men. In the evening the First Consul supped at
Abbeville, and arrived early next day at the bridge of Brique. "It would
require constitutions of iron to go through what we do," said Rapp.
"We no sooner alight from the carriage than we mount on horseback, and
sometimes remain in our saddles for ten or twelve hours successively.
The First Consul inspects and examines everything, often talks with the
soldiers. How he is beloved by them! When shall we pay a visit to
London with those brave fellows?"
Notwithstanding these continual journeys the First Consul never neglected
any of the business of government, and was frequently present at the
deliberations of the Council. I was still with him when the question as
to the manner in which the treaties of peace should be concluded came
under the consideration of the Council. Some members, among whom Truguet
was conspicuous, were of opinion that, conformably with an article of the
Constitution, the treaties should be proposed by the Head of the
Government, submitted to the Legislative Body, and after being agreed to
promulgated as part of the laws. Bonaparte thought differently. I was
entirely of his opinion, and he said to me, "It is for the mere pleasure
of opposition that they appeal to the Constitution, for if the
Constitution says so it is absurd. There are some things which cannot
become the subject of discussion in a public assembly; for instance, if I
treat with Austria, and my Ambassador agrees to certain conditions, can
those conditions be rejected by the Legislative Body? It is a monstrous
absurdity ! Things would be brought to a fine pass in this way!
Lucchesini and Markow would give dinners every day like Cambaceres;
scatter their money about, buy men who are to be sold, and thus cause our
propositions to be rejected. This would be a fine way to manage
matters!"
When Bonaparte, according to his custom, talked to me in the evening of
what had passed in the Council, his language was always composed of a
singular mixture of quotations from antiquity, historical references, and
his own ideas. He talked about the Romans, and I remember when Mr. Fox
was at Paris that he tried to distinguish himself before that Foreign
Minister, whom he greatly esteemed. In his enlarged way of viewing the
world Bonaparte divided it into two large states, the East and the West:
"What matters," he would often say, "that two countries are separated by
rivers or mountains, that they speak different languages? With very
slight shades of variety France, Spain, England, Italy, and Germany, have
the same manners and customs, the same religion, and the same dress. In
them a man can only marry one wife; slavery is not allowed; and these are
the great distinctions which divide the civilised inhabitants of the
globe. With the exception of Turkey, Europe is merely a province of the
world, and our warfare is but civil strife. There is also another way of
dividing nations, namely, by land and water." Then he would touch on all
the European interests, speak of Russia, whose alliance he wished for,
and of England, the mistress of the seas. He usually ended by alluding
to what was then his favourite scheme--an expedition to India.
When from these general topics Bonaparte descended to the particular
interests of France, he still spoke like a sovereign; and I may truly say
that he showed himself more jealous than any sovereign ever was of the
dignity of France, of which he already considered himself the sole
representative. Having learned that a captain of the English navy had
visited the dockyard of Brest passing himself off as a merchant, whose
passport he had borrowed, he flew into a rage because no one had ventured
to arrest him.--[see James' Naval History for an account of Sir Sidney
Smith's daring exploit.]-- Nothing was lost on Bonaparte, and he made
use of this fact to prove to the Council of State the necessity of
increasing the number of commissary-generals of police. At a meeting of
the Council he said, "If there had been a commissary of police at Brest
he would have arrested the English captain and sent him at once to Paris.
As he was acting the part of a spy I would have had him shot as such.
No Englishman, not even a nobleman, or the English Ambassador, should be
admitted into our dockyards. I will soon regulate all this." He
afterwards said to me, "There are plenty of wretches who are selling me
every day to the English without my being subjected to English spying."
--[During the short and hollow peace of Amiens Bonaparte sent over
to England as consuls and vice-consuls, a number of engineers and
military men, who were instructed to make plans of all the harbours
and coasts of the United Kingdom. They worked in secrecy, yet not
so secretly but that they were soon suspected: the facts were
proved, and they were sent out of the country without ceremony.--
Editor of 1836 edition.]--
He had on one occasion said before an assemblage of generals, senators,
and high officers of State, who were at an audience of the Diplomatic
Body, "The English think that I am afraid of war, but I am not." And
here the truth escaped him, in spite of himself. "My power will lose
nothing by war. In a very short time I can have 2,000,000 of men at my
disposal. What has been the result of the first war? The union of
Belgium and Piedmont to France. This is greatly to our advantage; it
will consolidate our system. France shall not be restrained by foreign
fetters. England has manifestly violated the treaties! It would be
better to render homage to the King of England, and crown him King of
France at Paris, than to submit to the insolent caprices of the English
Government. If, for the sake of preserving peace, at most for only two
months longer, I should yield on a single point, the English would become
the more treacherous and insolent, and would enact the more in proportion
as we yield. But they little know me! Were we to yield to England now,
she would next prohibit our navigation in certain parts of the world.
She would insist on the surrender of par ships. I know not what she
would not demand; but I am not the man to brook such indignities. Since
England wishes for war she shall have it, and that speedily!"
On the same day Bonaparte said a great deal more about the treachery of
England. The gross calumnies to which he was exposed in the London
newspapers powerfully contributed to increase his natural hatred of the
liberty of the press; and he was much astonished that such attacks could
be made upon him by English subjects when he was at peace with the
English Government.
I had one day a singular proof of the importance which Bonaparte attached
to the opinion of the English people respecting any misconduct that was
attributed to him. What I am about to state will afford another example
of Bonaparte's disposition to employ petty and roundabout means to gain
his ends. He gave a ball at Malmaison when Hortense was in the seventh
month of her pregnancy.
--[This refers to the first son of Louis and of Hortense, Napoleon
Charles, the intended successor of Napoleon, who was born 1802, died
1807, elder brother of Napoleon III.]--
I have already mentioned that he disliked to see women in that situation,
and above all could not endure to see them dance. Yet, in spite of this
antipathy, he himself asked Hortense to dance at the ball at Malmaison.
She at first declined, but Bonaparte was exceedingly importunate, and
said to her in a tone of good-humoured persuasion, "Do, I beg of you;
I particularly wish to see you dance. Come, stand up, to oblige me."
Hortense at last consented. The motive for this extraordinary request I
will now explain.
On the day after the ball one of the newspapers contained some verses on
Hortense's dancing. She was exceedingly annoyed at this, and when the
paper arrived at Malmaison she expressed, displeasure at it. Even
allowing for all the facility of our newspaper wits, she was nevertheless
at a loss to understand how the lines could have been written and printed
respecting a circumstance which only occurred the night before.
Bonaparte smiled, and gave her no distinct answer. When Hortense knew
that I was alone in the cabinet she came in and asked me to explain the
matter; and seeing no reason to conceal the truth, I told her that the
lines had been written by Bonaparte's direction before the ball took
place. I added, what indeed was the fact, that the ball had been
prepared for the verses, and that it was only for the appropriateness of
their application that the First Consul had pressed her to dance. He
adopted this strange contrivance for contradicting an article which
appeared in an English journal announcing that Hortense was delivered.
Bonaparte was highly indignant at that premature announcement, which he
clearly saw was made for the sole purpose of giving credit to the
scandalous rumours of his imputed connection with Hortense. Such were
the petty machinations which not unfrequently found their place in a mind
in which the grandest schemes were revolving.
ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
Ability in making it be supposed that he really possessed talent . . .
Absurdity of interfering with trifles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Admired him more for what he had the fortitude not to do . . . . . . .
Animated by an unlucky zeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ideologues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Put some gold lace on the coats of my virtuous republicans . . . . . .
Trifles honoured with too much attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Were made friends of lest they should become enemies . . . . . . . . .
Would enact the more in proportion as we yield . . . . . . . . . . . .
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