Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815 Volume I Part 20

The Emperor was equally careful, to make public the correspondence, that was intercepted: and as some announced _the intention of separating the chaff from the wheat, and throwing it into the fire_; others, _of hanging all the rebels, without exception, and without mercy_; and, in fine, others, _invited Spain, Switzerland, and the King of Piedmont, to come and reduce France to reason_; they contributed not less powerfully than the success of the imperial army, to detach from the cause of the Bourbons every Frenchman, who was an enemy to treachery, hanging, and foreigners.

General Grouchy, informed of the retreat of the Duke of Angouleme, sent some light troops in pursuit of him. Most of the cha.s.seurs of the 14th, and of the artillerymen, joined the imperialists. The volunteers of the south, who had hitherto set no bounds to their presumptuous hopes, now found none to their fears. As cowardly in adversity, as they were arrogant in prosperity, they abandoned their general at the approach of danger; and all, with the exception of a few hundreds of brave fellows, sought safety in flight.

The Duke of Angouleme, surrounded by the feeble remnants of their battalions, and by the 10th of the line, which still remained faithful, continued his retrograde march night and day; and traversed in silence the places, which his army had made ring with the shouts of victory but a few days before. The mountaineers, who had suffered so much from the exactions and ill treatment of the royal volunteers, now repeated in their turn "Wo to the vanquished!" and did not allow a moment's rest to the Duke of Angouleme and his followers. Pressed on one side by the columns of Grouchy, on the other by the troops of General Gilly; shut in, without hope of succour, between the Drome, the Rhone, the Durance, and the mountains, the Duke of Angouleme had only two resources: one was, to abandon his army, and get over the mountains to Ma.r.s.eilles or Piedmont; the other, to submit, with his companions in misfortune, to the law of the conqueror.

The Prince would not separate his fate from that of his army. He consented to surrender. Baron de Damas and General Gilly regulated the conditions of the capitulation. It was agreed, that the Prince should disband his army, and have liberty to embark at Cette. As soon as this intelligence was announced by a telegraphic despatch, it was immediately made known to the Emperor by the Duke of Ba.s.sano, who prevailed on him, though opposed by several distinguished persons, to return an answer, by the same mode of conveyance, approving of the capitulation. At the same instant a second despatch announced, that General Grouchy refused to sign the treaty, unless he had the consent of the Emperor, and the Duke of Angouleme was deemed a prisoner. Upon this the Duke of Ba.s.sano hastened to transmit the first orders of Napoleon, and delayed informing him of the impediment to the ratification, till night rendered any new orders by telegraph impracticable. Being made acquainted with this n.o.ble daring of his minister, instead of reprimanding him, the Emperor dictated to him the following letter:

"M. le Count Grouchy, the ordinance of the king, dated on the 6th of March, and the declaration signed at Vienne on the 13th by his ministers, would authorize me to treat the Duke of Angouleme, as that ordinance, and that declaration, would have had me and my family treated: but, persevering in that disposition, which induced me to ordain, that the members of the Bourbon family might have free egress from France, my intention is, that you give orders for the Duke of Angouleme to be conducted to Cette, where he shall be embarked, and that you watch over his safety, and prevent him from receiving any ill treatment. You will only take care to recover the money that has been taken from the public offices, and to require the Duke of Angouleme to engage to restore the diamonds of the crown, which are the property of the nation[90]. You will at the same time make known to him the provisions of the laws of the national a.s.semblies, which have been renewed, and which apply to those members of the Bourbon family, who shall re-enter the French territories," &c.

[Footnote 90: The diamonds that were sought to be obtained in exchange for the Duke of Angouleme were worth fourteen millions. The Duke of Otranto proposed to the Emperor, to throw M. de Vitrolles into the bargain, if they were restored; to which the Emperor readily consented. The Duke of Otranto opened a negotiation on this point, which had no farther result, than procuring him an opportunity of corresponding more at his ease with Ghent.]

While awaiting the decision of Napoleon, the Duke of Angouleme was strictly watched. He supported this fresh disgrace with firmness and tranquillity. The Marquis de Riviere, informed of his detention, threatened Count Grouchy, if he did not restore him to liberty, to surrender Ma.r.s.eilles to the English, and raise up all Provence. These empty threats had no effect. The fate of the duke did not depend on Count de Grouchy: it was in opposition to his own feelings, that he had ventured to lay a sacrilegious hand on this prince; and he prayed sincerely, that the decision of the Emperor would allow him to break his chains.

As soon as the decision reached him, the general hastened to insure the Duke of Angouleme the means of embarking speedily; and with religious zeal took the necessary measures, for his being treated on the pa.s.sage with due respect.

The prince, on his arrival at Cette, embarked immediately, and sailed for Cadiz.

His capitulation and departure soon led to the submission of Ma.r.s.eilles: and, thanks to the prudence and firmness of the Prince of Essling, governor of that division, the royal standard was hauled down, and the tricoloured flag hoisted in its stead, without any disturbance or effusion of blood.

The Emperor named General Grouchy marshal of the empire; not because he entertained any great admiration of his conduct, for he was aware, that he had but faintly pressed the Duke of Angouleme; but in order to give some splendor to the disgrace of the prince, and discourage the royalists in other parts of France. Resolving at the same time to punish the treason committed by the 10th at the pa.s.sage of the Drome, he decreed, that this regiment should wear a piece of c.r.a.pe on its colours, till it had washed in the blood of the enemy those arms, which it had stained with the blood of Frenchmen[91].

[Footnote 91: It was discovered by the Duke d'Albufera, that this supposed treason was the consequence of the mistake, which I have related above, and the decree was not carried into effect.]

By the telegraph the Emperor was informed of the submission of Ma.r.s.eilles, and the entire pacification of the south, just as he was going to review the national guard of Paris. It was always in similar circ.u.mstances, that great news reached the Emperor: it seemed as if fortune, attentive to please him, sought to enhance her gifts by bestowing them _apropos_. Ever since his arrival he had been intending to have this review, but the successive inspections of the troops of the line had prevented him. Some persons did not fail to ascribe this delay, so easily to be accounted for, to his fear of the sentiments and bayonets of the legions of Paris. Meantime some grenadiers of the royal ex-volunteers indulged in threats and imprecations against him.

This was enough to terrify some of the alarmists of the court; and they requested Napoleon to mix a few battalions of his guards in the review, by way of precaution. The Emperor rejected their entreaties, and was angry at their fears: nevertheless, they caused him to be attended, without his knowledge, by ten or a dozen grenadiers, who were directed not to lose sight of him for a moment.

While the Emperor was walking his horse along the ranks, his escort had followed him without his paying any attention to it: but when he set off at a gallop, he perceived, that his grenadiers were galloping after him, and stopped. "What do you do there?" said he to one of them: "Go about your business!" The old grumbler[92], who knew that apprehensions were entertained for the life of his general, appeared disposed not to obey. The Emperor then took hold of him by his hairy cap, and, giving it a hearty shake, repeated with a smile his order to him to retire: "Go all of you away: I am surrounded by none but good Frenchmen; I am as safe with them as with you." The national guards, who heard these words, cried out spontaneously, "Yes, yes, Sire, you are right; we would all defend your life at the expense of our own."

Encouraged by the familiarity which the Emperor displayed towards them, they quitted their ranks, and crowded round him: some pressed his hands, others kissed theirs to him; all expressed their satisfaction and attachment by continued shouts of "Long live the nation! Long live the Emperor!"

[Footnote 92: A nickname given by Napoleon to his old grenadiers.]

After this unexpected scene, the Emperor proceeded with his review: he then caused a circle of officers to be formed, alighted, and addressed them nearly in the following terms:

"Soldiers of the national guard of Paris, I am well pleased to see you. Fifteen months ago I formed you for the preservation of tranquillity in the capital, and for its security. You have fulfilled my expectations. You have shed your blood in defence of Paris; and if hostile troops entered your walls, the blame falls not on you, but on treason, and above all on that fatality, which attaches itself to our affairs under adverse circ.u.mstances.

"The royal throne was not adapted to France: it gave the people no security for its most valuable interests; it was imposed upon us by foreigners. I am arrived, equipped with all the strength of the people and of the army, to obliterate this stain, and restore the honour and glory of France to all their l.u.s.tre.

"Soldiers of the national guard, this very morning the telegraph of Lyons has informed me, that the tricoloured flag is waving at Antibes and at Ma.r.s.eilles. The discharge of a hundred cannon on our frontiers will proclaim to foreign nations, that our civil discords are at an end: _I say foreign nations, because we yet know of none that are enemies._ If they a.s.semble their troops, we will a.s.semble ours. All our armies are composed of brave men, who have distinguished themselves in various battles, and who will display to foreigners a barrier of iron; while numerous battalions of grenadiers and cha.s.seurs of the national guards will secure our frontiers. I shall not interfere with the affairs of foreign nations: wo to those governments, that shall interfere with ours! Misfortunes have tempered anew the character of the French people: it has resumed that youth, that vigour, which astonished Europe twenty years ago.

"Soldiers, you have been obliged to wear colours proscribed by the nation. But the national colours remained in your hearts: you now swear, to take them always for your rallying signal, and to defend the imperial throne, the only and natural guarantie of our rights; you swear never to suffer foreigners, in whose country we have appeared repeatedly as masters, to interfere with our const.i.tution or government. In fine, you swear, to sacrifice every thing to the honour and independence of France."

This oath was p.r.o.nounced with enthusiasm. The national guard showed, that it was not afraid of being taken at its word.

Apprehensions had been entertained, that the guards, who had long borne the Parisians a grudge for having surrendered so promptly in 1814, would indulge in some offensive reproaches: but Napoleon had enjoined his grenadiers to maintain silence; and, in order to complete the reconciliation, he caused it to be cemented by a dinner, to which the imperial guards invited the national guard and the garrison of Paris.

Fifteen thousand soldiers of every description a.s.sembled at the _Champ de Mars_ under the eyes of the people of Paris: the joyous songs of the soldiers and citizens answered each other by turns, and gave a truly national character to this festival.

When the repast was over, a numerous crowd of soldiers, officers, and national guards, set off for the Tuileries, carrying the bust of Napoleon crowned with laurels. When they arrived before his Majesty's windows, they saluted him with thousands and thousands of acclamations; and then they repaired to la Place Vendome, where they devoutly deposited at the foot of the monument raised to the glory of our armies the image of the hero, who had led them to victory. The Emperor, as soon as he was informed of it, ordered me to write to the minister of the police, to have the bust removed in the night. "It is not after baccha.n.a.lian orgies," said he, proudly, "that my image should be placed on the column."

Every body, in fact, knows, that the statue of Napoleon, by which this monument was formerly surmounted, had been pulled down in the early days of the restoration; and it was not for individual and unauthorized citizens to repair this affront.

A few royalists, at the head of whom figured M. de Maubreuil and M.

Sostene de la Rochefoucault, were guilty of this profanation. M. de Rochefoucault, whose family had shared so largely in the gifts and favours of Napoleon, himself put a rope about the neck of his benefactor, with intention to have it dragged through the mud by some vagabonds, whom he had hired: but the statue mocked his endeavours; and the only fruit he reaped from them was the reprobation of honest men, and the contempt of foreigners[93].

[Footnote 93: The Emperor Alexander, in particular, expressed the most generous indignation.]

The column itself was long offensive to the jealous eyes of the enemies of our glory. They conspired its destruction; and would have accomplished it, had they dared. History, which leaves nothing unpunished, will brand, I trust, these unworthy Frenchmen, these new Vandals, with eternal disgrace. It will inscribe their names, and their sacrilegious wishes, on the foot of the immortal column, which they wanted to overturn. No doubt it will also tell, that the federates, the half-pay officers, and all the partisans of Napoleon, whom some have been pleased to represent as madmen, as robbers, respected during the hundred days the statue of Henry IV.; though this statue, placed within reach of their blows, and constructed of frail materials, would have fallen with the slightest shock.

Napoleon had said to the national guard of Paris, "We yet know of none that are enemies:" and these words were true. It had been remarked, that the foreign troops concentrated themselves on our frontiers, but none of their dispositions appeared hostile, and Napoleon might still reasonably hope, that his care to maintain peace would not be fruitless.

On the very day of his entry into Lyons, he had hastened to commission Prince Joseph, to declare to the Austrian and Russian ministers at the Helvetic diet, that he was ready to ratify the treaty of Paris.

When he arrived in the capital, he found that the foreign ministers, particularly Baron de Vincent, the Austrian minister, and M.

Boudiakeen, Russian charge d'affaire, had not yet quitted it, for want of pa.s.sports.

He caused the departure of M. de Vincent and M. de Boudiakeen to be delayed; and directed the Duke of Vicenza to see them, and a.s.sure them anew of his pacific disposition.

Baron de Vincent at first refused all kind of communication or conferences; but at length he consented to meet M. de Vicenza at the house of a third person. They had a conference together at Madame de Souza's. M. de Vincent did not conceal the resolution of the allies, to oppose Napoleon's retaining the throne: but he hinted, that in his opinion there might not be the same repugnance to his son. He engaged, however, to make known the sentiments of Napoleon to the Emperor of Austria; and consented to take charge of a letter for the Empress Marie Louise[94].

[Footnote 94: M. de Vincent set out before this letter was written, and it was entrusted to his secretary. The Emperor of Austria ordered it to be delivered into his hands, and contented himself with informing the Empress Marie, that he had received news of her husband, and that he was well.]

M. de Boudiakeen, after having equally refused the conference proposed by the Duke of Vicenza, finished also with accepting it. It was agreed, that they should meet at the house of Mademoiselle Cauchelet, lady of the bedchamber to the Princess Hortense.

M. de Jaucourt had forgotten to take out of the port-folio of foreign affairs a secret treaty, by which England, Austria, and France, had mutually engaged to oppose, peaceably or by force, the dismemberment of Saxony, which Russia and Prussia openly conspired.

The Emperor thought, that this treaty might perhaps alienate these two powers from the Bourbon interest, and generate distrust and discord between the allies. He directed the Duke of Vicenza, to show it to the Russian minister; and represent it to him as a fresh proof of the ingrat.i.tude, with which the court of the Tuileries repaid the numerous benefits of Alexander. The existence of this triple alliance was wholly unknown to M. de Boudiakeen, and appeared to cause him as much surprise as dissatisfaction. But he declared, that he was too well acquainted with the principles of his sovereign, to venture to flatter himself, that the circ.u.mstance of this treaty, or any other, could produce a favourable change in his disposition. He promised, however, to make a faithful report to him of the conference he had had with M.

de Vicenza; and to express to him the desire, manifested by the Emperor Napoleon, of becoming again the ally and friend of Russia.

The Emperor, in order to give more efficacy to his proposals, directed the Princess Hortense, to confirm them in person to the Emperor Alexander. He also caused letters to be written to Prince Eugene, and to the Grand d.u.c.h.ess Stephanie of Baden, to request them, to renew the same a.s.surances to that sovereign, and to neglect no means of detaching him from the coalition.

In fine, the Emperor directed overtures to be made to the cabinet of London, by means of a person pointed out by the Duke of Otranto; and in order to gain the suffrage of the parliament, and give the English ministry a pledge of his good intentions beforehand, he abolished the slave trade by a spontaneous decree.

After having taken these indirect steps, Napoleon thought his duty as well as his dignity required him, to give a solemn and authentic character to the manifestation of his pacific intentions.

Accordingly he wrote to the foreign sovereigns a letter couched in the following terms:

"Sire, my brother,

"You will have heard in the course of last month of my return to the French coast, my entering Paris, and the departure of the Bourbon family. The true nature of these events must now be known to your Majesty: they are the work of an irresistible power, the work and the unanimous will of a great nation, who knows its duties and its rights. The dynasty, which force had bestowed on the French people, was not formed for them: the Bourbons would not accommodate themselves either to their sentiments, or to their manners. France could not but separate itself from them. Her voice called for a deliverer: the expectations, that had induced me, to make the greatest of all sacrifices, had been frustrated. I came, and from the spot where I touched the sh.o.r.e I was conducted by the love of my people to the bosom of my capital. The first wish of my heart is, to repay such great affection by the maintenance of an honourable tranquillity. The re-establishment of the imperial throne being necessary to the happiness of the French, nothing can be more pleasing to my thoughts, than to render it at the same time advantageous to the consolidation of the tranquillity of Europe. Sufficient glory had crowned the standards of the different nations by turns; the vicissitudes of fate have occasioned a sufficient succession of great successes and great defeats: a n.o.bler career now opens itself to sovereigns, and I am the first to enter it. After having exhibited to the world the spectacle of great battles, it will be more pleasing, henceforth to know no rivalry but that of the advantages of peace, no strife but the sacred striving after the happiness of nations. France takes a pleasure in frankly proclaiming this n.o.ble end of all her wishes. Jealous of her own independence, the invariable principle of her politics will be the most absolute respect for the independence of other nations. If such be the personal sentiments of your Majesty, as I am happy to persuade myself, the general tranquillity is ensured for a long time to come; and justice, sitting on the confines of states, will be sufficient alone to guard their frontiers.

"Paris, the 4th of April."

The Duke of Vicenza received orders, personally to express to the foreign ministers the sentiments, with which the Emperor was animated: but the couriers, who carried his despatches, could not reach the places of their destination; one was arrested at Kehl, another at Mayence; a third, sent off for Italy, could not get beyond Turin; the communications were interrupted. The arrangements of the declaration of the congress of Vienna of the 13th of March were acted upon already.

This declaration, transmitted directly by the emissaries of the King to the prefects of the frontier cities, and distributed by the royalists, was in circulation at Paris. The inferior papers had announced its appearance, and united in a.s.serting, that such an act was unworthy of the allied sovereigns, and could only be the work of calumny and malevolence.

However, when it became impossible to question its legitimacy, it was necessary to come to the resolution of no longer making a mystery of it to the French people; and accordingly the following account was given of it in the Moniteur on the 13th of April.