diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-07 09:06:23 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-07 09:06:23 -0800 |
| commit | 25722205deebc0b4a8e2cf35a5a06ebf23d3f207 (patch) | |
| tree | b0de179b630117d17146daab0696821414e35377 /old/54807-0.txt | |
| parent | 9488221998ba414fd8bb865ccab5f507790521db (diff) | |
Diffstat (limited to 'old/54807-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/54807-0.txt | 11334 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 11334 deletions
diff --git a/old/54807-0.txt b/old/54807-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6b10045..0000000 --- a/old/54807-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11334 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Memoirs of François René Vicomte de -Chateaubriand sometime Ambassador to Engl, by François René Chateaubriand - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Memoirs of François René Vicomte de Chateaubriand sometime Ambassador to England. volume 3 (of 6) - Mémoires d'outre-tombe volume 3 - -Author: François René Chateaubriand - -Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos - -Release Date: May 29, 2017 [EBook #54807] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS--DE CHATEAUBRIAND, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodriguez & Marc D'Hooghe at Free -Literature (online soon in an extended version, also linking -to free sources for education worldwide ... MOOC's, -educational materials,...) Images generously made available -by the Hathi Trust. - - - - - -THE MEMOIRS OF FRANÇOIS RENÉ - -VICOMTE DE CHATEAUBRIAND - -SOMETIME AMBASSADOR TO ENGLAND - -BEING A TRANSLATION BY ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS -OF THE MÉMOIRES D'OUTRE-TOMBE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS -FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES. In 6 Volumes. Vol. III - - "NOTRE SANG A TEINT - LA BANNIÈRE DE FRANCE" - -LONDON: PUBLISHED BY FREEMANTLE -AND CO. AT 217 PICCADILLY MDCCCCII - - - - -CONTENTS - -VOLUME III - -BOOK V - -The years 1807, 1808, 1809 and 1810--Article in the Mercure of -July 1807--I purchase the Vallée-aux-Loups and retire to it--The -_Martyrs_--Armand de Chateaubriand--The years 1811, 1812, 1813, -1814--Publication of the _Itinéraire_--Letter from the Cardinal de -Bausset--Death of Chénier--I become a member of the Institute--The -affair of my speech--The decennial prizes--The _Essai sur les -Révolutions_--The _Natchez._ - - -PART THE THIRD - -1814-1830 - -BOOKS I AND II - -The last days of the Empire - -BOOK III - -Entry of the Allies into Paris--Bonaparte at Fontainebleau--The -Regency at Blois--Publication of my pamphlet _De Bonaparte et des -Bourbons_--The Senate issues the decree of dethronement--The house -in the Rue Saint-Florentin--M. de Talleyrand--Addresses of the -Provisional Government--Constitution proposed by the Senate--Arrival of -the Comte d'Artois--Bonaparte abdicates at Fontainebleau--Napoleon's -itinerary to the island of Elba--Louis XVIII. at Compiègne--His entry -into Paris--The Old Guard--An irreparable mistake--The Declaration -of Saint-Ouen--Treaty of Paris--The Charter--Departure of the -Allies--First year of the Restoration--First ministry--I publish my -_Réflexions Politiques_--Madame la Duchesse de Duras--I am appointed -Ambassador to Sweden--Exhumation of the remains of Louis XVI.--The -first 21st of January at Saint-Denis - -BOOK IV - -Napoleon at Elba--Commencement of the Hundred Days--The return from -Elba--Torpor of the Legitimacy--Article by Benjamin Constant--Order -of the day of Marshal Soult--A royal session--Petition of -the School of Law to the Chamber of Deputies--Plan for the -defense of Paris--Flight of the King--I leave with Madame de -Chateaubriand--Confusion on the road--The Duc d'Orléans and the Prince -de Condé--Tournai--Brussels--Memories--The Duc de Richelieu--The -King summons me to join him at Ghent--The Hundred Days at -Ghent--Continuation of the Hundred Days at Ghent--Affairs in Vienna - -BOOK V - -The Hundred Days in Paris--Effect of the passage of the Legitimacy -in France--Bonaparte's astonishment--He is obliged to capitulate -to ideas which he thought smothered--His new system--Three -enormous gamblers remain--Illusions of the Liberals--Clubs -and Federates--Juggling away of the Republic: the Additional -Act--Convocation of the Chamber of Representatives--A useless -Champ de Mai--Cares and bitterness of Bonaparte--Resolution in -Vienna--Movement in Paris--What we were doing at Ghent--M. de -Blacas--The Battle of Waterloo--Confusion at Ghent--What the -Battle of Waterloo was--Return of the Emperor--Reappearance of La -Fayette--Renewed abdication of Bonaparte--Stormy scenes in the House -of Peers--Threatening portents for the Second Restoration--The -departure from Ghent--Arrival at Mons--I miss the first opportunity -of fortune in my political career--M. de Talleyrand at Mons--His -scene with the King--I stupidly interest myself on M. de Talleyrand's -behalf--Mons to Gonesse--With M. le Comte Beugnot I oppose Fouché's -nomination as minister: my reasons--The Duke of Wellington gains the -day--Arnouville--Saint-Denis--Last conversation with the King - -BOOK VI - -Bonaparte at the Malmaison--General abandonment--Departure from the -Malmaison--Rambouillet--Rochefort--Bonaparte takes refuge on the -English fleet--He writes to the Prince Regent--Bonaparte on the -_Bellerophon_--Torbay--Act confining Bonaparte in St Helena--He -passes over to the Northumberland and sets sail--Judgment on -Bonaparte--Character of Bonaparte--Has Bonaparte left us in -renown what he has lost us in strength?--Futility of the truths -set forth above--The Island of St. Helena--Bonaparte crosses the -Atlantic--Napoleon lands at St. Helena--His establishment at -Longwood--Precautions--Life at Longwood--Visits--Manzoni--Illness of -Bonaparte--Ossian--Reveries of Napoleon in sight of the sea--Projects -of evasion--Last occupation of Bonaparte--He lies down to rise no -more--He dictates his will--Napoleon's religious sentiments--The -chaplain Vignale--Napoleon's speech to Antomarchi, his doctor--He -receives the last sacraments--He expires--His funeral--Destruction of -the Napoleonic world--My last relations with Bonaparte--St. Helena -after the death of Napoleon--Exhumation of Bonaparte--My visit to -Cannes - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - Louis XVIII - Charles X. (as Comte D'artois) - La Fayette - Talleyrand - Fouché, Duc d'Otrante - Pius VII - - -[Illustration: Louis XVIII.] - - - - -THE MEMOIRS OF CHATEAUBRIAND - - -VOLUME III - - - - -BOOK V[1] - - -The years 1807, 1808, 1809 and 1810--Article in the Mercure of -July 1807--I purchase the Vallée-aux-Loups and retire to it--The -_Martyrs_--Armand de Chateaubriand--The years 1811, 1812, 1813, -1814--Publication of the _Itinéraire_--Letter from the Cardinal de -Bausset--Death of Chénier--I become a member of the Institute--The -affair of my speech--The decennial prizes--The _Essai sur les -Révolutions_--The _Natchez._ - - -Madame de Chateaubriand had been very ill during my travels; her -friends had often given her up for lost. In some notes which M. de -Clausel has written for his children, and which he has been good enough -to permit me to look through, I find this passage: - - "M. de Chateaubriand left on his journey to Jerusalem in the - month of July 1806: during his absence I went every day to - Madame de Chateaubriand. Our traveller did me the kindness to - write me a letter of several pages from Constantinople, which - you will find in the drawer in our library at Coussergues. - During the winter of 1806 to 1807, we knew that M. de - Chateaubriand was at sea, on his way back to Europe; one day - I had gone for a walk in the garden of the Tuileries with M. - de Fontanes, in a terrible west wind; we had taken shelter on - the terrace by the water-side. M. de Fontanes said to me: - - "Perhaps, at this minute, a blast of this horrible storm will - wreck his ship.' - - "We learnt since that this presentiment was very nearly - realized. I make a note of this to express the lively - friendship; the interest in M. de Chateaubriand's literary - fame, which was to increase by this voyage; the noble, the - deep and rare sentiments which animated M. de Fontanes, an - excellent man whom I, too, have to thank for great services, - and whom I urge you to remember in your prayers to God." - -If I were destined to live, and if I could cause to live in my works -all the persons who are dear to me, how gladly would I take with me all -my friends! - -Full of hope, I brought home my handful of gleanings my period of -repose did not last long. - -By a series of arrangements, I had become the sole proprietor of the -_Mercure._[2] Towards the end of June 1807, M. Alexandre de Laborde -published his _Journey in Spain_; in July I wrote the article in the -_Mercure_ from which I have quoted certain passages when speaking of -the death of the Duc d'Enghien: "When in the silence of abjection," -etc. Bonaparte's successes, far from subduing me, had revolted me; I -had gathered fresh energy in my opinions and in the storms. I did not -in vain carry a face bronzed by the sun, nor had I exposed myself to -the wrath of the heavens to tremble with darkened brow before a man's -anger. If Napoleon had done with the kings, he had not done with me. -My article, falling in the midst of his successes and of his wonders, -stirred France: copies in manuscript were distributed broadcast; -several subscribers to the _Mercure_ cut out the article and had it -bound separately; it was read in the drawing-rooms and hawked about -from house to house. One must have lived at that time to form an idea -of the effect produced by a voice resounding alone amid the silence -of the world. The noble sentiments thrust down at the bottom of men's -hearts revived. Napoleon flew out: one is less irritated by reason of -the offense received than by reason of the idea one has formed of one's -self. What! To despise his very glory; to brave for a second time the -man at whose feet the universe lay prostrate! - -"Does Chateaubriand think that I am an idiot, that I don't understand -him! I will have him cut down on the Steps of the Tuileries!" - -He gave the order to suppress the _Mercure_ and to arrest me. My -property perished; my person escaped by a miracle: Bonaparte had to -occupy himself with the world; he forgot me, but I remained under the -burden of the threat. - -My position was a deplorable one: when I felt bound to act according to -the inspiration of my sense of honour, I found myself burdened with my -personal responsibility and with the trouble which I caused my wife. -Her courage was great, but she suffered none the less for it, and -those storms successively called down upon my head disturbed her life. -She had suffered so much for me during the Revolution; it was natural -that she should long for a little rest. The more so in that Madame de -Chateaubriand admired Bonaparte unreservedly; she had no illusions as -to the Legitimacy: she never ceased predicting what would happen to me -on the return of the Bourbons. - -* - -[Sidenote: The Vallée-aux-Loups.] - -The first book of these Memoirs is dated from the Vallée-aux-Loups, -on the 4th of October 1811: I there give a description of the little -retreat which I bought to hide me at that time[3]. Leaving our -apartment at Madame de Coislin's, we went first to live in the Rue des -Saints-Perès, in the Hôtel de Lavalette, which took its name from the -master and mistress[4] of the hotel. - -M. de Lavalette was thick-set, wore a plum-coloured coat, and carried a -gold-headed cane: he became my man of business, if I have ever had any -business. He had been an officer of the buttery to the King, and what I -did not eat up[5] he drank. - -At the end of November, seeing that the repairs to my cottage were not -progressing, I determined to go and superintend them. We arrived at -the Vallée in the evening. We did not take the ordinary road, but went -in through the gate at the foot of the garden. The soil of the drives, -soaked through with rain, prevented the horses from going; the carriage -upset. A plaster bust of Homer, placed beside Madame de Chateaubriand, -dashed through the window and broke its neck: a bad omen for the -_Martyrs_, at which I was then working. - -The house, full of workmen laughing, singing, and hammering, was -warmed by blazing shavings and lighted by candle-ends; it looked like -a hermitage illuminated at night by pilgrims, in the woods. Delighted -to find two rooms made fairly comfortable, in one of which supper had -been laid, we sat down to table. The next morning, awakened by the -sound of the hammers and the songs of the husbandmen, I saw the sun -rise with less anxiety than the master of the Tuileries. - -I was in an endless enchantment; without being Madame de Sévigné, I -went, provided with a pair of wooden clogs, to plant my trees in the -mud, to pass up and down the same walks, to look again and again at -every smallest corner, to hide wherever there was a tuft of brushwood, -saying to myself that this would be my park in the future: for then -the future was not lacking. When striving, to-day, by force of memory -to re-open the closed horizon, I no longer find the same, but I meet -with others. I lose myself in my vanished thoughts; the illusions into -which I fall are perhaps as fair as their predecessors; only they are -no longer so young: what I used to see in the splendour of the south, -I now perceive by the light of the sunset. If, nevertheless, I could -cease to be harassed by dreams! Bayard, summoned to surrender a place, -replied: - -"Wait till I have made a bridge of dead bodies, to pass over with my -garrison." - -I fear that, to go out, I shall need to pass over the bodies of my -fancies. - -My trees, being as yet small, did not gather the sounds of the autumn -winds; but, in spring, the breezes which inhaled the breath of the -flowers of the neighbouring fields retained it and poured it over my -valley. - -I made some additions to my cottage; I improved the appearance of its -brick walls with a portico supported by two black marble columns and -two white marble caryatides: I remembered that I had been to Athens. -My plan was to add a tower to the end of my pavilion; meantime I made -counterfeit battlements on the wall separating me from the road: I thus -anticipated the mediæval mania which is stupefying us at present. The -Vallée-aux-Loups is the only thing that I regret of all that I have -lost; it is written that nothing shall remain to me. After the loss of -my Valley, I planted the Infirmerie de Marie-Thérèse[6], which also I -have lately left. I defy fate now to fix me to the smallest morsel -of earth; henceforth I shall have for a garden only those avenues, -honoured with such fine names, around the Invalides, along which I -stroll with my one-armed or limping colleagues. Not far from those -walks, Madame de Beaumont's cypress lifts its head; in those deserted -spaces, the great and frivolous Duchesse de Châtillon once leant upon -my arm. Now I give my arm only to time: it is very heavy! - -I worked with delight at my Memoirs, and the _Martyrs_ made progress; -I had already read some books to M. de Fontanes. I had settled down in -the midst of my memories as in a large library; I consulted this and -then that, and next closed the register with a sigh, for I perceived -that the light, in penetrating into it, destroyed its mystery. Light up -the days of life, and they will no longer be what they are. - -In the month of July, I fell ill and was obliged to return to Paris. -The doctors rendered the illness dangerous. In the time of Hippocrates, -there was a dearth of dead in the lower regions, says the epigram: -thanks to our modern Hippocrates, there is an abundance to-day. - -This was perhaps the only moment at which, when near death, I felt a -desire to live. When I felt myself lapsing into faintness, which often -happened, I used to say to Madame de Chateaubriand: - -"Do not be alarmed; I shall come to." - -I lost consciousness, but with great inward impatience, for I clung to -God knows what. I also passionately longed to complete what I believed -and still believe to be my most correct work. I was paying the price of -the fatigue which I had undergone during my journey to the Levant. - -[Sidenote: Bonaparte and my portrait.] - -Girodet[7] had put the finishing touches to my portrait. He made -me dark, as I then was; but he put all his genius into the work. -M. Denon[8] received the master-piece for the Salon[9]; like a -noble-hearted courtier, he prudently put it out of sight. When -Bonaparte took his view of the gallery, after examining the pictures, -he asked: - -"Where is the portrait of Chateaubriand?" - -He knew that it must be there: they were obliged to bring the outlaw -from his hiding-place. Bonaparte, whose fit of generosity had -evaporated, said, on inspecting the portrait: - -"He looks like a conspirator coming down the chimney." - -One day, on returning alone to the Vallée, I was told by Benjamin, the -gardener, that a fat strange gentleman had come and asked for me; that, -finding me out, he had said he would wait for me; that he had had an -omelette made for him; and that, afterwards, he had flung himself on -my bed. I went upstairs, entered my room, and saw something enormous -asleep; shaking that mass, I cried: - -"Hi! Hi! Who are you?" - -The mass gave a start and sat up. Its head was covered with a woollen -cap; it wore a smock and trousers of spotted wool, all in one piece; -its face was smeared with snuff, and its tongue hung out. It was my -cousin Moreau! I had not seen him since the camp at Thionville. He was -back from Russia and wanted to enter the excise. My old _cicerone_ -in Paris went to die at Nantes. Thus disappeared one of the early -characters of these Memoirs. I hope that, stretched on a couch of -daffodils, he still talks of my verses to Madame de Chastenay, if that -agreeable shade has descended to the Elysian Fields. - -* - -[Sidenote: The _Martyrs._] - -The _Martyrs_ appeared in the spring of 1809. It was a conscientious -piece of work. I had consulted critics of taste and knowledge: -Messieurs de Fontanes, Bertin, Boissonade[10], Malte-Brun[11]; and -I had accepted their judgment. Hundreds and hundreds of times I had -written, unwritten and rewritten the same page. Of all my writings, -this is the most noted for the correctness of the language. - -I had made no mistake in the scheme of the book: at present, when my -ideas have become general, no one denies that the struggles of two -religions, one ending, the other commencing, afford one of the richest, -most fruitful and most dramatic subjects for the Muses. I thought, -therefore, that I might venture to cherish some all too foolish hopes; -but I was forgetting the success of my first book: in this country -you must never reckon on two close successes; one destroys the other. -If you have some sort of talent for prose, beware of showing any -for poetry; if you are distinguished in literature, lay no claim to -politics: such is the French spirit and its poverty. The self-loves -alarmed, the jealousies surprised by an author's good fortune at the -outset combine and lie in wait for the poet's second publication, to -take a signal vengeance: - - Tous, la main dans l'encre, jurent de se venger[12]. - -I must pay for the silly admiration which I had obtained by trickery at -the time of the appearance of the _Génie du Christianisme_; I must be -made to restore what I had stolen! Alas, they need not have taken such -pains to rob me of that which I myself did not think that I deserved! -If I had delivered Christian Rome, I asked only for an obsidional -crown[13], a plait of grass culled in the Eternal City. - -The executioner of the justice of the vanities was M. Hoffmann[14], -to whom may God grant peace! The _Journal des Débats_ was no longer -free; its proprietors had no power in it, and the censors registered -my condemnation in its pages. M. Hoffmann, however, forgave the Battle -of the Franks and some other pieces in the work; but, if he thought -Cymodocée attractive, he was too excellent a Catholic not to grow -indignant at the profane conjunction of the truths of Christianity and -the fables of mythology. Velléda did not save me. It was imputed to me -as a crime that I had changed Tacitus' German druidess into a Gallic -woman, as though I had wanted to borrow anything beyond an harmonious -name! And behold, we see the Christians of France, to whom I had -rendered such great services by setting up their altars again, stupidly -taking it into their heads to be scandalized on the gospel word of M. -Hoffmann! The title of the _Martyrs_ had misled them: they expected to -read a martyrology, and the tiger who tore only a daughter of Homer to -pieces seemed to them a sacrilege. - -The real martyrdom of Pope Pius VII., whom Bonaparte had brought as a -prisoner to Paris, did not scandalize them, but they were quite roused -by my un-Christian fictions, as they called them. And it was M. the -Bishop of Chartres[15] who undertook to punish the horrible impieties -of the author of the _Génie du Christianisme._ Alas, he must realize -that to-day his zeal is wanted for very different contests! - -M. the Bishop of Chartres is the brother of my excellent friend M. -de Clausel, a very great Christian, who did not allow himself to be -carried away by so sublime a virtue as the critic, his brother. - -I thought it my duty to reply to my censors, as I had done in the -matter of the _Génie du Christianisme_. Montesquieu[16], with his -defense of the _Esprit des lois_, encouraged me. I was wrong. Authors -who are attacked might say the finest things in the world, and yet -excite merely the smiles of impartial minds and the ridicule of the -crowd. They place themselves on a bad ground: the defensive position -is antipathetic to the French character. When, in reply to objections, -I pointed out that, in stigmatizing this or that passage, they had -attacked some fine relic of antiquity, beaten on the facts, they -extricated themselves by next saying that the _Martyrs_ was a mere -"patchwork." When I justified the simultaneous presence of the two -religions by the authority of the Fathers of the Church themselves, -the reply was that, at the period in which I placed the action of the -_Martyrs_, paganism no longer existed among great minds. - -I believed in good faith that the work had fallen flat; the violence of -the attack had shaken my conviction as an author. Some of my friends -consoled me; they maintained that the proscription was unjustified, -that sooner or later the public would pronounce another verdict: M. -de Fontanes especially was firm; I was no Racine, but he might be a -Boileau, and he never ceased saying to me: - -"They'll come back to it." - -His persuasion in this regard was so deep-rooted that it inspired him -with some charming stanzas: - - Le Tasse, errant de ville en ville, etc.[17], - -without fear of compromising his taste or the authority of his judgment. - -The _Martyrs_ has, in fact, retrieved itself, has obtained the honour -of four consecutive editions, and has even enjoyed particular favour -with men of letters: appreciation has been shown me of a work which -bears evidence of serious study, of some pains towards style, of a -great reverence for language and taste. - -[Sidenote: Its reception.] - -Criticism of the subject-matter was promptly abandoned. To say that I -had mixed profane with sacred things, because I had depicted two cults -which existed side by side and which had each its beliefs, its altars, -its priests, its ceremonies, was equivalent to saying that I ought to -have renounced history. For whom did the martyrs die? For Jesus Christ. -To whom were they immolated? To the gods of the Empire. Therefore there -were two religions. - -The philosophical question, namely, whether, under Diocletian[18], the -Greeks and Romans believed in the gods of Homer, and whether public -worship had undergone any changes, was a question that did not concern -me as a poet; as an _historian_, I might have had many things to say. - -All this no longer matters. The _Martyrs_ has lived, contrary to my -first expectation, and I have had to occupy myself only with the care -of revising its text. - -The fault of the _Martyrs_ has to do with the wonderful "directness" -which, owing to what remained of my classical prejudices, I had -unadvisedly employed. Startled at my own innovations, I thought it -impossible to dispense with a "Heaven" and a "Hell." Yet the good and -bad angels sufficed to carry on the action, without delivering it to -worn-out machinery. If the Battle of the Franks, Velléda, Jérôme, -Augustin, Eudore, Cymodocée; if all these, and the descriptions of -Naples and Greece, are unable to obtain pardon for the _Martyrs_, Hell -and Heaven will not save it. - -One of the passages which most pleased M. de Fontanes was the following: - - "Cymodocée sat down at the window of the prison and, resting - her head, adorned with the martyr's veil, on her hand, sighed - forth these harmonious words: - - "'Cleave the calm and dazzling sea, O swift vessels of - Ausonia; release the sail, O slaves of Neptune, to the - amorous breath of the winds, and bend over the agile oars. - Bring me back to the care of my husband and my father, on - the happy shores of the Pamisus! Fly, O birds of Lybia, - whose supple necks so gracefully bend, fly to the summit of - Ithomus and say that the daughter of Homer shall see again - the laurels of Messenia! When shall I see once more my bed - of ivory, the light of day so dear to mortals, the meadows - studded with flowers which a clear water bathes, which - modesty adorns with her breath[19]!'" - -The _Génie du Christianisme_ will remain my great work, because it -produced, or decided, a revolution and commenced the new era of the -literary age. The case is different with the _Martyrs_: it came after -the revolution had been worked, and was only a superabundant proof of -my doctrines; my style was no longer a new thing, and, except in the -episode of Velléda and the picture of the manners of the Franks, my -poem even feels the influence of the places which it has frequented: in -it the classical dominates the romantic. - -Lastly, the circumstances no longer existed which contributed to the -success of the _Génie du Christianisme_; the Government, far from -being favourable to me, had become hostile. The _Martyrs_ meant to me -a redoubling of persecution: the frequent allusions in the portrait -of Galerius[20] and in the picture of the Court of Diocletian could -not fail to arouse the attention of the imperial police, the more so -inasmuch as the English translator, who had no reason to observe any -circumspection, and who cared not at all whether he compromised me or -not, had called attention to the allusions in his preface. - -The publication of the _Martyrs_ was coincident with a fatal -occurrence. This did not disarm the aristarchs, thanks to the ardour -with which we are animated for the powers that be; they felt that a -literary criticism which tended to diminish the interest attached to my -name might be agreeable to Bonaparte. The latter, like the millionaire -bankers who give splendid banquets and charge their customers postage, -did not disdain small profits. - -* - -Armand de Chateaubriand, whom you have seen as the companion of my -childhood, who appeared before you again in the Princes' Army with the -deaf and dumb Libba, had remained in England. He married in Jersey[21], -and was charged with the correspondence of the Princes. Setting sail -on the 25th of September 1808, he was landed, at eleven o'clock in the -same evening, on the coast of Brittany, near Saint-Cast. The boat's -crew consisted of eleven men; two only were Frenchmen: Roussel and -Quintal. - -[Sidenote: Armand de Chateaubriand.] - -Armand proceeded to the house of M. Delaunay-Boisé-Lucas the Elder, -who lived in the village of Saint-Gast, where the English had once -been driven back to their ships: his host advised him to go back[22]; -but the boat had already taken its homeward course to Jersey. Armand, -having come to an arrangement with M. Boisé-Lucas' son, handed him the -despatches with which he had been entrusted by M. Henry-Larivière[23], -the Princes' agent. - - "I went to the coast on the 29th of September," he says, in - answer to an interrogatory, "and waited there two nights, - without seeing my boat. As the moon was very bright, I - withdrew, and returned on the 14th or 15th of the month. I - remained till the 24th of the said month. I spent every night - in the rocks, but to no purpose; my boat did not come, and - by day I went to the Boisé-Lucas'. The same boat, with the - same crew, to which Roussel and Quintal belonged, was to - come to fetch me. With regard to the precautions taken with - Boisé-Lucas the Elder, there were none besides those which I - have already enumerated." - -The dauntless Armand, landed at a few steps from his paternal fields, -as though on the inhospitable coast of Taurida, in vain turned his -eyes over the billows, by the light of the moon, in search of the bark -which could have saved him. In former days, after I had already left -Combourg, with the intention of going to India, I had cast my mournful -gaze over the same billows. From the rocks of Saint-Cast where Armand -lay, from the cape of the Varde where I had sat, a few leagues of the -sea, over which our eyes have wandered in opposite directions, have -witnessed the cares and divided the destinies of two men joined by ties -of name and blood. It was also in the midst of the same waves that -I met Gesril for the last time. Often, in my dreams, I see Gesril -and Armand washing the wound in their foreheads in the deep, while, -reddened to my very feet, stretches the sea with which we used to play -in our childhood[24]. - -Armand succeeded in embarking in a boat purchased at Saint-Malo, but, -driven back by the north-west wind, he was again obliged to put back. -At last, on the 6th of January, assisted by a sailor called Jean Brien, -he launched a little stranded boat, and got hold of another which was -afloat. He thus describes his voyage, which bears an affinity to my -star and my adventures, in his examination on the 18th of March: - - "From nine o'clock in the evening, when we started, till two - o'clock in the morning, the weather favoured us. Judging then - that we were not far from the rocks called the 'Mainquiers,' - we lay-to on our anchor, intending to wait for daylight; - but, the wind having freshened, and fearing that it would - grow still stronger, we continued our course. A few minutes - later, the sea became very heavy and, our compass having been - broken by a wave, we remained uncertain as to the course we - were taking. The first land that came into sight on the 7th - (it might then be mid-day), was the coast of Normandy, which - obliged us to tack about, and we again returned and lay-to - near the rocks called 'Écreho,' situated between the coast - of Normandy and Jersey. Strong and contrary winds obliged - us to remain in that position the whole of the rest of that - day and of the next, the 8th. On the morning of the 9th, as - soon as it was light, I said to Despagne that it appeared to - me that the wind had decreased, seeing that our boat was not - working much, and to look which way the wind was blowing. He - told me that he no longer saw the rocks near which we had - dropped the anchor. I then decided that we were drifting, and - that we had lost our anchor. The violence of the storm left - us no alternative but to make for the coast. As we saw no - land, I did not know at what distance we were from it. It was - then that I flung my papers into the sea, having taken the - precaution to fasten a stone to them. We then scudded before - the wind and made the coast, at about nine o'clock in the - morning, at Bretteville-sur-Ay, in Normandy. - - "We were received on the coast by the customs officers, who - took me out of my boat almost dead; my feet and legs were - frozen. We were both lodged with the lieutenant of the - brigade of Bretteville. Two days later, Despagne was taken to - the prison at Coutances, and I have not seen him since that - day. A few days after, I myself was transferred to the gaol - at that town; the next day, I was taken by the quarter-master - to Saint-Lô, and remained for eight days with the said - quarter-master. I appeared once before M. the Prefect of - the department, and, on the 26th of January, I left with - the captain and quarter-master of the gendarmes to be taken - to Paris, where I arrived on the 28th. They took me to the - office of M. Desmarets at the ministry of the general police, - and from there to the prison of the Grande-Force." - -Armand had the wind, the waves and the imperial police against him; -Bonaparte was in connivance with the storms. The gods made a very great -expenditure of wrath against a paltry existence. - -The packet flung into the sea was cast back by it on the beach of -Notre-Dame-d'Alloue, near Valognes. The papers contained in this packet -served as documents for the conviction: there were thirty-two of them. -Quintal, returning to the sands of Brittany with his boat to fetch -Armand, had also, through an obstinate fatality, been shipwrecked in -Norman waters a few days before my cousin. The crew of Quintal's boat -had spoken; the Prefect of Saint-Lô had learnt that M. de Chateaubriand -was the leader of the Princes' enterprises. When he heard that a cutter -manned with only two men had run ashore, he had no doubt that Armand -was one of the two shipwrecked men, for all the fishermen spoke of him -as the most fearless man at sea that had ever been known. - -[Sidenote: Arrest of Armand.] - -On the 20th of January 1809, the Prefect of the Manche reported -Armand's arrest to the general police. His letter commences: - - "My conjectures have been completely verified: Chateaubriand - is arrested; it was he who landed on the coast at Bretteville - and who had taken the name of 'John Fall.' - - "Uneasy at finding that, in spite of the very precise orders - which I had given, John Fall did not arrive at Saint-Lô, - I instructed Quarter-master Mauduit of the gendarmes, a - trustworthy and extremely active man, to go to fetch this - John Fall, wherever he might be, and bring him before me, - in whatever condition he was. He found him at Coutances, at - the moment when they were arranging to transfer him to the - hospital, to treat him for his legs, which were frozen. - - "Fall appeared before me to-day. I had had Lelièvre put in - a separate room, from which he could see John Fall arrive - without being observed. When Lelièvre saw him come up a - flight of steps placed near this apartment, he cried, - striking his hands together and changing colour: - - "'It's Chateaubriand! However did they catch him?' - - "Lelièvre was in no way forewarned. This exclamation was - drawn from him by surprise. He asked me afterwards not to say - that he had mentioned Chateaubriand's name, because he would - be lost. - - "I did not let John Fall see that I knew who he was." - -Armand, carried to Paris and lodged at the Force, underwent a secret -interrogation at the military gaol of the Abbaye. General Hulin, who -was now Military Commander of Paris, appointed Bertrand, a captain in -the first demi-brigade of veterans, judge-advocate of the military -commission instructed, by a decree of the 25th of February, to inquire -into Armand's case. - -The persons implicated were M. de Goyon[25], who had been sent by -Armand to Brest, and M. de Boisé-Lucas the Younger, charged to hand -letters from Henry-Larivière to Messieurs Laya[26] and Sicard[27] in -Paris. - -In a letter of the 13th of March, addressed to Fouché, Armand said: - - "Let the Emperor deign to restore to liberty men now - languishing in prison for having shown me too much interest. - Whatever happens, let their liberty be restored to all - of them alike. I recommend my unfortunate family to the - Emperor's generosity." - -These mistakes of a man with human bowels addressing himself to an -hyena are painful to see. Bonaparte, besides, was not the lion of -Florence: he did not give up the child on observing the tears of the -mother. I had written to ask Fouché for an audience; he granted me -one, and assured me, with all the self-possession of revolutionary -frivolity, "that he had seen Armand, that I could be easy: that Armand -had told him that he would die well, and that in fact he wore a very -resolute air." Had I proposed to Fouché that he should die, would he -have preserved that deliberate tone and that superb indifference with -regard to himself? - -I applied to Madame de Rémusat, begging her to remit to the Empress a -letter containing a request for justice, or for mercy, to the Emperor. -Madame la Duchesse de Saint-Leu[28] told me, at Arenberg, of the fate -of my letter: Joséphine gave it to the Emperor; he seemed to hesitate, -on reading it; and then, coming upon some words which offended him, he -impatiently flung it into the fire. I had forgotten that one should -show pride only on one's own behalf. - -[Sidenote: His execution.] - -M. de Goyon, condemned with Armand, underwent his sentence. Yet Madame -la Baronne-Duchesse de Montmorency had been induced to interest herself -in his favour: she was the daughter of Madame de Matignon, with whom -the Goyons were allied. A Montmorency in service ought to have obtained -anything, if the prostitution of a name were enough to win over an old -monarchy to a new power. Madame de Goyon, though unable to save her -husband, saved young Boisé-Lucas. Everything combined towards this -misfortune, which struck only unknown persons; one would have thought -that the downfall of a world was in question: storms upon the waves, -ambushes on land, Bonaparte, the sea, the murderers of Louis XVI., and -perhaps some "passion," the mysterious soul of mundane catastrophes. -People have not even perceived all these things; it all struck me alone -and lived in my memory only. What mattered to Napoleon the insects -crushed by his hand upon his diadem? - -On the day of execution, I wished to accompany my comrade on his last -battle-field; I found no carriage, and hastened on foot to the Plaine -de Grenelle. I arrived, all perspiring, a second too late: Armand -had been shot against the surrounding wall of Paris. His skull was -fractured; a butcher's dog was licking up his blood and his brains. -I followed the cart which took the bodies of Armand and his two -companions, plebeian and noble, Quintal and Goyon, to the Vaugirard -Cemetery, where I had buried M. de La Harpe. I saw my cousin for the -last time without being able to recognise him: the lead had disfigured -him, he had no face left; I could not remark the ravages of years -in it, nor even see death within its shapeless and bleeding orb; he -remained young in my memory as at the time of the Siege of Thionville. -He was shot on Good Friday: the crucifix appears to me at the extremity -of all my misfortunes. When I walk on the rampart of the Plaine de -Grenelle, I stop to look at the imprint of the firing, still marked -upon the wall. If Bonaparte's bullets had left no other traces, he -would no longer be spoken of. - -Strange concatenation of destinies! General Hulin, the Military -Commander of Paris, appointed the commission which ordered Armand's -brains to be blown out; he had, in former days, been appointed -president of the commission which shattered the head of the Duc -d'Enghien. Ought he not to have abstained, after his first misfortune, -from all connection with courts-martial? And I have spoken of the death -of the descendant of the Great Condé, without reminding General Hulin -of the part which he played in the execution of the humble soldier, my -kinsman. No doubt I, in my turn, had received from Heaven my commission -to judge the judges of the tribunal of Vincennes. - -* - -The year 1811 was one of the most remarkable in my literary career[29]. -I published the _Itinéraire de Paris à Jerusalem_[30], I accepted M. -de Chénier's place at the Institute, and I began to write the Memoirs -which I am now finishing. - -[Sidenote: The _Itinéraire._] - -The success of the _Itinéraire_ was as complete as that of the -_Martyrs_ had been disputed. There is no scribbler, however -inconsiderable, but receives letters of congratulation on the -appearance of his _farrago._ Among the new compliments which were -addressed to me, I do not feel at liberty to suppress the letter of -a man of virtue and merit who has produced two works of recognised -authority, leaving hardly anything to be said on Bossuet and Fénelon. -The Bishop of Alais, Cardinal de Bausset[31], is the biographer of -those two great prelates. He goes beyond all praise with reference -to me: that is the accepted usage in writing to an author, and does -not count; but the cardinal at least shows the general opinion of the -moment on the _Itinéraire_: he foresees, with respect to Carthage, the -objections of which my geographical feeling might be the object; in -any case, that feeling has prevailed, and I have set Dido's ports in -their places. My readers will be interested to recognise in this letter -the diction of a select society, a style rendered grave and sweet by -politeness, religion and manner: an excellence of tone from which we -are so far removed to-day. - - "VILLEMOISSON, BY LONJUMEAU (SEINE-ET-OISE), - - "25 _March_ 1811. - - "You should, Sir, have received, and you have received, the - just tribute of the public gratitude and satisfaction; but - I can assure you that not one of your readers has enjoyed - your interesting work with a truer sentiment than myself. You - are the first and only traveller who has had no need of the - aid of engraving and drawing to place before the eyes of his - readers the places and monuments which recall fine memories - and great images. Your soul has felt all, your imagination - depicted all, and the reader feels with your soul and sees - with your eyes. - - "I could convey to you but very feebly the impression which - I received from the very first pages, when skirting in your - company the coast of Corfu, and when witnessing the landing - of all those 'eternal' men whom opposite destinies have - successively driven thither. A few lines have sufficed you to - engrave the traces of their footsteps for all time; they will - always be found in your _Itinéraire_, which will preserve - them more faithfully than so many marbles which have been - incapable of keeping the great names confided to them. - - "I now know the monuments of Athens in the way in which one - likes to know them. I had already seen them in beautiful - engravings, I had admired them, but I had not felt them. - One too often forgets that, if architects need exact - descriptions, measurements and proportions, men need to - recognise the mind and the genius which have conceived the - idea of those great monuments. - - "You have restored to the Pyramids that noble and profound - intention which frivolous declaimers had not even perceived. - - "How thankful I am to you, Sir, for delivering to the just - execration of all time that stupid and ferocious people - which, since twelve hundred years, has afflicted the fairest - countries of the earth! One smiles with you at the hope of - seeing it return to the desert whence it came. - - "You have inspired me with a passing feeling of indulgence - for the Arabs, for the sake of the fine comparison which you - have drawn between them and the savages of North America. - - "Providence seems to have led you to Jerusalem to assist at - the last representation of the first scene of Christianity. - If it be no longer granted to the eyes of men to behold that - Tomb, 'the only one which will have nothing to give up on - the Last Day,' Christians will always find it again in the - Gospels, and meditative and sensitive minds in the pictures - which you have drawn. - - "The critics will not fail to reproach you with the men and - incidents with which you have covered the ruins of Carthage - and which you could not have seen, since they no longer - exist. But I implore you, Sir, confine yourself to asking - them if they themselves would not have been very sorry not to - find them in those engaging pictures. - - "You have the right, Sir, to enjoy a form of glory which - belongs to you exclusively by a sort of creation; but there - is an enjoyment still more satisfying to a character like - yours, that is, to have endowed the creations of your genius - with the nobility of your soul and the elevation of your - sentiments. It is this which, at all times, will ensure to - your name and memory the esteem, the admiration and the - respect of all friends of religion, virtue and honour. - - "It is on this score that I beg you, Sir, to accept the - homage of all my sentiments. - - "L. F. DE BAUSSET, _ex-Bishop of Alais._" - -M. de Chénier[32] died on the 10th of January 1811. My friends had the -fatal idea of pressing me to take his place in the Institute. They -urged that, exposed as I was to the hostilities of the head of the -Government, to the suspicions and annoyances of the police, it was -necessary that I should enter a body then powerful through its fame and -through the men composing it; that, sheltered behind that buckler, I -should be able to work in peace. - -I had an invincible repugnance to occupying a place, even outside the -Government; I had too clear a recollection of what the first had cost -me. Chénier's inheritance seemed fraught with peril; I should not be -able to say all, save by exposing myself; I did not wish to pass over -regicide in silence, although Cambacérès was the second person in the -State; I was determined to make my demands heard in favour of liberty -and to raise my voice against tyranny; I wanted to have my say on the -horrors of 1793, to express my regrets for the fallen family of our -kings, to bemoan the misfortunes of those who had remained faithful -to them. My friends replied that I was deceiving myself; that a few -praises of the head of the Government, obligatory in the academical -speech, praises of which, in one respect, I thought Bonaparte worthy, -would make him swallow all the truths I might wish to utter; and that -I should at the same time enjoy the honour of having maintained my -opinions and the happiness of putting an end to the terrors of Madame -de Chateaubriand. By dint of their besetting me, I yielded, weary of -resistance: but I assured them that they were mistaken; that Bonaparte -would not be taken in by common-places on his son, his wife and his -glory; that he would feel the lesson but the more keenly for them; -that he would recognise the man who resigned on the death of the Duc -d'Enghien and the writer of the article that caused the suppression of -the _Mercure_; that, lastly, instead of ensuring my repose, I should -revive the persecutions directed against me. They were soon obliged to -recognise the truth of my words: true it is that they had not foreseen -the audacity of my speech. - -I went to pay the customary visits to the members of the Academy[33]. -Madame de Vintimille took me to the Abbé Morellet. We found him -sitting in an arm-chair before his fire; he had fallen asleep, and the -_Itinéraire_, which he was reading, had dropped from his hands. Waking -with a start at the sound of my name announced by his man-servant, he -raised his head and exclaimed: - -"There are passages so long, so long!" - -I told him, laughing, that I saw that, and that I would abridge the new -edition. He was a good-natured man and promised me his vote, in spite -of _Atala._ When, later, the _Monarchie selon la Charte_ appeared, he -could not recover from his astonishment that such a political work -should have the singer of "the daughter of the Floridas" for its -author. Had Grotius[34] not written the tragedy of _Adam and Eve_ and -Montesquieu the _Temple de Guide?_ True, I was neither Grotius nor -Montesquieu. - -The election took place; I was elected by ballot with a fairly large -majority[35]. I at once set to work on my speech; I wrote and rewrote -it a score of times, never feeling satisfied with myself: at one time, -wishing to make it possible for me to read, I thought it too strong; -at another, my anger returning, I thought it too weak. I did not know -how to measure out the dose of academic praise. If, in spite of my -antipathy for Napoleon, I had tried to render the admiration which I -felt for the public portion of his life, I should have gone far beyond -the peroration. Milton, whom I quote at the commencement of the speech, -furnished me with a model; in his _Second defense of the People of -England_, he made a pompous eulogy of Cromwell: - - "Not only the actions of our kings," he says, "but the fabled - exploits of our heroes, are overcome by your achievements. - Reflect, then, frequently (how dear alike the trust, and the - parent from you have received it!) that to your hands your - country has commended and confided her freedom: that what she - lately expected from her choicest representatives she now - expects, now hopes, from you alone. O reverence this high - expectation, this hope of your country relying exclusively - upon yourself! Reverence the glances and the gashes of those - brave men who have so nobly struggled for liberty under your - auspices, as well as the shades of those who perished in - the conflict! Reverence, finally, yourself, and suffer not - that liberty, for the attainment of which you have endured - so many hardships and encountered so many perils, to sustain - any violation from your own hands, or any encroachment from - those of others. Without our freedom, in fact, you cannot - yourself be free: for it is justly ordained by nature that he - who invades the liberty of others shall in the very outset - lose his own, and be the first to feel the servitude which he - has induced[36]." - -Johnson quoted only the praises given to the Protector[37], in order -to place the Republican in contradiction with himself; the fine -passage which I have just translated contains its own qualification of -those praises. Johnson's criticism is forgotten, Milton's defense has -remained: all that belongs to the strife of parties and the passions of -the moment dies like them and with them. - -[Sidenote: I am elected.] - -When my speech was ready, I was sent for to read it to the committee -appointed to hear it: it was rejected by the committee, with the -exception of two or three members[38]. It was a sight to see the -terror of the bold Republicans who listened to me and who were alarmed -by the independence of my opinions; they shuddered with indignation -and fright at the mere word of liberty. M. Daru[39] took the speech -to Saint-Cloud. Bonaparte declared that, if it had been delivered, -he would have closed the doors of the Institute and flung me into a -subterranean dungeon for the rest of my life. - -I received the following note from M. Daru: - - "SAINT-CLOUD, 28 _April_ 1811. - - "I have the honour to inform Monsieur de Chateaubriand that, - when he has the time or occasion to come to Saint-Cloud, I - shall be able to return to him the speech which he was good - enough to entrust to me. I take this opportunity to repeat to - him the assurance of the high consideration with which I have - the honour to salute him. - - "DARU." - -I went to Saint-Cloud. M. Daru returned me the manuscript, crossed -out in places, and scored _ab irato_ with parentheses and pencil -marks by Bonaparte: the lion's claw had been dug in everywhere, and I -experienced a sort of pleasure of irritation in imagining that I felt -it in my side. M. Daru did not conceal Napoleon's anger from me; but he -told me, that, if I kept the peroration, with the exception of a few -words, and changed almost the whole of the rest, I should be received -with great applause. The speech had been copied out at the palace; some -passages had been suppressed and others interpolated. Not long after, -it appeared in the provinces printed in that fashion. - -This speech is one of the best proofs of the independence of my -opinions and the consistency of my principles. M. Suard, who was free -and firm, said that, if it had been read in the open Academy, it would -have brought down the rafters of the hall with applause. Can you, -indeed, imagine the warm praises of liberty uttered in the midst of the -servility of the Empire? - -I had kept the scored manuscript with religious care; ill-fortune -willed that, when I left the Infirmerie de Marie-Thérèse, it was burnt -with a heap of papers. Nevertheless the readers of these Memoirs shall -not be deprived of it: one of my colleagues had the generosity to take -a copy of it; here it is: - -[Sidenote: My inaugural speech.] - - "When Milton published _Paradise Lost_, not a voice was - raised in the three kingdoms of Great Britain to praise - a work which, in spite of its numerous defects, remains - nevertheless one of the noblest monuments of the human mind. - The English Homer died forgotten, and his contemporaries left - to futurity the task of immortalizing the singer of Eden. - Have we here one of the great instances of literary injustice - of which examples are presented by nearly every century? No, - gentlemen; the English, but recently escaped from the Civil - Wars, were unable to bring themselves to celebrate the memory - of a man who was remarked for the ardour of his opinions in a - time of calamity. What shall we reserve, they asked, for the - tomb of the citizen who devotes himself to the safety of his - country, if we lavish honours upon the ashes of him who, at - most, is entitled to claim our generous indulgence? Posterity - will do justice to Milton's memory, but we owe a lesson to - our sons: we must teach them, by our silence, that talents - are a baleful gift when allied with the passions, and that it - is better to condemn one's self to obscurity than to achieve - celebrity through one's country's misfortunes. - - "Shall I, gentlemen, imitate this memorable example, or shall - I speak to you of the person and works of M. Chénier? To - reconcile your usages and my opinions, I feel it my duty to - adopt a middle course between absolute silence and a thorough - consideration. But, whatever the words I may utter, no - rancour will poison this address. Should you find in me the - frankness of my fellow-countryman Duclos[40], I hope also to - prove to you that I possess the same loyalty. - - "Doubtless it would have been curious to see what a man in - my position, holding my principles and my opinions, could - have to say of the man whose place I occupy to-day. It would - be interesting to examine the influence of revolutions upon - literature, to show how systems can mislead talent and - direct it into fallacious ways which seem to lead to fame - and only end in oblivion. If Milton, despite his political - aberrations, has left works which posterity admires, it is - because Milton, without repenting his errors, withdrew from; - a society which was withdrawing from him, to seek in religion - the assuagement of his ills and the source of his glory. - Deprived of the light of heaven, he created for himself a new - earth, a new sun, and quitted, so to speak, a world where he - had seen nought save misery and crime; he set in the bowers - of Eden that primitive innocence, that blessed felicity which - reigned beneath the tents of Jacob and Rachel; and he placed - in the lower regions the torments, passions and remorse of - the men whose furies he had shared. - - "Unfortunately, the works of M. Chénier, though they show - the germ of a remarkable talent, glow with neither that - antique simplicity nor that sublime majesty. The author was - distinguished for an eminently classical mind. None better - understood the principles of ancient and modern literature; - the stage, eloquence, history, criticism, satire: he - embraced all these; but his writings bear the impress of the - disastrous days that witnessed his birth. Too often dictated - by the spirit of party, they have been applauded by factions. - Shall I, in discussing my predecessor's works, separate what - has already passed away, like our discords, and what will - perhaps survive, like our glory? Here we find the interests - of society and the interests of literature confounded. I - cannot forget the first sufficiently to occupy myself solely - with the second; wherefore, gentlemen, I am obliged either to - keep silence or to raise political questions. - - "There are persons who would make of literature an abstract - thing and isolate it in the midst of human affairs. Such - persons will say to me, 'Why keep silence? Treat M. Chénier's - works only from the literary point of view.' That is to say, - gentlemen, that I must abuse your patience and my own by - repeating commonplaces which you can find anywhere and which - you know better than I. Manners change with the times: heirs - to a long series of peaceful years, our forerunners were able - to indulge in purely academic discussions which were even - less a proof of their talent than of their happiness. But we, - who remain the victims of a great shipwreck, no longer have - what is needed to relish so perfect a calm. Our ideas, our - minds have taken a different direction. The man has in us - taken the place of the academician: by divesting literature - of all its futility, we now behold it only in the light of - our mighty memories and of the experience of our adversity. - What! After a revolution which has caused us, in a few - years, to live through the events of many centuries, shall - the writer be forbidden all lofty considerations, shall he - be denied the right to examine the serious side of objects? - Shall he spend a trivial life occupied with grammatical - quibbles, rules of taste, petty literary judgments? Shall - he grow old, bound in the swaddling-clothes of his cradle? - Shall he not show, at the end of his days, a brow furrowed - by his long labours, by his grave reflections, and often by - those manly sufferings which add to the greatness of mankind? - What important cares, then, will have whitened his hair? The - miserable sorrows of self-love and the puerile sports of the - mind. - - "Surely, gentlemen, that would be treating ourselves with a - very strange contempt! Speaking for myself, I cannot thus - belittle myself, nor reduce myself to the condition of - childhood at the age of strength and reason. I cannot confine - myself within the narrow circle which they would trace around - the writer. For instance, gentlemen, if I wished to pass a - eulogy on the man of letters, on the man of the Court who - presides over this meeting[41], do you believe that I would - content myself with praising in him the light and ingenious - French wit which he received from his mother[42], and of - which he displays to us the last model? No, assuredly: I - should wish to make glow once more in all its brilliancy - the noble name which he bears. I should mention the Duc de - Boufflers[43] who forced the Austrians to raise the blockade - of Genoa. I should speak of the marshal, his father[44], - of the governor who held the ramparts of Lille against the - enemies of France, and who, by that memorable defense, - consoled a great king's unhappy old age. It was of that - companion of Turenne that Madame de Maintenon said: - - "'In him the heart was the last to die.' - - [Sidenote: My speech continued.] - - "Lastly, I should go back to that Louis de Boufflers[45], - called the Robust, who displayed in combat the vigour and - valour of Hercules. Thus, at the two extremities of this - family, I should find force and grace, the knight and the - troubadour. They say that the French are sons of Hector: I - would rather believe that they descend from Achilles, for - like that hero they wield both the lyre and the sword. - - "If I wished, gentlemen, to talk to you of the celebrated - poet[46] who sang the charms of nature in such brilliant - tones, do you think that I would confine myself to pointing - out to you the admirable flexibility of a talent which - succeeded in rendering with equal distinction the regular - beauties of Virgil and the less correct beauties of Milton? - No: I would also show you the poet refusing to part from - his unfortunate countrymen, accompanying them with his - lyre to foreign shores, singing their sorrows to console - them; an illustrious exile among that crowd of banished men - whose number I increased. It is true that his age and his - infirmities, his talents and his glory had not protected him - against persecution in his own country. Men tried to make him - purchase peace with verses unworthy of his muse, and his muse - could sing only the redoubtable immortality of crime and the - reassuring immortality of virtue: - - "Rassurez-vous, vous êtes immortels[47]! - - "If, again, I wished to speak to you of a friend very dear - to my heart[48], one of those friends who, according to - Cicero, render prosperity more brilliant and adversity less - irksome, I should extol the refinement and purity of his - taste, the exquisite elegance of his prose, the beauty, the - strength, the harmony of his verses, which, while formed - after the great models, are nevertheless distinguished by - their original character. I should extol that superior talent - which has never known the feelings of envy, that talent made - happy by every success other than its own, that talent which, - for ten years, has felt all that has happened to me of an - honourable nature with the deep and simple joy known only to - the most generous characters and the liveliest friendship. - But I should not omit my friend's political side. I should - depict him at the head of one of the principal bodies of the - State, delivering those speeches which are master-pieces of - propriety, moderation and exaltedness. I should represent him - sacrificing the gentle commerce of the Muses to occupations - which would no doubt be without charm, if one did not abandon - one's self to them in the hope of forming children capable of - one day following the example of their fathers and avoiding - their errors. - - "In speaking of the men of talent of whom this meeting - is composed, I could not therefore prevent myself from - considering them from the point of view of morality and - society. One is distinguished among you by a refined, - delicate and sagacious wit, by an urbanity nowadays so - rare, and by the most honourable constancy in his moderate - opinions[49]. Another, under the ice of age, found the - warmth of youth wherewith to plead the cause of the - unfortunate[50]. A third[51], an elegant historian and - agreeable poet, becomes more venerable and more dear to us - by the memory of a father[52] and a son[53], both mutilated - in the service of the country. Yet another, by restoring - their hearing to the deaf, their speech to the dumb, recalls - to us the miracles of the Gospels, to the cult of which he - has devoted himself[54]. Are there not, gentlemen, among - you some witnesses of your former triumphs who can tell the - worthy heir[55] of the Chancelier d'Aguesseau[56] how his - grandsire's name was once applauded in this assembly? I pass - to the favourite nurselings of the nine Sisters, and I see - the venerable author of Œdipe[57] retired in his solitude - and Sophocles forgetting at Colonos the glory that calls - him back to Athens. How greatly must we cherish the other - sons of Melpomene who have interested us in the misfortunes - of our fathers! Every French heart has throbbed anew at - the presentiment of the death of Henry IV[58]. The tragic - muse has re-established the honour of those gallant knights - dastardly betrayed by history, and nobly revenged by one of - our modern Euripides[59]. - - [Sidenote: My speech continued.] - - "Coming to the successors of Anacreon, I would pause at the - amiable man[60] who, similar to the veteran of Teos[61], - still re-tells, after fifteen lustra, those love-songs - which one begins to write at fifteen years. I would also, - gentlemen, go to seek your renown on the stormy seas which - were formerly guarded by the giant Adamastor[62], and which - became appeased by the charming names of Éléonore[63] and - Virginie[64]. _Tibi rident æquora._ - - "Alas, too many of the talents in our midst have been - wandering and restless! Has poetry not sung in harmonious - verse of the art of Neptune[65], that so fatal art which - transported it to distant shores? And has not French - eloquence, after defending the altar and the State, - withdrawn, as though into its source, to the land where St. - Ambrose[66] first saw the light[67]? Why can I not here place - all the members of this assembly in a picture the colours of - which have not been embellished by flattery! For, if it be - true that envy sometimes obscures the estimable qualities - of men of letters, it is still more true that this class of - men is distinguished by lofty sentiments, by disinterested - virtues, by the hatred of oppression, devotion to friendship, - and fidelity to misfortune. It is thus, gentlemen, that I - love to consider a subject from all its aspects, and that I - love especially to give a serious character to literature - by applying it to the most exalted subjects of morality, - philosophy and history. With this independence of mind, I - must needs abstain from touching upon works which it is - impossible to examine without irritating the passions. Were - I to speak of the tragedy of _Charles IX_, could I refrain - from avenging the memory of the Cardinal de Lorraine and - discussing the strange lesson there given to Kings? _Caius - Gracchus, Calas, Henri VIII, Fénelon_[68] would in many - respects present sent to me a distortion of history upon - which to rest the same doctrines. When I read the satires, - I there find immolated men occupying places in the first - ranks of this assembly; nevertheless, written as they are - in a pure, elegant and easy style, they agreeably recall - the school of Voltaire, and I should take the more pleasure - in praising them inasmuch as my own name has not escaped - the author's malice[69]. But let us leave on one side works - which would give rise only to painful recriminations: I will - not disturb the memory of a writer who was your colleague - and who still numbers friends and admirers among you; he - will owe to religion, which appeared to him so contemptible - in the writings of those who defend it, the peace which I - wish to his tomb. But even here, gentlemen, shall I not have - the misfortune to strike upon a rock? For, in offering to - M. Chénier this tribute of respect which is due to all the - dead, I fear to meet beneath my steps ashes very differently - illustrious. If ungenerous interpretations would impute this - involuntary emotion to me as a crime, I should take refuge at - the foot of those expiatory altars which a powerful monarch - erects to the manes of outraged dynasties. Ah, how much - happier would it have been for M. Chénier not to have taken - part in those public calamities which at last fell back upon - his head! He has known, like myself, what it means to lose - in the storms a fondly cherished brother[70]. What would our - unhappy brothers have said, had God summoned them on the - same day before His tribunal? If they had met at the hour of - death, before mingling their blood they would doubtless have - cried to us, 'Cease your intestine wars, return to thoughts - of love and peace; death strikes all parties alike, and your - cruel divisions cost us our youth and our life.' That would - have been their fraternal cry. - - [Sidenote: My speech continued.] - - "If my predecessor could hear these words, which now - console only his shade, he would appreciate the tribute - which I am here paying to his brother, for he was by nature - generous: it was even this generosity of character which - drew him into new ideas, very seductive no doubt, since they - promised to restore to us the virtues of Fabricius[71]. But, - soon deceived in his hopes, he found his mood becoming - embittered, his talent changing its nature. Removed from the - poet's solitude into the midst of factions, how could he have - abandoned himself to those sentiments which make the charm of - life? Happy had he seen no sky save the sky of Greece under - which he was born[72], had he set eyes upon no ruins save - those of Sparta and Athens! I should perhaps have met him - in his mother's beautiful country, and we would have sworn - mutual friendship on the banks of the Permessus; or else, - since he was to return to his paternal fields, why did he - not follow me to the deserts upon which I was flung by our - tempests! The silence of the forests would have calmed that - troubled soul, and the huts of the savages would perhaps have - reconciled him to the palaces of kings. Vain wish! M. Chénier - remained upon the stage of our excitements and our sorrows. - Attacked while still in his youth by a mortal malady, you - have seen him, gentlemen, droop slowly towards the tomb and - leave for ever.... I have not been told of his last moments. - - "None of us, who have lived through the troubles and - excitements, shall escape the eyes of history. Who can - flatter himself that he shall be found stainless in a time - of frenzy when none has the entire use of his reason? Let - us then be full of indulgence for others; let us excuse - that of which we cannot approve. Such is human weakness, - that talent, genius, virtue itself are sometimes able to - overstep the limits of duty. M. Chénier worshipped liberty: - can we ascribe it to him as a crime? The knights themselves, - were they to issue from their tombs, would follow the light - of our century. We should see that illustrious alliance - formed between honour and liberty, as under the reign of - the Valois, upon our monuments. Gothic battlements crowned - with infinite grace the orders borrowed from the Greeks. - Is not liberty the greatest of benefits and the first of - man's needs? It kindles genius, it elevates the heart, it - is as necessary to the friend of the Muses as the air he - breathes. The arts are, to a certain point, able to live in - dependence, because they make use of a language apart, which - is not understood by the crowd; but letters, which speak an - universal language, pine and perish in irons. How shall one - compose pages worthy of the future, if one must forbid one's - self, in writing, every magnanimous sentiment, every great - and powerful thought? Liberty is so naturally the friend - of science and literature, that she takes refuge with them - when she is banished from the midst of the peoples; and it - is we, gentlemen, whom she charges to write her annals and - to revenge her on her enemies, to hand down her name and her - cult to posterity for all time. To prevent any mistake in - the interpretation of my thought, I declare that I am here - speaking only of the liberty which is born of order and gives - birth to laws, and not of that liberty which is the daughter - of license and the mother of slavery. The wrong of the author - of Charles IX did not, therefore, lie in offering his incense - to the former of these divinities, but in believing that the - rights which she gives us are incompatible with a monarchical - form of government. A Frenchman displays in his opinions that - independence which other nations show in their laws. Liberty - is for him a sentiment rather than a principle, and he is a - citizen by instinct and a subject by choice. If the writer - whose loss you are mourning had made this reflection, he - would not have embraced in one and the same love the liberty - that creates and the liberty that destroys. - - [Sidenote: My speech concluded.] - - "Gentlemen, I have finished the task which the customs of - the Academy have laid upon me. On the point of ending this - speech, I am struck with an idea which saddens me: it is - not long since M. Chénier pronounced upon my writings some - findings which he was preparing to publish; and to-day it is - I who am judging my judge. I say, in all the sincerity of my - heart, that I would rather continue exposed to the satire of - an enemy, and live peacefully in solitude, than bring home - to you, by my presence in your midst, the rapid succession - of men upon earth, the sudden apparition of that death which - overthrows our projects and our hopes, which snatches us away - at a stroke, and which sometimes hands over our memory to - men entirely opposed to us in sentiment and principle. This - platform is a sort of battle-field in which talents come by - turns to shine and die. What diverse geniuses has it not seen - pass! Corneille, Racine, Boileau, La Bruyère[73], Bossuet, - Fénelon, Voltaire, Buffon[74], Montesquieu.... Who would not - be afraid, gentlemen, to think that he is about to form a - link in the chain of that illustrious lineage? Overcome by - the weight of those immortal names, and unable to make myself - recognised through my talents as the lawful heir, I will at - least try to prove my descent by my sentiments. - - "When my turn shall have come to yield my place to the orator - who is to speak on my tomb, he may treat my works severely, - but he will be obliged to say that I loved my mother-land - passionately, that I would have endured a thousand ills - rather than cost my country a single tear, that I would - without hesitation have made the sacrifice of my days to - those noble sentiments which alone give value to life and - dignity to death. - - "But what a moment have I chosen, gentlemen, to speak to you - of mourning and obsequies! Are we not surrounded by scenes - of festivity? A solitary traveller, I was meditating a few - days since on the ruin of the destroyed empires: and now I - see a new empire arise. Scarce have I quitted the graves in - which the buried nations sleep, and I perceive a cradle laden - with the destinies of the future. The acclamations of the - soldier resound on every hand. Cæsar mounts to the Capitol; - the nations tell of marvels, of monuments upraised, cities - beautified, the frontiers of the country bathed by those - distant seas which bore the ships of Scipio, and by those - remote waters which Germanicus did not see. - - "While the triumpher advances surrounded by his legions, what - shall the tranquil children of the Muses do? They will go - before the car to add the olive-branch of peace to the palms - of victory, to mingle with the warlike recitals the touching - images which caused Æmilius Paulus[75] to weep over the - misfortunes of Perseus[76]. - - "And you, daughter of the Cæsars[77], come forth from your - palace with your young son[78] in your arms; come, to add - mercy to greatness; come, to soften victory and to temper - the glitter of arms by the gentle majesty of a queen and a - mother." - -In the manuscript which was handed back to me, the commencement of -the speech, which relates to the opinions of Milton, was struck out -from one end to the other by Bonaparte's hand. A part of my protest -against the isolation from affairs of State, in which it was desired -to keep literature, was also stigmatized with the pencil. The eulogy -of the Abbé Delille, which recalled the Emigration and the fidelity of -the poet to the misfortunes of the Royal Family and to the sufferings -of his companions in exile, was placed between brackets; the eulogy of -M. de Fontanes had a cross set against it. Almost all that I said of -M. Chénier, of his brother, of my own, of the expiatory altars which -were being prepared at Saint-Denis was slashed with pencil marks. The -paragraph commencing with the words, "M. Chénier worshipped liberty," -etc., had a double longitudinal line drawn through it. Nevertheless, -the agents of the Empire, when publishing the speech, kept this -paragraph pretty correctly. - -All was not ended when they had handed me back my speech; they wanted -to force me to write a second. I declared that I stood by the first, -and that I would write no other. The committee then declared to me that -I should not be received into the Academy. - -Gracious, generous and courageous persons, unknown to myself, -interested themselves in me. Mrs. Lindsay, who at the time of my -return to France, in 1800, had brought me from Calais to Paris, talked -to Madame Gay[79]; the latter addressed herself to Madame Regnaud de -Saint-Jean-d'Angély, who asked the Duc de Rovigo to leave me alone. The -women of that time interposed their beauty between power and misfortune. - -[Sidenote: Bonaparte's comments.] - -All this perturbation was prolonged, by the decennial prizes, until -the year 1812. Bonaparte, who was persecuting me, sent to the Academy -to ask, in the matter of those prizes, why they had not put the _Génie -du Christianisme_ on their list. The Academy explained; several of my -colleagues wrote their unfavourable judgment of my work. I might have -said what a Greek poet said to a bird: - - "Daughter of Attica, nurtured on honey, thou who singest so - well, thou snatchest a grasshopper, a fine songstress like - thyself, and carriest her for food to thy young ones. Both of - you have wings, both inhabit these regions, both celebrate - the birth of spring: wilt thou not restore to her her - liberty? It is not just that a songstress should die by the - beak of one of her fellows[80]." - -This mixture of anger against and attraction for me displayed by -Bonaparte is constant and strange: but now he threatens, and suddenly -he asks the Institute why it has not mentioned me on the occasion of -the decennial prizes. He goes further, he declares to Fontanes that, -since the Institute does not think me worthy to compete for the prizes, -he will give me one, that he will appoint me superintendent-general of -all the libraries of France: a superintendence with the salary attached -to a first-class embassy. Bonaparte's original idea of employing me in -a diplomatic career did not leave him: he would not admit, for a reason -well known to himself, that I had ceased to form part of the Ministry -of External Relations. And yet, in spite of this proposed munificence, -his Prefect of Police invited me, some time later[81], to remove myself -from Paris, and I went to continue my Memoirs at Dieppe. - -Bonaparte stooped to play the part of a teasing school-boy; he -disinterred the _Essai sur les Révolutions_ and delighted in the war -which he brought down upon me on this subject. A certain M. Damaze de -Raymond constituted himself my champion[82]: I went to thank him in -the Rue Vivienne. He had a death's-head on his mantel-piece among his -knick-knacks; some time later he was killed in a duel[83], and his -charming features went to join the frightful face that seemed to call -to him. Everyone fought in those days: one of the police-spies charged -with the arrest of Georges received a bullet in the head from him. - -To cut short my powerful adversary's unfair attack, I applied to that -M. de Pommereul of whom I spoke to you at the time of my first arrival -in Paris: he had become director-general of the State printing works -and of the department of books. I asked him for leave to reprint the -_Essai_ in its entirety. My correspondence and the result of that -correspondence can be seen in the preface to the 1826 edition of the -_Essai sur les Révolutions_, vol. II. of the Complete Works. Moreover, -the Imperial Government was exceedingly right to refuse its assent to -the reprinting of the work in its entirety: the _Essai_ was not, having -regard both to the liberties and to the Legitimate Monarchy, a book -which should be published while despotism and usurpation held sway. -The police gave itself airs of impartiality by allowing something to -be said in my favour, and it laughed while preventing me from doing -the only thing capable of defending me. On the return of Louis XVIII., -the _Essai_ was exhumed anew: as, in the time of the Empire, they had -wished to make use of it against me in a political respect, so, in -the days of the Restoration, they tried to plead it against me in a -religious respect. I have made so complete an apology for my errors in -the notes to the new edition of the _Essai historique_, that there is -nothing left wherewith to reproach me. Posterity will come and will -pronounce on both book and commentary, if such old trash is still able -to interest it. I venture to hope that it will judge the _Essai_ as my -grey head has judged it; for, as one advances in life, one assumes the -equity of the future towards which one approaches. The book and the -notes place me before the eyes of men such as I was at the commencement -of my career and such as I am at the close of that career. - -[Sidenote: The _Essai_ reprinted.] - -Moreover, this work which I have treated with pitiless rigour offers -the compendium of my existence as a poet, a moralist and a future -politician. The pith of the work is overflowing, the boldness of the -opinions urged as far as it will go. It must needs be admitted that, in -the various roads upon which I have embarked, I have never been guided -by prejudice, that I have never been blind in whatsoever cause, that no -interest has led me on, that the sides which I have taken have always -been those of my choice. - -In the _Essai_, my independence in matters of religion and politics is -complete; I examine everything: a _Republican_, I serve the Monarchy; -a _philosopher_, I honour religion. These are not contradictions: they -are forced consequences of the uncertainty of theory and the certainty -of practice among men. My mind, constructed to believe in nothing, -not even in myself, constructed to despise everything, splendours -and miseries, peoples and kings, has nevertheless been dominated by -an instinct of reason which commanded it to submit to all that is -recognised as fine: religion, justice, humanity, equality, liberty, -glory. That which people to-day dream concerning the future, that which -the present generation imagines itself to have discovered concerning a -society yet to be born, founded upon principles quite different from -those of the old society, is announced positively in the _Essai._ -I have anticipated by thirty years those who call themselves the -proclaimers of an unknown world. My acts have belonged to the ancient -city, my thoughts to the new; the former to my duty, the latter to my -nature. - -The _Essai_ was not an impious book; it was a book of doubt and sorrow. -I have already said so[84]. - -For the rest, I have had to exaggerate my fault to myself, and to -redeem with ideas of order so many passionate ideas strewn over my -works. I fear lest, at the commencement of my career, I may have -done harm to youth; I owe it a reparation, and at least I owe it -other lessons. Let it learn that one can struggle successfully with a -troubled nature; I have seen moral beauty, the divine beauty, superior -to every earthly dream: it needs but a little courage to reach it and -keep to it. - -In order to finish what I have to say touching my literary career, -I must mention the work which commenced it, and which remained in -manuscript until the year in which I inserted it in my Complete Works. - -At the beginning of the _Natchez_, the preface described how the work -was recovered in England, thanks to the trouble and the obliging -research of Messieurs de Thuisy. - -A manuscript from which I have been able to extract _Atala, René_, and -several descriptions included in the _Génie du Christianisme_, is not -absolutely barren. This first manuscript was written in one piece, -without sections; all the subjects were confused in it: journeys, -natural history, the dramatic portion, etc.; but, besides this -manuscript, composed in one stroke, there existed another, divided into -books. In this second work, I had not only proceeded to the separation -of the matter, but I had also changed the character of the composition, -by altering it from the romantic to the idyllic. - -A young man who promiscuously heaps up his ideas, his inventions, his -studies, die results of his reading, is bound to produce chaos; but -also in this chaos there is a certain fecundity which belongs to the -potency of his age. - -To me happened that which has perhaps happened to no other author: I -read again, after a lapse of thirty years, a manuscript which I had -totally forgotten. - -I had one danger to fear. In repassing the brush over the picture, I -might wipe out the colours; a surer but less rapid hand ran the risk, -while obliterating some incorrect features, of causing the liveliest -touches of youth to disappear: it was necessary to preserve the -independence and, so to speak, the passion of the composition; the foam -must be left on the bit of the youthful courser. If in the _Natchez_ -there are things which I would hazard only in trembling to-day, there -are also things which I would no longer write, especially René's letter -in the second volume. It is in my first manner, and reproduces all -René. I do not know that the Renés who followed in my steps can have -said anything more nearly approaching folly. - -[Sidenote: The _Natchez._] - -The _Natchez_ opens with an invocation to the desert and to the star of -the night, the supreme divinities of my youth: - - "In the shade of the American forests I will sing airs of - solitude such as mortal ears have not yet heard; I will - relate your adversities, O Natchez, O nation of Louisiana, of - whom naught save the memories remain! Should the misfortunes - of an obscure dweller in the woods have less claim upon our - tears than those of other men? And are the mausoleums of the - kings in our temples more touching than the tomb of an Indian - under his native oak? - - "And thou, torch of meditation, star of the night, be for me - the star of Pindus! Go before my steps across the unknown - regions of the New World, to reveal to me by thy light the - enchanting secrets of those deserts!" - -My two natures lie mingled in this singular work, particularly in the -primitive original. In it are found political incidents and romantic -intrigues; but, across the narrative, there is heard, throughout, a -voice that sings and that seems to come from an unknown region. - -* - -From 1812 to 1814, but two years are wanting to end the Empire[85], and -those two years, of which we have seen something by anticipation, were -employed by me in researches into French history, and in the writing -of some books of these Memoirs; but I did not print anything more. My -life of poetry and erudition was really closed by the publication of -my three great works, the _Génie du Christianisme_, the _Martyrs_ and -the _Itinéraire._ My political writings began with the Restoration; -with those writings also began my active political existence. Here, -therefore, ends my literary career properly so-called; carried away by -the flood of years, I had omitted it; not until this year, 1839, have I -recalled the bygone times of 1800 to 1814. - -This literary career, as you have been free to convince yourselves, was -no less disturbed than my career as a traveller and a soldier; there -were also labours, encounters, and blood in the arena; all was not -Muses and Castalian spring. My political career was even stormier. - -Perhaps some remains may mark the spot where stood my gardens of -Academus. The _Génie du Christianisme_ commences the religious -revolution against the philosophism of the eighteenth century. I was at -the same time preparing the revolution which threatens our language, -for there can be no renewal of ideas without an accompanying renewal of -style. Will there be other forms of art, at present unknown, when I am -gone? Will it be possible to start from our studies of to-day in order -to make progress, as we ourselves have taken a step forward by starting -from past studies? Are there limits which one could not overstep, -because one would then run against the nature of things? Do not those -limits lie in the division of the modern languages, in the decay of -those same languages, in human vanity such as modern society has made -it? Languages do not follow the movement of civilization until they -are on the point of attaining the period of their perfection; having -reached this zenith, they remain stationary for a moment, and then -descend, without being able to ascend again. - -[Sidenote: Youth and age.] - -Now, the story which I am finishing joins the first books of my -political life, written previously at different dates. I feel a little -more courage on returning to the finished portions of my edifice. When -I resumed my work, I trembled lest the old son of Cœlus should see -the golden trowel of the builder of Troy turn into a trowel of lead. -And yet it seems to me that my memory, when bidden to pour me out my -recollections, has not failed me too greatly. Have you felt the ice -of winter to a great extent in my narrative? Do you find an enormous -difference between the extinct ashes which I have striven to revive -and the living persons whom I have shown you in telling you of my early -youth? My years are my secretaries: when one of them comes to die, he -passes the pen to his younger brother, and I continue to dictate. As -they are of one family, they write very nearly the same hand. - -[1] This book was written in Paris in 1839, and revised in June -1847.--T. - -[2] Chateaubriand bought it from M. de Fontanes for 20,000 francs.--B. - -[3] Chateaubriand bought the Vallée-aux-Loups in August 1807, for the -sum of 30,000 francs.--B. - -[4] Madame de Lavalette was the widow of the Marquis de Béville.--B. - -[5] _Manger_, to eat; also, to run through, to squander.--T. - -[6] The Infirmary, situated at No. 86, Rue d'Enfer (now 92, Rue -Denfert-Rochereau), was founded by M. and Madame de Chateaubriand at a -considerable cost. Madame de Chateaubriand was buried beneath the altar -of the chapel.--B. - -[7] Anne Louis Girodet Trioson, originally Girodet de Roussy -(1767-1824), a pupil of David, and not only a fine painter, but also a -poet of some merit.--T. - -[8] Dominique Vivant Baron Denon (1747-1825), Director-General of -Museums under the Empire.--T. - -[9] Chateaubriand's portrait was exhibited in the Salon of 1808.--B. - -[10] Jean François Boissonade (1774-1857), a member of the Academy of -Inscriptions, and a distinguished and indefatigable Hellenist.--T. - -[11] Conrad Malte-Brun (1775-1826), the eminent Danish geographer.--T. - -[12] "Each, his hand in _th' ink-pot_, swears to be revenged."--T. - -[13] The crown of grass granted to a general who raised the siege of a -beleaguered place.--T. - -[14] François Bénoît Hoffmann (1760-1828), author of several comic -operas, and a successful writer in the _Journal des Débats._--T. - -[15] Claude Hippolyte Clausel de Montais (1769-1857) became Bishop of -Chartres in 1824. He was the first to engage, in March 1841, in the -struggle of the bishops in favour of liberty of instruction, which -led to the law of 25 March 1850. Thanks to his writings during this -contest, Monseigneur Clausel de Montais is one of the most imposing -figures in the nineteenth-century episcopate.--B. - -[16] Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755). In the -_Esprit des lois_ (1748) he treats religion respectfully, but the book -was condemned for its deistic tendency.--T. - -[17] "Tasso wandering from town to town," etc.--T. - -[18] Caius Valerius Jovius Aurelius Diocletianus, Roman Emperor -(245-313), in 303 commenced a persecution of the Christians which -lasted for ten years, or eight years after his abdication in 305.--T. - -[19] _Martyrs_, XXIII.--B. - -[20] Caius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, Roman Emperor (_d._ 311), -adopted son and son-in-law of Diocletian, and associated with the -latter in his persecution of the Christians.--T. - -[21] Armand de Chateaubriand married in Jersey, in 1795, Jeanne Le Brun -d'Anneville, who died in the island in 1857.--B. - -[22] The English attempted a descent on Saint-Cast in 1758 and were -defeated by the Duc d'Aiguillon.--T. - -[23] Pierre François Joachim Henry-Larivière (1761-1838) worked -ardently for the restoration of the Monarchy from the date of his -proscription by the Convention, of which he was a member, in 1797. -Louis XVIII. made him Advocate-General and a councillor of the Court of -Appeal. He refused to take the oath to Louis-Philippe on the latter's -usurpation in 1830.--B. - -[24] The original documents of Armand's trial have been sent me by an -unknown and generous hand.--_Author's Note._ - -[25] M. de Goyon-Vaurouault.--B. - -[26] Jean Louis Laya (1761-1833), author of some poetical plays and -of the _Ami des lois_, a stirring protest against the murder of Louis -XVI. He was flung into prison, where he remained until the 9 Thermidor. -Under the Empire, he became a professor at the Lycée Napoléon and -eventually obtained the chair of poetry at the Faculté des Lettres.--T. - -[27] The Abbé Roch Ambroise Cucurron Sicard (1742-1822), the great -teacher and benefactor of the deaf and dumb, and a fervent Royalist.--T. - -[28] Hortense Queen of Holland (1783-1837), daughter of the Empress -Joséphine by her first husband, Alexandre Vicomte de Beauharnais, and -wife of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland. She retired to Switzerland -after the Restoration, with the title of Duchesse de Saint-Leu.--T. - -[29] Chateaubriand says nothing of the time which elapsed between April -1809 and January 1811. These twenty months, in fact, were marked by no -political or literary event that in any way affected him.--B. - -[30] The _Itinéraire_ appeared in the month of March 1811.--B. - -[31] Louis François Cardinal Duc de Bausset, Bishop of Alais -(1748-1824), was appointed to the see of Alais in 1784. He was -dispossessed and imprisoned under the Terror. On the return of the -Bourbons, he was created a peer of France in 1815, a cardinal in 1817, -and a duke in the same year. He had published his successful _Histoire -de Fénelon_ in 1808; his _Histoire de Bossuet_, which was less well -received, appeared in 1814.--T. - -[32] Marie Joseph de Chénier (1764-1811).--T. - -[33] A contemporary, M. Auguis, thus describes the cavalier manner in -which Chateaubriand paid his visits (he quotes from the unpublished -Diary of Ferdinand Denis, author of _Scènes de la nature sous les -tropiques_ and of _André le voyageur_): - -"When Chateaubriand went to pay his French-Academy visits, he called -upon his future colleagues on horseback. To the famous and powerful he -paid a complete visit; to the small fry he sent in his card, without -alighting from his mettlesome steed. When they came to discuss the -election, M. ---- voted for the horse of his new colleague, saying -that, in all conscience, it was the former alone that had paid him a -visit."--B. - -[34] Hugo de Groot (1583-1645), known as Hugo Grotius, the celebrated -Dutch jurist and writer on international law, author of _De Jure belli -et pacis_ (1624), by which the system of international law was created, -etc., etc., and for some years Ambassador of Christina Queen of Sweden -to France.--T. - -[35] The election took place on Wednesday 20 February 1811, forty days -after Marie Joseph Chenier's death. Only twenty-five members were -present, and Chateaubriand was elected almost unanimously.--B. - -[36] MILTON, _Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio secunda_: Archdeacon -Wrangham's translation.--T. - -[37] Cf. JOHNSON, _Lives of the English Poets: Milton_, in which the -poet is very roughly handled.--T. - -[38] The committee consisted of Messieurs François de Neufchâteau, -Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély, Lacretelle the Elder, Laujon and -Legouvé.--B. - -[39] Pierre Antoine Noël Brunot, Comte Daru (1760-1829), a moderate -revolutionary, had been imprisoned under the Terror. He was sent to -Berlin as Minister Plenipotentiary in 1806 and entered the Institute in -the same year. In 1811, he became Secretary of State, in which capacity -he opposed the Russian War. He was created a peer by the Restoration. -His works include a metrical translation of the Works of Horace (1804), -a History of the Republic of Venice (1819), a History of Brittany -(1826), etc.--T. - -[40] Charles Pineau Duclos (1704-1772), author of the _Considération -des mœurs_, etc., was a native of Dinan, in Brittany, and was noted -for the independence of his opinions. Louis XV. pronounced the -_Considération_ to be "the work of an honest man."--T. - -[41] Stanislas Chevalier de Boufflers (1737-1815) became a member of -the Academy in 1788, on his return from the Governorship of Senegal. He -is best known for his light erotic verse.--T. - -[42] The Marquise de Boufflers, _née_ de Beauvais-Craon, a beautiful -and witty woman who had done the honours of the Court of King -Stanislaus.--T. - -[43] Joseph Marie Duc de Boufflers (1706-1747) relieved Genoa, besieged -by the Imperial forces and by the King of Sardinia, in 1747, and died -there in the same year of the small-pox.--T. - -[44] Louis François Maréchal Duc de Boufflers (1644-1711), a pupil of -Condé and the Turennes, became famous through his defense of Lille -in 1708, for which service he was created a duke and a peer. He also -conducted the retreat and saved the French Army after the defeat of -Malplaquet in 1709.--T. - -[45] Louis de Boufflers (1534-1553), a guidon to the Duc d'Enghien, and -noted for his superhuman feats of strength and agility. He was killed, -at the age of nineteen, at the siege of Pont-sur-Yonne.--T. - -[46] The Abbé Delille.--B. - -[47] "Be reassured, immortality's yours:" a line from Delille's -_Dithyrambe sur l'immortalité de l'âme_, written during the Terror.--T. - -[48] M. de Fontanes.--B. - -[49] M. Suard.--B. - -[50] The Abbé Morellet, who, in 1795, had published two eloquent -appeals in favour of the victims of the Revolution, the _Cri des -familles_ and the _Cause des pères._--B. - -[51] Lieutenant-General Louis Philippe Comte de Ségur (1753-1830), a -very intelligent writer. After going through the American War with -Lafayette, he was sent as Ambassador to Russia, while still a very -young man, returned to France on the outbreak of the Revolution, lived -on his pen and was admitted to the Academy. Napoleon made him his -Grand-Master of Ceremonies and a senator; under the Restoration, he was -created a peer of France.--T. - -[52] Philippe Henri Maréchal Marquis de Ségur (1724-1801) was badly -wounded at the battle of Klosterkamp, in 1760.-T. - -[53] Philippe Paul Comte de Ségur, author of the _Campagne de Russie_, -was riddled with bullets at the Battle of Sommo-Sierra (1808), -and refused to cease fighting until he swooned in the arms of his -grenadiers.--B. - -[54] The Abbé Sicard.--B. - -[55] Henri Cardin Jean Baptiste Comte d'Aguesseau (1746-1826).--B. - -[56] Henri François d'Aguesseau (1668-1751), thrice Chancellor of -France.--T. - -[57] Jean Francois Ducis (1733-1816), the tragic poet, author of -_Œdipe chez Admète_, imitated from Sophocles and Euripides, and of -imitations of many of Shakespeare's tragedies. His only original play -was _Abufar, ou La Famille arabe_, which obtained a great success. He -received Voltaire's seat in the Academy in 1778. Ducis refused the many -advantages offered him by Bonaparte, preferring to live in poor and -honourable retirement.--T. - -[58] Gabriel Marie Jean Baptiste Legouvé (1764-1812), the poet, author -of the _Mort d'Abel_, the _Mort d'Henri IV_ and other tragedies, and of -some didactic poetry which is better than the plays.--T. - -[59] François Juste Marie Raynouard (1761-1836), author of the tragedy -of the _Templiers_, entered the Academy in 1807 and became its -perpetual secretary in 1817.--T. - -[60] Pierre Laujon (1727-1811), author of some comic operas and of a -collection of sportive verse entitled _À-propos de société_ (1771). He -had been secretary to the Prince de Condé.--T. - -[61] Anacreon was born at Teos.--T. - -[62] Cf. CAMOËNS, _Luciad_, where Adamastor is represented as the giant -spirit of storms, warning Vasco de Gama off the Cape of Storms, now the -Cape of Good Hope.--T. - -[63] The Chevalier de Parny, author of _Éléonore_, was born in the Île -Bourbon.--T. - -[64] Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, author of _Paul et Virginie_, lived -three years in the Mauritius.--T. - -[65] Joseph Alphonse Esménard (1770-1811) accompanied General Leclerc -to San Domingo, and on his return wrote his poem of the _Navigation._ -Napoleon made him Theatrical Censor. In 1810, he entered the Institute. -He was exiled, in 1811, for writing against the Emperor Alexander, -returned to France after three months, and was immediately killed by a -fall from his carriage.--T. - -[66] St. Ambrose (_circa_ 340-397), one of the Fathers of the Church, -was Governor of Liguria when he was elected bishop by the people, -although himself but recently converted to Christianity and as yet -unbaptized. He was ordained priest and consecrated Bishop of Milan -within a few days (374). St. Ambrose is honoured on the 7th of -December.--T. - -[67] Jean Siffrein Cardinal Maury (1746-1817) had been appointed to the -See of Montefiascone by Pope Pius VI. in 1794. In 1810, Napoleon had -nominated him Archbishop of Paris, a fact which Chateaubriand purposely -disregards.--B. - -[68] Chénier's tragedy of _Charles IX_ was produced in 1789, _Henri -VIII_ and the _Mort de Calas_ in 1791, _Gracchus_ in 1792, _Fénelon_ in -1793.--T. - -[69] A reference to an attack in Chénier's satire entitled the -_Nouveaux Saints_, which commences thus: - - Ah! vous parlez du diable? il est bien poétique, - Dit le dévot Chactas, ce sauvage érotique. ---B. - -[70] André de Chénier, guillotined in 1794.--T. - -[71] Caius Fabricius Luscinus (_fl._ 282 B.C.), the type of the ancient -Roman virtue.--T. - -[72] Marie Joseph Chénier was born in Constantinople in 1764.--T. - -[73] Jean de La Bruyère (1644-1696), author of the _Caractères._--T. - -[74] Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), the great -naturalist.--T. - -[75] Lucius Æmilius Paulus Macedonicus (228-160 B.C.), elected Consul -in 182 and 168, defeated Perseus in 167 B.C., and subdued Macedonia.--T. - -[76] Perseus, the last King of Macedon (_d._ 167 B.C.), adorned his -conqueror's triumph and allowed himself to die of starvation in his -prison in Rome.--T. - -[77] Marie-Louise Empress of the French (1791-1847), daughter of the -Emperor Francis I., had been married to Napoleon on the 1st of April -1810.--T. - -[78] Francis Charles Joseph Napoleon Duc de Reichstadt (1811-1832), -created King of Rome on his birth (20 March).--T. - -[79] Marie Françoise Sophie Gay (1776-1852), _née_ Nichault de -Lavalette, author of _Léonie de Montbreuse, Anatolie_, the _Salons -célèbres_ and other successful and distinguished works, and mother of -Madame Émile de Girardin.--T. - -[80] An epigram from the Anthology. The bird to which the Greek poet -addressed it is the nightingale, "too great a friend of the author's," -as M. de Marcellus very neatly observes, "for him to dare to call it by -its name when about to speak ill of it."--B. - -[81] 4 September 1812.--B. - -[82] In a pamphlet entitled, _Réponse aux attaques dirigées contre M. -de Chateaubriand._--B. - -[83] Damaze de Raymond died on the 27th of February 1813, in a duel -resulting from a quarrel at the gaming-table.--B. - -[84] _Cf._ Vol. II. p. 116.--T. - -[85] Except in so far as concerns the incidents of his literary -life, Chateaubriand's Memoirs give us hardly any details on the two -years elapsing between 1812 and 1814. They were spent between the -Vallée-aux-Loups and an apartment in the Rue de Rivoli which M. and -Madame de Chateaubriand had hired from M. Alexandre de Laborde.--B. - - - - -PART THE THIRD - - -1814-1830 - - - - -BOOKS I AND II - - -The last days of the Empire - - -Youth is a charming thing: it sets out at life's commencement crowned -with flowers, as did the Athenian fleet going to conquer Sicily and the -delightful plains of Enna. The prayer is offered aloud by the priest -of Neptune, libations are made from goblets of gold, the crowd lining -the coast unites its invocations to those of the pilot, the pæan is -sung while the sail is unfurled to the rays and to the breath of dawn. -Alcibiades[86], arrayed in purple and beautiful as Love, is noticeable -on the triremes, proud of the seven chariots which he has launched -on the Olympian race-course. But, scarce is the isle of Alcinous[87] -passed, when the illusion vanishes: Alcibiades, banished, goes to -grow old far away from his country and to die pierced with arrows -on Timandra's bosom. The companions of his early hopes, enslaved at -Syracuse, have nothing to alleviate the weight of their chains but a -few verses of Euripides. - -You have seen my youth quitting the shore: it had not the beauty of the -pupil of Pericles[88], educated upon the knees of Aspasia[89] but it -had the same morning hours--and longings and dreams, God knows! I have -described those dreams to you: to-day, returning to land after many -an exile, I have nothing more to tell you but truths sad as my age. -If at times I still sound the chords of the lyre, these are the last -harmonies of the poet seeking to cure himself of the wounds caused by -the arrows of time, or to console himself for the slavery of years. - -You know how changeable was my life during my condition as a traveller -and a soldier; you know of my literary existence from 1800 to 1813, -the year in which you left me at the Vallée-aux-Loups, which still -belonged to me when my political career opened. We are about to enter -into that career: before penetrating into it, I must needs revert to -the general facts which I have overlooked while occupying myself solely -with my works and my personal adventures. Those facts are of Napoleon's -making. Let us therefore pass to him; let us speak of the huge edifice -which was being built outside my dreams. I now turn historian without -ceasing to be an autobiographer; a public interest is about to support -my private confidences; my own smaller recitals will group themselves -around my narrative. - -When the war of the Revolution broke out, the kings did not understand -it; they saw a revolt where they ought to have seen the changing of -the nations, the end and the commencement of a world: they flattered -themselves that for them there was a question only of enlarging their -States with a few provinces taken from France; they believed in -bygone military tactics, in bygone diplomatic treaties, in cabinet -negociations: and conscripts were about to set Frederic's grenadiers to -flight; monarchs were about to come to sue for peace in the ante-rooms -of a few obscure demagogues; and awful revolutionary opinion was about -to unravel the intrigues of old Europe upon the scaffolds. That old -Europe thought it was fighting only France; it did not perceive that a -new age was marching upon it. - -Bonaparte, in the course of his ever-increasing successes, seemed -called upon to change the royal dynasties, to make his own the oldest -of them all. He had made Kings of the Electors of Bavaria, Wurtemberg -and Saxony; he had given the crown of Naples to Murat, that of Spain -to Joseph, that of Holland to Louis, that of Westphalia to Jerome; his -sister, Élisa Bacciochi, was Princess of Lucca; he, on his own account, -was Emperor of the French, King of Italy, in which kingdom were -included Venice, Tuscany, Parma and Piacenza; Piedmont was united to -France; he had consented to allow one of his captains, Bernadotte[90], -to reign in Sweden; by the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine -he exercised the rights of the House of Austria over Germany; he had -declared himself the mediator of the Helvetian Confederation; he had -laid Prussia low; without possessing a bark, he had declared the -British Isles in a state of blockade. England, in spite of her fleets, -was on the point of not having a port in Europe in which to discharge a -bale of merchandise or post a letter. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's position in 1813.] - -The Papal States formed part of the French Empire; the Tiber was -a French department. In the streets of Paris, one saw cardinals, -half-prisoners, who, putting their heads through the window of their -cab, asked: - -"Is this where the King of ---- lives?" - -"No," replied the porter to whom the question was put, "it's higher up." - -Austria had redeemed herself only by handing over her daughter: the -"raider" of the South[91] demanded Honoria[92] from Valentinian[93], -with half of the provinces of the Empire. - -How had those miracles been worked? What qualities were possessed by -the man who gave birth to them? What qualities did he lack for their -achievement? I will trace the immense fortune of Bonaparte, who, -notwithstanding, passed so quickly that his days fill but a short -period of the time covered by these Memoirs. Fastidious productions of -genealogies, cold disquisitions upon facts, insipid verifications of -dates are the burdens and servitudes of the writer.[94] - -. . . . . . . . . - -. . . . . . . . . - -. . . . . . . . . - -In the Second Book of these Memoirs you have read (I had then returned -from my first exile to Dieppe): - -"I have been permitted to return to my valley. The soil trembles -beneath the steps of the foreign soldier: I am writing, like the last -of the Romans, to the sound of the Barbarian invasion. By day I compose -pages as agitated as the events of the day; at night, while the rolling -of the distant cannon dies away in my solitary woods, I return to the -silence of the years that sleep in the grave and to the peace of my -youngest memories." - -* - -Those agitated pages which I composed by day were notes relating to -the events of the moment which, when collected, formed my pamphlet _De -Bonaparte et des Bourbons._ I had so high an opinion of the genius of -Napoleon and the gallantry of our soldiers that an invasion by the -foreigner which should be successful in its ultimate result could not -enter into my head; but I thought that this invasion, by making France -realize the danger to which Napoleon's ambition had brought her, would -lead to a movement from within and that the enfranchisement of the -French would be worked by their own hands. It was with this idea that -I was writing my notes, so that, if our political assemblies should -stay the march of the Allies and resolve to sever from a great man who -had become a scourge, they should know to whom to resort; the shelter -seemed to me to lie in the authority, modified in accordance with the -times, under which our ancestors had lived during eight centuries: -when, in a storm, one finds nothing within reach but an old edifice, -all in ruins though it be, one retires to it. - -In the winter of 1813 to 1814, I took an apartment in the Rue de -Rivoli, opposite the first gate of the garden of the Tuileries, before -which I had heard the death of the Duc d'Enghien cried. As yet there -was nothing to be seen in that street except the arcades built by the -Government and a few houses rising here and there with their lateral -denticulation of projecting stones. - -It needed nothing less than the spectacle of the calamities weighing -on France to maintain the aversion which Napoleon inspired and at the -same time to protect one's self against the admiration which he caused -to revive so soon as he acted: he was the proudest genius of action -that ever existed; his first campaign in Italy and his last campaign in -France (I am not speaking of Waterloo) are his two finest campaigns: he -was Condé in the first, Turenne in the second, a great warrior in the -former, a great man in the latter; but they differed in their results: -by the one he gained the Empire, by the other he lost it. His last -hours of power, all uprooted, all barefoot as they were, could not be -drawn from him, like a lion's tooth, save by the efforts of the arms of -Europe. The name of Napoleon was still so formidable that the hostile -armies crossed the Rhine in terror; they unceasingly looked behind -them, in order well to assure themselves that their retreat would be -possible; masters of Paris, they trembled yet. Alexander[95], casting -his eyes towards Russia while entering France, congratulated the -persons who were able to go away, and wrote his anxieties and regrets -to his mother[96]. - -[Sidenote: His campaign in France.] - -Napoleon beat the Russians at Saint-Dizier[97], the Prussians and -Russians at Brienne[98], as though to do honour to the fields in which -he had been brought up. He routed the Army of Silesia at Montmirail[99] -and Champaubert[100] and a portion of the main army at Montereau[101]. -He made head everywhere; went and returned on his steps; repelled the -columns by which he was surrounded. The Allies proposed an armistice; -Bonaparte tore up the proffered preliminaries and exclaimed: - -"I am nearer to Vienna than the Emperor of Austria is to Paris!" - -Russia, Austria, Prussia and England, for their mutual consolation, -concluded a new treaty of alliance at Chaumont[102]; but in reality -they were alarmed at Bonaparte's resistance and were thinking of -retreat. At Lyons an army[103] was forming on the Austrian flank; -Marshal Soult was checking the English; the Congress of Châtillon[104], -which was not dissolved until the 18th of March, was still negociating. -Bonaparte drove Blücher[105] from the heights of Craonne[106]. The main -allied army had triumphed on the 26th of February, at Bar-sur-Aube, -thanks only to superiority in numbers. Bonaparte, multiplying himself, -had recovered Troyes[107], which the Allies reoccupied[108]. From -Craonne he had moved upon Rheims[109]. - -"To-night," he said, "I shall go to take my father-in-law at Troyes." - -On the 20th of March, an affair took place near Arcis-sur-Aube[110]. -Amid a rolling fire of artillery, a shell having fallen in front of a -square of the guards, the square appeared to make a slight movement: -Bonaparte dashed towards the projectile, the fuse of which was smoking, -and made his horse sniff at it; the shell burst, and the Emperor came -safe and sound from the midst of the shattered bolt. - -The battle was to recommence the following day, but Bonaparte, -yielding to the inspiration of genius, an inspiration which was -none the less fatal, retired in order to bear upon the rear of the -confederate troops, separate them from their stores, and swell his -own army with the garrisons of the frontier places. The foreigners -were preparing to fall back upon the Rhine, when Alexander, by one of -these Heaven-inspired impulses which change a whole world, took the -resolve to march upon Paris, the road to which was becoming free[111]. -Napoleon thought he would draw the mass of the enemy after him, and he -was followed, by only ten thousand men of the cavalry, whom he believed -to be the advance-guard of the main troops, whereas they masked the -real movement of the Prussians and Muscovites. He dispersed those ten -thousand horse at Saint-Dizier and Vitry, and then perceived that the -great allied army was not behind them: that army, which was flinging -itself upon the capital, had before it only Marshals Marmont[112] and -Mortier[113], with about twelve thousand conscripts. - -[Sidenote: He retires to Fontainebleau.] - -Napoleon hurriedly made for Fontainebleau[114]: there a sainted -victim[115], retiring, had left the requiter and the avenger. Two -things in history always go side by side: let a man enter upon a path -of injustice, and he at the same time opens for himself a path of -perdition in which, at a given distance, the first road will converge -into the second. - -* - -Men's minds were greatly agitated: the hope of at all costs seeing -brought to a close a cruel war which, since twenty years, had been -weighing down upon France sated with misfortune and glory, this hope -carried the day, among the masses, over the feeling of nationality. -Each one thought of the part he would have to take in the approaching -catastrophe. Every evening my friends came to talk at Madame de -Chateaubriand's, to tell and comment upon the events of the day. -Messieurs de Fontanes, de Clausel, Joubert gathered with the crowd -of those transient friends whom events bring and events withdraw. -Madame la Duchesse de Lévis, beautiful, peaceable and devoted, whom -we shall meet again at Ghent, kept Madame de Chateaubriand faithful -company. Madame la Duchesse de Duras was also in Paris, and I often -went to see Madame la Marquise de Montcalm[116], sister to the Duc de -Richelieu[117]. - -I continued to be persuaded, despite the near approach of the -battle-fields, that the Allies would not enter Paris and that a -national insurrection would put an end to our fears. The obsession -of this idea prevented me from feeling the presence of the foreign -armies as keenly as I might have done: but I could not keep myself from -reflecting upon the calamities to which we had subjected Europe, when I -saw Europe bring them back to us. - -I never ceased working at my pamphlet; I was preparing it as a remedy -when the moment of anarchy should come to burst forth. It is not thus -that we write nowadays, when we live at our ease, with only a war of -broadsheets to fear: at night, I turned the key in my lock; I placed -my papers under my pillow, with two loaded revolvers on my table: I -slept between these two muses. My text was in duplicate: I had written -it in the form of a pamphlet, which it retained, and in the shape of a -speech, differing in some respects from the pamphlet; I thought that, -when France rose, they might assemble at the Hôtel de Ville, and I had -prepared myself on two topics. - -Madame de Chateaubriand wrote a few notes at various periods of our -common life; among those notes I find the following paragraph: - - "M. de Chateaubriand was writing his pamphlet _De Bonaparte - et des Bourbons._ If that pamphlet had been seized, the - result was not doubtful: the sentence was the scaffold. - Nevertheless the author displayed incredible negligence in - concealing it. Often he would go out and leave it on the - table; his prudence never went beyond placing it under his - pillow, which he used to do before his valet, a very honest - fellow, but liable to temptation. As for me, I was in a - mortal fright: and, so soon as M. de Chateaubriand had gone - out, I used to take the manuscript and place it about my - person. One day, while crossing the Tuileries, I noticed that - I no longer had it, and, being sure that I had felt it on - leaving the house, I had no doubt that I had lost it on the - way. Already I saw the fatal work in the hands of the police - and M. de Chateaubriand arrested: I fell unconscious in the - middle of the garden; some kind people assisted me, and - afterwards took me home, which was not far off. What torture - when, on climbing the stairs, I hovered between a fear which - was almost a certainty and a slight hope that I had forgotten - to take the pamphlet! As I approached my husband's bedroom, - I felt myself fainting once more; I went in at last; nothing - on the table; I went up to the bed; I first felt the pillow, - I perceived nothing; I lifted it up, and saw the roll of - papers! My heart beats whenever I think of it. I have never - experienced such a moment of joy in my life. Certainly, I can - truthfully say that it would not have been so great had I - seen myself released at the foot of the scaffold; for, after - all, it was some one dearer to me than myself whom I saw - released from it." - -How unhappy should I be if I could have caused a moment of trouble to -Madame de Chateaubriand! - -I had nevertheless been obliged to entrust a printer[118] with my -secret: he had consented to risk the business; according to the news of -the hour, he used to return the half-composed proofs to me, or come to -fetch them back, as the sound of the cannon approached or drew farther -from Paris: I played pitch-and-toss with my life, in this way, for -nearly a fortnight. - - -[Sidenote: War at the gates of Paris.] - -The circle was drawing closer around the capital: at every moment we -heard of some progress on the part of the enemy. Russian prisoners and -French wounded entered promiscuously through the barriers, drawn in -carts: some, half-dead, fell beneath the wheels, which they stained -with their blood. Conscripts called up from the interior crossed the -capital in a long file on their way to the armies. At night, one heard -trains of artillery pass along the outer boulevards, and one did not -know whether the distant detonations announced the decisive victory or -the final defeat. - -The war at last came and fixed itself outside the barriers of Paris. -From the top of the towers of Notre-Dame, one could see the head of -the Russian columns appear, like the first undulations of the tide of -the sea upon a beach. I felt what a Roman must have experienced when, -from the ridge of the Capitol, he beheld the soldiers of Alaric[119] -and the old city of the Latins at his feet, as I beheld the Russian -soldiers and, at my feet, the old city of the Gauls. Farewell, then, -paternal gods, hearths which preserved the traditions of the country, -roofs beneath which had breathed both Virginia[120], sacrificed by -her father to modesty and liberty, and Héloïse, consecrated by love to -letters and religion. - -Paris had not since centuries seen the smoke of an enemy's camp, and it -was Bonaparte who, from triumph to triumph, brought the Thebans within -sight of the women of Sparta. Paris was the bourn from which he had -started to conquer the earth: he returned to it leaving behind him the -huge conflagration of his useless conquests. - -The people rushed to the Jardin des Plantes, which, in olden times, -the fortified Abbey of St. Victor might have been able to protect: -the small world of swans and plantain-trees, to which our power had -promised an eternal peace, was perturbed. From the summit of the -labyrinth, looking over the great cedar, over the public granaries -which Bonaparte had not had time to complete, beyond the site of the -Bastille and the keep of Vincennes (spots which told the tale of our -successive history), the crowd watched the infantry-fire in the combat -of Belleville. Montmartre was carried: the cannon-balls fell as far as -the Boulevard du Temple. A few companies of the National Guard made a -sortie and lost three hundred men in the fields around the tomb of the -"martyrs." Never did military France, in the midst of her reverses, -shine with a brighter glory; the last heroes were the one hundred -and fifty lads of the Polytechnic School, transformed into gunners -in the redoubts on the Vincennes Road. Surrounded by the enemy, they -refused to surrender; they had to be tom from their pieces: the Russian -grenadier seized them, blackened with gun-powder and covered with -wounds; while they struggled in his arms, he lifted those young French -palm-branches in the air with cries of victory and admiration and -restored them all bleeding to their mothers. - -During that time Cambacérès was fleeing with Marie-Louise, the King of -Rome and the Regency. The following proclamation was read on the walls: - - "KING JOSEPH[121], LIEUTENANT-GENERAL OF THE EMPEROR, - COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD. - - "CITIZENS OF PARIS, - - "The Council of Regency has provided for the safety of the - Empress and the King of Rome: I remain with you. Let us arm - ourselves to defend this town, its monuments, its riches, our - wives, our children, all that is dear to us. Let this vast - city become a camp for a short while, and let the enemy meet - with his disgrace under its walls, which he hopes to surmount - in triumph." - -Rostopschin[122] did not pretend to defend Moscow; he burnt it down. -Joseph announced that he would never leave the Parisians, and privately -decamped, leaving his courage placarded at the street-corners. - -[Sidenote: M. de Talleyrand.] - -M. de Talleyrand made one of the Regency appointed by Napoleon. Since -the day on which the Bishop of Autun, under the Empire, ceased to -be Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had dreamt of but one thing, the -disappearance of Bonaparte followed by the regency of Marie-Louise, a -regency of which he, the Prince de Bénévent, would have been the head. -Bonaparte, in appointing him a member of a provisional regency in -1814, seemed to have favoured his secret wishes. The Napoleonic death -had not occurred; there remained for M. de Talleyrand but to hobble -at the feet of the colossus whom he was unable to overthrow, and to -turn the moment to account on his own behalf: the genius of that man -of bargains and compromises lay in contriving. The position presented -difficulties: to remain in the capital was the obvious course; but, if -Bonaparte returned, the prince, separated from the fugitive Regency, -the prince, lagging behind, ran the risk of being shot: on the other -hand, how to abandon Paris at the moment when the Allies might be -entering it? Would it not be to forego the profits of success, to -betray that morrow of events for which M. de Talleyrand was made? So -far from leaning towards the Bourbons, he feared them by reason of his -various apostacies. However, since there was some sort of chance for -them, M. de Vitrolles[123], with the assent of the married prelate, -had stealthily repaired to the Congress of Châtillon, as the unavowed -whisperer of the Legitimacy. Having taken this precaution, the prince, -in order to get clear of his difficulties in Paris, had recourse to one -of those tricks of which he was a past master. - -M. de Laborie, who, soon after, became confidential secretary to the -Provisional Government under M. Dupont de Nemours[124], went to M. de -Laborde, who was attached to the National Guard, and revealed the fact -of M. de Talleyrand's departure: - -"He is preparing," said he, "to follow the Regency; it will perhaps -appear necessary to you to arrest him, in order to be in a position to -negociate with the Allies if need be." - -The comedy was played to perfection. The prince's carriages were -ostentatiously got ready; he started at broad noon-day, on the 30th of -March: on reaching the Barrière d'Enfer, he was inexorably sent back -home, in spite of his protestations. In case of a miraculous return, -the proofs were there showing that the ex-minister had tried to join -Marie-Louise and that the armed force had prevented his passage. - - -Meantime, on the advent of the Allies, the Comte Alexandre de Laborde -and M. Tourton, superior officers of the National Guard, had been -sent to the Generalissimo, Prince von Schwarzenberg[125], who had -been one of Bonaparte's generals during the Russian campaign. The -Generalissimo's proclamation was made known in Paris on the evening of -the 30th of March. It said: - - "For twenty years Europe has been inundated with blood - and tears: the attempts made to put an end to all these - sufferings have been useless, because the very principle - of the government by which you are oppressed contains an - insurmountable obstacle to peace. Parisians, you know the - situation in which your country is placed: the preservation - and the tranquillity of your city will be the object of the - cares of the Allies. It is with these sentiments that Europe, - in arms before your walls, addresses herself to you!" - - -What a magnificent acknowledgment of France's greatness: - -"Europe, in arms before your walls, addresses herself to you!" - -[Sidenote: Capitulation of Paris.] - -We, who had respected nothing, were respected by those whose towns -we had ravaged and who, in their turn, had become the stronger. We -appeared as a sacred nation in their eyes; our lands were to them -as a field of Elis upon which, by order of the gods, no battalion -dared trample. If, notwithstanding, Paris had thought fit to offer a -resistance, very easily made, of four-and-twenty hours, the results -would have been changed; but nobody, except the soldiers intoxicated -with fire and glory, wanted any more of Bonaparte, and, dreading lest -they should keep him, the people hastened to open the gates. - -Paris capitulated on the 31st of March: the military capitulation is -signed, in the names of Marshals Mortier; and Marmont, by Colonels -Denys[126] and Fabvier[127]; the civil capitulation was made in the -names of the mayors of Paris. The Municipal and Departmental Council -sent a deputation to the Russian head-quarters to arrange the several -clauses: my companion in exile, Christian de Lamoignon, was one of the -delegates. Alexander said to them: - -"Your Emperor, who was my ally, came into the very heart of my States -to bring with him evils of which the traces will long remain: a just -defense has brought me here. I am far from wishing to return to France -the wrongs which she has done me. I am just, and I know that the -French: are not to blame. The French are my friends, and I wish to -prove to them that I have come to return good for evil. Napoleon is my -only enemy. I promise my special protection to the city of Paris; I -shall protect and preserve all public institutions; I shall let only -picked troops remain there; I shall preserve your National Guard, -which is composed of the pick of your citizens. It is for yourselves -to ensure your happiness in the future; you must give yourselves a -government which will procure your repose and that of Europe. It is for -you to express your wish: you will always find me ready to second your -efforts." - -These words were punctually fulfilled: the joy of victory surmounted -every other interest in the eyes of the Allies. What must have been -Alexander's feelings when he caught sight of the domes of the buildings -of that town where no foreigner had ever entered except to admire us, -to revel in the marvels of our civilization and our intelligence; -of that inviolable city, defended by its great men during twelve -Centuries; of that glorious capital which Louis XIV. seemed still to -protect with his shade and Bonaparte with his return! - - - -[86] Alcibiades (450-404 B.C.) started on his ill-fated expedition to -Sicily in 416 B.C.--T. - -[87] Alcinous King of the Phæacians, who welcomed Ulysses in the island -of Corcyra.--T. - -[88] Pericles (_circa_ 494-429 B.C.) was Alcibiades' uncle and -instructor.--T. - -[89] Aspasia had married Pericles after having been his mistress.--T. - -[90] Charles XIV. King of Sweden (1764-1844), as General Bernadotte, -was adopted by Charles XIII., abjured Catholicism, fought against -France in 1813, and succeeded in 1818.--T. - -[91] Attila, King of the Huns (_d._ 453). He claimed half the Western -Empire as the betrothed husband of Honoria.--T. - -[92] Justa Grata Honoria (_b. circa_ 418), a Roman princess, daughter -of Constantius III., Emperor of the West. She was disgraced and kept -guarded because of her intrigue with Eugenius, and is said to have sent -to Attila to claim her as his bride.--T. - -[93] Valentinian III. (419-455), Honoria's brother. The losses of his -reign included Africa (to the Vandals), Britain, and large parts of -Gaul and Spain.--T. - -[94] Here I omit Chateaubriand's long history of the career of Napoleon -Bonaparte, extending over two books of these Memoirs. The publishers -propose to issue it as a supplementary volume when the publication of -the Memoirs proper has been completed.--T. - -[95] Alexander I. Paulowitch, Emperor of Russia (1777-1825).--T. - -[96] The Dowager-Empress Maria Sophia Dorothea Augusta (1759-1828), -widow of Paul I., and daughter of Frederic Eugene Duke of -Wurtemberg-Mümpelgard.--T. - -[97] 27 January 1814.--T. - -[98] 29 January 1814. Napoleon had been educated at the military school -at Brienne.--T. - -[99] 10 February 1814.--T. - -[100] 11 February.--T. - -[101] 18 February.--T. - -[102] 1 March 1814.--B. - -[103] Under the command of Marshal Augereau, Duc de Castiglione.--B. - -[104] The Congress of Châtillon, between the four allied Powers and -France, had opened on the 5th of February 1814. France was represented -by the Duc de Vicence; Austria by Count von Stadion; Prussia by Baron -von Humboldt; Russia by Count Razumowsky; England by Sir Charles -Stuart, with Lord Cathcart and the Earl of Aberdeen.--T. - -[105] Field-Marshal Gebhart Lebrecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstadt -(1743-1819), who played a prominent part in command of the Prussian -forces in the Waterloo campaign.--T. - -[106] 7 March 1814.--T. - -[107] 27 February.--T. - -[108] 4 March.--T. - -[109] Napoleon drove a Russian corps out of Rheims on the 13th of March -1814.--T. - -[110] The Battle of Arcis-Sur-Aube lasted two days (20 and 21 March). -It was the last battle which Napoleon delivered in person in this -campaign. He had to abandon the field to the enemy; but the two -days were none the less most glorious for the French soldiers and -their leader. Napoleon's 20,000 men had resisted a mass which rose -successively from 40,000 to 90,000.--B. - -[111] I have heard General Pozzo tell that it was he who persuaded the -Emperor Alexander to march forward.--_Author's Note._ - -The resolution to march on Paris was taken on the 24th of March, at -Sommepuis.--B. - -[112] Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, Maréchal Duc de Raguse -(1774-1852), one of Napoleon's most distinguished commanders. Under the -Restoration, he became a peer of France and Major-General of the Royal -Guard, and he clung to the Elder Line after the usurpation of the Duc -d'Orléans. Marmont was elected an honorary member of the Academy of -Science in 1816.--T. - -[113] Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, Maréchal Duc de Trévise -(1768-1835), played a prominent part in the Republic and the Empire. He -was created a peer of France under the First Restoration, but rallied -to Napoleon during the Hundred Days, and was deprived of his peerage in -1815, on refusing to try Marshal Ney. He sat in the Chamber of Deputies -from 1816 to 1819, when his peerage was restored to him; accepted the -office of Minister for War under the Usurpation; and was killed, in -July 1835, by Fieschi's infernal machine, while riding by the side of -Louis-Philippe.--T. - -[114] He arrived at Fontainebleau in the night of the 30th of March. -The Capitulation of Paris was signed at two o'clock on the morning of -the 31st.--B. - -[115] Pope Pius VII., who had been released from his captivity at -Fontainebleau early in the year.--T. - -[116] The Marquise de Montcalm was the half-sister of the Duc de -Richelieu. Their father, the Duc de Fronsac, had married twice, first, -Mademoiselle d'Hautefort, by whom he had a son, the future minister of -the Restoration; secondly, Mademoiselle de Gallifet, by whom he had two -daughters, Armande and Simplicie, who became Marquise de Montcalm and -Marquise de Jumilhac respectively.--B. - -[117] Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1766-1822), -emigrated in 1789 and served with distinction in the Russian Army. He -returned to France in 1814 and in the following year was appointed -President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He used his -great influence with the Emperor of Russia in order to reduce the -period of the foreign occupation, at the end of which, in 1818, he -retired from office, the Chambers voting him a reward of 50,000 francs -a year, the whole of which he devoted to the endowment of a hospital -at Bordeaux. In 1820, he was again appointed Prime Minister, after -the assassination of the Duc de Berry, and set himself to repress the -spirit of independence and discontent which was being displayed. His -consequent loss of popularity caused him to resign in 1821, and he died -a few months later, in 1822, universally esteemed.--T. - -[118] M. Mame, the founder of the great Tours publishing-house.--T. - -[119] Alaric I. King of the Visigoths (382-412) besieged Rome three -times in 409 and 410, and took the city by assault in the latter -year.--T. - -[120] Virginia was killed by her father, Virginius, in 449 B.C., to -save her from the lust of Appius Claudius, one of the Decemvirs of -Rome. The people rose after this event, which led to the abolition of -the Decemvirate.--T. - -[121] Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), Napoleon's elder brother, was King -of Naples from 1806 to 1808, and King of Spain from 1808 to 1813. -After Waterloo, he took refuge in the United States, where he lived -for eleven years as Comte de Survilliers, returning to Europe in 1826, -when he resided successively in England and Italy until his death in -1844.--T. - -[122] General Feodor Count Rostopschin (1765-1826) was Governor of -Moscow in 1812 at the time of the French invasion, when he set fire to -the town in order to deprive the enemy of all resources.--T. - -[123] Eugène François Auguste d'Armand, Baron de Vitrolles (1774-1854), -had fought in the Army of Condé, but was created a baron of the -Empire in 1812. He took up the cause of the Bourbons in 1814, and -was imprisoned by Bonaparte during the Hundred Days. Under the -Second Restoration, he became principal agent of the personal -policy of Monsieur (the Comte d'Artois). He was appointed Minister -Plenipotentiary to Florence in 1827 and created a peer in 1830. The -fall of the Elder Branch drove him back into private life.--B. - -[124] Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours (1739-1817), author of a number -of works on economy, politics, physiology, natural history and general -physics, had remained loyal to Louis XVI. under the Revolution, and -fled to America during the Terror. He returned to France under the -Consulate. In 1814, he was appointed Secretary to the Provisional -Government; but, after the return of Napoleon, he went back to America, -where he died two years later. Dupont de Nemours was one of the -original members of the Institute.--T. - -[125] Karl Philipp Field-Marshal Prince von Schwarzenberg (1771-1819), -the Austrian Commander-in-Chief, had distinguished himself at -Hohenlinden in 1800 and during the campaign of 1805. He negotiated the -marriage between Napoleon and Marie-Louise, and commanded the Austrian -auxiliaries in the French campaign against Russia.--T. - -[126] Charles Marie Denys, Comte de Damrémont (1783-1837). He espoused -the King's cause in 1814. In 1830, he was given a brigade in the -Algerian Expedition, was created a peer of France in 1830, and Governor -of the French North-African Possessions in 1837, but was killed on the -13th of October of the same year at the taking of Constantine.--T. - -[127] Charles Nicolas Baron Fabvier (1782-1855). General Fabvier got -himself into trouble in 1820, and was obliged to leave France. In 1823 -he offered his services to the Greeks in their War of Independence, -and defended the Acropolis of Athens in 1826. He returned to France -in 1830, on the outbreak of the Revolution. Louis-Philippe made him a -lieutenant-general and a peer (1845). In 1848 he was sent as Ambassador -of the Republic to Constantinople, and later to Denmark. He retired -into private life after the _coup d'État_ of 1851.--T. - - - - -BOOK III - - -Entry of the Allies into Paris--Bonaparte at Fontainebleau--The -Regency at Blois--Publication of my pamphlet _De Bonaparte et des -Bourbons_--The Senate issues the decree of dethronement--The house -in the Rue Saint-Florentin--M. de Talleyrand--Addresses of the -Provisional Government--Constitution proposed by the Senate--Arrival of -the Comte d'Artois--Bonaparte abdicates at Fontainebleau--Napoleon's -itinerary to the island of Elba--Louis XVIII. at Compiègne--His entry -into Paris--The Old Guard--An irreparable mistake--The Declaration -of Saint-Ouen--Treaty of Paris--The Charter--Departure of the -Allies--First year of the Restoration--First ministry--I publish my -_Réflexions Politiques_-Madame la Duchesse de Duras--I am appointed -Ambassador to Sweden--Exhumation of the remains of Louis XVI.--The -first 21st of January at Saint-Denis. - - -God had pronounced one of those words by which the silence of eternity -is at rare intervals interrupted. Then, in the midst of the present -generation, rose the hammer that struck the hour which Paris had only -once heard sound: on the 25th of December 496, Rheims announced the -baptism of Clovis, and the gates of Lutetia opened to the Franks; on -the 30th of March 1814, after the baptism of blood of Louis XVI., the -old hammer, which had so long remained motionless, rose once more in -the belfry of the ancient monarchy: a second stroke resounded, the -Tartars penetrated into Paris. In the interval of thirteen hundred and -eighteen years, the foreigner had insulted the walls of the capital of -our empire without ever being able to enter it, except when he glided -in, summoned by our own divisions. The Normans besieged the city of the -_Parisii_; the _Parisii_ gave flight to the hawks which they carried -on their wrists; Odo[128], child of Paris and future King, "_rex -futurus_," Abbon[129] says, drove back the pirates of the North: the -Parisians let fly their eagles in 1814; the Allies entered the Louvre. - -Bonaparte had waged an unjust war against Alexander, his admirer, who -had begged on his knees for peace; Bonaparte had ordered the carnage -of the Moskowa; he had forced the Russians themselves to bum Moscow; -Bonaparte had plundered Berlin, humiliated its King, insulted its -Queen[130]: what reprisals were we, then, to expect? You shall see. - -I had wandered in the Floridas round unknown monuments, devastated of -old by conquerors of whom no trace remains, and I was saved for the -sight of the Caucasian hordes encamped in the court-yard of the Louvre. -In those events of history which, according to Montaigne, "are but -weake testimonies of our worth and capacity[131]," my tongue cleaves to -my palate: _adhæret lingua mea faucibus meis._[132] - -The Allied Army entered Paris on the 31st of March 1814, at mid-day, -ten days only after the anniversary of the death of the Duc d'Enghien, -21 March 1804. Was it worth Bonaparte's while to commit an action of -such long remembrance for a reign which was to last so short a time? -The Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia rode at the head of their -troops. I saw them defile along the boulevards. Feeling stupefied and -dumfoundered within myself, as though my name as a Frenchman had been -tom from me to substitute for it the name by which I was thenceforth -to be known in the mines of Siberia, I felt, at the same time, my -exasperation increase against the man whose glory had reduced us to -that disgrace. - -Nevertheless, this first invasion of the Allies has remained -unparalleled in the annals of the world: order, peace and moderation -reigned on every hand; the shops were re-opened; Russian guardsmen, six -feet tall, were piloted through the streets by little French rogues -who made fun of them, as of jumping-jacks and carnival maskers. The -conquered might be taken for the conquerors; the latter, trembling -at their successes, looked as though they were excusing themselves. -The National Guard alone garrisoned the interior of Paris, with the -exception of the houses in which the foreign Kings and Princes were -lodged[133]. On the 31st of March 1814, countless armies were occupying -France; a few months later all those troops passed back across our -frontiers, without firing a musket-shot, without shedding a drop of -blood after the return of the Bourbons. Old France found herself -enlarged on some of her frontiers; the ships and stores of Antwerp were -divided with her; three hundred thousand prisoners, scattered over -the countries where victory or defeat had left them, were restored to -her. After five and twenty years of fighting, the clash of arms ceased -from one end of Europe to the other. Alexander departed, leaving us -the master-pieces which we had conquered and the liberty lodged in the -Charter, a liberty which we owed as much to his enlightenment as to his -influence. The head of two supreme authorities, twice an autocrat by -the sword and by religion, he alone, of all the sovereigns of Europe, -had understood that, at the age of civilization which France had -attained, she could be governed only by virtue of a free constitution. - -In our very natural hostility to the foreigners, we have confused the -invasion of 1814 and that of 1815, which were in no sense alike. - -[Sidenote: The Emperor Alexander.] - -Alexander looked upon himself merely as an instrument of Providence, -and took no credit to himself. When Madame de Staël complimented him -upon the happiness which his subjects, lacking a constitution, enjoyed -of being governed by him, he made his well-known reply: - -"I am only a 'fortunate accident.'" - -A young man in the streets of Paris expressed to him his admiration at -the affability with which he received the least of the citizens; he -replied: - -"For what else are sovereigns made?" - -He refused to inhabit the Tuileries, remembering that Bonaparte had -taken his ease in the palaces of Vienna, Berlin and Moscow. - -Looking at the statue of Napoleon on the column in the Place Vendôme, -he said: - -"If I were so high up, I should be afraid of becoming giddy." - -As he was going over the Palace of the Tuileries, they showed him the -Salon de la Paix: - -"Of what use," he asked, laughing, "was this room to Bonaparte?" - -On the day of Louis XVIII.'s entry into Paris, Alexander hid himself -behind a window, wearing no mark of distinction, to watch the -procession as it passed. - -Alexander sometimes had elegantly affectionate manners. Visiting a -mad-house, he asked a woman if there were many women "mad through love": - -"Not at present," replied she; "but it is to be feared that the number -has increased since the moment of Your Majesty's entry into Paris." - -One of Napoleon's great dignitaries said to the Tsar: - -"Your arrival has long been expected and wished for, Sire." - -"I should have come sooner," he replied; "you must blame only French -valour for my delay." - -It is certain that, when crossing the Rhine, he had regretted that he -was not able to retire in peace to the midst of his family. - -At the Hôtel des Invalides, he found the maimed soldiers who had -defeated him at Austerlitz: they were silent and gloomy; one heard -nothing save the noise of their wooden legs in their deserted yard and -their denuded church. Alexander was touched by this noise of brave men: -he ordered that twelve Russian guns should be given back to them. - -A proposal was made to him to change the name of the Pont d'Austerlitz: - -"No," he said, "it is enough for me to have crossed the bridge with my -army." - -Alexander had something calm and sad about him. He went about Paris, -on horse-back or on foot, without a suite and without affectation. He -appeared astonished at his triumph; his almost melting gaze wandered -over a population whom he seemed to regard as superior to himself: one -would have said that he thought himself a Barbarian among us, even -as a Roman felt shame-faced in Athens. Perhaps, also, he reflected -that these same Frenchmen had appeared in his fired capital; that his -soldiers, in their turn, were masters of Paris, in which he might -have been able to find again some of those now extinguished torches -by which Moscow was freed and consumed. This destiny, these changing -fortunes, this common misery of peoples and of kings were bound to make -a profound impression upon a mind so religious as his. - -* - -What was the victor of the Borodino doing? So soon as he had heard -of Alexander's resolution, he had sent orders to Major Maillard de -Lescourt of the Artillery to blow up the Grenelle powder-magazine: -Rostopschin had set fire to Moscow, but he had first sent away the -inhabitants. From Fontainebleau, to which he had returned, Napoleon -marched to Villejuif; thence he threw a glance over Paris: foreign -soldiers were guarding its gates; the conqueror remembered the days in -which his grenadiers kept watch on the ramparts of Berlin, Moscow, and -Vienna. - -Events destroy other events; how poor a thing to-day appears to us the -grief of Henry IV. learning of the death of Gabrielle at Villejuif, and -returning to Fontainebleau! Bonaparte also returned to that solitude; -he was awaited there only by the memory of his august prisoner: the -captive of peace[134] had gone from the palace in order to leave it -free for the captive of war, so swiftly does "misfortune" fill up its -"places." - -[Sidenote: Flight of the Empire.] - -The Regency had retired to Blois. Bonaparte had given orders for the -Empress and the King of Rome to leave Paris, saying that he would -rather see them at the bottom of the Seine than led back in triumph -to Vienna; but, at the same time, he had enjoined Joseph to remain in -the capital. His brother's retreat made him furious, and he accused -the ex-King of Spain of ruining all. The ministers, the members of the -Regency, Napoleon's brothers, his wife and his son arrived in disorder -at Blois, swept away in the downfall; military waggons, baggage-vans, -carriages, everything was there; the King's own coaches were there -and were dragged through the mud of the Beauce to Chambord, the only -morsel of France left to the heir of Louis XIV. Some of the ministers -did not stop here, but proceeded as far as Brittany to hide themselves, -while Cambacérès lolled in a sedan-chair in the steep streets of Blois. -Various rumours were current: there was talk of two camps and of a -general requisition. During several days, they were ignorant of what -was happening in Paris; the uncertainty did not cease until the arrival -of a waggoner whose pass was signed "Sacken[135]." Soon the Russian -General Schouvaloff[136] alighted at the Auberge de la Galère: he was -suddenly besieged by the grandees, and entreated to obtain a visa -for their stampede. However, before leaving Blois, all drew upon the -funds of the Regency for their travelling-expenses and their arrears -of salary; they held their passports in one hand and their money in -the other, taking care at the same time to send in their adhesion to -the Provisional Government, for they did not lose their heads. Madame -Mère[137] and her brother, Cardinal Fesch[138], left for Rome. Prince -Esterhazy[139] came on behalf of Francis II. to fetch Marie-Louise -and her son. Joseph and Jerome[140] withdrew to Switzerland, after -vainly trying to compel the Empress to attach herself to their fate. -Marie-Louise hastened to join her father: indifferently attached to -Bonaparte, she found means to console herself and rejoiced at being -delivered from the double tyranny of a husband and a master. When, in -the following year, Bonaparte revisited that confusion of flight on the -Bourbons, the latter, but lately rescued from their long tribulations, -had not enjoyed fourteen years of unequalled prosperity in which to -accustom themselves to the comforts of the throne. - -* - -However, Napoleon was not yet dethroned; more than forty thousand of -the best soldiers in the world were around him; he was able to retire -behind the Loire; the French armies which had arrived from Spain were -growling in the South; the military population might bubble over and -distribute its lava; even among the foreign leaders, there was still -a question of Napoleon or his son reigning over France: for two days, -Alexander hesitated. M. de Talleyrand, as I have said, secretly leant -towards the policy which tended to crown the King of Rome, for he -dreaded the Bourbons; if he did not then accept entirely the plan of -the Regency of Marie-Louise, it was because, since Napoleon had not -perished, he, the Prince de Bénévent, feared that he would not be able -to retain the mastery during a minority threatened by the existence -of a restless, erratic, enterprising man, still in the vigour of his -age[141]. - -[Sidenote: _De Bonaparte et des Bourbons._] - -It was in those critical days that I threw down my pamphlet _De -Bonaparte et des Bourbons_[142] to turn the scale: its result is well -known. I flung myself headlong into the fray to serve as a shield to -liberty reviving against tyranny still subsisting, with its strength -increased threefold by despair. I spoke in the name of the Legitimacy, -in order to add to my words the authority of positive affairs. I taught -France what the old Royal Family was; I told her how many members of -that Family existed, what their names were, and their character: it -was as though I had drawn up a fist of the children of the Emperor of -China, to so great an extent had the Republic and the Empire encroached -upon the present and relegated the Bourbons to the past. Louis XVIII. -declared, as I have already often mentioned, that my pamphlet was of -greater profit to him than an army of one hundred thousand men; he -might have added that it was a certificate of existence to him. I -assisted in giving him the crown a second time by the fortunate issue -of the Spanish War. - -From the commencement of my political career, I became popular with the -crowd; but, from that time also, I failed to make my way with powerful -men. All who had been slaves under Bonaparte abhorred me; on the other -side, I was an object of suspicion to all who wished to place France in -a state of vassalage. At the first moment, among the sovereigns, I had -none on my side except Bonaparte himself. He looked through my pamphlet -at Fontainebleau: the Duc de Bassano[143] had brought it to him; he -discussed it impartially, saying: - -"This is true; that is not true. I have nothing to reproach -Chateaubriand with: he resisted me when I was in power; but those -scoundrels, so and so!" and he named them. - -My admiration for Bonaparte was always great and sincere, even at the -time when I was attacking Napoleon with the greatest eagerness. - -Posterity is not so fair in its judgments as has been held; there are -passions, infatuations, errors of distance even as there are passions -and errors of proximity. When posterity admires without reserve, it -is scandalized that the contemporaries of the man admired should not -have had the same idea of that man as itself. This can be explained, -however: the things which offended one in that person are past; -his infirmities have died with him; all that remains of him is his -imperishable life; but the evil which he caused is none the less real: -evil in itself and in its essence, and especially for those who endured -it. - -It is the style of the day to magnify Bonaparte's victories: the -sufferers have disappeared; we no longer hear the imprecations, the -cries of pain and distress of the victims; we no longer see France -exhausted, with only women to till her soil; we no longer see parents -arrested as a pledge for their sons, the inhabitants of the villages -made jointly and severally responsible for the penalties applicable -to a rebellious recruit; we no longer see those conscription placards -posted at the street-corners, the passers-by gathered before those -enormous lists of dead, seeking in consternation the names of their -children, their brothers, their friends, their neighbours. We forget -that the whole population bewailed the triumphs; we forget that the -slightest allusion against Bonaparte on the stage which had escaped -the censors was hailed with rapture; we forget that the people, the -Court, the generals, the ministers, Napoleon's relations were weary of -his oppressions and his conquests, weary of that game always being won -and always being played, of that existence brought into question each -morning anew, thanks to the impossibility of repose. - -The reality of our sufferings is demonstrated by the catastrophe -itself: if France had been infatuated with Bonaparte, would she twice -have abandoned him, abruptly, completely, without making one last -effort to keep him? If France owed all to Bonaparte: glory, liberty, -order, prosperity, industry, commerce, manufactures, monuments, -literature, fine arts; if, before his time, the nation had done nothing -itself; if the Republic, destitute of genius and courage, had neither -defended nor enlarged the territory: then France must have been very -ungrateful, very cowardly, to allow Napoleon to fall into the hands of -his enemies, or, at least, not to protest against the captivity of so -great a benefactor? - -[Sidenote: Feeling against Napoleon.] - -This reproach, which might justly be made against us, is not made -against us, however: and why? Because it is evident that, at the moment -of his fall, France did not desire to defend Napoleon; in our bitter -mortification, we beheld in him only the author and the contemner of -our wretchedness. The Allies did not defeat us: we ourselves, choosing -between two scourges, renounced shedding our blood, which had ceased to -flow for our liberties. - -The Republic had been very cruel, doubtless, but every one hoped that -it would pass, that sooner or later we should recover our rights, while -retaining the preservatory conquests which it had given us on the Alps -and the Rhine. All the victories which it gained were won in our name; -with the Republic, there was no question save of France; it was always -France that had triumphed, that had conquered; it was our soldiers who -had done all and for whom triumphal or funeral feasts were organized; -the generals, and some were very great, obtained an honourable but -modest place in the public memory: such were Marceau[144], Moreau, -Hoche[145], Joubert[146]; the two last seemed destined to replace -Bonaparte, who, in the dawn of his glory, suddenly crossed the path of -General Hoche and, by his jealousy, rendered illustrious that warlike -pacificator who died unexpectedly after his triumphs of Altkirchen, -Neuwied and Kleinnister. - -Under the Empire, we disappeared; we were no longer mentioned, -everything belonged to Bonaparte: "_I_ have ordered, _I_ have -conquered, _I_ have spoken; _my_ eagles, _my_ crown, _my_ family, _my_ -subjects." - -What happened, however, in those two positions, at the same time -similar and opposite? We did not abandon the Republic in its reverses; -it killed us, but it honoured us; we had not the disgrace of being -the property of a man; thanks to our efforts, it was never invaded; -the Russians, defeated beyond the mountains, met with their end at -Zurich[147]. - -As for Bonaparte, he, despite his enormous acquisitions, succumbed, not -because he was conquered, but because France would have no more of him. -How great a lesson! May it ever make us remember that there is cause of -death in all that offends the dignity of man. - -Independent minds of every shade and opinion were employing uniform -language at the time of the publication of my pamphlet. La Fayette, -Camille Jordan[148], Ducis, Lemercier[149], Lanjuinais[150], Madame de -Staël, Chénier, Benjamin Constant, Le Brun[151] thought and wrote as I -did[152]. - -God, in His patient eternity, brings justice sooner or later: at -moments when Heaven seems to slumber, it is always a fine thing that -the disapproval of an honest man should keep watch and remain as a -curb upon the absolute power. France will not disown the noble souls -which protested against her servitude, when all lay prostrate, when -there were so many advantages in so lying, so many favours to receive -in return for flattery, so many persecutions to undergo in return -for sincerity. Honour then to the La Fayettes, the de Staëls, the -Benjamin Constants, the Camille Jordans, the Ducis, the Lemerciers, the -Lanjuinais, the Chéniers, who, standing erect amidst the grovelling -crowd of peoples and of kings, dared to despise victory and protest -against tyranny! - -* - -[Sidenote: Napoleon deposed.] - -On the 2nd of April, the Senators, to whom we owe one clause only of -the Charter of 1814, the contemptible clause preserving their pensions, -decreed the deposition of Bonaparte. If this decree, which emancipated -France but brought infamy upon those who issued it, offers an affront -to the human race, at the same time it teaches posterity the price of -grandeurs and fortune, when these have disdained to take their stand -upon bases of morality, justice and liberty. - - DECREE OF THE CONSERVATIVE SENATE. - - "The Conservative Senate, taking into consideration that in a - constitutional monarchy the monarch exists only by virtue of - the constitution or the social compact; - - "That Napoleon Bonaparte, for some time maintaining a firm - and prudent government, had given the nation cause to reckon, - in the future, upon acts of wisdom and justice; but that - subsequently he destroyed the compact which united him to the - French people, notably by levying imports and establishing - taxes, otherwise than by virtue of the law, against the - express tenor of the oath which he took on his accession to - the throne, in conformity with Clause 53 of the Constitutions - of the 28 Floréal Year XII.; - - "That he was guilty of this attempt upon the rights of - the people at the very time when he had without necessity - adjourned the Legislative Body, and caused a report made by - that body, whose title and whose relation to the national - representation he contested, to be suppressed as criminal; - - "That he undertook a series of wars in violation of Clause - 50 of the Act settling the Constitution of the Year VIII., - which lays down that any declaration of war shall be - proposed, discussed, decreed and promulgated like the laws; - - "That he has unconstitutionally issued several decrees - bearing the penalty of death, namely, the two decrees of the - 5th of March last, tending to cause a war to be considered as - national which was undertaken only in the interest of his own - unmeasured ambition; - - "That he has violated the laws of the Constitution by his - decrees concerning the State prisons; - - "That he has annihilated the responsibility of the ministers, - put down all the powers and destroyed the independence of the - courts of jurisdiction; - - "Taking into consideration that the liberty of the press, - established and perpetuated as one of the rights of the - nation, has been constantly subjected to the arbitrary - censorship of his police, and that, at the same time, he - has always made use of the press to fill France and Europe - with fabricated facts, with false maxims, with doctrines - favourable to despotism and with outrages against foreign - governments; - - "That acts and reports, passed by the Senate, have undergone - alterations when made public; - - "Taking into consideration that, instead of reigning with a - sole view to the interest, the happiness and the glory of the - French people, according to the terms of his oath, Napoleon - has completed the misfortunes of the country by his refusal - to treat on conditions which the national interest obliged - him to accept and which did not compromise the honour of - France; by his abuse of all the means entrusted to him in men - and money; by his abandonment of the wounded without aid, - medical requisites, or supplies; by various measures which - resulted in the ruin of the towns, the depopulation of the - rural districts, famine and infectious disease; - - "Taking into consideration that, owing to all these causes, - the Imperial Government established by the Senatus-Consultum - of the 28 Floréal Year XII., or 18 May 1804, has ceased to - exist, and that the manifest desires of all Frenchmen call - into being an order of things of which the first result would - be the restoration of general peace, and which would also - mark the epoch of a solemn reconciliation between all the - States of the great family of Europe, the Senate declares - and decrees as follows: Napoleon deposed from the throne; - hereditary right abolished in his family; the French people - and the army released from their oath of fidelity to him." - - -The Roman Senate was less harsh when it declared Nero a public enemy: -history is but a repetition of the same facts applied to varying men -and times. - -Can one picture to one's self the Emperor reading this official -document at Fontainebleau? What must he have thought of what he had -done, and of the men whom he had summoned to be his accomplices in -his oppression of our liberties? When I published my pamphlet _De -Bonaparte et des Bourbons_, could I have expected to see it amplified -and converted into a decree of deposition by the Senate? What prevented -those legislators, in the days of prosperity, from discovering the -evils of which they reproached Bonaparte with being the author, from -perceiving that the Constitution had been violated? What zeal suddenly -seized these mutes for "the liberty of the press"? How did they, who -had overwhelmed Napoleon with adulation upon his return from each of -his wars, now come to find that he had undertaken those wars "only in -the interest of his own unmeasured ambition"? How did they, who had -flung him so many conscripts to devour, suddenly melt at the thought -of the wounded soldiers "abandoned without aid, medical requisites, or -supplies"? There are times at which contempt should be but frugally -dispensed, because of the large number of those in need of it: I pity -them for this moment, because they will need it again during and after -the Hundred Days. - -[Sidenote: By the Decree of the Senate.] - -When I ask what Napoleon at Fontainebleau thought of the acts of the -Senate, his answer was made: an Order of the Day of 5 April 1814, not -published officially, but printed in different newspapers outside the -capital, thanked the army for its fidelity, adding: - - "The Senate has allowed itself to dispose of the government - of France; it has forgotten that it owes to the Emperor the - power which it is now abusing; that it was he who saved one - part of its members from the storms of the Revolution, drew - the other from obscurity and protected it against the hatred - of the nation. The Senate relies upon the clauses of the - Constitution to overthrow it; it is not ashamed to utter - reproaches against the Emperor, without remarking that, in - its capacity as the first body of the State, it took part in - all the events. The Senate is not ashamed to speak of the - libels published against the foreign governments: it forgets - that these were drawn up in its midst. So long as fortune - remained faithful to their Sovereign, these men remained - faithful, and no complaint was heard of the abuses of power. - If the Emperor had despised men, as he has been reproached - with doing, then the world would recognise to-day that he has - had reasons which justified his contempt." - - -This was a homage rendered by Bonaparte himself to the liberty of the -press: he must have believed that there was some good in it, since it -offered him a last shelter and a last aid. - -And I, who am struggling with time, I, who am striving to make it give -an account of what it has seen, I, who am writing this so long after -the events that are past, under the reign of Philip, the counterfeit -heir of so great an inheritance, what am I in the hands of that time, -that great devourer of the centuries which I thought fixed, of that -time which makes me whirl with itself through space? - -* - -Alexander had taken up his residence at M. de Talleyrand's[153]. I was -not present at the cabals: you can read about them in the narratives -of the Abbé de Pradt[154] and of the various intriguers who handled -in their dirty and paltry paws the fate of one of the greatest men -in history and the destiny of the world. I counted for nothing in -politics, outside the masses; there was no plotting understrapper but -enjoyed far more right and favour in the ante-chambers than I: a coming -figure in the possible Restoration, I waited beneath the windows, in -the street. - -Through the machinations of the house in the Rue Saint-Florentin, -the Conservative Senate appointed a Provisional Government composed -of General Beurnonville[155], Senator Jaucourt[156], the Duc de -Dalberg[157], the Abbé de Montesquiou[158] and Dupont de Nemours[159]; -the Prince de Bénévent helped himself to the presidency. - -[Sidenote: The provisional government.] - -On meeting this name for the first time, I ought to speak of the -personage who took a remarkable part in the affairs of that time; but I -reserve his portrait for the end of my Memoirs. - -The intrigue which kept M. de Talleyrand in Paris, at the time of the -entry of the Allies, was the cause of his successes at the commencement -of the Restoration. The Emperor of Russia knew him from having seen him -at Tilsit[160]. In the absence of the French authorities, Alexander -took up his quarters in the Hôtel de l'Infantado[161], which the owner -hastened to offer him. - -From that time forth, M. de Talleyrand passed for the arbiter of the -world; his apartments became the centre of the negociations. Composing -the Provisional Government to his own liking, he there placed the -partners of his rubber: the Abbé de Montesquiou figured in it only as -an advertisement of the Legitimacy. - -To the Bishop of Autun's sterility were confided the first labours of -the Restoration: he infected that Restoration with barrenness, and -communicated to it a germ of blight and death. - -* - -The first acts of the Provisional Government, placed under the -dictatorship of its chairman, were proclamations addressed to the -soldiers and to the people: - - "Soldiers," they said to the former, "France has shattered - the yoke under which she and you had been groaning for so - many years. See all that you have suffered at the hands - of tyranny. Soldiers, the time has come to put an end to - the ills of the country. You are her noblest children; you - cannot belong to him who has ravaged her, who tried to make - your name hated by all the nations, who might perhaps have - compromised your glory, were it possible for a man WHO IS NOT - EVEN A FRENCHMAN ever to impair the honour of our arms and - the generosity of our soldiers[162]." - -And so, in the eyes of his most servile slaves, he who had won so many -victories was no longer "even a Frenchman"! When, in the days of the -League, Du Bourg surrendered the Bastille to Henry IV., he refused -to doff the black scarf and to take the money which was offered him -for the surrender of the stronghold. Urged to recognise the King, he -replied that "he was no doubt a very good Prince, but that he had -pledged his faith to M. de Mayenne[163]; that, moreover, Brissac[164] -was a traitor, and that, to prove it to him, he would fight him between -four pikes, in the King's presence, and would eat the heart out of his -body." - -A difference of times and men! - -[Sidenote: Its first acts.] - -On the 4th of April, appeared a new address of the Provisional -Government to the People of France; it said: - - "On emerging from your civil discords, you chose as your - leader a man who appeared upon the world's stage endowed with - the characteristics of greatness. On the ruins of anarchy he - founded only despotism; he ought at least out of gratitude to - have _become a Frenchman_ like yourselves: he has never been - one. Without aim or object, he has never ceased to undertake - unjust wars, like an adventurer seeking fame. Perhaps he is - still dreaming of his gigantic designs, even while unequalled - reverses are inflicting such striking punishment upon the - pride and abuse of victory. He has not known how to reign - either in the national interest or even in the interest of - his own despotism. He has destroyed all that he wished to - create, and re-created all that he wished to destroy. He - believed in force alone; to-day force overwhelms him: a just - retribution for an insensate ambition." - -Incontestable truths and well-earned curses; but who was it that -uttered those curses? What became of my poor little pamphlet, squeezed -in between those virulent addresses? Did it not disappear entirely? On -the same day, the 4th of April, the Provisional Government proscribed -the signs and emblems of the Imperial Government: if the Arc de -Triomphe had existed, it would have been pulled down. Mailhe[165], who -was the first to vote for the death of Louis XVI., Cambacérès, who was -the first to greet Napoleon by the title of Emperor, eagerly recognised -the acts of the Provisional Government. - -On the 6th, the Senate drafted a constitution: it rested nearly -on the bases of the future Charter; the Senate was preserved as an -Upper Chamber; the senatorial dignity was declared permanent and -hereditary; to the title to their property was attached the endowment -of the senatorships; the Constitution made those titles and properties -transmissible to the descendants of the holder: fortunately, those -ignoble hereditary rights bore the Fates within themselves, as the -ancients used to say. - -The sordid effrontery of those senators, who, in the midst of the -invasion of their country, did not for a moment lose sight of -themselves, strikes one even in the immensity of public events. - -Would it not have been more convenient for the Bourbons, on attaining -power, to adopt the established government, a dumb Legislative Body, a -secret and servile Senate, a fettered press? On reflexion, one finds -the thing to be impossible: the natural liberties, righting themselves -in the absence of the arm that bent them, would have resumed their -vertical line under the weakness of the compression. If the legitimate -Princes had disbanded Bonaparte's army, as they ought to have done -(this was Napoleon's opinion in the island of Elba), and if, at the -same time, they had retained the Imperial Government, to break the -instrument of glory in order to keep only the instrument of tyranny -would have been too much: the Charter was the ransom of Louis XVIII. - -* - -On the 12th of April, the Comte d'Artois arrived in the quality of -Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. Three or four hundred men went on -horseback to meet him: I was one of the band. He charmed one with his -kindly grace, different from the manners of the Empire. The French -recognised with pleasure in his person their old manners, their old -politeness and their old language; the crowd pressed round him, a -consoling apparition of the past, a twofold protection as he was -against the conquering foreigner and against the still threatening -Bonaparte. Alas, the Prince was setting his foot again on French soil -only to see his son assassinated there and to go back to die in the -land of exile whence he was returning: there are men round whose necks -life has been flung like a chain! - -[Illustration: Charles X. (as Comte D'Artois.)] - -I had been presented to the King's brother; he had been given my -pamphlet to read, otherwise he would not have known my name: he -remembered to have seen me neither at the Court of Louis XVI. nor at -the Camp of Thionville, and he had doubtless never heard speak of the -_Génie du Christianisme._ That was very simple. When one has suffered -much and long, he remembers only himself: personal misfortune is a -somewhat cold, yet exacting companion; it possesses you; it leaves no -room for any other feeling, never quits you, seizes hold of your knees -and your couch. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's abdication.] - -The day before the entry of the Comte d'Artois, Napoleon, after some -useless negociations with Alexander through the intermediary of M. de -Caulaincourt, had published his act of abdication: - - "The Allied Powers having proclaimed that the Emperor - Napoleon was the sole obstacle to the restoration of peace in - Europe, the Emperor Napoleon, true to his oath, declares that - he renounces for himself and his heirs the throne of France - and Italy, because there is no personal sacrifice, even that - of his life, which he is not ready to make to the interests - of the French." - -To these sensational words the Emperor did not delay, by his return, to -give a no less sensational contradiction: he needed only the time to go -to Elba. He remained at Fontainebleau till the 20th of April. - -The 20th of April having arrived, Napoleon went down the double flight -of steps leading to the peristyle of the deserted palace of the -monarchy of the Capets. A few grenadiers, the remnants of the soldiers -who conquered Europe, drew up in line in the great court-yard, as -though on their last field of battle; they were surrounded by those old -trees, the mutilated companions of Francis I. and Henry IV. Bonaparte -addressed the last witnesses of his fights in these words: - -"Generals, officers, non-commissioned officers and men of my Old Guard, -I take my leave of you: for twenty years I have been satisfied with -you; I have always found you on the road of glory. - -"The Allied Powers have armed all Europe against me, a part of the army -has betrayed its duty, and France herself has desired other destinies. - -"With you and the brave men who have remained faithful to me, I could -have kept up civil war for three years; but France would have been -unhappy, which was contrary to the end which I proposed to myself. - -"Be faithful to the new King whom France has chosen; do not abandon -our dear country, too long unhappy! Love her always, love her well, -that dear country! - -"Do not pity my lot; I shall always be happy when I know you to be so. - -"I could have died; nothing would have been easier to me; but I shall -never cease to follow the path of honour. I have yet to write what we -have done. - -"I cannot embrace you all; but I will embrace your general.... Come, -general!" - -He pressed General Petit[166] in his arms. - -"Bring me the eagle!" - -He kissed it. - -"Dear eagle! May these kisses resound in the heart of all brave men!... -Farewell, my lads!... My good wishes will always accompany you; keep me -in remembrance." - -These words spoken, Napoleon raised his tent, which covered the world. - -* - -Bonaparte had applied to the Allies for commissaries, so that he -might be protected by them on his journey to the island which the -sovereigns granted him as his absolute property and as an installment -on the future. Count Schouvaloff was appointed for Russia, General -Roller[167] for Austria, Colonel Campbell[168] for England, and Count -Waldburg-Truchsess[169] for Prussia: the latter wrote the _Itinerary -of Napoleon from Fontainebleau to Elba._ This pamphlet and the Abbé de -Pradt's on the Polish Embassy are the two reports by which Napoleon -was most pained. No doubt he then regretted the time of his liberal -censorship, when he had poor Palm[170], the German bookseller, shot for -distributing, at Nuremberg, Herr von Gentz's[171] work, _Deutschland -in seiner tiefsten Erniedrigung._ Nuremberg, at the time of the -publication of this work, was still a free city, and did not belong to -France: ought not Palm to have been able to foresee that conquest? - -Count Waldburg begins by relating several conversations that took place -at Fontainebleau previous to the departure. He states that Bonaparte -awarded the greatest praise to Lord Wellington[172] and inquired as to -his character and habits. He excused himself for not having made peace -at Prague, Dresden and Frankfort; he agreed that he had been wrong, but -that at that time he had had other views. - -"I was no usurper," he added, "because I accepted the crown only in -compliance with the unanimous wish of the whole nation, whereas Louis -XVIII. has usurped it, being called to the throne only by a vile -Senate, more than ten of whose members voted for the death of Louis -XVI." - -[Sidenote: He leaves for Elba.] - -Count Waldburg pursues his narrative as follows: - - "The Emperor started, with his four carriages, about twelve - o'clock on the 21st, not till after he had held a long - conversation with General Roller, which he commenced with - these words: - - "'Well, you heard my speech to the Old Guard yesterday; it - pleased you, and you have seen the effect it produced. That - is the way to speak and act with them, and if Louis XVIII. - does not follow this example, he will never make anything of - the French soldier.'... - - "From the spot where the French troops ceased, the cries of - 'Long live the Emperor!' also had an end. Already in Moulins - we saw the white cockades, and the inhabitants saluted us with - 'Long live the Allies!' In Lyons, which we passed through at - about eleven o'clock at night, a few people collected who - received the Emperor with 'Long live Napoleon!' As he had - expressed a wish to be escorted by an English frigate to the - island of Elba, Colonel Campbell left us at Lyons for the - purpose of procuring one either from Toulon or Marseilles. - - "About mid-day on the 24th, on this side Valence, Napoleon - met Marshal Augereau[173]. Both alighted from their - carriages. The Emperor saluted the marshal, embraced him, - and took off his hat to him. Augereau returned none of these - civilities. The Emperor, as he asked him, 'Where are you off - to? Are you going to the Court?' took the marshal by the arm - and led him forwards. Augereau replied, his present journey - extended only to Lyons. They walked together for a quarter - of a league on the road towards Valence, and, according to - authentic information, the Emperor reproached the marshal for - his proclamation. Among other things he observed: - - "'Your proclamation is very silly; why those insults against - myself? All you need have said was, "The Nation having - pronounced its wish in favour of a new sovereign, the duty of - the Army is to conform to it. God save the King! Long live - Louis XVIII.!'" - - "Augereau, who now likewise thou'd him, reproached him, on - the other hand, with his insatiate love of conquest, to which - he had sacrificed the happiness of France. At length, tired - of the discourse, the Emperor turned suddenly towards the - marshal, embraced him, again took off his hat to him, and got - into the carriage. Augereau, who stood with his hands behind - him, did not move his cap from his head, and as Napoleon - was already in the carriage, drew one hand forwards in - order to wave, with a mien bordering on contempt, a kind of - farewell.... - - "On the 25th, as we arrived at Orange, we were received with - 'Long live the King! Long live Louis XVIII.!' - - "On the same morning, close to Avignon, where the relays of - horses awaited us, the Emperor found a crowd assembled, whose - tumultuous cries saluted him with 'Long live the King! Long - live the Allies! Down with Nicolas! Down with the tyrant, the - scoundrel, the wretched beggar!' and still coarser abuse. In - compliance with our instructions, we did everything in our - power to lighten the evil, but could only partially effect - it.... The people ... likewise conceived that we should not - deny them the liberty of venting their indignation against - the man who had made them so unhappy, and even had the - intention of rendering them still more miserable.... In - Orgon, the next place where we changed horses, the conduct - of the populace was most outrageous. Exactly on the spot - where the horses were taken out, a gallows was erected, on - which a figure in French uniform, sprinkled with blood, - was suspended. On its breast it bore a paper with this - inscription: - - [Sidenote: Napoleon insulted.] - - "'Sooner or later this will be the Tyrant's fate.' - - "The rabble pressed around his carriage, and elevated - themselves on both sides in order to look and cast in their - abuse. The Emperor pressed into a corner behind General - Bertrand[174], and looked pale and disfigured; but at length, - through our assistance, he was happily brought off. - - "Count Schouwaloff harangued the people from the side of - Buonaparte's carriage. - - "'Are you not ashamed,' said he, 'to insult an unfortunate - who has not the means of defending himself? His situation - is sufficiently humiliating for one who, expecting to give - laws to the world, now finds himself at the mercy of your - generosity. Leave him to himself; behold him: you see - contempt is the only weapon you ought to employ against this - man, who is no longer dangerous. It would be unworthy of the - French nation to take any other vengeance.' - - "The crowd applauded this harangue, and Buonaparte, seeing - the effect it produced, made signs of approbation to Count - Schouwaloff, and afterwards thanked him for the service he - had rendered him. - - "When he had proceeded about a quarter of a league from Orgon - he changed his dress in his carriage, put on a plain blue - great-coat and a round hat with a white cockade, mounted a - post-horse, and rode on before as a courier. As it was some - time ere we overtook him, we were perfectly ignorant of his - being no longer in the carriage and in Saint Cannat, where - the horses were again changed. We still believed him to be - in the greatest danger, for the people attempted to break - open the doors, which, however, were fortunately locked. Had - they succeeded, they would certainly have destroyed General - Bertrand, who sat there alone.... Characteristic is the - prayer with which some of the women assailed me: - - "'For the love of God, deliver him up as a pillage to us! He - has so well deserved it, both from you and us, that nothing - can be more just than our request!' - - "Having overtaken the Emperor's carriage about half a league - on the other side of Orgon, it shortly afterwards entered - into a miserable public-house, lying on the roadside, - called the Calade. We followed it, and here first learnt - Buonaparte's disguise, who in this attire had arrived - here, accompanied by one courier only. His suite, from - the generals to the scullions, were decorated with white - cockades, which he appeared previously to have provided - himself with. His valet-de-chambre, who came to meet us, - begged we would conduct ourselves towards the Emperor as if - he were Colonel Campbell, for whom on his arrival he had - given himself out. We entered and found in a kind of chamber - this former ruler of the world buried in thought, sitting - with his head supported by his hand. I did not immediately - recognise him, and walked towards him. He started up as he - heard somebody approaching, and pointed to his countenance - bedewed with tears. He made a sign that I might not discover - him, requested me to sit down beside him, and as long as the - landlady was in the room, conversed on indifferent subjects. - As soon, however, as she was gone out he resumed his former - position. We left him alone; he sent, however, to request we - would pass backwards and forwards, to prevent any suspicion - of his being there. We informed him it was known Colonel - Campbell had passed through here the day before on his way - to Toulon; on which he determined upon assuming the name - of Lord Burghersh. Here we dined, but as the dinner had - not been prepared by his own cooks, he had not courage to - partake of it, for fear of being poisoned. He felt ashamed, - however, at seeing us all eat, both with good appetites and - good conscience, and therefore helped himself from every - dish, but without swallowing the least morsel. He spat - everything out upon his plate or behind his chair. A little - bread and a bottle of wine taken from his carriage, and which - he divided with us, constituted his whole repast. In other - respects he was conversible and extremely friendly towards - us. Whenever the landlady, who waited upon us at table, left - the room, and he perceived we were alone, he repeated to us - his apprehensions for his life, and assured us the French - Government had indisputably determined to destroy or arrest - him here. A thousand plans passed through his brain how he - might escape, and what arrangements ought to be made to - deceive the people of Aix, whom he had learnt awaited him - by thousands at the post-house. The most eligible plan in - his estimation would be to go back again to Lyons, and from - thence strike into another road by way of Italy to the island - of Elba. This, however, we should on no account have allowed, - and we therefore endeavoured to persuade him to proceed - either directly to Toulon, or by way of Digne to Fréjus. We - assured him that, without our knowledge, it was impossible - the French Government would entertain such insidious - intentions against him, and although the people allowed - themselves the greatest improprieties, they would never - charge themselves with a crime of the nature he feared. In - order to inform us better, and to convince us the inhabitants - of that part of the country meditated his destruction, he - related to us what had happened to him as he arrived here - alone. The landlady, who did not recognise him, asked him: - - "'Well, have you met Buonaparte?' - - "He replied in the negative. - - "'I am curious,' she answered, 'to see how he will save - himself. I do believe the people will murder him: and it must - be confessed he has well deserved it, the scoundrel! Tell me, - are they going to put him on board ship for his island?' - - "'Yes, of course.' - - "'They will drown him, I hope?' - - "'Oh, no doubt,' returned the Emperor. 'And so you see,' he - added, turning towards us, 'the danger I am exposed to.' - - [Sidenote: His fears and apprehensions.] - - "And now again, with all his apprehensions and indecision, - he renewed his solicitations of counsel. He even begged us - to look around and see if we could not anywhere discover - a private door through which he might slip out, or if the - window, whose shutters upon entering he had half-closed at - the bottom, was too high for him to jump out in case of - need. On examination I found the window was provided with an - iron trellis-work on the outside, and threw him into evident - consternation as I communicated to him the discovery. At the - least noise he started up in terror, and changed colour. - After dinner we left him alone, and as we went in and out - found him frequently weeping.... - - "As... General Schouwaloff's Adjutant had... announced - that the major part of the populace assembled on the road - were dispersed, the Emperor towards midnight determined - on proceeding. For greater precaution, however, another - disguise was assumed. General Schouwaloff's Adjutant was - obliged to put on the blue great-coat and round hat in which - the Emperor had reached the inn, that in case of necessity he - might be regarded, insulted, or even murdered for him. - - "Napoleon, who now pretended to be an Austrian colonel, - dressed himself in the uniform of General Roller, with - the Order of Theresa, wore my camp cap, and cast over his - shoulders General Schouwaloff's mantle. After the Allies - had thus equipped him, the carriages drove up, and we were - obliged to march them through the other rooms of the inn in - a certain order, which had been previously tried in our own - chamber. The procession was headed by General Drouot[175]; - then came, as Emperor, General Schouwaloff's Adjutant; upon - this General-Roller, the Emperor, General Schouwaloff, and - lastly, myself, to whom the honour of forming the rear-guard - was assigned. The remainder of the Imperial suite united - themselves with us as we passed by, and thus we walked - through the gaping multitude, who vainly endeavoured to - distinguish their Tyrant amongst us. Schouwaloff's Adjutant - (Major Olewieff) placed himself in Napoleon's carriage, and - the latter sat beside General Roller in his calash.... - - "Still, however, the Emperor was constantly in alarm. He not - only remained in General Roller's calash, but even begged he - would allow the servant to smoke who sat before, and asked - the General himself if he could sing, in order that he might - dissipate, through such familiar conduct, any suspicion in - the places where we stopped, that the Emperor sat with him in - the carriage. As the General could not sing, Napoleon begged - him to whistle, and with this singular music we made our - entry into every place; whilst the Emperor, fumigated with - the incense of the tobacco-pipe, pressed himself into the - corner of the calash, and pretended to be fast asleep.... - - "At Saint-Maximin he breakfasted with us, and having learnt - that the sub-prefect of Aix was there, he ordered him into - his presence, and received him with these words: - - "'You ought to blush to see me in an Austrian uniform, which - I have been obliged to assume to protect myself against - the insults of the Provençals. I came among you in full - confidence, whilst I might have brought with me six thousand - of my guard, and I find nothing but a band of maniacs who put - my life in danger. The Provençals are a disgraceful race; - they committed every kind of crime and enormity during the - Revolution, and are quite ready to begin over again: but when - it is a question of fighting bravely, then they are cowards. - Provence has never supplied me with a single regiment with - which I could be satisfied. But to-morrow they will be as - much against Louis XVIII. as to-day they appear to be against - me,' etc.... - - [Sidenote: His protests.] - - "To us he again spoke of Louis XVIII., and said he would - never effect anything with the French nation if he treated - them with too much forbearance. He would, from necessity, - be obliged to lay large imposts upon them, and hence cause - himself to be immediately hated. He likewise told us that - 'eighteen years before, he had marched through this place - with some thousand men to liberate two Royalists who were - to have been executed for wearing the white cockade. In - spite, however, of the fury of the populace with which he - had to contend, he fortunately saved them, and to-day, he - continued, would that man be murdered by this same populace, - who should refuse to wear a white cockade,--so contradictory - and vacillating are they in everything they do.' - - "Having learnt that two squadrons of Austrian hussars were - stationed at Luc, an order was sent at his request to the - commanders to await our arrival there, in order to escort the - Emperor to Fréjus[176]." - -Here ends Count Waldburg's narrative: those accounts are painful to -read. What! Were the commissaries unable to afford better protection -to him for whom they had the honour to be responsible? Who were they, -to affect these airs of superiority with such a man? Bonaparte truly -said that, if he had wished, he might have travelled accompanied by -a portion of his guard. It is evident that men were indifferent to -his fate; they enjoyed his degradation; they gladly acquiesced in the -marks of indignity which the victim demanded for his safety: it is so -sweet to hold beneath one's feet the destiny of him who walked over the -highest heads, to avenge pride with insult! Therefore the commissaries -do not expend a word, not even a word of philosophic sensibility, on -such a change of fortune, to remind man of his nothingness and of the -greatness of the judgments of God! In the ranks of the Allies, Napoleon -had had numerous adulators: he who has gone on his knees before brute -force is not entitled to triumph over misfortune. Prussia, I admit, had -need of an effort of virtue to forget what she had suffered, herself, -her King and her Queen; but that effort should have been made. Alas! -Bonaparte had taken pity on nothing; all hearts had cooled towards him. -The moment in which he showed himself most cruel was at Jaffa[177]; the -smallest, on the way to Elba: in the first case, military necessity -served as his excuse; in the second, the harshness of the foreign -commissaries changes the course of the reader's feelings and lessens -his own abasement. - -The Provisional Government of France does not itself seem to me -quite without reproach: I reject the calumnies of Maubreuil[178]; -nevertheless, amid the terror with which Napoleon still inspired his -former servants, a fortuitous catastrophe might have presented itself -in their eyes in the light only of a misfortune. - -One would gladly doubt the truth of the facts reported by Count -Waldburg-Truchsess, but General Koller, in a _Sequel to Waldburgs -Itinerary_, has confirmed a part of his colleague's narrative; -General Schouvaloff, on his part, has certified, in conversation with -myself, the exactness of the facts: his measured words said more than -Waldburg's expansive recital. Lastly, Fabry's[179] _Itinéraire_ is -composed of authentic French documents furnished by eye-witnesses. - -[Sidenote: His humiliation.] - -Now that I have done justice on the commissaries and the Allies, is -it really the conqueror of the world whom one sees in Waldburg's -_Itinerary?_ The hero reduced to disguises and tears, weeping under a -post-boy's jacket in the corner of a back-room at an inn! Was it thus -that Marius bore himself on the ruins of Carthage, that Hannibal died -in Bithynia, Cæsar in the Senate? How did Pompey disguise himself? By -covering his head with his toga! He who had donned the purple taking -shelter beneath the white cockade, uttering the cry of safety: "God -save the King!"--that King, one of whose heirs he had had shot! The -master of the nations encouraging the commissaries in the humiliations -which they heaped upon him in order the better to hide him, delighted -to have General Koller whistling before him and a coachman smoking in -his face, compelling General Schouwaloff's aide-de-camp to enact the -part of the Emperor, while he, Bonaparte, wore the dress of an Austrian -colonel and wrapped himself in the cloak of a Russian general. He must -have loved life cruelly: those immortals cannot consent to die. - -Moreau said of Bonaparte: - -"His chief characteristics are falsehood and the love of life: let me -beat him, and I should see him at my feet begging me for mercy." - -Moreau thought thus, being unable to grasp Bonaparte's nature; he fell -into the same error as Lord Byron. At least, at St. Helena, Napoleon, -dignified by the Muses, although petty in his quarrels with the English -Governor, had to support only the weight of his own immensity. In -France, the evil which he had done appeared to him personified by the -widows and orphans, and constrained him to tremble before the hands of -a few women. - -This is too true; but Bonaparte should not be judged by the rules -applied to great geniuses, because he was lacking in magnanimity. There -are men who have the faculty of rising, and who have not the faculty -of descending. Napoleon possessed both faculties: like the rebellious -angel, he was able to contract his incommensurable stature, so as to -enclose it within a measured space; his ductility furnished him with -means of safety and regeneration: with him, all was not finished when -he seemed to have finished. Changing his manners and costume at will, -as perfect in comedy as in tragedy, this actor knew how to appear -natural in the slave's tunic as in the king's mantle, in the part of -Attalus or in the part of Cæsar. Another moment and you shall see, from -the depth of his degradation, the dwarf raising his Briarean head; -Asmodeus will come forth in a huge column of smoke from the flask into -which he had compressed himself. Napoleon valued life for what it -brought him; he had the instinct of that which yet remained to him to -paint; he did not wish his canvas to fail him before he had completed -his pictures. - -[Sidenote: Scott's _Life of Napoleon._] - -Writing of Napoleon's fears, Sir Walter Scott[180], less unfair than -the commissaries, frankly remarks that the unkindness of the people -made much impression on Bonaparte, that he even shed tears, that -he showed more fear of assassination than seemed consistent with -his approved courage; "but," he adds, "it must be recollected that -the danger was of a new and particularly horrible description, and -calculated to appall many to whom the terrors of a field of battle were -familiar. The bravest soldier might shudder at a death like that of the -de Witts." Napoleon was made to undergo this revolutionary anguish in -the same places where he commenced his career with the Terror. - -The Prussian General, once interrupting his recital, thought himself -obliged to reveal a disorder which the Emperor did not conceal: Count -Waldburg may have confused what he saw with the sufferings which M. de -Ségur[181] witnessed in the Russian campaign, when Bonaparte, compelled -to alight from his horse, leant his head against the guns. Among the -number of the infirmities of illustrious warriors, true history reckons -only the dagger which pierced the heart of Henry IV., or the ball which -killed Turenne. - -After describing Bonaparte's arrival at Fréjus, Sir Walter Scott, rid -of the great scenes, joyfully falls back upon his talent; he "goes -his way gossiping," as Madame de Sévigné says; he chats of Napoleon's -passage to Elba, of the seduction exercised by Napoleon over the -English sailors, excepting Hinton[182], who could not hear the praises -given to the Emperor without muttering the word "humbug." When Napoleon -left the ship, Hinton wished "His Honour" good health and better luck -the next time. Napoleon typified all the littlenesses and all the -greatnesses of mankind. - -* - -While Bonaparte, known to the universe, was escaping amid curses from -France, Louis XVIII., everywhere forgotten, was leaving London under a -canopy of white banners and crowns. Napoleon, on landing in the island -of Elba, found back his strength there. Louis XVIII., on landing at -Calais[183], might have seen Louvel[184]; he met General Maison[185], -commissioned, sixteen years after, to put Charles X. on board at -Cherbourg. Charles X., apparently to render him worthy of his future -mission, later gave M. Maison the baton of a marshal of France, even as -a knight, before fighting, conferred knighthood upon the man of lower -rank with whom he deigned to measure swords. - -I dreaded the effect of Louis XVIII.'s appearance. I hastened to go -ahead of him to the residence whence Joan of Arc[186] fell into the -hands of the English and where I was shown a volume struck by one of -the cannon-balls hurled against Bonaparte. What would people think at -the sight of the royal invalid replacing the horseman who might have -said with Attila: - -"The grass no longer grows wherever my horse has passed." - -With no mission or taste for it, I undertook (I was clearly under a -spell) a somewhat difficult task, that of describing the arrival at -Compiègne, of causing the son of St. Louis to be seen as I idealized -him by the aid of the Muses. I expressed myself thus: - - "The King's coach was preceded by the generals and the - marshals of France who had gone to meet his Majesty. There - were no more cries of 'God save the King!' but confused - clamours amid which one distinguished only accents of tender - emotion and joy. The King wore a blue coat, marked only by a - star and a pair of epaulettes; his legs were encased in wide - gaiters of red velvet, edged with a narrow gold braid. Seated - in his arm-chair, with his old-fashioned gaiters, holding - his cane between his knees, he suggests Louis XIV.[187] at - fifty years of age.... Marshals Macdonald[188], Ney[189], - Moncey[190], Sérurier[191], Brune[192], the Prince de - Neuchâtel[193], all the generals, all the persons present - alike received the most affectionate words from the King. So - great in France is the power of the legitimate Sovereign, the - magic attached to the name of the King. A man arrives alone - from exile, despoiled of everything, without a following, - guards, or riches; he has nothing to give, almost nothing to - promise. He alights from his carriage, leaning on the arm of - a young woman; he shows himself to captains who have never - seen him, to grenadiers who hardly know his name. Who is that - man? Tis the King! Every one falls at his feet[194]!" - - -[Sidenote: Return of Louis XVIII.] - -What I said above of the warriors, with the object which I was -proposing to attain, was true as regards the leaders; but I lied with -respect to the soldiers. I have present in my memory, as though I saw -it still, the spectacle which I witnessed when Louis XVIII., entering -Paris on the 3rd of May, went to visit Notre-Dame: they had wished -to spare the King the sight of the foreign troops; a regiment of the -old foot-guards kept the line from the Pont-Neuf to Notre-Dame, along -the Quai des Orfèvres. I do not believe that human faces ever wore so -threatening and so terrible an expression. Those grenadiers, covered -with wounds, the conquerors of Europe, who had seen so many thousands -of cannon-balls pass over their heads, who smelt of fire and powder; -those same men, robbed of their captain, were forced to salute an old -king, disabled by time, not war, watched as they were by an army of -Russians, Austrians and Prussians, in Napoleon's invaded capital. Some, -moving the skin of their foreheads, brought down their great bear-skin -busbies over their eyes, as though to keep them from seeing; others -lowered the corners of their mouth in angry scorn; others again showed -their teeth through their mustachios, like tigers. When they presented -arms, it was with a furious movement, and the sound of those arms made -one tremble. Never, we must admit, have men been put to so great a -test and suffered so dire a torment. If, at that moment, they had been -summoned to vengeance, it would have been necessary to exterminate them -to the last, or they would have swallowed the earth. - -At the end of the line was a young hussar, on horse-back; he held a -drawn sword, and made it leap and as it were dance with a convulsive -movement of anger. His face was pale; his eyes rolled in their sockets; -he opened and shut his mouth by turns, clashing his teeth together, -and stifling cries of which one heard only the first sound. He caught -sight of a Russian officer: the look which he darted at him cannot be -described. When the King's carriage passed before him, he made his -horse spring, and certainly he had the temptation to fling himself upon -the King. - -The Restoration committed an irreparable mistake at its outset: it -ought to have disbanded the army, while retaining the marshals, -generals, military governors and officers in their pensions, honours -and rank; the soldiers would afterwards have successively returned -into the reconstituted army, as they have since done into the Royal -Guard: the Legitimate Monarchy would not then have had against it, -from the first, those soldiers of the Empire, organized, divided into -brigades, denominated as they had been in the days of their victories, -unceasingly talking together of the time that was past, nourishing -regrets and feelings hostile to their new master. - -The miserable resurrection of the Maison Rouge[195], that mixture -of soldiers of the old Monarchy and fighting men of the new Empire, -augmented the evil: to believe that veterans distinguished on a -thousand battle-fields would not be offended at seeing young men, very -brave no doubt, but for the most part new to the calling of arms, -wearing symbols of high military rank without having earned them, was -to betray a want of knowledge of human nature. - -[Sidenote: Declaration of Saint-Ouen.] - -Alexander had been to visit Louis XVIII. during the stay which the -latter made at Compiègne. Louis XVIII. offended him by his haughtiness: -this interview led to the Declaration of Saint-Ouen of the 2nd of May. -The King said in this that he had resolved to give, as the basis of the -Constitution which he proposed to award to his people, the following -guarantees: representative government divided into two bodies, -taxes freely granted, public and individual liberty, liberty of the -press, liberty of public worship, sacred inviolability of property, -irrevocability of the sale of national goods, irremovable judges and -an independent judicial bench, every Frenchman admissible to every -employment, etc., etc. - -This declaration, although it was in keeping with Louis XVIII.'s -intelligence, nevertheless pertained neither to him nor to his -advisers; it was simply the time which was issuing from its rest: its -wings had been folded, its soaring suspended since 1792; it was now -resuming its flight, or its course. The excesses of the Terror, the -despotism of Bonaparte had caused ideas to turn back again; but, so -soon as the obstacles that had been opposed to them were destroyed, -they flowed into the bed which they were at the at same time to follow -and to dig. Matters were taken up at the point at which they had been -stopped; all that had passed was as though it had not happened: the -human race, thrust back to the commencement of the Revolution, had only -lost forty years[196] of its life; well, what is forty years in the -general life of society? That gap disappears when the cut fragments of -time have been joined together. - -The Treaty of Paris, between the Allies and France, was concluded -on the 30th of May 1814. It was agreed that, within two months, all -the Powers engaged on either side in the present war should send -plenipotentiaries to Vienna to settle the final arrangements in a -general congress. - -On the 4th of June, Louis XVIII. appeared in royal session in a -collective assembly of the Legislative Body and a fraction of the -Senate. He delivered a noble speech: old, by-gone, worn-out, these -wearisome details now serve only as an historic thread. - -To the greater part of the nation, the Charter possessed the drawback -of being "granted:" this most useless word stirred up the burning -question of royal or popular sovereignty. Louis XVIII. also dated -his boon from the nineteenth year of his reign, considering that of -Bonaparte as null and void, in the same way as Charles II[197]. had -taken a clean leap over Cromwell's head: it was a kind of insult to -the sovereigns, who had all recognised Napoleon and who were at that -very moment in Paris. That obsolete language and those pretensions of -the ancient monarchies added nothing to the lawfulness of the right -and were mere puerile anachronisms[198]. That apart, the Charter, -replacing despotism, bringing us legal liberty, was calculated to -satisfy conscientious men. Nevertheless, the Royalists, who gained -so many advantages by it, who, issuing from their village, or their -paltry fireside, or the obscure posts on which they had lived under -the Empire, were called to a lofty and public existence, received the -boon only in a grudging spirit; the Liberals, who had accommodated -themselves whole-heartedly to the tyranny of Bonaparte, thought the -Charter a regular slave-code. We have returned to the time of Babel, -but we no longer work at a common monument of confusion: each builds -his tower to his own height, according to his strength and stature. -For the rest, if the Charter appeared defective, it was because the -Revolution had not run its course; the principles of equality and -democracy lay at the bottom of men's minds and worked in a contrary -direction to the monarchical order. - -The Allied Princes lost no time in leaving Paris. Alexander, when -going away, had a religious sacrifice celebrated on the Place de la -Concorde[199]. An altar was erected where the scaffold of Louis XVI. -had stood. Seven Muscovite priests performed the service, and the -foreign troops defiled before the altar. The _Te Deum_ was sung to one -of the beautiful airs of the old Greek music. The soldiers and the -sovereigns bent their knee to the ground to receive the benediction. -The thoughts of the French were carried back to 1793 and 1794, when -the oxen refused to go over pavements which the smell of blood made -hateful to them. What hand had led to the expiatory festival those men -of all countries, those sons of the ancient barbarian invasions, those -Tartars, some of whom dwelt in sheep-skin tents beneath the Great Wall -of China? Those are spectacles which the feeble generations that will -follow my century shall no longer see. - -[Sidenote: The first Restoration.] - -In the first year of the Restoration, I assisted at the third -transformation of society: I had seen the old Monarchy turn into -the Constitutional Monarchy, and the latter into the Republic; I -had seen the Republic change into military despotism; I had seen -military despotism turn back into a free Monarchy, the new ideas and -the new generations return to the old principles and the old men. The -marshals of the Empire become marshals of France; with the uniforms -of Napoleon's Guard were mingled the uniforms of the bodyguards and -the Maison Rouge, cut precisely after the old patterns; the old -Duc d'Havré[200], with his powdered wig and his black cane, ambled -along with shaking head, as Captain of the Body-guards, near Marshal -Victor[201], limping in the Bonaparte style; the Duc de Mouchy[202], -who had never seen a shot fired, went in to Mass near Marshal -Oudinot[203], riddled with wounds; the Palace of the Tuileries, so -proper and soldierly under Napoleon, became filled, instead of the -smell of powder, with the odours of the breakfasts which ascended -on every side: under messieurs the lords of the Bed-chamber, with -messieurs the officers of the Mouth and the Wardrobe, everything -resumed an air of domesticity. In the streets, one saw decrepit -Emigrants wearing the airs and clothes of former days, most respectable -men no doubt, but appearing as outlandish among the modern crowd -as did the Republican captains among the soldiers of Napoleon. The -ladies of the Imperial Court introduced the dowagers of the Faubourg -Saint-Germain and taught them "their way about" the palace. There -arrived deputations from Bordeaux, adorned with armlets; parish -captains from the Vendée, wearing La Rochejacquelein hats. These -different persons retained the expression of the feelings, thoughts, -habits, manners familiar to them. Liberty, which lay at the root -of that period, made things exist together which, at first sight, -appeared as though they ought not to exist; but one had difficulty in -recognising that liberty, because it wore the colours of the Ancient -Monarchy and of the Imperial Despotism. Everyone, too, was badly -acquainted with the language of the Constitution: the Royalists made -glaring errors when talking Charter; the Imperialists were still less -well-informed; the Conventionals, who had become, in turn, counts, -barons, senators of Napoleon and peers of Louis XVIII., lapsed at one -time into the Republican dialect which they had almost forgotten, at -another into the Absolutist idiom which they had learned thoroughly. -Lieutenant-generals had been promoted to game-keepers. Aides-de-camp of -the last military tyrant were heard to prate of the inviolable liberty -of the peoples, and regicides to sustain the sacred dogma of the -Legitimacy. - -These metamorphoses would be hateful, if they did not in part belong -to the flexibility of the French genius. The people of Athens governed -itself; orators appealed to its passions in the public places; the -sovereign crowd was composed of sculptors, painters, artizans, "who -are wont to be spectators of speeches and hearers of deeds[204]," as -Thucydides says. But when, good or bad, the decree had been delivered, -who issued to execute it from amid that incoherent and inexpert mass? -Socrates, Phocion, Pericles, Alcibiades. - -* - -Is it the Royalists who are "to blame for the Restoration," as is -urged to-day? Not in the least: it was as though one should say that -thirty millions of men had stood aghast, while a handful of Legitimists -accomplished a detested restoration, against the wish of all, by -waving a few handkerchiefs and putting a ribbon of their wives' in -their hats! The vast majority of Frenchmen was, it is true, full of -joy; but that majority was not a _Legitimist_ one in the limited -sense of the word, applicable only to the rigid partisans of the old -Monarchy. The majority was a mass composed of every shade of opinion, -happy at being delivered, and violently incensed against the man whom -it accused of all its misfortunes: hence the success of my pamphlet. -How many avowed aristocrats were numbered among those who proclaimed -the King's name? Messieurs Mathieu and Adrien de Montmorency; the -Messieurs de Polignac, escaped from their jail; M. Alexis de Noailles; -M. Sosthène de La Rochefoucauld. Did those seven or eight men, whom the -people neither recognised nor followed, lay down the law to a whole -nation? - -Madame de Montcalm had sent me a bag containing twelve hundred francs -to distribute among the pure Legitimist race: I sent it back to her, -not having succeeded in placing a crown-piece. An ignominious cord -was fastened round the neck of the statue which surmounted the column -in the Place Vendôme; there were so few Royalists to raise a hubbub -around glory and to pull at the rope that the authorities themselves, -Bonapartists all, had to lower their master's image with the aid of -a scaffold; the colossus was forced to bow his head: he fell at the -feet of the sovereigns of Europe, who had so often lain prostrate -before him. It was the men of the Republic and of the Empire who -enthusiastically greeted the Restoration. The conduct and ingratitude -of the persons raised by the Revolution were abominable towards him -whom they affect to-day to regret and admire. - -[Sidenote: Its supporters.] - -Imperialists and Liberals, it is you into whose hands the power fell, -you who knelt down before the sons of Henry IV. It was quite natural -that the Royalists should be happy to recover their Princes and to see -the end of the reign of him whom they regarded as an usurper; but you, -the creatures of that usurper, surpassed the feelings of the Royalists -in exaggeration. The ministers, the high dignitaries vied with each -other in taking the oath to the Legitimacy; all the civil and judicial -authorities crowded on each other's heels to swear hatred against the -proscribed new dynasty and love to the ancient race whom they had a -hundred and a hundred times condemned. Who drew up those proclamations, -those adulatory addresses, so insulting to Napoleon, with which France -was flooded? The Royalists? No: the ministers, the generals, the -authorities chosen and maintained in office by Bonaparte. Where was -the jobbing of the Restoration done? At the Royalists'? No: at M. de -Talleyrand's. With whom? With M. de Pradt, almoner to "the God Mars" -and mitred mountebank. Where and with whom did the Lieutenant-General -of the Kingdom dine on his arrival? At the Royalists' and with -Royalists? No: at the Bishop of Autun's, with M. de Caulaincourt. -Where were entertainments given to "the infamous foreign princes?" At -the country-houses of the Royalists? No: at Malmaison, at the Empress -Joséphine's. To whom did Napoleon's dearest friends, Berthier, for -instance, carry their ardent devotion? To the Legitimacy. Who spent -their existences with the Emperor Alexander, with that brutal Tartar? -The classes of the Institute, the scholars, the men of letters, the -philosophers, philanthropists, theophilanthropists and others; they -returned enchanted, laden with praises and snuff-boxes. As for us poor -devils of Legitimists, we were admitted nowhere; we went for nothing. -Sometimes we were told, in the streets, to go home to bed; sometimes -we were recommended not to shout "God Save the King!" too loud, -others having undertaken that responsibility. So far from compelling -anyone to be a Legitimist, those in power declared that nobody would -be obliged to change his conduct or his language, that the Bishop of -Autun would be no more compelled to say Mass under the Royalty than -he had been compelled to attend it under the Empire. I saw no lady of -the castle-keep, no Joan of Arc proclaim the rightful sovereign with -falcon on wrist or lance in hand; but Madame de Talleyrand[205], whom -Bonaparte had fastened to her husband like a sign-board, drove through -the streets in a calash, singing hymns on the pious Family of the -Bourbons. A few sheets fluttering from the windows of the familiars -of the Imperial Court made the good Cossacks believe that there were -as many lilies in the hearts of the converted Bonapartists as white -rags at their casements. It is wonderful how far contagion will go -in France, and a man would cry, "Off with my head!" if he heard his -neighbour cry the same. The Imperialists went so far as to enter our -houses and make us Bourbonists put out, by way of spotless flags, such -white remnants as our presses contained. This happened at my house; but -Madame de Chateaubriand would have none of it, and valiantly defended -her muslins. - -* - -[Sidenote: The Restoration ministry.] - -The Legislative Body, transformed into a Chamber of Deputies, and -the House of Peers, composed of 154 members, appointed for life, and -including over 60 senators, formed the two first Legislative Chambers. -M. de Talleyrand, installed at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, left -for the Congress of Vienna, the opening of which was fixed for the 3rd -of November, in execution of Clause 32 of the Treaty of the 30th of -May; M. de Jaucourt held the portfolio during an interim which lasted -until the Battle of Waterloo. The Abbé de Montesquiou became Minister -of the Interior, having M. Guizot[206] as his secretary-general; M. -Malouet[207] entered the Admiralty: he died, and was succeeded by M. -Beugnot[208]; General Dupont[209] obtained the War Office; he was -replaced by Marshal Soult[210], who distinguished himself through the -erection of the funeral monument at Quiberon; the Duc de Blacas[211] -was Minister of the Royal Household; M. Anglès[212], Prefect of Police; -Councillor Dambray[213], Minister of Justice; the Abbé Louis[214], -Minister of Finance. - -On the 21st of October, the Abbé de Montesquiou introduced the first -law on the subject of the press; it submitted every writing of less -than twenty pages of print to the censorship: M. Guizot worked out this -first law of liberty. - -Carnot[215] addressed a letter to the King; he admitted that the -Bourbons "had been joyfully received;" but, taking no account of the -shortness of the time, nor of all that the Charter granted, he gave -haughty lessons together with risky advice: all this is worth nothing -when one has to accept the rank of minister and the title of count -of the Empire; it is not becoming to show one's self proud towards a -weak and liberal Prince when one has been submissive towards a violent -and despotic Prince, when, a worn-out machine of the Terror, one has -found one's self unequal to the calculation of the proportions of -Napoleonic warfare. I sent to the press, in reply, my _Réflexions -politiques_[216]; they contain the substance of the _Monarchie selon -la Charte._ M. Lainé[217], the President of the Chamber of Deputies, -spoke of this work to the King with praise. The King always seemed -charmed with the services which I had the happiness to render him; -Heaven seemed to have thrown over my shoulders the mantle of herald of -the Legitimacy: but the greater the success of the work, the less did -its author please His Majesty. The _Réflexions politiques_ divulged my -Constitutional doctrines: the Court received an impression from them -which my fidelity to the Bourbons has been unable to wipe out. Louis -XVIII. used to say to his intimates: - -"Beware of ever admitting a poet into your affairs: he will ruin all. -Those people are good for nothing." - -[Sidenote: The Duchesse de Duras.] - -A powerful and lively friendship at that time filled my heart: the -Duchesse de Duras[218] had imaginative powers, and even some of the -facial expression of Madame de Staël: she has given a proof of her -talent as an author in _Ourika._ On her return from the Emigration, -she led a secluded life, for many years, in her Château d'Ussé, on the -banks of the Loire, and I first heard speak of her in the beautiful -gardens at Méréville, after having passed near her in London without -meeting her. She came to Paris for the education of her charming -daughters, Félicie[219] and Clara[220]. Relations of family, province, -literary and political opinion opened the door of her company to -me. Her warmth of soul, her nobility of character, her loftiness of -mind, her generosity of sentiment made her a superior woman. At the -commencement of the Restoration, she took me under her protection; for, -in spite of all that I had done for the Legitimate Monarchy and the -services which Louis XVIII. confessed that he had received from me, I -had been placed so far on one side that I was thinking of retiring to -Switzerland. Perhaps I should have done well: in those solitudes which -Napoleon had intended for me as his ambassador to the mountains, might -I not have been happier than in the Palace of the Tuileries? When I -entered those halls on the return of the Legitimacy, they made upon -me an impression almost as painful as on the day when I saw Bonaparte -there prepared to kill the Duc d'Enghien. Madame de Duras spoke of -me to M. de Blacas. He replied that I was quite free to go I where I -would. Madame de Duras was so tempestuous, so courageous on behalf of -her friends, that a vacant embassy was dug up, the Embassy to Sweden. -Louis XVIII., already wearied of my noise, was happy to make a present -of me to his good brother, King Bernadotte. Did the latter imagine that -I was being sent to Stockholm to dethrone him? By the Lord, ye princes -of the earth, I dethrone nobody; keep your crowns, if you can, and -above all do not give them to me, for I "will none of them." - -Madame de Duras, an excellent woman, who allowed me to call her my -sister, and whom I had the happiness of seeing in Paris during many -years, went to Nice to die[221]: one more wound re-opened. The Duchesse -de Duras saw much of Madame de Staël. I cannot conceive how I did -not come across Madame Récamier[222], who had returned from Italy to -France; I should have greeted the succour which came in aid of my -life. Already I no longer belonged to those mornings which console -themselves; I was on the verge of those evening hours which stand in -need of consolation. - -* - -On the 30th of December of the year 1814, the Legislative Chambers were -prorogued to the 1st of May 1815, as though they had been convoked for -the assembly of Bonaparte's _champ-de-mai._ On the 18th of January, the -remains were exhumed of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI. I was present -at this exhumation in the cemetery[223] in which Fontaine[224] and -Percier[225] have since, at the pious call of Madame la Dauphine, -and in imitation of a sepulchral church at Rimini, raised what is -perhaps the most remarkable monument in Paris. This cloister, formed -of a concatenation of tombs, strikes the imagination and fills it -with sadness. I have spoken, in Book IV. of these Memoirs, of the -exhumations of 1815[226]. In the midst of the bones, I recognised the -Queen's head by the smile which that head had given me at Versailles. - -[Sidenote: The 21st of January.] - -On the 21st of January, was laid the first stone of the ground-work -of the statue which was to be erected on the Place Louis XV., and -which was never erected. I wrote the funeral splendour of the 21st of -January; I said: - - "The monks who came with the Oriflamme[227] to meet the - shrine of St. Louis will not receive the descendant of the - Sainted King. In the subterraneous abodes where dwelt those - annihilated kings and princes, Louis XVI. will lie alone!... - How is it that so many dead have risen? Why is Saint-Denis - deserted? Let us rather ask why its roof has been restored, - why its altar is left standing. What hand has reconstructed - the vault of those caverns and prepared those empty tombs? - The hand of that same man who was seated on the throne of the - Bourbons[228]! O Providence, he thought that he was preparing - sepulchres for his race, and he was but building the tomb of - Louis XVI.[229]!" - -I long wished that the image of Louis XVI. might be set up on the -spot where the martyr shed his blood: I should no longer be of that -opinion. The Bourbons must be praised for thinking of Louis XVI. at -the first moment of their return. They were bound to touch their -foreheads with his ashes, before placing his crown on their heads. -Now I think that they ought not to have gone further. It was not in -Paris, as in London, a committee which tried the monarch: it was the -whole Convention; thence the annual reproach which a repeated funeral -ceremony seemed to make to the nation, apparently represented by -a complete assembly. Every people has fixed anniversaries for the -celebration of its triumphs, its disorders, or its misfortunes, for -all have, in an equal measure, desired to keep up the memory of one -and the other: we have had solemnities for the barricades, songs for -St. Bartholomew's Night, feasts for the death of Capet; but is it not -remarkable that the law is powerless to create days of remembrance, -whereas religion has made the obscurest saint live on from age to -age? If the fasts and prayers instituted for the sacrifice of Charles -I. still survive[230], it is because, in England, the State unites -religious to political supremacy and because, by virtue of that -supremacy, the 30th of January 1649 has become a _feria._ In France -things go differently: Rome alone has the right to command in religion; -thenceforth, of what value is an order published by a prince, a decree -promulgated by a political assembly, if another prince, another -assembly have the right to expunge them? I therefore think to-day that -the symbol of a feast which may be abolished, or the evidence of a -tragic catastrophe not consecrated by religion, is not fitly placed on -the road of the crowd carelessly and heedlessly pursuing its pleasures. -At the time in which we live, it is to be feared lest a monument raised -with the object of impressing horror of popular excesses might prompt -the longing to imitate them: evil tempts more than good; when wishing -to perpetuate the sorrow, one often perpetuates only the example. The -centuries do not adopt the bequests of mourning: they have present -cause enough for weeping, without undertaking to shed hereditary tears -as well. - -[Sidenote: Reflections at Saint-Denis.] - -On beholding the catafalque leaving the Cemetière de Desclozeaux[230b], -laden with the remains of the Queen and King, I felt a strong emotion; -I followed it with my eyes with a fatal presentiment. At last Louis -XVI. resumed his couch at Saint-Denis; Louis XVIII., on his side, slept -at the Louvre. The two brothers were together commencing a new era of -legitimate kings and sceptres: vain restoration of the throne and the -tomb, of which time has already swept away the dual dust. - -Since I have spoken of those funeral ceremonies, which were so often -repeated, I will tell you of the incubus with which I used to be -oppressed when, after the ceremony, I walked in the evening in the -half-undraped basilica: that I dreamt of the vanity of human greatness -among those devasted tombs follows as the vulgar moral issuing from -the spectacle itself; but the workings of my mind did not stop at -that: I penetrated into the very nature of man. Is all emptiness and -absence in the region of the sepulchres? Is there nothing in that -nothingness? Are there no existences of nihility, no thoughts of dust? -Have those bones no modes of life with which we are unacquainted? Who -knows of the passions, the pleasures, the embraces of those dead? Are -the things which they have dreamt, thought, expected like themselves -idealities, engulfed pell-mell with themselves? Dreams, futures, joys, -sorrows, liberties and slaveries, powers and weaknesses, crimes and -virtues, honours and infamies, riches and miseries, talents, geniuses, -intelligences, glories, illusions, loves: are you but perceptions of -a moment, perceptions that pass with the destruction of the skulls in -which they take birth, with the extinction of the bosom in which once -beat a heart? In your eternal silence, O tombs, if tombs you be, is -nought heard but a mocking and eternal laughter? Is that laughter the -God, the sole derisive reality, which will survive the imposture of -this universe? Let us close our eyes; let us fill up life's despairing -abyss with those great and mysterious words of the martyr: - -"I am a Christian!" - - - -[128] Odo King of France (_d._ 898), the first king of the Capet -Dynasty.--T. - -[129] Abbon (_d._ 923), nicknamed the Crooked, author of a Latin poem -on the siege of Paris by the Normans. - -[130] Louisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia Queen of Prussia (1776-1810), -the beautiful wife of Frederic William III., and daughter of the Duke -of Mecklemburg-Strelitz. Napoleon was said to be enamoured of Louisa of -Prussia.--T. - -[131] Florio's MONTAIGNE, Booke III. chap. VIII.--T. - -[132] _Ps._ XXI. 16. In the Vulgate: _Et lingua mea adhasit faucibus -meis._--B. - -[133] The Emperor Alexander had expressed a wish to say, not at the -Tuileries, but at the Élysée; he remained there only a few hours, and -accepted the offer of the Prince of Talleyrand, who hastened to place -at his disposal his house in the Rue Saint-Florentin.--B. - -[134] Pope Pius VII.--T. - -[135] Fabian Wilhelm Prince von der Osten-Sacken (1752-1837) had fought -in all the campaigns against Turkey, Poland and France, and been taken -prisoner by Masséna at Zurich. Alexander appointed him Governor of -Paris in 1814.--T. - -[136] Paul Count Schouvaloff (_circa_ 1775-1823), a distinguished -Russian general, the same who later escorted Napoleon to Fréjus.--T. - -[137] Madame Charles Bonaparte (1750-1836), _née_ Ramolino, Napoleon's -mother. When Bonaparte assumed the title of Emperor, he bestowed upon -his mother that of Madame Mère and Imperial Highness.--T. - -[138] Cardinal Fesch, Archbishop of Lyons, was Madame Mère's -half-brother.--T. - -[139] Nikolaus Field-Marshal Prince Esterhazy von Galantha (1765-1833), -the Hungarian magnate who, in 1797, had organized an army in Hungary to -repel the French invasion.--T. - -[140] Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia (1784-1860), Napoleon's -youngest and most worthless brother, distinguished for little save his -personal courage. From Jerome the present Bonapartist pretenders are -descended. He had married a daughter of the King of Wurtemberg, who, -after Waterloo, gave him the title of Comte de Montfort. He returned -to France in 1848, and prepared the way for the election to the -Presidency of his nephew, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, afterwards Napoleon -III. Jerome, who resumed his royal title under the Second Empire, was -successively appointed Governor of the Invalides (1848), a marshal of -France (1850), and President of the Senate (1851).--T. - -[141] _Cf._ my description of the Hundred Days at Ghent, _infra,_ -and the portrait of M. de Talleyrand given at the end of these -Memoirs.--_Author's Note_ (Paris, 1839). - -[142] The full title of Chateaubriand's work was _De Bonaparte, des -Bourbons et de la nécessité de se rallier à nos princes légitimes pour -le bonheur de la France et celui de l'Europe._ Extracts from the famous -pamphlet were published in the _Journal des Débats_ on the 4th of April -1814, and the work itself was placed on sale the next day, Wednesday -the 5th of April.--B. - -[143] Hugues Maret, Duc de Bassano (1763-1839), was the editor of -the bulletins of the National Assembly in 1789, and thus laid the -foundations of the _Moniteur universel._ In 1792, he was sent as -Ambassador to Naples, was captured by the Austrians on the road, and -was kept in confinement until 1795, when he was exchanged for the -daughter of Louis XVI. Bonaparte appointed Maret Secretary-General to -the Consuls and later, in 1804, made him Secretary of State. In this -capacity Maret accompanied Napoleon on all his campaigns, drawing up -most of the instructions and bulletins. He was in 1811 created Duc -de Bassano, and was appointed Foreign Minister and Minister of War -in 1813. He was exiled in 1815, not returning to France until 1820. -The Duc de Bassano was a minister of Louis-Philippe for the space of -one week only (10 to 18 November 1834). To Napoleon he had been an -invaluable and indefatigable servant.--T. - -[144] François Séverin Desgraviers-Marceau (1769-1796) enlisted at -the age of sixteen, became a captain in the Vendée in 1793 and, in -the same year, when only twenty-four years old, was, upon Kléber's -recommendation, appointed General-in-Chief of the Western Army. On the -12th of December, he won the bloody battle of Mans over the Vendeans. -In 1794, he was employed as a general of division in the Army of -Sambre-et-Meuse, and contributed to the victory of Fleurus. In 1796, -he protected the retreat of Jourdan's Army, and had several times -repelled the enemy when he fell mortally wounded near Altkirchen, at -the age of twenty-seven years. Marceau was noted for his humanity and -disinterestedness, as much as for his courage and strategic talent His -native city of Chartres erected a monument to him in 1850.--T. - -[145] Lazare Hoche (1768-1797) received the command of the Army of -the Moselle at the age of twenty-five. In 1793-94, he cleared the -Austrians out of Alsace. He was thrown into prison for a short time, -at the instance of Pichegru, over whose head he had been promoted, but -recovered his liberty on the 9 Thermidor, and was placed at the head -of the Army of the Vendée. He defeated the Emigrants at Quiberon and -succeeded in pacifying the whole district. In 1796, he commanded the -army which was intended to effect a landing in Ireland, but was driven -back by storms. He was next, in February 1797, placed in command of the -Army of Sambre-et-Meuse, consisting of 80,000 men, and defeated the -Austrians in three engagements, but died, in September, of a complaint -of the bowels. Hoche has a statue at Versailles, where he was born.--T. - -[146] Barthélemy Cathérine Joubert (1769-1799) served with great -distinction in Italy, as second to Bonaparte, in 1795 and 1796; in -1798, he himself commanded the Army of Italy and at first obtained -great successes. On the 15th of August 1799, however, he was -unexpectedly attacked by the Russians at Novi, saw his army routed, and -was mortally wounded while attempting to effect a rally. The Directory -were considering whether they should place Joubert in the supreme -power, when his death occurred.--T. - -[147] Masséna routed the Russians at Zurich on the 26th of August -1799.--T. - -[148] Camille Jordan (1771-1821), a moderate French citizen of liberal -opinions, and author of some wise and temperate works.--T. - -[149] Louis Jean Népomucène Lemercier (1771-1840), a notable playwright -and a member of the French Academy.--T. - -[150] Jean Denis Comte Lanjuinais (1753-1827), a moderate member of the -Convention, of which, after escaping from arrest, he was made President -in 1795. In 1800, he was made a senator, and, although he voted against -the life consulship, he was later created a count of the Empire. In -1814, he voted for the deposition of Napoleon and was made a peer by -Louis XVIII.--T. - -[151] Charles François Lebrun, Duc de Plaisance (1739-1824), the third -of the three Consuls. Under the Empire, Bonaparte created him Duc de -Plaisance, High Treasurer, and Administrator-General of Holland. He -gave in his adhesion to the recall of the Bourbons in 1814, and was -created a peer under the Restoration.--T. - -[152] Here I omit quotations from Marie Joseph de Chénier, Madame de -Staël, Benjamin Constant, Béranger, Courier, Victor Hugo, Sheridan and -Lord Byron.--T. - -[153] M. de Talleyrand occupied the house which forms the corner of the -Place de la Concorde and the Rue Saint-Florentin. After the death of -the Prince de Talleyrand, it was taken by the Princesse de Lieven. It -is now the property of M. Alphonse de Rothschild.--B. - -[154] The Abbé Dominique Dufour de Pradt (1759-1837), was Grand Vicar -at Rouen on the outbreak of the Revolution. He emigrated in 1791, -returned in 1801, and became successively almoner to the Emperor, a -baron, Bishop of Poitiers and Archbishop of Mechlin. In 1812, he was -sent as Ambassador to Warsaw, but acquitted himself very badly in this -capacity, and was deprived of his almoner-ship and sent back to his -diocese. He thereupon became a violent enemy of Napoleon, and was one -of the first to declare against him when the Allies entered Paris. -Nevertheless, he was coldly received by the Bourbons and obliged to -resign his archbishopric, receiving a pension of 12,000 francs by way -of indemnity. He wrote a mass of occasional matter, including a History -of his Polish Embassy. The publication referred to above is his _Récit -historique sur la restauration de la royauté en France le 31 mars_ -1814.--T. - -[155] Pierre de Ruel, Maréchal Marquis de Beurnonville (1752-1821), had -served in the Republican armies, was made Minister of War in 1792, but -was captured by Dumouriez and delivered to the Austrians: he was one of -the French officers exchanged in 1795 for Louis XVI.'s daughter, who -became Duchesse d'Angoulême. Under the Consulate and Empire, he was -sent as Ambassador to Berlin and Madrid. He became a senator in 1805, a -count of the Empire in 1808. Louis XVIII. created him a peer of France -in 1814, a marshal of France in 1816, gave him his marquisate in 1817 -and the Order of the Holy Ghost in 1820.--T. - -[156] Arnail François Marquis de Jaucourt (1757-1852) was a colonel in -the royal service at the age of twenty-five. Under the Revolution, he -pronounced for the Constitutional Monarchy and was obliged to emigrate. -Napoleon made him a senator in 1803, First Chamberlain to King Joseph -in 1804, a count in 1808; and Jaucourt remained faithful until the -flight of Joseph and Marie-Louise, when he consented to join the -Provisional Government. Louis XVIII. made him a minister of State and -a peer of France; but he held office for only short periods, devoting -himself mainly to the interests of Protestantism, a form of worship to -which he belonged.--T. - -[157] Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert Duc de Dalberg (1773-1833) left -the service of the Grand-duke of Baden for that of Napoleon and was -naturalized a Frenchman. He was created a duke of the Empire in 1810 -and, for the rest, clung to the fortunes of Talleyrand.--T. - -[158] François Xavier Marc Antoine Abbé Duc de Montesquiou-Fezensac -(1757-1832) had followed the Comte de Provence (Louis XVIII.) to -England after the Revolution. He returned to France after the 9 -Thermidor to serve the interests of the Bourbons, but was exiled -by Bonaparte. Louis XVIII. made him his Minister of the Interior -(1814-1815), and he was for some time at the head of affairs. After the -Second Restoration, he was created a peer of France (1815), a count -(1817) and a duke (1821) but took no further part in politics. In 1816, -he was admitted to the French Academy, although he had no literary -qualifications. He died in retirement and poor.--T. - -[159] Dupont de Nemours (_vide_ note, _supra_, p. 56) was Secretary to -the Provisional Government, rather than a member of it.--B. - -[160] The Treaty of Tilsit, between Russia and Prussia on the one hand -and France on the other, took place in 1807.--T. - -[161] At the commencement of the reign of Louis XVI., the house in the -Rue Saint-Florentin belonged to the Duc de Fitz-James, who sold it, -in 1787, to the Duchesse de l'Infantado. Hence the name of Hôtel de -l'Infantado by which it was generally designated under the Empire and -in the early years of the Restoration.--B. - -[162] Adresse du Gouvernement provisoire aux armées françaises (2 April -1814).--B. - -[163] Charles de Lorraine, Duc de Mayenne (1544-1611), brother to the -Duc de Guise and the Cardinal de Lorraine, on whose death he proclaimed -himself the Head of the League and Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, -and made war upon Henry III. and the King of Navarre (Henry IV.), -but was defeated by the latter at Arques and Ivry. He kept up his -resistance after the death of Henry III., and proclaimed a phantom king -in the person of the Cardinal de Bourbon. On the death of that Prince, -in 1590, he convoked the States-General in the hope of securing his own -election, but failed, ended by submitting and, in 1596, made his peace -with Henry IV., who made him Governor of the Isle of France.--T. - -[164] Charles Comte, later Duc de Cossé-Brissac was appointed Governor -of Paris by the Duc de Mayenne in 1594. A few months later, he -surrendered the capital to Henry IV., who made him a marshal.--T. - -[165] Jean Baptiste Mailhe (1754-1834), member of the Convention for -the Haute-Garonne. As the result of the drawing which took place among -the departments, he was the first called upon to vote in the trial of -the King. In 1814, he sent an address to the Senate to congratulate it -on pronouncing the deposition of Napoleon.--B. - -[166] Baron Petit (1772-1856) had been Brigadier-General of the -Imperial Guard since the 23rd of June 1813. The day after the -leave-taking at Fontainebleau, he swore allegiance to Louis XVIII., -who made him a knight of St. Louis; but he fought at Cambronne's side -at Waterloo, and protected the flight of the Emperor. Louis-Philippe -created him a peer of France in 1837, and made him Commander of the -Invalides. Napoleon III. appointed him a Senator in 1852.--T. - -[167] Franz Baron von Koller (1767-1826), Adjutant-General to Prince -von Schwarzenberg, and an Austrian general of the first merit.--T. - -[168] Colonel, later General Sir Neil Campbell (1776-1827). Colonel -Campbell stayed in Elba at Napoleon's request, and it was during one -of his absences in Italy that Napoleon escaped, Campbell's supposed -residence having put the English naval captains off their guard.--T. - -[169] Friedrich Ludwig Count Truchsess von Waldburg (1776-1844), author -of the _Reise von Fontainebleau nach Fréjus_ (1815), from which the -following extracts are taken.--T. - -[170] Johann Philipp Palm (1766-1806), the victim of this judicial -murder. A book was published at Nuremberg, in 1814, by the unfortunate -publisher's family, giving a full and touching account of his trial and -execution.--T. - -[171] Friedrich von Gentz (1764-1832), a noted German publicist, -author of the Prussian manifesto against France in 1806, the Austrian -manifestoes of 1809 and 1813, the protocols of the Conferences of -Vienna (1814) and Paris (1815), and of several remarkable political -works.--T. - -[172] Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), did not receive -his duchy until the 11th of May 1814. The earlier steps are: Baron -Douro and Viscount Wellington (4 September 1809), Earl of Wellington -(28 February 1812), and Marquess of Wellington (3 October 1812).--T. - -[173] Paul François Charles Augereau, Maréchal Duc de Castiglione -(1757-1816), a brilliant, dashing and courageous soldier. He was one of -the first to recognise the Bourbons.--T. - -[174] Henri Gratien Comte Bertrand (1773-1844), Napoleon's intimate -and confidant, accompanied him to Elba and St. Helena, and never left -his side until his death. He had been sentenced to death by contumacy -in 1816. On his return from St. Helena, in 1821, Louis XVIII. remitted -his penalty and restored him to his rank. In 1840, he accompanied the -Prince de Joinville to St. Helena and, with him, brought back the -remains of Napoleon to France. He is buried at the Invalides by the -Emperor's side.--T. - -[175] Comte Drouot (1774-1847), the great artillery general. Napoleon -made him Governor of Elba. He returned to France with the Emperor at -Waterloo, and fought with extraordinary gallantry. He was proscribed by -Louis XVIII. and tried by court-martial, but acquitted. He ended his -days in retirement, and lost his sight some years before his death. -Napoleon left him 100,000 francs in his will.--T. - -[176] TRUCHSESS-WALDBURG, _A Narrative of Napoleon Buonaparte's Journey -from Fontainebleau to Fréjus in April 1814_ (London: John Murray, -1816).--T. - -[177] In 1799, after the capture of Jaffa, Bonaparte had the garrison -murdered in cold blood, as well as some thousands of prisoners of whom -he had a difficulty in disposing.--T - -[178] According to several historians, the Marquis de Maubreuil was a -needy adventurer, as destitute of scruples as of money, who is supposed -to have been charged by Talleyrand, in April 1814, to assassinate -Napoleon. Dupont, the Minister for War, Anglès, the Minister for -Police, and Bourrienne, the Postmaster-General, the commanders of the -Russian and Austrian troops, the Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of -Austria himself are said to have approved of the mission entrusted to -Maubreuil. All this is an abominable calumny. - -The royalist zeal of which Maubreuil had given signs, after the entry -of the Allies into Paris, had earned for him the good graces of M. -Laborie, the assistant-secretary to the Provisional Government; but his -protector, failing to procure him a post, he invented a stroke of the -boldest character. - -Under the pretext that he was going in search of a portion of the Crown -diamonds, which had been removed from Paris and were not to be found, -on the 21st of April, at the village of Fossard, near Montereau, he -waylaid the Queen of Westphalia, who was returning to Germany, and -seized eleven cases containing the Queen's jewelry and diamonds and -80,000 francs in gold. When the news of this great stroke reached -Paris, the Sovereigns, and the Emperor Alexander in particular, -displayed the liveliest annoyance and demanded the punishment of the -culprits. Maubreuil, meantime, had returned to Paris, on the night -of the 23rd of April; he carried to the Tuileries the cases which he -had taken, one of them, according to him, having been broken and its -contents scattered on the road. At the same time, he handed over four -sacks, containing gold, he said. The next day, when the cases were -opened by the locksmith who had made the keys, they were found to be -almost empty; the sacks contained silver pieces of twenty sous, instead -of gold pieces of twenty francs. The police, before long, had proofs -that the broken case, which was just that which had contained the -most precious objects, had been opened at Versailles, in a room at an -inn, by Maubreuil and his accomplice, a certain Dasies. Moreover, in -one of the apartments occupied by Maubreuil in Paris--he had three or -four--they found on the bed a magnificent diamond which had belonged to -the Queen of Westphalia. The evidences of the theft were incontestable. -Maubreuil put a bold face upon it. He declared that he had left Paris -with the mission to assassinate the Emperor; that this mission had -been given him by M. de Talleyrand; that, in spite of the horror with -which it inspired him, he had accepted it for fear lest it should be -given to another. "He had," he continued, "arranged everything to -deceive the criminal intentions of those who had employed him, and he -had sought, by bringing them a treasure and contenting their greed, to -appease their dissatisfaction." This could not stand proof; but, in the -then circumstances, those lies might have produced the most deplorable -and baleful effects among the public, particularly the soldiers. The -Government thought it the wisest course to hurry nothing, to keep the -accused in prison, and to await aid and counsel from time and the -progress of events. _Cf._ the _Souvenirs du comte de Semallé_ and Vol. -II. of the _Mémoires du chancelier Pasquier._--B. - -[179] Jean Baptiste Germain Fabry (1780-1821), author of the -_Itinéraire de Buonaparte de Doulevent à Fréjus_ (1821) and of numerous -publications, written with talent and animated with a profoundly -religious and royalist spirit.--B. - -[180] Sir Walter Scott, Bart (1771-1832). The above extract is taken -from his _Life of Napoleon Buonaparte_ (1827), chap, lxxxi.--T. - -[181] Philippe Paul Comte de Ségur (1786-1873), author of the _Histoire -de Napoléon et de la grande armée en 1812_ (1824), from which the above -incident is quoted.--T. - -[182] Hinton was boatswain on board the _Undaunted_, which conveyed -Napoleon to Elba.--T. - -[183] Louis XVIII. landed at Calais on the 24th of April 1814. He had -left France on the 22nd of June 1791.--B. - -[184] Louis Pierre Louvel (1753-1820), the assassin of the Duc de Berry -(13 February 1820). He declared in one of his interrogatories that, -on the first day of the Restoration, he had sworn to exterminate all -the Bourbons and that, in April 1814, he had gone on foot from Metz to -Calais with the object of stabbing Louis XVIII.--T. - -[185] Nicolas Joseph Maréchal Comte Maison (1771-1840) rallied to the -new Government and was made Governor of Paris and a peer of France -(1814). He refused to accept any post from Napoleon on the return of -the latter from Elba, and in 1817 was created a marquis. He commanded -the Morean Expedition in 1828, and was made a marshal of France in -the following year. Maison was one of the commissaries appointed to -accompany Charles X. to Cherbourg in 1830. Under Louis-Philippe he was -Ambassador to Vienna (1831-1833), to St. Petersburg (1833-1835), and -Minister of War (1835-1836).--T. - -[186] Joan of Arc (1410-1430) was captured by the English on the 24th -of May 1430, on attempting a sortie from Compiègne, besieged by the -English and Burgundians. Louis XVIII. arrived at Compiègne on the 29th -of April 1814.--T. - -[187] Louis XIV. (1638-1715) was the direct ancestor of Louis XVIII. in -the fifth generation (great-great-great-grandfather).--T. - -[188] Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre Macdonald, Maréchal Duc de -Tarente (1765-1840), a fine soldier, of Irish descent. He was made a -peer of France, after Napoleon's abdication, and Grand Chancellor of -the Legion of Honour, a dignity which he retained until 1831.--T. - -[189] Michel Ney, Maréchal Duc d'Elchingen, Prince de la Moskowa -(1769-1815), was, at the end of the next year, sentenced to be shot for -his treachery to the King, the sentence being executed on the 7th of -December 1815.--T. - -[190] Bon Adrien Jeannot Moncey, Maréchal Duc de Conégliano -(1754-1842), was imprisoned for three months in 1815 at Ham for -refusing to try Marshal Ney, and excluded from the House of Peers, -to which he was not readmitted until 1819. In 1823 he was given a -command in Spain in the war of French intervention. He ended his -life as Governor of the Invalides, where he received the remains of -Napoleon.--T. - -[191] Jean Marie Philippe Maréchal Comte Sérurier (1742-1819) was -Governor of the Invalides, in 1814, and burnt the flags captured from -the enemy in the court-yard to save them from being restored to the -Allies. Louis made him a peer of France and Grand Cross of St. Louis, -but he resigned all his functions in December 1815.--T. - -[192] Marshal Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763-1815) rejoined Napoleon -on his return from Elba, and was killed by the Royalist mob at Avignon -shortly after the Battle of Waterloo.--T. - -[193] Alexandre Berthier, Maréchal Prince de Wagram, Prince de -Neuchâtel (1753-1815), committed suicide on the return of Napoleon, -from the balcony of his mother-in-law, the Duke of Birkenfeld's palace -at Bamberg, during a fit of fever (1 June 1815).--T. - -[194] _Cf. Compiègne, avril_ 1814 (Paris: Le Normant, 1814).--B. - -[195] The musketeers of the King's Military Household, so called -because of their red uniform.--B. - -[196] The manuscript of the Memoirs says forty years. Is this simply -a _lapsus calami_, or did Chateaubriand, who, it is true, was an -indifferent calculator, really reckon forty years between 1792 and -1814?--B. - -[197] Charles II. King of England (1630-1685) dated his reign from -1649, the year of the execution of Charles I., and not from 1660, the -year of his restoration.--T. - -[198] In spite of what Chateaubriand says, it is only just to recognise -that Louis XVIII. had given proof of a truly royal dignity in not -consenting to accept the crown at the hands of the senators, and in -proclaiming that he held it in his own right. The Comte de Lille, the -exile of Hartwell, had, in fact, no other title to occupy the throne -than as the descendant of Louis XIV., the brother of Louis XVI., and -the successor of Louis XVII.--B. - -[199] Chateaubriand here commits a slight error of date. The Emperor -Alexander left Paris on the 2nd of June 1814. It was not then, nor on -the eve of his departure, that he had a religious service celebrated on -the Place Louis XV. This ceremony had taken place almost immediately -after the entry of the Allies, before either the Comte d'Artois or -Louis XVIII. had arrived in Paris, on Sunday the 10th of April. On -that day, the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia and Prince von -Schwarzenberg, representing the Emperor of Austria, reviewed their -respective troops, drawn up in line, to the number of 80,000 men, from -the Boulevard de l'Arsenal to the Boulevard de la Madeleine. At one -o'clock, a mass was said on the Place Louis XV. by a bishop and six -priests of the Greek rite. A _Te Deum_ was sung to thank God for giving -peace to France and the world. The Allied troops defiled before the -altar, which was surrounded by the National Guard of Paris, under the -orders of its commandant, General Dessolle.--B. - -[200] Joseph Anne Auguste Maximilien de Croy, Duc d'Havré (1744-1839). -He was a brigadier-general, in 1789, when elected a deputy to the -States-General by the nobles of the bailiwick of Amiens and Ham. In -1814, Louis XVIII. made him a peer of France, a lieutenant-general and -a captain of the Body-guards. He was then seventy years of age.--B. - -[201] Victor Perrin, Maréchal Duc de Bellune (1766-1841), known as -Marshal Victor, had been seriously wounded in the campaign of 1814. -He remained faithful to Louis XVIII. during the Hundred Days, and was -created a peer of France in 1815. He was Minister for War for a few -days under the Bourbons.--T. - -[202] Philippe Louis Marie Antoine de Noailles, Prince de Poix, Duc -de Mouchy (1752-1819). His career resembled that of the Duc d'Havré -in every particular. He was sent to the States-General in 1789 by the -nobles of the bailiwick of Amiens and Ham, and was created a peer, a -lieutenant-general and a captain of the Body-guards in 1814.--B. - -[203] Nicolas Charles Oudinot, Maréchal Duc de Reggio (1767-1847), -one of the bravest of Napoleon's generals, was wounded no less than -thirty-two times. Under the Restoration, to which he continued faithful -in 1815, he became a peer of France, Major-General of the Royal Guard -and Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard of Paris. Louis-Philippe -appointed Oudinot Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour (1839) and -Governor of the Invalides (1842).--T. - -[204] THUC. III. 38.--T. - -[205] Madame de Talleyrand-Périgord, _née_ Worley, was born at -Pondichéry, where her father was harbour-master. At sixteen years of -age, she married a Swiss, Mr. Grant, who lived with her successively at -Chandernagor and Calcutta; she allowed herself to be eloped with and -carried to Europe. After numerous adventures, she became Talleyrand's -mistress under the Directory and lived with him publicly. The First -Consul ordered his minister to marry her, which was done, after -Talleyrand had received a brief from the Court of Rome releasing him -from his vows, and after Mr. Grant, then in Paris, had agreed to a -divorce, in consideration of a large sum of money and a good place... -at the Cape of Good Hope. The marriage of the ex-Bishop of Autun was, -for that matter, a purely civil one. When the Restoration came, he -settled a pension of 60,000 francs on his wife, on condition that she -went to live in England.--B. - -[206] François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (1787-1874) became Minister -of the Interior in 1830, under Louis-Philippe, was French Ambassador -to England for a few months in 1840, and Prime Minister from 1840 to -1848.--T. - -[207] Pierre Victor Baron Malouet (1740-1814) served in the Admiralty -all his life: under Louis XVI.; as Commissary-general of Marine under -Bonaparte; and as Minister of Marine under the Restoration.--T. - -[208] Jacques Claude Comte Beugnot (1761-1835) had, under the Empire, -been Prefect of Rouen, a councillor of State, Minister of Finance to -King Jerome, and Prefect of Lille. Louis XVIII. made him Minister of -Marine in December 1814. He accompanied the King to Ghent and, on the -return, became Postmaster-general. He was made a peer of France in -1730.--B. - -[209] Pierre Antoine Comte Dupont de L'Étang (1765-1840), had been one -of the most brilliant generals of the Empire, but was cashiered for -his capitulation at Baylen (1808), and kept in prison until 1814. He -remained only a few months at the War Office. In 1836, Dupont published -a translation in verse of the Odes of Horace and, in 1839, the _Art de -la guerre_, a poem in ten cantos.--T. - -[210] Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Maréchal Duc de Dalmatie (1769-1852), -Napoleon's greatest tactician. He became Major-general of Napoleon's -army during the Hundred Days, and was exiled by the Bourbons at the -Second Restoration; returned to France in 1819, and was raised to -the peerage, in 1827, by Charles X. But, in 1830, he devoted himself -to Louis-Philippe; became Minister of War and President of the -Council; reorganized the French Army in 1832; represented France at -the coronation of Victoria in 1838, and received a veritable ovation -in England. In 1839 and again in 1840, Soult resumed the office of -Minister of War, together with the Presidency of the Council; but was -obliged by the state of his health to resign, in 1847, and received the -quite exceptional title of Marshal-General, which only Turenne, Villars -and Saxe had borne before him.--T. - -[211] Pierre Louis Casimir Duc de Blacas d'Aulps (1770-1839) -accompanied Louis XVIII. to Ghent, was created a peer under the Second -Restoration, and Ambassador to Naples and later to Rome. In 1823, -he was reappointed to Naples, where he remained till 1830, when he -followed the Bourbons into exile, dying at Prague in 1839.--T. - -[212] Jules Jean Baptiste Comte Anglès (1778-1828). He again became -Prefect of Police in 1818, and retained that post until 1821.--B. - -[213] Charles Dambray (1760-1829) was made Chancellor, Minister of -Justice and President of the Chamber in 1814. He took refuge in England -during the Hundred Days, and resumed the presidency of the Chamber on -his return.--T. - -[214] Joseph Dominique Baron Louis (1755-1837) had taken orders -and assisted as deacon to the Bishop of Autun at the Feast of the -Federation in 1790. He emigrated, nevertheless, and employed his exile -in studying the financial system of England. He was several times -Minister of Finance: in 1814, 1816, 1818 and 1831.--T. - -[215] Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot (1753-1823), the famous -"Organizer of Victory." He became Minister of the Interior during the -Hundred Days, and was exiled during the Second Restoration, retiring -first to Warsaw and next to Magdeburg, where he died. He was the author -of several works, including the _Mémoire adressé au roi en juillet -1814_, the letter in question.--T. - -[216] _Réflexions politiques sur quelques écrits du jour et sur -les intérêts de tous les Français_ (December 1814). This is one of -Chateaubriand's finest writings.--B. - -[217] Jean Henri Joachim Hostein, Vicomte Lainé (1767-1835), became -Minister of the Interior in 1816, a member of the French Academy in the -same year, and a viscount and peer of France in 1823.--T. - -[218] Claire Duchesse de Duras (1777-1829), _née_ de Coëtnempren de -Kersaint, married in 1797, in England, Amédée Bretagne Malo de Durfort, -who, three years later, on the death of his father, became Duc de -Duras. On the return of the Bourbons, the Duc de Duras was made a peer -of France and First Lord of the Bed-chamber. The duchess at that time -had one of the most popular salons in Paris. She wrote several little -novels: _Édouard, Ourika, Frère Ange, Olivier_, and the _Mémoires -de Sophie_, of which the two first were published in 1820 and 1824 -respectively; the other three are still in manuscript. Towards the -end of her life, the Duchesse de Duras wrote some eminently Christian -pages, which were published, ten years after her death, in 1839, under -the title of _Réflexions et prières inédites._--B. - -[219] Claire Louise Augustine Félicité Magloire de Durfort (_b._ -1798), known as Félicie, married, first (1813), Charles Léopold Henri -de La Trémoille, Prince de Talmont (_d._ 1815), and, secondly (1819), -Brigadier-general Auguste du Vergier, Comte de La Rochejacquelein.--B. - -[220] Claire Henriette Philippine Benjamine de Durfort (1799-1863), -known as Clara, married (1819) Henri Louis Comte de Chastellux, created -Duc de Rauzan on the occasion of his marriage.--B. - -[221] In January 1829.--B. - -[222] Madame Julie Récamier (1777-1849), _née_ Bernard, of whom much -will be read in the sequel, was very intimate with Madame de Staël, -and had been banished from Paris by Napoleon for the frequency of her -visits to Madame de Staël at Coppet.--T. - -[223] The old Cemetière de la Madeleine, at No. 48, Rue -d'Anjou-Saint-Honoré.--B. - -[224] Pierre François Fontaine (1762-1865), an eminent modern French -architect and member of the Academy of Arts, who, together with -Percier, _quem vide infra_, constructed the Expiatory Chapel at the -corner of the Rue d'Anjou and the Boulevard Haussmann, mentioned below, -and a number of other public works, including the great staircase at -the Louvre, the restorations at Versailles, etc.--T - -[225] Charles Percier (1764-1840), member of the Institute, and -Fontaine's friend and collaborator.--T. - -[226] _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 157.--T. - -[227] The Oriflamme, which, under the Capets, became the standard -of France, was originally the private banner of the Abbey of -Saint-Denis.--T. - -[228] The tombs of the Kings at Saint-Denis were opened in 1793, by -order of the Convention (6 August), and restored, together with the -church, by Napoleon, in 1806.--T. - -[229] Chateaubriand: _Le Vingt-et-un janvier_ (Paris: Le Normant, -1815).--B. - -[230] The service in memory of the martyrdom of King Charles I. was -struck out of the Prayer-book in the year 1859.--T. - -[230b] M. Descloseaux (not Ducluzeau, as the previous editions of the -Memoirs have it) was a faithful Royalist, who had become the proprietor -of the old Cemetière de la Madeleine to save the remains of the King -and Queen from profanation.--B. - - - - -BOOK IV - - -Napoleon at Elba--Commencement of the Hundred Days--The return from -Elba--Torpor of the Legitimacy--Article by Benjamin Constant--Order -of the day of Marshal Soult--A royal session--Petition of -the School of Law to the Chamber of Deputies--Plan for the -defense of Paris--Flight of the King--I leave with Madame de -Chateaubriand--Confusion on the road--The Duc d'Orléans and the Prince -de Condé--Tournai--Brussels--Memories--The Duc de Richelieu--The -King summons me to join him at Ghent--The Hundred Days at -Ghent--Continuation of the Hundred Days at Ghent--Affairs in Vienna. - - -Bonaparte had refused to embark in a French ship, setting value at -that time only on the English Navy, because it was victorious; he had -forgotten his hatred, the calumnies, the outrages with which he had -overwhelmed perfidious Albion; he saw none now worthy of his admiration -save the triumphant party, and it was the _Undaunted_ that conveyed -him to the harbour of his first exile. He was not without anxiety as -to the manner in which he would be received. Would the French garrison -hand over to him the territory which it was guarding? Of the Italian -islanders, some wished to call in the English, others to remain free of -all masters; the Tricolour and the White Flag waved on near headlands. -All was arranged nevertheless. When it became known that Bonaparte was -bringing millions with him, opinions generously decided to receive -"the august victim." The civil and religious authorities were brought -round to the same conviction. Joseph Philip Arrighi, the Vicar-General, -issued a charge: - - "Divine Providence," said the pious injunction, "has decreed - that in future we shall be the subjects of Napoleon the - Great. The island of Elba, raised to so sublime an honour, - receives the Lord's Anointed in its bosom. We order that a - solemn _Te Deum_ be sung by way of thanksgiving," etc. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon in Elba.] - -The Emperor had written to General Dalesme[231], commanding the -French garrison, that he must make known to the people of Elba that -"he had selected" their island for his residence in consideration of -the gentleness of their manners and of their climate. He set foot -on land at Porto-Ferrajo[232], amid the dual salute of the English -frigate which had brought him and the batteries on shore. Thence he -was taken under the parish canopy to the church, where the _Te Deum_ -was sung. The beadle, the master of ceremonies, was a short, fat man, -who was unable to join his hands across his person. Napoleon was next -conducted to the mayor's, where his lodging was prepared. They unfurled -the new Imperial Standard, a white ground intersected by a red stripe -strewn with three gold bees. Three violins and two basses followed him -with scrapings of delight The throne, hastily erected in the public -ball-room, was decorated with gilt paper and pieces of scarlet cloth. -The actor's side of the prisoner's nature accommodated itself to these -displays: Napoleon made a serious business of trifles, even as he -used to amuse his Court with little old-time games inside his palace -at the Tuileries, going out afterwards to kill men by way of pastime. -He formed his Household: it consisted of four chamberlains, three -orderly-officers, and two harbingers of the palace. He stated that he -would receive the ladies twice a-week, at eight o'clock in the evening. -He gave a ball. He took possession, for his own residence, of the -pavilion intended for the engineers. Bonaparte was constantly meeting -in his life the two sources from which it had issued: democracy and the -royal power; his strength was derived from the citizen masses, his rank -from his genius; and therefore you see him pass without effort from -the market-square to the throne, from the kings and queens who crowded -round him at Erfurt[233] to the bakers and oilmen who danced in his -barn at Porto-Ferrajo. He had something of the people among princes, -and of the prince among the people. At five o'clock in the morning, in -silk stockings and buckled shoes, he presided over his masons in the -island of Elba. - -Established in his Empire, inexhaustible in iron since the days of -Virgil, - -Insula inexhaustis Chalybum generosa metallis[234], - -Bonaparte had not forgotten the outrages to which he had lately -been subjected; he had not renounced his intention of tearing off -his winding-sheet; but it suited him to seem buried, only to make -some appearance of a phantom around his monument. That is why he -was eager, as though thinking of nothing else, to go down into his -quarries of specular iron and adamant; one would have taken him for -the ex-inspector of Mines of his former States. He repented of having -once appropriated the revenue of the forges of "Ilva" to the Legion of -Honour: 500,000 francs now seemed to him worth more than a blood-bathed -cross on the breast of his grenadiers. - -"What was I thinking of?" he said. "But I have issued many stupid -decrees of that nature." - -He made a commercial treaty with Leghorn and proposed to make another -with Genoa. At all hazards, he began to make five or six furlongs of -high-road and designed the sites of four large towns, just as Dido laid -out the boundaries of Carthage. A philosopher who had seen too much of -human greatness, he declared that he intended thenceforth to live like -a justice of the peace in an English county: and notwithstanding, on -climbing a height which overlooks Porto-Ferrajo, these words escaped -him at the sight of the sea which flowed up on every side at the foot -of the cliffs: - -"The devil! It must be owned that my island is very small!" - -He had visited his domain within a few hours; he wished to join to it a -rock called Pianosa. - -"Europe will accuse me," he said, laughing, "of already having made a -conquest." - -The Allied Powers made merry over the fact that they had in derision -left him four hundred soldiers: he needed no more to bring them all -back to the flag. - -Napoleon's presence on the coast of Italy, which had witnessed the -commencement of his glory and which retains his memory, agitated -everybody. Murat was his neighbour; his friends, strangers secretly or -publicly landed at his retreat; his mother and his sister, the Princess -Pauline, visited him; they expected soon to see Marie-Louise and her -son arriving. A woman[235] did in fact appear, with a child[236]; she -was received with great mystery, and went to live in a secluded villa -in the most remote corner of the island: on the shores of Ogygia, -Calypso spoke of her love to Ulysses, who, instead of listening to her, -thought of how to defend himself against the suitors. After a two days' -repose, the Swan of the North put out to sea again, to land among the -myrtles of Baja, carrying away her little one in her white yawl. - -[Sidenote: Madame Walewska.] - -If we had been less trustful, it would have been easy for us to -perceive an approaching catastrophe. Bonaparte was too near his cradle -and his conquests: his funeral island should have been more distant -and surrounded by more waves. It is inexplicable how the Allies had -come to think of banishing Napoleon to the rocks where he was to serve -his apprenticeship in exile: was it possible to believe that at the -sight of the Apennines, that when smelling the powder of the fields -of Montenotte, Areola and Marengo, that on discovering Venice, Rome -and Naples, his three fair slaves, his heart would not be seized with -irresistible temptations? Had they forgotten that he had stirred up -the earth and that he had admirers and debtors everywhere, all of whom -were his accomplices? His ambition was deceived, not extinguished; -misfortune and revenge rekindled its flames: when the Prince of -Darkness from the verge of the created universe looked upon man and the -world, he resolved to destroy them. - -Before bursting forth, the terrible captive restrained himself for -some weeks. In the huge public bank at faro which he was holding, his -genius negociated a fortune or a kingdom. The Fouchés, the Guzmans -d'Alfarache swarmed. The great actor had long made his police the home -of melodrama and had reserved the upper stage for himself; he amused -himself with the vulgar victims who disappeared through the trap-doors -of his theatre. - -Bonapartism, in the first year of the Restoration, passed on from -simple desire to action in the measure as its hopes increased and as -it became better acquainted with the weak character of the Bourbons. -When the intrigue had been hatched without, it was hatched within, and -the conspiracy became flagrant. Under the able administration of M. -Ferrand[237], M. de Lavallette[238] undertook the correspondence: the -mails of the Monarchy carried the despatches of the Empire. Concealment -was abandoned; the caricatures foretold a desired return: one saw -eagles entering by the windows of the Palace of the Tuileries, through -the doors of which issued a flock of turkeys; the _Nain jaune_[239] -or _vert_ spoke of "_plumes de cane._" Warnings came from every side, -and were disbelieved. The Swiss Government had gone out of its way -to no purpose to inform His Majesty's Government of the intrigues -of Joseph Bonaparte, who had retreated to the Pays de Vaud. A woman -arriving from Elba gave the most circumstantial details of what was -happening at Porto-Ferrajo, and the police sent her to prison. People -held for certain that Napoleon would not venture any attempt before -the dissolution of the Congress and that, in any case, his views would -turn upon Italy. Others, still better advised, prayed that the "Little -Corporal," the "Ogre," the "Prisoner," might land on the French coast; -that would be too great a stroke of luck; they would settle him at one -blow! M. Pozzo di Borgo[240] declared at Vienna that the delinquent -would be strung up to the nearest tree. Were it possible to have -certain papers, one would there find the proof that, as early as 1814, -a military conspiracy was contrived and went side by side with the -political conspiracy which the Prince de Talleyrand was conducting at -Vienna, at Fouché's instigation. Napoleon's friends wrote to him that, -if he did not hasten his return, he would find his place taken at the -Tuileries by the Duc d'Orléans[241]: they imagine that this revelation -served to hurry the Emperor's return. I am convinced of the existence -of these plottings, but I also believe that the determinative cause -which decided Bonaparte was simply the nature of his genius. - -[Sidenote: Bonapartist intrigues.] - -The conspiracy of Drouet d'Erlon[242] and Lefebvre-Desnoëttes had -broken out. A few days before those generals rose in arms, I was dining -with M. le Maréchal Soult, who had been appointed Minister of War on -the 3rd of December 1814: a simpleton was describing Louis XVIII.'s -time of exile at Hartwell; the marshal listened; to each detail he -answered with the words: - -"That's historical." - -They used to bring His Majesty's slippers: - -"That's historical!" - -On days of abstinence the King used to take three new-laid eggs before -commencing his dinner: - -"That's historical!" - -This reply struck me. When a government is not solidly established, -every man whose conscience goes for nothing becomes, according to the -greater or lesser amount of energy in his character, a quarter, or a -half, or three-quarters of a conspirator; he awaits the decision of -fortune: more traitors are made by events than by opinions. - -Suddenly the telegraph announced to Napoleon's braves and to the -doubters that the man had landed[243]: Monsieur[244] hurried to Lyons, -with the Duc d'Orléans and Marshal Macdonald, and returned forthwith. -Marshal Soult, denounced in the Chamber of Deputies, gave up his office -on the 11th of March to the Duc de Feltre[245]. Bonaparte found facing -him, as Minister of War of Louis XVIII. in 1815, the general who had -been his last Minister of War in 1814. - -The boldness of the enterprise was unprecedented. From the political -point of view, this enterprise might be regarded as the irremissible -crime and capital fault of Napoleon. He knew that the Princes still -assembled at the Congress, that Europe still under arms would not -suffer him to be reinstated; his judgment must have warned him that a -success, if he obtained one, would be only for a day: he was offering -up to his passion for reappearing on the scene the repose of a people -which had lavished its blood and its treasures upon him; he was laying -open to dismemberment the country from which he derived all that he -had been in the past and all that he will be in the future. In this -fantastic conception lay a ferocious egoism and a terrible absence of -gratitude and generosity towards France. - -All this is true according to practical reason, for a man with a heart -rather than brains; but, for beings of Napoleon's nature, there exists -a reason of another sort; those creatures of lofty renown have ways -of their own: comets describe curves which evade calculation; they -belong to nothing, they seem good for nothing; if a globe finds itself -on their passage, they shatter it and return into the abysses of the -sky; their laws are known to God alone. Extraordinary individuals are -monuments of human intelligence; they are not its rule. - -Bonaparte, therefore, was persuaded to his enterprise less by the -false reports of his friends than by the needs of his genius: he -took up the cross by virtue of the faith that was in him. To a great -man, to be born is not everything: he must die. Was Elba an end for -Napoleon? Could he accept the sovereignty of a vegetable-patch, like -Diocletian[246] at Salona? If he had waited till later, would he have -had more chances of success, at a time when his memory would have -aroused less emotion, when his old soldiers would have left the army, -when new social positions would have been adopted? - -Well, then, he committed a fool-hardy act against the world: at the -commencement he must have believed that he had not deceived himself as -to the spell of his power. - -[Sidenote: The return from Elba.] - -One night, that of the 25th of February, at the end of a ball of which -the Princess Borghese was doing the honours, he made his escape with -victory, long his comrade and accomplice; he crossed a sea covered with -our fleets, met two frigates, a ship of 74 guns and the man-of-war -brig _Zéphyr_, which spoke and questioned him; he himself replied to -the captain's questions; the sea and the waves saluted him, and he -pursued his course. The deck of the _Inconstant_, his little ship, -served him as a room for exercise and as a writing-closet; he dictated -amid the winds and had copies made, on that shifting table, of three -proclamations to the army and to France; some feluccas, carrying his -companions in adventure, flew the white flag strewn with stars around -his admiral bark. On the 1st of March, at three o'clock in the morning, -he struck the coast of France between Cannes and Antibes, in the Golfe -Jouan; he landed, strolled along the _riviera_, gathered violets, and -bivouacked in a plantation of olive-trees. The dumfoundered population -retired. He avoided Antibes and threw himself into the mountains of -Grasse, passing through Sernon, Barrème, Digne and Gap. At Sisteron, -twenty men could have stopped him, and he found nobody. He went on, -meeting no obstacle among those inhabitants who, a few months earlier, -had wished to cut his throat. Whenever a few soldiers entered the void -which formed around his gigantic shadow, they were invincibly drawn on -by the attraction of his eagles. His fascinated enemies sought him and -did not see him; he hid himself in his glory, as the lion of the Sahara -hides himself in the rays of the sun to avoid the sight of the dazzled -hunters. Enveloped in a fiery cyclone, the bloody phantoms of Areola, -Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, Eylau, the Moskowa, Lützen, -Bautzen formed his retinue with a million of dead. From the midst of -this column of fire and smoke, there issued, at the entrance to the -towns, a few trumpet-blasts mingled with the signals of the tricoloured -_labarum_: and the gates of the town fell. When Napoleon crossed -the Niemen, at the head of four-hundred thousand foot and a hundred -thousand horse, to blow up the palace of the Tsars in Moscow, he was -less astonished than when, breaking his ban and flinging his irons in -the faces of the kings, he came alone, from Cannes to Paris, to sleep -peacefully at the Tuileries. - -Beside the prodigy of the invasion of one man must be placed another -which was the consequence of the first: the Legitimacy was seized with -a fainting-fit; the failure of the heart of the State attacked the -members and rendered France motionless. For twenty days, Bonaparte -marched on by stages; his eagles flew from steeple to steeple and, -along a road of two hundred leagues the Government, masters of -everything, disposing of money and men, found neither the time nor the -means to cut a bridge, to throw down a tree, so as to delay, at least -by an hour, the progress of a man to whom the populations offered no -opposition, but whom also they did not follow. - -This torpor on the part of the Government seemed the more deplorable -inasmuch as public opinion in Paris was greatly excited; it would have -countenanced anything, despite the defection of Marshal Ney. Benjamin -Constant wrote in the newspapers: - - "After visiting our country with every plague, he left the - soil of France. Who would not have thought that he was - leaving it for ever? Suddenly he appears, and again promises - Frenchmen liberty, victory and peace. The author of the most - tyrannical Constitution that ever ruled France, he speaks - to-day of liberty! But it was he who, during fourteen years, - undermined and destroyed liberty. He had not the excuse of - memory, the habit of power; he was not born in the purple. It - was his fellow-citizens whom he enslaved, his equals whom he - loaded with chains. He had not inherited power; he desired - and meditated tyranny: what liberty is he able to promise? - Are we not a thousand times more free than under his empire? - He promises victory, and three times he forsook his troops, - in Egypt, in Spain and in Russia, abandoning his companions - in arms to the triple agony of cold, destitution and despair. - He brought upon France the humiliation of invasion; he lost - the conquests which we had made before him. He promises - peace, and his name alone is a signal for war. The nation - unhappy enough to serve him would again become the object - of European hatred; his triumph would be the commencement - of a combat to the death against the civilized world.... He - has therefore nothing to claim, nor to offer. Whom could he - convince, or whom seduce? War at home, war abroad: those are - the gifts which he brings us." - -[Sidenote: Soult's order of the day.] - -Marshal Soult's Order of the Day, dated 8 March 1815, repeats very -nearly the ideas of Benjamin Constant, with an effusion of loyalty: - -"SOLDIERS, - -"The man who lately, before the eyes of Europe, abdicated the power -which he had usurped, and which he had so fatally abused, has landed on -French soil, which he was never to see again. - -"What does he want? Civil war. What does he seek? Traitors. Where will -he find them? Shall it be among those soldiers whom he has so often -deceived and sacrificed by misleading their valour? Shall it be in the -heart of those families which the mere sound of his name still fills -with terror? - -"Bonaparte despises us enough to believe us capable of abandoning a -lawful and dearly-beloved Sovereign to share the fate of a man who is -no longer more than an adventurer. He believes this, the madman, and -his last act of insanity reveals him to us as he is! - -"Soldiers, the French Army is the bravest army in Europe; it will also -be the most faithful. - -"Let us rally round the banner of the lilies, at the voice of the -father of the people, the worthy heir of the virtues of Henry the -Great. He himself has traced for you the duties which you have to -fulfil. He places at your head that Prince, the model of French -knighthood, who, by his happy return to our country, has already once -driven out the usurper, and who to-day, by his presence among us, will -destroy his sole and last hope." - -Louis XVIII. appeared on the 16th of March in the Chamber of Deputies; -the destinies of France and of the world were at stake. When His -Majesty entered, the deputies and the strangers in the galleries -uncovered and rose; cheers shook the walls of the house. Louis XVIII. -slowly mounted the steps of his throne; the Princes, the marshals and -the captains of the guards ranged themselves on either side of the -King. The cheers ceased; none spoke: in that interval of silence, one -seemed to hear the distant footsteps of Napoleon. His Majesty, seated, -cast his eyes over the assembly, and in a firm voice delivered this -speech: - -[Sidenote: The King's speech.] - - "GENTLEMEN, - - "At this critical moment, when the public enemy has - penetrated into a part of my kingdom and threatens the - liberty of all the remainder, I come into your midst to knit - yet more closely the ties which, uniting you to myself, - constitute the strength of the State; I come, by addressing - you, to make manifest my feelings and my wishes to the whole - of France. - - "I have seen my country again; I have reconciled it with - foreign Powers, who will, you may be sure, be faithful to the - treaties which have restored peace to us; I have laboured - for the good of my people; I have received, I continue daily - to receive the most touching marks of its love; could I, at - sixty years of age, better end my career than by dying in its - defense? - - "I fear nothing, therefore, for myself; but I fear for - France: he who comes to kindle among us the torches of civil - war brings with him also the scourge of foreign war; he - comes to put back our country under his iron yoke; he comes, - lastly, to destroy the Constitutional Charter which I have - given you, that Charter which will be my proudest title in - the eyes of posterity, that Charter which all Frenchmen - cherish and which I here swear to maintain: let us then rally - round it." - -The King was still speaking, when a fog spread darkness through the -house; eyes were turned towards the ceiling to ascertain the cause of -that sudden gloom. When the King-Lawgiver ceased to speak, the cries of -"Long live the King!" were renewed, amid tears. - - "The assembly," the _Moniteur_ truly says, "electrified by - the King's sublime words, stood up, its hands stretched - towards the throne. One heard only the words: 'Long live the - King! We will die for the King! The King in life and death!' - repeated with an enthusiasm which will be shared by every - French heart" - - -It was, in fact, a pathetic sight: an old, infirm King who, in reward -for the murder of his family and twenty-three years of exile, had -brought France peace, liberty, forgiveness of all outrages and all -misfortunes; this patriarch of sovereigns coming to declare to the -deputies of the nation that, at his age, after seeing his country -again, he could not better end his career than by dying in defense of -his people! The Princes swore fidelity to the Charter; those tardy -oaths were closed with that of the Prince de Condé and with the -adhesion of the father of the Duc d'Enghien. This heroic race on the -verge of extinction, this race of the patrician sword seeking behind -liberty a shield against a younger, longer and more cruel plebeian -sword offered, by reason of a multitude of memories, a spectacle that -was extremely sad. - -When Louis XVIII.'s speech became known outside, it aroused unspeakable -enthusiasm. Paris was wholly Royalist, and remained so during the -Hundred Days. The women in particular were Bourbonists. - -The youth of to-day worships the memory of Bonaparte, because it is -humiliated by the part which the present Government makes France play -in Europe; the youth of 1814 hailed the Restoration, because the latter -had thrown down despotism and set up liberty. In the ranks of the -Royal Volunteers were included M. Odilon Barrot[247], a large number -of pupils of the School of Medicine and the whole of the School of -Law[248]; the last, on the 13th of March, addressed this petition to -the Chamber of Deputies: - - "GENTLEMEN, - - "We offer our services to our King and country; the whole - School of Law asks to go to the front. We will abandon - neither our King nor our Constitution. Faithful to French - honour, we ask you for arms. The feeling of love which we - bear to Louis XVIII. is answerable to you for the constancy - of our devotion. We want no more irons, we want liberty. - We have it, and they come to snatch it from us. We will - defend it to the death. Long live the King! Long live the - Constitution!" - -In this energetic, natural and sincere language, one feels the -generosity of youth and the love of liberty. They who come to tell us -to-day that the Restoration was received by France with dislike and -sorrow are ambitious men who are playing a game, or new-comers who have -never known Bonaparte's oppression, or old imperialized revolutionary -liars who, after applauding the return of the Bourbons with the rest, -now, according to their habit, insult the fallen and return to their -instincts of murder, police and servitude. - -* - -The King's Speech had filled me with hope. Conferences were held at -the house of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, M. Lainé. I -there met M. de La Fayette: I had never seen him except at a distance, -at another period, under the Constituent Assembly. The proposals were -various and for the most part weak, as happens in peril: some wished -the King to leave Paris and fall back upon the Havre; others spoke -of moving him to the Vendée; one stammered out unfinished sentences; -another said that we must wait and see what was coming: what was coming -was very visible, for all that. I expressed a very different opinion: -oddly enough, M. de La Fayette supported it, and warmly[249]. M. Lainé -and Marshal Marmont were also of my opinion. I said: - - -[Illustration: La Fayette.] - - -[Sidenote: My advice to the government.] - - "Let the King keep his word; let him stay in his capital. - The National Guard is on our side. Let us make sure of - Vincennes. We have the arms and the money; with the money - we shall overcome weakness and cupidity. If the King leaves - Paris, Paris will admit Bonaparte; Bonaparte master of - Paris is master of France. The army has not gone over to - the enemy as a whole; several regiments, many generals and - officers have not yet betrayed their oaths: if we hold - firm, they will remain faithful. Let us disperse the Royal - Family, let us keep only the King. Let Monsieur go to the - Havre, the Duc de Berry[250] to Lille, the Duc de Bourbon to - the Vendée, the Duc d'Orléans to Metz; Madame la Duchesse - and M. le Duc d'Angoulême[251] are already in the South. - Our different points of resistance will prevent Bonaparte - from concentrating his forces. Let us barricade ourselves - in Paris. Already the national guards of the neighbouring - departments are coming to our aid. Amid this movement, our - old Monarch, protected by the will of Louis XVI., will remain - peacefully seated on his throne at the Tuileries, with the - Charter in his hand; the diplomatic body will range itself - round him; the two Chambers will meet in the two wings of the - Palace; the King's Household will encamp in the Carrousel - and in the Tuileries Gardens. We shall line the quays and - the water-terrace with guns: let Bonaparte attack us in this - position; let him carry our barricades one by one; let him - bombard Paris, if he please and if he have mortars; let him - make himself odious to the whole population, and we shall see - the result of his enterprise! Let us resist for but three - days, and victory is ours. The King, defending himself in - his palace, will arouse universal enthusiasm. Lastly, if he - must die, let him die worthy of his rank; let Napoleon's - last exploit be to cut an old man's throat. Louis XVIII., in - sacrificing his life, will win the only battle he will have - fought; he will win it for the benefit of the freedom of the - human race." - -Thus I spoke: one is never entitled to say that all is lost so long as -one has attempted nothing. What could have been finer than an old son -of St. Louis overthrowing, with Frenchmen, in a few moments, a man whom -all the confederate kings of Europe had taken so many years to lay low? - -This resolution, desperate in appearance, was very reasonable at bottom -and offered not the smallest danger. I shall always remain convinced -that, had Bonaparte found Paris hostile and the King present, he -would not have tried to force them. Without artillery, provisions, -or money, he had with him only troops collected at random, still -wavering, astonished at their sudden change of cockade, at their oaths -taken headlong on the roads: they would promptly have become divided. -A few hours' delay and Napoleon was lost; it but needed a little -heart. Already, even, we could rely on a portion of the army; the two -Swiss regiments were keeping their faith: did not Marshal Gouvion -Saint-Cyr make the Orleans garrison resume the white cockade two days -after Bonaparte's entry into Paris? From Marseilles to Bordeaux, all -recognised the King's authority during the whole month of March: at -Bordeaux, the troops were hesitating; they would have remained with -Madame la Duchesse d'Angoulême, if the news had come that the King was -at the Tuileries and that Paris was being defended. The provincial -towns would have imitated Paris. The loth Regiment of the line fought -very well under the Duc d'Angoulême; Masséna was proving himself crafty -and uncertain; at Lille, the garrison responded to Marshal Mortier's -stirring proclamation. If all those proofs of a possible fidelity took -place in spite of a flight, what would they not have been in the case -of a resistance? - -Had my plan been adopted, the foreigners would not have ravaged France -afresh; our Princes would not have returned with the hostile armies; -the Legitimacy would have been saved through itself. One thing alone -would have to be feared after success: the too great confidence of the -Royalty in its strength, and, consequently, attempts upon the rights of -the nation. - -Why did I arrive at a period in which I was so ill-placed? Why have I -been a Royalist against my instinct, at a time when a miserable race -of courtiers was unable either to hear or to understand me? Why was I -flung into that troop of mediocrities, who took me for a raver when I -spoke of courage, for a revolutionary when I spoke of liberty? - -A fine question of defense, indeed! The King had no fear, and my plan -rather pleased him through a certain "Louis-Quatorzian" grandeur; -but other faces had lengthened. They packed up the Crown diamonds -(formerly purchased out of the privy-purse of the Sovereigns), leaving -thirty-three million crowns in the treasury and forty-two millions in -securities. Those sixty-five millions were the produce of taxation: why -was it not returned to the people, rather than left to tyranny! - -A dual procession passed up and down the stair-cases of the Pavillon -de Flore; people were asking what they were to do: no answer. They -applied to the captain of the guards; they questioned the chaplains, -the precentors, the almoners: nothing. Vain talk, vain retailing of -news. I saw young men weep with rage when uselessly asking for orders -and arms; I saw women faint with anger and contempt. Access to the King -was impossible; etiquette closed the door. - -[Sidenote: A Royal order: "Hunt him down."] - -The great measure decreed against Bonaparte was an order to "hunt him -down[252]:" Louis XVIII., with no legs, "hunting down" the conqueror -who bestrode the earth! This form of the ancient laws, renewed for -the occasion, is enough to show the compass of mind of the statesmen -of that period. "To hunt down" in 1815! "Hunt down!" And "hunt" whom? -"Hunt" a wolf? "Hunt" a brigand chieftain? "Hunt" a felon lord? No: -"hunt" Napoleon, who had "hunted down" kings, who had seized and -branded them for all time on the shoulder with his indelible "N"! - -From this order, when considered more closely, sprang a political truth -which no one saw: the Legitimate House, estranged from the nation for -three-and-twenty years, had remained at the day and place at which the -Revolution had caught it, whereas the nation had progressed in point of -time and space. Hence the impossibility of understanding and meeting -one another; religion, ideas, interests, language, earth and heaven, -all were different for the people and for the King, because they were -separated by a quarter of a century equivalent to centuries. - -But if the order "to hunt down" appears strange, owing to the -preservation of the old idiom of the law, had Bonaparte originally -the intention of acting better, although employing a newer language? -Papers of M. d'Hauterive[253], catalogued by M. Artaud[254], prove -that it cost great difficulty to prevent Napoleon from having the Duc -d'Angoulême shot, in spite of the official document in the _Moniteur_, -a show document which remains to us: he thought it wrong of the Prince -to have defended himself. And yet the fugitive from Elba, when leaving -Fontainebleau, had recommended the soldiers to be "faithful to the -monarch" whom France had chosen. Bonaparte's family had been respected; -Queen Hortense had accepted from Louis XVIII. the title of Duchesse de -Saint-Leu; Murat, who still reigned in Naples, saw his kingdom sold by -M. de Talleyrand only during the Congress of Vienna. - -This period, in which all are lacking in frankness, oppresses the -heart: every one threw out a profession of faith as it were a -foot-bridge to cross the difficulty of the day, free to change his -direction, the difficulty once passed; youth alone was sincere, because -it was near its cradle. Bonaparte solemnly declared that he renounced -the crown; he departed, and returned after nine months. Benjamin -Constant printed his vehement protest against the tyrant, and he -changed in twenty-four hours. It will be seen later, in another book -of these Memoirs, who inspired him with the noble impulse to which the -fickleness of his nature did not permit him to remain faithful. Marshal -Soult excited the troops against their old leader; a few days later he -was roaring with laughter at his own proclamation in Napoleon's closet -at the Tuileries, and became Major-general of the army at Waterloo; -Marshal Ney kissed the King's hands, swore to bring him Bonaparte -locked up in an iron cage, and handed over to the latter all the corps -under his command. And the King of France, alas? He declared that, at -the age of sixty years, he could not better end his career than by -dying in defense of his people ... and fled to Ghent! At sight of this -incapacity for truth in men's feelings, at the want of harmony between -their words and their deeds, one feels seized with disgust for the -human kind. - -Louis XVIII., on the 16th of March, was declaring his intention of -dying in the midst of France; had he kept his word, the Legitimacy -might have lasted another century; nature herself seemed to have taken -from the old King the power of retreating by chaining him about with -wholesome infirmities; but the future destinies of the human race would -have been trammelled by the accomplishment of the resolution of the -author of the Charter. Bonaparte hastened to the assistance of the -future; that Christ of the power for evil took the new man sick of the -palsy by the hand, and said to him: - -"Arise, take up thy bed, and walk[255]." - -* - -It was evident that a scamper was being contemplated: for fear of being -detained, they did not even warn those who, like myself, would have -been shot within an hour after Napoleon's entry into Paris. I met the -Duc de Richelieu in the Champs-Élysées: - -"They are deceiving us," he said; "I am keeping watch here, for I do -not propose to await the Emperor at the Tuileries all by myself." - -[Sidenote: Flight of Louis XVIII.] - -On the evening of the 19th, Madame de Chateaubriand had sent a servant -to the Carrousel, with instructions not to return until he had the -certainty of the flight of the King. At midnight, as the man had not -come in, I went to my room. I had just gone to bed, when M. Clausel de -Coussergues entered. He told us that His Majesty had left and had gone -in the direction of Lille. He brought me this news on the part of the -Chancellor, who, knowing me to be in danger, was violating secrecy on -my behalf and sent me twelve thousand francs recoverable on my salary -as Minister to Sweden. I was obstinately bent on remaining, not wishing -to leave Paris until I should be physically certain of the royal -removal. The servant who had been sent to reconnoitre returned: he had -seen the Court carriages go by. Madame de Chateaubriand pushed me into -her carriage, at four o'clock in the morning on the 20th of March. I -was in such a fit of fury that I knew neither where I was going nor -what I was doing. - -We passed out through the Barrière Saint-Martin. At dawn, I saw crows -coming down peacefully from the elms on the high-road where they had -spent the night, to take their first meal in the fields, without -troubling their heads about Louis XVIII. and Napoleon: they were not -obliged to leave their country and, thanks to their wings, they were -able to laugh at the bad road along which I was being jolted. Old -friends of Combourg, we were more alike in the old days when, at break -of day, we used to breakfast on mulberries from the brambles in the -thickets of Brittany! - -The roadway was broken up, the weather rainy, Madame de Chateaubriand -poorly: she looked every moment through the little window at the -back of the carnage to see if we were not being pursued. We slept at -Amiens, where Du Cange[256] was born; next at Arras, the birth-place of -Robespierre[257]: there I was recognised. When we sent for horses, on -the morning of the 22nd, the postmaster said that they had been engaged -for a general who was taking to Lille the news of "the triumphal entry -of the Emperor-King into Paris;" Madame de Chateaubriand was dying -of fright, not for herself, but for me. I ran to the post-office and -removed the difficulty with money. - -On arriving under the ramparts of Lille, at two in the morning of the -23rd, we found the gates closed; the orders were not to open them to -any one whomsoever. They could not, or would not, tell us if the King -had entered the town. I induced the postillion for a few louis to make -for the other side of the place, outside the glacis, and to drive us -to Tournay; in 1792, I had covered the same road on foot, during the -night, with my brother. On arriving at Tournay, I learnt that Louis -XVIII. had certainly entered Lille with Marshal Mortier, and that -he meant to defend himself there. I despatched a courier to M. de -Blacas, asking him to send me a permit to be received into the place. -My courier returned with a permit from the commandant, but not a word -from M. de Blacas. Leaving Madame de Chateaubriand at Tournay, I was -getting into the carriage again to go to Lille, when the Prince de -Condé arrived. We learnt through him that the King had gone and that -Marshal Mortier had had him accompanied to the frontier. From these -explanations it became clear that Louis XVIII. was no longer at Lille -when my letter arrived there. - -The Duc d'Orléans followed close after the Prince de Condé. Under an -apparent dissatisfaction, he was glad, at bottom, to find himself out -of the hurly-burly; the ambiguousness of his declaration and of his -behaviour bore the stamp of his character. As to the old Prince de -Condé, the Emigration was his household god. He had no fear of Monsieur -de Bonaparte, not he; he fought if they liked or went away if they -liked: things were a little muddled in his brain; he was none too clear -as to whether he should stop at Rocroi to give battle there or go to -dine at the White Hart. He struck his tents a few hours before us, -telling me to recommend the coffee at the inn to the members of his -Household whom he had left behind him. He did not know that I had sent -in my resignation on the death of his grandson; he was not very sure -that he had had a grandson; he only felt a certain increase of glory in -his name, which might come from some Condé whom he had forgotten. - -Do you remember my first passing through Tournay with my brother, at -the time of my first emigration? Do you remember, in that connection, -the man transformed into a donkey, the girl from whose ears grew -corn-spikes, the rain of ravens that set everything on fire[258]? In -1815, indeed, we ourselves were a rain of ravens; but we set nothing on -fire. Alas, I was no longer with my unfortunate brother! Between 1792 -and 1815, the Republic and the Empire had passed: what revolutions had -also been accomplished in my life! Time had ravaged me like the rest. -And you, the young generations of the moment, let twenty-three years -come, and then tell me in my tomb what has become of your loves and -your illusions of to-day. - -The two brothers Bertin had arrived at Tournay: M. Bertin de Vaux[259] -returned from there to Paris; the other Bertin, Bertin the Elder, was -my friend. You know through these Memoirs what it was that attached me -to him. - -[Sidenote: I follow the King to Ghent.] - -From Tournay we went to Brussels: there I found no Baron de Breteuil, -nor Rivarol, nor all those young aides-de-camp who had become dead or -old, which is the same thing. No news of the barber who had given me -shelter. I did not take up the musket, but the pen; from a soldier -I had become a paper-stainer. I was looking for Louis XVIII.; he -was at Ghent, where he had been taken by Messieurs de Blacas and -de Duras[260]: their first intention had been to ship the King to -England. If the King had consented to this plan, he would never have -reascended the throne. - -Having gone into a lodging-house to look at an apartment, I perceived -the Duc de Richelieu smoking, half-outstretched on a sofa, at the -back of a dark room. He spoke to me of the Princes in the most brutal -manner, declaring that he was going to Russia and that he would not -hear another word about those people. Madame la Duchesse de Duras, on -arriving in Brussels, had the sorrow to lose her niece there. - -I loathe the Brabant capital; it has never served me except as a -passage to my exiles; it has always brought sorrow upon myself or my -friends. - -An order of the King summoned me to Ghent. The Royal Volunteers and -the Duc de Berry's little army had been disbanded at Béthune, in the -middle of the mud and of the accidents of a military breaking-up: -touching farewells had been exchanged. Two hundred men of the King's -Household remained and were quartered at Alost; my two nephews, Louis -and Christian de Chateaubriand, formed part of that corps. - -I had been given a billet of which I did not avail myself; a baroness -whose name I have forgotten came to see Madame de Chateaubriand at the -inn and offered us an apartment in her house: she implored us with so -good a grace! - -"You must pay no attention," she said, "to anything my husband says: -his head is a little... you understand? My daughter also is a trifle -eccentric; she has terrible moments, poor child! But the rest of the -time she is as gentle as a lamb. Alas, it is not she who causes me -the greatest trouble, but my son Louis, the youngest of my children: -without God's help, he will be worse than his father!" - -Madame de Chateaubriand politely refused to go and live with such -rational people. - -The King, well-lodged, having his service and his guards, formed his -council. The empire of that great monarch consisted of a house in the -Kingdom of the Netherlands, which house was situated in a town which, -although the birthplace of Charles V.[261], had been the chief town -of a prefecture of Bonaparte's: those names comprise between them a -goodly number of centuries and events. - -[Sidenote: And join his Ministry.] - -The Abbé de Montesquiou being in London, Louis XVIII. appointed -me Minister of the Interior _ad interim._[262] My correspondence -with the "departments" did not give me much to do; I easily kept -up my correspondence with the prefects, sub-prefects, mayors and -deputy-mayors of our good towns, on the inner side of our frontiers; -I did not repair the roads much, and I let the steeples tumble down; -my budget hardly enriched me; I had no secret funds; only, by a -crying abuse, I was a "pluralist:" I was still His Majesty's Minister -Plenipotentiary to the King of Sweden, who, like his fellow-townsman -Henry IV.[263], reigned by right of conquest, if not by right of birth. -We discoursed round a table covered with a green cloth in the King's -closet. M. de Lally-Tolendal, who was, I think, Minister of Public -Instruction, delivered speeches even more voluminous and more inflated -than his cheeks: he quoted his illustrious ancestors the Kings of -Ireland and muddled up his father's[264] trial with those of Charles I. -and Louis XVI. He refreshed himself in the evening, after the tears, -the sweat and the words which he had shed at the council, with a lady -who had come all the way from Paris out of enthusiasm for his genius; -he virtuously strove to cure her, but his eloquence betrayed his virtue -and drove the dart more deeply. - -Madame la Duchesse de Duras had come to join M. le Duc de Duras among -the exiles. I will speak no more ill of misfortune, because I have -spent three months with that admirable woman, talking of all that -upright minds and hearts can find in a conformity of tastes, ideas, -principles and feelings. Madame de Duras was ambitious for me: she -alone saw at once what I might be worth in political life; she always -deplored the envy and short-sightedness which kept me removed from the -King's counsels; but she even much more deplored the obstacles which my -character placed in the way of my fortune: she scolded me, she wanted -to correct me of my indifference, my candour, my ingenuousness, and to -make me adopt habits of courtierism which she herself could not endure. -Nothing, perhaps, leads to greater attachment and gratitude than to -feel one's self under the patronage of a superior friendship which, -by virtue of its ascendancy over society, passes off your defects as -good qualities, your imperfections as an attraction. A man protects you -through his worth, a woman through your worth: that is why, of those -two empires, one is so hateful, the other so sweet. - -Since I have lost that great-hearted person, gifted with a soul so -noble, with an intelligence which combined something of the strength -of the thought of Madame de Staël with the grace of the talent of -Madame de La Fayette[265], I have never ceased, while mourning her, -to reproach myself with any unevenness of temper with which I may -sometimes have wounded hearts that were devoted to me. Let us keep a -close watch upon our character! Let us remember that, with a profound -attachment, we can nevertheless poison days which we would buy back -again at the price of all our blood. When our friends have sunk into -the grave, what means have we to repair our trespasses? Our useless -regrets, our vain repentings, are those a remedy for the pain that we -have given them? They would have preferred one smile from us during -their life than all our tears after their death. - -The charming Clara[266] was at Ghent with her mother. We two made up -bad couplets to the air of the _Tyrolienne._ I have held many pretty -little girls on my knees who are young grandmothers to-day. When you -have left a woman, married in your presence at sixteen years of age, -if you return sixteen years later, you find her of the same age still: - -"Ah, madame, you have not put on a day!" - -No doubt: but it is the daughter to whom you are saying so, the -daughter whom you will also lead up to the altar. But you, a sad -witness to both hymens, you treasure up the sixteen years which you -received at each union: a wedding-present which will hasten your own -marriage with a white-haired lady, rather thin. - -[Sidenote: Marshal Victor.] - -Marshal Victor had come to join us, at Ghent, with an admirable -simplicity: he asked for nothing, never teased the King with his -assiduity; one scarcely saw him; I do not know whether he ever had -the honour and the favour of being invited on a single occasion to -His Majesty's dinner-party. I have met Marshal Victor since; I have -been his colleague in office, and I have always perceived the same -excellent nature. In Paris, in 1823, M. le Dauphin was very harsh to -that honest soldier: it was very good of this Duc de Bellune to repay -such easy ingratitude with such modest devotion[267]! Candour carries -me away and touches me, even when, on certain occasions, it attains the -final expression of its ingenuousness. For instance, the marshal told -me of his wife's[268] death in the language of a soldier, and he made -me weep: he pronounced coarse words so quickly, and changed them so -chastely, that one might even have written them. - -M. de Vaublanc[269] and M. Capelle[270] joined us. The former used to -say that he had some of everything in his portfolio. Do you want some -Montesquieu? Here you are. Some Bossuet? Here it is! In proportion -as the game seemed about to take a different turn, more travellers -arrived. The Abbé Louis and M. le Comte Beugnot alighted at the inn -where I was lodging. Madame de Chateaubriand was suffering from -terrible fits of choking, and I was sitting up with her. The two -new-comers installed themselves in a room separated from my wife's only -by a thin partition; it was impossible not to hear, unless by stopping -one's ears: between eleven and twelve at night the new arrivals raised -their voices. The Abbé Louis, who spoke like a wolf and in jerks, was -saying to M. Beugnot: - -"You, a minister? You'll never be one again! You have committed one -stupidity after the other!" - -I could not clearly hear M. le Comte Beugnot's answer, but he spoke -of thirty-three millions left behind in the Royal Treasury. The abbé, -apparently in anger, pushed a chair, which fell down. Through the -uproar I caught these words: - -"The Duc d'Angoulême? He'll have to buy his national property at the -gates of Paris. I shall sell what remains of the State forests. I shall -cut down everything. The elms on the highroads, the Bois de Boulogne, -the Champs-Élysées: what's the use of all that, eh?" - -Brutality formed M. Louis' principal merit; his talent lay in a stupid -love of material interests. If the Minister of Finance drew the forests -after him, he had doubtless a different secret from that of Orpheus, -who "made the woods go after him with his fail; fiddling." In the slang -of the time, M. Louis was known as a "special" man; his speciality of -finance had led him to accumulate the tax-payers' money in the Treasury -in order to let it be taken by Bonaparte. Napoleon had had no use for -this special man, who was in no sense an unique man, and who was at the -most good enough for the Directory. - -The Abbé Louis had gone to Ghent to claim his office; he was in very -good favour with M. de Talleyrand, with whom he had solemnly officiated -at the first federation in the Champ de Mars: the bishop was the -celebrant, the Abbé Louis the deacon, and the Abbé Desrenaudes[271] the -sub-deacon. M. de Talleyrand, recollecting this admirable profanation, -used to say to the Baron Louis: - -"Abbé, you were very fine as the deacon in the Champ de Mars!" - -We endured this shame under the great tyranny of Bonaparte: ought we to -have endured it later? - -The "Most Christian" King had screened himself from any reproach of -bigotry: he owned in his Council a married bishop, M. de Talleyrand; a -priest living in concubinage, M. Louis; a non-practising abbé, M. de -Montesquiou. - -The last-named, a man as feverish as a consumptive, gifted with a -certain glibness of speech, had a narrow and disparaging mind, a -malignant heart, a sour character. One day, when I had made a speech at -the Luxembourg on behalf of the liberty of the press, the descendant -of Clovis, passing in front of me, who went back only to the Breton -Mormoran, caught me a great blow with his knee in my thigh, which was -not in good taste; I gave him one back, which was not polite: we played -at the Duc de La Rochefoucauld and the Coadjutor[272]. The Abbé de -Montesquiou humorously called M. de Lally-Tolendal "an English beast." - -[Sidenote: The fish dinners at Ghent.] - -In the rivers at Ghent they catch a very dainty white fish: we used, -_tutti quanti_, to go to eat this good fish in a suburban road-side -inn, while waiting for the battles and the end of empires. M. Laborie -never failed us at our meetings: I had first met him at Savigny when, -fleeing from Bonaparte, he came in at Madame de Beaumont's by one -window and made his way out by another. Indefatigable at work, renewing -his errands as often as his bills, as fond of doing services as others -are of receiving them, he has been calumniated: calumny is not the -impeachment of the calumniated, but the excuse of the calumniator. I -have seen men grow tired of the promises in which M. Laborie was so -rich; but why? Illusions are like torture: they always help to pass an -hour or two[273]. I have often led by the head, with a golden bridle, -old hacks of memory unable to stand on their legs, which I took for -young and frisky hopes. - -I also met M. Mounier[274] at the white-fish dinners, a sensible and -upright man. M. Guizot deigned to honour us with his presence[275]. - -A _Moniteur_[276] had been started at Ghent: my report to the King of -the 12th of May[277], inserted in that journal, proves that my feelings -on the liberty of the press and on foreign domination have at all times -been the same. I can quote the following passages to-day; they in no -way belie my life: - - "SIRE, - - "You were preparing to crown the institutions of which you - had laid the foundation-stone.... You had fixed a period for - the commencement of the hereditary peerage; the ministry - would have gained greater unity; the ministers I would have - become members of the two Chambers, according to the true - spirit of the Charter; a law would have been brought in to - allow the election of a member of the Chamber of Deputies - before the age of forty, so that citizens might have had a - real political career. It was proposed to discuss a penal - code for press offenses, after the adoption of which law the - press would have been entirely free, for that freedom is - inseparable from all representative government.... - - "Sire, and this is the occasion solemnly to protest it: - all your ministers, all the members of your Council, are - inviolably attached to the principles of a wise liberty; they - derive from you that love of laws, of order and of justice - without which there can be no happiness for a people. Sire, - let us be permitted to say that we are ready to shed the - last drop of our blood for you, to follow you to the ends - of the earth, to share with you the tribulations which it - will please the Almighty to send you, because we believe - before God that you will maintain the Constitution which you - have given to your people, and that the sincerest wish of - your royal heart is the liberty of Frenchmen. Had it been - otherwise, Sire, we would all have died at your feet in - defense of your sacred person; but we would have been only - your soldiers, we would have ceased to be your councillors - and your ministers.... - - "Sire, at this moment we share your royal sadness; there is - not one of your councillors and ministers who would not give - up his life to prevent the invasion of France. You, Sire, - are a Frenchman, we are Frenchmen! Alive to the honour of - our country, proud of the glory of our arms, admirers of the - courage of our soldiers, we would be willing, in the midst of - your battalions, to shed the last drop of our blood to bring - them back to their duty or to share lawful triumphs with - them. We can only look with the deepest sorrow upon the ills - that are ready to break over our country." - -Thus, at Ghent, did I propose to add to the Charter that which it -still lacked, while displaying my sorrow at the new invasion which was -threatening France: nevertheless, I was only an exile whose wishes were -in contradiction with the facts which could again open the gates of my -country to me. Those pages were written in the States of the allied -sovereigns, among kings and Emigrants who detested the liberty of the -press, in the midst of armies marching to conquest of whom we were, so -to speak, the prisoners: these circumstances perhaps add some strength -to the feelings which I venture to express. - -[Sidenote: The _Rapport au Roi._] - -My report on reaching Paris made a great noise; it was reprinted by -M. Le Normant the Younger, who risked his life upon this occasion, -and for whom I had all the difficulty in the world to obtain a barren -warrant of printer to the King. Bonaparte acted, or allowed others to -act, in a manner unworthy of him: on the occasion of my report, they -did what the Directory had done on the appearance of Cléry's Memoirs; -they falsified fragments of it: I was made to propose to Louis XVIII. -stupid ideas for the revival of feudal rights, for the tithes of the -clergy, for the recovery of the national property, as though the -printing of the original piece in the _Moniteur de Gand_ at a fixed and -known date, did not confound the imposture. The pseudonymous writer -entrusted with the production of an insincere pamphlet was a soldier -fairly high up in rank: he was dismissed after the Hundred Days; his -dismissal was ascribed to his conduct towards me; he sent his friends -to me; they begged me to intervene, lest a man of merit should lose his -sole means of existence: I wrote to the Minister of War and obtained -a retiring-pension for this officer[278]. He is dead: his wife has -remained attached to Madame de Chateaubriand by a feeling of gratitude -to which I was far from having any claim. Certain proceedings are -too highly prized; the most ordinary persons are susceptible to such -feelings of generosity. A name for virtue is cheaply acquired: the -superior mind is not that which pardons, but that which has no need of -pardon. - -I do not know where Bonaparte, at St. Helena, discovered that I had -"rendered essential services at Ghent:" if he judged the part I played -too favourably, at least there lay behind his opinion an appreciation -of my political value. - -* - -I avoided at Ghent, as far as I could, intrigues, which were opposed to -my character and contemptible in my eyes; for, at bottom, I perceived -in our paltry catastrophe the catastrophe of society. My refuge against -the idlers and rogues was the Enclos du Béguinage. I used to walk round -that little world of veiled or tuckered women, consecrated to different -Christian works: a calm region, placed like the African quicksands -on the edge of the tempests. There no incongruity shocked my ideas, -for the sentiment of religion is so lofty that it is never irrelevant -to the gravest revolutions: the solitaries of the Thebaid and the -Barbarians, destroyers of the Roman world, are in no way discordant -facts or mutually exclusive existences. - -I was graciously received in the close as the author of the _Génie du -Christianisme_: wherever I go, among Christians, the curates flock -round me; next come the mothers bringing me their children: the latter -recite to me my chapter on the First Communion. Then appear unhappy -persons who tell me of the good I have had the happiness to do them. My -passage through a Catholic town is announced like that of a missionary -or a physician. I am touched by this dual reputation: it is the only -agreeable memory of myself that I retain; I dislike myself in all the -rest of my personality and my reputation. - -I was pretty often invited to festive dinners in the family of M. and -Madame d'Ops, a venerable father and mother surrounded by some thirty -children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At M. Coppens', a -banquet which I was obliged to accept was prolonged from one in the -afternoon to eight in the evening. I counted nine courses: they began -with the preserves and finished with the cutlets. The French alone know -how to dine methodically, just as they alone know how to compose a -book. - -[Sidenote: Diversions at Ghent.] - -My "ministry" kept me at Ghent; Madame de Chateaubriand, less busy, -went to see Ostend, where I had embarked for Jersey in 1792. I had -travelled, a dying exile, down the same canals along whose banks I now -walked, still an exile, but in perfect health: there has always been -something fabulous in my career! The miseries and joys of my first -emigration revived in my thoughts; I saw England again, my companions -in misfortune, and Charlotte, whom I was to meet once more. There is -no one like myself to create a real society by calling up shadows; it -goes so far that the life of my memories absorbs the feeling of my -real life. Even persons with whom I have never occupied myself, if -they come to die, invade my memory: one would say that none can become -my companion if he has not passed through the tomb, which leads me to -think that I am a dead man. Where others find an eternal separation, I -find an eternal union; when one of my friends departs this earth, it -is as though he had come to make my home his own; he never leaves me -again. According as the present world retires, the past world returns -to me. If the actual generations scorn the generations that have grown -old, they waste their disdain where I am concerned: I am not even aware -of their existence. - -My Golden Fleece had not yet reached Bruges[279], Madame de -Chateaubriand did not bring it to me. At Bruges, in 1426, "there was -a man whose name was John[280]," who invented or perfected the art -of painting in oils: let us be grateful to John of Bruges[281]; but -for the propagation of his method, Raphael's master-pieces would be -obliterated to-day. Where did the Flemish painters steal the light with -which they illumined their pictures? What ray from Greece strayed to -Batavia's shore? - -After her journey to Ostend, Madame de Chateaubriand took a trip to -Antwerp. There she saw, in a cemetery, plaster souls in purgatory, -smeared all over with fire and black. At Louvain, she recruited a -stammerer, a learned professor, who came expressly to Ghent to gaze -upon a man so out of the ordinary as my wife's husband. He said to me, -"Illus... ttt... rr...;" his speech fell short of his admiration, and -I asked him to dinner. When the hellenist had drunk some curaçao, his -tongue became loosened. We got upon the merits of Thucydides, whom the -wine made us find clear as water. By dint of keeping up with my guest, -I ended, I believe, by talking Dutch; at least, I no longer understood -what I was saying. - -Madame de Chateaubriand spent a bad night at the inn at Antwerp: a -young Englishwoman, recently confined, lay dying; during two hours she -made her groans heard; then her voice weakened, and her last moan, -which the stranger's ear could scarcely catch, was lost in an eternal -silence. The cries of this traveller, solitary and forsaken, might be -taken as a prelude to the thousand voices of death about to rise at -Waterloo. - -The customary solitude of Ghent was rendered more striking by the -foreign crowd which was then enlivening it and which was soon to -disperse. Belgian and English recruits were learning their drill -on the squares and under the trees of the public walks; gunners, -contractors, dragoons were landing trains of artillery, herds of oxen, -horses which struggled in the air while they were being let down in -straps; canteen-women came on shore carrying the sacks, the children, -the muskets of their husbands: all these were going, without knowing -why and without having the smallest interest in it, to the great -_rendez-vous_ of destruction which Bonaparte had given them. One saw -politicians gesticulating along a canal, near a motionless angler, -Emigrants trotting from the King's to "Monsieur's," from "Monsieur's" -to the King's. The Chancellor of France, M. Dambray, in a green coat -and a round hat, with an old novel under his arm, walked to the Council -to amend the Charter; the Duc de Lévis[282] went to pay his court in a -pair of old loose shoes, which dropped from his feet, because, brave -man and new Achilles that he was, he had been wounded in the heel. He -was very witty, as can be judged by the selection from his Reflexions. - -The Duke of Wellington used to come occasionally to hold a review. -Louis XVIII. went out every afternoon in a coach and six, with his -First Lord of the Bed-chamber and his guards, to drive round Ghent, -just as though he had been in Paris. If he met the Duke of Wellington -on his road, he would give him a little patronizing nod in passing. - -[Sidenote: The dignity of Louis XVIII.] - -Louis XVIII. never lost sight of the pre-eminence of his cradle; he -was a king everywhere, as God is God everywhere, in a manger or in a -temple, on an altar of gold or of clay. Never did his misfortune wring -the smallest concession from him; his loftiness increased in the ratio -of his depression; his diadem was his name; he seemed to say, "Kill -me, you will not kill the centuries inscribed upon my brow." If they -had scraped his arms off the Louvre, it signified little to him: were -they not engraved on the globe? Had commissioners been sent to scratch -them off in every corner of the universe? Had they been erased in -India, at Pondichéry; in America, at Lima and Mexico; in the East, at -Antioch, Jerusalem, Acre, Cairo, Constantinople, Rhodes, in the Morea; -in the West, on the walls of Rome, on the ceilings of Caserta and the -Escurial, on the arches of the halls of Ratisbon and Westminster, in -the escutcheon of all the kings? Had they been torn from the needle of -the compass, where they seemed to proclaim the reign of the lilies to -the several regions of the earth? - -The fixed idea of the grandeur, the antiquity, the dignity, the -majesty of his House gave Louis XVIII. a real empire. One felt its -dominion: even Bonaparte's generals confessed it; they stood more -intimidated before that impotent old man than before the terrible -master who had commanded them in a hundred battles. In Paris, when -Louis XVIII. accorded to the triumphing monarchs the honour of dining -at his table, he passed without ceremony before those princes whose -soldiers were camping in the court-yard of the Louvre; he treated them -like vassals who had only done their duty in bringing men-at-arms to -their liege-lord. In Europe there is but one monarchy, that of France; -the destiny of the other monarchies is bound up in the fate of that -one. All the Royal Houses are of yesterday beside the House of Hugh -Capet[283], and almost all are its daughters. Our old royal power was -the old royalty of the world: from the banishment of the Capets will -date the era of the expulsion of the kings. - -The more impolitic that haughtiness on the part of the descendant of -St. Louis (it became fatal to his heirs), the more pleasing was it to -the national pride: the French rejoiced at seeing sovereigns who, when -conquered, had borne the chains of a man, bear, as conquerors, the yoke -of a dynasty. - -The unshaken faith of Louis XVIII. in his blood is the real might that -restored his sceptre; it was that faith which twice let fall upon -his head a crown for which Europe certainly did not believe, did not -pretend that she was exhausting her populations and her treasures. The -soldier-less exile was to be found at the issue of all the battles -which he had not delivered. Louis XVIII. was the Legitimacy incarnate; -it ceased to be visible when he disappeared. - -* - -At Ghent, I took walks by myself, as I do wherever I go. The barges -gliding along narrow canals, obliged to cross ten or twelve leagues of -pasture-land to reach the sea, appeared to be sailing over the grass; -they reminded me of the canoes of the savages in the wild-oat marshes -of Missouri. Standing at the edge of the water, while they were dipping -lengths of brown holland, I let my eyes wander over the steeples of -the town; its history appeared to me on the clouds in the sky: the -citizens of Ghent revolting against Henri de Châtillon, the French -governor; the wife[284] of Edward III.[285] bringing forth John of -Gaunt[286], the stock of the House of Lancaster; the popular reign of -van Artevelde[287]: - -"Good people, who moves you? Why are you so incensed against me? In -what can I have angered you?" - -"You must die!" cried the people: it is what Time cries to all of -us. Later, I saw the Dukes of Burgundy; the Spaniards came. Then the -pacification, the sieges and the captures of Ghent. - -When I had done musing among the centuries, the sound of a little bugle -or a Scotch bagpipe would rouse me. I saw living soldiers hastening -to join the buried battalions of Batavia: ever destructions, powers -overthrown; and, at last, a few faded shadows and some names that had -passed. - -Sea-board Flanders was one of the first cantonments of the companions -of Clodion[288] and Clovis. Ghent, Bruges and the surrounding country -furnished nearly a tenth of the grenadiers of the Old Guard: that -terrible army was in part drawn from the cradle of our fathers, and -came in its turn to be exterminated beside that cradle. Did the -Lys[289] give its flower to the arms of our Kings? - -Spanish manners leave the impress of their character: the buildings -of Ghent retraced for me those of Granada, less the sky of the Vega. -A large town almost bereft of inhabitants, deserted streets, canals -as deserted as the streets.... twenty-six islands formed by those -canals, which were not the canals of Venice, a huge piece of ordnance -of the middle ages: that is what replaced at Ghent the city of the -Zegris[290], the Duero and the Xenil[291] the Generalife and the -Alhambra; old dreams of mine, shall I ever see you more? - - -* - -[Sidenote: The Duchesse de Lévis.] - -Madame la Duchesse d'Angoulême, who had taken ship on the Gironde, came -to us by way of England with General Donnadieu[292] and M. Desèze[293], -of whom the latter had crossed the ocean wearing his blue ribbon -across his waistcoat. The Duc and Duchesse de Lévis[294] followed in -the Princess' suite: they had flung themselves into the diligence and -escaped from Paris by the Bordeaux road. Their fellow-travellers talked -politics: - -"That scoundrel of a Chateaubriand," said one of them, "is no such -fool! He had his carriage waiting packed in his court-yard for three -days: the bird has flown. They would have made short work of him, if -Napoleon had caught him!" - -Madame la Duchesse de Lévis was a very handsome, very kind woman, and -as calm as Madame la Duchesse de Duras was restless. She never left -Madame de Chateaubriand's side; she was our assiduous companion at -Ghent. No one has diffused more quietude in my life, a thing of which -I have great need. The least troubled moments of my existence are -those which I spent at Noisiel, in the house of that woman whose words -and sentiments entered into your soul only to restore its serenity. I -recall with regret those moments passed under the great chestnut-trees -of Noisiel! With a soothed spirit, a convalescent heart, I used to look -upon the ruins of Chelles Abbey and the little lights of the boats -loitering among the willows on the Marne. - -The remembrance of Madame de Lévis is for me that of a silent autumn -evening. She passed away in a few hours; she mingled with death as with -the source of all rest I saw her sink noiselessly into her grave in -the Cemetery of Père-Lachaise; she is laid above M. de Fontanes, and -the latter sleeps beside his son Saint-Marcellin, killed in a duel. -Thus, bowing before the monument of Madame de Lévis, have I come into -contact with two other sepulchres: man cannot awaken one sorrow without -reawakening another; during the night, the different flowers which open -only in the shade expand. - -To Madame de Lévis' affectionate kindness for me was added the -friendship of M. le Duc de Lévis, the father: I may now reckon only by -generations. M. de Lévis wrote well; he had a versatile and fertile -imagination which betrayed his noble race, as it had already displayed -itself in his blood shed on the beach at Quiberon. - -Nor was that to be the end of all: it was the impulse of a friendship -which passed on to the second generation. M. le Duc de Lévis, the -son[295], attached at present to M. le Comte de Chambord, has drawn -near to me; my hereditary affection will fail him no more than will -my fidelity to his august master. The new and charming Duchesse de -Lévis[296], his wife, joins to the great name of d'Aubusson the -brightest qualities of heart and mind: life is worth something, when -the graces borrow unwearied wings from history! - -* - -The Pavillon Marsan[297] existed at Ghent as in Paris. Every day -brought Monsieur news from France which was the offspring of -self-interest or imagination. - -[Sidenote: Fouché, Duc D'Otrante.] - -M. Gaillard[298], an ex-Oratorian, a counsel in the royal courts, an -intimate friend of Fouché's, alighted in our midst; he made himself -known, and was brought into touch with M. Capelle. - -When I waited upon Monsieur, which was rarely, those around him used to -talk to me in covert words, and with many sighs, of "a man who (it must -be admitted) was behaving admirably: he was impeding all the Emperor's -operations; he was defending the Faubourg Saint-Germain, etc., -etc." The faithful Marshal Soult was also the object of Monsieur's -predilection and, after Fouché, the most loyal man in France. - -One day a carriage stopped at the door of my inn, and I saw Madame la -Baronne de Vitrolles step out of it: she had arrived bearing powers -from the Duc d'Otrante. She took away with her a note, written in -Monsieur's hand, in which the Prince declared that he would retain -an eternal gratitude to him who saved M. de Vitrolles. Fouché wanted -no more; armed with this note, he was sure of his future in case of -a restoration. Thenceforward, there was no question at Ghent save of -the immense obligations due to the excellent M. Fouché de Nantes[299], -save of the impossibility of returning to France otherwise than by -that just man's good pleasure: the difficulty was how to make the King -relish this new redeemer of the Monarchy. - -After the Hundred Days, Madame de Custine compelled me to meet Fouché -at dinner at her house. I had seen him once, five years before, -in connection with the condemnation of my poor Cousin Armand. The -ex-minister knew that I had opposed his nomination at Roye, at Gonesse, -at Arnouville; and, as he suspected me of being powerful, he wished -to make his peace with me. The death of Louis XVI. was the best -thing about him: regicide was his innocence. A prater, like all the -revolutionaries, beating the air with empty phrases, he retailed a -heap of commonplaces stuffed with "destiny," with "necessity," with -"the right of things," mingling with this philosophic nonsense further -nonsense on the march and progress of society, and shameless maxims in -favour of the strong as against the weak; and he was free in his use of -impudent avowals on the justice of success, the little worth of a head -which falls, the equity of that which prospers, the iniquity of that -which suffers, affecting to speak of the most horrid disasters with -airy indifference, as though he were a genius above all such fooleries. -Not a choice idea escaped him, not a remarkable thought, on any subject -whatsoever. I went away shrugging my shoulders at crime. - -M. Fouché never forgave me my dryness and the small effect he produced -on me. He had thought he would fascinate me by causing the blade of the -fatal instrument to rise and fall before my eyes, like a glory of Mount -Sinai; he had imagined that I would look up, as to a colossus, to the -ranter who, speaking of the soil of Lyons, had said: - -"That soil shall be overturned; on the ruins of that proud and -rebellious city shall rise scattered cottages which the friends of -liberty will hasten to come and inhabit.... We shall have the energetic -courage to walk through the vast tombs of the conspirators.... Their -blood-stained corpses, hurled into the Rhône, give on both banks and at -its mouth the impression of terror and the image of the omnipotence of -the people. . . . . . . . - -"We shall celebrate the victory of Toulon; we shall this evening send -two hundred and fifty rebels under the lead of the thunder." - -Those horrible trimmings did not impose upon me: because M. "de -Nantes" had diluted republican crimes with imperial mire; because the -_sans-culotte_, transformed into a duke, had wrapped the cord of the -lantern in the ribbon of the Legion of Honour, he appeared neither the -abler nor the greater for it in my eyes. The Jacobins detest men who -make no account of their atrocities and who despise their murders; -their pride is provoked, like that of authors whose talent one disputes. - -* - -[Sidenote: His underhand negotiations.] - -At the same time that Fouché was sending M. Gaillard to Ghent to -negociate with the brother of Louis XVI., his agents at Bâle were -parleying with those of Prince Metternich[300] on the subject of -Napoleon II., and M. de Saint-Léon, dispatched by this same Fouché, -was arriving in Vienna to treat of the crown as a "possibility" for -M. le Duc d'Orléans. The friends of the Duc d'Otrante could rely upon -him no more than his enemies: on the return of the legitimate Princes, -he maintained his old colleague, M. Thibaudeau[301], on the list of -exiles, while M. de Talleyrand struck this or that outlaw off the list, -or added that other to the catalogue, according to his whim. Had not -the Faubourg Saint-Germain reason indeed to believe in M. Fouché? - -M. de Saint-Léon carried three notes to Vienna, of which one was -addressed to M. de Talleyrand: the Duc d'Otrante proposed that the -ambassador of Louis XVIII. should push the son of Égalité on to the -throne, if he saw his way! What probity in those negociations! How -fortunate they were to have to do with such honest persons! Yet we have -admired, censed, blessed those highway robbers; we have paid court to -them; we have called them _monseigneur!_ That explains the world as it -stands. M. de Montrond came in addition, after M. de Saint-Léon. - -M. le Duc d'Orléans did not conspire in fact but by consent; he let -the revolutionary affinities intrigue: a sweet society! In this dark -lane, the plenipotentiary of the King of France lent an ear to Fouché's -overtures. - -Speaking of M. de Talleyrand's detention at the Barrière d'Enfer, I -said what had, till then, been M. de Talleyrand's fixed idea as to the -regency of Marie-Louise: he was obliged by the emergency to embrace -the eventuality of the Bourbons; but he was always ill at ease: it -seemed to him that, under the heirs of St. Louis, a married bishop -would never be sure of his place. The idea of substituting the Younger -Branch for the Elder Branch pleased him, therefore, so much so the more -in that he had had former relations with the Palais Royal. - -Taking that side, without however exposing himself entirely, he -hazarded a few words of Fouché's project to Alexander. The Tsar had -ceased to interest himself in Louis XVIII.: the latter had hurt him, -in Paris, by his affectation of superiority of race; he had hurt him -again by refusing to consent to the marriage of the Duc de Berry with -a sister of the Emperor; the Princess was rejected for three reasons: -she was a schismatic; she was not of an old enough stock; she came of -a family of madmen: these reasons were not put forward upright but -aslant, and, when seen through, gave Alexander treble offense. As a -last subject of complaint against the old sovereign of exile, the -Tsar brought up the projected alliance between England, France and -Austria. For the rest, it seemed as though the succession were open; -all the world claimed to succeed to the estate of the sons of Louis -XIV.: Benjamin Constantin the name of Madame Murat[302], was pleading -the rights which Napoleon's sister believed herself to possess over -the Kingdom of Naples; Bernadotte was casting a distant glance upon -Versailles, apparently because the King of Sweden came from Pau. - -La Besnardière[303], head of a department at the Foreign Office, -went over to M. de Caulaincourt; he drew up a hurried report on "the -complaints and rejoinders of France" to the Legitimacy. After this -kick had been let fly, M. de Talleyrand found means of communicating -the report to Alexander: discontented and fickle, the Autocrat was -struck with La Besnardière's pamphlet. Suddenly, in the middle of the -Congress, the Tsar asked, to the general stupefaction, if it would not -be a matter for deliberation to examine in how far M. le Duc d'Orléans -might suit France and Europe as King. This is perhaps one of the most -surprising things in those extraordinary times, and perhaps it is -still more extraordinary that it has been so little discussed[304]. -Lord Clancarty[305] made the Russian proposal fall through; His -Lordship declared that he had no powers to treat so grave a question: - -"As for myself," he said, "giving my opinion as a private individual, I -think that to put M. le Duc d'Orléans on the throne of France would be -to replace a military usurpation by a family usurpation, which is more -dangerous to the sovereigns than any other usurpation." - -[Sidenote: At the Congress of Vienna.] - -The members of the Congress went to dinner, using the sceptre of St. -Louis as a rush with which to mark the folio at which they had left off -in their protocols. - -Upon the obstacles encountered by the Tsar, M. de Talleyrand faced -about: foreseeing that the stroke would resound, he sent a report to -Louis XVIII. (in a despatch which I have seen and which was numbered 25 -or 27) of this strange session of the Congress[306]; he thought himself -obliged to inform His Majesty of so exorbitant a proceeding, because -this news, said he, would not long delay in reaching the King's ears: a -singular ingenuousness for M. le Prince de Talleyrand. - -There had been a question of a declaration on the part of the Alliance, -in order to make it quite clear to the world that there was no quarrel -except with Napoleon, that there was no pretension to impose upon -France either an obligatory form of government or a sovereign who -should not be of her own choice. This latter part of the declaration -was suppressed, but it was positively announced in the official journal -of Frankfort. England, in her negociations with the Cabinets, always -employs that Liberal language, which is only a precaution against the -parliamentary tribune. - -We see that the Allies were troubling themselves no more about the -re-establishment of the Legitimacy at the Second than at the First -Restoration: the event alone did all. What mattered it to such -short-sighted sovereigns whether the mother of European monarchies had -her throat cut? Would that prevent them from giving entertainments and -keeping guards? The monarchs are so solidly seated to-day, the globe in -one hand, the sword in the other! - -M. de Talleyrand, whose interests were at that time in Vienna, feared -lest the English, whose opinion was no longer so favourable to him, -should begin the military game before all the armies were drawn up -in line, and lest the Cabinet of St. James should thus acquire the -predominance: that is why he wished to induce the King to re-enter -by the south-eastern provinces, in order that he might find himself -under the protection of the Austrian Empire and Cabinet. The Duke of -Wellington had given a precise order not to commence hostilities; it -was Napoleon who wanted the Battle of Waterloo: the destinies of such a -nature are not to be arrested. - -Those historic facts, the most curious in the world, have remained -generally unknown; in the same way, also, a confused opinion has been -formed of the Treaties of Vienna relating to France: they have been -thought the iniquitous work of a troop of victorious sovereigns, -implacably bent upon our ruin; unfortunately, if they are harsh, they -have been envenomed by a French hand: when M. de Talleyrand is not -conspiring, he is trafficking. - -Prussia desired to have Saxony, which will sooner or later be her prey; -France ought to have countenanced this wish, for, Saxony obtaining -an indemnification within the sphere of the Rhine, Landau would have -remained to us with our surrounding territories; Coblentz and other -fortresses would have passed to a small friendly State, which, placed -between ourselves and Prussia, prevented any point of contact; the keys -of France would not have been handed over to the shade of Frederic. -For three millions which Saxony paid him, M. de Talleyrand opposed the -combinations of the Cabinet of Berlin; but, in order to obtain the -assent of Alexander to the existence of Old Saxony, our Ambassador was -obliged to abandon Poland to the Tsar, notwithstanding that the other -Powers desired that a Poland of some kind should restrict the freedom -of the Muscovite's movements in the North. The Bourbons of Naples -redeemed themselves, like the sovereign of Dresden, with money[307]. -M. de Talleyrand claimed that he was entitled to a subvention, in -exchange for his Duchy of Benevento: he was selling his livery on -leaving his master. When France was losing so much, could not M. de. -Talleyrand also have lost something? Benevento, moreover, did not -belong to the High Chamberlain: by virtue of the revival of the ancient -treaties, that principality was a dependency of the States of the -Church. - -[Illustration: Talleyrand.] - - -[Sidenote: A letter from Talleyrand.] - -Such were the diplomatic transactions which were being completed in -Vienna while we were stopping at Ghent. In this latter residence, I -received the following letter from M. de Talleyrand: - - "VIENNA, 4 _April._ - - "I learnt, monsieur, with much pleasure that you were at - Ghent, for circumstances require that the King should be - surrounded with strong and independent men. - - "You will certainly have thought that it was useful to - refute, by means of strenuously-reasoned publications, the - whole of the new doctrine which they are trying to establish - in the official documents now appearing in France. - - "It would be useful if something could appear of which the - object would be to establish that the Declaration of the - 31st of March, made in Paris by the Allies, that the Act of - Deposition, that the Act of Abdication, that the Treaty of - the 11th of April, which resulted from them, are so many - preliminary, indispensable and absolute conditions of the - Treaty of the 30th of May; that is to say that, without those - previous conditions, the treaty would not have been made. - This admitted, the man who violates the said conditions or - seconds their violation breaks the peace which that treaty - established. It is, therefore, he and his accomplices who are - declaring war against Europe. - - "An argument taken in this sense would do good abroad as - well as at home; only it must be well done, so make it your - business. - - "Accept, monsieur, the homage of my sincere attachment and of - my high regard. - - "TALLEYRAND. - - "I hope to have the honour of seeing you at the end of the - month." - -Our Minister in Vienna was faithful to his hatred of the great chimera -escaped from the shades: he dreaded a blow from its wing. This letter -shows, for the rest, all that M. de Talleyrand was capable of doing -when he wrote alone: he had the kindness to teach me the "movement," -leaving the "graces" to me. It was a question indeed of a few -diplomatic phrases on the deposition, on the abdication, on the Treaty -of the 11th of April and of the 30th of May, to stop Napoleon! I was -very grateful for the instructions given me by virtue of my patent as -"a strong man," but I did not follow them: an ambassador _in petto_ I -was not at that moment meddling with foreign affairs; I busied myself -only with my Ministry of the Interior _ad interim._ - -But what was taking place in Paris? - -[231] Jean Baptiste Baron Dalesme (1763-1832) was a brigadier-general -under Napoleon, sat in the Legislative Body as Deputy for the -Haute-Vienne from 1802 to 1809, and was created a baron of the -Empire in 1810. He rallied to the Restoration, which made him a -lieutenant-general in October 1814. He was Governor of Elba during the -Hundred Days, and left the service on the Second Restoration. He was -reinstated in 1830, and died Governor of the Invalides.--B. - -[232] 4 May 1814.--B. - -[233] At the celebrated Congress of Erfurt, held in 1808, were present -the Emperors Alexander and Napoleon and almost all the sovereigns of -Germany. The King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria were the only -crowned heads not invited to it.--T. - -[234] Æneid, X. 174.--B. - -[235] Marie Countess Walewice-Walewska (circa 1787-1817), _née_ -Laczinska, married, first (_circa_ 1804), to Anastasius Colonna, -Count Walewice-Walewski, who died in 1814, at the age of eighty-four; -secondly, to General Philippe Antoine Comte d'Omano. She visited -Napoleon at Elba on the 1st of September 1814, accompanied by a child -of four or five years of age. She stayed about fifty hours; during this -time the Emperor received no one, not even Madame Mère, who was then -in Elba, at Marciana. But, after those fifty hours, Madame Walewska -went to Longone to embark for the Continent in a gale so severe that -the very sailors feared for her safety. She refused to listen to all -representations. The Emperor sent an officer to delay her departure; -but she was already out at sea, and Napoleon knew no peace of mind -until he had received from the Countess Walewska herself news of her -safe arrival. (_Cf._ PONS DE L'HÉRAULT, _Souvenirs et anecdotes de -l'île d'Elbe_).--T. - -[236] Alexandre Florian Joseph de Colonna, Comte, later Duc de Walewski -(1810-1868), the reputed illegitimate son of Napoleon I., Minister of -Foreign Affairs and, later, President of the Legislative Body under -Napoleon III.--T. - -[237] Antoine Francois Claude Comte Ferrand (1758-1825) was -Postmaster-general. In 1816, he was created a peer of France and became -a member of the French Academy. His best-known literary work is the -Esprit de l'histoire in four volumes (1802), which has been many times -reprinted.--T. - -[238] Antoine Marie Chamans, Comte de Lavallette (1769-1830), was -married to a Mademoiselle de Beauharnais, a niece of the Empress -Joséphine. He had been Postmaster-general in 1814; lost that office -on the return of the Bourbons, and resumed it, in 1816, on the flight -of the Princes. He was tried for seconding the return of Bonaparte -and sentenced to death, but made his escape from prison by the aid -of his wife. Three English officers, Messrs. Hutchinson, Wilson and -Bruce, assisted him across the frontier, and he took refuge in Bavaria. -Lavallette was permitted to return to France in 1820, when he retired -into private life.--T. - -[239] The _Nain jaune_ was a satirical Bonapartist journal, inspired by -the circle of the ex-Queen Hortense, which adopted a guise of extreme -Royalism. The number for the 28th of February 1815 contains a letter -from a correspondent who says: - -"I have worn out ten goose-quills in writing to you, without receiving -a reply; perhaps I shall be luckier if I try a duck-quill" (_plume de -cane_). - -On the next day, the 1st of March, Napoleon landed at Cannes on his -return from Elba.--B. - -[240] Carlo Andrea Count Pozzo di Borgo (1764-1842), a native of -Corsica, entered the Russian diplomatic service and took part in all -the congresses of the Holy Alliance. Pozzo acted as Russian Ambassador -to France from 1814 to 1835, and to England from 1835 to 1839. He spent -his last years in Paris.--T. - -[241] Louis-Philippe Duc d'Orléans (1773-1850), afterwards "King of the -French," and son (some say a changeling) of Louis Philippe Joseph Duc -d'Orléans (Philippe Égalité).--T. - -[242] General Drouet d'Erlon (1765-1844) was placed in command of -the 1st Army Corps during the Hundred Days. He was condemned to -death by contumacy in 1816, fled to Prussia, and returned to France -in 1825, but did not resume service till 1830. In 1834, he was -appointed Governor-General of Algeria, but was recalled in 1835 for -not displaying sufficient vigour against Abd-el-Kader; nevertheless -Drouet was made a marshal in 1843. The military conspiracy in which -he engaged with General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes and Lallemand was of a -semi-Imperialist, semi-Revolutionary character, and broke out on the -9th of March 1815, but was immediately suppressed.--T. - -[243] Marshal Masséna, on the evening of the 3rd of March, sent to the -Minister of War, from Marseilles, the dispatch announcing Bonaparte's -landing at the Golfe Jouan. In 1815, the aerial telegraph stopped at -Lyons. The message was therefore carried by a courier as far as Lyons, -and did not reach Paris until mid-day on the 5th of March. Impressed by -the gravity of the news, M. Chappe, the Director-General of Telegraphs -(brother of the inventor), took upon himself to take the message to -M. de Vitrolles, in the King's closet, instead of transmitting it to -Marshal Soult. Vitrolles handed the despatch, sealed as it was, to -Louis XVIII., who read it several times over and threw it on the table, -saying with the greatest calm: - -"It is to say that Bonaparte has landed on the coast of Provence. This -letter must be taken to the Minister of War. He will see what is to be -done." - -The Government kept the news secret for two days, and it was only on -the 7th of March that it was officially announced in the _Moniteur._--B. - -[244] The Comte d'Artois, the King's brother, became "Monsieur" on the -latter's accession.--T. - -[245] Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke, Maréchal Comte d'Hunebourg, Duc -de Feltre (1765-1818), descended from an Irish family, had been one -of Napoleon's generals, and Minister of War from 1807. After rallying -to the Bourbons, he managed the War Office at a time of the greatest -difficulty, and was created a marshal of France after the Second -Restoration, in 1816. The Duc de Feltre retired in 1817, a year before -his death.--T. - -[246] Caius Valerius Jovius Aulerius Diocletianus (245-313), Roman -Emperor, was born at Dioclea, near Salona. Diocletian's mind became -weakened in 304, and in 305 he abdicated and retired to Salona, where -he cultivated his garden with his own hands.--T. - -[247] Camille Hyacinthe Odilon Barrot (1791-1873) became a prominent -leader of the Opposition under Louis-Philippe, and was Prime Minister -and Minister of Justice in 1848 to 1849.--T. - -[248] The battalion of the pupils of the School of Law was formed on -the 14th of March 1815; its effective force amounted to 1200 men. After -being drilled at Vincennes, the Volunteers, to the number of about -700, joined the Body-guards at Beauvais on Easter Sunday, the 26th of -March; they crossed the frontier and were cantoned at Ypres. On the -30th of July, the battalion returned to Paris, amid the cheers of an -immense multitude which had come out to greet it. The professors of the -school, prevented by their age from leaving France, at least refused to -wait upon Napoleon, and it was only at the express invitation of the -Minister of the Interior that they went so far as to send an address in -which they expressed their gratitude at seeing the Emperor renounce all -spirit of conquest.--B. - -[249] M. de La Fayette, in some Memoirs published since his death -and valuable for their facts, confirms the singular conjunction of -his opinion and mine on the occasion of Bonaparte's return. M. de La -Fayette was a sincere lover of honour and liberty.--_Author's Note_ -(Paris, 1840). - -[250] Charles Ferdinand Duc de Berry (1778-1820), second son of the -Comte d'Artois, assassinated by the fanatic Louvel on leaving the -Opera, 13 February 1820.--T. - -[251] Louis Antoine Duc d'Angoulême (1775-1844), eldest son of the -Comte d'Artois, was Dauphin of France during the reign of the latter as -Charles X. He abdicated his right to the throne immediately after his -father, and was thus for only a few minutes King of France, with the -title of Louis XIX. He was succeeded by his nephew, the Duc de Bordeaux -(the Comte de Chambord), as Henry V. The Duc d'Angoulême died at -Goritz, where he lived under the style of Comte de Marnes. He possessed -many solid qualities and conciliatory intentions, without being gifted -with any hyper-eminent faculties.--T. - -[252] A Royal order of the 6th of March, declaring Bonaparte a traitor -and rebel, and enjoining all soldiers, national guards, or private -citizens "to hunt him down" (_de lui courir sus_), appears in the -_Moniteur_ of the 7th of March.--B. - -[253] Alexandre Maurice Blanc de La Nautte, Comte d'Hauterive -(1754-1830), commenced life as a professor in the Oratorian College at -Tours (1779), accompanied the Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier on his embassy -to Constantinople (1784), became French _Chargé d'affaires_ in Moldavia -(1785), and Consul in New York (1792). In America he grew intimate with -Talleyrand, who made him head of a department at the Foreign Office so -soon as he obtained his ministry, and later had him appointed Keeper of -the Archives (1807).--T. - -[254] Alfred Frédéric Chevalier Artaud de Montor (1772-1849), after a -long diplomatic career, wrote or edited a large number of historical -works, including the _Vie et travaux du comte d'Hauterive_, published -at a later date than that at which Chateaubriand wrote the above -lines.--T. - -[255] MARK ii. II.--T. - -[256] Charles Du Fresne, Seigneur Du Cange (1610-1688), the noted -historian and philologist, born at Amiens, 18 December 1610.--T. - -[257] Robespierre was born at Arras on the 6th of May 1758.--T. - -[258] _Cf._ Vol. II. p. 30.--T. - -[259] Pierre Louis Bertin de Vaux (1771-1842), younger brother of Louis -François Bertin, known as Bertin the Elder, assisted him in founding -the _Journal des Débats_ (1799), and in editing that paper, while -directing a banking-house which he had established in 1801. Bertin de -Vaux was sent as Ambassador to the Netherlands in 1830 and raised to -the peerage in 1832.--T. - -[260] Amédée Bretagne Malo de Durfort, Duc de Duras (1771-1838), First -Lord of the Bed-chamber to the King. He accompanied Louis XVIII. to -Ghent and returned with him. He had been created a Peer of France in -1814. After the Revolution of 1830, he retired into private life.--B. - -[261] Charles V. Emperor of Germany, King of Spain and of the Two -Sicilies (1500-1558), born at Ghent, son of the Archduke Philip of -Austria and of Joan, heiress of Castile, daughter of Ferdinand and -Isabella. He was proclaimed King of Spain in 1516, during his mother's -life-time, and elected to the Empire three years later. Charles V. -abdicated in 1556, two years before his death.--T. - -[262] The other ministers were: M. Louis, Finance; the Duc de Feltre, -War; M. Beugnot, Navy; M. Dambray, Chancellor of France; M. de -Jaucourt, Foreign Affairs _ad interim_, the Prince de Talleyrand being -in Vienna. M. de Blacas was Minister of the King's Household. M. de -Lally-Tolendal was _ad interim_ Minister of Public Instruction.--B. - -[263] Bernadotte and Henry IV. were both born at Pau.--T. - -[264] Thomas Arthur Comte de Lally, Baron Tolendal in Ireland -(1702-1766), after contributing to the victory of Fontenoy (1745), -was in 1756 appointed Governor of the French possessions in India and -drove the English from the Coromandel Coast. He failed, however, before -Madras, was himself besieged in Pondichéry, and obliged to surrender -with a garrison of 700 men: he had resisted for several months against -an army of 22,000 men and a fleet of 14 ships (1761). Nevertheless, he -was accused of betraying the King's interests, sent to the Bastille -and, after eighteen months' imprisonment and an informal trial, -sentenced to death. He was executed on the 9th of May 1766. Voltaire -published an eloquent _factum_ in the condemned man's favour and, -in 1778, Louis XVI., at the instance of Lally's son, the Marquis de -Lally-Tolendal mentioned above, had the iniquitous verdict revised. The -sentence was unanimously quashed by a new set of judges, and Lally's -memory entirely rehabilitated.--T. - -[265] Marie Madeleine Comtesse de La Fayette (1634-1693), _née_ Pioche -de La Vergne, daughter of the Governor of the Havre, and the intimate -friend of La Rochefoucauld. She made a name in letters by her novels, -_Zaïde_ the _Princesse de Clèves_, etc., and also wrote an _Histoire et -Henriette d'Angleterre._--T. - -[266] Madame La Duchesse de Rauzan.--_Author's Note._ - -[267] The Duc de Bellune remained absolutely faithful to the Elder -Branch after the usurpation of 1830.--T. - -[268] Julie Maréchale Duchesse de Bellune, _née_ Vosch van Avesaat, -married to the Maréchal Duc de Bellune in 1801. He had previously -divorced his first wife, _née_ Muguet, to whom he had been married in -1791.--T. - -[269] Vincent Marie Viennot, Comte de Vaublanc (1756-1845), an eager -supporter of the Royalist cause and Minister of the Interior from -September 1815 to May 1816. He published some political works, a few -indifferent tragedies and an epic poem, the _Dernier des Césars_ -(1836).--T. - -[270] Guillaume Antoine Bénoît Baron Capelle (1775-1843) held various -prefectures under Napoleon and Louis XVIII., and was created a baron -of the Empire by the former. In May 1830, he became Minister of Public -Works in M. de Polignac's Cabinet and, as a signatory of the Ordinances -of July, was condemned by contumacy to perpetual imprisonment. He -returned to France in 1836, after the amnesty.--B. - -[271] The Abbé Martial Borye Desrenaudes (1755-1825), not d'Ernaud as -the preceding editions of the Memoirs have it, was grand-vicar to the -Bishop of Autun at the time of the Revolution. He had a remarkable -talent as a writer, and was of the greatest use to Talleyrand as a -literary assistant. After the 18 Brumaire, Desrenaudes became a member -of the Tribunate, and later a councillor of the University and Imperial -Censor. He retained his censorship under the Restoration.--B. - -[272] Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz (1614-1679), was in -1643 appointed Coadjutor to his uncle, Henri de Gondi, Archbishop of -Paris, before himself succeeding to the archbishopric.--T. - -[273] _Cf._ RACINE, _Les Plaideurs_, Act III. sc. IV.--T. - -[274] Claude Philibert Édouard Baron Mounier (1784-1843), son of -Joseph Mounier, the celebrated Constituent. Under the Empire, he had -been Superintendent of the Crown Lands, in which post he was confirmed -by Louis XVIII., and he continued to hold various political and -administrative offices. He was created a peer of France in 1819.--B. - -[275] Louis XVIII. himself was a great epicure of this fish, and -sometimes allowed himself to be taken to this inn, which was called the -Halter. (Cf. ROMBERG, _Louis XVIII. à Gand._)--B. - -[276] Early in April, under the management of the two Bertins. Upon the -objection of the Netherlands Government, which saw difficulties in the -way of the co-existence of two _Moniteurs_ in the kingdom, the original -title was changed to the _Journal universel_, which continued to be the -official organ of Louis XVIII.--B. - -[277] _Rapport sur l'état de la France, fait au roi dans son conseil_, -May 1815.--B. - -[278] A certain M. Bail, an inspector of reviews. Chateaubriand's -letter to the Duc de Feltre is dated "Paris, 22 August 1826," and runs: - - "A Monsieur Bail, inspector of reviews, wrote a pamphlet - against me. He says that he has lost his place for this act. - May I venture, monsieur le duc, to hope from your indulgence - that you will be so good as to restore him to your kindness? - The King's person was respected in the pamphlet. Pray forget, - monsieur le maréchal, all that concerns only myself.--B." - - -[279] The Order of the Golden Fleece was instituted at Bruges, in 1429, -by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.--T. - -[280] JOHN i. 6.--T. - -[281] Jan van Eyck (_circa_ 1380-1450) was born at Maaseyk near -Maastricht, but settled at Bruges, with his brother Hubert, at an early -age. He is usually known as Jean de Bruges in France.--T. - -[282] Gaston Pierre Marc Duc de Levis (1764-1830) had been wounded at -Quiberon in 1795. Between 1808 and 1814 he published his _Maximes et -réflexions sur différents sujets_, the _Suite des quatre Facardins_, -imitated from Hamilton's Tales, _Voyage de Khani, ou Nouvelles lettres -chinoises, Souvenirs et Portraits_, and L'_Angleterre au commencement -du XIX<sup>e</sup> siècle._ He became a peer of France in 1814, a privy -councillor in 1815 and a member of the French Academy in 1816.--B. - -[283] Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris (_d._ 996), was -proclaimed King of France in 987 on the death of Louis V., the last of -the Second or Carlovingian Dynasty, thus founding the Third or Capetian -Dynasty of Kings of France. The House of Capet proper reigned from 987 -to 1328; its two branches, the Houses of Valois and Bourbon from 1328 -to 1589 and 1589 to 1830 respectively. The usurpation of Louis-Philippe -gives a reign of 18 years (1830 to 1848) to the House of Orleans, or -Younger Branch of Bourbon.--T. - -[284] Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England (_circa_ 1314-1369).--T. - -[285] Edward III. King of England (1212-1377).--T. - -[286] John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1349-1399), fourth son of -Edward III. and father of Henry IV., who founded the House of Lancaster -after procuring the murder of Richard II., by usurping the throne to -the prejudice of the descendants of Lionel Duke of Clarence, second son -of Edward III.--T. - -[287] Jacob van Artevelde (_d._ 1345) headed a revolt of his -fellow-citizens against the Count of Flanders (1336) and became for -some time absolute master of Flanders. Finding himself, however, on the -point of being reduced, he proposed to offer the sovereignty to Edward -the Black Prince, but failed in his project, and was murdered by the -populace of Ghent in 1345.--T. - -[288] Clodion (_d. circa_ 448) is accepted as the second King of France -(Merovingian Dynasty).--T. - -[289] The Lys, or Lily, rises a little below Béthune and flows into the -Scheldt at Ghent.--B. - -[290] A Moorish tribe which had a violent quarrel with the -Abencerrages.--T. - -[291] Granada stands near the junction of the Rivers Duero and -Xenil.--T. - -[292] Gabriel Vicomte Donnadieu (1777-1849), an inveterate enemy of -Napoleon and later of Louis-Philippe, and a fervent, although somewhat -discredited Royalist.--T. - -[293] Raymond Comte Desèze (1748-1828), the famous advocate. He -distinguished himself early in his career by his defense of the -daughters of Helvétius. In 1789 he obtained the acquittal of the Baron -de Bésenval, accused of high treason; and he assisted Malesherbes and -Tronchet in their defense of King Louis XVI. before the Convention. -Desèze had been made a knight of the Holy Ghost by Louis XVI., which -explains the allusion to the blue ribbon. Louis XVIII. made him -President of the Court of Appeal and a peer of France in 1815, and a -count in 1817. Desèze was, in 1816, elected a member of the French -Academy.--T. - -[294] Pauline Louise Françoise de Paule Duchesse de Lévis (_d._ 1819), -_née_ Charpentier d'Ennery, married to the Duc de Lévis in 1785.--B. - -[295] Gaston François Christophe Victor Duc de Ventadour and de Lévis -(1794-1863), became aide-de-camp to the Duc d'Angoulême in 1814, and -took part in the Spanish War of 1823 and the expedition to Morocco in -1828. He succeeded his father in the peerage in 1830, but refused to -sit after the Revolution of July and followed the Royal Family into -exile. He was for many years one of the Comte de Chambord's chief -councillors, and died at Venice in 1863.--B. - -[296] Marie Cathérine Amanda Duchesse de Lévis (1798-1854), daughter of -Pierre Raymond Hector d'Aubusson, Comte de La Feuillade, and married to -the Duc de Lévis in 1821.--B. - -[297] The Pavillon Marsan formed the corner of the Tuileries bounded by -the garden and the Rue de Rivoli, and was occupied under Louis XVIII. -by the Comte d'Artois.--T. - -At Ghent, the Comte d'Artois had his Pavillon Marsan in the Hôtel des -Pays Bas, where he was lodged with his suite and his carriages and paid -1000 francs a day. Louis XVIII. lived in the house which the Comte -d'Hane de Steenhuyse had placed at his disposal.-B. - -[298] Gaillard had been Fouché's secretary.--B. - -[299] The Duc d'Otrante was born at the Martinière, near Nantes.--T. - -[300] Clemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Prince von Metternich-Winneburg -(1773-1859), the great Austrian statesman, was at this time presiding -over the Congress of Vienna.--T. - -[301] Auguste Clair Thibaudeau (1765-1854) had voted for the death of -the King in the Convention, and became one of the most ardent servants -of Napoleon, who made him a councillor of State, a prefect, and a count -of the Empire (31 December 1809). He was exiled in 1815 and did not -return to France until after the Revolution of July. Napoleon III. made -him a senator and a grand officer of the Legion of Honour. Thibaudeau -left a large number of historical works.--B. - -[302] Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples (1782-1839), _née_ Bonaparte, -married to Murat in 1800.--T. - -[303] Jean Baptiste de Gouy, Comte de La Besnardière (_d._ 1843), had -been employed at the Foreign Office since 1795, where he had become the -intimate fellow-worker of Talleyrand, who liked both him and his work. -He accompanied the prince to the Congress of Vienna; on his return, the -King made him a count and director of Public Works. He retired into -private life in 1819.--B. - -[304] A recently-published pamphlet entitled _Lettres de l'Étranger_, -written apparently by an able and well-informed diplomatist, points to -this strange Russian negociation in Vienna.--_Author's Note_ (Paris, -1840). - -[305] Richard Le Poer Trench, second Earl of Clancarty, later Marquis -of Heusden in the Netherlands (1767-1837), British Plenipotentiary -to the Congress of Vienna, and later Ambassador to the Netherlands -(1816-1822).--T. - -[306] It is stated that, in 1830, M. de Talleyrand had his private -correspondence with Louis XVIII. removed from the Archives of the -Crown, even as he had had removed from the Archives of the Empire all -that he, M. de Talleyrand, had written respecting the death of the Duc -d'Enghien and the affairs of Spain.--_Author's Note_ (Paris, 1840). - -[307] Talleyrand was paid six million francs by the Neapolitan Bourbons -for favouring their restoration. (_Cf._ SAINTE-BEUVE, _Nouveaux -Lundis_, vol. XII.).--B. - - - - -BOOK V - - -The Hundred Days in Paris--Effect of the passage of the Legitimacy -in France--Bonaparte's astonishment--He is obliged to capitulate -to ideas which he thought smothered--His new system--Three -enormous gamblers remain--Illusions of the Liberals--Clubs -and Federates--Juggling away of the Republic: the Additional -Act--Convocation of the Chamber of Representatives--A useless -Champ de Mai--Cares and bitterness of Bonaparte--Resolution in -Vienna--Movement in Paris--What we were doing at Ghent--M. de -Blacas--The Battle of Waterloo--Confusion at Ghent--What the -Battle of Waterloo was--Return of the Emperor--Reappearance of La -Fayette--Renewed abdication of Bonaparte--Stormy scenes in the House -of Peers--Threatening portents for the Second Restoration--The -departure from Ghent--Arrival at Mons--I miss the first opportunity -of fortune in my political career--M. de Talleyrand at Mons--His -scene with the King--I stupidly interest myself on M. de Talleyrand's -behalf--Mons to Gonesse--With M. le Comte Beugnot I oppose Fouché's -nomination as minister: my reasons--The Duke of Wellington gains the -day--Arnouville--Saint-Denis--Last conversation with the King. - - -I show you the wrong side of events which history does not display: -history exhibits only the right side. Memoirs have the advantage of -presenting both surfaces of the texture: in this respect they depict -the whole complexion of humanity better, by exposing, as in the -tragedies of Shakespeare, low and exalted scenes. There is everywhere -a cottage beside a palace, a man who weeps beside a man who laughs, a -ragman carrying his basket beside a king losing his throne: what was -the fall of Darius[308] to the slave present at the Battle of Arbela? - -Ghent, then, was only a tiring-room behind the slips of the spectacle -opened in Paris. Some famous personages still remained in Europe. I -had, in 1800, commenced my career with Alexander and Napoleon; why had -I not followed those leading actors, my contemporaries, on the great -stage? Why only at Ghent? Because Heaven casts you where it wills. From -the "little Hundred Days" at Ghent let us pass to the "great Hundred -Days" in Paris. - -I have told you the reasons which ought to have stopped Bonaparte in -Elba and the urgent reasons, or rather the necessity drawn from his -nature, which compelled him to issue from exile. But the march from -Cannes to Paris exhausted all that remained of the old man. In Paris, -the talisman was shattered. - -The few moments for which the reign of lawfulness had reappeared had -sufficed to render impossible the re-establishment of arbitrariness. -Despotism muzzles the masses and enfranchises individuals, within a -certain limit; anarchy lets loose the masses and enslaves individual -independence. Hence, despotism resembles liberty, when it follows -after anarchy; it remains what it really is when it replaces liberty: -Bonaparte, a liberator after the Constitution of the Directory, was -an oppressor after the Charter. He felt this so well that he thought -himself obliged to go further than Louis XVIII. and to return to the -sources of national sovereignty. He, who had trodden the people under -foot as its master, was reduced to create himself anew a tribune of the -people, to court the favour of the suburbs, to parody the revolutionary -infancy, to lisp an old language of liberty which forced his lips into -a grimace, while each syllable angered his sword. - -His destiny as a power was, in fact, so well accomplished that the -genius of Napoleon was no longer recognised during the Hundred Days. -That genius was the genius of success and order, not that of defeat -and liberty: now he could do nothing through victory, which had -betrayed him, nothing for order, since it existed without him. In his -astonishment he said: - -"To what a condition have the Bourbons reduced France for me, in a few -months! It will take me years to restore her." - -It was not the work of the Legitimacy which the conqueror saw, but the -work of the Charter; he had left France dumb and prostrate, he found -her erect and speaking: in the ingenuousness of his absolute mind, he -took liberty for disorder. - -And yet Bonaparte was obliged to capitulate with the ideas which he -was unable to conquer at first sight. In the absence of any real -popularity, workmen hired at forty sous a head came, at the end of -their day's work, to howl, "Long live the Emperor!" in the Carrousel. -That was called "going to the crying." Proclamations at first announced -marvels of forgetting and forgiving; individuals were declared -free, the nation free, the press free; nothing was wanted but the -peace, independence and happiness of the people; the whole imperial -system was changed; the golden age was about to return. In order to -conform practice with theory, France was divided into seven great -police sections; the seven lieutenants were invested with the same -powers which were enjoyed under the Consulate and the Empire by the -directors-general: it is well-known what those protectors of individual -liberty were at Lyons, Bordeaux, Milan, Florence, Lisbon, Hamburg, -Amsterdam. Over these lieutenants, in a hierarchy "more and more -favourable to liberty," Bonaparte placed commissaries-extraordinary, -after the fashion of the representatives of the people under the -Convention. - -[Sidenote: The hundred days.] - -The police, directed by Fouché, informed the world, by means of -solemn proclamations, that it would thenceforward serve only to -spread philosophy, that it would act only in accordance with virtuous -principles. - -Bonaparte re-established, by decree, the National Guard of the Kingdom, -the mere name of which used formerly to make his head swim. He found -himself compelled to annul the divorce pronounced under the Empire -between despotism and demagogy and to favour their renewed alliance: -from this hymen was to spring, on the Champ de Mai, a liberty wearing -the red cap and the turban on its head, the mameluke's sabre in its -belt and the revolutionary axe in its hand, a liberty surrounded by -the shades of those thousands of victims sacrificed on the scaffolds -or in the burning campaigns of Spain and the icy deserts of Russia. -Before success, the mamelukes were Jacobins; after success, the -Jacobins were to become mamelukes: Sparta was for the moment of danger, -Constantinople for that of triumph. - -Bonaparte would, indeed, have liked to recover possession for himself -alone, but that was impossible for him; he found men prepared to -dispute it with him: first, the earnest Republicans, delivered from -the chains of despotism and the laws of the Monarchy, desired to -retain an independence which is, perhaps, but a noble error; next, the -madmen of the old faction of the Mountain: these latter, humiliated at -having been nothing more under the Empire than the police-spies of a -despot, seemed resolved to resume on their own account that liberty of -doing everything of which, during fifteen years, they had yielded the -privilege to a master. - -But not the Republicans, nor the Revolutionaries, nor the satellites -of Bonaparte were strong enough to establish their separate power, -or mutually to subjugate each other. Threatened from without by an -invasion, pursued from within by public opinion, they understood that, -if they became divided, they were lost: in order to escape the danger, -they adjourned their quarrel; some brought their systems and illusions -to the common defense, others their terror and perversity. None was in -earnest in this compact; each, once the crisis passed, resolved to turn -it to his profit; all sought beforehand to make sure of the results of -victory. In that awful _trente-et-un_ three enormous gamblers kept the -bank by turns: liberty, anarchy and despotism, all three cheating and -striving to win a game which was lost for all. - -Full of that thought, they did not proceed rigorously against a -forlorn hope which was urging on revolutionary measures: federates -had been formed in the _faubourgs_ and federations were being -organized under stem oaths in Brittany, Anjou, Lyonnais and Burgundy; -the _Marseillaise_ and the _Carmagnole_ were heard sung; a club, -established in Paris, corresponded with other clubs in the provinces; -the resurrection of the _Journal des Patriotes_ was announced. But -on that side what confidence were the resuscitated of 1793 able to -inspire? Was it not known how they explained liberty, equality, -the rights of man? Were they more moral, more wise, more sincere, -after their enormities than before? Was it because they had tainted -themselves with all the vices that they had become capable of all the -virtues? One cannot abdicate crime as easily as a crown: the brow once -girt with the hideous circlet retains ineffaceable marks from its -contact. - -The idea of reducing an ambitious man of genius from the rank of -Emperor to that of Generalissimo or President of the Republic was a -chimera: the red cap which they had fixed on the head of his busts -during the Hundred Days would only have foreboded to Bonaparte the -resumption of the diadem, were it given to the athletes who race -through the world to run the same course twice. - -Still, some Liberals of the better sort promised themselves the -victory: mistaken men, like Benjamin Constant, dolts, like M. -Simonde-Sismondi[309], spoke of placing the Prince of Canino[310] at -the Ministry of the Interior, Lieutenant-general Comte Carnot at -the War Office, the Comte Merlin[311] at the Ministry of Justice. In -appearance despondent, Bonaparte made no opposition to democratic -movements which, in the last result, supplied his army with conscripts. -He allowed himself to be attacked in pamphlets; caricatures repeated -"Elba" to him as parrots cried "Péronne" to Louis XI[312]. They -preached liberty and equality to the man escaped from prison, -addressing him in the second person singular; he listened to these -remonstrances with an air of compunction. Suddenly, bursting the -shackles in which they had pretended to bind him, he proclaimed, by -his own authority, not a plebeian Constitution, but an aristocratic -Constitution, an "Additional Act" to the Constitutions of the -Empire[313]. - -[Sidenote: The "Additional Act."] - -The contemplated Republic was changed by this adroit piece of juggling -into the old Imperial Government, rejuvenated with feudality. The -"Additional Act" lost Bonaparte the Republican Party and made -malcontents in almost all the other parties. License reigned in -Paris, anarchy in the provinces; the civil and military authorities -contended with each other; here men threatened to burn the manors and -murder the priests; there they hoisted the White Flag and shouted, -"Long live the King!" Finding himself attacked, Bonaparte retreated; -he withdrew the nomination of the mayors of communes from his -commissaries-extraordinary and restored that nomination to the people. -Alarmed at the multiplicity of negative votes against the "Additional -Act," he abandoned his _de facto_ dictatorship and convened the Chamber -of Representatives by virtue of that Act which was not yet accepted. -Blundering from rock to rock, he was scarcely delivered from one danger -before stumbling against another: the sovereign of a day, how was he to -establish an hereditary peerage which the spirit of equality repelled? -How to govern the two Chambers? Would they yield a passive obedience? -What would be the relations of the Chambers with the proposed assembly -of the Champ de Mai, which had no real object, since the "Additional -Act" was brought into operation before the suffrages had been counted? -Would that assembly, consisting of thirty thousand electors, not -believe itself to be the representatives of the nation? - -This Champ de Mai, so pompously announced and celebrated on the 1st -of June, resolved itself into a simple march-past of troops and a -distribution of colours before a despised altar. Napoleon, surrounded -by his brothers, the State dignitaries, the marshals, the civil and -judicial bodies, proclaimed the sovereignty of the people in which he -did not believe. The citizens had imagined that they themselves would -frame a Constitution on that solemn day, the peaceful middle class -expected that then would be declared Napoleon's abdication in favour -of his son, an abdication concocted at Bâle between the agents of -Fouché and of Prince Metternich: and there was nothing but a ridiculous -political trap! The "Additional Act," for the rest, stood forth as -an act of homage to the Legitimacy; save for a few differences, and, -in particular, excluding "the abolition of confiscation," it was the -Charter. - -* - -Those sudden changes, that confounding of all things, announced the -last struggles of despotism. Nevertheless, the Emperor could not -receive the death-stroke from within, for the power which was combating -him was as debilitated as himself; the revolutionary Titan, whom -Napoleon had floored of old, had not recovered his native energy; the -two giants were now aiming useless blows at one another; it was nothing -more than the contest of two shadows. - -To these general impossibilities were added, for Bonaparte, domestic -tribulations and palace cares; he announced to France the return of the -Empress and the King of Rome, and neither one nor the other came back. -Speaking of the Queen of Holland, who, thanks to Louis XVIII., had -become Duchesse de Saint-Leu, he said: - -"When one has accepted the prosperity of a family, one must embrace its -adversity." - -Joseph, who had hastened from Switzerland, only asked him for money; -Lucien alarmed him through his Liberal connections; Murat, after first -conspiring against his brother-in-law, had been in too great a hurry, -on returning to him, to attack the Austrians: stripped of the Kingdom -of Naples, a runaway of ill-omen, he was awaiting, under arrest, near -Marseilles, the catastrophe which I will describe to you later[314]. - -[Sidenote: Twofold traitors.] - -And then, was the Emperor able to trust his former partisans and his -self-styled friends? Had they not infamously abandoned him at the -moment of his fall? That Senate which formerly crawled at his feet, -now ensconced in the peerage, had it not decreed its benefactor's -deposition? Could he believe those men, when they came and said to him: - -"The interests of France are inseparable from your own. If fortune -betrays your efforts, reverses, Sire, would not impair our perseverance -and would redouble our attachment to your person." - -Your perseverance! Your attachment redoubled by misfortune! You said -this on the 11th of June 1815: what had you said on the 2nd of April -1814? What will you say a few weeks later, on the 19th of July 1815? - -The Ministry of the Imperial Police was in correspondence, as you have -seen, with Ghent, Vienna and Bâle; the marshals to whom Bonaparte was -compelled to give the command of his soldiers had but now taken the -oath to Louis XVIII.; they had issued the most violent proclamations -against him, Bonaparte[315]: since that time, it is true, they had -re-espoused their sultan; but, if he had been arrested at Grenoble, -what would they have done with him? Is it enough to break an oath to -restore its whole strength to another violated oath? Are two perjuries -equivalent to one fidelity? - -A few days more, and those swearers of the Champ de Mai will carry -back their devotion to Louis XVIII. in the halls of the Tuileries; -they will approach the sacred table of the God of Peace, in order -to have themselves appointed ministers at the banquets of war[316]; -heralds-at-arms and brandishers of the royal insignia at the coronation -of Bonaparte, they will fulfil the same functions at the coronation of -Charles X.[317]; then, as the commissaries of another power[318], they -will lead that King a prisoner to Cherbourg, scarce finding a little -corner free in their consciences to hang up in it the badge of their -new oath. It is hard to be born in times of improbity, in those days -when two men talking together study how to keep back words from their -tongue, for fear of offending each other and of mutually making one -another blush. - -Those who had not been able to tie themselves to Napoleon by his glory, -who had not been able to adhere from gratitude to the benefactor from -whom they had received their riches, their honours and their very -names, were they likely to sacrifice themselves now to his needy hopes? -Would they link themselves to a precarious and reincipient fortune, the -ingrates whom a fortune consolidated by unexampled successes and by a -possession of sixteen years of victories had failed to fix? So many -chrysalides who, between two spring-times, had put off and put on, shed -and resumed the skin of the Legitimist and the Revolutionary, of the -Napoleonist and the Bourbonist; so many words given and broken; so many -crosses moved from the knight's breast to the horse's tail and from the -horse's tail to the knight's breast; so many doughty warriors changing -their banners and strewing the lists with their pledges of perjured -faith; so many noble dames, the attendants by turns of Marie-Louise -and Marie-Caroline[319], were calculated to leave in the depths of -Napoleon's heart naught but distrust, horror and contempt; that great -man grown old stood alone among all those traitors, men and fortune, on -a tottering earth, under a hostile sky, in front of his accomplished -destiny and the judgment of God. - -* - -Napoleon had found no faithful friends, but the phantoms of his past -glory; these escorted him, as I have told you, from the spot at which -he landed to the capital of France. But the eagles which had "flown -from steeple to steeple" from Cannes to Paris alighted wearily upon the -chimneys of the Tuileries, able to go no further. - -Napoleon did not hurl himself at the head of the roused populace -upon Belgium, before an Anglo-Prussian army had assembled there: he -stopped; he tried to negociate with Europe and humbly to maintain the -treaties of the Legitimacy. The Congress of Vienna urged against M. -le Duc de Vicence the abdication of the 11th of April 1814: by that -abdication, Bonaparte "recognised that he was the sole obstacle to -the restoration of peace in Europe" and consequently "renounced, for -himself and his heirs, the thrones of France and Italy." Now, since he -had come to restore his power, he was manifestly violating the Treaty -of Paris and placing himself again in the political situation anterior -to the 31st of March 1814: therefore it was he, Bonaparte, who was -declaring war against Europe, and not Europe against Bonaparte. These -logical quibbles of diplomatic attorneys, as I remarked in connection -with M. de Talleyrand's letter, were worth what they might be before -the battle. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's last campaign.] - -The news of Bonaparte's landing at Cannes had reached Vienna on the 6th -of March, in the middle of an entertainment at which was represented -the assembly of the divinities of Olympus and Parnassus. Alexander had -just received the proposal for an alliance between France, Austria and -England; he hesitated a moment between the two pieces of intelligence, -and then said: - -"The question is not of myself, but of the safety of the world." - -And an estafette carried orders to St. Petersburg to dispatch the -Guards. The withdrawing armies stopped short; their long line faced -about, and eight hundred thousand enemies turned their eyes towards -France. Bonaparte prepared for war; he was expected in new Catalaunian -Fields[320]: God had summoned him to the battle which was to put an end -to the reign of battles. - -The heat of the wings of the renown of Marengo and Austerlitz had -sufficed to hatch armies in that France which is one great nest of -soldiers. Bonaparte had restored to his legions their epithets of -"invincible," "terrible" and "incomparable;" seven armies resumed -the titles of Armies of the Pyrenees, of the Alps, of the Jura, the -Moselle, the Rhine: great memories which served as a frame for supposed -troops, for expected triumphs. A real army was mustered in Paris -and at Laon: one hundred and fifty mounted batteries, ten thousand -picked soldiers entered into the guards; eighteen thousand sailors -distinguished at Lützen and Bautzen; thirty thousand veterans, officers -and non-commissioned officers, in garrison in the fortified towns; -seven departments in the North and East ready to rise in a body; one -hundred and eighty thousand men of the National Guard mobilized; -volunteer corps in Lorraine, Alsace and Franche-Comté; federates -offering their pikes and their strength; Paris turning out three -thousand muskets a day: those were the Emperor's resources. Perhaps -he might yet once more have overturned the world, had he been able to -resolve, while liberating the country, to summon the foreign nations -to independence. The moment was propitious: the kings, after promising -their subjects constitutional government, had shamefully gone from -their word. But liberty was distasteful to Napoleon, since he had drunk -of the cup of power; he preferred to be vanquished with soldiers rather -than to vanquish with peoples. The army corps which he successively -sent towards the Netherlands amounted to seventy thousand men. - -* - -We Emigrants, in the city of Charles V., were like the women of that -city: seated behind their windows, they watch the soldiers, in a little -slanting mirror, passing down the street. Louis XVIII. was there in -a corner, completely forgotten: scarcely did he from time to time -receive a note from the Prince de Talleyrand returning from Vienna, -a few lines from the members of the diplomatic body resident about -the Duke of Wellington as commissaries, Messieurs Pozzo di Borgo, de -Vincent[321], etc., etc. They had plenty to do besides thinking of -us! A man unacquainted with politics would never have believed that -an impotent hidden on the banks of the Lys would be flung back upon -the throne by the collision of thousands of soldiers ready to cut each -other's throats: soldiers of whom he was neither the King nor the -general, who were not thinking of him, who knew of neither his name nor -his existence. Of two such close spots as Ghent and Waterloo, never did -one appear so dim, the other so dazzling: the Legitimacy lay in the -store-house, like an old broken waggon. - -We knew that Bonaparte's troops were approaching; to cover us we had -only two little companies under the orders of the Duc de Berry, a -Prince whose blood could not avail us, for it was already demanded -elsewhere. One thousand horse, detached from the French army, would -have carried us off in a few hours. The fortifications of Ghent were -demolished; the enceinte which remained would have been the more easily -carried in that the Belgian population was not in our favour. The scene -which I had witnessed at the Tuileries was repeated: His Majesty's -carriages were secretly got ready; the horses were ordered. We faithful -ministers would have splashed after by God's grace. Monsieur left for -Brussels, charged to watch the movements from near at hand. - -M. de Blacas had become anxious and melancholy; I, poor man, consoled -him. People in Vienna were not favourably disposed to him; M. de -Talleyrand laughed at him; the Royalists accused him of being the cause -of Napoleon's return. Thus, whatever happened, no further honoured -exile for him in England, no further possibility of first places in -France: I was his only support. I used to meet him pretty often in the -Horse-market, where he trotted about alone; harnessing myself to his -side, I fell in with "his sad thought." This man whom I have defended -at Ghent and in England, whom I defended in France after the Hundred -Days and even in the preface to the _Monarchie selon la Charte_, has -always been adverse to me: that would be nothing, if he had not been -an evil for the Monarchy. I do not repent my past simplicity; but I -am bound, in these Memoirs, to rectify the surprises sprung upon my -judgment and my good heart. - -* - -[Sidenote: Excitement at Ghent.] - -On the 18th of June 1815, I left Ghent at noon by the Brussels gate; -I was going to finish my walk alone on the high-road. I had taken -Cæsar's _Commentaries_ with me, and I strolled slowly along, immersed -in my reading. I was more than a league from the town, when I thought -I heard a dull rumbling: I stopped, looked up at the sky, which was -fairly laden with clouds, taking counsel with myself whether I should -continue to walk on, or go back towards Ghent for fear of a storm. -I listened; I heard nothing more save the cry of a moor-hen in the -rushes and the sound of a village-clock. I pursued my way: I had not -taken thirty steps before the rumbling began again, now short, now -long and at irregular intervals; sometimes it was perceptible only -through a trembling of the air, which communicated itself to the ground -over those immense plains, so distant was it. Those detonations, less -extensive, less undulating, less connected than those of thunder, -gave rise in my mind to the idea of a battle. I found myself in front -of a poplar planted at the corner of a hop-field. I crossed the road -and leant erect against the trunk of the tree, my face turned in the -direction of Brussels. A southerly wind springing up carried to me more -distinctly the sound of artillery. That great battle, nameless as yet, -of which I listened to the echoes at the foot of a poplar, and of which -a village clock had just rung out the unknown funerals, was the Battle -of Waterloo! - -A silent and solitary hearer of the formidable judgment of the -destinies, I should have been less moved if I had found myself in -the fray: the peril, the fire, the press of Death would have left me -no time for meditation; but, alone under a tree, in the fields of -Ghent, like the shepherd of the flocks which passed around me, I was -overwhelmed by the weight of my reflexions: what was that battle? -Was it decisive? Was Napoleon there in person? Were lots being cast -upon the world, as upon Christ's vesture? In the event of success or -reverse for one side or the other, what would be the consequence for -the nations: liberty or slavery? But what blood was flowing! Was not -each sound that reached my ear the last sigh of a Frenchman? Was it -a new Crécy, a new Poitiers, a new Agincourt, in which France's most -implacable enemies were about to revel? If they triumphed, was not -our glory lost? If Napoleon won the day, what became of our liberty? -Although a success on Napoleon's side opened up to me an eternal exile, -the mother-land at that moment gained the mastery in my heart; my -prayers were for the oppressor of France, if, while saving our honour, -he was to snatch us from foreign domination. - -Was Wellington triumphing? Then the Legitimacy would re-enter Paris -behind those red uniforms which had just renewed their die in the -blood of the French! Then the royalty would have as state-carriages -at its coronation the ambulance-waggons filled with our maimed -grenadiers! What manner of restoration would it be, accomplished under -such auspices?... That is but a very small portion of the ideas that -tormented me. Each gun-shot gave me a shock and doubled the beating -of my heart. At a few leagues from an immense catastrophe, I did not -see it, I could not touch the huge funeral monument growing minute by -minute at Waterloo, even as from the shore of Bulak, on the bank of the -Nile, I had vainly stretched out my hands towards the Pyramids. - -No traveller appeared; a few women in the fields, peacefully weeding -rows of vegetables, did not seem to hear the noise to which I was -listening. But see, a courier came riding up: I left the foot of my -tree and placed myself in the middle of the road; I stopped the courier -and questioned him. He belonged to the Duc de Berry and came from -Alost: - -"Bonaparte entered Brussels yesterday (17 June), after a sanguinary -combat. The battle was to have recommenced to-day (18 June). They think -the Allies have suffered a decisive defeat, and the order is given to -retreat." - -The courier continued his road. - -I followed him, hastening my steps: I was passed by the carriage of -a merchant who was fleeing post with his family; he confirmed the -courier's story. - -[Sidenote: Confusion at Ghent.] - -All was in confusion when I returned to Ghent: they were closing the -gates of the city; only the wickets remained half-open; ill-armed -civilians and a few soldiers in depot were keeping sentry. I went to -the King's. - -Monsieur had just arrived by a circuitous route: he had left Brussels -upon the false news that Bonaparte was about to enter it and that a -first lost battle left no hope of winning a second. They were saying -that, as the Prussians had not formed their lines, the English had been -crushed. - -At these bulletins, the stampede became general: the possessors of some -resources left; I, who am accustomed never to have anything, was always -ready and prepared. I wanted to let Madame de Chateaubriand move out -before me; she was a great Bonapartist, but did not like cannon-shots: -she refused to leave me. - -In the evening, council at His Majesty's: we heard Monsieur's reports -over again, as well as the _on dits_ picked up at the military -commandant's or at the Baron d'Eckstein's[322]. The waggon to contain -the Crown diamonds was put to: I had no need of a waggon to remove my -treasure. I put the black-silk handkerchief in which I wrap my head at -night into my flaccid minister-of-the-interior's portfolio, and placed -myself at the Sovereign's disposal, with that important document of the -affairs of the Legitimacy. I was richer in my first emigration, when -my knapsack did duty as my pillow and served as a swaddling-band for -_Atala_: but, in 1815, _Atala_ was a big gawky little girl of thirteen -or fourteen, who was going about alone in the world and who, to her -father's honour, had got herself too much talked about. - -On the 19th of June, at one o'clock in the morning, a letter from M. -Pozzo, brought to the King by express, reestablished the truth of the -facts. Bonaparte had never entered Brussels; he had decidedly lost -the Battle of Waterloo. Leaving Paris on the 12th of June, he joined -his army on the 14th. On the 15th, he forced the enemy's lines on -the Sambre. On the 16th, he beat the Prussians in those plains of -Fleurus[323] where victory seems to be always faithful to the French. -The villages of Ligny and Saint-Amand were carried. At Quatre-Bras, a -further success: the Duke of Brunswick[324] remained among the dead. -Blücher[325], in full retreat, fell back upon a reserve of thirty -thousand men under the orders of General Bülow[326]; the Duke of -Wellington, with the English and Dutch, set his back against Brussels. - -On the morning of the 18th, before the first gun had been fired, the -Duke of Wellington declared that he would be able to hold out until -three o'clock; but that, at that time, if the Prussians did not come -into sight, he would necessarily be destroyed: driven back upon -Planchenois and Brussels, he was shut out from all retreat. He had been -surprised by Napoleon, his strategic position was detestable; he had -accepted it and had not chosen it. - -The French, at first, on the left wing of the enemy, took the -heights commanding the Château d'Hougoumont as far as the farms of -the Haye-Sainte and Papelotte; on the right wing, they attacked the -village of Mont Saint-Jean; the farm of the Haye-Sainte was carried -in the centre by Prince Jerome. But the Prussian reserves appeared in -the direction of Saint-Lambert at six o'clock in the evening: a new -and furious attack was delivered upon the village of the Haye-Sainte; -Blücher arrived with fresh troops and cut off the squares of the -Imperial Guard from the rest of our forces. Around this immortal -phalanx, the torrent of fugitives carried all with it among waves -of dust, fiery smoke and grape-shot, in darkness ploughed with -congreve-rockets, amid the roar of three hundred pieces of artillery -and the headlong gallop of five-and-twenty thousand horses: it was -as it were the summary of all the battles of the Empire. Twice the -French shouted, "Victory!" and twice their shouts were stifled under -the pressure of the enemy's columns. The fire from our lines died out; -the cartridges were exhausted; some wounded grenadiers, amid thirty -thousand slain and a hundred thousand blood-stained cannon-balls, -cooled and conglomerated at their feet, remained erect, leaning on -their muskets, with broken bayonets and empty barrels. Not far from -them, the man of battles listened, with a fixed stare, to the last -cannon-shot he was to hear in his life. In that field of carnage, -his brother Jerome was still fighting with his expiring battalions -overwhelmed by numbers; but his courage was unable to retrieve the -victory. - -[Sidenote: The battle of Waterloo.] - -The number of killed on the side of the Allies was estimated at -eighteen thousand men, on the side of the French at twenty-five -thousand; twelve hundred British officers had perished; almost all -the Duke of Wellington's aides-de-camp were killed or wounded; there -was not a family in England but went into mourning. The Prince of -Orange[327] was hit by a bullet in the shoulder; the Baron de Vincent, -the Austrian Ambassador, was shot through the hand. The English were -beholden for the success to the Irish and to the Highland Brigade, whom -our cavalry charges were unable to break. General Grouchy's[328] corps, -not having advanced, was not present in the action. The two armies -crossed steel and fire with a valour and desperation inspired by a -national enmity of ten centuries. Lord Castlereagh, giving an account -of the battle in the House of Lords[329], said: - -"The British and French soldiers, after the action, washed their -blood-stained hands in the same stream, and from opposite banks -congratulated each other on their courage." - -Wellington had always been baleful to Bonaparte, or rather the rival -genius to France, the English genius, barred the road to victory. -To-day, the Prussians lay claim to the honour of this decisive battle, -as against the English; but in war it is not the action accomplished -but the name that makes the triumpher: it was not Bonaparte who won the -real Battle of Jena[330]. - -The blunders of the French were important: they made mistakes as to -friendly or hostile bodies; they occupied the position of Quatre-Bras -too late; Marshal Grouchy, whose instructions were to hold the -Prussians in check with his thirty-six thousand men, allowed them to -pass without seeing them: hence the reproaches which our generals cast -at one another. Bonaparte attacked in front, according to his custom, -instead of turning the English, and, with a master's presumption, -occupied himself in cutting off the retreat of an enemy who was not -beaten. - -Many falsehoods and some rather curious truths have been retailed -concerning this catastrophe. The phrase, "The Guard dies but does -not surrender," is an invention which no one dares now to defend. It -appears to be certain that, at the commencement of the action, Soult -made some strategic observations to the Emperor, and that Napoleon -replied, drily: - -"Because Wellington defeated you, you persist in thinking him a great -general." - -At the end of the fighting, M. de Turenne[331] urged Bonaparte to -retire, to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy: Bonaparte, -emerging from his thoughts as from a dream, at first flew into a -passion; then, suddenly, in the midst of his rage, he flung himself -upon his horse and fled. - -* - -On the 19th of June, a salute of a hundred guns at the Invalides -announced the successes of Ligny, Charleroi and Quatre-Bras; they -were celebrating victories that had died the day before at Waterloo. -The first messenger to bring to Paris the news of this defeat, one -of the greatest in history in its results, was Napoleon himself. He -re-entered the barriers on the night of the 21st: as who should say -returning from his shades to inform his friends that he was no more. He -stayed at the Élysée-Bourbon; when he arrived from Elba, he had stayed -at the Tuileries: those refuges, instinctively chosen, revealed the -change in his destiny. - -[Sidenote: Flight of Napoleon.] - -Fallen in a noble fight abroad, Napoleon had, in Paris, to endure the -assaults of the advocates who wished to exploit his misfortunes: he -regretted that he had not dissolved the Chamber before his departure -for the army; he often also repented that he had not had Fouché and -Talleyrand shot. But it is certain that Bonaparte, after Waterloo, -forbade himself any kind of violence, whether because he obeyed the -natural calm of his temperament, or because he was daunted by fate; he -no longer said, as before his first abdication: - -"They shall see what the death of a great man is." - -The time for that spirited language was past. Opposed as he was to -liberty, he thought of breaking up the Chamber of Representatives, -presided over by Lanjuinais, who from a citizen became a senator, from -a senator a peer, who since became a citizen again, and who from a -citizen was about again to become a peer. General La Fayette, deputy, -read from the tribune a motion declaring "the Chamber in permanent -session, any attempt to dissolve it a crime of high treason, whosoever -should be guilty of it a traitor to the country and to be tried as -such" (21 June 1815). - -The general's speech began with these words: - - "Gentlemen, now when, for the first time since many years, - I raise a voice which the old friends of liberty will still - recognise, I feel called upon to speak to you of the danger - of the country. . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . . - - . . . . This is the time to rally round the Tricolour Flag, - the flag of '89, the flag of liberty, equality and public - order." - -The anachronism of this speech caused a momentary illusion; people -thought they saw the Revolution, personified by La Fayette, rise from -the tomb and stand pale and wrinkled in the tribune. But those motions -of order, revived after Mirabeau, were now no more than worn-out -weapons taken from an old arsenal. If La Fayette nobly united the end -and the commencement of his life, it was not in his power to weld -together the two ends of the broken chain of time. Benjamin Constant -waited on the Emperor at the Élysée-Bourbon; he found him in his -garden. The crowd was filling the Avenue de Marigny and shouting, "Long -live the Emperor!" a touching cry coming from the popular heart: it was -addressed to the vanquished! Bonaparte said to Benjamin Constant: - -"What duty do these owe me? I found them and left them poor." - -This is perhaps the only speech that came from his heart, if, -nevertheless, the deputy's emotion did not deceive his hearing. -Bonaparte, foreseeing the event, anticipated the summons they were -preparing to serve on him. He abdicated so as not to be compelled to -abdicate. - -"My political life is ended," he said; "I declare my son Emperor of the -French, under the name of Napoleon II." - -A useless disposition, like that of Charles X. in favour of Henry V.: -one gives crowns only when one possesses them, and men upset the will -of adversity. Moreover, the Emperor was no more sincere on descending -the throne a second time than he had been in his first retirement; when -the French commissaries went to inform the Duke of Wellington that -Napoleon had abdicated, he replied: - -"I knew that a year ago." - -The Chamber of Representatives, after some debates in which Manuel[332] -addressed the House, accepted its Sovereign's new abdication, but -vaguely and without appointing a Regency. - -An Executive Commission was created[333]: the Duc d'Otrante presided -over it; three ministers, a councillor of State and a general of the -Emperor's composed it, and stripped their master once more: these were -Fouché, Caulaincourt, Carnot, Quinette[334] and Grenier[335]. - -During these transactions, Bonaparte was turning over his ideas in his -head: - -"I have no army left," he said; "I have nothing but fugitives. The -majority of the Chamber of Deputies are good; I have only La Fayette, -Lanjuinais and a few others against me. If the nation rises, the enemy -will be crushed; if, instead of rising, they quarrel, all will be lost. -The nation has not sent deputies to overthrow me, but to support me. -I am not afraid of them, whatever they may do; I shall always be the -idol of the people and the army: if I were to say a word, they would be -beaten to death. But if we quarrel, instead of acting in concert, we -shall meet with the fate of the Lower Empire." - -[Sidenote: His second abdication.] - -A deputation from the Chamber of Representatives having come to -congratulate him on his new abdication, he replied: - -"I thank you: I wish that my abdication may bring happiness to France; -but I am not hopeful." - -He repented soon after, when he heard that the Chamber of -Representatives had appointed a Commission of Government composed of -five members. He said to the ministers: - -"I have not abdicated in favour of a new Directory; I have abdicated -in favour of my son: if they do not proclaim him, my abdication is -null and void. It is not by appearing before the Allies with hang-dog -looks and bent knee that the Chambers will force them to recognise the -national independence." - -He complained that La Fayette, Sébastian[336], Pontécoulant[337], -Benjamin Constant had conspired against him, that, besides, the -Chambers had not enough energy. He said that he alone could repair all, -but that the leaders would never consent, that they would rather be -swallowed up in the abyss than unite with him, Napoleon, to close it. - -On the 27th of June, at the Malmaison, he wrote this sublime letter: - - "In abdicating the power, I did not renounce the citizen's - noblest right, the right of defending my country. In these - grave circumstances, I offer my services as a general, - regarding myself still as the first soldier of the - mother-land." - -The Duc de Bassano having represented to him that the Chambers would -not be for him: - -"Then I see," he said, "one must always give in. That infamous Fouché -is deceiving you: only Caulaincourt and Carnot are worth anything; but -what can they do, with a traitor, Fouché, and two simpletons, Quinette -and Grenier, and two Chambers which do not know what they want? You -all believe, like fools, in the fine promises of the foreigners; you -believe they will set the pot boiling, and that they will give you a -prince of their making, do you not? You are wrong[338]." - -Plenipotentiaries were sent to the Allies. On the 29th of June, -Napoleon demanded two frigates, stationed at Rochefort, to take him out -of France. Meanwhile he had retired to the Malmaison. - -The debates in the House of Peers were lively. Long an enemy of -Bonaparte, Carnot, who signed the order for the massacres of Avignon -without having time to read it, had found time during the Hundred -Days to immolate his republicanism to the title of count. On the 22nd -of June, he had read, in the Luxembourg, a letter from the Minister -of War containing an exaggerated report on the military resources -of France. Ney, newly arrived, was unable to hear this report -unangered. Napoleon, in his bulletins, had spoken of the marshal with -ill-disguised dissatisfaction, and Gourgaud accused Ney of being the -chief cause of the loss of the Battle of Waterloo. Ney rose and said: - -"The report is untrue, untrue in every respect: Grouchy can have only -twenty to twenty-five thousand men under his orders, at the most. There -is not a single soldier of the Guard left to be rallied: I commanded -it; I saw it slaughtered bodily before leaving the battle-field. The -enemy is at Nivelle with eighty thousand men; he can be in Paris in -six days: you have no other means of saving the country than to open -negociations." - -[Sidenote: Debates in the peers.] - -The Aide-de-camp Flahaut[339] endeavoured to support the report of the -Minister of War. Ney replied, with fresh vehemence: - -"I repeat, you have no other way of safety except negociation. You -must recall the Bourbons. As for myself, I shall retire to the United -States." - -At these words, Lavallette and Carnot overwhelmed the marshal with -reproaches; Ney replied, with disdain: - -"I am not one of those men to whom their own interest is everything. -What have I to gain by the return of Louis XVIII.? To be shot for the -crime of desertion. But I owe the truth to my country." - -In the sitting of the Peers of the 23rd, General Drouot, recalling this -scene, said: - -"I heard with regret what was said yesterday to disparage the glory -of our arms, to exaggerate our disasters and disparage our resources. -My astonishment was so much the greater because those speeches were -delivered by a distinguished general who, through his great valour and -his military attainments, has so often deserved the gratitude of the -nation." - -In the sitting of the 22nd, a second storm had burst out at the heel -of the first: the question was Bonaparte's abdication; Lucien was -insisting that his nephew should be recognized as Emperor. M. de -Pontécoulant interrupted the speaker, and asked by what right Lucien, a -foreigner and a Roman prince, permitted himself to give a sovereign to -France: - -"How," he added, "can we recognise a child living in a foreign country?" - -At this question, La Bédoyère[340], speaking excitedly from his seat: - -"I have heard voices around the throne of the fortunate sovereign; they -withdraw from it to-day when he is unfortunate. There are people who -do not want to recognise Napoleon II., because they want to receive -the law from the foreigner, to whom they give the name of Allies.... -Napoleon's abdication is indivisible. If you refuse to recognise his -son, he must remain sword in hand, surrounded by Frenchmen who have -shed their blood for him and who are still all covered with wounds.... -He will be abandoned by base generals who have already betrayed him.... -But if you declare that every Frenchman who deserts his flag shall -be covered with infamy, his house razed to the ground, his family -outlawed, then there will be no more traitors, no more intrigues such -as have occasioned the late catastrophes, some of whose authors are -perhaps sitting among us." - -The House rose in an uproar: - -"Order! Order! Order!" they bellowed, feeling the thrust. - -"Young man, you forget yourself!" cried Masséna[341]. - -"Do you think you are still in the guard-room?" asked Lameth. - -All the portents of the Second Restoration were threatening: Bonaparte -had returned at the head of four hundred Frenchmen, Louis XVIII. was -returning behind four hundred thousand foreigners; he passed near the -bloody pool of Waterloo to go to Saint-Denis as though to his funeral. - -It was while the Legitimacy was thus advancing that the interpellations -of the House of Peers resounded; they contained something, I know not -what, of those terrible revolutionary scenes of the great days of our -troubles, when the dagger was passed round on the bench from hand to -hand among the victims. A few soldiers whose baleful fascination had -brought about the ruin of France, by producing the second foreign -invasion, struggled on the threshold of the palace; their prophetic -despair, their gestures, their words from the tomb, seemed to announce -a treble death: death to themselves, death to the man whom they had -blessed, death to the man whom they had proscribed. - -* - -While Bonaparte was retiring to the Malmaison with the finished Empire, -we were leaving Ghent with the recommencing Monarchy. Pozzo, who -knew how little question of the Legitimacy there was in high places, -hastened to write to Louis XVIII. to set out and arrive in good time, -if he wished to reign before the place was taken: it was to that note -that Louis XVIII. owed his crown in 1815. - -At Mons, I missed the first occasion of fortune in my political career; -I was my own obstacle, and I found myself incessantly in my way. This -time my "good qualities" played me the ill turn which my faults might -have done me. - -[Sidenote: Talleyrand again.] - -M. de Talleyrand, in all the pride of a negociation which had enriched -him, claimed that he had rendered the greatest services to the -Legitimacy, and was returning as the master. Astonished that they -had not already followed, for the return to Paris, the road which he -had traced out, he was much more dissatisfied to find M. de Blacas -still with the King. He looked upon M. de Blacas as the scourge of -the Monarchy; but this was not the real motive of his aversion: he -beheld in M. de Blacas the favourite, and consequently the rival; he -also feared Monsieur, and had flown into a passion when, a fortnight -earlier, Monsieur had made him an offer of his hotel on the Lys. To -ask for M. de Blacas' removal was most natural; to demand it was too -reminiscent of Bonaparte. - -M. de Talleyrand drove into Mons at six o'clock in the evening, -accompanied by the Abbé Louis: M. de Ricé, M. de Jaucourt and a few -other boon companions flew to him. Full of an ill-humour such as he -had never yet displayed, the ill-humour of a king who believes his -authority to have been slighted, he refused at first to go to Louis -XVIII., replying to those who urged him to do so with his ostentatious -phrase: - -"I am never in a hurry; it will be time enough tomorrow." - -I went to see him; he tried upon me all those wheedling tricks -with which he used to seduce small ambitious men and important -nincompoops. He took me by the arm, leant upon me while he spoke to -me: familiarities denoting high favour and calculated to turn my head, -although with me they were quite lost; I did not even understand. I -invited him to come to the King's, where I was going. - -Louis XVIII. was in one of his great sorrows: it was a question of -parting with M. de Blacas; the latter could not return to France; -opinion had risen against him. Although I had had reason to complain -of the favourite in Paris, I had displayed no resentment towards him -at Ghent. The King had been pleased with my conduct; in his emotion he -treated me marvellously well. M. de Talleyrand's remarks had already -been repeated to him: - -"He boasts," he said to me, "of having a second time put back the crown -on my head, and he threatens to go back again to Germany: what do you -think of that, Monsieur de Chateaubriand?" - -I replied: - -"Your Majesty must have been misinformed; M. de Talleyrand is only -tired. If the King consents, I will return to see the minister." - -The King appeared gratified; what he liked least was worries; he longed -for his repose, even at the expense of his affections. - -M. de Talleyrand, in the midst of his flatterers, was more arrogant -than ever. I represented to him that, at so critical a moment, he could -not dream of going away. Pozzo preached at him in the same sense: -although he had not the slightest inclination for him, he liked, at -that moment, to see him at the head of affairs, as an old acquaintance; -besides, he believed him to be in favour with the Tsar. I made no -headway on M. de Talleyrand's mind, the prince's familiars fought -against me; even M. Mounier thought that M. de Talleyrand ought to -retire. The Abbé Louis, who snapped at everybody, said to me, shaking -his jaw three times: "If I were the prince, I should not remain a -quarter of an hour at Mons." - -I answered: - -"Monsieur l'abbé, you and I can go where we please, no one will notice -us; it is different with M. de Talleyrand." - -I insisted again and said to the prince: - -"Do you know that the King is continuing his journey?" - -M. de Talleyrand appeared surprised, and then said to me, loftily, as -did the Balafré to those who wished to put him on his guard against the -designs of Henry III.: - -"He will not dare!" - -I returned to the King's, where I found M. de Blacas. I told His -Majesty, to excuse his minister, that he was ill, but that he would -most certainly have the honour of paying his court to the King the next -day. - -"As he pleases," replied Louis XVIII.: "I leave at three o'clock;" and -then he added these words, in an affectionate tone: "I am going to part -with M. de Blacas; the place will be vacant, Monsieur de Chateaubriand." - -[Sidenote: The great man snubbed.] - -It was the Royal Household laid at my feet A wary politician would -have ceased to trouble his head about M. de Talleyrand and would have -had the horses put to his carriage to follow or precede the King: I -remained stupidly at my inn. - -M. de Talleyrand, unable to persuade himself that the King would go, -had gone to bed: at three o'clock they woke him to tell him that the -King was starting; he could not believe his ears: - -"Tricked! Betrayed!" he cried. - -They got him out of bed, and there he was, for the first time in his -life, in the street at three o'clock in the morning, leaning on M. de -Ricé's arm. He reached the King's house; the two leaders of the team -had already half their bodies through the gate-way. The people motioned -to the postillion to pull up; the King asked what was the matter; they -cried: - -"Sire, it is M. de Talleyrand." - -"He's asleep," said Louis XVIII. - -"He is here, Sire." - -"Come on!" replied the King. - -The horses moved backward with the carriage; the door was opened, the -King got down and dragged himself back to his apartment, followed -by the limping minister. There M. de Talleyrand began an angry -explanation. His Majesty listened to him, and answered: - -"Prince de Bénévent, so you're leaving us? The waters will do you good: -you must send us your news." - -The King left the prince open-mouthed, had himself taken back to his -berlin, and drove away. - -M. de Talleyrand was foaming with rage; Louis XVIII.'s composure had -staggered him: he, M. de Talleyrand, who prided himself so greatly on -his composure, to be beaten on his own ground, given the slip, on a -square at Mons, like the most insignificant of men: he could not get -over it! He remained dumb, watched the coach moving off, and then, -seizing the Duc de Lévis by a button of his spencer: - -"Go, monsieur le duc, go and say how I am treated! I have put back -the crown on the King's head"--he was always harking back to that -crown--"and I am going back to Germany to begin the new Emigration." - -M. de Lévis, listening absent-mindedly, lifting himself on his toes, -said: - -"Prince, I am going; the King must have at least one great lord with -him." - -M. de Lévis flung himself into a hired cariole which was conveying the -Chancellor of France: the two grandees of the Capetian Monarchy were -going, side by side, to catch it up, sharing expenses, in a Merovingian -_benna._ - -I had asked M. de Duras to endeavour to effect a reconciliation, and to -send me the first news of it: - -"What!" said M. de Duras. "You are remaining behind, after what the -King said to you?" - -M. de Blacas, when leaving Mons in his turn, thanked me for the -interest I had shown him. - -I went back and found M. de Talleyrand embarrassed; he was now -regretting that he had not followed my advice and that, like a -wrong-headed subaltern, he had refused to go to the King in the -evening; he feared that arrangements would be made without him, that he -would not be able to participate in the political power and to profit -by the financial jobbing which was preparing. I told him that, although -I differed from his opinion, I remained none the less attached to him, -as an ambassador to his minister; that, besides, I had friends with the -King, and that I hoped soon to hear something good. M. de Talleyrand -was all tenderness; he leant upon my shoulder: certainly, at that -moment, he thought me a very great man. - -It was not long before I received a note from M. de Duras; he wrote to -me from Cambrai that the affair was arranged and that M. de Talleyrand -would receive orders to start: this time the prince did not fail to -obey. - -What devil was prompting me? I had not followed the King, who had, so -to speak, offered or rather given me the ministry of his Household and -who was offended at my obstinacy in remaining at Mons: I was breaking -my neck on behalf of M. de Talleyrand whom I hardly knew, whom I did -not esteem, whom I did not admire; for M. de Talleyrand who was about -to enter into combinations quite different from mine, who lived in an -atmosphere of corruption in which I could not breathe! - -[Sidenote: I neglect fortune.] - -It was from Mons itself, amid all his worries, that the Prince de -Bénévent sent M. de Perray to Naples to receive the millions of one of -his Viennese bargains. M. de Blacas was at the same time travelling -with the Naples Embassy in his pocket, and some other millions which -the generous exile of Ghent had given him at Mons. I had kept on good -terms with M. de Blacas, precisely because everybody detested him; I -had incurred M. de Talleyrand's friendship for my fidelity to a whim of -his mood; Louis XVIII. had positively called me about his person, and I -preferred the baseness of a faithless man to the King's favour: it was -only too just that I should receive the reward of my stupidity, that I -should be abandoned by all for having tried to serve all. I returned -to France without the wherewithal to pay my journey, while treasures -poured down upon those in disgrace: I deserved that correction. It is -very well to fence one's way as a poor knight when the whole world is -cased in gold; but still one must not make enormous mistakes: had I -remained with the King, the combination of the Talleyrand and Fouché -Ministry would have become almost impossible; had the Restoration -commenced with a moral and honourable ministry, all the combinations of -the future might have been different. My carelessness of my own person -deceived me as to the importance of facts: the majority of men have -the fault of reckoning themselves too high; I have the fault of not -reckoning myself high enough: I wrapped myself in my habitual disdain -of my fortune; I ought to have seen that the fortune of France was at -that moment linked with that of my small destinies: such entanglements -are very common in history. - -* - -Leaving Mons at last, I arrived at Cateau-Cambrésis; M. de Talleyrand -joined me there: we seemed as though we had come to remake the treaty -of peace of 1559 between Henry II. of France[342] and Philip II. of -Spain[343]. - -At Cambrai it appeared that the Marquis de La Suze, a quarter-master of -the time of Fénelon, had disposed of the billets of Madame de Lévis, -Madame de Chateaubriand and myself. We remained in the street, in the -midst of the bon-fires, of the crowd circulating around us, and of the -inhabitants crying, "Long live the King!" A student, hearing that I was -there, took us to his mother's house. - -The friends of the different monarchies of France were beginning to -make their appearance; they were not coming to Cambrai for the league -against Venice[344], but to combine against the new Constitutions; they -were hastening to lay at the King's feet their successive loyalties and -their hatred of the Charter: a passport which they considered necessary -with Monsieur; I and two or three reasonable Gileses already smelt of -Jacobinism. - -On the 28th of June, appeared the Declaration of Cambrai. In it the -King said: - -"I wish to remove from my person only those men whose reputation is a -subject of grief to France and of dismay to Europe." - -Now behold, the name of Fouché was pronounced with gratitude by the -Pavillon Marsan! The King laughed at his brother's new passion, and -said: - -"He has not received it by divine inspiration." - -I have already told you that, when passing through Cambrai after the -Hundred Days, I vainly sought my lodging of the time of the Navarre -Regiment and the coffee-house which I frequented with La Martinière: -all had vanished with my youth. - -From Cambrai, we went to sleep at Roye: the mistress of the inn took -Madame de Chateaubriand for Madame la Dauphine; she was carried in -triumph to a large room in which stood a table laid for thirty persons: -the room, lighted by wax-candles, tallow-candles and a great fire, was -stifling. The hostess did not wish to receive payment, and said: - -"I look askance at myself for not having got myself guillotined for our -kings." - -Last spark of a fire which had animated the French for so many -centuries. - -General Lamothe, brother-in-law to M. Laborie, came, despatched by the -authorities of the capital, to tell us that it would be impossible -for us to appear in Paris without the tricolour cockade. M. de La -Fayette and other commissaries, very ill received, for the rest, by the -Allies, went fawning from one staff-office to the other, begging from -the foreigners for a master of some sort for France: any king, at the -Cossack's own option, would do excellently, provided that he did not -descend from St. Louis and Louis XIV. - -[Sidenote: The journey to Paris.] - -At Roye we held a council: M. de Talleyrand had a pair of hacks put to -his carriage and went to the King's. His equipage took up the width -of the square, from the minister's inn to the Kings door. He stepped -out of his car with a memorandum, which he read to us: he considered -the course we should have to follow on our arrival; he ventured a few -words on the necessity of admitting all, without distinction, to the -distribution of places; he hinted that we might extend our generosity -as far as the judges of Louis XVI. His Majesty coloured and, striking -the two arms of his chair, with both hands, cried: - -"Never!" - -A "never" of twenty-four hours! - -At Senlis we called at a canon's: his servant-maid received us like -dogs; as to the canon, who was not St. Regulus[345], the patron saint -of the town, he would not so much as look at us. His maid had orders -to show us no other service than to buy us something to eat, for our -own money: the _Génie du Christianisme_ availed me nothing. Yet Senlis -ought to have been of good omen to us, since it was in that town that -Henry IV. escaped from the hands of his gaolers in 1576: - -"I have no regret," exclaimed the King who was Montaigne's -fellow-countryman, as he made his escape, "save for two things which I -have left in Paris: the Mass and my wife." - -From Senlis we went to the birth-place of Philip Augustus, otherwise -Gonesse. On approaching the village we saw two persons coming -towards us: it was Marshal Macdonald and my faithful friend Hyde de -Neuville[346]. They stopped our carriage and asked us where M. de -Talleyrand was; they made no difficulties about telling me that they -were looking for him in order to inform the King that His Majesty -must not think of passing the gates before he had taken Fouché as his -minister. Anxiety came over me, for, in spite of the manner in which -Louis XVIII. had pronounced himself at Roye, I did not feel greatly -reassured. I questioned the marshal: - -"What, monsieur le maréchal!" I asked. "Is it certain that we cannot -return except on such harsh conditions?" - -"Faith, monsieur le vicomte," replied the marshal, "I am not quite -convinced of it." - -The King stopped two hours at Gonesse. I left Madame de Chateaubriand -in her carriage in the middle of the highroad, and went to the council -at the mayor's offices. There a measure was brought under deliberation -upon which depended the future fate of the monarchy. The discussion -began: I, alone with M. Beugnot, maintained that in no case ought Louis -XVIII. to admit M. Fouché to his counsels. The King listened: I saw -that he would have liked to keep his word given at Roye; but he was -absorbed by Monsieur and driven by the Duke of Wellington. - -[Sidenote: Fouché.] - -In a chapter of the _Monarchie selon la Charte_, I have recapitulated -the reasons upon which I laid stress at Gonesse. I was excited; the -spoken word has a strength which becomes weaker in the written word: - - "Wherever an open tribune exists," I said, in this chapter, - "no one liable to be exposed to reproaches of a certain - kind can be placed at the head of the government There are - certain speeches, certain phrases, which would oblige such a - minister to resign on leaving the Chamber. This impossibility - resulting from the free principle of representative - government was not felt at a time when all illusions united - to place a famous man in office, notwithstanding the too - well-founded repugnance of the Crown. The rise of that man - was bound to produce one of these two things: either the - abolition of the Charter or the fall of the ministry at the - opening of the session. Can one picture the minister to - whom I refer listening in the Chamber of Deputies to the - discussion concerning the 21st of January, liable every - moment to be apostrophized by some deputy from Lyons, and - always threatened with the terrible _Tu es ille vir!_ Men - of that kind cannot be employed ostensibly, except with - the mutes of the seraglio of Bajazet or the mutes of the - Legislative Body of Bonaparte. What will become of the - minister if a deputy, ascending the tribune with a _Moniteur_ - in his hand, reads the report of the Convention of the 9th - of August 1795; if he demands the expulsion of Fouché, - as unworthy by virtue of that report which 'ejected him, - Fouché'--I am quoting literally--'as a thief and a terrorist, - whose atrocious and criminal conduct conferred dishonour and - opprobrium upon any assembly whatever of which he became a - member[347]?'" - -Those are the things which have been forgotten! - -After all, supposing they had had the misfortune to think that a man -of that kind could ever be useful: they ought to have kept him behind -the scenes, consulted his deplorable experience; but to do violence to -the Crown and to public opinion, in a barefaced manner to summon such a -minister as that to affairs, a man whom Bonaparte, at that very moment, -treated as infamous: was that not to declare that they disclaimed -liberty and virtue? Is a crown worth so great a sacrifice? It left them -powerless to remove anybody: whom could they exclude, after accepting -Fouché? - -Parties acted without thinking of the form of government which they had -adopted; every one spoke of the Constitution, of liberty, of equality, -of the right of peoples, and no one wanted them; fashionable verbiage: -one asked, without thinking, for news of the Charter, hoping all the -time that it would soon die the death. Liberals and Royalists leant -towards absolute government, modified by our habits: such is the temper -and trend of France. Material interests prevailed: they did not want, -they said, to disown what had been done during the Revolution; each was -burdened with his own life and claimed the right to load his neighbour -with it: evil, they asserted, had become an element in public life -which must thenceforth combine with the governments and enter as a -vital principle into society. - -My crotchet, relative to a Charter set in motion by religious and -moral action, was the cause of the ill-will which certain parties -have borne me: for the Royalists, I was too much attached to liberty; -for the Revolutionaries, I had too great a scorn for crimes. Had I not -been there, to my great detriment, to make myself the school-master of -constitutionalism, the Ultras and the Jacobins would from the earliest -days have put the Charter into the pocket of their fleury dress-coats -or their carmagnoles _à la Cassius._ - -M. de Talleyrand had no liking for M. Fouché; M. Fouché detested and, -strangest of all, despised M. de Talleyrand: it was difficult to -achieve that success. M. de Talleyrand, who at first would have been -pleased not to be coupled to M. Fouché, feeling that the latter was -inevitable, consented to the proposal; he did not perceive that, with -the Charter (especially when he was united with the man of the Lyons -grape-shot), he was hardly more possible than Fouché. - -Promptly what I had declared was verified: they obtained no profit -from the admission of the Duc d'Otrante, they obtained nothing but -opprobrium; the approaching shadow of the Chambers was enough to cause -the disappearance of ministers too much exposed to the plain-speaking -of the tribune. - -My opposition was of no avail: according to the custom of weak -characters, the King closed the sitting without deciding anything; the -Order in Council was to be settled at the Château d'Arnouville. - -No council, strictly speaking, was held at this last residence: only -the intimates and those associated with the secret were assembled. M. -de Talleyrand, having distanced us, entered into intelligence with his -friends. The Duke of Wellington arrived: I saw him drive past in a -calash; the plumes of his hat waved in the air; he had come to confer -with M. Fouché and M. de Talleyrand upon France, as a twofold present -which the Battle of Waterloo was making to our country. When it was -represented to him that the regicide of M. le Duc d'Otrante was perhaps -a drawback, he replied: - -"That's a trifle!" - -An Irish Protestant, an English general unacquainted with our manners -and our history, a mind seeing in the French year 1793 only the -English precedent of the year 1649 was charged to shape our destinies! -Bonaparte's ambition had reduced us to this state of wretchedness. - -I rambled by myself in the gardens which the Comptroller-general -Machault[348] left, at the age of ninety-three years, to go and die -at the Madelonnettes; for Death, in his great review, passed none -over then. I was no longer sent for; the familiarities of a common -misfortune had ceased between the Sovereign and the subject: the King -was getting ready to return to his palace, I to my retreat. The vacuum -forms anew round monarchs so soon as they recover their power. I have -rarely passed, without making serious reflexions, through the silent -and uninhabited rooms of the Tuileries which led me to the King's -closet: for me, deserts of another kind, infinite solitudes in which -the very worlds vanished before God, the only real Being. - -Bread was scarce at Arnouville; but for an officer named Dubourg[349], -who was hurrying away from Ghent like ourselves, we should have fasted. -M. Dubourg went marauding; he brought us back half a sheep to the house -of the mayor, who had run away. If the servant of the mayor, a Heroine -of Beauvais left alone, had had any arms, she would have received us -like Jeanne Hachette[350]. - -[Sidenote: Saint-Denis.] - -We proceeded to Saint-Denis: along both sides of the road-way stretched -the bivouacs of the Prussians and English; in the distance, the eye -met the spires of the abbey: into its foundations Dagobert[351] threw -his jewels, in its vaults the successive dynasties buried their kings -and their great men; four months since, we had laid the bones of Louis -XVI. there to replace the other dust. When I returned from my first -exile in 1800, I had crossed this same plain of Saint-Denis: then only -Napoleon's soldiers were encamped there; Frenchmen still took the place -of the old bands of the Constable de Montmorency[352]. - -A baker harboured us. In the evening, at nine o'clock, I went to pay -my court to the King. His Majesty was lodged in the abbey buildings: -they had all the difficulty in the world to prevent the little girls of -the Legion of Honour[353] from crying, "Long live Napoleon!" I first -entered the church: a piece of wall adjoining the cloister had fallen; -the old abbey church was lit only by a lamp. I said my prayer at the -entrance to the vault where I had seen Louis XVI. lowered: full of -dread as to the future, I do not know that I ever felt my heart drowned -in a more profound and more religious melancholy. Next I went to His -Majesty's: shown into one of the rooms which preceded the King's, I -found no one there; I sat down in a corner and waited. Suddenly, a -door opened: silently vice entered leaning on the arm of crime, M. de -Talleyrand walking supported by M. Fouché; the infernal vision passed -slowly before me, penetrated into the King's closet, and vanished. -Fouché was coming to swear fealty and homage to his lord; the trusty -regicide on his knees laid the hands which caused the head to fall of -Louis XVI. between the hands of the brother of the Royal Martyr; the -apostate bishop was surety for the oath. - -On the next day, the Faubourg Saint-Germain arrived; everything -concerned itself with the nomination, already obtained, of Fouché: -religion as well as impiety, virtue as well as vice, the Royalist as -well as the Revolutionary, the foreigner as well as the Frenchman; on -every hand the cry was heard: - -"No safety for the King without Fouché; no salvation for France without -Fouché: he alone has saved the country, he alone can complete his -work." - -[Illustration: Fouché, Duc D'Otrante.] - -The old Duchesse de Duras was one of the noble dames who joined most -eagerly in the pæan; the Bailli de Crussol[354], a survivor of Malta, -chimed in: he declared that, if his head was still on his shoulders, -it was because M. Fouché had permitted it. The timorous ones had stood -in such terror of Bonaparte that they had taken the butcher of Lyons -for a Titus[355]. During more than three months, the drawing-rooms of -the Faubourg Saint-Germain looked upon me as a miscreant, because I -disapproved of the nomination of their ministers. Poor people, they -had prostrated themselves at the feet of the "upstarts;" they none -the less made a great noise about their nobility, their hatred of the -Revolutionaries, their unshaken fidelity, the inflexibility of their -principles: and they adored Fouché. - -Fouché had seen the incompatibility of his ministerial existence with -the game of the Representative Monarchy: as he could not amalgamate -with the elements of a legal government, he endeavoured to make the -political elements homogeneous to his own nature. He had created a -factitious terror: inventing imaginary dangers, he made pretensions to -oblige the Crown to recognise Bonaparte's two Chambers and to receive -the Declaration of Rights which had been hurriedly completed; a few -words even were murmured as to the necessity of exiling Monsieur and -his sons: to isolate the King would have been the masterpiece. - -[Sidenote: State of Paris.] - -People continued to be gulled: in vain the National Guard climbed over -the walls of Paris and came to protest its devotion; it was asserted -that this guard was ill-disposed. The faction had had the gates closed -in order to prevent the population, which had remained Royalist -during the Hundred Days, from hurrying up, and it was said that this -population was threatening to butcher Louis XVIII. on his way. The -blindness was marvellous, for the French Army was falling back upon -the Loire, one hundred and fifty thousand allies occupied the outposts -of the capital, and they continued to pretend that the King was not -strong enough to penetrate into a city where not a soldier remained, -where none was left but civilians, quite capable of restraining a -handful of federates, if these had taken it into their heads to stir. -Unfortunately, the King, through a series of fatal coincidences, -seemed to be the leader of the English and Prussians; he thought -himself surrounded with liberators, and he was accompanied by enemies; -he appeared environed by an escort of honour, and this escort was in -reality only the gendarmes taking him out of his kingdom: he was merely -crossing Paris in the company of the foreigners whose memory would one -day serve as a pretext for the banishment of his House. - -The Provisional Government formed after the abdication of Bonaparte -was dissolved by means of a kind of indictment of the Crown: a -stepping-stone upon which it was hoped one day to build a new -revolution. - -At the First Restoration, I was of opinion that the tricolour cockade -should be kept: it was resplendent in all its glory; the white cockade -was forgotten; by retaining colours warranted by so many triumphs, men -were not preparing a rallying-token for a coming revolution. Not to -adopt the white cockade would have been wise; to abandon it after it -had been worn by Bonaparte's own Grenadiers was an act of cowardice: -one cannot pass with impunity under the Caudine Forks; that which -dishonours is fatal: a slap in the face does you no harm physically, -and yet it kills you. - -Before leaving Saint-Denis, I was received by the King and had the -following conversation with him: - -"Well?" said Louis XVIII., opening the dialogue with this exclamation. - -"Well, Sire, you are taking the Duc d'Otrante?" - -"I needs had to: from my brother down to the Bailli de Crussol (and the -latter is not suspect), every one said that we could not do otherwise. -What do you think?" - -"Sire, the thing is done: I beg your Majesty's permission to say -nothing." - -"No, no, speak: you know how I resisted since Ghent." - -"Sire, I only obey your orders; pardon my loyalty: I think the Monarchy -is finished." - -The King kept silence; I was beginning to tremble at my boldness, when -His Majesty resumed: - -"Well, Monsieur de Chateaubriand, I am of your opinion." - -This conversation concludes my story of the Hundred Days. - -[308] Darius III., the last King of Persia (_d._ 331 B.C.), defeated by -Alexander at Arbela and assassinated by Bessus Satrap of Bactriana in -his flight.--T. - -[309] Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de Sismondi (1773-1842), the -Swiss Calvinist historian and economist, author of, among many other -voluminous works, the _Histoire des Français_, in 29 volumes, an -erudite but prejudiced compilation.--T. - -[310] Lucien Bonaparte.--T. - -[311] Philippe Antoine Comte Merlin (1754-1838), known as Merlin de -Douay, to distinguish him from Merlin de Thionville, a jurisconsult -of the highest eminence and the lowest principles. He had sat in -the Constituent Assembly and the Convention, held office under -the Directory and the Empire, gave in his adhesion to the First -Restoration, accepted office again from Napoleon in 1814, and was -exiled in 1815 as a regicide who had held functions during the Hundred -Days. He retired to Brussels, returning to France after the Usurpation -of 1830.--T. - -[312] Louis XI. King of France (1423-1479) was held as a prisoner at -Péronne by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1468, and compelled -to sign the treaty known by the name of that town.--T. - -[313] The "Additional Act" was published in the _Moniteur_ of 23 April -1815.--B. - -[314] Murat had placed himself at the Emperor's disposal on landing at -Cannes. Napoleon, dreading the contagion of ill-fortune, did not reply -to the dethroned King, and had him forbidden the access to Paris by -Fouché.--B. - -[315] _Vide_ the proclamation by Marshal Soult, _supra.--Author's Note._ - -[316] An allusion to Marshal Soult.--B. - -[317] Marshal Moncey carried the constable's sword at the coronation of -Charles X.; Marshals Soult, Mortier and Jourdan the sceptre, the hand -of justice and the crown respectively.--B. - -[318] Louis-Philippe.--T. - -[319] Marie Caroline Ferdinande Louise Duchesse de Berry (1798-1870), -daughter of Ferdinand I. King of Naples, and married to the Duc de -Berry in 1816. She followed Charles X. into exile after the Revolution -of 1830, and in 1832 made a descent, first upon Marseilles and secondly -upon the Vendée, where she tried in vain to effect a general rising. -She sought refuge at Nantes, where she lay hidden for five months, -until sold to the police of M. Thiers by a Jewish convert called Deutz, -and imprisoned at Blaze. Here, in 1833, she gave birth to a child, the -offspring of her secret marriage with the Comte Lucchesi-Palli. She was -shortly afterwards released, and spent the remainder of her days in -retirement.--T. - -[320] The term applied to the vast plain near Châlons-sur-Marne where -Attila's immense army was destroyed, in 451, by the combined forces of -the Franks, Burgundians and Goths.--T. - -[321] The Baron de Vincent, Austrian Ambassador to the Court of -France.--B. - -[322] Ferdinand Baron d'Eckstein (1790-1861) was a native of Denmark, -of Jewish parentage. He became a Catholic in 1806, fought as a -volunteer in the French ranks in 1813, and on the fall of the Empire -entered the Dutch service and was appointed Governor of Ghent, where he -gained the favour of Louis XVIII. He followed the King to France, and -was made a baron and given various offices in succession. He spent the -last thirty years of his life writing in favour of religion in his own -paper, the _Catholique_, and others.--B. - -[323] On the 1st of July 1690, the Duc de Luxembourg defeated the -Prince of Waldeck at Fleurus; on the 26th of June 1794, General Jourdan -defeated the Imperials under Coburg; and, on the 16th of June 1815, -Napoleon routed Blücher. This last battle is more generally known as -that of Ligny.--T. - -[324] Frederic William Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1771-1815), son -of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg mortally wounded at Auerstädt in -1806.--T. - -[325] Field-Marshal Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher, Count and Prince -Blücher von Wahlstadt (1742-1819).--T. - -[326] Friedrich Wilhelm von Billow, Count von Dennewitz (1765-1816).--T. - -[327] William I. King of the Netherlands (1772-1843), then Prince -of Orange and Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, commanding an -army-corps at Waterloo. His son, William Prince of Orange (1792-1848), -later King William II. of the Netherlands, was also present at the -battle and also wounded.--T. - -[328] Emmanuel Maréchal Marquis de Grouchy (1766-1847) received his -marshal's baton during the Hundred Days. The Restoration refused to -recognise the general's new dignity, which was not confirmed to him -until 1831. The Marquis de Grouchy was made a peer by Louis-Philippe in -1832.--T. - -[329] Lord Castlereagh was leader of the House of Commons. He moved -the vote of thanks to the Duke of Wellington, giving an account of the -Battle of Waterloo, on the 23rd of June 1815.--T. - -[330] Of the two battles that took place on the 14th of October 1806, -the more important was that of Auerstädt, where Marshal Davout had on -his hands the greater part of the Prussian Army, commanded by the King -of Prussia in person and the Duke of Brunswick; at Jena, Napoleon, -with superior forces, had to do with the weaker portion of the enemy's -army. Davout had 60,000 men in front of him and Napoleon only 40,000. -The Emperor, in his 5th Bulletin, completely inverted the state of -things. While reducing the numbers of the army which Davout had to -fight against from sixty to forty thousand, he raised those to which he -himself was opposed from forty to eighty thousand, making of the Battle -of Auerstädt only a very secondary episode in the Battle of Jena, -whereas it was really a capital and decisive event. It was thus that -the admirable victory of Auerstädt came to be effaced and eclipsed by -that of Jena.--B. - -[331] Henri Amédée Mercure Comte de Turenne (1776-1852) was an officer -in the King's Regiment, when the Revolution broke out. He refused -to emigrate and wished to continue his military service, but was -imprisoned as a suspect under the Terror and not released until the -9 Thermidor, when he served in the Army of the Western Pyrenees. The -decree of 1794 against the nobles obliged him to leave the army; he -remained in private life until the proclamation of the Empire, when he -was one of the first to rally to the new power. He held various offices -in Napoleon's Civil and Military Households, and was created a count of -the Empire in 1813. Turenne was present at Napoleon's leave-taking at -Fontainebleau, but failed to obtain leave to accompany the Emperor to -Elba. Louis XVIII. made him a knight of St. Louis and a sub-lieutenant -in the Grey Musketeers. Under the Hundred Days, he resumed his service -with Napoleon, who made him a peer, and fought at Ligny and Waterloo, -where he made desperate efforts against the English Guards. The Second -Restoration deprived him of his titles and functions, but received -him into favour in 1829. Turenne, however, sided with the Monarchy of -July, and was again created a peer of France by Louis-Philippe. He -was smitten with blindness a few years later, and ended his days in -retirement--B. - -[332] Jacques Antoine Manuel (1775-1827), a noted orator and advocate. -He opposed the monarchy throughout the Restoration, and in 1823 -was expelled by force from the Chamber of Deputies. Manuel was not -re-elected. He remained a popular hero, and his body was followed to -the grave by over 100,000 persons.--T. - -[333] 22 June 1815.--B. - -[334] Nicolas Marie Baron Quinette (1762-1821) had been a member of -the Convention voting for the death of the King, and Minister of the -Interior to Napoleon (1799), who made him a baron of the Empire. In -1814, he adhered to the Restoration, and was created a peer of France, -but returned to the Emperor during the Hundred Days, and at the Second -Restoration was banished as a relapsed regicide.--T. - -[335] General Paul Comte Grenier (1768-1827) served with distinction in -the wars of the Revolution and the Empire. He was vice-president of the -Chamber in 1815 and, under the Second Restoration, sat as a deputy from -1813 to 1822.--B. - -[336] General Horace François Bastien Comte Sébastiani de La Porta -(1775-1851), one of Napoleon's most intrepid cavalry generals. He -accepted the Restoration in 1814, but returned to Napoleon during -the Hundred Days, and was left without employment under the Second -Restoration. He sat as a Corsican deputy from 1816 to 1824 and 1826 to -1830, sitting in the Extreme Left and maintaining an active opposition -to the Government Under Louis-Philippe, he was Minister of Foreign -Affairs from 1830 to 1833, and subsequently Ambassador to Naples -(1834) and London (1835-1840). On his return from the latter embassy -he was created a marshal. His last years were clouded over by the -assassination of his daughter, the Duchesse de Praslin, by her husband -(17 August 1847).--T. - -[337] Louis Gustave Le Doulcet, Comte de Pontécoulant (1764-1853), had, -as a member of the Convention, resisted the excesses of 1793 and was -outlawed and fled to Zurich. He returned after the Terror and filled -various military and diplomatic offices under Napoleon, who created -him a count (1808). Louis XVIII. made him a peer of France, and for -over thirty years he took a prominent part in the work of the House of -Peers.--T. - - -[338] _Vide_ the Works of Napoleon, vol. I., the last pages.--_Author's -Note._ - -[339] Auguste Charles Joseph Comte de Flahaut de La Billarderie -(1785-1870), a peer of the Hundred Days, a peer of France from 1831 to -1848, a senator of the Second Empire, Ambassador to London from 1860 -to 1862, Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour from 1861 to 1870. -Flahaut was a general of division in 1813, at the age of twenty-eight. -He died on the 1st of September 1870, on the day of the disaster of -Sedan, and did not behold the fall of the dynasty to which he was -attached by intimate and secret affections. The Duc de Moray, natural -brother to Napoleon III., was his son.--B. - -[340] Charles Angélique François Huchet, Comte de La Bédoyère -(1786-1815), served with distinction under Napoleon and became a -colonel at the age of 26. After the first abdication, his family -obtained for him the Cross of St. Louis and the command of the 7th -Regiment of the Line. Nevertheless he was the first colonel to join -Napoleon with his regiment after the return from Elba. The Emperor made -him a general and raised him to the peerage (2 June 1815). After the -second abdication, La Bédoyère was arrested, tried by court-martial -for treason, and shot (19 August 1815) in the twenty-ninth year of his -age.--T. - -[341] André Masséna, Maréchal Prince d'Essling, Duc de Rivoli -(1758-1817), one of Napoleon's earlier and greatest generals, of -Italian Jewish origin. Louis XVIII. created him a peer of France in -December 1814.--T. - -[342] Henry II. King of France (1518-1559) signed the famous "Unhappy -Peace" of Cateau-Cambrésis after the Battle of Saint-Quentin, a peace -by which France lost a large portion of her conquests.--T. - -[343] Philip II. King of Spain, England, Naples and Sicily -(1527-1598).--T. - -[344] The League of Cambrai was formed in 1508 by the Emperor -Maximilian I., King Louis XII. of France, King Ferdinand the Catholic -of Spain and Pope Julius II. against the Republic of Venice.--T. - -[345] St Regulus, first Bishop of Senlis (_fl._ 1300), honoured on the -30th of March.--T. - -[346] Jean Guillaume Baron Hyde de Neuville (1776-1857) was an agent of -the Emigrant Princes before he was seventeen years of age, and served -their cause throughout. He was French Minister to the United States -(1816), later to Portugal, later Minister of Marine (1828). In 1830, -Hyde de Neuville refused to accept the Government of Louis-Philippe and -defended the cause of the Duc de Bordeaux in the Lower Chamber, almost -unaided.--T. - -[347] Sitting of the Convention on the 22 Thermidor Year III. (9 August -1795) _Moniteur_, (14 August 1795).--B. - -[348] Jean Baptiste Machault d'Arnouville (1701-1794) was -appointed Comptroller-general of Finance under Louis XV. in 1745. -In 1750, he became Keeper of the Seals, while retaining his -Comptroller-generalship; but he was disgraced in 1754, owing to the -efforts of the clergy, whose privileges he had attacked, and the -intrigues of Madame de Pompadour. Machault retired to his property at -Arnouville, where he lived for forty years, until, in 1794, he was -flung into the Madelonnettes prison, as a suspect, where he died.--T. - -[349] We shall meet with my friend General Dubourg again in the Days of -July.--_Author's Note._ - -Frédéric Dubourg-Butler (1778-1850) fought in the Royalist Army in the -Vendée, in the Republican Army under Bernadotte, in the Russian Army -in 1812. He returned to France after the fell of the Empire. In 1815, -as an officer on the staff of the Duc de Feltre, Minister of War, he -followed the King to Ghent, and received the command of the Artois -Regiment, but almost immediately fell into disgrace. He disappeared for -fifteen years, and sprang up, on the 29th of July 1830, at the Hôtel de -Ville, improvised himself into a general, and for a moment played the -part of head of the "military section of the Provisional Government," -whereupon he disappeared afresh. We do not find him again until the -24th of February 1848, when the new Provisional Government awarded him -the retiring pension of a brigadier-general. This pension was no doubt -very irregularly paid, for in 1850 the poor devil put an end to the -romance of his life by swallowing an over-dose of opium.--B. - -[350] Jeanne Hachette (_b. circa_ 1454) of Beauvais defended that place -in 1472, at the head of a regiment of women, against the Burgundians -under Charles the Bold. Her real name is uncertain: historians vary -between Fouquet, Fourquet and Lainé; she was called Hachette after the -axe which she bore during the siege.--T. - -[351] Dagobert I. King of France (602-638) founded the Abbey of -Saint-Denis in 632.--T. - -[352] Anne Maréchal Connétable de Montmorency (1493-1567) was slain at -the Battle of Saint-Denis, in which he defeated the Protestants.--T. - -[353] An imperial educational establishment for the daughters of -members of the Legion of Honour had been founded in the buildings of -the old abbey in 1809.--T. - -[354] Alexandre Charles Emmanuel Bailli de Crussol (1743-1815). Louis -XVIII. had created him a peer of France in 1814.--T. - -[355] Titus Flavius Savinus Vespasianus, Roman Emperor (40-81), "the -delight of the human race."--T. - - - - -BOOK VI - - -Bonaparte at the Malmaison--General abandonment--Departure from the -Malmaison--Rambouillet--Rochefort--Bonaparte takes refuge on the -English fleet--He writes to the Prince Regent--Bonaparte on the -_Bellerophon_--Torbay--Act confining Bonaparte in St Helena--He -passes over to the Northumberland and sets sail--Judgment on -Bonaparte--Character of Bonaparte--Has Bonaparte left us in -renown what he has lost us in strength?--Futility of the truths -set forth above--The Island of St. Helena--Bonaparte crosses the -Atlantic--Napoleon lands at St. Helena--His establishment at -Longwood--Precautions--Life at Longwood--Visits--Manzoni--Illness of -Bonaparte--Ossian--Reveries of Napoleon in sight of the sea--Projects -of evasion--Last occupation of Bonaparte--He lies down to rise no -more--He dictates his will--Napoleon's religious sentiments--The -chaplain Vignale--Napoleon's speech to Antomarchi, his doctor--He -receives the last sacraments--He expires--His funeral--Destruction of -the Napoleonic world--My last relations with Bonaparte--St. Helena -after the death of Napoleon--Exhumation of Bonaparte--My visit to -Cannes. - - -If a man were unexpectedly transported from life's most clamorous -scenes to the silent shores of the Arctic Ocean, he would feel what -I feel beside the tomb of Napoleon, for we find ourselves suddenly -standing by the edge of that tomb. - -Leaving Paris on the 25th of June, Napoleon awaited at the Malmaison -the moment of his departure from France. I return to him: coming back -to past days, anticipating future times, I shall not leave him again -until after his death. - -The Malmaison, where the Emperor rested, was empty. Joséphine was -dead[356]; Bonaparte found himself alone in that retreat. There he had -commenced his fortune; there he had been happy; there he had become -intoxicated with the incense of the world; there, from the heart of -his tomb, issued orders that shook the world. In those gardens where -formerly the feet of the crowd raked up the sanded walks, the grass -and brambles grew green; I had ascertained this when walking there. -Already, for want of tending, the exotic trees were pining away; on the -canals the black Australian swans no longer floated; the cage no longer -held the tropical birds prisoners: they had flown away to await their -host in their own country. - -Bonaparte might, however, have found a subject of consolation by -turning his eyes upon his early days: fallen kings are afflicted above -all because, looking upwards from their fall, they see only a splendid -inheritance and the pomps of their cradle: but what did Napoleon -discern prior to his prosperity? The manger of his birth in a Corsican -village. Higher-minded, when flinging off the purple mantle, he would -have proudly resumed the goat-herd's sayon; but men do not place -themselves back at their origin when it was humble; it seems that an -unjust Heaven deprives them of their patrimony when, in fate's lottery, -they do naught but lose what they have won; and nevertheless Napoleon's -greatness arises from the fact that he had started from himself: none -of his blood had gone before him and prepared his power. - -At the sight of those abandoned gardens, of those untenanted -apartments, of those galleries faded by the routs, of those rooms -in which song and music had ceased, Napoleon was able to go over -his career: he was able to ask himself whether, with a little more -moderation, he might not have preserved his delights. Foreigners, -enemies, were not banishing him now; he was not departing as a _quasi_ -victor, leaving the nations in admiration of his passage, after the -prodigious campaign of 1814: he was retiring beaten. Frenchmen, -friends, were demanding his immediate abdication, urging his departure, -refusing even to have him as a general, sending him messenger after -messenger, to oblige him to quit the soil over which he had shed as -much glory as scourges. - -Added to this harsh lesson, came other warnings: the Prussians were -prowling around the neighbourhood of the Malmaison; Blücher, full of -wine, staggering, ordered them to seize, to "hang" the conqueror who -had "put his foot on the neck of Kings." The rapidity of the fortunes, -the vulgarity of the manners, the promptness of the elevation and -degradation of the personages of to-day will, I fear, take away a part -of the nobility of history: Rome and Greece did not speak of "hanging" -Alexander and Cæsar. - -The scenes which had taken place in 1814 were renewed in 1815, but -with something more offensive, because the ingrates were stimulated -by fear; it was necessary to get rid of Napoleon quickly: the Allies -were arriving; Alexander was not there, at first, to temper the triumph -and curb the insolence of fortune; Paris was no more adorned with its -lustral inviolability; a first invasion had profaned the sanctuary; it -was no longer God's anger that fell upon us, it was the contempt of -Heaven: the human thunder-bolt was spent. - -All the cowardly characters had acquired a new degree of malignity -through the Hundred Days; affecting to raise themselves, through love -of the country, above personal attachments, they exclaimed that it was -really too criminal of Bonaparte to have violated the treaties of 1814. -But were not the true culprits those who had countenanced his designs? -Suppose that, in 1815, instead of getting new armies for him, after -forsaking him once only to forsake him again, they had said to him, -when he came to sleep at the Tuileries: - -"You have been deceived by your genius, opinion is no longer with you; -take pity on France. Retire after this last visit to the country; go -and live in the land of Washington. Who knows that the Bourbons will -not make mistakes? Who knows that, one day, France will not turn her -eyes towards you, when, in the school of liberty, you shall have learnt -to respect the laws? You will then return, not as a ravisher swooping -on his prey, but as a great citizen, the pacificator of his country!" - -They did not hold that language to them: they humoured the passions of -their returned leader; they contributed to blinding him, sure as they -were of benefiting by either his victory or his defeat. The soldier -alone died for Napoleon, with admirable sincerity; the rest was but a -grazing herd, growing fat to right and left. If, at least, the viziers -of the despoiled caliph had been satisfied to turn their backs on him! -But no: they reaped profit from his last moments; they overwhelmed him -with their sordid demands; all wanted to make money out of his poverty. - -[Sidenote: Abandonment of Napoleon.] - -Never was a more complete abandonment; Bonaparte had given cause for -it: he was insensible to the troubles of others; the world paid him -with indifference for indifference. Like most despots, he was on good -terms with his domestics; at bottom he cared for nobody: a solitary -man, he sufficed unto himself; misfortune did nothing except to restore -him to the desert which was his life. - -When I gather up my memories, when I recollect having seen Washington -in his little house at Philadelphia and Bonaparte in his palaces, it -seems to me that Washington, retiring to his field in Virginia, cannot -have experienced the searchings of conscience of Bonaparte awaiting -exile in his gardens at the Malmaison. Nothing was altered in the life -of the first; he relapsed into his modest habits; he had not raised -himself above the happiness of the husbandman whom he had freed: all -was subverted in the life of the second. - -* - -Napoleon left the Malmaison[357] accompanied by Generals Bertrand, -Rovigo and Beker[358], the latter in the quality of inspector -or commissary. On the way, he was seized with a wish to stop at -Rambouillet. He left it to take ship at Rochefort, as did Charles X. -to take ship at Cherbourg; Rambouillet, the inglorious retreat where -all that was greatest in men or dynasties was eclipsed: the fatal spot -where Francis I. died; where Henry III., escaping from the barricades, -slept booted and spurred in passing; where Louis XVI. left his -shadow[359]! How happy would Louis, Napoleon and Charles have been, had -they been only the humble keepers of the herds of Rambouillet! - -On arriving at Rochefort[360], Napoleon hesitated: the Executive -Commission were sending imperative orders: - -"The garrisons of Rochefort and the Rochelle," said the dispatches, -"must use main force to make Napoleon take ship.... Employ force... -make him go... his services cannot be accepted." - -Napoleon's services could not be accepted! And had you not accepted his -bounties and his chains? Napoleon did not go away; he was driven out: -and by whom? - -Bonaparte had believed only in fortune; he banned misfortune _ab -igne et aquâ_; he had acquitted the ungrateful in advance: a just -retaliation made him appear before his own system. When success, -ceasing to animate his person, became incarnate in another individual, -the disciples abandoned the master for the school. I, who believe in -the legitimacy of benefits and the sovereignty of misfortune, had -I served Bonaparte, I would not have left him; I would have proved -to him, by my fidelity, the falseness of his political principles; -sharing his disgrace, I would have remained by his side as a living -contradiction of his barren doctrines and of the worthlessness of the -right of prosperity. - -Frigates had been waiting for him in the Rochefort road-stead stead -since the first of July: hopes which never die, memories inseparable -from a last farewell kept him back. How he must have regretted the -days of his childhood, when his clear eyes had not yet known the first -rain-drops! He left time for the English fleet to approach. He was -still able to embark on two luggers which were to join a Danish ship at -sea (this was the course which his brother Joseph took); but decision -failed him when he looked at the coast of France. He felt an aversion -for a republic; the liberty and equality of the United States were -repugnant to him. He inclined towards asking shelter of the English: - -"What disadvantage do you see in that course?" he asked of those whom -he consulted. - -"The disadvantage of dishonouring yourself," answered a naval officer; -"you must not fall, even dead, into the hands of the English. They will -have you stuffed and show you at a shilling a head." - - -* - -[Sidenote: The letter to the Regent.] - -Notwithstanding these observations, the Emperor resolved to give -himself up to his conquerors. On the 13th of July, when Louis XVIII. -had already been five days in Paris, Napoleon sent the captain[361] -of the English ship _Bellerophon_ the following letter for the Prince -Regent: - - "ROYAL HIGHNESS, - - "A victim to the factions which distract my country - and to the enmity of the greatest powers in Europe, I - have terminated my political career, and I come, like - Themistocles[362], to throw myself upon the hospitality of - the British people. I put myself under the protection of - their laws; which I claim from Your Royal Highness as the - most powerful, the most constant and the most generous of my - enemies. - - "ROCHEFORT, 13 _July_ 1815." - -If Bonaparte had not, during twenty years, overwhelmed with outrages -the British people, its government, its King, and the heir of that -King, one might find a certain propriety of tone in this letter; but -how had this "Royal Highness," so long despised, so long insulted by -Napoleon, suddenly become "the most powerful, the most constant and the -most generous" of enemies by the mere fact that he was victorious? -Napoleon could not be persuaded of what he was saying; and that which -is not true is not eloquent. The phrase setting forth the fact of a -fallen greatness addressing itself to an enemy is fine; the well-worn -instance of Themistocles is superfluous. - -The step taken by Napoleon shows something worse than a lack of -sincerity; it shows neglect of France: the Emperor busied himself only -with his individual catastrophe; when the fall came, we no longer -counted for anything in his eyes. Without reflecting that, by giving -the preference to England over America, his choice became an outrage -to the mourning of the country, he begged a shelter of the government -which, for twenty years, had kept Europe in its pay against ourselves, -of the government whose commissary with the Russian Army, General -Wilson[363], urged Kutuzoff[364], in the retreat from Moscow, to -exterminate us completely: the English, successful in the final battle, -were encamped in the Bois de Boulogne. Go then, O Themistocles, to -seat yourself quietly by the British hearth, while the soil has not -yet finished drinking in the French blood shed for you at Waterloo! -What part would the fugitive, feasted may-be, have played on the banks -of the Thames, in the face of France invaded, of Wellington become -dictator at the Louvre? Napoleon's high fortunes served him better: -the English, allowing themselves to be carried towards a narrow and -spiteful policy, missed their final triumph; instead of undoing their -supplicant by admitting him to their fortresses or their banquets, they -rendered more brilliant for posterity the crown which they believed -they had snatched from him. He grew greater in his captivity through -the enormous affright of the Powers; the Ocean enchained him in vain: -Europe in arms camped on the shore, her eyes fixed upon the sea. - -* - -On the 15th of July, the _Épervier_ conveyed Bonaparte to the -_Bellerophon._ The French craft was so small that, from the deck of the -English ship, they did not see the giant on the waves. The Emperor, -accosting Captain Maitland, said to him: - -"I come to place myself under the protection of the laws of England" - -Once at least the contemner of the laws confessed their authority. - -The fleet set sail for Torbay: a multitude of shipping cruised around -the _Bellerophon_; the same eagerness was shown at Plymouth. On the -30th of July, Lord Keith[365] handed the applicant the Act confining -him at St. Helena. - -"It is worse than Tamerlane's[366] cage," said Napoleon. - -[Sidenote: Ordered to St. Helena.] - -This violation of the Law of Nations and of the respect due to -hospitality was revolting. If you see the light on board of any ship, -provided it be _under sail_, you are _English born_; by virtue of the -old London customs, the _waves_ are considered _soil of Albion._ And an -English ship was not an inviolable altar for a supplicant, it did not -place the great man who embraced the poop of the _Bellerophon_ under -the protection of the British trident! Bonaparte protested; he argued -about laws, talked of treachery and perfidy, appealed to the future: -did that become him? Had he not laughed at justice? Had he not, in his -might, trampled under foot the sacred things whose guarantee he now -invoked? Had he not carried off Toussaint-Louverture[367] and the King -of Spain[368]? Had he not had English travellers arrested who happened -to be in France at the time of the rupture of the Peace of Amiens, -and kept them prisoners for years? Allowable therefore to mercantile -England to imitate what he had done himself, and to use ignoble -reprisals; but they might have acted differently. - -With Napoleon, the size of the heart did not correspond with the width -of the head: his quarrels with the English are deplorable; they revolt -Lord Byron. How could he condescend to honour his gaolers with a word? -One suffers at seeing him stoop to wordy conflicts with Lord Keith at -Torbay, with Sir Hudson Lowe[369] at St. Helena, publish statements -because they break faith with him, cavil about a title, about a little -more, or a little less, gold or honours. Bonaparte, reduced to himself, -was reduced to his glory, and that ought to suffice him: he had nothing -to ask of men; he did not treat adversity despotically enough; one -would have pardoned him for making of misfortune his last slave. I find -nothing remarkable in his protest against the violation of hospitality, -save the date and signature of that protest: - - "On board the _Bellerophon_, at sea. - - "NAPOLEON." - -There are harmonies of immensity. - -From the _Bellerophon_ Bonaparte crossed on to the Northumberland. Two -frigates laden with the future garrison of St. Helena escorted him. -Some of the officers of that garrison had fought at Waterloo. They -permitted that explorer of the globe to keep with him M. and Madame -Bertrand, Messieurs de Montholon[370], Gourgaud and de Las Cases[371], -voluntary and generous passengers on the submerged plank. By one -clause in the captain's instructions, "Bonaparte must be disarmed:" -Napoleon alone, a prisoner on board ship, in the midst of the Ocean, -"disarmed[372]!" What a magnificent terror of his power! But what a -lesson from Heaven to men who abuse the sword! The stupid Admiralty -treated the great convict of the human race as a Botany-Bay felon: did -the Black Prince "disarm" King John? - -The squadron weighed anchor. Since the bark which carried Cæsar, no -ship had been laden with so great a destiny. Bonaparte was approaching -that sea of miracles upon which the Arab of Mount Sinai had seen -him pass. The last French land that Napoleon discerned was Cape la -Hogue[373]: another trophy of the English. - -The Emperor had been mistaken in the interest of his memory, when he -wished to remain in Europe; he would soon have been only a vulgar or -faded prisoner: his old rôle was ended. But, beyond that rôle, a new -position revivified him with a new renown. No man of universal fame has -had an end similar to Napoleon's. He was not, as after his first fall, -proclaimed autocrat of a few quarries of iron and marble, the first to -furnish him with a sword, the second with a statue; an eagle, he was -given a rock on the point of which he remained in the sun-light till -his death, in full view of the whole world. - -* - -At the moment when Bonaparte is quitting Europe, in which he is giving -up his life to go in search of the destinies of his death, it is well -to examine this man of two existences, to depict the false and the true -Napoleon: they blend and form a whole from the mixture of their reality -and their falsehood. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon as statesman.] - -From the conjunction of these remarks it results that Bonaparte was -a poet in action, an immense genius in war, an indefatigable, able -and intelligent spirit in administration, a laborious and rational -legislator. That is why he has so great a hold on the imagination of -peoples and so much authority over the judgment of practical men. -But, as a politician, he will always appear deficient in the eyes of -statesmen. This observation, which has escaped the majority of his -panegyrists, will, I am convinced, become the definite opinion that -will survive concerning him; it will explain the contrast between his -prodigious actions and their pitiful results. At St. Helena, he himself -severely condemned his political conduct on two points: the Spanish War -and the Russian War; he might have extended his confession to other -delinquencies. His enthusiasts will perhaps not maintain that, when -blaming himself, he was mistaken in himself. - -Let us recapitulate: - -Bonaparte acted contrary to all prudence, not to speak again of the -hatefulness of the action, in killing the Duc d'Enghien: he attached -a weight to his life. Notwithstanding the puerile apologists, this -death, as we have seen, was the secret leaven of the discords that -subsequently burst out between Alexander and Napoleon, as also between -Prussia and France. - -The attempt upon Spain was completely improper: the Peninsula was the -Emperor's; he could turn it to the most advantageous account: instead -of that, he turned it into a school for the English soldiers and into -the cause of his own destruction through the rising of a people. - -The detention of the Pope and the annexation of the States of the -Church to France were but the caprice of tyranny through which he lost -the advantage of passing for the restorer of religion. - -Bonaparte did not stop, as he should have done, when he had married the -daughter of the Cæsars: Russia and England were crying mercy to him. - -He did not revive Poland, when the safety of Europe depended on the -restoration of that kingdom. - -Madness having once set in, he went on from Smolensk[374]; everything -told him that he must not go further at his first step, that his first -Northern Campaign was finished, and that the second, as he himself -felt, would make him master of the Empire of the Tsars. - -[Illustration: Pope Pius VII.] - -He was able neither to compute the days nor to foresee the effect -of the climatic changes, which every one at Moscow computed and -foresaw. See above what I have said of the Continental Blockade and -the Confederation of the Rhine[375]: the first, a gigantic conception, -but a questionable act; the second, an important work, but spoilt in -the execution by the camp instinct and the fiscal spirit Napoleon -inherited the old French monarchy as the centuries and an uninterrupted -succession of great men had made it, as the majesty of Louis XIV. and -the alliances of Louis XV. had left it, as the Republic had enlarged -it. He seated himself on that magnificent pedestal, stretched out -his arms, laid hold of the peoples, and gathered them around him; -but he lost Europe with as much suddenness as he had taken it; he -twice brought the Allies to Paris, notwithstanding the marvels of his -military intelligence. He had the world under his feet, and all he got -from it was a prison for himself, exile for his family, the loss of all -his conquests and of a portion of the old French soil. - -[Sidenote: Where Napoleon failed.] - -Here is history proved by facts and deniable by none. Whence arose -the faults which I have just pointed out, followed by so quick and so -fatal a catastrophe? They arose from Bonaparte's imperfectness as a -politician. - -In his alliances, he enchained the governments only with concessions -of territory, of which he soon altered the boundaries, constantly -displaying the reservation to take back what he had given, ever making -the oppressor felt; in his invasions, he reorganized nothing, Italy -excepted. Instead of stopping at every step to raise up again, under -another shape, what he had overthrown, he did not discontinue his -movement of progression among ruins: he went so fast that he scarce had -the time to breathe where he passed through. If, by a sort of Treaty -of Westphalia, he had settled and assured the existence of the States -in Germany, in Prussia, in Poland, at his first retrograde march he -would have leant his back against contented populations and have found -shelters. But his poetic edifice of victories, lacking a base and -suspended in mid-air only by his genius, fell when his genius came to -retire. The Macedonian founded empires in his course: Bonaparte, in his -course, knew only how to destroy them; his sole aim was to be, in his -own person, the master of the globe, without troubling his head about -the means of preserving it. - -Men have tried to make of Bonaparte a perfect being, a type of -sentiment, of delicacy, of morality and of justice, a writer like -Cæsar and Thucydides, an orator and an historian like Demosthenes -and Tacitus. Napoleon's public speeches, his phrases in the tent or -the council-chamber are so much the less inspired with the breath of -prophecy in that what they foretell by way of catastrophes has not been -accomplished, while the Isaias of the sword has himself disappeared: -writings on the wall which pursue States, without catching and -destroying them, remain puerile, instead of being sublime. Bonaparte -was truly Destiny during sixteen years: Destiny is mute, and Bonaparte -ought to have been so. Bonaparte was not Cæsar; his education was -neither learned nor select; half a foreigner, he was ignorant of the -first words of our language: what mattered, after all, that his speech -was faulty? He gave the pass-word to the universe. His bulletins have -the eloquence of victory. Sometimes, in the intoxication of success, -they made a show of drafting them on a drum-head; from amid the most -mournful accents arose fatal bursts of laughter. I have read with -attention all that Bonaparte has written: the early manuscripts of his -childhood, his novels; next, his letters to Buttafuoco, the _Souper -de Beaucaire_, his private letters to Joséphine; the five volumes -of his speeches, his orders and his bulletins, his dispatches left -unpublished and spoilt by the editing in M. de Talleyrand's offices. -I know something of these matters; I have found scarcely any thoughts -resembling the great islander's nature, except in a scrap of autograph -left behind at Elba: - - "My heart denies itself to common joys as to ordinary pain." - - "Not having given myself life, I shall not rob myself of it, - so long as it will have me." - - "My evil genius appeared to me and foretold my end, which I - found at Leipzig." - - "I have laid the terrible spirit of innovation which was - overrunning the world." - -That most certainly is genuine Bonaparte. - -If the bulletins, the dispatches, the allocutions, the proclamations -of Bonaparte are distinguished for energy, this energy did not -belong to him in his own right: it was of his time, it came from the -revolutionary inspiration which grew weaker in Bonaparte, because he -marched counter to that inspiration. Danton said: - -"The metal is boiling over; if you do not watch the furnace, you will -all be scalded." - -Saint-Just said: - -"Dare!" - -That word contains the whole policy of our Revolution; they who make -revolutions by halves only dig a grave. - -Do Bonaparte's bulletins rise above that pride of speech? - -[Sidenote: Napoleon as writer.] - -As for the numerous volumes published under the title of _Mémoires de -Sainte-Hélène, Napoléon dans l'exil._, etc., those documents, gathered -from Bonaparte's mouth or dictated by him to different persons, contain -a few fine passages on actions of war, a few remarkable appreciations -of certain men; but, in the upshot, Napoleon is occupied only in making -his apology, in justifying his past, in basing on commonplace ideas -accomplished events and things of which he had never dreamt during -the course of those events. In this compilation, in which _pros_ and -_cons_ succeed one another, in which every opinion finds a favourable -authority and a peremptory refutation, it is difficult to separate that -which belongs to Napoleon from that which belongs to his secretaries. -It is probable that he had a different version for each of them, in -order that readers might choose according to their taste and, in the -future, create for themselves Napoleons to their liking. He dictated -his history as he wished to leave it; he was an author writing articles -on his own work. Nothing therefore could be more absurd than to go -into ecstasies over chronicles by different hands which are not, like -Cæsar's _Commentaries_, a short work, springing from a great head, -written by a superior writer; and yet those brief commentaries, Asinius -Pollio[376] thought, were neither faithful nor exact. The _Mémorial -de Sainte-Hélène_ is good, allowing liberally for the candour and -simplicity of the admiration. - -One of the things that contributed most to render Napoleon hateful -during his life was his inclination for debasing everything: in a fired -city, he would couple decrees on the re-establishing of a few comedians -with fiats which suppressed monarchs; a parody of the omnipotence of -God, who rules the lot of the world and of an ant. With the fall of -empires he mingled insults to women; he delighted in the humiliation -of what he had overthrown; he calumniated and wounded particularly all -that had dared to resist him. His arrogance was equal to his luck; -the more he lowered others the greater he believed himself to appear. -Jealous of his generals, he accused them of his own mistakes, for, as -for himself, he was infallible. Despising all merits, he reproached -them harshly with their errors. He would never have said, after the -disaster of Ramillies, as Louis XIV.[377] said to the Maréchal de -Villeroi[378]: - -"Monsieur le maréchal, at our age one is not lucky." - -A touching magnanimity of which Napoleon knew nothing. The century of -Louis XIV. was made by Louis the Great: Bonaparte made his century. - -The history of the Empire, changed by false traditions, will be yet -further falsified by the state of society during the imperial Epoch. -Any revolution written in the presence of the liberty of the press -can allow the eye to probe to the bottom of facts, because each one -reports them as he has seen them: the reign of Cromwell is known, -because it was customary to say to the Protector what one thought of -his acts and his person. In France, even under the Revolution, despite -the inexorable censorship of the executioner, the truth came out; the -triumphing faction was not always the same; it soon succumbed, and the -faction which succeeded it taught you what its predecessor had hidden -from you: there was liberty from one scaffold to the other, between the -cutting off of two heads. But when Bonaparte seized upon the power, -when thought was gagged, when one heard nothing but the voice of a -despotism which spoke only to praise itself and allowed only itself to -be spoken of, truth disappeared. - -The would-be authentic documents of that time are tainted; nothing -was published, books or newspapers, save by the master's order: -Bonaparte saw to the articles in the _Moniteur_; his prefects sent back -from the various departments the recitals, the congratulations, the -felicitations, in the form in which the Paris authorities had dictated -and forwarded them, in which form they expressed a conventional public -opinion, quite different from the real opinion. Write history from -such documents as those! In proof of your impartial studies, quote the -authentic sources to which you have gone: you will only be quoting a -lie in support of a lie. - -If it were possible to call this universal imposture into question, -if men who have not seen the days of the Empire were to insist upon -regarding as sincere all that they come upon in printed documents, or -even all that they might dig up in certain boxes at the public offices, -it would be enough to appeal to an unexceptionable witness, to the -"Conservative" Senate; there, in the decree which I have quoted above, -you have seen its own words: - -* - -"Taking into consideration that the liberty of the press has been -constantly submitted to the arbitrary censorship of his police, and -that, at the same time, he has always made use of the press to fill -France and Europe with fabricated facts and false maxims; that acts and -reports, passed by the Senate, have undergone alterations when made -public, etc." - - -Is there any reply possible to this declaration? - -The life of Bonaparte was an incontestable truth, which imposture had -taken upon itself to write. - -* - -[Sidenote: Pride and affectation.] - -A monstrous pride and an incessant affectation spoil Napoleon's -character. At the time of his dominion, what need had he to exaggerate -his stature, when the God of Armies had furnished him with the war -chariot "whose wheels are living"? - -He took after the Italian blood; his nature was complex: great men, -a very small family upon earth, unhappily find only themselves to -imitate them. At once a model and a copy, a real personage and an -actor representing that personage, Napoleon was his own mime; he would -not have believed himself a hero, if he had not dressed himself up -in a hero's costume. This curious weakness gives something false and -equivocal to his astonishing realities: one is afraid of taking the -king of kings for Roscius, or Roscius for the king of kings. - -Napoleon's qualities are so much adulterated in the gazettes, the -pamphlets, the poems and even in the songs overrun with imperialism, -that those qualities are completely unrecognisable. All the touching -things ascribed to Bonaparte in the _ana_ about the "prisoners," the -"dead," the "soldiers," are idle trash to which the actions of his life -give the lie. - -The _Grand-mère_ of my illustrious friend Béranger is only an admirable -ballad: Bonaparte had nothing of the good fellow about him. Dominion -personified, he was hard; that coldness formed the antidote to his -fiery imagination; he found in himself no word, he found only a deed, -and a deed ready to chafe at the smallest independence: a gnat that -flew without his orders was a rebellious insect in his eyes. - -It was not enough to lie to the ears, it was necessary to lie to the -eyes: here, in an engraving, we see Bonaparte taking off his hat to -the Austrian wounded; there, we have a little _tourlourou_[379] who -prevents the Emperor from passing; further on, Napoleon touches the -plague-stricken of Jaffa, and he never touched them; he crosses Mount -St. Bernard on a spirited horse amid a whirl of snow-flakes, and it -was the finest weather in the world. - -Are they not now trying to transform the Emperor into a Roman of -the early days of the Aventine, into a missionary of liberty, into -a citizen who instituted slavery only for love of the opposite -virtue? Draw your conclusions from two features of the great founder -of equality: he ordered his brother Jerome's marriage with Miss -Patterson[380] to be annulled, because the brother of Napoleon could -ally himself only with the blood of Princes; later, after returning -from the isle of Elba, he invested the new "democratic" constitution -with a peerage and crowned it with the "Additional Act." - -That Bonaparte, following up the successes of the Revolution, -everywhere disseminated principles of independence; that his victories -helped to relax the bonds between the peoples and the kings, and -snatched those peoples from the power of the old customs and the -ancient ideas; that, in this sense, he contributed to the social -enfranchisement: these are facts which I do not pretend to contest; but -that, of his own will, he laboured scientifically for the political and -civil deliverance of the nations; that he established the narrowest -despotism with the idea of giving to Europe and to France in particular -the widest Constitution; that he was only a tribune disguised as a -tyrant: all this is a supposition which I cannot possibly adopt. - -Bonaparte, like the race of princes, desired nothing and sought nothing -save power, attaining it, however, through liberty, because he made -his first appearance on the world's stage in 1793. The Revolution, -which was Napoleon's wet-nurse, did not long delay in appearing to -him as an enemy; he never ceased beating her. The Emperor, for the -rest, knew evil very well, when the evil did not come directly from -the Emperor; for he was not destitute of moral sense. The sophism -put forward concerning Bonaparte's love for liberty proves only one -thing, the abuse which can be made of reason; nowadays it lends -itself to everything. Is it not established that the Terror was a -time of humanity? In fact, were they not demanding the abolition of -the death-penalty while they were killing everybody? Have not great -civilizers, as they are "called," always immolated men, and is it -not therefore, as far as has been "proved," that Robespierre was the -continuer of Jesus Christ? - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's popularity.] - -The Emperor meddled with everything; his intelligence never rested; he -had a sort of perpetual agitation of ideas. In the impetuousness of his -nature, instead of a free and continuous train, he advanced by leaps -and bounds, he flung himself upon the universe and shook it; he would -have none of it, of that universe, if he was obliged to wait for it: -an incomprehensible being, who found the secret of debasing his most -towering actions by despising them, and who raised his least elevated -actions to his own level. Impatient of will, patient of character, -incomplete and as though unfinished, Napoleon had gaps in his genius: -his understanding resembled the sky of that other hemisphere under -which he was to go to die, the sky whose stars are separated by empty -spaces. - -One asks one's self by what spell Bonaparte, so aristocratic, so -hostile to the people, came to achieve the popularity which he enjoyed: -for that forger of yokes has most certainly remained popular with -a nation whose pretension was to raise altars to independence and -equality; here is the solution of the enigma: - -Daily experience makes us recognise that the French are instinctively -drawn towards power; they do not love liberty; equality alone is their -idol. Now equality and despotism have secret connections. In those -two respects, Napoleon had his fount in the hearts of the French, -militarily inclined towards dominion, democratically enamoured of -the level. Once on the throne, he made the people sit down beside -him: a proletarian king, he humbled the kings and nobles in his -ante-chambers; he levelled the ranks, not by lowering but by raising -them: the descending level would have charmed the plebeian envy more, -the ascending level was more flattering to its pride. French vanity -was puffed up also by the superiority which Bonaparte gave us over the -rest of Europe; another cause of Napoleon's popularity has to do with -the affliction of his last days. After his death, as men became better -acquainted with what he had suffered at St. Helena, they began to be -moved; they forgot his tyranny to remember that, after conquering our -enemies, after subsequently drawing them into France, he had defended -us against them; we imagine that he might save us to-day from the -disgrace into which we have sunk: his fame was recalled to us by his -misfortune; his glory profited by his adversity. - -Lastly, the marvels of his arms have bewitched the young, while -teaching us to worship brute force. His unexampled fortune has left to -the overweening conceit of every ambition the hope of arriving at the -point which he attained. - -And yet this man, so popular through the roller which he had passed -over France, was the mortal enemy of equality and the greatest -organizer of aristocracy within democracy. - -I cannot acquiesce in the false praises with which men have insulted -Bonaparte, while trying to justify everything in his conduct; I cannot -surrender my reason nor go into ecstasies before that which arouses my -horror or my pity. - -If I have succeeded in conveying what I have felt, there will remain -of my portrait one of the leading figures in history; but I have -adopted no part of the fantastic creature composed of lies: lies which -I saw born, lies which, taken at first for what they were, passed in -time to the state of truth through the infatuation and the imbecile -credulity of mankind. I refuse to be a gull and to fall into a fit with -admiration. I strive to paint persons conscientiously, without taking -from them what they have, without giving them what they have not. If -success were esteemed as innocence; if, debauching even posterity, it -loaded it with its chains; if, a future slave, begotten by a slavish -past, that suborned posterity became the accomplice of whosoever should -have triumphed: where would be the right, where would be the reward -of sacrifices? Good and evil becoming only relative qualities, all -morality would be blotted out from human actions. - -That is the difficulty which is caused to the impartial writer by a -brilliant renown; he keeps it on one side as much as he can, in order -to lay bare the truth; but the glory returns like a golden haze and -instantly covers the picture. - -* - -In order not to admit the diminution of territory and power which we -owe to Bonaparte, the present generation consoles itself by imagining -that he has given back to us in illustriousness what he has taken from -us in strength: - -"Are we not from this time forward," it asks, "famed in the four -quarters of the earth? Is not a Frenchman feared, remarked, sought out, -known on every shore?" - -But were we placed between those two conditions: either immortality -without power, or power without immortality? Alexander made the Greek -name known to the universe; none the less he left them four empires -in Asia; the language and civilization of the Hellenes extended from -the Nile to Babylon and from Babylon to the Indus. At his death, -his ancestral Kingdom of Macedon, far from being diminished, had -increased a hundred-fold in force. Bonaparte made us known on every -shore; commanded by him, the French threw Europe so low at their -feet that France still prevails by her name, and that the Arc de -l'Étoile can rise up without appearing a puerile trophy; but, before -our reverses, that monument would have stood as a witness, instead of -being only a record. And yet, had not Dumouriez, with raw recruits, -given the foreigner his first lessons[381], Jourdan won the Battle -of Fleurus[382], Pichegru conquered Belgium and Holland[383], Hoche -crossed the Rhine[384], Masséna triumphed at Zurich[385], Moreau at -Hohenlinden[386]: all exploits most difficult to obtain and preliminary -to others? Bonaparte made a corporate whole of these scattered -successes; he continued them, he caused those victories to shine forth: -but without those first wonders, would he have obtained the last? He -was raised above all things only when reason with him was executing the -inspirations of the poet. - -[Sidenote A true appreciation.] - -Our sovereign's illustriousness cost us merely two or three hundred -thousand men a year; we paid for it with merely three millions of our -soldiers; our fellow-citizens bought it merely at the cost of their -sufferings and their liberties during fifteen years: can such trifles -count? Are the generations that have come after us not resplendent? So -much the worse for those who have disappeared! The calamities under the -Republic served for the safety of all; our misfortunes under the Empire -did much more: they deified Bonaparte! That is enough for us. - -That is not enough for me: I will not stoop so low as to hide my nation -behind Bonaparte; he did not make France: France made him. No talent, -no superiority will ever bring me to consent to the power which can, -with one word, deprive me of my independence, my home, my friends: if -I do not say of my fortune and my honour, it is because one's fortune -does not appear to me to be worth the trouble of defending it; as -for honour, it escapes tyranny: it is the soul of the martyrs; bonds -encompass and do not enchain it; it pierces the vault of prisons and -carries the whole man away with it. - -The wrong which true philosophy will never forgive Bonaparte is that -he accustomed society to passive obedience, thrust back humanity -towards the times of moral degradation, and perhaps corrupted -characters in such a way that it would be impossible to say when men's -hearts will begin to throb with generous sentiments. The weakness in -which we are plunged as regards Europe, our actual abasement are the -result of the Napoleonic slavery: all that remains to us is the faculty -to bear the yoke. Bonaparte unsettled even the future: 'twould not -surprise me if, in the discomfort of our impotence, we were seen to -grow smaller, to barricade ourselves against Europe instead of going to -seek it out, to give up our freedom within to deliver ourselves from an -illusory terror without, to lose ourselves in ignoble provident cares, -contrary to our genius and to the fourteen centuries which compose our -national manners. The despotism which Bonaparte left in the air will -descend upon us in the shape of fortresses. - -The fashion nowadays is to greet liberty with a sardonic smile, to look -upon it as a piece of old lumber, fallen into disuse with honour. I am -not in the fashion: I think that there is nothing in the world without -liberty; it gives a price to life; were I to remain the last to defend -it, I would never cease to proclaim its rights. To attack Napoleon in -the name of things that are past, to assail him with ideas that are -dead is to prepare fresh triumphs for him. He is to be fought only with -something greater than himself, liberty: he was guilty towards it and -consequently towards the human race. - -* - -Vain words! Better than any do I feel their uselessness. Henceforth any -observation, however moderate it may be, is reputed profane: it needs -courage to dare brave the cries of the vulgar, not to be afraid of -being treated as a narrow intelligence, incapable of understanding and -feeling the genius of Napoleon, for the sole reason that, in the midst -of the lively and real admiration which one professes for him, one -is nevertheless not able to worship all his imperfections. The world -belongs to Bonaparte: that of which the ravisher was unable to complete -the conquest, his fame usurps; living he missed the world, dead he -possesses it. It is vain for you to protest: the generations pass by -without listening to you. Antiquity makes the son of Priam say to the -shade: - -"Judge not Hector from his little tomb; the _Iliad_, Homer, the Greeks -in flight, see there my sepulchre: I am buried under all those great -deeds." - -[Sidenote: The Napoleonic legend.] - -Bonaparte is no longer the real Bonaparte, but a legendary figure put -together from the vagaries of the poet, the talk of the soldier and the -tales of the people; it is the Charlemagne and the Alexander of the -idylls of the middle ages that we behold to-day. That fantastic hero -will remain the real personage; the other portraits will disappear. -Bonaparte is so strongly connected with absolute dominion that, -after undergoing the despotism of his person, we have to undergo the -despotism of his memory. This latter despotism is more overbearing than -the former; for, though men fought against Napoleon when he was on the -throne, there is an universal agreement to accept the irons which he -flings to us now that he is dead. He is an obstacle to future events: -how could a power issuing from the camps establish itself after him? -Has he not killed all military glory by surpassing it? How could a free -government come into being, when he has corrupted the principles of all -liberty in men's hearts? No legitimate power is now able to drive the -usurping spectre from the mind of man: the soldier and the citizen, -the Republican and the Monarchist, the rich and the poor alike place -busts and portraits of Napoleon in their homes, in their palaces or in -their cottages; the former conquered are in agreement with the former -conquerors; one cannot take a step in Italy without coming across him; -one cannot enter Germany without meeting him, for in that country the -young generation which rejected him is past. Generally, the centuries -sit down before the portrait of a great man, they finish it by means of -a long and successive work. This time, the human race has declined to -wait: perhaps it was in too great a hurry to stump a crayon drawing. It -is time to place the completed side of the idol in juxtaposition with -the defective side. - -Bonaparte is not great through his words, his speeches, his writings, -through the love of liberty which he never possessed and which he never -pretended to establish; he is great in that he created a regular and -powerful government, a code of laws adopted in different countries, -courts of law, schools, a strong, active, intelligent administration, -which still lasts us; he is great in that he revived, enlightened and -governed Italy superlatively well; he is great in that, in France, -he restored order from the midst of chaos, in that he built up the -altars, in that he reduced furious demagogues, vainglorious scholars, -anarchical men of letters, Voltairean atheists, open-air orators, -cut-throats of the prisons and streets, starvelings of the tribune, -the clubs and the scaffolds, in that he reduced them to serve under -him; he is great in that he curbed an anarchical mob; he is great in -that he put an end to the familiarities of a common fortune, in that he -forced soldiers, his equals, and captains, his chiefs or his rivals, -to bend before his will; he is great above all in that he was born of -himself alone, in that he was able, with no other authority than that -of his genius, able, he, to make himself obeyed by thirty-six million -subjects, at a time when no illusion surrounds the thrones; he is great -in that he overthrew all the kings his opponents, in that he defeated -all the armies, whatever the difference in their discipline and valour, -in that he taught his name to savage as well as to civilized peoples, -in that he surpassed all the conquerors who preceded him, in that he -filled ten years with prodigies so great that we have difficulty to-day -in understanding them. - -The famous offender in triumphal matter is no more; the few men who -still understand noble sentiments can do justice to glory without -fearing it, but without repenting of having proclaimed what that -glory had that was baleful, without recognising the destroyer of -independences as the father of emancipations: Napoleon does not need -that one should ascribe merits to him; he was richly enough endowed at -his birth. - -Now, therefore, that, severed from his time, his history is ended and -his idyll commencing, let us go to see him die: let us leave Europe; -let us follow him beneath the sky of his apotheosis! The hissing of the -seas where his ships have struck sail will point out to us the spot of -his disappearance: - -"At the extremity of our hemisphere," says Tacitus, "is heard the sound -made by the dipping sun: _sonum insuper immergentis audiri._" - -* - -João de Nova[387], a Portuguese navigator, had lost his bearings in -the waters separating Africa and America. In 1502, on the 18th of -August, the feast of St. Helen[388], mother of the first Christian -Emperor[389], he came upon an island at the 16th degree of latitude -and 11th of longitude; he landed and gave it the name of the day upon -which it was discovered. - -After frequenting the island for some years, the Portuguese -relinquished it; the Dutch established themselves there, and -subsequently abandoned it for the Cape of Good Hope; the British East -Indian Company seized it; the Dutch retook it in 1672; the British -occupied it anew and settled there. - -[Sidenote: St. Helena.] - -When João de Nova landed at St. Helena, the interior of the uninhabited -country was mere forest land. Fernando Lopez, a Portuguese renegado, -transported to that oasis, stocked it with cows, goats, hens, -guinea-fowls and birds from the four corners of the earth. On to the -island were taken successively, as on to the deck of the Ark, animals -of the whole creation. - -Five hundred whites, fifteen hundred negroes, mingled with mulattoes, -Javanese and Chinese, compose the population of the island. Jamestown -is its town and its harbour. Before the English were masters of the -Cape of Good Hope, the Company's fleets, returning from India, put in -at Jamestown. The sailors spread their slop-goods at the foot of the -cabbage-trees: the mute and solitary forest changed once a year into a -noisy and populous market. - -The climate of the island is healthy but rainy: that dungeon of -Neptune, which is only seven or eight leagues in circumference, -attracts the ocean vapours. The equatorial sun drives away every -breathing thing at noon-day, forces the very gnats into silence and -rest, obliges men and beasts to hide themselves. The billows are -illumined at night by what is called "the phosphorescent light," a -light produced by myriads of insects whose loves, electrified by the -storms, kindle upon the surface of the deep the illuminations of an -universal wedding. The shadow of the island, dark and motionless, -reposes amid a moving plain of diamonds. The spectacle of the heavens -is similarly magnificent, according to my learned and famous friend, M. -de Humboldt[390]: - -"We feel," he says, "an indescribable sensation when, on approaching -the Equator, and particularly when passing from one hemisphere to -the other, we see these stars, which we have contemplated from our -infancy, progressively sink and finally disappear.... One feels that he -is not in Europe, when he sees the immense constellation of the Ship or -the phosphorescent Clouds of Magellan arise on the horizon.... - -"We saw distinctly," he continues, "for the first time the Southern -Cross only on the night of the 4th of July, in the sixteenth degree of -latitude.... - -"I recalled the sublime passage of Dante, which the most celebrated -commentators have applied to that constellation: - - "Io mi volsi a man destra, etc.[391]" - -"Among the Portuguese and Spaniards, a religious feeling attaches them -to a constellation whose form reminds them of that sign of the faith -planted by their ancestors in the deserts of the New World." - -* - -The poets of France and of Lusitania have placed elegiac scenes on the -shores of Melinda and the neighbouring isles. It is a far cry from -those fictitious sorrows to the real torments of Napoleon under the -stars foretold by the singer of Beatrice and in those seas of Eleonora -and Virginia. Did the great men of Rome, banished to the isles of -Greece, concern themselves with the charms of those shores and the -divinities of Crete and Naxos? That which enraptured Vasco de Gama and -Camoëns could not move Bonaparte: prone on the poop of the vessel, he -did not perceive that above his head glittered unknown constellations -whose rays met his eyes for the first time. What cared he for those -stars which he had never seen from his bivouacs, which had not shone -upon his empire? And yet no star was wanting to his destiny: one half -of the firmament lighted up his cradle; the other was reserved for the -pomp of his tomb. - -The sea which Napoleon was crossing was not the friendly sea which -carried him from the harbours of Corsica, from the sands of Abukir, -from the rocks of Elba, to the shores of Provence; it was that hostile -ocean which, after enclosing him in Germany, France, Portugal and -Spain, opened out before his course only to close up again behind him. -Probably, when he saw the waves urge on his ship, the trade-winds drive -it ever further with a constant blast, he did not make the reflections -upon his catastrophe with which it inspires me: each man feels his -life in his own manner; he who affords a great spectacle to the world -is less touched and less instructed than the spectator. Occupied with -the past as though it could be reborn, hoping still in his memories, -Bonaparte scarce perceived that he was crossing the line, nor asked -what hand traced the circles in which the globes are compelled to -imprison their eternal progress. - -On the 15th of August, the wandering colony kept St. Napoleon's -Day[392] on board the vessel which was taking Napoleon to his last -halting-place. On the 15th of October, the _Northumberland_ was abreast -of St. Helena. The passenger mounted on deck: he had a difficulty in -discovering an imperceptible black speck in the bluish immensity; -he took a spy-glass: he surveyed that particle of earth as he might -formerly have surveyed a fortress in the middle of a lake. He saw the -market-town of St. James enchased in scarped rocks; not a wrinkle in -that barren face but a gun hung from it: they seemed to wish to receive -the captive according to his genius. - -[Sidenote: Arrival at St. Helena.] - -On the 16th of October 1815, Bonaparte touched the rock, his mausoleum, -even as, on the 12th of October 1492, Christopher Columbus touched the -New World, his monument: - -"There," says Walter Scott, "at the entrance to the Indian Ocean, -Bonaparte was deprived of the means of making a second _avatar_ or -incarnation on earth." - -Before being moved to the residence of Longwood, Bonaparte occupied -a hut at Briars, near Balcomb's Cottage. On the 9th of December, -Longwood, hurriedly enlarged by the carpenters of the English fleet, -received its guest. The house, situated on a mountain upland, consisted -of a drawing-room, a dining-room, a library, a study and a bed-room. -It was not much: those who inhabited the tower of the Temple and the -donjon of Vincennes were still worse lodged; true, one paid them the -attention of shortening their stay. General Gourgaud, M. and Madame de -Montholon with their children, M. de Las Cases and his son camped out -provisionally in tents; M. and Madame Bertrand installed themselves at -Hut's Gate, a cottage placed on the boundary of the grounds of Longwood. - -Bonaparte had a stretch of sand, twelve miles long, as his -exercise-ground; sentries surrounded that space and look-out men were -posted on the highest peaks. The lion could extend his walks further, -but in that case he had to consent to allow himself to be watched by an -English _bestiarius._ Two camps defended the excommunicated enclosure: -at night, the circle of the sentries was drawn in round Longwood. At -nine o'clock, Napoleon, confined, could no longer go out; the patrols -went the round; horsemen on vedette, foot-soldiers placed here and -there kept watch in the creeks and in the ravines which ran down to the -sea. Two armed brigs cruised, one to leeward, the other to wind-ward -of the island. What precautions to guard one man in the midst of -the seas! After sunset, no boat could put to sea; the fishing-boats -were numbered, and at night they remained in harbour under the -responsibility of a lieutenant in the Navy. The Sovereign Generalissimo -who had summoned the world to his stirrup was called upon to appear -twice a day before a military collar. Bonaparte did not submit to that -call; when, by good luck, he was able to avoid the sight of the officer -on duty, that officer would not have dared to say where and how he had -seen him of whom it was more difficult to establish the absence than to -prove the presence to the universe. - -Sir George Cockburn[393], the author of those severe regulations, was -replaced by Sir Hudson Lowe. Then began the bickerings about which all -the Memoirs have told us. If one were to believe those Memoirs, the -new Governor must have been of the family of the enormous spiders of -St. Helena and the reptile of those woods in which snakes are unknown. -England was lacking in elevation, Napoleon in dignity. To put an end to -his requirements of etiquette, Bonaparte sometimes seemed determined -to conceal himself behind an assumed name, like a monarch travelling -in a foreign country; he had the touching idea of taking the name -of one of his aides-de-camp, killed at the Battle of Areola[394]. -France, Austria, Russia appointed commissaries to the residence of St. -Helena[395]: the captive was accustomed to receive the ambassadors -of the two latter Powers; the Legitimacy, which had not recognised -Napoleon as Emperor, would have acted more nobly by not recognising -Napoleon as a prisoner. - -[Sidenote: Life at Longwood.] - -A large wooden house, constructed in London, was sent to St Helena; but -Napoleon did not feel well enough to inhabit it. His life at Longwood -was regulated in this way: he rose at uncertain hours; M. Marchand, his -valet, read to him when he was in bed; after rising, in the morning, -he dictated to Generals Montholon and Gourgaud and to the son of M. de -Las Cases. He breakfasted at ten o'clock, rode on horseback or drove -until about three, returned indoors at six and went to bed at eleven. -He affected to dress as he is painted in his portrait by Isabey[396]: -in the morning, he wrapped himself in a caftan and wound a Madras -handkerchief round his head. - -St. Helena lies between the two Poles. The navigators who pass from one -spot to the other salute this first station where the land refreshes -eyes wearied with the spectacle of the Ocean and offers fruits and the -coolness of sweet water to mouths chafed with salt. The presence of -Bonaparte changed this isle of promise into a plague-stricken rock: -foreign ships no longer touched there; so soon as they were signalled -at twenty leagues' distance, a cruiser went to challenge them and -charged them to keep off: none were allowed into port, except in case -of stormy weather, but the ships of the British Navy alone. - -Some of the English travellers who had lately admired or who were on -their way to see the marvels of the Ganges visited another marvel on -their road: India, accustomed to conquerors, had one chained at her -gates. - -Napoleon allowed these visits with reluctance. He consented to receive -Lord Amherst[397] on the latter's return from his Chinese embassy. -Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm[398] he liked: - -"Does your Government mean," he asked him one day, "to detain me upon -this rock until my death's day?" - -The admiral replied that he feared so. - -"Then the term of my life will soon arrive." - -"I hope not, _monsieur_; I hope that you will survive to record your -great actions; they are so numerous that the task will ensure you a -term of long life." - -Napoleon did not take offense at this simple appellation of _monsieur_; -he revealed himself at that moment through his real greatness. -Fortunately for himself, he never wrote his life; he would have -lessened it: men of that nature must leave their Memoirs to be told by -the unknown voice which belongs to nobody and which issues from the -nations and the centuries. To us every-day people alone is it permitted -to talk of ourselves, because nobody would talk of us. - -Captain Basil Hall[399] called at Longwood; Bonaparte remembered having -seen the captain's father at Brienne: - -"Your father," he said, "was the first Englishman that I ever saw; and -I have recollected him all my life on that account." - -He talked with the captain about the recent discovery of the island of -Loo-Choo: - -"The inhabitants have no arms," said the captain. - -"No arms!" exclaimed Bonaparte. "That is to say no guns: they have -muskets?" - -"Not even muskets." - -"Well, then, spears, or at least, bows and arrows?" - -"Neither one nor other." - -"Nor daggers?" - -"No, none." - -"But, without arms, how can one fight?" - -Captain Hall illustrated their ignorance with respect to all the world, -by saying they knew nothing of France and England, and never had even -heard of His Majesty. - -Bonaparte smiled in a way which struck the captain: the more serious -the countenance, the more beautiful the smile. Those different -travellers remarked that not the least trace of colour appeared in -Bonaparte's cheeks: his head resembled a marble bust whose whiteness -had been slightly yellowed by time. Not the smallest trace of a wrinkle -was discernible on his brow, nor an approach to a furrow on any part of -his countenance; his mind seemed at ease. This apparent calm gave rise -to the belief that the flame of his genius had taken flight. His manner -of speaking was slow; his expression was benignant and almost kindly; -sometimes he would dart forth dazzling glances, but that state soon -passed: his eyes became veiled and sad. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon at St. Helena.] - -Ah, other travellers known to Napoleon had, in former days, appeared -upon those shores! - -After the explosion of the infernal machine[400], a senatus-consultus -of the 4th of January 1801 decreed, without trial, by a simple -police-order, the exile beyond-seas of one hundred and thirty -Republicans: put on board the frigate _Chiffonne_ and the corvette -_Flèche_, they were taken to the Seychelle Islands and dispersed -shortly afterwards in the archipelago of the Comores, between Africa -and Madagascar: they nearly all died there. Two of the men transported, -Lefranc and Saunois, having succeeded in escaping on board an American -ship, touched at St. Helena in 1803: there, twelve years later, -Providence was to imprison their great oppressor. - -The too-famous General Rossignol[401], their companion in misfortune, a -quarter of an hour before uttering his last breath, exclaimed: - -"I die harassed by the most horrible pains; but I should die content -if I could hear that the tyrant of my country was enduring the same -sufferings[402]!" - -Thus did freedom's imprecations await him who betrayed her, even in the -other hemisphere. - -Italy, roused from her long sleep by Napoleon, turned her eyes towards -the illustrious offspring who wished to restore her to her glory, and -with whom she had re-fallen beneath the yoke. The sons of the Muses, -the noblest and most grateful of men, when they are not the vilest and -most unthankful, looked on St. Helena. The last poet of the land of -Virgil sang the last warrior of the land of Cæsar: - - Tutto ei provò, la gloria - Maggior dopo il periglio, - La fuga e la vittoria, - La reggia e il triste esiglio: - Due volte nella polvere, - Due volte sull'altar. - - Ei si nomo: due secoli, - L'un contro l'altro armato, - Sommessi a lui si volsero, - Come aspettando il fato; - Ei fè silenzio, ed arbitro - S'assise in mezzo a lor. - -"He felt all," says Manzoni[403], "the greatest glory after peril, -flight and victory, royalty and sad banishment: twice in the dust, -twice on the altar. - -"He stated his name: two centuries, one against the other armed, turned -towards him, as though awaiting their fate; he was silent and seated -himself as arbiter between them." - -* - -Bonaparte was approaching his end; devoured by an internal wound -envenomed by sorrow, he had borne that wound in the thick of -prosperity: it was the only legacy which he had received from his -father; the rest came to him from God's munificence. - -Already he reckoned six years of exile; he had needed less time to -conquer Europe. He remained almost always indoors, and read Ossian in -Cesarotti's[404] Italian translation. Everything saddened him under a -sky beneath which life seemed shorter, the sun remaining three days -less in that hemisphere than in ours. When Bonaparte went out, he -passed along rugged paths lined with aloes and sweet-scented broom. -He walked among gum-trees with sparse flowers, which the generous -winds made lean to the same side, or hid himself in the thick mists -which rolled low. He was seen seated at the feet of Diana's Peak, -Flag Staff, or Leader Hill, gazing on the sea through the gaps in the -mountains. Before him, the Ocean unfolded itself, which on the one side -bathes the coasts of Africa, on the other the American shores, and -which goes, like a marginless stream, to lose itself in the southern -seas. No civilized land nearer than the Cape of Storms. Who shall tell -the thoughts of that Prometheus torn alive by death, when, his hand -pressed to his smarting breast, he turned his gaze over the billows! -Christ was led into a high mountain whence he saw the kingdoms of the -world; but for Christ it was written to the tempter of mankind: - - "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God[405]." - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's sufferings.] - -Bonaparte, forgetting a thought of his which I have quoted ("not -having given myself life, I shall not rob myself of it"), spoke of -killing himself; he also did not remember his "order of the day" with -regard to the suicide of one of his soldiers. He believed sufficiently -in the attachment of his companions in captivity to hope that they -would consent to suffocate themselves with him in the smoke from a -brazier: the illusion was great. Such are the intoxications of a -long domination; but, in the case of Napoleon's impatiences, we must -consider only the degree of suffering to which he had attained. M. -de Las Cases, having written to Lucien on a piece of white silk, in -contravention of the regulations, received the order to leave St. -Helena[406]: his absence increased the void around the exile. - -On the 18th of March 1817, Lord Holland[407], in the House of Lords, -made a motion on the subject of the complaints forwarded to England by -General Montholon: - -"It will not be considered by posterity," he said, "whether Bonaparte -has been justly punished for his crimes, but whether Great Britain has -acted in that generous manner which becomes a great country." - -Lord Bathurst[408] opposed the motion. - -Cardinal Fesch sent two priests[409] from Italy to his nephew. The -Princess Borghese begged the favour of being allowed to join her -brother: - -"No," said Napoleon, "I would not have her witness the degrading state -to which I am reduced and the insults to which I am subjected." - -That beloved sister, _germana Jovis_, did not cross the seas: she died -in the regions where Napoleon had left his reputation. - -Schemes of abduction were formed: a Colonel Latapie, at the head of -a band of American adventurers, designed a descent on St. Helena. -Johnson[410], a resolute smuggler, meditated an attempt to carry off -Bonaparte by means of a submarine vessel. Young lords entered into -these plans; people plotted to break the chains of the oppressor: -they would have left the liberator of the human race to die in irons -without a thought Bonaparte hoped for his delivery from the political -movements of Europe. If he had lived till 1830, perhaps he would have -returned to us; but what would he have done among us? He would have -seemed infirm and out of date in the midst of the new ideas. Formerly -his tyranny appeared liberty to our slavery; now his greatness would -appear despotism to our littleness. At the present period, everything -is decrepit in a day; who lives too long dies alive. As we advance in -life, we leave three or four images of ourselves, different one from -the other: we see them next in the haze of the past, like portraits of -our different ages. - -Bonaparte, in his feebleness, no longer occupied himself except like a -child: he amused himself by digging a little basin in his garden; he -put a few fish into it: the mastick employed in cementing the basin -contained copperas, and the fish died. Bonaparte said: - -"Everything I love, everything that belongs to me is immediately -smitten." - -About the end of February 1821, Napoleon was obliged to take to his bed -and did not rise again. - -"How low am I fallen!" he murmured. "I stirred the world, and I cannot -raise my eyelid." - -He did not believe in medicine and objected to a consultation of -Antomarchi[411] with the Jamestown doctors. Nevertheless, he admitted -Dr. Arnott beside his death-bed. He dictated his will from the 13th -to the 27th of April; on the 28th, he ordered his heart to be sent to -Marie-Louise; he forbade any English surgeon to lay a hand upon him -after his decease. Persuaded that he was succumbing to the malady by -which his father had been attacked, he requested that the report of the -autopsy should be transmitted to the Duc de Reichstadt: the paternal -direction has become useless; Napoleon II. has joined Napoleon I. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's death-bed.] - -At this last hour, the religious sentiment with which Bonaparte was -always imbued awoke. Thibaudeau, in his _Mémoires sur le Consulat_, -tells us, with reference to the restoration of public worship, that the -First Consul said to him: - - "'On Sunday last, in the midst of the silence of nature, I - was walking in these gardens[412]; the sound of the bell of - Ruel suddenly came and struck my ear and renewed all the - impressions of my youth; I was moved, so powerful is the - force of early habit, and said to myself: - - "'If it is thus for me, what effect must similar memories not - produce on simple and credulous men? Let your philosophers - reply to that!'"... - - "And, raising his hands to the sky: - - "'Who is He that made all that?'" - - -In 1797, by his Proclamation of Macerata, Bonaparte authorized the -residence of the French refugee priests in the Papal States, forbade -them to be molested, ordered the convents to support them, and allotted -them a salary in money. - -His variations in Egypt, his rages against the Church, of which he was -the restorer, show that an instinct of spirituality predominated in the -very midst of his errors; for his lapses and his irritations are not of -a philosophical nature and bear the impress of the religious character. - -Bonaparte, when giving Vignale the details of the funeral lights by -which he wished his remains to be surrounded, thought he saw signs that -his instructions were displeasing to Antomarchi; he entered into an -explanation with the doctor and said to him: - -"You are above those weaknesses: but how can it be helped? I am neither -a philosopher nor a doctor; I believe in God; I am of my father's -religion. We cannot all be atheists.... Are you able not to believe -in God? For, after all, everything proclaims His existence, and the -greatest geniuses have believed it.... You are a doctor.... Those -people only tackle matter: they never believe anything." - -You strong minds of the day, give up your admiration for Napoleon; you -have nothing to do with that poor man: did he not imagine that a comet -had come to fetch him, as it had carried off Cæsar of old? Moreover, -he "believed in God;" he "was of his father's religion;" he was not a -"philosopher;" he was not an "atheist;" he had not, like you, given -battle to the Almighty, although he had defeated a good many kings; -he found that "everything proclaimed the existence" of the Supreme -Being; he declared that "the greatest geniuses had believed in that -existence," and he wished to believe as his fathers did. Lastly, O -monstrous thing, this foremost man of modern times, this man of all the -centuries, was a Christian in the nineteenth century! His will begins -with this clause: - - "I DIE IN THE APOSTOLIC AND ROMAN RELIGION, IN THE BOSOM OF - WHICH I WAS BORN MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS AGO." - -In the third paragraph of the will of Louis XVI., we read: - - "I DIE IN THE UNION OF OUR HOLY MOTHER THE CATHOLIC, - APOSTOLIC AND ROMAN CHURCH." - -The Revolution has given us many a lesson; but is there any one of -them to be compared with this? Napoleon and Louis XVI. making the -same profession of faith! Would you know the value of the Cross? Seek -through the whole world for what best suits virtue in misfortune or the -man of genius dying. - -[Sidenote: Death of Napoleon.] - -On the 3rd of May, Napoleon was administered the sacrament of Extreme -Unction and received the Blessed Viaticum. The silence of the -bed-chamber was interrupted only by the death-sob, mingled with the -regular sound of the pendulum of a clock: the shadow, before stopping -on the dial, did a few more rounds; the luminary that outlined it -had a difficulty in dying out. On the 4th, the tempest of Cromwell's -death-pangs arose: almost all the trees at Longwood were uprooted. At -last, on the 5th, at eleven minutes to six in the evening, amid the -wind, the rain and the crash of the waves, Bonaparte gave up to God -the mightiest breath of life that ever quickened human clay. The last -words caught upon the conqueror's lips were, "_Tête... armée_," or -"_Tête d'armée._" His thoughts were still wandering in the midst of -combats. When he closed his eyes for ever, his sword, dead with him, -was laid by his side, a crucifix rested on his breast: the symbol of -peace, applied to the heart of Napoleon, calmed the throbbing of that -heart even as a ray from Heaven makes the wave to fall. - -* - -Bonaparte first desired to be interred in the Cathedral of Ajaccio; -then, by a codicil dated 16 April 1821, he bequeathed his bones -to France: Heaven had served him better; his real mausoleum is -the rock on which he expired: turn back to my story of the death -of the Duc d'Enghien. Napoleon, foreseeing the opposition of the -British Government to his last wishes, eventually made choice of a -burying-place in St. Helena. - -In a narrow valley known as Slane's or Geranium Valley, now Tomb -Valley, rises a fountain; Napoleon's Chinese servants, faithful as -Camoëns' Javanese, used to fill their pitchers there: weeping willows -overhang the spring; green grass, studded with tchampas, grows all -around: - -"The tchampas, despite its brilliancy and its perfume, is not a flower -that one seeks after, because it flourishes on the tombs," say the -Sanskrit poems. - -In the declivities of the bare rocks, bitter lemon-trees thrive ill, -with cocoanut-trees, larches and cone-trees of which men collect the -gum which sticks to the beards of the goats. - -Napoleon, booted, spurred, dressed in the uniform of a colonel of the -Guard, decorated with the Legion of Honour, was laid in state on his -little iron bedstead; upon that visage which was never astonished the -soul, as it fled, had left a sublime stupor. The planishers and joiners -soldered and nailed Bonaparte into a four-fold coffin of mahogany, of -lead, of mahogany again, and of tin: they seemed to fear that he would -never be imprisoned enough. The cloak which the erstwhile victor had -worn at the vast funeral of Marengo served as a pall to the coffin. - -Napoleon delighted in the willows of the spring; he asked for peace of -the Slane Valley even as banished Dante asked for peace of the Convent -of Corvo. In gratitude for the transient repose which he tasted there -during the last days of his life, he appointed that valley as the -shelter of his eternal rest. Speaking of the source, he said: - -"If God were willing that I should recover, I would raise a monument in -the spot where it springs." - -That monument was his tomb. In Plutarch's time, in a place consecrated -to the nymphs on the banks of the Strymon, one still saw a stone bench -on which Alexander had sat - -The obsequies were held on the 28th of May. The weather was fine: four -horses, led by grooms on foot, drew the hearse; four-and-twenty English -grenadiers, carrying no arms, surrounded it; Napoleon's horse followed. -The garrison of the island lined the precipices of the road. Three -squadrons of dragoons went before the procession; the 20th Regiment of -Infantry, the marines, the St. Helena Volunteers, the Royal Artillery, -with fifteen pieces of cannon, brought up the rear. Bands of musicians, -stationed at distances on the rocks, exchanged mournful tunes. On -reaching a pass, the hearse stopped; the twenty-four unarmed grenadiers -lifted up the corpse and had the honour of carrying it on their -shoulders to the burying-place. Three volleys of artillery saluted the -remains of Napoleon at the moment when he sank into the earth: all -the noise which he had made on that earth did not penetrate six feet -beneath it. - -A stone which was to have been employed in the building of a new house -for the exile was lowered upon his coffin, as it were the trap-door of -his last cell. - -They recited the verses from Psalm 87: - - "I am poor, and in labours from my youth: and being exalted - have been humbled and troubled. - - "Thy wrath hath come upon me.... [413]" - -The flag-ship fired minute-guns. This warlike harmony, lost in the -immensity of the Ocean, made response to the _Requiescat in pace._ -The Emperor, buried by his victors of Waterloo, had heard the last -cannon-shot of that battle; he did not hear the last detonation -with which England disturbed and honoured his sleep at St. Helena. -All withdrew, holding in their hands a branch of willow, as though -returning from the Feast of Palms. - -Lord Byron thought that the dictator of kings had abdicated his renown -with his blade, that he was going to die forgotten. The poet ought to -have known that Napoleon's destiny was a muse, like all high destinies. -That muse was able to change an abortive issue into a catastrophe -which revived its hero. The solitude of Napoleon's exile and tomb has -spread over a brilliant memory a spell of a different kind. Alexander -did not die under the eyes of Greece; he disappeared in the proud -perspectives of Babylon. Bonaparte has not died under the eyes of -France; he has vanished in the gorgeous horizons of the torrid zone. -He sleeps like a hermit or like a pariah in a valley, at the end of a -deserted pathway. The magnitude of the silence which presses upon him -equals the vastness of the noise that once surrounded him. The nations -are absent, their crowd has withdrawn; the tropic bird "harnessed," -says Buffon, "to the chariot of the sun," precipitates itself from the -orb of light; where does it rest to-day? It rests upon ashes whose -weight tilted the globe. - - "They all put crowns upon themselves after his death ... and - evils were multiplied in the earth[414]." - -[Sidenote: Influence of Napoleon.] - -This summing up of the Machabees on Alexander seems made for Napoleon: -"They have put crowns _upon themselves_, and evils have been multiplied -in the earth." Scarce twenty years have passed since Bonaparte's death, -and already the French Monarchy and the Spanish Monarchy[415] are no -more. The map of the world has changed; we have had to learn a new -geography: parted from their lawful sovereigns, nations have been flung -to sovereigns taken at haphazard; famous actors have stepped down from -the stage to which nameless actors have climbed; the eagles have taken -flight from the crest of the tall pine, fallen into the sea, while -frail shell-fish have fastened on to the sides of the still protecting -trunk. - -As, in the final result, all runs to its end, "the terrible spirit of -novelty which was passing over the world," as the Emperor said, to -which he had opposed the cross-bar of his genius, resumes its course; -the conqueror's institutions decay; he will be the last of the great -individual existences; nothing henceforth will predominate in low and -levelled societies; the shade of Napoleon will tower alone at the -extremity of the destroyed old world, like the phantom of the deluge -at the edge of its abyss: a distant posterity will discern that shade -across the gulf into which unknown centuries will fall, until the -appointed day of the social re-birth. - -* - -Since it is my own life which I am writing while busying myself with -others, great and small, I am obliged to mix this life with men and -things, when it happens to be recalled. Did I, in one flight, without -ever stopping, pass through the memory of the transported one who, in -his ocean prison, awaited the execution of God's decree? No. - -The peace which Napoleon had not concluded with the kings his gaolers -he had made with me: I was a son of the sea like himself; my nativity -was one of the rock like his. I flatter myself to have known Napoleon -better than they who saw him oftener and approached him more closely. - -Napoleon at St. Helena, ceasing to have occasion to maintain his anger -with me, had abandoned his hostility; I, becoming more just in my turn, -wrote the following article in the _Conservateur_: - - "The nations have called Bonaparte a scourge; but the - scourges of God retain something of the eternity and grandeur - of the divine wrath whence they emanate: 'Ye dry bones ... - I will send spirit into you, and you shall live[416].' Born - in an island to go and die in an island, on the boundaries - of three continents; cast in the midst of the seas in which - Camoëns seemed to foretell him by placing there the genius of - the tempests, Bonaparte cannot stir on his rock but we are - apprized of it by a concussion; a step of the new Adamastor - at the other Pole makes itself felt at this. If Napoleon, - escaping from the hands of his gaolers, were to retire to the - United States, his looks fixed upon the Ocean would be enough - to disturb the nations of the Old World; his mere presence - on the American shore of the Atlantic would oblige Europe to - camp on the opposite shore[417]." - -This article reached Bonaparte at St. Helena; a hand which he thought -hostile poured the last balsam on his wounds; he said to M. de -Montholon: - -"If, in 1814 and 1815, the royal confidence had not been placed in -men whose souls were enervated by circumstances too strong for them, -or who, renegades to their country, saw safety and glory for their -master's throne only in the yoke of the Holy Alliance; if the Duc -de Richelieu, whose ambition it was to deliver his country from the -presence of the foreign bayonets, if Chateaubriand, who had just -rendered such eminent services at Ghent, had had the direction of -affairs, France would have issued powerful and dreaded from those two -great national crises. Chateaubriand has been gifted by nature with -the Promethean fire: his works witness it. His style is not that of -Racine, it is that of the prophet. If ever he arrives at the helm -of State, it is possible that Chateaubriand may go astray: so many -others have found their ruin there! But what is certain is that all -that is great and national must be fitting to his genius, and that -he would have indignantly rejected the ignominious acts of the then -administration[418]." - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's verdict on myself.] - -Such were my last relations with Bonaparte. Why should I not admit that -that opinion "tickles my heart's proud weakness"? Many little men to -whom I have rendered great services have not judged me so favourably as -the giant whose might I had dared to attack. - -* - -While the Napoleonic world was becoming obliterated, I inquired into -the places where Napoleon himself had passed from view. The tomb at -St. Helena has already worn out one of the willows his contemporaries: -the decrepit and fallen tree is daily mutilated by the pilgrims. The -sepulchre is surrounded by a cast-iron grating; three flag-stones are -laid cross-wise over the grave; a few irises grow at the head and feet; -the spring of the valley still flows in the spot where prodigious days -dried up. Travellers brought by the tempest think it the proper thing -to chronicle their obscurity on the brilliant sepulchre. An old woman -has established herself close by, and lives on the shadow of a memory; -a pensioner stands sentry in a sentry-box. - -The old Longwood, at two hundred steps from the new, is abandoned. -Across an enclosure filled with dung, one arrives at a stable; it used -to serve Bonaparte as a bed-room. A negro shows you a sort of passage -occupied by a hand-mill and says: - -"Here he died." - -The room in which Napoleon first saw the light was probably neither -larger nor more luxurious. - -At the new Longwood, Plantation House, inhabited by the Governor, one -sees the Duke of Wellington in portraiture and the pictures of his -battles. A glass-doored cupboard contains a piece of the tree near -which the English general stood at Waterloo; this relic is placed -between an olive-branch gathered in the Garden of Olives and some -ornaments worn by South-Sea savages: a curious association on the part -of the abusers of the waves. It is useless for the victor here to try -to substitute himself for the vanquished, under the protection of a -branch from the Holy Land and the memory of Cook; it is enough that, at -St. Helena, one finds solitude, the Ocean and Napoleon. - -If one were to search into the history of the transformation of the -shores made illustrious by tombs, cradles, palaces, what variety -of things and destinies would one not see, since such strange -metamorphoses are worked even in the obscure dwellings to which our -puny lives are attached! In what hut was Clovis born? In what chariot -did Attila see the light? What torrent covers Alaric's burying-place? -What jackal stands where stood Alexander's coffin of gold or crystal? -How many times have those ashes changed their place? And all those -mausoleums in Egypt and India: to whom do they belong? God alone knows -the cause of those changes linked with the mystery of the future: -for men there are truths hidden in the depths of time; they manifest -themselves only with the help of the ages, even as there are stars so -far removed from the earth that their light has not yet reached us. - -* - -But while I was writing this, time has progressed: it has produced an -event which would partake of greatness, if events did not nowadays -tumble into the mud. We have asked in London to have Bonaparte's -remains restored; the request has been entertained: what does England -care for old bones? She will make us as many presents of that sort as -we like. Napoleon's remains have come back to us at the moment of our -humiliation; they might have undergone the right of search; but the -foreigner showed himself compliant: he gave a pass to the ashes. - -The translation of Napoleon's relics is an offense against fame. No -burial in Paris will ever be as good as Slane Valley: who would wish -to see Pompey elsewhere than in the furrow of sand thrown up by a poor -freedman, assisted by an old legionary? What shall we do with those -magnificent relics in the midst of our miseries? Will the hardest -granite represent the perpetuity of Bonaparte's works? If even we -possessed a Michael Angelo to carve the funeral statue?--How would one -fashion the monument? To little men mausoleums, to great men a stone -and a name. If, at least, they had suspended the coffin on the coping -of the Arc de Triomphe, if the nations had seen their master from afar -borne on the shoulders of his victories? Was not Trajan's urn in Rome -set at the top of his column? Napoleon, among us, will be lost in the -mob of those tatterdemalions of dead who steal away in silence. God -grant that he may not be exposed to the vicissitudes of our political -changes, protected though he may be by Louis XIV., Vauban and Turenne! -Beware of those violations of tombs so common in our country! Let a -certain side of the Revolution triumph, and the conqueror's dust may go -to join the dusts which our passions have scattered: men will forget -the vanquisher of the nations to remember only the oppressor of their -liberties. The bones of Napoleon will not reproduce his genius: they -will teach his despotism to second-rate soldiers. - -[Sidenote: Napoleon's home-coming.] - -Be this as it may, a frigate was supplied to a son[419] of -Louis-Philippe: a name dear to our ancient naval victories protected -it on the waves. Sailing from Toulon, where Bonaparte had embarked in -his might for the conquest of Egypt, the new Argo came to St. Helena -to claim what no longer existed. The sepulchre, with its silence, -continued to rise motionless in Slane or Geranium Valley. Of the two -weeping willows, one had fallen; Lady Dallas, the wife of a governor -of the island, had planted, to replace the decayed tree, eighteen -young willows and four-and-thirty cypresses; the spring, still there, -flowed as when Napoleon drank its water. During a whole night, under -the direction of an English captain named Alexander, the men worked at -opening the monument. The four coffins fitted one within the other, the -mahogany coffin, the lead coffin, the second mahogany or West-Indian -wood coffin, and the tin coffin, were discovered intact. They proceeded -to the inspection of those mummified moulds in a tent, in the centre of -a circle of officers, some of whom had known Bonaparte. - -"When the last coffin was opened," says the Abbé Coquereau[420], -"our looks plunged in. They met a whitish mass which covered the -whole length of the body. Dr. Gaillard, touching it, distinguished a -white satin cushion which lined the inside of the upper plank of the -coffin: it had become unfastened and lay about the remains like a -winding-sheet.... - -"The whole body seemed as though covered with a light foam; one would -have said that we were looking at it through a transparent cloud. It -was certainly his head: a pillow raised it slightly; his wide forehead, -his eyes, the sockets of which were outlined beneath the eye-lids, -still fringed with a few lashes; his cheeks were swollen, his nose -alone had suffered, his mouth, half-open, displayed three teeth of -great whiteness; on his chin the mark of the beard was perfectly -clear; his two hands especially seemed to belong to some one who still -breathed, so quick were they in tone and colouring; one of them, the -left hand, was raised a little higher than the right; his nails had -grown after death: they were long and white; one of his boots had come -unsewn and let through four of his toes of a dull white." - -* - -What was it that struck the disinterrers? The inanity of earthly -things? Man's vanity? No, the beauty of the dead man; his nails only -had lengthened, to tear, I presume, what remained of liberty in the -world. His feet, restored to humility, no longer rested on crown -cushions; they lay bare in their dust. The son of Condé also was -dressed in the moat at Vincennes; yet Napoleon, so well preserved, had -been reduced to exactly those "three teeth" which the bullets had left -in the jaw of the Duc d'Enghien. - -The eclipsed star of St. Helena has reappeared to the great joy of -the peoples: the world has seen Napoleon again; Napoleon has not seen -the world again. The conqueror's vagrant ashes have been looked down -upon by the same stars that guided him to his exile: Bonaparte passed -through the tomb, as he passed through everything, without stopping. -Landed at the Havre, the corpse arrived at the Arc de Triomphe, a -canopy beneath which the sun shows its face on certain days of the -year. From that arch to the Invalides, one saw nothing but wooden -columns, plaster busts, a statue of the Great Condé (a hideous pulp -which ran), deal obelisks commemorative of the victor's indestructible -life. A sharp cold made the generals drop around the funeral car, as -in the retreat from Moscow. Nothing was beautiful, except the mourning -barge which had carried Napoleon in silence on the Seine, and a -crucifix. - -Robbed of his catafalque of rocks, Napoleon has come to be buried -in the dirt of Paris. Instead of ships which used to salute the new -Hercules, consumed upon Mount Œta, the washerwomen of Vaugirard will -roam around him with pensioners unknown to the Grande Armée. By way of -prelude to this feebleness, little men were able to imagine nothing -better than an open-air wax-work show. After a few days' rain, nothing -remained of these decorations but squalid odds and ends. Whatever we -may do, the real sepulchre of the triumpher will always be seen in the -midst of the seas: the body is with us, the life immortal at St. Helena. - -Napoleon has closed the era of the past: he made war too great for it -to return in a manner to interest mankind. He slammed the doors of the -Temple of Janus violently after him; and behind those doors he heaped -up piles of dead bodies, to prevent them from ever opening again. - -* - -[Sidenote: A visit to the Golfe Juan.] - -In Europe I have been to visit the parts where Bonaparte landed after -breaking his ban at Elba. I alighted at the inn at Cannes[421] at the -very moment when the guns were firing in commemoration of the 29th of -July[422]: one of the results of the Emperor's incursion, doubtless -unforeseen by him. Night had fallen when I arrived at the Golfe Juan; I -got down at a lonely house alongside the high-road. Jacquemin, potter -and inn-keeper, the owner of the house, led me to the sea. We went by -sunk roads between olive-trees under which Bonaparte had bivouacked: -Jacquemin himself had received him and guided me. To the left of the -cross-path stood a sort of covered shed: Napoleon, invading France -alone, had deposited the luggage with which he had landed in that shed. - -On reaching the beach, I saw a calm sea wrinkled by not the slightest -breath; the surge, thin as gauze, unrolled itself over the sand -noiselessly and foamlessly. An astonishing sky, all resplendent with -constellations, crowned my head. The crescent of the moon soon sank and -hid itself behind a mountain. In the gulf lay only one bark at anchor, -and two boats: to the left appeared the Antibes light-house, to the -right the Lérins Isles; before me, the main sea opened out to the South -in the direction of Rome, to which Bonaparte had first sent me. - -The Lérins Isles, now called the Sainte-Marguerite Isles, of old -received a few Christians fleeing before the Barbarians. St. -Honoratus[423], coming from Hungary, landed on one of those rocks: he -climbed a palm-tree, made the sign of the Cross, and all the serpents -died, that is to say, paganism disappeared and the new civilization was -born in the West. - -Fourteen hundred years later, Bonaparte came to end that civilization -in the parts in which the saint had commenced it. The last solitary -of those hermitages was the Man in the Iron Mask, if the Iron Mask is -a reality. From the silence of the Golfe Juan, from the peace of the -islands of the anchorites of old, issued the noise of Waterloo, which -crossed the Atlantic to die out at St Helena. - -[Sidenote: In praise of indifference.] - -One can imagine what I felt, between the memories of two societies, -between a world extinct and a world ready to become extinct, at night, -on that deserted sea-board. I left the beach in a sort of religious -consternation, leaving the billows to pass and pass again, without -obliterating them, over the traces of Napoleon's last step but one. - -At the end of each great epoch of time, one hears some voice, doleful -with regrets of the past, sound the curfew: thus moaned they who saw -vanish Charlemagne, St. Louis, Francis I., Henry IV. and Louis XIV. -What could I not say, in my turn, eye-witness that I am of two or three -lapsed worlds? When one has met, as I have, Washington and Bonaparte, -what remains there to look at behind the plough of the American -Cincinnatus and the tomb at St Helena? Why have I survived the age -and the men to whom I belonged by the date of my birth? Why did I not -fall with my contemporaries, the last of an exhausted race? Why have I -remained alone to seek their bones in the dust and darkness of a full -catacomb? I am disheartened at lasting. Ah, if only I possessed the -indifference of one of those old long-shore Arabs whom I met in Africa! -Seated cross-legged on a little rope mat, their head wrapped in their -burnoose, they while away their last hours in following with their -eyes, in the azure of the sky, the beautiful flamingo flying along the -ruins of Carthage; lulled by the murmuring of the waves, they half -forget their existence and, in a low voice, sing a song of the sea: -they are going to die. - -[356] The Empress Joséphine died at the Malmaison on the 29th of May -1814.--B. - -[357] 29 June 1815.--B. - -[358] Nicolas Léonard Comte Beker (1770-1840), a general of division, -count of the Empire, and grand officer of the Legion of Honour. -He fell out of favour with Napoleon, and was sent in disgrace to -Belle-Isle-en-Mer, where he remained in command till 1814. He was a -member of the Chamber of Representatives during the Hundred Days. Louis -XVIII. raised him to the peerage in 1819.--B. - -[359] Louis XVI. purchased Rambouillet from the Penthièvre Family in -1778.--T. - -[360] 3 July 1815.--B. - -[361] Captain, later Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland -(1779-1839).--T. - -[362] Themistocles (_circa_ 535 B.C.--470 B.C.) took refuge, when -exiled from Athens, first with Admetes King of the Molossians, -and secondly with Artaxerxes I. King of Persia, who showed him a -magnificent hospitality, but wished to make him bear arms against -Greece. Themistocles took poison to avoid being forced to obey.--T. - -[363] General Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1777-1849) accompanied the -Russian army in the campaign of 1812 and took a prominent part in the -fighting. He was appointed Governor of Gibraltar in 1842. Wilson was -one of the three Englishmen instrumental in the escape of the Comte de -Lavallette from Paris in 1816.--T. - -[364] Mikhail Kutuzoff, Field-marshal Prince of Smolensk (1745-1813), -commanded the Russian forces at Borodino and Smolensk in 1812.--T. - -[365] Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, Viscount Keith (1746-1823), -Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet, was at Plymouth when the -news reached him of Bonaparte's surrender, and was, throughout, the -intermediary between the Government and Napoleon relative to his being -sent to St. Helena.--T. - -[366] Tamerlane Khan of Tartary (1336-1405), the famous Oriental -warrior.--T. - -[367] Dominique Francois Toussaint-Louverture (1743-1803), a coloured -native of San Domingo, assisted the French to drive out the Spaniards -and English and to repress a rising of mulattoes, and was successively -appointed general of brigade, general of division, and finally -Commander-in-Chief of the armies of San Domingo. But, in 1800, he -proclaimed himself President for life. He refused to recognise General -Leclerc, sent out to restore French authority (1802), but found himself -obliged to capitulate, and was arrested as a conspirator, transported -to France, and imprisoned in the fort of Joux, where he died.--T. - -[368] Charles IV. King of Spain (1748-1819) was sent as a prisoner, by -Napoleon, to Compiègne and to Marseilles.--T. - -[369] Colonel Sir Hudson Lowe (1770-1844), Napoleon's keeper at St. -Helena. He was promoted on his return, in 1823, and richly rewarded -for his services, but lost the greater portion of his fortune in -speculation.--T. - -[370] Charles Tristan Comte de Montholon (1782-1853) remained with -Bonaparte until his death. He published his _Mémoires pour servir_ -in collaboration with General Gourgaud, and, in 1840, took part in -Louis-Napoleon's expedition to Boulogne, subsequently sharing his -imprisonment at Ham.--T. - -[371] Marie Joseph Emmanuel Auguste Dieudonné Comte de Las Cases -(1766-1842) was expelled by Lowe from St. Helena in 1816 and sent to -the Cape of Good Hope; later he was sent to Europe and detained as -a prisoner. He was permitted to return to France after the death of -Napoleon, and published his famous _Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène_ in -1822-23.--T. - -[372] Napoleon was not disarmed. According to M. Thiers, "as he was -crossing from the _Bellerophon_ to the _Northumberland_, Admiral Keith, -with visible pain and in the most respectful tone, addressed these -words to the Emperor: - -"'General, England commands me to ask for your sword.' - -"To these words Napoleon replied with a look which showed to what -extremities it would be necessary to stoop to disarm him. Lord Keith -did not insist, and Napoleon kept his glorious sword." - -This scene is pure fiction; it is even contradicted by the Comte de Las -Cases in his _Mémorial_, where he says: - -"I asked if it would be really possible that they should go so far as -to take the Emperor's sword from him. The admiral replied that they -would respect it, but that Napoleon would be the only one, and that all -the rest would be disarmed." - -Napoleon therefore kept his sword, and his companions recovered theirs -on their arrival at St. Helena.--B. - -[373] The combined Dutch and English fleets defeated the French fleet -off Cape la Hogue on the 29th of May 1692.--T. - -[374] The French gained a bloody victory over the Russians at Smolensk -in 1812.--T. - -[375] These references, occurring in Books II. and III., form part of -the portion excised from the Memoirs for separate publication.--T. - -[376] Caius Asinius Pollio (B.C. 77--A.D. 3): _cf._ the Letters to -Cicero.--T. - -[377] Louis XIV. King of France (1638-1715) was 68 years of age at the -date of the Battle of Ramillies.--T. - -[378] François de Neufville, Maréchal Duc de Villeroi (1643-1730), was -defeated at Ramillies by the Duke of Marlborough in 1706.--T. - -[379] As who, in these days, should say "Tommy."--T. - -[380] Elizabeth Patterson (1785-1879) married Jerome Bonaparte, at -Philadelphia, in 1803. He divorced her, in 1807, at Napoleon's bidding, -in order to marry the Princess Catherine of Wurtemberg.--T. - -[381] Dumouriez defeated the Austrians at Jemappes on the 6th of -October 1792.--T. - -[382] 27 Tune 1794.--T. - -[383] April to November 1794.--T. - -[384] February 1797.--T. - -[385] 25 and 26 September 1799.--T. - -[386] 3 December 1800.--T. - -[387] João de Nova (_fl._ 1500) was a Spanish navigator in Portuguese -service. He had discovered the island of Concepcion in the previous -year.--T. - -[388] St. Helen (_d._ 328), first wife of Constantius I. Chlorus and -mother of Constantine. Her husband repudiated her when he was created -Emperor, to marry the daughter of Maximian. When Constantine became -Emperor, he gave his mother the title of Empress, and she embraced -Christianity with her son. St. Helen visited Jerusalem in 325, built a -church on Mount Calvary, and discovered the remains of the True Cross -in 326.--T. - -[389] Constantine I. the Great (274-337) became Emperor in 306 and -embraced Christianity in 312.--T. - -[390] Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the -Prussian explorer, author of several geographical works including the -_Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du nouveau continent_ (Paris, 1799 _et -seq._), from which the above extract is taken.--T. - -[391] - - Io mi volsi a man destra, e posi mente - All'astro polo, e vidi quattro stelle - Non viste mai fuor ch'alla prima gente. - (_Il Purgatorio_, I. 22-24).--B. - -[392] St Napoleon (_fl._ 13th century), of Rome, canonized by Pope -Pius VII. to be honoured on the 15th of August, the date of Napoleon -Bonaparte's birthday in 1769.--T. - -[393] Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772-1853) conveyed Bonaparte to -St. Helena on board the _Northumberland_ and remained at St. Helena as -Governor from October 1815 to the summer of 1816.--T. - -[394] M. Muiron (_d._ 1796).--B. - -[395] The French commissary was the Marquis de Montchenu; the Austrian, -Baron von Stürmer; the Russian, the Comte de Balmaine.--B. - -[396] Jean Baptiste Isabey (1764-1855), a pupil of David, and a famous -miniature painter. He was successively appointed first painter to the -Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Court Painter to the Emperor and, later, -to King Louis XVIII., Organizer of Court Festivities, and Assistant -Keeper of the Royal Museums (1827). Isabey painted the portraits in -miniature of all the principal persons in Europe, from Napoleon to -Alexander.--T. - -[397] William Pitt second Lord, later first Earl Amherst (1773-1857) -was sent, in 1816, as Ambassador to China, where he met with but small -success. Lord Amherst was appointed Governor-General of India in -1823.--T. - -[398] Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm (1768-1838), Commander-in-Chief of -the St. Helena Station in 1816 and 1817.--T. - -[399] Captain Basil Hall (1788-1844), author of a number of volumes -of Voyages, the best-known of which was published in 1815, after his -return from St. Helena, entitled, _An Account of a Voyage of Discovery -to the West Coast of Corea and the great Loo-Choo Islands._--B. - -[400] The explosion, directed against Bonaparte while First Consul, -took place on the 24th of December 1800, in the Rue Saint-Nicaise in -Paris, a few moments after the Consul had passed by. Eight persons were -killed and twenty-eight grievously wounded.--T. - -[401] Jean Antoine Rossignol (1759-1802), a famous and shifty -demagogue, had been General Commanding-in-Chief in the Vendée of the -army known as that of the Côtes de La Rochelle. He displayed the -grossest incapacity and was guilty of the greatest atrocities. He had -been constantly imprisoned by various governments or parties, and, -after the explosion of the infernal machine, was transported to the -Island of Anjuan or Johanna, in the Comores, where he died on the 28th -of April 1802.--T. - -[402] _Cf._ VICTOR BARRUCAND, _La Vie véritable de Jean Rossignol_ -(Paris, 1896).--B. - -[403] Alessandro Conte Manzoni (1784-1873), the Italian poet, from -whose ode, _Il Cinque Maggio_, the above lines are taken.--T. - -[404] Melchiore Cesarotti (1730-1808), professor of Greek and Hebrew -at the University of Padua, had received many kindnesses at Napoleon's -hands. He published valuable translations in Italian of Ossian, -Demosthenes and Homer, in addition to several original works on -literature and philosophy.--T. - -[405] LU. IV, 5-12.--T. - -[406] 27 November 1816.--B. - -[407] Henry Richard Vassall Fox, third Lord Holland (1773-1840), nephew -and follower of Charles James Fox, and noted for his generous conduct -towards France.--T. - -[408] Henry third Earl Bathurst (1762-1834), Secretary for War and the -Colonies in Lord Liverpool's Ministry.--T. - -[409] The Abbé Buonavita and the Abbé Vignale. They arrived at St. -Helena on the 20th of September 1819.--B. - -[410] Thomas Johnson (1772-1839), alternately a smuggler and a pilot -to the Royal Navy, twice broke jail and ended as the recipient of a -pension of £100 a year.--T. - -[411] Francesco Antomarchi (1780-1830), a native of Corsica, was a -professor of anatomy at Florence, when Cardinal Fesch selected him to -go to St. Helena to attend Napoleon, from whose side Dr. O'Meara had -been removed. He arrived in the same ship as the Abbés Buonavita and -Vignale and remained with the Emperor till his death.--B. - -[412] At the Malmaison.--_Author's Note._ - -[413] _Ps._ LXXXVII. 16, 17.--T. - -[414] _Machab._ I. 10.--T. - -[415] On the death of Ferdinand VII., in 1833, the crown was usurped -on behalf of Isabella II., to the prejudice of Charles V., the _de -jure_ King, with the Dowager Queen Christina as Regent. The latter -was forced, in 1840, to abdicate the Regency in favour of General -Espartero, the revolutionary leader, who remained in power until -1843.--T. - -[416] EZE. 37, 4-5.--T. - -[417] _Conservateur_, 17 November 1818 (vol. I. p. 333).--B. - -[418] MONTHOLON: _Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de France sous -Napoléon_, vol. IV. p. 243.--_Author's Note._ - -[419] François Ferdinand Philippe Louis Marie Prince de Joinville -(1818-1900), fourth son of Louis Philippe, commanded the frigate -_Belle-Poule_ sent to convey Napoleon's remains to France in 1840.--T. - -[420] The Abbé Félix Coquereau (1808-1866) was chaplain of the frigate -_Belle-Poule_, and author of _Souvenirs de Sainte-Hélène_ from which -the above quotation is taken. In 1850, Louis Napoleon appointed him -Chaplain-in-Chief to the fleet.--B. - -[421] Chateaubriand visited Cannes and the Golfe Juan in the month of -July 1838.--B. - -[422] The 29th of July 1830 was the date of the abdication of Charles -X., the last reigning sovereign of the Elder Branch of the House of -Bourbon.--T. - -[423] St. Honoratus, Bishop of Arles (_d._ 429) founded the monastery -of Lerins, _circa_ 400. He is honoured on the 16th of January.--T. - - -END OF VOL. III. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Memoirs of François René Vicom -e de Chateaubriand sometime Ambassad, by François René Chateaubriand - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS--DE CHATEAUBRIAND, VOL 3 *** - -***** This file should be named 54807-0.txt or 54807-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/0/54807/ - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodriguez & Marc D'Hooghe at Free -Literature (online soon in an extended version, also linking -to free sources for education worldwide ... MOOC's, -educational materials,...) Images generously made available -by the Hathi Trust. - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |