PRIVATE DIARIES OF THE MPRESS MARIE-LOU! SAN OIEGO THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF THE EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF THE EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE WIFE OF NAPOLEON I WITH INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY BY FREDERIC MASSON ACAD&M1E FRANfAISE WITH PORTRAITS NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1922 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION 7 II. MARIE -LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE 11 III. FEOM BEAUNAU TO COMPIEGNE, 1810 .... 42 IV. JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN, APRIL 27- JUNE 1, 1810 69 V. SAINT-CLOUD FONTAINEBLEAU PABIS SAINT-CLOUD BAMBOUILLET, JUNE 1, 1810-MAY 22, 1811 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG, MAY 22-JuNE 4 . . 103 VI. THE JOURNEY OF 1811 122 VII. JOURNEY TO DRESDEN AND PRAGUE, 1812 . . . 145 VIII. JOURNEY TO MAYENCE, 1812-1818 169 IX. JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG, 1818 209 INDEX . 289 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE EMPRESS MAKIE-LOUISE ...... Frontispiece from a print in the potsettion of Sir Morgan Crofton. Bart. THE EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE .... Facing page 124 From a miniature in the potseition of Sir Morgan Crofton, Bart, [Photos by permission of Paul Laib, West Brompton, S. W.~] THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF THE EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION IN 1918 I received a communication from London in which Lady Thompson invited me to consider a Diary of the Journeys of the Empress Marie-Louise, which had been bequeathed to her, with a view to its publication. I accepted this proposal with much pleasure, and shortly after received the manuscript, the contents of which convinced me of its authenticity. This manuscript, the size of note-paper, is bound into a red morocco volume, the covers and fly-leaves being lined with green satin. The script is contem- poraneous with the early years of last century, being regular and well-formed. At first it did not appear to me to be the handwriting of the Empress ; the perusal of the text, however, removed all doubt as to its origin. In answer to my inquiries as to how this manu- script had come into her possession, Lady Thompson forwarded me a letter from her grandmother, Mrs. Smijth Windham, which runs as follows : 8 INTRODUCTION [On. I " In the year 1836 I became acquainted with a Swiss governess, called Mdlle. Muller, who lived many years with Lady Jane Peel. She was very intimate with a governess I had for my children, and I came into the room one day as she was reading these Memoirs to her friend. I stopped to listen, and then borrowed the book, which amused us much. " Some months after this I proposed to her to let me purchase it, and after some hesitation she agreed. " All she knew of it was, her brother Monsieur Muller was tutor to one of Marie-Louise's pages who was in waiting when she escaped from the Tuileries ; he picked it up from the floor and gave it to his tutor some time afterwards. " The page's name is written in small characters on the first leaf of the book Vicomte de * . . . I for- get the name. This is all I know. " KATH. SMIJTH WINDHAM." Nevertheless, there are cogent proofs to demon- strate the authenticity of the manuscript. It is divided into three parts ; the first records the Imperial journey in the departments of Northern France and Belgium, between April 27 and May 13, 1810 ; the second comprises the journey of Marie-Louise to Mayence from July 23 to August 9, 1813 ; the third, her journey to Cherbourg from August 23 to September 5, 1813. These three journeys mark important epochs in the Emperor's history ; the first was made in the full enjoyment and splendour of a destiny * The name of the page is pencilled so faintly that it is now illegible. -H. K. Thompson. BEGINNING OF THE DIARY 9 fulfilled ; the second and the third were undertaken when sinister rumours were in the air, when treason was breeding, when the very basis of the system, the Austrian Alliance, had been destroyed. It appeared to me indispensable to place these three episodes in a setting that would bring out their full value and significance. While it would be im- possible to describe the other journeys made by Marie-Louise in detail, it seemed advisable not to ignore them altogether. The first, which began at Braunau, March 16, 1810. and ended at Compiegne on the 27th, was followed by many others apart from what were termed the petite voyages or excursions, which involved a life of insufferable nomadism, devoid of any permanent centre. The Diary commences on April 27, 1810, the journey during which Marie-Louise jotted down the first pages. This was followed by a period of delicate health and the birth of the King of Rome. From May 27 to June 4, 1811, she travelled in Normandy, and no diary of that journey has hitherto been dis- covered. Between September 19 and October 11, she made a journey to Belgium, Holland, and the Rhenish Provinces, where for several days her corre- spondence with the Emperor formed a diary. In 1812, Napoleon left Saint-Cloud on May 9 with Marie- Louise, from whom he parted at Dresden on the 29th. She went from there to Prague, where she remained until July 1, going thence on the 7th to Wurzburg, where she stayed for a week. On the 18th she arrived 10 INTRODUCTION [On. I at Saint-Cloud. On December 18 the Emperor re- turned to Paris. Next we have the two journeys recorded below : those of 1813 to Mayence, where the Empress joined her husband, and the one to Cherbourg, where she attended the opening of the dock. During 1814 there was the terrible journey to Blois, which signified abdication ; likewise the journey of the disillusioned Empress to Vienna, and then the journey to Aix, and that Excursion aux Glaciers de la Savoie as recorded by the pen of Meneval, or perhaps by that of Neipperg, if he committed himself to paper. Such was the Imperial life and destiny of the Arch- Duchess. We shall part from her at the journey to Blois, but we may link up the vicissitudes of her career as Empress by means of well-established facts and other documents indited by Marie-Louise herself. To this end I have made frequent use of a book which I published some years ago,* with the addition of certain letters by which we are permitted to penetrate the intimate thoughts of Marie-Louise, to appreciate her sentiments, to judge her ideas, and to determine whether we shall perpetuate the curse with which the French nation has branded her ; or whether, following the example of Napoleon himself, we shall look upon her with a certain indulgence as a weak vessel, fettered by obedience to tradition, carried away by tempera- ment, and enslaved by mediocre ambitions. FRfeo^Ric MASSON. PARIS, November, 1920. * L' Imperatrice Marie-Louise (1809-1815) : Frd6ric Masson. CHAPTER II MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE THE House of Austria, which had dominated the world and held up the course of the sun in its States, was in 1809 reduced to lamentable indigence. Deprived of its army, revenues, and most of its possessions, some happy chance alone could reinstate this Empire in its former position. Austria was apparently at the point of death, and the oligarchs who ruled her and used her as a mask, were concerned lest she should expire. The House of Hapsburg-Lorraine is one of the most remarkable in Europe, and claims a brief consideration. After having occupied the Imperial Throne for three centuries, the House of Hapsburg became extinct with the Emperor Charles VI. in 1720. By virtue of the monarchical arrangement, it claimed to have perpetuated itself through the marriage of Maria-Theresa, heiress of the Hapsburgs, with Francis Duke of Lorraine and Bar. In 1735, by the Peace of Vienna, the Duke of Lorraine restored to France the states over which his race had ruled since 1038. In exchange he received the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which neither Austria nor Lorraine had a shadow of right, but which would shortly be vacant owing to the imminent demise of Jean-Gaston de Medicis, last of his race. 11 12 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II Francis of Lorraine was married in 1736, became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1737, and was elected and crowned Emperor of Germany in 1745. He had an imposing family by Maria-Theresa, consisting of five sons and eleven daughters. His son Leopold II. also had sixteen children by Marie-Louise of Spain, and his eldest son Francis, who succeeded in 1792 as Francis II., had ten by his second wife Maria-Theresa, daughter of Ferdinand I. of Naples and Sicily. Blemishes abounded on the side of the Sicilian Bourbons, and this family, which spread the germs of tuberculosis throughout all the royal races allied to it, did not spare the House of Austria. The latter in addition bore the unmistakable signs of degeneration, multiplied and stereotyped by a succession of con- sanguineous marriages, until the hereditary type, persisting through the centuries, became the hall- mark of the race. What, then, were its intellectual characteristics? It has been said that " The physical likeness was accompanied by an intellectual affinity of tastes, interests, and ambitions that lasted for centuries" (Dr. Galippe). The cause of this banal influence may perhaps be sought in the inflexible system to which all the princes and princesses of this House were subjected from their birth. Nor was this all. Their education was inseparably bound up with a religious discipline that crushed and suppressed all freedom of thought, a'ong with the polyglot instruc- tion that tended to obscure ideas by an infinite multi- plication of forms of expression ; for, the more varied THE AUSTRIAN COURT 13 the words into which thought is translated, the less clear does the thought become. This religious com- pulsion multiplied observances and devotions without appeal to conscience, nor did it inculcate any moral obligation or sense of human responsibility in these princes. The exercise of individual thought was stunted, and all activity absorbed in the performance of minute daily duties ; this, with absolute subordina- tion to the Imperial Order, formed the basis of the family government. So long as they yielded strict submission the Arch-Dukes received titles and great possessions; they might command armies if they had the requisite genius. But here again they owed obedience to the Aulic Council which represented the Emperor, and if they sought to emancipate themselves were crushed without regard to their position or reputation. The Austrian Court, while the most sumptuous, was also the simplest in Europe. When it had a mind to make a display, its pomp equalled the magnificence of an Oriental potentate. Four supreme departments, each with a directive administration under the im- mediate orders of the respective Grand Dignitaries, controlled thousands of officials. That of the Premier Grand Master of the Court, e.g., comprised the offices of the Grand Master of the Kitchen, Grand Master of the Plate, Grand Steward of the Household, Director- General of Court Buildings, Prefect of the Library, Superintendent of the Band, Grand Master of the Ceremonies; it controlled the German, Hungarian, and Italian Guards of Nobles as well as the Traban B 14 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II Guards and the Palace Guard of whom the Premier Grand Master was Colonel ; it was responsible for the Court Chapel, also for the medical and financial de- partments, and for the superintendence of the furniture, gardens, menagerie, and counting-house. In like manner, the Grand Chamberlain, Grand Marshal, and Grand Equerry each controlled a corresponding number of appointments. This Court was sumptu- ously apparelled. The uniforms were of the utmost magnificence, and the national costumes were adorned with diamonds and precious stones. The style of the garments, the splendour of the materials, the choice furs, tall head-dresses, and brilliant arms, rivalled the magnificence of adjacent Turkey. Along with this, nothing could be simpler, more ordinary, more bourgeois than the habitual daily life of the Sovereign and the princes of his House. When he went out the Emperor took neither suite, nor guards, nor escort, and his relaxation in an existence which was regulated to the minute, consisted in the practice of some handicraft such as making sealing- wax, in despatching official letters, or in a visit at fixed hours to some obscure or impecunious mistress. The princesses of the blood were brought up under the direction of a governess or aja, who was charged with the superintendence of their household, the arrangement of their occupations, and the supervision of their tasks and instruction in the languages spoken within and without the Monarchy. They led a se- cluded and cloistered existence, and only females were kept in their bird-cages and dog-kennels. Their THE FAMILY COMPACT 15 reading was censored as well as their correspondence ; music alone was permissible, and formed their main diversion. These princesses, however, constituted the reserve corps of the Monarchy. With indisputable skill the Emperor kept it at full strength, and was ever ready to mobilise it. After defeating Austria in the War of the Succession, the House of Bourbon believed it held the mastery of Europe by reason of France, Spain, Naples, and Parma, and that it was only necessary to unite these four Powers in a close alliance the Family Compact. This was accomplished, and it was imagined in France that the sacrifice of so much blood and the heavy costs justified the issue. Austria, however, weary of useless wars, disposed of three of her daughters to Versailles, Naples, and Parma, which sufficed to dissolve the Family Compact, to sever the alliances, to embroil Madrid and Versailles, to pour the royal treasures into Austria's empty coffers, and to render abortive all the combinations which aimed at annexa- tion of the Austrian Low Countries or resistance to the projects of the Queen of the Two Sicilies. Austria took her revenge by means of three or four of Maria- Theresa's daughters, and under the most astonishing misapprehension, the Governments (blind to the hereditary blemishes, to feminine ambition, to the anti-dynastic, anti-national influence of these women) accepted as gospel the statement of Maria-Theresa that her children were monies a enfants, who brought to the countries they honoured by their advent a reserve which would restrain them in politics, an 16 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II economy which they would apply consistently, a harmony of virtues which would make them good mothers, good wives, and good sovereigns. They contrived to be Arch Duchesses of Austria, and for Austria that sufficed. In 1809, vanquished Austria was seeking to take her revenge. The procedure which had been success- ful half a century ago would serve her turn again. It was only necessary to fix the price. In 1809, the Emperor Francis, second of the name in Lorraine, second in Germany, first in Austria, had been reigning seventeen years. He ascended the throne on the death of his father, Leopold II., and had made perpetual war upon France since 1790, upon Napoleon since 1796. The Emperor did not accom- pany his armies, but gambled by proxy and lost every throw. The Low Countries, Lombardy, the Brisgau, the left bank of the Rhine were his first stake ; Tus- cany and the rights over Italy as a whole, the second ; the Venetian States, Tyrol and the Empire of Germany itself, the third ; Carnolia, Trieste, Friuli, Carinthia, Galicia, and Dalmatia, the fourth ; besides the war subsidies, and the occupation of most of his States by the military who might be cheery boon companions, but were none the less avaricious and out for pillage. The Emperor had instigated the campaigns and had declared war upon four occasions in the name of Austria-Hungary. He seldom took direct responsi- bility, but lent his name to the syndicate composed of all the enemies of revolutionary France. Consider what that syndicate stood for ; what hatred smoul- A DEGRADED EMEIRE 17 dered beneath it, what strings it pulled, what relations it established. It controlled cabinets, armies, and nations ; its aim was to counter revolutionary move- ments, to organise secret societies in the service of the autocracy, to train individuals linked to the Empire by ties of which they ignored the strength to promote the uprising of Europe against her masters, for thus only could it compass the fall of Napoleon. The raison d'etre of this syndicate (quartered in Vienna rather than in London, whither nocked second-rate diplomatists, professional spies, deserters from the French army, adventurers from all over the world) was its hatred of France, so that on each occasion when she flared up, this syndicate of oligarchs promptly did its utmost to bring about civil war. Its most recent enterprise had not been successful. Adopting the procedure of the enemy by enrolling in their service the forces it utilised, and by taking advantage of the most opportune moment, the oligarchs had this time risked all and lost everything. The Empire of Germany, degraded into the Empire of Austria, became a phantasm. Hungary, indeed, remained, for when Napoleon at one moment thought of annexing her, he feared the dynastic fidelity which had declared with such enthusiasm for " King Maria- Theresa." By a strange monarchical bias, he had abstained from erasing this name from the map of Europe, just as, two years previously, he had per- mitted Prussia to live and to recuperate her forces in the anticipation of some successful perfidy. No power accepts defeat, unless it renounces its claim to 18 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II be a nation. Austria was at this time nothing but a fortuitous grouping of States, but the syndicate that governed her maintained an illusory life and activity. So long as the syndicate governed, so long as the sovereign reigned or believed that he reigned, the one would seek revenge, the other would cover it with his name. But they resolved to alter their methods. There had been enough of wars and battles, enough of conspiracies and projected assassinations. Gentler methods should be resorted to : Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria mthe. Napoleon was just then seeking a wife, and his advances had met with no encouragement in Russia, where he had felt sure of a favourable answer. Else- where, in Bavaria, for example, he met with no encouragement, but in Vienna his proposals were acceded to with incredible servility. The eldest daughter of the late Empress Maria-Theresa of Bourbon-Sicily had attained the age of eighteen on December 12, 1809. She had no claim to beauty, but was all that could be desired as the incarnation of the House of Austria. She was an attractive girl, fair and fresh with a very white skin, tinged with red, and pitted with small-pox. Her figure was well developed, her hands and feet were abnormally small, her mouth and chin were symbolical, as representing the race of Marie of Burgundy and Philippe le Beau, a mouth and chin which proclaim the degeneration of a perishing race, decimated by tuberculosis, mania, and imbecility. But what appears to modern science HER EDUCATION 19 as the fatal brand of a decadent race, was then regarded as the stamp of illustrious origin. The features of Marie-Louise-Leopoldine-Caroline-Lucie were moulded upon those of her father, the Emperor ; she possessed the grossly heavy pendulous lip, the hall-mark of this House. A woman who observed her closely remarked, " Her nose is hollowed at the root, the lips and lower part of the face are thick and somewhat heavy, the teeth are white but rather far apart and slightly tilted forwards, the neck is large but fine, the shoulders beautiful, hands pretty, arms fine though somewhat red, feet pretty, height five feet two inches, in other respects a fine woman." As the eldest daughter, at the age of two, after some childish maladies and an attack of small-pox which marked her permanently, she was given a Household, which, in accordance with the custom imported from Madrid, necessitated an Aja, or Grand Mistress, an appointment which was not, as might be supposed, superior to political considerations, but was even dependent on them. Accordingly, Marie- Louise had three governesses before 1805. One of these, who exercised an undoubted influence upon her, was a Frenchwoman, nde Folliot de Crenneville, who, after marrying a Baron de Pontet, Colonel of a Wal- loon Regiment, had accompanied him to Vienna. Her husband died, so by intrigue and savoir-faire she succeeded in 1799 in wedding Comte Colloredo- Walsee, Minister of State, Imperial Chancellor and Grand Master of the Emperor's Court when he was Arch-Duke and heir apparent. She thus established 20 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II herself down to 1805 in her great office, and although she was deprived of it after Austerlitz by political vicissitudes, her influence over her pupil, who remained constantly faithful to her, was undiminished. Madame de Colloredo shared the opinions which were in vogue at the Court of Vienna ; those of the Princess of the Two Sicilies who was its Empress, likewise of the Emperor, of the courtiers and of the entire people ; naturally the Imperial Princess was precluded from holding any other views. These she expresses in her correspondence with her aja and with the daughter of the latter, Mile, de Pontet, who, on April 1, 1810, became Comtesse de Crenneville, by her marriage with her uncle. In these letters we find sentiments that could not have been pretence, but which are the true expression of the mind of Marie-Louise. On September 8, 1803, she wrote : " Maman [Mme. de Colloredo] has made me write down the title of a book she wishes to obtain from France, which she believes will be suitable for us. It is the Plutarque de la Jeunesse, by the same Blan- chard who wrote the two works we have already perused. It is the life of illustrious men, from Homer to Buonaparte. This name tarnishes his work, and I would have preferred that he had concluded with Francis II.,* who has also performed remarkable feats in re-establishing the Theresianum, etc., etc., whereas the other has committed nothing but in- * As this letter was written on September 8, 1803, Marie-Louis* gives her father his title of Emperor of Germany. HER OPINION OF NAPOLEON 21 justice by depriving certain people of their countries. . . . Maman has just told me of an amusing incident. M. Buonaparte, when in Egypt, was saved with only two or three other persons at the time his army was routed, and became a Turk ; that is, he said to the Turks ' I. am not your enemy, I am a Musulman, I accept the Great Mahomet as prophet.' Afterwards, on returning to France, he professed himself the Catholic which he really is. Then only was he raised to the dignity of Consul. ... It is not for me to judge, but I think it is profaning our Holy Religion to say that one belongs to another, for the Credo states one ought to confess one's faith." Here we get to the root of the matter. Marie- Louise was then fourteen, and that is the kind of history she was taught. Two years later what she knew of Napoleon was on the same lines : " You will already be aware," she wrote to Victoire de Pontet, " what a snub Monsieur Champagny has received, for of all the Ministers, Talleyrand alone has been excepted ; so it is said. The Corsican sent for Champagny and asked him brusquely why he had always concealed from him the belligerent sentiments of the House of Austria. Champagny replied : ' It was because I did not know you would take the Crown of Italy.' Thereupon a resounding smack on the face was M. de Champagny 's reward." When the debacle came and the Imperial Princes and Princesses were obliged to fly before the French, such fictions availed them little. In fact, on November 15, 1805, " Their Majesties the Emperor Francis and 22 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II his wife the Empress Marie-Therese, simultaneously dismissed Count Colloredo, Minister of the Cabinet, and Countess Colloredo, Aja to the Arch-Duchess." This palace revolution for the moment suppressed political reflections, but when the war recommenced under the influence of the new Empress Maria- Ludovica of Este, not only was there no change of attitude, but the animosity burned more fiercely than before. This is seen in the account of the Battle of Essling, where, when confronted with the Arch-Duke Charles, waving the banner of the Grenadiers, " The French took to their heels and abandoned Napoleon who cried after them that he would burn them with the bridge, and with his own hand slew two of his guards." What a triumph ! " It is the first time Napoleon has been beaten in person. He has lost 22,000 men and 16,000 wounded have been trans- ported to Vienna." And, at Buda, people were flocking to the Orczy Garden to see the " Half -rotted and naked French float by." The Arch-Duchess concluded : "I have already on several occasions been tempted to believe that we are approaching the end of the world, and that he who oppresses us is Anti-Christ." The French were to be punished in their turn, for, "Verily, by their cruelties and sacrileges, they draw down the malediction of Heaven. They cast priests into the flames, fling away the consecrated wafers to steal the pyx, and trample them under foot." Now, however, came a truce. Bubna had been sent to congratulate Napoleon on his birthday. " I am sure," wrote Marie-Louise, " that he will send his NAPOLEON'S DIVORCE 23 congratulations to Mamma [the Empress Maria- Ludovica] on her name-day. ... I assure you that to see this creature would be for me a worse torture than all the martyrdoms, and I am not sure that this is not what he has in his mind." The horror Marie-Louise had conceived of the French and of Napoleon seems to have possessed her as it did the entire Austrian Court. At the beginning of the year 1810 the rumour spread that Napoleon was separated from Josephine and was seeking another bride. Marie-Louise heard of it from Kosse- luch, her professor of music. She wrote on January 10 to Mile, de Pontet : " I see him talking about the separation of Napoleon from his wife. I even have an idea that he thinks of me as her successor, but in this he is mistaken, for Napoleon is too much afraid of a refusal, and too anxious to do us more mischief, to make any such request, and Papa is too kind to constrain me on a point of such importance." On the same day she wrote to Madame de Colloredo : "I let every one talk and am not the least disturbed by it. I only pity the unfortunate princess he will choose, for I am certain it will not be I who am to become the victim of politics." Ten days later, she began to grow uneasy, and wrote : " Since Napoleon's divorce, I open every Frankfort Gazette with the idea of finding news of the nomination of the new wife, and I admit that this delay causes me involuntary uneasiness. I leave my fate in the hands of Divine Providence who alone knows what can make us happy ; but, should mis- fortune so decree, I am ready to sacrifice my individual 24 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [Cn. II happiness to the good of the State, being persuaded that true happiness can only be found in the accom- plishment of one's duties even to the prejudice of one's inclinations. I will think of it no more, but if it has to be, my mind is made up notwithstanding it will be a double and very painful sacrifice. Pray for me, that it may not be so ! " Notwithstanding this resignation it can hardly be said that the Arch- Duchess accepted the cup. She wrote on the 23rd : " I know at Vienna they are already marrying me to the Great Napoleon: I hope it will end in talk . . . and should it come about I believe I shall be the only one who will not rejoice at it. . . ." In the House of Austria, the Princesses were not consulted. They were brought up to realise that marriage for them was entirely a matter of expediency, inseparable from the politics of the House. Usually speaking, however, the Princes in question were on an equality, whereas in this case the wooer was a parvenu " Le Parvenu Corse." No matter ! When the Emperor shall invoke the higher interests of the Dynasty, Marie-Louise will say, like her sister Leo- poldine at the moment of her departure to wed the Emperor of Brazil : "I confess that the sacrifice of leaving my family, and that perhaps for ever, will be very painful to me, but this alliance gratifies my father, and in separating myself from him, I shall have the consolation of knowing that I have conformed to his wishes, being persuaded that Providence directs our fate as princesses in a special way, and that we are obeying its will in submitting to that of our parents." 25 More brutally, Metternich said : " Our princesses are rarely accustomed to choose their husbands according to the affections of their heart, and the respect paid to the will of her father by a child so good and well brought up as the Arch-Duchess, makes me hope that we shall encounter no obstacle on her side." When the marriage had been finally decided on by Imperial policy, no objection could be admitted ; for the rest, none was made either by the Emperor or by his daughter. It was from the courier who bore her marriage- contract signed by Schwarzenberg that the Arch- Duchess learned all at once that she had been asked, promised, and bestowed, and that she was about to be handed over. Nor was it even her father who warned her of the imminence of the sacrifice to be exacted from her. It was Metternich, who having sought an interview with the Emperor, remarked: " Sire, occasions occur in the life of States as in that of individuals, in which a third person cannot put himself in the place of the one responsible for the decision to be taken. . . . Your Majesty is Sovereign and Father ; you alone can properly be consulted in regard to your duties as Father and Emperor." Whereupon the Emperor remarked : " I leave the decision to my daughter, for I would never constrain her. I desire before taking my duties as Sovereign into consideration, to know what she intends to do. Go and seek the Arch-Duchess, and bring me word what she has said to you." Undoubtedly he knew 26 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II what he could count on. At Buda, when he had spoken to his daughter of a necessary sacrifice, he had known she would bow to it, therefore he had summoned her a few days previously to Vienna, so that she might be ready at hand. ' What does my father wish ? " inquired the Arch- Duchess of Metternich, to which, when the Minister assured her that she was entirely free to say what she wished, she declared : " I desire only what my duty commands me to desire. When the interests of the Empire are in question they must be considered, and not my wish. Entreat my father to do only his duty as Sovereign and not to subordinate it to my personal interest." When Metternich reported these words to the Emperor, he replied : " What you say does not surprise me, I know my daughter too well not to have anticipated a similar reply. I have employed the time you passed with her in making my decision. My consent to this marriage will secure to the Monarchy some years of political peace which I can devote to healing its wounds. I owe entire considera- tion for the happiness of my people, therefore I must not hesitate." The sacrifice once resolved on, nothing further had to be taken into consideration, neither the Revolution, nor the death of Marie Antoinette, nor the origin of the Corsican's family ; not his habits, nor his manners, nor the way in which he beat his Ministers and killed his Generals. Nothing mattered beyond securing to the Monarchy some years of political peace. Surely it might be inferred from this observation of the NAPOLEON'S AMBITION 27 Emperor, that Austria had now formulated her plans, and in thus gaining a reprieve which would permit her to recuperate her forces, she would, when the day arrived, resume her intentions which had been four times interrupted, and deliver a new and decisive assault ? But what about the Arch-Duchess ? Are we to suppose that she was in the plot, that her father had imparted to her projects of which he was not yet fully cognisant 1 He saw a means of gaining time, of securing for himself a few years in order that he might, if occasion arose, resume operations against France, but was not certain either of the time or the opportunity. In Europe every State was in the same plight. The letters of Alexander of Russia to his mother, the Empress Marie-Feodorovna, prove that he never acted in good faith after Tilsit ; and even after Erfurt he did not fling himself into the combat, though he refused to take advantage of the Spanish successes, and though a little later on he seemed almost to be faithful to the French Alliance, it was still the same story. He refused to sacrifice his sister ; did he, or was it the Empress Mother ? Napoleon, on his side, saw in this marriage the consummation of his amazing fortune. He, the son of a Clerk of the Records in Corsica, who had died in debt and almost insolvent; he, the exhibitioner of Brienne, the Jacobin General who had destroyed the Royalists at Toulon and had crushed them in Paris ; who in Italy and Egypt had carried pillage and 28 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II devastation along his track ; lie was now on the eve of wedding a daughter of the House of Austria. The consideration that he was already married, and that the attitude he had adopted in regard to his first wife indicated that he reserved a privileged place for her alongside the second, had been of no more weight than the legends with which his life was surrounded. The canons of the Church, and the prescriptions of religious marriage, had gone by the board. He came, he saw, he conquered ! Every point had been yielded and he was to come into possession. He reviewed it all. He was genuinely elated by the magnificence of the union he was about to contract ; he handled it, held it, and realized hi it all the splendour of the alliances it procured and the consummated entry into the Family of the Kings. He would no longer be the parvenu who had carved for himself an Empire out of the ancient Monarchies by force of arms ; who brought in his train brothers and sisters, a babbling crowd of women with their lovers, and men with their mistresses, a horde of new-comers, devoid of genius, talent, and still more of distinction. He was now making his position secure, consolidating it, and uniting it with the most ancient tradition of which Europe could boast, for he would become simultaneously a Bourbon and a Hapsburg. He saw himself as the nephew of Louis XVI. and of Marie- Antoinette, the great- nephew of Louis the XIV. and Maria-Theresa. He would assume the glory, the achievement of centuries, acquired only by the labour of generations, which he had attained after ten years of victory, of struggle, NAPOLEON'S ARRANGEMENTS 29 and the reconstruction of France ; all these, indeed, had failed to carry him to the summit, but this marriage would establish him there. He hastened to secure his prize. As soon as Schwarzenberg's courier was on the road to Vienna, Napoleon began to organise and arrange, not forgetting to make provision for his children ! The trousseau and marriage gifts must be dispatched from Paris, nothing was to be purchased in Vienna. The dowry allotted to Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, was inadequate for Marie-Louise, the Empress. The Empress must have four millions. His eldest son will be the King of Rome : true, the last to bear this title was the Emperor Francis, King of the Romans, but what of that ? Of what account is the title of King of Rome to him, when he has lost the Holy Romano- Germanic Empire 1 Should it not revert to Napoleon, who is in possession of the city of Rome and the patrimony allocated by the Emperor Charles V. to the Holy Father ? Is it enough to have provided for one son ? Must there not be a throne for the younger brother ? So Eugene, deprived of the promised succession to the Kingdom of Italy (the stipulated condition of his marriage), was reduced to the inheritance of the Grand-Duchy of Frankfort. Napoleon contented himself with providing for two boys ; due credit must be allowed for his moderation. As soon as the courier returned from Vienna with the assent of Marie-Louise, the news was officially announced to the Emperor's family ; it was com- municated to the Senate, and made the occasion of c 30 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II sports and fetes. Berthier, Prince de Neuchatel and Prince de Wagram, was dispatched to ask for the hand of the Arch-Duchess at Vienna, and to bring back the new Iphigenia in all haste. Napoleon's impatience was so great that he would not allow his companion in arms to display his taste for luxury and his " yellow magnificence." * Berthier was bidden to take a limited suite of some sixteen servants and no State carriages. The Household of the Empress was appointed ; the Duchesse de Montebello (widow of the hero slain at Essling) was selected to be lady-in- waiting in place of Mme. de La Rochefoucauld, who was superannuated. The other ladies had all formed part of Josephine's Household ; but the grand rdle was not on this occasion allotted to the lady-in- waiting. This position had to be reserved for a near relative of the Emperor, some one possessing dignity, activity, and decision. Elisa was out of the question for this office of Superintendent of the Household ; she had the requisite intelligence, but not sufficient dignity ; Pauline was impossible ; as were also the sisters-in-law, Julie and Hortense ; Catherine was too young and inexperienced, though she alone would have the traditions, the breeding, and the manners, but she was unsuited to the post. Caroline, the youngest of Napoleon's sisters, alone remained ; ambitious, thirst- ing for honours, infatuated with etiquette, intelligent, dominating, full of enterprise and perseverance, she was capable of carrying out the most difficult missions. * Berthier had a passion for yellow, which he displayed in his livery, hie carriages, and even in the uniform of his soldiers. THE EMPRESS'S LADIES-IN-WAITING 31 She knew her own mind, and nothing could make her yield nor bend. She might be lacking in formalities and graces and thus offend the Princess whose first responsibilities were to be confided to her ; but on points of ceremonial no concession would be made, the Emperor's orders would be punctually executed, and the Austrian Court would have only what was due to it and nothing more. Much indeed could be said against the appointment. Caroline had had more than one liaison, and every one at Court knew that she was on the best of terms with Metternich ; a more serious drawback was the fact that she occupied the throne of Marie-Louise's grandmother at Naples, and that in fulfilling for the Empress the part allotted under Marie- Antoinette to the Princesse de Lamballe, she might acquire undue influence, and establish her- self as directress. The fact, however, that she would be compelled to spend much of her time at Naples, made the risk of such ascendancy very small, also there was Madame de Montebello to be reckoned with. At first this lady, whether because she had determined from that time to submit to no authority that might interfere with her, or because she enter- tained a strong antipathy to the Emperor on personal grounds, or because she took no interest in the matter and from this very fact acquired an irresistible influence over a young girl craving to be loved, did not appear at the outset to have any desire for domination. She had been Mademoiselle Gueheneue, the daughter of a senator, and bore a name of great 32 MAEIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II distinction after her marriage that of a Marshal of the Empire, the most faithful of the Emperor's companions, the best soldier, and the only marshal hitherto slain on the field of battle. But in spite of this she had neither the education, nor the good manners, still less the character for such a post. She was pretty, and she knew it, but she was amiable only towards her friends. They received all her favours and were only two or three in number : Corvisart, the physician, and an equerry, M. de Saint- Aignan ; none were women. She liked to withdraw with her children to live a solitary life in her chateau at Maisons, in her house in the rue d'Enfer, or even in a more distant estate inherited from her parents. She had a mania for bibelots of every kind, porcelain, bronzes, jewels, fans, she collected everything, coveted everything, and acquired it. After her death, the sale of her effects continued for weeks at her house. It should have been Madame de Montebello's duty to whisper suggestions in the Empress's ear, as to words, phrases, graces, social hints, and all those considerations which Josephine had so tactfully employed towards every one, but Marie-Louise cared little for these things and Madame de Montebello even less. She disdained and despised all who were not of her own set. She hated the Emperor, who had not made her a Princess like Madame Davout or Madame Massena, not that the title would have rendered her more assiduous in her duties, or more concerned with the mysteries of etiquette. She had no memory, nor did she trouble to cultivate one. So much the worse MADAME DE LUCAY 33 if she blundered over names ; if they aspired to be illustrious what did that matter to the Empress ? Marie-Louise was shy, and haughty, but seeing she was encouraged in this at every turn, how should she be otherwise ? Madame de Luay, who was Mistress of the Robes, might have acquired some influence had Marie-Louise been a coquette and shown a little taste in the manner of adorning herself, instead of restricting the choice of her gowns to definite colours in consequence of being constantly dominated by the idea of keeping within her allowance. But Madame de Lu9ay was bound hand and foot by etiquette. In the first place, she was preoccupied with the frequent illness of her gouty husband, also with her daughter and son-in-law Segur, besides which she was over-awed by the Emperor, who was for her the embodiment of wisdom. She was of no account and the ladies of the Palace even less so. Whether they were Josephine's former ladies, or were nominated in consequence of being nearer in age to the new Empress, they did not appear, and when etiquette required their presence they behaved like a dumb-show, seeming barely to exist. Some of them, coquettes desirous of playing a part, might win a glance from the Emperor which was lucrative ; that was all, she was and she would be just Madame de Montebello and nothing more. From the very first day of the arrival of the Prince Vice-Constable at Vienna, all passed off as was intended, including the visits, the presentations, the receptions, the fauteuils, 34 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II the speeches, the gestures, the amazing cortege which accompanied Berthier to the Burg as he issued from the Schwarzenberg Palace outside the Carinthian Gate, whither the Grand Marshal of the Court had proceeded with great pomp to fetch him. Owing to rigorous discipline this most sumptuous and magnifi- cent pageant moved by word of command with the silence of a regiment, for every gesture had been regulated with mechanical precision. Headed by a detachment of cavalry, in advance of three grooms on horseback in gala livery, the State coach of the Privy Councillors and Chamberlains was followed by a second State carriage drawn by six horses containing the Ambassador's secretary with his Master of the Ceremonies and the Steward of the Court. Liveried footmen, running grooms, and the Grand Marshal's lackeys followed in the liveries of the Ambassador of France. Then appeared six horses drawing the State carriage of the Ambassador and Grand Marshal, attended by two of the Emperor's footmen in gala livery at the doors, together with three major-domos of the Palace mounted, and the Ambassador's equerry and aides-de-camp ; then followed two outriders with the second equerry of the Ambassador, after which three carriages, each drawn by six horses, followed one another containing the officials (cavaliers) of the Embassy with officers of the Ambassador's Household, attended by outriders. The procession terminated with a detachment of cavalry. After his reception by the Prince of Zinzendorf? BERTHIER IN VIENNA 35 the Ambassador, accompanied by the Grand Marshal, entered the Palace followed by his entire household and passed between the ranks of Grenadiers, Palace Guards, Musketeers, and the Hungarian Guard of Nobles. His flunkeys he left in the Traban Hall, the officers of his household in the Hall of the Gentlemen, and the Embassy officials between the two first columns of the great new hall. On finding himself in the presence of the Emperor, who stood beneath a canopy with his head covered, Berthier bared his head, bowing three times. The Emperor did not uncover until after the first salutation, and replaced his hat immediately. The Ambassador delivered his speech with his head covered, but removed its covering each time he pronounced the name of one of the two Sovereigns, and whenever the name of the Emperor Napoleon was mentioned, the Emperor Francis saluted. The impress of the Revolution was seen at the Grand Banquet which took place in the Empress' apartments, when for the first time the humble folk, not accredited with thirty-two quarterings, were admitted and received. At the costume ball which followed the repast, held in the salons of the Imperial Redoubt, six thousand persons were present : some, like Prince Esterhazy, covered with diamonds. Lejeune, one of Berthier's gentlemen, challenged Esterhazy to the first duel, and Esterhazy promised him to wear this dress ; what amenities ! On March 8 the suit was preferred. In his speech to the Emperor Francis, Berthier remarked : 36 MARIE-LOUISE BEFOEE MARRIAGE [Cn.II '* The eminent qualities for which this Princess is distinguished have destined her for a place upon a great throne. She will thus ensure the happiness of a great People and that of a great man." To which the Austrian simply replied : " I grant the hand of my daughter to the Emperor of the French/' The Arch-Duchess, accompanied by her Grand Mistress and Grand Master, was thereupon presented by the Grand Chamberlain. Having approached her father with a deep curtsey and bowed to the Ambas- sador, she took her seat on the Emperor's left. Berthier made another speech as he handed the portrait of Napoleon to the Arch-Duchess, mean- while holding a letter in his hand. This is the letter : " Madame ma sceur, the success of the suit that I have preferred to H.M. the Emperor your father, to unite myself with you in marriage, is a very precious indication of the esteem and consideration he bestows on me. I am deeply touched by the consent that you on your part give to a union that consum- mates for me the greatest joy and which should adorn my whole life. ... I have charged the Prince de Neuchatel, my Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, to deliver to you my portrait. I beg you to receive it as a gage of the sentiments which are graven on my heart and which will be unalterable." To the phrase, " It is above all from your heart, Madame, that the Emperor my Master desires to obtain you," Marie-Louise replied : " With the 37 permission of my father I give my consent to my union with the Emperor Napoleon." She thereupon desired her governess to affix the Emperor's portrait to her breast. The reserve of the Austrians contrasted with the phrases of the Bergers de Lignon,* which seemed so out of place in the mouth of the conquerors. After conclusion of such formalities as the solemn renunci- ation of the Austrian Succession, confirmation of the Pragmatic Sanction and the Order of Succession, the oath was taken before the crucifix ; followed at the Grand Theatre, in presence of the Emperor and Empress together with the Arch-Duchess, the Ambas- sador and his whole suite, by a representation of Iphigenie en Aulide, by Gluck. The marriage con- tract, involving delivery of the dowry of 400,000 francs in gold ducats enclosed in a coffer, followed. This caused the Archbishop of Vienna to raise his timid protest, seeing that the Austrian Court recog- nised neither the major excommunication fulminated by the Pope, June 11, 1809, nor the reservation by the Holy See in regard to annulment of marriages among sovereigns ; but the certificate of the Ambas- sador of France having been held sufficient, all was ready and nothing remained but to proceed with the marriage. It would be solemnised on the llth, which was a Sunday, the only day of the week in Lent on which it was permissible to celebrate. The cortege, which was marshalled in the apart- * Characters in L'Astrde, a pastoral play of the seventeenth century, to which allusions abound in the French literature of the period. 38 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [Cn. II ments, passed through the Augustinian Cloister, draped with green cloth, in order to reach the church. In order of precedence with majestic array, the Prince de Neuchatel preceded the Arch-Dukes who walked two and two, until the last before the Emperor was the Arch-Duke Charles, whom Napoleon had nomi- nated to represent himself at the nuptial ceremony. After the Emperor the Empress was seen leading the fiancee. Complication arose during the ceremonial cele- brated according to the ritual of Vienna in the German tongue, in consequence of a stranger, who was not a King, having been admitted during the Imperial Banquet to the Emperor's table for the first time. It was on the 13th that the Empress of the French set out on her journey. Escorted in her carriage by Arch-Duke Charles between two ranks of soldiers, at a walking pace, she traversed the streets of Vienna filled by a saddened, almost indignant crowd. The cannon thundered, the bells clashed, Marie-Louise arrived at Saint-Polton whither the Emperor had gone with all the Imperial family. There, on the 13th of the month, was held the last dinner, the last soiree. Next morning after Mass the new Empress took leave of her father. The handing over was to be accomplished at Braunau. The retinue with which Marie-Louise was to arrive after having halted on the 14th at Ems in the Palace of the Prince of Auersperg and on the 16th at Ried, consisted of eighty-three carriages or waggons together with four hundred and fifty-three BKAUNAU ALTHEIM 39 draught-horses and eight saddle horses. Besides the Grand Masters and Grand Mistresses there were twelve ladies of the Palace, twelve Chamberlains, and a detachment of the Hungarian Guard of Nobles ; the personnel exceeded three hundred dignitaries. The handing over did not actually take place at Braunau, for the town contained no suitable premises ; consequently the engineers of the French army, in occupation since 1809, had put up temporary buildings divided into three halls (French, Neutral, and Austrian) ; two entrances led up to the building, one on the Braunau side (typifying France) and the other to- wards Altheim (for Austria). Nothing had been omitted from its luxurious appointments, and stoves distributed an agreeable warmth through the rooms. Avenues planted with green trees gave a permanent aspect to this temporary construction. Having left Eied at eight in the morning of the 16th, the Empress arrived at Altheim at eleven, where she divested her- self of her travelling garments and reached the temporary buildings at two o'clock. The French had been awaiting her in their halls for an hour and a half in gala costume. Having rested in the Austrian hall she passed into the central hall, where her Court assembled round her. The French Court now entered and took up its position opposite the Austrian Court. The Acts of handing over and Reception were read and the signatures appended and sealed. The Austrian cortege took leave with tears as they kissed the hand of their Arch-Duchess, after which the Austrian Commissary gave the hand 40 MARIE-LOUISE BEFORE MARRIAGE [On. II of the Empress to the French Commissary. Caroline made her entree, embraced Marie-Louise, and welcomed her. There was yet another ceremony with the Arch- Duke Antoine, who had been sent by the Emperor of Austria to compliment the Queen of Naples, so they took carriages for Braunau, seven in number. That of the Empress having eight white horses, surrounded by grooms and pages on horseback, kept in the centre of the cortege, which denied between the Friant, Padone, and Pajol Divisions, amid salutes from the officers with banners, cannons firing a salvo, and trumpets sounding. They arrived at Braunau, where a palace had been constructed by breaking through the walls of two houses. The trousseau was exhibited by the Lady of the Bedchamber. Marie-Louise, whose hair and dress were now arranged a la franqaise, received the homage of her ladies and officers of her household. Before the departure of Count von Trauttmans- dorfi, who had charge of the handing over, the Empress entrusted to him the last letter she was able to write freely to her father. " I think of you con- tinually, and I shall always think of you. God has given me strength to bear this last shock courageously. In Him alone I place all my confidence. He will help me and will give me courage, and I shall find calm in the resolution to fulfil my duty to you, since I have made you this sacrifice." She then described her emotions at being separated from all her ladies, except Countess Lazinkska, her Grand Mistress, 41 whom Napoleon had promised to leave near her, and who before the end of the week would be sent back to Vienna : she mentioned the " icy shudder that fell upon her " and her repugnance to the French women : " Oh God ! so different to the Viennese ladies." Her feeling of insecurity with regard to the Queen of Naples, to whom, however, she was astonishingly amiable ; the ordeal of the two hours' toilette, whence she emerged as perfumed as the French women whose society during a long journey she dreaded ; the discomfiture of not having yet received a letter from Napoleon ; all these were recorded. Such were her thoughts at the moment when she was entering on her new life, when she was about to adopt at one and the same moment a husband and the customs of a country, all unknown to her, and hostile alike to her pride, her race, her past, in short to everything that mattered to her ! CHAPTER III FROM BBAUNAU TO COMPI^GNE, 1810 IT may be instructive to consider for a moment the commissariat necessary for the retinue of the Empress when on tour. The following was the customary procedure in France according to Imperial etiquette, Royalty would have done otherwise. Some curtail- ment might possibly have been anticipated but it was not. The procession was divided into three parts. The first started twelve hours before her Majesty, headed by a Sub-Inspector of Posts with an outrider, pre- ceding seven carriages, the first of which was a chariot drawn by six horses containing two ladies-in-waiting and a major-domo, having on the box a footman and a mechanic. The second, also a chariot with six horses, conveyed two chamberlains, an almoner, and a master of the ceremonies ; the third chariot, also drawn by six horses, contained a first woman of the chamber, a woman of the wardrobe, an usher and a valet de chambre, having a valet and a polisher on the box. The fourth carriage consisted of a landau drawn by four horses conveying a major-domo and a page having on the box the latter's footman, and followed by a caterer's cart in which rode a maitre 42 43 d'hdtel, an officer, and two cooks. After these followed a landau with four horses conveying two of the Ladies' waiting women ; and lastly, a gondola with six horses for the servants of the personnel of the suite 38 horses and 2 hacks, together with 34 persons. Her Majesty's cortege, preceded by an Equerry, a Sub-Inspector, an outrider, three under-grooms, com- prised eight carriages : a chariot with six horses for the Lady-in-waiting, the Gentlemen-in-waiting, the first Equerry, a lady of the Court; on the box a footman and a mechanic. The Empress's carriage with six horses, coachman and footman on the box ; a chariot with six horses for the Mistress of the Kobes, a lady-in-waiting, two chamberlains; on the box a footman and a runner ; two landaus with four horses for the equerries and the medical service ; a chariot with six horses for the women, a caterer's cart for the commissariat, and a chariot for the Ladies' waiting- women 52 horses. The third procession left six hours after the second, and included a landau for two pages, a landau for the valets-de-chambre, a waggon on springs with six horses for the wardrobe, a similar waggon with eight horses for the plate and china, a gondola for the servants 28 horses. Total, 120 horses levied from the country. The equipage was organised with military pre- cision. Each started by order from the equerry in charge of the departures, e.g. " Madame de K will accompany the procession which leaves the Tuileries on March 1, at five in the morning. She 44 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPI1EGNE [On. Ill will take her place in chariot No. 76 with Madame de and MM. de . There will be half a valise for two persons, a dressing case for each, to be fetched and brought to the stables on the evening before the departure, at eight o'clock. A place for a lady's- maid in chariot No. 23." The departure took place on the 17th, after Mass, amid discharges of artillery. Braunau was reached on the 9th. The Empress received congratulations at Haag from the Prince of Bavaria, and at eight in the evening reached Munich amid the firing of cannon and pealing of bells, where the King and Queen of Bavaria awaited her at the foot of the Palace stairs. She supped alone with the Queen of Naples, and the following day heard Mass at noon in the Throne- room from her own apartment. Visits were ex- changed, and just as the State dinner was about to be commenced M. de Saint Aignan, Equerry to the Emperor, arrived with the first letter from his Master. The Queen of Naples, at the suggestion of Madame de Montebello, thereupon pretended to have received orders from her brother, and insisted that Madame Lazinska should be sent back to Vienna. Notwithstanding that the Emperor had written to Count Otto on the 25th February, " There will be no difficulty about a lady companion accompanying the Empress during her journey ; I should even prefer a lady companion to a waiting woman," Caroline declared she had her orders. Nothing Austrian should remain, not even the little Viennese lapdog, her companion and last witness of the past. " The STUTTGART 45 Emperor," she said, " detests dogs, and will not allow them in the Palace ; " the little animal therefore had to go with Madame Lazinska, who took a plaintive letter with her from the Empress in which she neither accused the Emperor, for, as she said, " It is certainly not his idea," nor did she blame Madame de Monte- bello who plotted the intrigue, but only the Queen of Naples who dealt this double blow. The royal dinner was followed by a performance of Paer's Achille. On the morning of the 19th the whole Bavarian Court was present at the Empress's departure, which, notwithstanding she was tired and really unwell owing to a cold, Caroline insisted on. Luncheon was taken in Augsburg with the former Elector of Treves, and in the evening the Empress arrived at Ulm, where the Grand Chamberlain of Bavaria left her. A start was made at nine o'clock on March 20. After having received congratulations at the frontier of Wurtemburg, her Majesty reached Stuttgart at half-past four, where the King and Queen received her. She only spoke to the King, the Queen, and the Princess Royal ; the Princes were not ad- dressed. '' These matters of etiquette are rather extraordinary," wrote the King of Wurtemburg, but he dared not complain. " At last ! " he exclaimed, " it is aU over." Caroline, on the contrary, filled the Courts of Germany with her lamentations. The King of Wurtemburg wrote, " The poor Queen of Naples is very tired, and, indeed, who would not be ? What a task they have given her ! Really it is impossible. 46 FROM BBAUNAU TO COMPlEGNE [On. Ill She does her best, but I think she is somewhat tired of the post." How she had worked for this mission ! Having promised herself no small gain from it, neither trouble nor profit came amiss to her. After dinner, the representation of a German opera, The Judgment of Solomon, was given. On the 21st they started at nine o'clock for Carlsruhe, which was reached at half-past five. The reception here was the same as at Munich and Stuttgart, save that the sons of the Hochberg did not appear at the dinner. After the presentations a performance of Sargines, an opera by Paer, was given. Next day, the 22nd, the Empress was due to arrive in France, and after lunching at Rastadt, entered Strasbourg through streets green with trees, passing under a triumphal arch which had been erected at the extremity of the bridge, amid troops, garlands, and illuminations everywhere. But this was nothing in comparison with the rejoicings the following day. After Mass in the Imperial Palace, she received M. de Metternich, then the authorities presented by Madame de Lu9ay, woman of the chamber in the absence of Madame de Montebello, who did not appear during the halt at Strasbourg, owing to the body of her husband being buried there. From the balcony of the Palace, the Empress viewed the procession of the City Cor- porations as it passed along the terraces by the 111, bearing the emblems of their trades or professions. At half-past three, she drove to the Robertsau and surveyed the guests at a banquet of seven to eight thousand persons, who drank her health. At eight in STRASBURG 47 the evening she visited the Hotel de la Prefecture, to witness a fete at which a cantata was rendered and a quadrille arranged for the most aristocratic of the young girls of the city. Amid the general illuminations that of the Spire, for which 50,000 lamps or cressets were employed, called forth general admiration, as also the illumination of an elevated set piece in front of the Palace, where three jets of water spouted forth amid thousands of lamps. On the 24th, at eight in the morning, the Prince de Neuchatel sent a telegraphic dispatch to the Emperor announcing her departure : " Her Majesty is well and has a great desire to arrive speedily at Compiegne, but we are delayed by the enthusiasm of the towns. Her Majesty is much pleased with the city of Strasbourg." Thus the Empress expressed herself : " I beg you, dearest Papa, to pray earnestly for me. You may be sure that I shall make every effort to give you the consolation you expect from me." Certainly, from the standpoint of ceremonial, nothing was omitted. In accordance with the Em- peror's orders everything had been regulated, point by point, on the procedure employed for the marriage of Louis XVI., whom Napoleon now habitually referred to as " My predecessor," and occasionally as " My poor uncle." M. de Dreux-Breze, Grand Master in 1789, was deferentially consulted. The Emperor noted the least incident and sent letters daily by M. de Beauvau to Stuttgart, by M. de Bondy to Carlsruhe, by Prince Corsini to Luneville, by Marechal Bessieres to Nancy, not to mention the 48 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlEGNE [On. Ill pheasants killed by his own hand, a piece of Royal gallantry, forwarded by pages. Lejeune, aide-de-camp to the Prince de Neuchatel, participated in all the ceremonies, for, being credited with talent as a painter, he was in favour with the Prince for whom he designed uniforms or liveries, and in like manner with the Emperor himself to whom he related Court gossip. He arrived at Compiegne with the Prince de Beauvau, who brought a letter from Marie-Louise. After giving audience to the Prince, the Emperor took Lejeune to his own room and demanded an account of all the ceremonies held at Vienna, Munich, and Stuttgart. With regard to the portrait of the Empress which he brought, Napoleon questioned Lejeune upon every detail of the likeness. Lejeune exhibited the profile he had sketched, and the Emperor at once exclaimed : " Ah ! that is indeed the Austrian lip of the Hapsburgs." Napoleon thereupon produced the medals of the Emperors which he compared with the portraits while detain- ing Lejeune over an hour. An outbreak of fire occurred at the top of the chateau, but he paid no attention to it. His whole mind was fixed on the reputed plainness which was the hall-mark of a race which placed in the hands of the conqueror not only Marie-Louise, but her entire lineage, enabling him to share in a long-established royalty. He holds it, he possesses it, and the whole of his past has vanished ! Meanwhile the Empress was approaching. Having left Strasbourg on the 24th at nine in the morning, NANCY-SILLERY 49 she reached Saverne in time for lunch, and in the evening at six o'clock arrived at the Sous-Prefecture of Luneville, where she dined. Next day, being Sunday, she started after Mass and breakfast, at eleven o'clock. At one o'clock she was at Nancy, where the Due d'Istrie, on horseback, met her and handed her a letter from the Emperor. Napoleon sent her a brief note with his usual signature. On this occasion the letter " N " with which he signed it was 4j centimetres high and 9 centimetres wide. The whole of his pride, his power, and realised ambition were in this letter " N " ! It signified the height of his power and connoted his decadence and fall. At four o'clock Marie-Louise showed herself upon the balcony of the Prefecture where she was staying ; then received the authorities, accepted flowers, and held a reception for the men and women of the town. After a second appearance on the balcony she attended at the Comedie, where an act of La Rosi&re was per- formed, preceded by an appropriate prologue. From the Comedie she was taken to the Mairie, where she was received by the principal ladies of the town, and from which she saw the illuminations. Notwith- standing all these diversions she returned to the Prefecture by nine o'clock. The following day a page arrived from the Emperor, bringing from Compiegne three pheasants shot by his Imperial and Royal Master. She stopped for lunch at Sillery, with the Senator Comte de Valence ; at half-past five she arrived at Vitry-sur-Seine, where she stayed at the Sous-Prefecture and saw no one 50 FROM BBAUNAU TO COMPIEGNE [On. Ill except Prince Schwarzenberg and Comtesse de Metter- nich, who had come from Paris to meet her. This was the final stage : next day would bring her to the ceremonies of the handing over at which the Emperor would be called upon to play a singularly difficult part, since it would involve the roles of father, sovereign, and husband. The Empress left for Soissons. When she reached the Courcelles post-house * it was pouring in torrents, and a short stout man, drenched with rain, was waiting under the church porch. He was accompanied by only one Cavalier with flowing hair, in full uniform. The mysterious man hurried forward to look, but the Equerry had already lowered the step, opened the carriage door and proclaimed, " The Emperor." The Emperor entered the carriage and embraced his wife, who was quite embarrassed by his looks and manners. No more delay ; no dinner at Soissons, nothing less than post haste, and that was too slow for Na- poleon. They hurried past the post-houses and rolled on towards Compiegne, where they arrived at ten o'clock through a deluge that extinguished the lamps and chilled the spectators and guards, who had eaten nothing. The family who assembled at the foot of the staircase, were hurriedly presented, but the little girls with their baskets of flowers and the citizens who had come to offer congratulations, he ignored. In the apartment provided for the Empress he im- provised a supper to which Caroline alone was * Where they change horses. "AM I TEULY MARRIED?" 51 admitted as a third party. Afterwards he asked : " What instructions have you received from your parents ? " "To belong entirely to you and to obey you in all things," replied the bride, so he took her at her word ! Next day at noon the women of the Empress served the Emperor's dejeuner beside her bed. " Am I truly married ? " he inquired of Cardinal Fesch, to which the Cardinal, after some hesitation, replied in the affirmative. So it was all right ; besides which there was the precedent of Henri IV. Nevertheless, after two hours' acquaintance, the procedure might have appeared brutal and this wooing unceremonious, had Marie-Louise not been a Princess of Austria ! Martainville made a song about it, and the denizens of the Faubourg scrambled for copies, hoping to dis- concert the Emperor with them. This did not affect him at all, and among the people there was no dis- pleasure at his impetuosity ! A crowd was awaiting the Empress at Compiegne. First the Emperor's family, consisting of the King and Queen of Holland and the King and Queen of Westphalia, Princess Pauline and Prince Borghese, the King and Queen of Naples, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Baden, the Grand Duke of Wiirz- burg, Prince Schwarzenberg, Count and Countess Metternich, Comte Clary. The Italian household Codronchie, Litta, Caprara, Ferraroli, then the Mini- sters Bassano, Cadore, Otranto, Daru. Lastly, the whole of the Emperor's staff. The Princes and Princesses had received invita- 52 FROM BBAUNAU TO COMPlEGNE [On. Ill tions at their own homes from the quartermaster of the Palace, but as each Princess was allotted accom- modation for one lady only and each Prince for one gentleman, their suites were lodged in the hotels hired for them, for it was not considered sufficient to present to the Empress all who were on duty during this journey, besides the officers and ladies of the House- hold who had not taken part in it, such as Colonels, Generals of the Guard, and the Grand Officers of France and Italy ; but there still remained the Duchesses and Princesses and the wives of the Grand Officers. These arrived on the 28th to be presented on the 29th. The invitation was as follows : " Court dress must be worn. As there will be great difficulty in obtaining post horses, particularly for the return, you should, if possible, bring your own." Twenty- one leagues ! However, it was a great honour and eagerly sought after. Three relays were required which necessitated twelve horses, besides one for the outrider who preceded the carriage. Court dress was essential, as it was compulsory for the presentations ; but Charbonnier, the fashionable coiffeur, had arranged to be at Compiegne, otherwise the Grand Marshal would lend his wife's waiting-woman ! After this brief honeymoon, Napoleon wrote to the Emperor of Austria : " Monsieur, my brother and father-in-law, your Majesty's daughter has already been here two days. She fulfils all my hopes, and these two days I have not ceased to give and to receive from her the proofs of the tender sentiments that unite us. We STAINS GAGNY 53 are in perfect agreement. I shall do everything to promote her happiness and shall owe mine to your Majesty. Your Majesty will therefore permit me to thank you for the splendid present you have made me and your paternal heart may rejoice in the as- surance of the welfare of your beloved child." To which he added : " Your Imperial Majesty must never doubt my sentiments of esteem and high regard nor above all the tenderness I have vowed to her." Was this not indeed a futile effusion, whereof Martain- ville had betrayed the secret ? By the Emperor's own direction, they departed for Saint-Cloud on April 2 ; but the religious marriage would be celebrated at the Tuileries. Accordingly, on March 30, at midday, he left Compiegne in a coach with the Empress and the Queen of Naples. On entering the department of Seine-et-Oise, likewise on their entry into the department of the Seine, they received congratulations from the Prefets and the Departmental Authorities. Between Stains and Gagny, at 4.40, the Prefet, accompanied by the Sous- Prefet and fifty-one Mayors, surrounded also by an immense crowd on foot and on horseback, received the Emperor and Empress in front of a marvellously decorated pavilion. " The weather was foggy, cold and damp, but hindered no one," said Madame de Beaumarchais. :( There were at least four hundred carriages, and crowds of ladies from Paris, exclusive of young men on prancing horses. It was a counter- part of Longchamp. Their Majesties were very late. . . . Unfortunately the Emperor was in a hurry to 54 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlfiGNE [On. Ill arrive at Saint-Cloud, where lie was expected at five o'clock, so in military fashion he cut short the speeches ; of which he had not heard a syllable. The carriages did not stop for more than five minutes, then the horses were whipped up and the cortege went off at full speed. At Porte Maillot the horses were changed. The Emperor's equipage formed a procession com- posed of five carriages drawn by six horses and two having eight, escorted by Dragoons and Chasseurs of the Guards. A salvo of one hundred guns together with the band of the Foot Guards and lines of Grenadiers greeted them at Saint-Cloud. At the foot of the Grand Staircase the Princes, Princesses, and the Grand Dignitaries who had returned from Compiegne waited to salute their Majesties as they passed through the Grand Apartments to those of the Empress. In the evening there was a family dinner, which should have been followed by a presentation of the Italian Court ladies, but this was, however, postponed owing to a change in the programme. " On the day of the Empress's arrival at Saint-Cloud, no presentations will be made, except of the Princes and Princesses of the Imperial Family and of the Grand Dignitaries who will be presented on her Majesty's arrival. Should there be a reception after dinner none but persons who have been presented will be admitted to it." All these details were of the utmost importance in the mind of the Emperor. A Commission of Exterior relations had been charged to inquire whether the PUNCTILIOUS FORMALITIES 55 ceremonial arranged at Vienna had been in conformity with that followed on previous occasions, and to ascertain that no possible slight had been shown to the Ambassador Extraordinary. So much for Vienna. In Paris the alterations in the program me of ceremonies were so numerous that it became necessary to suspend the distribution of the sheets already printed on March 23, as they were being revised up to the last hour. Investigations were made as to the witnesses who had assisted at the marriage of Louis XV., and Louis XVI., on either side. Eventually, after a serious examination, Duroc informed the Grand Master there should be no witnesses. The following question was put to d'Hauterive : " What was the position of the Ambassador of the Nation of a foreign Princess, upon the occasion of her marriage with a French Sovereign or Prince in person according to ancient custom ? " After an exhaustive search d'Hauterive excused him- self for lack of documentary evidence. The same, however, was not the case with regard to the notifica- tions of the marriage : he was able to avail himself of the constant usage of the Court of France, at least since the reign of Louis XIV., by which the marriages of the Royal Family had been notified by Ambassadors or diplomatic agents, and was therefore able to decide against the gentilhommes ordinaires of the King, who, in 1778, had claimed the prerogative of notifying the birth of Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family at foreign courts. As a matter of fact, the Emperor had not yet resuscitated the gentilhommes ordinaires. On this occasion, diplomatic agents would suffice ; 56 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlEGNE [On. Ill later on, for the birth of the Princes, further arrange- ments could be made. To return to presentations, the following were made on the day of the civil marriage. First the Ministers, the Cardinals, and the Grand Officers of the Empire or those who had precedence and enjoyed the like prerogatives ; next the wives of Ministers and Grand Officers. No other presentations were to be made,, although a large concourse would attend on that day at Saint-Cloud. " It will be permissible to take up a position as His Majesty passes. The curtsies will constitute a presentation, care must therefore be taken that each is according to precedence and that the wives take among themselves the rank of their husbands until after the presentations ; the guests will not be admitted promiscuously." The decisions as to details of etiquette were in- numerable because they would constitute a precedent, and had to include the two Courts of France and Italy and would in future be the model for Naples, Madrid, Amsterdam, Cassel, Florence, and wherever else there were Napoleonic Courts. The Emperor appeared to take a singular pleasure in this meticulous and some- times childish labour. He delighted in it and elabo- rated it. Doubtless he saw points in it which fifty years of democracy hinder us from appreciating, and for which a parallel could hardly be found even in the so-called Monarchical States. He fastened on them as if they were serious matters, and if he varied the details, it was because he brought to bear on them such differences of appreciation as usually attach to minutiae. A PECULIAR CEREMONY 57 A ceremony of a peculiar character preceded the marriage. On March 31, the Comte de Remusat, First Chamberlain and Master of the Wardrobe, set forth at eleven in the morning from the Tuileries with three Court carriages, preceded and followed by an escort of twenty-five men. He was received at the door of the Archbishop's Palace by two Canons, and at the foot of the staircase by two Vicars General, and was conducted by three Vicars General and six Canons to the chamber in which the crown and mantle of the Empress were deposited. These were carried to his carriage and deposited on the front seat, while he sat respectfully at the back. The first carriage contained four Canons in cassocks and long cloaks ; the second, the crown and mantle, with the Bishop of Liege and the Master of the Wardrobe ; the third, two Vicars General and two Canons. On arrival at the Tuileries, while M. de Remusat and the Bishop of Liege bore the Imperial mantle into the Emperor's chamber and handed it over to the Grand Chamberlain, the sentries of the Salle des Gardes presented arms and the drums beat a salute. M. de Montesquieu deposited the mantle in the chapel and mounted a military guard over it. The cortege with its escort continued on its way to Saint-Cloud. On its arrival it received a salute from the sentries of the Salle des Gardes and drummers. The Deputy Governor of the Palace received the cortege at the entrance to the Chapel, in which the crown was deposited upon a cushion in the centre, where it was guarded by two attendants while it 58 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlEGNE [On. Ill remained there. This crown was the subject of a special edict of the Emperor. " On the day of her marriage," he wrote, " the Empress will wear the coronation crown which is not beautiful but which has a particular significance which I desire to attach to my dynasty. It is only to be worn on the most solemn occasions. For ordinary ceremonies the Empress will wear the closed diamond crown which has no special feature, and which I have ordered to be made for her out of the crown diamonds. On the day after the marriage she will wear the closed diamond crown for her reception." So anxious was the Emperor that everything should proceed according to his regulations that he wrote on the margin of one of the numerous drafts submitted to him by the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, entitled Arrangements for the Marriage of His Majesty, " Returned to the Grand Master of Ceremonies for transmission to each Grand Officer, in order that every precaution shall be taken for the prompt execution of each part in the present arrangements." This he signed. Zaire was performed at the Court Theatre on March 31 ; this was Marie-Louise's first introduction to the French theatre. Evidently the choice was made by the Emperor, for no subordinate would have suggested it ! On April 1, in the Gallery of Saint-Cloud, the Civil Marriage was solemnised. A platform had been erected on which were placed two thrones surmounted by a canopy. At the foot of the platform and at one THE CIVIL MARRIAGE 59 side of it were an inkstand and the Registers of the Civil State, arranged on a cloth-covered table. The Masters and Officials of the Ceremonies had placed the officers and ladies not on duty behind the platform ; in front of it all the privileged ladies, Ambassadors, Cardinals, and Ministers, each of whom held an im- portant office or took a prominent position. At two o'clock the cortege started, displaying all the pomp of France and Italy before and behind the Emperor. Their Majesties seated themselves upon their thrones. The Princes of the Imperial Family and the Princes who ranked as Grand Dignitaries sat upon chairs on either side of them according to their family rank. The Secretary of the Civil State of the Imperial Family was in front of the table. The Emperor being seated, the Grand Master of the Ceremonies proceeded to announce the Prince Arch-Chancellor, who thereupon placed himself before the Emperor's throne and after an obeisance, proclaimed, " In the name of the Em- peror " ; whereupon their Majesties rose. He then continued : " Sire, does your Imperial and Royal Majesty declare that you will take in matrimony her Imperial and Royal Highness Marie-Louise Arch- Duchess of Austria, here present ? " The Emperor replied in the exact words used by Cambaceres. After which the question was put to the Arch-Duchess, who replied, whereupon Cambaceres concluded : " In the name of the Emperor and of the Law I declare that His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, and Her Imperial and Royal Highness the Arch-Duchess 60 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPIfcGNE [On. Ill Marie-Louise are united in matrimony." Their Majesties then resumed their seats. The table was placed before them and the Grand Master of Cere- monies handed them the pen. They remained seated while they signed, the members of the family signed standing, followed by the Arch-Chancellor and Secre- tary of State. The Grand Master announced the ceremony over, whereupon the cortege re-formed and returned to the apartments of the Empress. After dinner their Majesties adjourned to the private drawing-room, where the suite, who were to accompany them to the play, had assembled. The procession then passed through the Great Apartments and the illuminated Orangery. Iphigenie en Aulide was performed ; truly a peculiar choice ! After the play the Emperor escorted the Empress to her apartment, but on leaving she accompanied him to the first salon, for this was a false exit. It had been arranged at first that he should sleep at Trianon, secondly at the Pavilion d'ltalie in the park of Saint-Cloud, nevertheless he remained in the apartment of the Empress. The park was illuminated and the Grand Cascade spouted fire ; Debucourt utilised this subject for one of his finest engravings. Coloured lights played on the fountains, amusements of all kinds were provided under the trees. An immense crowd had assembled, but the wind blew tempestuously, and the rain fell in torrents. At daybreak the weather was still uncertain, but the sun appeared as the first gun announced their THE EELIGIOUS MARRIAGE 61 departure for the Tuileries where the religious marriage would be celebrated. After the Empress had been robed, the Emperor joined her, and assisted at the symbolical ceremony, at which the Ladies-in-waiting of France and Italy and the Mistress of the Robes, placed on her head the coronation crown brought from the chapel, by a master of the ceremonies escorted by four ushers. The Empress was wearing the crown diamonds and a superb marriage robe embroidered in jewels and spangles, made by Leroy for 12,000 francs. The Emperor wore a Spanish costume of white satin embroidered in gold, the mantle of which was covered with golden bees. On his head he wore a cap of black velvet ornamented with ei"ht rows of diamonds and three white feathers C2 fastened by a knot, in the middle of which the Regent diamond blazed. The cap did not fit, it had to be altered twenty times, every possible way of wearing it had been attempted, but finally it was pronounced satisfactory. The following was the order of the procession when the carriages were marshalled : Lancers of the Guard, Chasseurs of the Guard, Dragoons of the Guard, with their bands and standards. Then thirty-six carriages of six horses for the Masters of Ceremonies, the Chamberlains of France and Italy, Les Grands Aigles of the Empire, the Ministers, the Ladies of the Court of France and Italy, the Grand Officers of Italy, the Grand Officers of France, the Prince Grand Dignitaries, the Princes and Princesses of the family. The empty carriage of the Empress drawn by eight horses, E 62 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlBGNE [On. Ill between the chief Equerries of Italy and her First Equerry, behind which rode the aides-de-camp. After this the coronation carriage appeared conveying their Majesties at a walking pace drawn by bay horses, laden with pages and flanked by Colonels- General of the Guard. Various other carriages followed, after which mounted Grenadiers completed the cortege. From Porte Maillot to the Tuileries the route was lined with troops ; at one o'clock a salvo announced the arrival of the cortege at the Arc de Triomphe, which looked magnificent erected in canvas and wood according to the plan of Chalgren and orna- mented with bas-reliefs painted by Lafitte. The Prefet of the Seine delivered an address and led the authorities of the city who followed on foot. In the Champs Elysees, bands were posted at given distances. Young girls of the Faubourg offered flowers. At the Pont Tournant, a triumphal arch painted with decorations had been prepared for a grand orchestra beneath which the carriages passed. The people of the cortege alighted in the vestibule of the Tuileries and grouped themselves on the grand staircase or waited in the salons allotted to them. The Emperor retired to his room while the Court dress of the Empress was being changed for the Imperial mantle, after which the procession reformed and moved forward by way of the Galerie du Bord de 1'Eau divided into nine aisles of varying size by arches supported by columns of precious marbles, in the presence of eight thousand guests, four thousand MARRIAGE IN THE TUILERIES 63 men and four thousand women. With great dis- cretion and taste, the ladies had been grouped in such a way that their dresses, seen through the whole length of the arches to the end of the gallery, afforded a truly dazzling spectacle. The guests had arrived at seven in the morning ; it was now three in the afternoon. From this gallery the Emperor and Empress passed along to the great Salon Carre, which appeared more like a magnificent ballroom hung with silken draperies than a chapel, save for the altar. Four hundred persons occupied the galleries round the hall. In front of the altar, which was entirely silver gilt, were placed two seats and a Prie-Dieu surmounted by a canopy. Seats were provided for the Bishops, Cardinals, Senators, State Councillors, and Members of the Legislative Body. The gallery was opened at three o'clock. Cardinal Fesch advanced to the door of the chapel to receive their Majesties and gave them Holy Water. From the moment he entered, the Emperor scrutinised everything, and observed a shortage of Cardinals. His wrath with those who had absented themselves can best be understood from his letter to Eugene concerning the Cardinal- Archbishop of Bologna. ' You will inform him of my great indignation at the infamous conduct of one on whom I have heaped benefits, and have made Cardinal- Archbishop and Senator, whom I have protected and whose notorious debaucherie I have cloaked by the intervention of my authority, thereby interrupting the course of criminal justice at Bologna." The 64 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPlfiGNE [On. Ill Emperor observed and summed up everything in a glance, as this letter shows, written to the Minister of Public Worship, Bigot de Paeameneu, in which he forbade them to wear the insignia of their office. "It is because we consider them already suspended, that we refuse to allow them to wear the ecclesiastical distinctions and costume of Cardinals." He grew calmer, however, and the Mass proceeded with appropriate solemnity. After the Gospel, the Premier Bishop produced the Testament for their Majesties to kiss, and waved the censer before them. At the Offertorium the King of Holland bore the Regalia of the Emperor, and the Queen of Naples that of the Empress, who was accompanied by her Lady-in-waiting and Mistress of the Robes. A host of Bishops were employed in the various parts of the ceremony. The Te Deum followed the Mass, after which they returned through the large gallery. When the Emperor had left, the crowd began to congregate and the gallery was thronged as on the days the Museum opened. Suddenly at the doors of the chapel an usher proclaimed, " The Emperor ! " whereupon, as if electrified, every one jumped over the balustrade, finding a place where he could. Instantly a way was cleared and the procession moved on as majestically as before. It halted in the Galerie de Diane ; the Emperor, with the Empress and the family, retired to his salon. In her bed-chamber the Empress was relieved of the mantle and the crown, which were given back to the Grand Chamberlain, to be returned to Notre FETES 65 Dame with the same ceremonies as on the previous evening. Their Majesties showed themselves on the balcony of the Salle des Marechaux and witnessed the march past of the Corps de la Garde, which acclaimed the Sovereigns by presenting arms. It must not be supposed that this concluded the proceedings. The fetes were so organised that there was not a moment for dinner. Regnaud de Saint Jean d'Angely provided a very recherche cold dinner in the Salle de la Section de I'lnterieur. The Corps Diplomatique roamed about the Palace in search of a meal. M. Regnaud invited the Ambassador of Austria. The dinner was very gay, very animated. Great fun was made of the Russians who could not find places. M. de Metternich, happy and elated, talked and cracked jokes. A crowd had collected beneath the windows. M. de Metternich went on to the balcony with a glass of champagne in his hand, exclaiming : " To the health of the King of Rome." ' We are not yet good enough courtiers," remarked Regnaud to M. de Barante. At seven o'clock, however, in the Salle de Spectacle of the Tuileries (the stage having been replaced by a decoration similar to the one at the other end of the hall), the Imperial banquet was served. The Emperor dined with his family, of whom only Joseph and Lucien were absent, seated upon a platform sur- mounted by a canopy. Members of the Court were arranged in front of them in the orchestra and boxes. The Civic Dignitaries occupied the second tier of boxes and the apartments through which their 66 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPI^GNE [On. Ill Majesties passed on their way to the banquet. By six o'clock the Masters of Ceremonies had marshalled the guests in the Salon de la Paix. The Grand Marechal having announced everything ready, the cortege passed through the Grand Apartments to the banqueting hall. Grace was said by the Grand Almoners, and the band, which was placed in the top tier of boxes, discoursed topical music. Nothing could be more magnificent or more formal. The cortege returned to the Salle des Marechaux where their Majesties reappeared on the balcony. Afterwards a cantata by Arnault, set to Mehul's music, was given by the chorus from Gluck's Iphigenie. Every kind of music was heard outside the Palace. A rocket sent up from the Palace gave the signal for a display of fireworks over the whole of the Champs Elysees, after which the cortege retired to the apart- ment of the Empress. At a signal from the Emperor the dignitaries retired, then the princes and princesses. The Empress entered her boudoir. The Emperor went up to his own apartment to prepare for the night. Considering how many hours the Empress had been standing, she must have felt satiated with ceremonies, even had she liked them. It was thought, however, she might like to inspect the wedding presents which had been placed in her private apart- ment. Possibly she might have preferred the fire- works ! The Grande Allee of the Tuileries was one blaze of light, hung with thousands of coloured lights. Thirteen triumphal arches were similarly illuminated. The decorations in the flower garden IN THE CHAMPS ELYSEES 67 were less elaborate, but the approach to the Pont Tournant, the chestnut avenues, and the terraces were lit up with hanging lanterns. The Temple of Glory was outlined as it would appear when com- pleted. The Temple of Hymen was simulated on the towers of Notre Dame, and on the Pantheon flared an antique tripod. At two o'clock in the Champs Elysees, the most marvellous variety of entertainments began. At the Carre des Jeux there were five theatres : wrestlers of Herculean strength, dancers on the tight-rope, M. Olivier's spectacle, the Theatre of Picturesque and Mechanical Views, the Theatre of Intangible Shadows, two roundabouts, two switchbacks, two see-saws, one Egyptian bird, two greasy poles, two games of the dragon, six bands to dance to, an orchestral concert with 120 musicians, troops of singers engaged to sing the Chansons du Gouvernement, a troop of Savoyards with their bagpipes ; besides these Madame Furioso on the tight-rope with itinerant musicians and a brass band. At the Carre Marigny, the same wrestlers, tight-rope dancers, entertainments by M. Prejean, M. Lauranzo Frederici and Seraphin, besides Pyrrhic fires and Chinese shadows. At the Carre de la Pompe (chez Ledoyon), at the Carre de la Laiterie, they were as numerous, but at the Carre de PElysee bands for quadrilles and roundabouts predominated. Among all this variety something new might be found here to interest each stranger. Of all these fleeting wonders, what has survived ? In front of the fa?ade of the Corps Legislatif we may 68 FROM BRAUNAU TO COMPIEGNE [On. Ill see the six statues that were unveiled on the occasion of the Emperor's marriage ; those of d'Aguesseau, Colbert, 1'Hopital, Sully, and last but not least Themis and Minerva, which latter amid the adornments of modern Paris alone recalls the past. Next day, April 3, at ten o'clock in the morning, the Mounted Heralds distributed the Marriage Medals (similar in size to the Coronation Medals) among the populace, 20,000 of which were silver, 500 gold. At the Coronation there had been four sizes : 1390 in gold, 74,450 in silver ; the distribution had dwindled. Official France was presented to the Emperor by the Grand Chamberlain and to the Empress by her Lady-in-waiting. This presentation comprised Ministers, Cardinals, Grand Officers of the Empire, Grands Aigles, Court of the Audit Office, Council of the University, Officers of the Household of the Princes and Princesses, Generals of Divisions, Court of Appeal, Archbishops, Prefets, Clergy of Paris, Court of Criminal Justice, Brigadier-Generals, Bishops, Authorities of Paris, City Mayors, in fact thousands of individuals came to pay homage, insomuch that Marie-Louise wrote thus to her father : ' Yesterday more than 1500 people were presented to me. I felt so ill all the time, owing to the diamond crown which was so heavy I could hardly bear it ; consequently I saw absolutely no one." Such was to be her lot ! CHAPTER IV JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN, APRIL 27-JTJNE 1, 1810 AFTER devoting three days to Paris and Saint-Cloud, the Emperor set off again to Compiegne, where he held audiences, received congratulations and oaths of fidelity. Excursions, plays, hunting parties, concerts, receptions, and all kinds of functions took place. " Although the receptions held in Paris were reckoned as representations, nevertheless, after Sunday, fifteen men with the same number of women were daily to be presented to the Empress, from among those who had already been received, as well as those who had not yet been presented. During the twenty- four hours of their visit to Compiegne these persons would be duly accredited and would enjoy all pre- rogatives." Accordingly, thirty a day of these new people were to be received by the Empress in her gallery as she passed through to attend the play. The plays were usually performed by the Comedie Franyaise, e.g. Le Cid, Phedre, Andromaque, Britan- nicus, Le Misanthrope, Tartufe, also La Gageure, Imprevue, La Jeunesse de Henri V., Le Secret du Menage, Les Projets de Mariage. The selection of Britannicus appears injudicious, for how could so clever a man as the husband of Madame de Kemusat 69 70 JOUENEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV have chosen a play entirely concerned with divorce, having a dialogue full of the grossest innuendoes ? At length this journey came to an end, having necessitated the presence of sixty-seven persons, besides fifteen ladies in the suite of the Queens and Princesses, to whom, by a decree of April 19, the Emperor had granted prerogatives du voyage ; besides all those who came from Paris to be presented or do homage. The Emperor passed his days and nights with the Empress. Even the most urgent business could hardly separate him from her for a few moments. He would convene a Council and arrive two hours after it had assembled. He almost suppressed private audiences. Every one, except Marie-Louise, wondered if this mode of living could continue. He treated her to his favourite habit of slapping ! He would pinch her neck or her cheeks ; if she showed annoyance he took her in his arms, embraced her and called her grosse bete, on which term of endearment they made peace ! Marie-Louise, however, thought his manners a little vulgar. At the close of the visit to Compiegne on April 26, their Majesties set out for Belgium. They were accompanied by a numerous suite which was divided into three parties one started twelve hours before their Majesties, one accompanied them, and one followed later. Seeing that the first comprised twelve coaches, seventy-two carriage horses and four hacks, the second ten coaches, sixty-two carriage horses, and ten hacks, and the third eleven coaches, sixty-five THE EMPRESS'S IMPRESSIONS 71 carriage horses and four hacks, we may picture the commotion caused by such a procession, and the general dislocation of traffic which must have resulted. The military escort consisted of 200 mounted Chasseurs, 200 Polish Light Horse, 80 mounted Grenadiers, 30 picked Gendarmes, 140 Marines of the Guard. Duroc arranged everything beforehand, even to the itinerary and the various stopping-places. We shall see that the accommodation was frequently indifferent, causing the Empress to complain, but nothing better was available. The impression France made upon Marie-Louise in this first journey is of fundamental importance. The Empress apparently was inclined to ridicule and could criticise people, at any rate those whom she disliked. Those she liked were very few, consequently with the exception of the Duchesse de Montebello scarcely any one escaped her criticisms. But here is her own account of the journey. " I set out from Compiegne, delighted with the idea of such a pleasant journey. I had never before travelled without sadness, but now felt the under- taking would be delightful and am certain I shall love travelling to distraction. The Queen of Naples and the Grand Duke of Wurtzburg accompanied us. It was a particular pleasure to have the latter with me, he is so kind and vivacious. " We left Compiegne on April 27 at nine in the morning. The country as far as St. Quentin is very pretty, even beautiful, also very fertile. All along the road are little hills covered with fruit trees now 72 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV in full bloom, and fields of the most fascinating green intersected by small streams bordered with willows. There are many hamlets and villages, but what struck me most was the quantity of wind-mills. " In every place the Emperor was received by the inhabitants with ringing of bells and firing of salutes, expressions of a devotion as simple as it was touching. Everywhere the young ladies presented us with flowers and poems, most of the latter were very poor. ' We arrived at St. Quentin at midday and were lodged in the Prefecture where everything was un- comfortable and dirty, and what was worse was the fact that I was a quarter of a league away from the Emperor. He took luncheon at once and rode off to visit the fortifications and the source of the St. Quentin canal, which had just been finished from a plan provided by the Emperor himself. I went to bed with lumbago, not yet being accustomed to continuous travelling over paved roads. ' The Emperor made me get up at four o'clock to visit a cotton-mill belonging to the prefect, which is remarkable, the machines are wonderful inventions. " On our return we received the chief officials. The Emperor conversed with them for over two hours. These audiences are enough to kill one, for it is necessary to stand all the time ! Afterwards young ladies presented me with specimens from their factories. " The Emperor was much amused while telling me of an accident which happened to M. Joan,* who, * The Empress writes Joan. She refers to Jouan, knight of the Legion of Honour, March 8, 1807, surgeon- major attached to the Ambulance of the Imperial Household in the Grand Armde. He was in all the campaigns. F. M. THE CANAL 73 while galloping without looking where he was going, was caught on the branch of a tree ; the horse went on and after a few minutes he fell to the ground without hurting himself in the least. Malicious tongues say that for more than an hour he thought himself dead, which is very like him ! " After dinner there was a ball at the town hall and a cantata was sung which contained the most fulsome compliments. The Queen opened the ball by dancing a Contredance fran^aise with Chamberlain de Metternich. " The town of St. Quentin has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is very old and badly built, but commercially flourishing. The local manufactures are longcloth, linen, cambric, leather, and morocco ; the trade in cotton brings in over 3 millions annually. " Next day we left St. Quentin at seven in the morning, and after passing through the whole of the city, which is not very large, we arrived at the canal, where we found two gondolas awaiting us. The canal begins at St. Quentin and terminates at Cambrai, where it joins the Scheldt. It is over 22 leagues in length having 23 locks, and is very wide and deep. We went on board and continued our way beneath a blazing sun which gave us terrible headaches. We reached the first tunnel into which the water had not yet been admitted and entered carriages in order to pass through it. The length is a quarter of a league, entirely cut out of the rock. The vault is very high and was illuminated by two rows of lamps which made a magnificent effect. It is a masterpiece, unique of its kind. We continued our journey by carriage as far as the entrance to the second tunnel, where tents 74 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV had been pitched for lunch, which we welcomed like famished travellers. We went through this tunnel, which is a league and a half long, in a boat rowed by men, which was not very serviceable, for it let in two inches of water, which wetted our feet, but as there was no means of remedying it, one had to bear up gaily, which for me was not difficult as I have an iron constitution which nothing injures. In addition we narrowly escaped capsizing because the fat Prince Schwarzenberg was continually leaning out of the boat and his weight threw it all on one side. This second tunnel was illuminated like the first, and at the end of every hundred toises (about 650 feet) there was a shaft to let in daylight. After an hour and a half we reached the mouth of the canal and got into the carriages again. ' We saw the source of the Scheldt, that majestic river, which 40 leagues farther on is so wide and deep that the largest battleships can navigate it, but is here so narrow that one can easily cross it by a standing jump. It passes twice under the canal, which is carried over it by means of an aqueduct ; the bridge is so narrow that we were obliged to leave the carriages which were then lifted over by men. This affair delayed us more than an hour and put the Queen of Naples into such a bad temper that no one could speak to her for the rest of the day. I cannot understand how people when travelling can grumble and get impatient over such trifling accidents ! To me they were very insignificant in comparison with all I had had to put up with in other journeys, of which I had never complained. " We went on board again half a league from CAMBEAI 75 Cambrai, and at half-past three entered the basin at the end of the canal, where a number of trading vessels, laden with coal, were waiting to enter the canal to carry their cargoes to Paris. " On reaching the H6tel de Ville I went to bed, for the sun had given me a shocking headache. I was, however, quite pleased with myself at not having grumbled once during the journey. Truly the bad temper of several of the ladies was enough to preve it me from fault finding. " Cambrai is a very ancient city and indeed was once a Roman Colony. In 1520 a Treaty of Peace was concluded in this place, when two princesses conducted the greater part of the negotiations, hence it became known as the Ladies' Treaty. Xinrlo (sic) (Fenelon) is buried in this town, and I felt very indignant to notice that he, who so well deserved a fine mausoleum erected out of gratitude by his diocesans, was interred in a wooden coffin ; while others, whose chief merit was the fact that they were wealthy enough to found churches, had magnificent monuments. " Cambrai has 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants and manufactures the same articles of commerce as St. Quentin. There are also many soap factories. " I got up at seven o'clock to see the procession of waggons in the square, on which, amid a vast con- course of people, sat some 200 young girls dressed in white, who are clothed and fed by the ladies of the town. " After dinner, which was at eight o'clock, we received the local authorities and the young ladies who brought me cambric and lace. At ten o'clock 76 JOUENEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV there was a superb display of fireworks, after which the ladies and the young girls of Cambrai were presented to me. " I know nothing more embarrassing for any one so timid and awkward as myself than to receive daily some sixty ladies who are absolute strangers to me, but with whom, nevertheless, I am obliged to converse. An attack of vertigo relieved me this time from a situation in which I usually say many foolish things. :< The Queen of Naples left us here and with her Chr. de Metternich, so much the better. I do not regret them, but it was very ungallant of the Grand Duke of Wiszburg (Wurtzbourg) to desert us to follow the Queen of Naples. It is only too true that when love and friendship are in the balance, poor tranquil friendship has to go to the wall ! " On the 29th the Bishop said Mass for us at eight o'clock, and we left at nine. The country round Cambray and for some leagues beyond it, is flat and not as fine as that from Compiegne to Saint- Quentin. " We passed through Bouchain, a small fortified town built by Pepin the Short, in memory of his victory over Thierry King of the Goths. Denain is three leagues farther on, where the Marechal de Villars gained a victory over the troops of Prince Eugene. Louis XIV. erected an obelisk inscribed with two verses of the Henriade to commemorate this event. " We reached Valenciennes at eleven o'clock, a pretty little town with 20,000 inhabitants. It is situated in a very pleasant valley, and its fortifications, which are still in excellent preservation, were con- VALENCIENNES MONS 77 structed by Vauban. The city is rather dirty, but does a flourishing trade in a kind of lace which is much in request and gives occupation to many women in the neighbourhood of the town. Here the Duchesse de Montebello passed her girlhood. She said it pleased her to see again the places in which she had spent the happiest period of her life ; but was much annoyed at being invited to lunch by the Emperor, for it prevented her visiting her grandmother whom she had not seen for fifteen years. " After lunch the Emperor received the authorities and I the young ladies, who brought me lace. ' We stopped a short time at Mons to see the beginning of a canal which is to serve between that town and Paris. There was at one time a Chapter of Canonesses here. There is much coal-mining on the outskirts of this town, and the dust on the main road is so black that one's complexion becomes like that of a chimney-sweep. " After an hour's journey the country from Mons to Brussels becomes very flat, resembling a beautiful English park, and continually increases in beauty and variety as one approaches Brussels, which is situated in a delightful valley watered by the Senne. The valleys around are bordered by low hills clothed with forests or fruit trees. " It was evening when we reached Brussels. It appeared to be an exceedingly fine town, but I could not judge of it very well for we passed through it hurriedly. The scenery is still more beautiful be- tween Brussels and Laeken. The Brussels canal lies between avenues of magnificent trees behind which are country houses with charming gardens. 78 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV " At the end of an hour we climbed a steep hill and arrived at Laeken, which is rather a handsome palace bought by the Emperor from the Duke of Saxe-Teschen. " On our arrival the Emperor went at once to see the castle. There are two very fine suites of apart- ments on the ground floor, which is raised by a dozen steps above the garden. There are also a number of rooms between the ground floor and the first story and on the first floor itself. " My first consideration was to take a bath to rid myself of the horrible black dust. I do not know if the bath upset me because I got into it while still very hot, but I was seized with frightful cramp in the stomach, with colic. The Emperor must needs send for Monsieur Jouan, who, after many florid and pompous phrases, informed the Emperor that I was going to have a child and should have a miscarriage if I continued my journey. The Emperor believed him, which annoyed me so much that I suffered still more. '' To revenge myself on M. Jouan I pretended to be very ill. He hurried in, felt my pulse, which he declared he could not find, so rubbed my nose with vinegar. After five minutes I pretended to return to consciousness, for he was by this time talking of bleeding me. This little incident left me with a very strange opinion of him, for only ignorance or the wiles of a clever courtier could have made him act as he did. I prefer to think it was the former. I should despise him too much if it were the latter. It is, however, true that we are living in such charming surroundings that I must accustom myself to them. I fear, nevertheless, that this will be difficult ! VILVOEDE 79 ' The next day, 30th, the Emperor, instead of letting me rest, awakened me at seven in the morning to see the garden. Fortunately, in his sleep he had forgotten M. Jouan's portentous phrases, so there was no further question of leaving me at Brussels. " The garden is tolerably large and charming, it is planted in the English fashion, there are several buildings and some well-arranged vistas. After lunch, as soon as the Emperor had received the deputations, we set off across the garden, at the end of which is the canal on which we were to embark. " Here we were rejoined by the Viceroy and the King and Queen of Westphalia, who had arrived from Paris to accompany us on the journey. " Nothing more beautiful can be imagined than the banks of this canal, and now was the right moment to see it, as all the fruit trees were in blossom. There are many country houses along the left bank. !< The villages are quite Dutch. No French is spoken, and the dialect of the country is a corrupt German called ' Platt-deutsch.' At a quarter of a league from the castle of Schonenberg, one arm of the Senne passes under the canal to rejoin the other, from which it had been separated ; the construction, by means of which this passage is effected without danger to the canal itself, is called les trois Irons. It is said to be an admirable piece of work. '* We went through four locks, at each of which we were delayed at least five and twenty minutes. There is really nothing more tiresome than a canal voyage. It takes over an hour to travel one league ! " Near Vilvorde is the House of Correction, an immense building intended to accommodate the 80 JOUENEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV beggars from the large towns. Such an institution might well be established in every country of Europe. " Before entering the lock which is close to Malines (Mechlin), the high road crosses the canal by a bridge. Malines (Mechlin) on the left bank of the canal is quite a handsome city. The Cathedral is very fine and has a spire three hundred and forty- eight feet high. There are a good many industries in this town, of which the most important are tanning and hat-making ; but Mechlin is most famous for its lace, which is in great demand and made in various qualities. ' The Archbishop was at the door of the Cathedral with his clergy. I think he is rather like Tartufe ! " Here we began to see many trading vessels large enough to undertake a voyage to the Indies. " Never have I been so much entertained as during this day, when everything was a novelty to me. I had never seen any ships, so it was impossible to make either the Queen of Westphalia or myself take any part in the conversation. We could already hear the dull boom of the cannon from afar, not unlike the noise of thunder, and saw in the distance a great many masts which were still so far off they appeared like steeple spires. " Finally, at four o'clock, two hours after the turn of the tide, we entered the Rupel. A lock closes the entrance to it. On the wharf we found Admiral Missiessy, the Minister of Marine, and all the other chief officers, who conducted us by a detestable road to a pretty little gondola in which we embarked upon the Kupel, which flows into the Scheldt, a league farther on, where we saw about 25 gunboats which THE FRENCH FLEET 81 are made smaller than a sloop of war. They were not in commission on account of the ice, which had been very thick this year. " After an hour we entered the Scheldt, which is very broad at this spot. The weather was magnificent. The sun was setting and there was a dead calm, but I would gladly have exchanged it for a storm, which I long to experience. Round a bend in the river, we saw the fine spectacle of seven battleships which were not all in commission. " Really there is nothing so grand as one of these vessels ! A man-of-war is 48 ft. wide, 23 ft. high above the water and 19 ft. below. Some have 60 to 120 guns. The masts are taller than a three-storied house and carry a quantity of sails and rigging. A small gangway leads down to the captain's room, the council-chamber, and several other quite pretty cabins. Still farther down one comes to the place where the sailors sleep, where also the guns are carried. The hospital and galleys for provisions and munitions are below the water-level. Lower still one comes to the magazine in which the powder is kept. ' When the vessel is in commission there are sometimes as many as 500 sailors, some of them being right up the mast head. ' We were saluted by a thousand guns, the report of which half deafened us, myself in particular, for since the occasion on which my father made me fire off an over-loaded cannon, any loud noise now makes my ear bleed. ' We climbed on board the Charlemagne, but it required courage to accomplish this. The gangway 82 JOUKNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV was like a ladder with the steps so far apart that we had to clamber up on our knees. There was wind enough, moreover, to cause very embarrassing accidents. I am certain we exhibited our legs to the gentlemen, and I vowed never to climb on to a battle- ship again without putting on trousers ! The Minister of Marine might really have been gallant enough to have had a better stairway constructed for us, but one sees in everything that he is but a rough sailor. We were saluted by cheers repeated three times. " One needs to be very agile in boarding a battle- ship for the first time, to avoid laming oneself. I know I returned to Antwerp with a sprain, two lumps on my head, and a gown covered with tar. ''' The Scheldt here is half a league wide. I had been told a great deal about the disagreeable move- ment I should experience, but to me when the weather is calm there is no difference between the sea and a river. " Both banks of the Scheldt are lovely, there are many country houses and charming gardens. The setting sun added to the beauty of the landscape. " On rounding a little point we came upon Antwerp. Several frigates, four men-of-war, and a vast number of gunboats were lying in the harbour of this fine city. " The last rays of the sun were gilding the spires of the city and produced a marvellous effect over the Scheldt. * ' We disembarked at seven o'clock in the midst of an immense crowd and continued our journey in a carriage to the house of the Prefet, where we were indifferently lodged. ON BOARD SHIP 83 " My room looked on one side upon a little garden, on another upon the court, and on the third upon a little narrow and dark street from which rose such terrible exhalations that I was not able to open the windows during the whole of my stay. We dined and then went to bed. " On the 1st of May the weather was magnificent. The Emperor went out at break of day to see the fortifications and arranged to meet us for breakfast at the Prefecture Maritime, which is a very fine house. The Emperor made us go there at eight o'clock ; at one he had not arrived. What tedium and impatience we felt while waiting for him may readily be imagined ! " At last we embarked at two o'clock to go on board the Anversois. Happily this time the gang- way was a little better. ' The Emperor drilled the crew, and dismantled (fit demonter) the ship, while the King of West- phalia amused himself by climbing up all the masts. The Emperor also put a Dutch frigate under sail ; after that he went on board the Dalmate and the frigate, but I had too vivid a recollection of my two bruises of the previous evening to have any desire to accompany him, so I waited for him on the Anversois. As on the previous evening, we were saluted by a thousand camion. We passed in front of the Pulstuck, but as she was not in commission, the Emperor did not board her. " On returning home I found two rooms on fire. They say this is a sign of good luck. I could have done very well without this sign, for we had a terrible smoke all day. In the evening the Emperor received 84 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV the authorities and ladies of the town, and on the following day inspected the rest of the fortifications, returning for lunch. " I was again annoyed with that tiresome M. Jouan, who urged the Emperor not to take me to the Island of Walcheren, also with the Emperor for listening to him. Doctors are real ignoramuses, they do not know that far more harm is done to their patients, even when they are ill, by thwarting them than by letting them do as they wish ; but I can be obstinate when I want anything, and we shall see which of us will prevail ! " The Emperor took me to the dockyard to see the Friedland of 84 launched. The dock is where the ships are built. In that of Antwerp several ships and frigates can be constructed at the same time. Their hulls are placed in wooden scaffoldings in which they stay until they are quite complete. There were nine here at this time. It takes nearly a year to construct a vessel, and usually costs two millions. " When we had reached an amphitheatre that had been prepared expressly for the ceremony, the Archbishop of Malines advanced to bless the ship, all the scaffolding having been removed. At a given signal the last ropes were cut, and I was so terrified lest some one should be crushed that I hurriedly shut my eyes just at the moment when it shot into the water. I heard nothing but a violent noise. They told me the spectacle was magnificent ; I pity the people who were obliged to sustain this shock, by which the Scheldt became very much stirred up. " The Emperor made another tour in the district and I took a drive with the Queen of Westphalia ANTWERP 85 upon the ramparts and about the town. They say that in another year Antwerp will be one of the strongest places of the Empire. There are some tolerably fine streets in the town, which contains 60,000 inhabitants, also some fine mansions, and the churches are said to be very beautiful, but I did not go over any of them. !( The Parish Church contains the tomb of Rubens, and a historical picture in which he painted himself with his father and his wives. ''' The tower of the Cathedral is as high and as beautiful as that of Strasbourg. The view from it is said to be superb. I should very much have liked to climb it, but when travelling with the Emperor it is very difficult to amuse and instruct oneself, as it is impossible to do as one likes. ' The Town Hall is a splendid edifice. The dock- yard, where the timber for shipbuilding is kept, is immense. The two docks are magnificent. The Emperor had one of these constructed. The largest can berth forty-two ships of the line. It has just been finished except for two locks which have still to be constructed at the farther end to the Scheldt. These locks are designed to admit vessels into two small adjacent harbours, where they will be sheathed with copper, after they are berthed in the dry dock by opening the sluices at low tide. " The other dock is upon the river ; it will give anchorage to fourteen ships of the line and com- municates with the first dock by a very large lock. ' When peace is made with England, Antwerp will be one of the richest and most important com- mercial towns of the Empire. In the meantime it 86 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV has already a considerable trade. There are many very wealthy merchants, some of whom have magnifi- cent collections of pictures. Mr. Van Haveren possesses, among others, the famous Chapeau de Faille of Rubens. :< There are many charming country houses round Antwerp, but I should dislike to live in this town owing to the unhealthy climate. The neighbourhood is very marshy and nasty smells come from the Scheldt, consequently three-quarters of the inhabitants have fever every year. " On the 3rd the Emperor went to visit the arsenal, the docks, and the magazines, but I stayed at home to be wearied by my ladies. I am much too undisciplined to spend a whole day in their company, and am only happy with the Duchesse de Montebello, who is natural and good, whereas the others are ill-natured and pretentious. " In the evening we saw all the ladies of the town. " On the 4fch, the Emperor went again to inspect a ship. I remained at home as my foot hurt me too much to walk. In the evening there was a ball, but being lame I had a good reason for not dancing. Besides, my doctors are so obliging, they provide me with an excuse whenever I want one ! " It was very stormy all day, and hopes of being able to start on the next were given up as the wind was contrary, and as we should have to cross an arm of the sea in order to reach Flushing, we were compelled to wait with patience. " On the 5th, the weather was still very bad and the storm violent. The Emperor, who was tired of waiting, suddenly decided in the evening to go by DUTCH VILLAGES 87 land and start the next morning at five o'clock with as few people as possible, just clothes for two days and two sets of attendants. "It was decided that only the King and Queen of Westphalia, the Viceroy, the Prince de Neuchatel, the Grand Marechal Due d'Istrie, the Duchesse de Montebello, MM. de Beauharnais, de St. Aignan, de Bondy, and de Montaran, should accompany us, while the rest were to wait for us at Antwerp. Accordingly, we left Antwerp on the 6th, three hours later than the Emperor had arranged (for with him that always happens). ' The beginning of the journey for a league or so was quite pleasant, as we passed by a number of country seats, but at the end of an hour all the beauty had disappeared, and we found ourselves in a desert of sand, where there was not a blade of grass, and where one saw here and there a few stunted fir trees, of which the largest were no bigger than the smallest in a certain black forest that I came to know after- wards ! This district formerly belonged to Holland. " It was only after an interval of two or three hours that we came upon a little village, these villages are really charming. I think they are rather like the description of the oases in the great desert. Dutch farmers are noted for their extreme cleanliness, which extends even to their houses, which are very large and have great square paving- tiles ; most of the houses are built of brick. They are enclosed with fences and trees are planted in front of them. Each has its vegetable garden and orchard, and magnificent cows graze in the meadows. I have never seen such fine cattle as in Holland. They are unlike other cows 88 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV on account of their size and colouring, which is white with black or brown spots. " The road became worse every moment. The sand was so deep that it was necessary to harness 12 or 16 horses to each carriage, notwithstanding that we only went at a walking pace ! " The horses are so badly harnessed in this country that it is impossible to hurry them ; instead of bits, cords are put in their mouths, and the traces are so thin that they come to pieces every moment. As the horses of the peasants are requisitioned, each man wants to drive his own steed, there are therefore sometimes as many postilions as horses. I have counted at least a dozen. If we wish to go faster they bewail the hard fate of their animals, and if pressure is brought to bear in order to hurry them, they unyoke the horses and take them away, leaving one stranded in the middle of the sands. This happened to several carriages in our retinue. " The hour for lunch had long passed ; it was nearly two o'clock, and the Emperor would never allow me to eat in a carriage. He had a fine reason for this, which was that a woman ought never to want to eat. These precious arguments added to the pangs of hunger made me so angry that I had a terrible head- ache, consequently when we arrived at Breda at four o'clock, I thought I should be obliged to stay there ; however, the Emperor, who treated us like grenadiers, forced us to continue our journey after his lunch ! ' We took our meal in a wretched chateau which formerly belonged to the Prince of Orange. " Breda is a small and rather pretty town of from 7000 to 8000 inhabitants with excellent fortifications. BREDA BOIS-LE-DUC 89 " After the Emperor had received the local officials we resumed our journey. I was in such a bad temper that the Emperor was displeased, but feeling quite indifferent I let him scold as much as he liked without answering him. ''' There is nothing which quiets men so soon as this method. They are insufferable beings, and should I ever come back in another world, I would certainly not make a second marriage ! " The road was still very monotonous and the weather dreadful. The wind blew horribly, and the rain was so heavy that we were inundated. The Emperor, however, contrary to his usual practice, found the atmosphere stifling, so opened all the windows for the pleasure of opposing my wishes. " At eight o'clock the Marechal Due de Reggio with several generals came to our carriage and assured us that we were only an hour's journey from Bois-le-Duc. However, we did not arrive there until midnight. " Fortunately my waiting-maid was there, for I felt so ill and fatigued that I went to bed directly without eating. I had dreadful pains in the stomach with fever ; added to this, there was so much noise in the courtyard that it was impossible to sleep. Having sent for M. Bourdier, the consoling news was brought me that he had been left behind at Breda ! " Finally, at one o'clock, I heard my door open (for it had neither bolt nor key), and some one enter the room very softly. It was the Prince de Neu- chatel, who (imagining himself in the Emperor's room) on seeing me was very embarrassed. " At last, at two o'clock, M. Jouan arrived, half 90 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [Cn. IV dead, and covered from head to foot with clay, for he had fallen into a hole. I begged him to give me some antipyrin hetera.* He went to fetch the little medicine chest, but finding all the bottles broken, I had to resign myself, and wait until I should recover without medicine. " At three o'clock the Duchesse de Montebello arrived ; her carriage had stuck for four hours in the sand in spite of all the efforts of M. de St. Aignan and Prince Aldobrandini. When these gentlemen saw that they could not extricate the carriage, they unyoked the horses, and using a bag of oats for a saddle, went to seek help at Bois-le-Duc, while M. de Beauharnais, instead of assisting them, remained in the carriage grumbling because he could not get on. The Due de Bassano lost patience because his coach- man would not proceed, and got out of his carriage, prepared to chastise the poor wretch severely, but Heaven punished him, for he fell into a pool up to his neck ; although in this predicament he became very polite, the peasant would not pull him out ; he was therefore obliged to remain there until another carriage came to the rescue. " There was, indeed, a great deal to laugh at next day when the company related their adventures ; but even more amusing experience was in store for the Duchess de Montebello. " I was so fatigued on the 7th that I did not get out of bed till dinner-time ; moreover, the town and its suburbs were not sufficiently interesting to tempt me to visit them. " The Emperor went out to inspect the fortifica- * A febrifuge. BOIS-LE-DUC 91 tions and receive the local officials. I spent the day in talking to the Duchess, for all my books and work had been left at Antwerp. I was very badly lodged and had only my bedroom, which was dreadfully damp. " The gentlemen had been buying contraband goods all day and persuaded the Duchess to do the same in the evening. MM. de St. Aignan and de Bondy came to fetch her in a hired carriage. The coachman, who apparently had driven them the evening before, thought he knew the place to which he was to take them, so they stopped at the door of a house and began to mount the stairs, when the mistress of the house arrived with a light in her hand. At the sight of this woman the gentlemen became much embarrassed and besought the Duchess to come downstairs again, telling her at the same time that they had mistaken the warehouse. She kept repeating, ' It does not matter, I will go up just the same,' until they were obliged to admit they had been altogether misdirected, and that this was a house where they had acquaintances whom it was impossible for them to present to her. The Duchess, however, still insisted, whereupon they were obliged to tell her that it was a house of ill-fame ; this made her furious. " The following morning, on leaving Bois-le-Duc, we passed through the whole town, which is rather pretty, and has a population of 12,000, all of whom are Catholics. " The road was just as ugly as on the previous day as far as the spot where we took our lunch, and we were unable to proceed faster than a walking pace. 92 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV ' We lunched at the house of a pastor, which was remarkable for its cleanliness. From there we con- tinued as far as Gertruidenberg, where we waited an interminable time to cross a small river in a ferry boat. While the Emperor visited the fortifications we continued our journey still at the same pace. I was with the Queen of Westphalia, who was in a very bad temper with the King, perhaps justifiably, for such a husband must make her very unhappy ; I pity her sincerely. ' The road improved five leagues from Bergen-op- zoom ; we thought it delightful after our experience of the last two days. Nothing but meadows, gardens, magnificent fields, and charming Dutch villages were visible. We continued our route along the Meuse by the side of the famous Moerdyk, which is an arm of the river and forms the boundary between the French Empire and Holland. There are many fortifications. Here we crossed the Meuse, which becomes very narrow, and were only 15 leagues from Amsterdam. ' What would I not have given to have been able to visit this fine capital, but when one travels with the Emperor one learns to forgo all ideas of pleasure trips. " We were obliged to cross some more dykes in ferry boats, arriving at last at nine in the evening at Bergen-op-Zoom, which is well fortified and has from 8,000 to 12,000 inhabitants. " The houses here were dreadful, but we were put up in the best. A wooden ladder did service for a staircase, and our apartments consisted of two rooms ; nevertheless, the Emperor insisted on staying there another day. The other houses were in the same style. BERGEN-OP-ZOOM 93 ' The first person I met was M. Bourdier, who had established himself in my room, furious at being left at Breda, and declaring he would send in his resigna- tion. In vain I talked to him, I could not calm him. Presently I, too, became angry and told him to go away, because he tired me. Happily he obeyed this behest immediately, but did not expect the same fate was in store for him on the morrow. ' We sat down to dinner, at which the Emperor expressed great dissatisfaction with his quarters, so as he could not lay the blame on any of us, his wrath fell upon the dinner. At each dish he remarked, * What a disgusting stew, if only there were a leg of mutton.' This was brought to him ; then he said, ' If only there were some salad ; ' that, too, was brought. When he saw that the same thing happened each time, he retired to bed. What amused me most was the Duchesse de Montebello, who was bursting with laughter in spite of the signs I made to her. She is really not courtier enough for the country in which we live, besides, she has one great fault which will tell against her, she is too much attached to me. ' We all retired to our rooms determined to sleep the whole of the next day. The King and Queen of Westphalia found fair quarters, but without beds or chairs ; the Prince de Neuchatel a room without any glass to the window ; he was therefore obliged to use his papers to keep out the draughts ! " The Viceroy arrived too late for dinner, and was quartered on an invalid who suffered with dreadful catarrh, and who, for supper, gave him hot lemonade and bread, saying as he presented the glass, ' I cannot G 94 JOUKNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV offer you a better, it is the one out of which I drink myself,' consequently the Viceroy was obliged to drink from it ! " I went to bed with the firm intention of not being wakened the next day. Vain hope ! " The Emperor, who apparently did not find his lodgings sufficiently attractive, mounted his horse at four o'clock and decided while riding to depart at eight, and to leave one set of attendants here. The confusion caused by this unexpected departure was so great that all the luggage was left behind ! ' The Emperor refused to wait, and nearly left the King and Queen of Westphalia behind ; however, they arrived just as we were embarking on the canal. :< The Viceroy had not found his quarters suffi- ciently comfortable, and so had slept elsewhere. Apparently he told his valet to call him late in the morning. The man had taken away his uniform and locked the door from outside. Happily the room was on the ground floor, so the Viceroy jumped from the window on to the square in somewhat light attire, to the great astonishment of the inhabitants ! " I do not know who was malicious enough to tell this story to the Emperor, but he was so furious, the Viceroy was sent back to Paris on our return to Brussels. " At eight o'clock we proceeded through the town in our carriages and passed close by the trading port in which a great many vessels were lying. We embarked at the spot where the canal joins the Scheldt, and went down stream for an hour in some charming gondolas. The Scheldt here is more than a league in breadth and its water already tidal. The ZUID-BEVELAND 95 weather was very fine and calm, so our boats moved smoothly. Away to the right was the foreland of the Isle of Tholen. ' The sea air gave us such an appetite that we ate a cold lunch. I do not know what evil genius put this idea into our heads, but everybody became ill. The Queen of Westphalia and myself were the least in- convenienced because we had taken the precaution of immediately going into the fresh air. But the Emperor, the Viceroy, and the Due d'Istrie were violently sick. They therefore determined to dis- embark at ten o'clock upon the Isle of Zuid-Beveland without ascertaining if there were any carriages there to convey us to the other side. " After making inquiries the Due d'Istrie at last found us two or three peasant conveyances which were neither carts nor carriages, and to which two horses were harnessed ; these were so high that a ladder was needed to get into them, and so narrow that two people could scarcely sit abreast ; they had no springs, consequently were very hard and, to complete our misfortunes, were occupied by a number of very disagreeable small intruders. :t The Due d'Istrie mounted his horse and preceded us to arrange for boats to be prepared for us on the other side of the island. " The carriage in which the Duchesse de Monte- bello rode with the Comtesse de Liverstein and the Viceroy capsized and was broken into a thousand pieces. He alighted on his feet, the Duchesse escaped with a tumble, but the Comtesse de Liverstein was dragged along by the horses and her elbow badly injured. 96 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [Cn. IV ' The island of Zuid-Beveland is really charming. On the road we passed through fruit gardens and little woods of limes, elms, and willows, interspersed with small villages. In the little town of Goes we were agreeably surprised to find carriages, excellent com- pared with those we had just left. " After passing through the town of Zeebourg, which is rather pretty, we arrived at the other side of the island at Hoopfort. There we embarked in a packet boat and again went down the Scheldt. We saw many porpoises, a very curious fish having the head of a pig, while its body is quite round ; it rolls on its back on the surface of the water, and in this way makes a great deal of progress in a short time. " We disembarked at four o'clock at the head of Fort Ramshen, where the best carriages of the town of Middelburg were waiting for us. I do not exag- gerate when I say they must have been constructed at least 150 years ago. " We were so famished that we ate two large military loaves which some soldiers brought us. " The Emperor inspected the town of Flushing on horseback, while the Queen of Westphalia and I continued our journey to Middelburg. The Island of Walcheren is just as fine as Zuid-Beveland ; should one, however, be tempted to settle there, one would soon pay very dearly. The air is so pestilential that every year during the months of September and October there are the most frightful epidemics of malarial fever, consequently the inhabitants seldom live to the age of fifty. Their complexions are yellow and livid. The Emperor is obliged to relieve the large garrison every three months, and yet two-thirds of the MIDDELBURG 97 soldiers are always ill when they return. It is essential for them to drink wine while they are in the island. " We continued our road along a very high dyke as far as Middelburg, which we reached at five o'clock, and were lodged in a house belonging to the Emperor, which had formerly been a convent. It had been decorated and furnished for our reception, hence the papers were still quite fresh. I felt some repugnance, however, at sleeping in the bed in which some English had died about two years previously. I am so timid about illness that I imagined I could still scent the odour of death in the town. It is said more than 30,000 English perished at Middelburg during that epidemic. " My apartment looked upon a courtyard filled with fine trees. We were entertained with some delightful military music, which I would have listened to with pleasure had it not prevented my sleeping. My attendants ultimately arrived at three o'clock, so I was able at last to go to bed, but they brought me no change of clothing, consequently the Emperor will be obliged to see me in the same dress and chemise until we leave here. " I resigned myself to the situation without any fuss, but the Queen of Westphalia was inconsolable ; her women arrived twenty-four hours after us, so she made the unfortunate Comtesse de Liverstein stay up all night in the antechamber to make tea for her, and when it was brought she scolded her, would not drink it, and cried with rage. It requires an angel from Heaven to put up with her. I know very well what I should have done if I had been a lady-in-waiting. " I did not wake on the 10th till midday, when 98 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV the Emperor gave us a pleasant surprise by saying he would take us at two o'clock to the sea, and made an appointment to meet at the Fort de Haag at three o'clock. The Queen of Westphalia, however, kept me waiting more than an hour, which made me at least as impatient as herself. I was really angry to think how vexed the Emperor would be with me if I did not arrive in time, accordingly I was out of temper the whole day. " As a rule I am a good-natured person, perhaps too weak, but when in a passion (which happens very rarely) I am perhaps more angry than other women. " The part of the island over which we wandered is like an ornamental garden, full of fruit trees, weeping willows, elms, and, above all, most beautiful meadows and lovely flowers. !< There are few villages, but many scattered houses, extremely clean and inhabited by rich farmers. A marshy odour is perceptible everywhere, and in walking on these beautiful meadows one is often as- tonished to find oneself halfway to the knee in water. " At four o'clock we reached Fort Haag, behind which are the dunes. These are sand hills of various shapes from which we could see the tips of masts which showed the sea was not far distant. " I was impatient to see it at once, so, to while away the time, we tasted the cream, which is excellent, and is preserved in curious green bottles. " The Emperor wished to show us the sea at once, but here the dunes were impassable, which obliged us to take another short journey of two hours, in car- riages, to find a spot which we could climb. At last we found it, and I was much astonished on getting out to find my legs half buried in sand. Each step we took was equally troublesome, but the ascent was nothing to travellers as intrepid as ourselves, and we were well repaid by the fine view that burst upon us when we reached the top of the hills. ' We saw the ocean as an immense surface of water bounded only by the horizon ; the sun was setting, and coloured the sea like a rainbow. Far off we could descry some fishing boats returning from their labour, protected by a sloop. It is always necessary to protect them in this manner from the English, who take their fish, which they refuse to pay for. The sea was very calm except on the shore, where it was break- ing upon the rocks with some violence. ' The Emperor called for maps and talked with the engineers. :s The Queen of Westphalia and I amused ourselves by picking up shells with which the beach was covered. Some were charming, but those of the Mediterranean and the Indies are said to be infinitely finer. These shells combined with the unwholesome air and the mischievous trick of the King, were the cause of my having three attacks of fever. " In the middle of our amusement I saw that the Viceroy and the Due d'Istrie were watching and laughing at us in a very significant manner. I had not time to ask why, before the tide came up with great force, faster than we were able to run and wetted us to the knees ; fortunately it returned as quickly as it had come. " These gentlemen then explained this was the usual habit of the tide, they might, however, have been gallant enough to warn us. 100 JOUENEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV ' We gave up our search and asked the Emperor's permission to change. His reply was, ' Stay as you are, ladies, this bath will do you good,' so he made us wait till eight o'clock. ' When we reached home we dined, and the same military music was performed as on the evening before. " On the llth, the weather was shocking all day ; this did not prevent the Emperor from going a second time to see Flushing. I remained in bed in a high fever. ''' I do not know what has become of my iron constitution, it has disappeared entirely. I am sure this is the fault of the doctor, who during the whole journey has done nothing but dose me. " On his return the Emperor told us that he had seen an English frigate approach within range of the cannon of Flushing, which in obedience to his order had bombarded her so hotly that she had retired quicker than she came. " On the morning of the 12th, the Emperor held a council ; it really was not our fault that we heard everything, for the hall was close to my room and the Emperor shouted terribly. " I had fever again all night, so being much fatigued and the weather dreadful, I only drove out at two o'clock to see the town. " Middelburg has 30,000 inhabitants ; it is a fortress, surrounded by beautiful country houses and gardens, but I was unable to see them, not having our horses here. The finest buildings of the town are the Cathedral, the town hall, and the meat markets ; they are at least as fine as those I have seen in Paris, and much cleaner. MIDDELBURG 101 " The trading port is very large and surrounded by avenues where the people of Middelburg promenade on Sundays. Some of the houses are fine. " On returning I found the Queen of Westphalia very much out of temper because I had not taken her, but she wearies me by her incessant inquiry, ' Do you still care for the Duchesse de Montebello ? ' " I have only known the Duchess two months, and am most attached to her, so could not help replying to the Queen, ' My dear, I do not change my friends like my chemises.' What she said to me is just the way a Queen talks. People say that women of our rank do not know how to form their attachments, but I should like to show there are exceptions. It is quite true the poor Queen is very unfortunate with her friends, hardly has she made a friend before the King makes her his mistress, and that really is not the way to keep her attached to them. " In the evening the Viceroy took the Duchesse de Montebello to purchase contraband goods, and to see the spire of the Cathedral which is said to be very ancient. " It was decided that we should depart the follow- ing day whatever the weather might be. I am glad, for, although the island is certainly very attractive, I have not much enjoyed wearing the same clothes for four days. " In the evening we received the local officials. There were not very many, and most of them did not understand French." Here the manuscript breaks off. The journey, however, was far from completed. The Emperor left Middelburg on May 13 after Mass, inspected the forts 102 JOURNEY TO SAINT-QUENTIN [On. IV as he passed, and reached Antwerp at ten o'clock. On the 14th he left Antwerp at four in the afternoon and arrived at Laeken at nine. The 15th and 16th were spent at Laeken ; on the 15th, a play was per- formed at Brussels, followed by the presentation of the ladies ; on the 16th, inspection of the manufactories and a fete at the Hotel de Ville ; on the 17th, Ghent was visited ; on the 18th, Bruges ; here, on the follow- ing day, Marie-Louise visited the tomb of her ances- tress Marie of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Rash and wife of Maximilian ; on the 20th, she left Bruges for Ostend by the Wilhelmina, a barque from Ghent ; on the 21st, she left Ostend for Dunkirk ; and on the 22nd arrived at Lille, where they stayed over the 23rd ; then Bethune, Calais, Boulogne were visited on the 25th ; Abbeville, Saint Valery, Fecamp, Dieppe, on the 26th ; the 27th-29th were spent at Le Havre, and the 30th-31st at Rouen. On June 1 at nine o'clock the Emperor returned to Saint-Cloud. CHAPTER V SAINT-CLOUD FONTAINEBLEAU PARIS SAINT-CLOUD RAMBOUILLET, JUNE 1, 1810-MAY 22, 1811 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG, MAY 22-JUNE 4 AFTER returning on June 1 to Saint-Cloud, Napoleon remained for nearly a year in the vicinity of Paris, holding his Court at the various country seats, thereby recalling the days of nomad sovereignty. Princes, princesses, the city of Paris, ministers, marshals, the Imperial Guard, all vied with one another in feting the Empress. Throughout the spring there was a succession of balls, suppers, plays, and more or less lively diversions, in which entertainers like Depreaux exerted their ingenuity, preparing festivals which, while being novel and flattering, should also be in- teresting. It must be confessed that they were not very successful, in spite of the costumes, staging, topical allusions, and songs. Their inventions at the present time appear dismal enough, not to mention the catastrophe with which they terminated. Victor de Broglie wrote to Marmont on July 1 : " Our fetes are finished, Monseigneur, and you have little to regret. We have had balls, fireworks, and illuminations, a few extra lamps and rockets, a few more gowns with trains, and that is all. The art 103 104 SAINT-CLOUD [On. V of giving fetes has not advanced as rapidly as the opportunities for them have increased. We found this out at the ball at the Ecole Militaire, where there were only some six or seven thousand too many people. Consequently the door had to be closed on several important persons, among whom were the Minister for War and the Minister for the Interior. The Empress danced at all these fetes, and it is said she is beginning to lose all her Germanic habits ; her feet, which are two of the smallest that ever trod the pavement of Vienna, now turn outwards, and she curtsies with her head instead of her knees." The fetes were over, said Victor de Broglie ; but there was yet one more to come, viz. the one prepared for their Majesties by Prince Schwarzenberg and the Princess, nee d'Arenberg, at the former Hotel Montes- son, in the rue de la Chaussee d'Antin. A large wooden ballroom had been constructed over the garden, which was connected with the house by a gallery, also made of wood. The ceilings were of tarpaulin, covered with varnished paper. The floors had been raised to the level of the rooms by scaffold- ing. An enormous chandelier in the centre, and sconces upon the walls, were designed to shed a flood of light like sunshine. The hangings consisted of thin materials, draped on the walls or suspended as cur- tains. The fete included a band of wind instruments which was to perform in the Cour d'Honneur until the arrival of their Majesties. According to the pro- gramme, the Emperor and Empress were to pass through the concert hall into the garden, pausing in A FIRE 105 front of the Temple of Apollo, where the Muses would sing a chorus ; from there they would proceed by the Alice de la Cascade to the Subterranean Grotto, where orchestral music would be performed, thence to the Vine Bower, adorned with monograms, garlands, and mirrors, having a large buffet at the farther end. Here there was to be a concert of French and German music with solos on a new instrument, the harmonica. Next they would come to the Temple of Fame, where they would sit on a dais to the blare of trumpets, the singing of choirs, and the diffusing of perfumes, till finally their Majesties would arrive at the Imperial Pavilion, from the platform of which they were to witness a fete de Chateau and a ballet champetre staged like the gardens at the Laxenburg, to be followed by fireworks. After that they were to return to the great hall and proceed to the ballroom. Madame de Lu9ay, who accompanied the Empress and sat behind her, noticed that Prince Eugene was whispering to the Emperor. One of the draperies in the ballroom had just caught fire, so the Emperor rose, and having taken the arm of the Empress as if he intended to walk about the hall, went out by the first door. Madame de Lu9ay followed by a small exit behind the throne. In an instant all was in flames. It seems extraordinary that so few people were killed. There must have been a mad rush, but of this the less said the better ! The women lost their shawls, their necklaces, their diamond combs ; the men their swords, their hats, their shoes ; Baron de Garzoni- Venturi, General Doumerc, General Preval, M. de 106 SAINT-CLOUD [On. V Magnien, Baron de Torregiant, General de Tousard, Baron de Juste, M. de Montlivault, Baron de Montes- quiou, M. Pioche, and others all bemoaned the loss of their shoes on account of the buckles, a proof that these gentlemen ran away very quickly. Princess Schwarzenberg who was crushed by the great lustre, lost 938 diamonds, weighing 269 carats ; Prince Kouratine the Russian Ambassador lost a a diamond sword mount, part of a diamond epaulette, a diamond loop from his hat, a diamond garter buckle, and a large diamond on a square snuff-box with a portrait of the Emperor of Austria. It fell to the floor and the stones dropped out. Princess Schwarzenberg was one of the first victims, but there were many others, the wife of the Russian Consul, Comtesse de la Leyen, Madame Tousard, the Prefet of Istria, and Princess de Carignan. All this became known by rumour. Without im- posing silence, great discretion was observed. This catastrophe, like that in the Place Louis XV. during the fireworks for the Dauphin's marriage, portended disaster. The Empress, from whom it was impossible to conceal the death of Princess Schwarzenberg, was deeply moved ; when on awaking next morning she heard of her death, she shed many tears. It may have been to distract her thoughts that the Emperor took her to Rambouillet, from July 6th to the 17th. There they stayed in semi-state. The Emperor was in good spirits. He amused himself by playing rounders, and although already stout, he still ran easily enough. In one of these games he fell twice, RAMBOUILLET 107 for as he rushed forward to seize his opponent the Grand Marechal, who eluded him each time, the Emperor twice rolled on the sand four paces away from him. There were other delightful sports. Marie-Louise wrote : " We celebrated the fete of my brother-in-law Camille (Borghese), whom we tease almost as much as Prince Antoine de Saxe. I made all my ladies give him a bouquet of nettles ; I gave him a watch which plays tunes, and at night they put a hard brush among his sheets, with the result that with a very woeful face he paid me an early visit this morning at eight o'clock." On the 17th their Majesties returned to Saint- Cloud where their life resumed its ordinary course, but only for a short time, for on August 2 they were installed at the Trianon. From there the Empress wrote to Madame de Lu$ay : " I had no time yesterday to give you my com- missions, so am writing to send you them. Will you kindly tell the Chenille embroideress that, from to-morrow, I will take my lesson every day from one o'clock to two, and my drawing lesson from three to four. I beg you also to bring me a catalogue of Lenormand's books. The Emperor says there is no objection to the tradesmen coming here provided I do not see them. I beg you to pay Isabey for the two portraits, and to order one from him in the same costume, of the size enclosed. Nitot might frame it in a gold border with the little coloured stones which mean ' Louise, je t'aime.' ' Louise ' should be in larger stones and the two other words in smaller. 108 SAINT-CLOUD [On. IV I would like him to do this as quickly as possible, so that I may be able to give it as a present in about a fortnight. Please excuse my urgency." The real Marie-Louise of the moment is expressed in that letter ; her taste for methodical planning of small occupations, her attention to economy, above all her affection for Napoleon, for whom she intended this portrait which was to be placed upon his inkstand. The Emperor must not be able to write a line without beholding his wife, without reading again the vow he had made her ; it was an obsession. But should we not put to her credit this wish to be recalled to his thought, to be constantly near him, to caress him by the continual gift of her presence ? We must cer- tainly admit that this woman either displayed sincere feeling, or was playing an infamous comedy. One is reluctant to admit she was lying and yet ! On the return from Trianon to Saint-Cloud an interview, on the 12th, was granted to M. de Lehndorf, who had come to announce the death of the Queen of Prussia. This woman had been unable, after pro- voking France and insulting the Emperor, to collect her resources or accept her reverses, and had died of failure. The Emperor and the whole Court went into mourning for her ; the first period was eleven days, the second ten. All mourning would be suspended on the coming fete days. The Queen of Prussia had to stand aside. The 15th was the Emperor's birth- day, and on this occasion the Colonne Vendome was uncovered without any ceremony, out of consideration to the new Empress. All Paris was afoot from six in THE EMPRESS'S BIRTHDAY 109 the morning when volleys of artillery were fired. On waking, the Emperor was greeted by the Empress and the princes and princesses of the family, who offered him their congratulations in his private apart- ments. At midday in the throne-room he received persons of exalted rank, officers of the household and diplomatic service. After that he attended Mass with the Te Deum. The great ceremony followed when the Emperor on his throne received deputa- tions from Holland and Illyria. In the evening there was a Court function with a concert on the terrace, salutes of artillery, illuminations, and fireworks. The birthday of the Empress, ten days later, was celebrated in quite a different way, less formally and with more elegance. On Saturday the 25th at one o'clock, all the ladies of the Palace with the Duchess and the wives of the high officials and ministers, pre- sented their congratulations to her, and were followed by the gentlemen. On the Sunday there was Mass as usual, and the Emperor held a large reception which the Empress did not attend. After dining en famille, their Majesties drove through the illuminated park and saw the fountains playing under coloured lights. They then proceeded to the play, where Aihalie was given first, followed by La Fete du Chateau, with birth- day odes which constituted the chief attraction of the evening. By Order of His Majesty, the King and Emperor, this compliment in the form of a vaudeville had been specially composed by Alissan de Chazel, who during three reigns fawned upon any one who could pay him. It was to be performed by Ellevion H 110 SAINT-CLOUD [On. V of the Theatre Feydeau, Madame Decosta, pupil of the Conservatoire, M. Hippolyte from the Theatre du Vaudeville, M. Baptiste Cadet from the Theatre Francais, Madame Gavaudan from the Theatre Feydeau, Madame Festa from the Theatre Bouffon, and Mdlle. Mars from the Theatre Frangais. The principal artists, Mme. Gavaudan, Mme. Festa, and Mdlle. Mars, represented the three Louises, French, Italian, and German. The scene was laid in the castle of M. de Valmont. Other characters were Factotum, steward to M. de Valmont, his son Benjamin who stuttered, and Madame de Valmont, who wishing to celebrate this great occasion (Louise's birthday) promised a dot to any young woman of the village who bore the name Louise and possessed one of the talents of her sovereign. This offer gave an op- portunity for a varied display : Louise, the French girl, had painted a portrait of the Sovereign ; Luigia sang her praises to the air of M. Paer, and Louisa to a German melody. M. de Valmont gave a sum of money to each of them, whereupon the theatre opened displaying a magic picture of the gardens of Schon- brunn, with the bust of Louise surrounded by villagers and others who did homage to her : ALL Germans ! Brothers ! ! Brothers ! ! ! There was much singing and dancing, and the play was printed at the Imperial Press. After these fetes the only event of the month was the presentation of Bernadotte and Mdlle. Clary his wife, now Prince and Princess of Sweden. The details of the ceremony had been repeatedly FONTAINEBLEAU 111 revised in order to satisfy the Prince de Pontecorvo, who received from the Emperor the crown of Spain together with a million in money. He wanted two million ; but not even that sum could prevent him from turning traitor. On September 25 the Emperor left for Fontaine- bleau, where on the 30th, the Mayor presented the customary offerings (fruits d'honneur) at the grand audience after Mass. The chief event of this visit, which lasted from October 30 to November 16, was the amazing ceremony of November 4 which was intended to pave the way for the official announce- ment of the pregnancy of the Empress. Napoleon desired on this occasion that all the children whom he had proposed to name after Josephine should be baptised and that Marie-Louise should be their god- mother. This was a matter of great difficulty. Thus, for instance, as there was a prince of the Imperial family, a bed had to be provided for him according to the precedent established at the baptism of Hor- tense's son in the year XIII. It followed that beds had to be supplied for the twenty-six other children, a veritable dormitory. Again, these beds differed greatly in size, some of the children being five, six, seven, and even ten years old, while others, like Berthier's son, were only two months old, or three like the daughter of Maret. This disparity in ages neces- sitated different treatment and clothing. The pre- scribed costume was uniformly white, and consisted of a long robe with a sash, similar to that worn by neophytes. The mothers, who were of the highest 112 FONTAINEBLEAU [Cn. V rank in the Empire, naturally vied with one another in elegance, and the long cambric robes were trimmed with none but the finest laces. Then, when every- thing appeared to be settled, after his Imperial Highness had been provided with a cot and one pillow, drapery, counterpane, and canopy of silver cloth ; when fifteen cradles covered with blue taffeta had been prepared for the infants to be laid on a table 30 ft. long by 3 wide, covered in its turn with a blue velvet cloth fringed with gold ; when two smaller tables with similar covers had been prepared for the double (baptismal) gifts all had to be altered. The Emperor objected to blue, everything must be in white ! Next Fesch intervened and demanded a chrism cloth of lace Ij ft. wide, which would be the per- quisite of the Master of Ceremonies of the Chapel. The chrism cloth was purchased. Fesch then requested that it should be carried on a bowl and not upon a cushion. The taper garnished with white velvet and silver fringes had to be of a special shape. All this was nothing. At the same time he would not dispense with the minutest ceremonial, so the ritual for cate- chumens had to be carried out to the smallest detail. If of suitable age the children must themselves reply to the questions of the celebrant. In each case it would be necessary for the Emperor and Empress to enter and leave the sanctuary, in order to move from one State chair to another, as the State chairs could not be moved without their canopies. The ceremony would last three or more hours. Were the children to A CHILDREN'S DAY 113 go hungry during all this time ? The nurses would be required to be in attendance on the cots in the hall, the chapel, and elsewhere. Each time the Grand Al- moner raised these points, the Emperor decided them. Although addicted to ceremony, he was anxious not to fatigue the Empress. Again on reflection, all this array of cots and nurses and the feeding of the children in his palace disgusted him, so he decided to have only one cot for the Prince. The ladies and the nurses must go straight into the chapel. ' Whatever was necessary for the children's requirements could be arranged in a side chapel." Finally, after twenty changes and an epic fight between the Chief Almoner and the Master of Cere- monies, the programme was settled, and was to have been printed at Fontainebleau, but the time was too short. Written programmes had to suffice. In- vitations were despatched to Princes, Princesses, high officials, to the Ordinary and Extraordinary officers of every household ; to Senators, and State Councillors, individually ; all were to be in full costume, with plumed hats and cloaks. The ceremony was to take place at midday ; at half -past eleven the children were to be in the chapel with their mothers, and for those who had none, substitutes must be provided. The chapel had been divided into two parts by a balus- trade ; the first, comprising the nave, contained the State chairs with prie-Dieu for their Majesties ; the second, converted into a sanctuary, also contained canopied chairs of State for the Emperor and Empress as well as an armchair for the Grand Almoner, chairs 114 FONTAINEBLEAU [On. V for the Cardinals, and benches for the Archbishops and Bishops. Six feet in front of the altar was a table on which were placed the font (a big silver gilt bowl found among the Palace silver), credences for the gifts, and the ewer and basin. As on the most important occasions the procession moved into the icy chapel with its marble pavement. The Prince (second son of Hortense, who died in 1831 during the Insurrection of the Papal States), in charge of his governess, immediately preceded the Emperor and Empress, and was placed on the right of the Imperial prie-Dieu. Every one was standing. The Grand Almoner, with his head covered, approached the balustrade and asked the Emperor, " What child are you presenting to the Church ? " In the reply the number of children, boys and girls, was stated. ' What names do you give these children ? ' : The Emperor held out the list of names, to save the situa- tion. Many of the children present were but a few months old and should have been Josephine's god- children and named Joseph or Josephine, e.g. the daughters of Beauharnais, Caffarelli, Defrance, Le- grange, and the sonsof Becker, Colbert, Curial, Duchatel, Maret, Turenne. This silent list averted awkward reminiscences. Facing each child the Grand Almoner proceeded with the preparatory ceremonies, whereupon their Majesties entered the Sanctuary and sat upon their chairs of State opposite the font. The children, led or carried by their mothers, were placed right and left. The lady-in-waiting uncovered the Prince's head and CANOVA 115 went with him to the font, which was the signal for each mother to do the same for her child. After the Mass and the Benediction, the Grand Chamberlain and the Grand Marshal served their Majesties for the cere- monial washing. After the Bishops had done homage the procession formed again and returned to the draw- ing-room, where the Empress presented the mothers with lockets containing the portraits of the Emperor by Isabey, surrounded with brilliants, worth from six to eight thousand francs each. In the evening, L'Enlevement des Sabines was performed and a Court reception held in the State apartments. This ceremony celebrated the declaration of the pregnancy, which the Emperor notified officially to the Senate and the Emperor of Austria. He was really in love with the Empress, and was foolishly lavish to any one who assisted in displaying her beauty. Duplan, for instance, for whose posterity was reserved such strange destinies and who was alone, in Napoleon's opinion, capable of dressing the Empress's hair, re- ceived a present of 12,000 frs. over and above his salary of 12,000 frs. and 6000 frs. pension. Canova was summoned to make a statue of Marie-Louise, for which he was given 30,000 frs. Napoleon did every- thing in his power to obliterate traces of his first wife's existence. Her figure was removed from David's Distribution des Aigles ; he would have liked to take it out of Regnault's Mariage du Roi de Westphalie. Josephine's monogram was removed from the great and small apartments of the Tuileries. The Grand Marshal occupied an apartment next 116 FONTAINEBLEAU [On. V to that of the Empress, but was moved in order to give more room for the wardrobe apartments. The Emperor overwhelmed her with small attentions, and the Theatre des Petits Appartements, where the Opera Comique was usually given, was designed to enliven her Majesty. Furthermore, she followed the chase in the forest of Vincennes, in the plain of Freminville, in the forest of St. Germain, and in all the environs of Paris to which the Emperor betook himself for hunting, until the time arrived when the state of her health prevented her driving in a carriage, she had then to content herself with walking on the terrace beside the water, followed by her ladies and the officers and pages. Sometimes, as on March 10, the Empress walked for an hour in the garden, when the paths, terraces, and avenues were thronged with an immense crowd, attracted by the hope of seeing her. After that the Emperor ordered his architect Fontaine to construct an underground passage, to connect the apartments in the castle with the terrace, without obstructing the public. Everything was prepared, down to the barrels for supplying wine to the fountain in the Place du Chatelet. " This device was not to be announced beforehand, but was to appear un- expectedly." Pages were to be sent to announce the event to the Municipal Body. If a Prince should arrive, the lucky messenger would receive a pension of ten thousand francs for the rest of his life. Cardinal Maury became agitated over the mandate he was to deliver and begged for the order of the ceremonial to be communicated to him. Of more importance still BIRTH OF A SON 117 was the Virgin's shirt. Since the ninth century the church of Notre-Dame de Chartres had possessed a relic of the Virgin deposited there by Charles the Bald. This relic was to be exposed with great solemnity throughout the prayers which were to be offered up for her Majesty's happy delivery. On March 14 the Chapter, headed by the Bishop of Versailles, presented the Empress with a facsimile of this precious relic in embroidered satin, for it had been the immemorial custom to send six deputies with a similar copy to the Queens and Dauphines upon their first confine- ment. On March 19 the labour pains began. On the 20th the baby was born and privately baptised. On the 21st the Emperor, seated on his throne, received the homage of the Court ; on the 22nd, the homage of the " Grand Corps de 1'Etat," to whom his Majesty the King of Rome gave audience ; on the 24th there was a grand parade in the Cour des Tuileries ; on the 25th the last bulletin was published, to the effect that her Majesty the Empress had safely passed through all complications. Everything had already been prepared for the removal of the young mother to Saint-Cloud, which took place exactly a month after her confinement. From May 9 the Empress followed the chase in her carriages, until on May 14, as though completely recovered, she left for Rainbouillet, which she left on the 22nd for Normandy. By five o'clock the company were in their carriages ; dejeuner was taken at the Chateau de Tubceuf with Comte de Lillers (Chamberlain since the great promotion), a halt was made to inspect the 118 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [Cn. V Pin stables ; the party slept at Caen, where the Hotels d'Aigrefeuille and de Fresne, in the Rue Guilbert, had been combined to provide a palace. M. de Nathan, formerly Marquis, commanded the Mounted Guard of Honour. All went well, there were neither benefits nor favours, scarcely any audiences, save for the old nobility. M. de Courville commanded the foot guards ; M. de Vandceuvre presided over the Electoral College ; and M. Lentaigne de Logiviere was Mayor of Caen. Smiles, presents, and pensions were pressed upon them, thirty-seven ladies of Caen were pre- sented, but all of these had the prefix " de " ; only gentlemen were admitted to the levee on the 25th. Money, indeed, was liberally bestowed on the poor at Houdan, Dreux, Laigle, Argentan, and at Falaise. Caen, for example, received 20,000 frs. for the hospitals, 100,000 frs. were allotted to the victims of the fires at Evrechy and 700,000 for the canal from Caen to the sea. Everywhere, as far as Cherbourg, the same liberality prevailed. An inexhaustible stream of gold flowed from the hands of the Emperor ; gold, however, is not everything, and the bourgeois knew it. Marie-Louise appeared haughty, bored, and silent, in the mocking Norman phrase a " tete de bois" She could not find a word to say to the officials, nor a smile for the little girls who offered her flowers. She took part languidly in the receptions, balls, and promenades, while her lady-in-waiting distributed the necessary gifts, like an alms, in a dry contemptu- ous voice. The Empress only relaxed at Cherbourg, CAEN and even then not at the performances given by Feydeau's company, but in excursions with the Emperor, when visiting the ships or the shore or when in rough horseplay he treated her as a comrade. But granting that she seemed to be inert and incapable of making herself agreeable, might it not have been in consequence of the imprudence of undertaking this journey in which she desired to accompany her husband though hardly recovered from her confinement rather than to her timidity and disposition ? The fatigue she endured was apparent from her emaciation, for she insisted on going about with the Emperor, and the Emperor was indefatigable. On several occasions they started at four in the morn- ing. On the first day they travelled for nineteen hours, from four in the morning to eleven at night. Twice the stages of their journey lasted twelve hours. This was nothing in comparison with the 1808 tour from which Josephine, with all her strength and powers of resistance, escaped with only a serious illness ; but Marie-Louise was a very young woman, exhausted by her confinement. They were no sooner back from Cherbourg than the rush began again, intensified, doubled and trebled, for the baptism of the King of Rome. On June 8-9 several State functions were held, also a kind of Imperial fete at the Hotel de Ville ; followed by a series of fetes at Saint-Cloud for the army, the people, and the Court. The last took place in a terrific storm, which drenched everything, including the spectators, from head to foot, likewise the tents 120 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. V under which they were to sup, and finally the dishes that were to have been served to them. From Saint-Cloud they went on to Trianon. The mistress of the robes wrote : " I arrived at Trianon about nine o'clock, just when they were sitting down to table, but as their Majesties were dining at the Hameau and walked about until they retired, we, Madame de Brignole, Madame de Lobau. and I, were forgotten in the salon de service the whole evening." After having spent a week at Trianon, and a week at Rambouillet, they returned to Saint-Cloud and proceeded to Paris for the Emperor's birthday. On the 25th, however, they were back at Trianon, in order that the Emperor might concentrate his energies on the birthday of the Empress. Accordingly, after Mass, their Majesties drove through the park where all the fountains were playing. In the evening, after a very uninteresting day, the guests arrived punctually at eight o'clock, the men in silk clothes, the ladies in short dresses ; they waited in the salons and in the gallery of the State room, where the heat was so great that several ladies fainted. At half-past nine the Emperor and Empress came out of their private room and held a reception, after which every one retired to the gardens. The illuminated 'parterres were duly admired, and then every one adjourned to the theatre to see Les Prqjets de Mariage and La Grande Famille t an incredibly silly topical trifle of M. Alissan de Chazet. After this the company proceeded along a BAD HEALTH 121 course marked out with lamps, coloured glasses, and burning faggots, to hear a cantata at the Pavilion Fran9ais, and to see a roundabout manned by children in Chinese costume, a children's dance round the statue of Venus and an act out of the Opera, con- sisting of a country wedding, clowns, acrobats, peasants, dances and games. Afterwards supper was served on little tables at the Grand Trianon. From Trianon they went to Compiegne, where Marie-Louise had the pleasure of following coursing on horseback. Her health, however, had not im- proved, and she suffered from frequent chills and fever. As she refused to be separated from her husband, she would not admit she was ill and con- tinued to live the strange timeless existence in which Napoleon, lord of the hour, declined to admit that he could be its slave. :i The Emperor is to leave to-night," wrote Segur, on September 1, "the Empress on Saturday, about two hours after midnight. . . . We are to rejoin the Emperor at Antwerp and then to visit Utrecht, Amsterdam, Le Texel, Alkmaer, The Hague, Eotter- dam, Flushing, and Fontainebleau. ... I have seen no journey arranged and published beforehand as this has been. There will have to be some alterations in the dates unless things have changed considerably." CHAPTER VI THE JOURNEY OF 1811 THIS journey can only be understood by comparing the Emperor's itinerary from September 19-30, 1811. Sept. 19. Departure from Compiegne, 3.30 a.m. Ar- rival at Montreuii, 4 p.m. Review at Boulogne, 8 p.m., where he slept. 20. Boulogne : Review. Visit to the Fleet. By sea to Wimereux and Ambleteuse. 21. Boulogne: Review. ,, 22. Boulogne : Reviews and Inspections. De- parture for Calais, Dunkirk, Fumes at midnight. ,,23. Departure from Fumes, 1 a.m. Arrival at Ostend, 3 p.m. Review. Visit to the town. Breske, 6 p.m. 24. Visit to the fortifications of He de Cadzeaud and the squadron lying ofi Flushing. Slept on board the Charlemagne. 25-26. On board the Charlemagne. 27. At Flushing : Reception of Authorities. Visit to the Works. 28. From Flushing to Middelburg and Veere. 29. From Flushing up the Scheldt again, arrival at Antwerp, 1 a.m. 30. At Antwerp, audiences. Arrival of Marie- Louise from Brussels at 4 o'clock. 122 COMPIEGNE PIERREFONDS 123 Although Marie-Louise kept no journal of her travels in 1811, she made ample amends for this hiatus in a series of confidential letters. Their Majesties reached Compiegne on August 30, 1811, and their arrival coincided with the death of General Ordener, the Governor of the Palace. In spite of a slight attack of biliousness and a nervous chill which affected her hands and feet, her Majesty mounted her horse to follow the chase, and was present at the Comedie. With his usual punctiliousness on points of etiquette, the Emperor laid down the strictest injunctions as to presentations and cere- monial for State functions. He departed on the night of the 18th at 3 a.m. In the afternoon the Empress made a long expedition to Pierrefonds. " Some fine ruins were there with which I was not acquainted, and the part of the forest which led to them was most sombre, almost rivalling the ruin in antiquity." Thus wrote Madame de Lu9ay to her husband. The Empress subsequently wrote to the Emperor, who had already reached Boulogne : " Compiegne, Sept. 19, 1811. " I am very sad, my dear, to think that instead of talking to you I must have recourse to my pen, and it needs all my courage not to give way entirely to the sorrow your departure causes me ; at this moment I am more than fifty leagues from you, and each day will increase the distance between us. You cannot imagine the feelings I have when I pass by your room and see the windows and shutters closed. You must love as I love you to understand this. 124 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI I beg you, dear one, to be careful of your health. If, to the uneasiness I feel, were added the anxiety of knowing that you were ill, I could not bear it. ' Your son is well. I have just come from him. Madame de Montesquiou said that as (I) was giving you news of him, she would not trouble you with a letter. I intend to leave on Saturday at four o'clock, and hope to reach Brussels about midnight. I have not yet written to Princess Pauline who wanted to go there too, because I did not know if you would like it. I beg you to send me your decision. In half an hour I shall be going to the play, while all my thoughts will be at Boulogne. " Send me news of you very often. I love you very tenderly. Do not forget her who calls herself till death, " Your tender and affectionate wife and friend, " LOUISE." The Comedie, that evening, performed for her Majesty, Le Parleur Contrarie with Dumas, Baptiste senior, Thenard, Devigny, Baptiste junior, Mmes. Mars and Demerson in the cast ; and Les Heretierrs with Devigny, Michot, Baptiste junior, ' Armand, Laeair, Thenard, Mmes. Thenard and Mars. The impression made on Marie-Louise is recorded in her letter of the 20th. "Comptegne, Sept. 20, 1811. " I am waiting with great impatience, my dear, for news of your arrival at Boulogne. By this time you must be very busy with the fleet and with your troops, and I greatly fear that your Army may make THE EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE. (From a miniature in the possession of Sir Morgan Crofton, Bart.) PRINCE SCHWARZENBERG 125 you forget your tender Louise, whereas I, who am all alone, think of you incessantly. I feel our separation much more. The day that I receive your first letter will be a day of happiness for me, but I shall be yet more happy when you give me the order to rejoin you. I reckon the hours and minutes to that moment. " I am well, so is your son who lay laughing to-day for more than half an hour on my bed. He slept well, but he is a little pale as he is cutting his teeth. " We are beginning to have very bad weather. I offer prayers that it may not continue, as I fear the adverse winds may keep you longer on board your squadron than I could wish ; but take care, my dear one, for at the end of the week I charge you to let me come to you, be it even in the costume of a page or on horseback, no matter what, so long as I see you again. " Prince Schwarzenberg left this morning over- whelmed with your kindness, of which he spoke last night with great appreciation. " I went to the play where two very gay pieces were given, but far from making me laugh, they produced quite the opposite effect ! " I made an expedition yesterday with the ladies to Pierrefonds, but did not enjoy it for you were not with me. To-day I shall receive all the persons con- nected with this journey to say ' good-bye ' to them, and to-morrow I shall go to Laeken. " I beg you, my dear one, to write to me soon and at great length. I embrace you most tenderly in my thoughts, and am longing to tell you in person how greatly I love and cherish you. " Your very affectionate and faithful wife, " LOUISE." 126 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI The Empress duly set out on the 21st. ' The Grand Chamberlain and Beam, Cornelissen, Saint-Aignan, Canouville, Phillipe de Segur and Mesdames Lauriston, Aldobrandini, Brignoles, MM. d'Heri9ey and Beauharnais, all accompanied the Empress to Laeken. Undoubtedly we shall make no stay there, seeing that the Emperor has forty-eight hours' start of us. The talk is all of Amsterdam," wrote Segur. When they had safely arrived, the Empress wrote : " Laeken, Sept. 22, at 1 in the morning. " MY DEAR ONE (Mon cher ami), " I have just arrived at Laeken and am not in the least tired after the journey ; we were not too hot, but the dust was frightful, such as I have never seen before. Your kind letter arrived too late for me to be able to execute your orders. I asked the gentlemen if it would be possible to remain at Valen- ciennes. They told me that it was too late to make the necessary arrangements. I will reply to you at greater length to-morrow. I embrace you thousands and thousands of times and am going to bed. My last thought as I fall asleep will be of you. " Your tender and faithful wife, " LOUISE." They had indeed arrived, but after what adven- tures ! ;< The fast coach of the Martins and the Lisettes broke down as soon as it left Compiegne," wrote Segur. " The ladies implored me to give them the COMPIEGNE TO LAEKEN 127 men-servants of the Castle as waiting-maids ; the plate-waggon had broken down mid-way on the journey ; Bausset was in despair, furious at his lodging, but unable to find any one to complain to, for we arrived at two in the morning, and despite the remarkable figure of our prefet, every one was so occupied with his own affairs and with the ladies that he was not noticed. Besides, I had all the lights put out quickly so that peevish people might get to bed without making comparisons between their own lot and that of others." Marie-Louise had a pleasanter journey than her Lisettes. She wrote : " Laeken, Sept. 22, 1811, at 4 o'clock. " MY DEAR ONE, "I was delightfully surprised on waking to find a letter from you. You must know how happy I always am to get your letters, since I see that you think of me sometimes. The letter you wrote on the evening of the 19th only reached me as I left Compiegne. This delay annoyed me very much, for it prevented me from carrying out your wishes about my journey. I assure you, my love, that I have not been over tired and that I slept without waking from Mons, where I dined, to Laeken. I pity you if you have a dust like this on your journey for it is as black as coal. Still I have not coughed at all, and am so little fatigued that, if I could and dared rejoin you, I would start again at once. I implore you not to forget your promise to be with me at the end of the week. 128 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI " The time passes very slowly without you, and if this separation were to last many more days I should become ill with sorrow. " To-morrow I shall receive the authorities and the ladies and in the evening I shall go to the play. I will try to be charming since this gives you pleasure, but it will be difficult for me when my heart is so heavy. " Don't forget to give me the money you have promised me, for I shall need it at Brussels. " I hope you will not go chasing the English a second time. Since then I wish them more ill than ever, for they were the cause of detaining you another day, and will perhaps still keep you some days at Boulogne ; but if you break your promises to me I shall not forgive you so quickly. Please let me have news of you regularly, and be sure I shall not let a day pass without writing to you, and without giving you an account of all my actions. Adieu, my dear one, I pray that your health may not suffer from the fatigues of your journey and that I may soon have the happiness of embracing you in person. " Your faithful and tender wife, " LOUISE." Next day she wrote : "Laeken, Sept. 23, at 11 J in the morning. " MY DEAR ONE, " You always provide me with a charming awakening. At half-past nine to-day I received your kind letter of the 22nd. I saw with pleasure that you were leaving for Ostend, accordingly I may have news of you more rapidly. A thousand pardons if I vexed HER WISH TO PLEASE NAPOLEON 129 you by saying that you were forgetting me in the midst of military operations. I realise, love, that I reproached you very unjustly, nevertheless, I believe you could never think of me as much as I think of you, for my mind is occupied with you day and night. I am wonderfully well. Yesterday I took a pretty drive in the environs of Laeken. To-day before dinner I shall receive the authorities and the ladies and then shall go to the play. For dinner I have invited Mme. d'Ursel, Mme. d'Arenberg, Mme. de la Tour du Pin, and the Commandant of the Guard of Honour, who is the husband of Mme. de Trasegnies. I have also received Mme. de Croix, who has arrived, and Mme. de Mun the wife of the Chamberlain, who was suggested to me by M. de Montesquieu, because she is the wife of the Mayor. Please write and tell me if I am to receive Mme. de Cornelissen, who is the only chamber- lain's wife who has not yet made her curtsey. This evening I shall wear a rose-coloured gown because I know you like it, and I love to please you from afar. Adieu, my love, I embrace you many times in thought, and promise you to be so amiable to the Belgians, that you will have reason to be pleased with me. " Your tender and faithful friend and wife, " LOUISE." She herself describes her journey on the 23rd : " Chateau de Laeken, Sept. 24, at 10 in the morning. "MY DEAR ONE, " How happy I am to see by your charming letter of this morning that you are so near me ; I now desire nothing more fervently than to receive 130 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI the despatch in which you tell me to rejoin you. I shall then make great haste. I am much more at ease now that I know that you are well. Do not be uneasy, my dear ; the dust has not done me the slightest harm and I did not get catarrh. Now all danger from the dust is over, for rain has fallen in torrents all the afternoon. " Yesterday very few ladies came to my reception. Most of them are in the country or laid up, but those who came to be presented to me had good manners and were well dressed. " Yesterday I went to the play where they gave Felix and La Melomanie. I have never seen a worse performance. They sang out of tune and acted very badly, but to-morrow Talma is to play in Andromaque. In the evening I shall have a concert and card games. The misery among manufacturers is excessive, and they have been obliged to discharge two-thirds of their workmen ; they are doing no business at all. The Prefet told me of this in such a manner that I could not help promising to make many purchases. I hope you will be so good as to pay for them, for travelling is ruinous to one's clothes and one's finances. They told me that before I arrived the work-women prayed to God for three days that I would relieve their misery, for otherwise they would have no bread this winter. Among other articles they have made, two coverlets were brought to me, but they are too expensive. I sent them word that these must be kept until I was brought to bed with my second son, and you know that I am in no great haste for his arrival. Yesterday I received tidings of your son who has arrived quite safely at Saint-Cloud with his IMPRESSION OF THE BELGIANS 131 accustomed gaiety. Adieu, dear love, I hope the weather will clear up again so as not to delay the moment when I shall have the pleasure of seeing you. I write from my bed in which I am resting, because I know you are pleased when I do so. ' Your faithful and affectionate wife and friend, " MAEIE-LOUISE." What impression did the Empress make upon the public who saw her at the play ? She arrived punctually at eight o'clock, in very full dress, which consisted of a high diadem of jewels, sprays of the same, and a diamond necklace. The front of her pink satin gown was embroidered with diamonds, and on the left side with coloured stones imitating a shaded bouquet. When she made three curtseys on reaching the front of the box, the enthusiasm of the Belgians became delirious, also on another occasion when she appeared at the play with a bouquet of tulips in her hand, there was a fight for the scattered petals. All went well so long as she was not obliged to speak, but she was less successful in the drawing- room. Mme. de la Tour de Pin, wife of the Prefet de la Dyle, wrote : ' We were invited to Laeken every day to spend the evening and play Loto, which lasted for about a week and was very tiresome. The Empress was dull to a degree and her demeanour never varied. Each day she made the same remark asking me to feel her pulse : 'Do you think I am feverish ? ' I invariably 132 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI replied : ' Madame, I know nothing about it.' A few men came in to make a little conversation while we were taking tea, among others, Marechal Mortier and M. de Beam. It was the duty of the Due d'Ursel in his capacity of Mayor, to suggest the morning's excursion according to the weather. One day when visiting the Museum, Marie-Louise appeared to notice a fine portrait of her illustrious grandmother, Maria- Theresa. The Due d'Ursel proposed that it should be placed in her drawing-room at Laeken, but she replied : ' Oh ! certainly not ; the frame is too old.' On another occasion he suggested as an interesting place to visit, that part of the forest of Soignies that is known by the name of the pilgrimage of the Arch- Duchesse Isabelle, whose saintliness and goodness are cherished in the hearts of the people. She replied that she did not care for woods." Marie-Louise made the same impression on every one. Mme. de Merode emerged from her retreat to appear at the Empress' dinner. (She was afraid of horses to which she was not accustomed, and had had a bay horse dyed black to match one of her own.) This Mme. de Merode remarked : " The Princess, who was very young at the time and had been brought up very quietly, like all the Arch-Duchesses, had very little self-possession and knowledge of the world ; she appeared timid and embarrassed." At dinner, she sat on the right of the State chair prepared for the Emperor ; Mme. de Merode on the left. Would not that be enough to petrify a bourgeois dinner, even more an Imperial party ? It was not only a question of these Belgian guests, there were other people there. PAULINE'S UNREASONABLENESS 133 " Laeken, Sept. 26, 6| after dinner. DEAR ONE, " I have this instant returned from Brussels, where I have been to see the Cathedral Church and the lace manufactories, and as an express messenger is setting out, I hasten to write to you to tell you I am very well and constantly thinking of you. Princess Pauline arrived at Brussels in the morning of the day before yesterday. She did not inform me of her arrival. I sent very early yesterday morning to inquire after her, but received no reply. Finally she announced her arrival and asked me for news of you. I wrote to her this morning to ask for hers and to tell her what I knew of you. She replied she was too unwell to leave her bed, that she was so ill she could not come to see me and was very badly lodged at the inn. I thought you would not object to my suggest- ing that she should come here to live with me. An hour later I sent a chamberlain to her, who returned with the answer that she had left for Antwerp. I send you all these details because I was told that she declined to receive the persons of my suite and was angry with me. She refused to admit Prince Aldo- brandini, and I fear that, as she will see you before I do, she will say I have been impolite to her, so I prefer to tell you myself what I have done. I acted moreover on the advice of M. de Montesquieu and consulted him before inviting her to stay with me, he strongly endorsed my suggestion and is as aston- ished as I am at her conduct. " Please forgive me for wearying you with these trifles, but being so afraid lest you should scold me or be displeased, I preferred to tell you the whole 134 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI story. I hope you think of me sometimes in spite of your numerous engagements. I embrace you many times and am going to dress, for I am dining an hour earlier on account of the fete. ' Your faithful and tender wife, " MARIE-LOUISE." This strange episode of Princess Pauline's journey to Brussels remained unknown to the gazetteers, and her journey to Antwerp alone was mentioned. There can, however, be no doubt about it; Marie-Louise wrote on the 26th : " Laeken, Sept. 26, at 9J, morning. " MY DEAR ONE, ' Yesterday I received your kind letter of the 24th which distressed me very much, because I see from it that you were tired and wet through. I beseech you, my love, to spare yourself a little more. You can hardly believe how much your mode of life disturbs me and torments me ; should I hear that you were ill and could not see you, I do not know what would happen to me. I am astonished you do not receive my letters regularly for I write every day, indeed were I not afraid of wearying you I should do so every hour. I am wonderfully well ; I shall go to-day to the fete the town is preparing for me, which consists of a comedy and a ball. I am having a gown adorned with diamonds because I know you like me to be well dressed. I shall not dance ; I hope you will not mind this. ' We are having very high winds, so I hope you will not remain with the fleet. I am frozen, for the doors and windows do not fit, and it rains in torrents. PURCHASE OF LACE 135 Yesterday I received news of your son, who is well, and is beginning to take soup. The Due and Duchesse de Bassano passed through yesterday on their way to Antwerp. I kept them to dinner. Write to me soon, my dear, that you are at Antwerp and that I am to rejoin you. I am longing for the moment when I can embrace you and tell you in person how much I love you. " Your faithful and tender wife and friend, " MARIE-LOUISE." Next day she wrote : " Laeken, Sept. 27, at 3 in the afternoon. "MY DEAR ONE, " Your letter of the 25th fills me with joy, the more so as I did not receive one yesterday, which was beginning to make me very uneasy. I pray that your health may always be as good. This is certainly not selfishness, for if I consulted my own feelings, I should want you to be so sea-sick that you would be obliged to return very quickly to Antwerp. I have a most lively desire to see you again. I am very well and quite comfortable at Laeken, but not so well as when I am near you. The fete was very fine yesterday, the company very well chosen, and the park splendidly illuminated. At the beginning they gave the little opera, Maison d Vendre, which was so badly sung that my poor ears are still suffering. Thank you for having thought of me, and for sending money for my purse so that I shall be able to give a larger sum to the poor. The lace-workers are delighted with the orders you have given, and the Prefet equally so, for he says they can find no one to purchase their laces. 130 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [Cn. VI " To-day I shall have a concert and a reception. I will try to please the Belgians, but for me every day that I pass away from you causes me so much sorrow, that, although I try to hide it, I am sure it can be easily read in my face. Adieu, my dear one, I embrace you tenderly. ' Your faithful and tender wife, " MARIE-LOUISE." The total of the bill for the laces purchased for the use of her Majesty at Brussels between September 23 and 29, amounted to 134,662 frs. 59 c. In addition the Empress expended 89,145 frs. 59 c. on lace for her wardrobe department, and according to an estimate signed by her on July 29, 1812, she spent an amount equivalent to 45,519 frs. in presents. The names upon the estimate are as follows : Frs. To Mme. de Montesquieu, Governess to the Children of France, 1 robe at . . 4,900 To Mme. de Montebello, Lady-in- Waiting 1 robe at 5,000 4 ells superfine Bruxelles at 430 frs. . . 1,720 6 ells 330 5 ells 165 6 ells 504 4J ells 203.58 3 ells 144 6 ells 252 6 ells 252 6 ells 240 LACE FOR HER COURTIERS 137 Frs. To Mme. de Luay, Lady of the Wardrobe, 1 robe 3,000 To Mme. de Mesgriny, Under-governess, 1 veil 1,320 To the Ladies-in- Waiting, 1 cape and 8 ells needle point . . . . . . 2,150 To the Ladies-in- Waiting, 1 veil, 3 capes 5,160 To a Lady-in- Waiting, 1 cape . . . . 1,440 To M. Bourdier, physician, 1 pair of sleeve ruffles . . . . . . . . 430 To M. Ballouhey, treasurer, 1 pair of sleeve ruffles . . . . . . . . 960 To the premieres femmes, Ells Bruxelles and Malines . . . . . . . . 4,191 For the journey, 6 ells Dentelles Bruxelles 528 The remainder for the journey. Accordingly, Mme. de Montebello received one- third of the lace presented, and we may well believe her portion would be the most sumptuous. " Chateau de Laeken, Sept. 28, 10i o'clock. " MY DEAR ONE, " I am very happy to-day, for in addition to receiving your letters of the 26th and 27th you give me the hope of seeing you again. I do not know what presentiment tells me that to-morrow will be the happy day. I await this moment with extraordinary impatience. I assure you your absence has made me sufier greatly and has caused me much sorrow. I am delighted I did not know beforehand that the sea was stormy on the 26th, for I should have imagined you 138 THE JOUENEY OF 1811 [Cn. VI in danger and been very worried. I thank Heaven that you have not suffered from the sea. It is evident that you are fortunate in everything. I cannot understand why you do not receive my news, for I write to you most regularly, once and sometimes twice a day. So you see, dear love, it is not my fault. I am wonderfully well notwithstanding the damp and the unfavourable time of year. Yesterday I held a reception and heard some very pretty music at the concert. The Queen of Naples has not yet arrived here, but should she come to-day, as you have left it to me to decide how I will receive her, I shall at once invite her to take up her abode at the Chateau de Laeken. I shall remain at home this evening with the people to whom I have given the entree to the Chateau. I embrace you many times, and hope to-day to receive word from you where I am to meet you. ' Your faithful and affectionate wife, " MARIE-LOUISE." " Laeken, Sept. 29, at 9 in the morning. " MY DEAR ONE, " I was awakened by your charming letter of the 28th in which you inform me that you are well. I am very sorry to learn your departure from Flushing is still postponed. This deprives me of the pleasure of seeing you for a day. I do not know why, but yesterday I expected all day to receive an order to rejoin you. You should have seen what a dismal countenance I displayed in the Salon, for whenever the door was opened I expected to see the welcome messenger arrive, but all my hopes were in vain. I assure you that if you delay much longer, I shall not LEAVES LAEKEN 139 be able to sleep for impatience. I hope you will not think I am angry with Princess Pauline ; I pity her for her sufferings as much as you do, and the only reason I told you the whole story of the other day, was the fear that some one might prime you with a tale against me. I am very well. Yesterday I spent the evening at home. We are always on the watch to receive your orders. I shall also remain at home this evening. I propose to take a drive in the park of Brussels. The inhabitants have expressed a lively desire that I should do so. Adieu, my dear, I hope this may be the last letter I shall write to you, and that to-morrow I may embrace you in person. '* Your faithful and tender wife, " MABIE-LOUISE." Finally : " Laeken, Sept. 30, at 7 in the morning. " A few moments ago I received your letter which has overwhelmed me with joy. I shall start at noon precisely and hope to be near you at four o'clock. The Queen of Naples has not yet arrived. I am very well and await with vast impatience the moment when I may embrace you in person. ' Your faithful and devoted wife, " MAKIE-LOUISE." In accordance with her programme, the Empress arrived at four o'clock. The correspondence therefore ceased. It would be difficult to have any fuller revelation of Marie-Louise than is given in these letters. We must, however, add to them one that she wrote from 140 THE JOUKNEY OF 1811 [On. VI Antwerp on October 2, to Mme. de Luay, Mistress of the Robes. :< I have not been able up to the present to carry out the promise I made of writing to you and giving you news of myself. I hope your health is as good as mine. I was not the least fatigued by my journey from Compiegne to Brussels, although I was twenty- two hours in the carriage. Since then fetes and re- ceptions have occupied all my time. I remained ten days at Laeken in the midst of terrific storms and rain, so was only able to go out twice for an excursion in the charming environs. I rejoined the Emperor at Antwerp the day before yesterday. You can easily imagine my happiness. He is in the enjoyment of excellent health. Yesterday and to-day I spent in viewing the dockyards, dykes, and basins constructed by the Emperor. I expect to leave to-morrow at ten o'clock for Breda. There will be only fourteen leagues to travel, but the roads are said to be so dangerous and the horses so bad that over twelve hours will be necessary to make this little journey. I beg you to send me three dresses for the autumn to Amsterdam, as soon as possible, one blue, one pink, one white. I hope to hear in your next letter that M. de Luay is in better health, and that I shall soon have the pleasure of assuring you by word of mouth of the friendship with which I sign myself, ' Your very affectionate " MARIE-LOUISE." This shows how much credence may be placed in the report so carefully recorded by the Queen of Westphalia : " The King has received news from Paris. THE MEETING AT ANTWEEP, 1811 141 They say all is not well between the royal couple, that the Empress is very jealous, and is inexcusably wrong in her attitude to the Emperor. . . . The Emperor, they say, has been furious at this want of deference. The Empress nevertheless has followed the Emperor." The Empress left Laeken on September 30 after a visit disturbed, not by jealousy, but by a tempest and terrible rain which only allowed her two excursions. After four hours, accompanied only by six post- carriages, she arrived at Antwerp and alighted at the house of the Mayor, M. Cornelissen, where the Emperor had been in residence since one in the morning ; on the evening of her arrival she received the ladies. On October 1, their Majesties went in great state to N6tre- Dame. The Empress was in full dress in a gorgeous State carriage lined with grey satin, harnessed with eight dapple grey horses, plumed and magnificently caparisoned. Their Majesties were received outside the church door by M. de Pradt, Archbishop of Malines, who discoursed on the virtues of the two Maries. Then followed reviews and the launching of ships, a full programme. On October 4, at 2 a.m., the Emperor set out to inspect the coast. The Empress did not leave Antwerp until ten o'clock. She slept at Breda and reached Gorcum for dinner, where the Emperor had been awaiting her for two hours. Next day the horses were ordered for eight o'clock ; the Empress was not ready until ten, consequently they arrived at Utrecht at three o'clock instead of at noon. They stayed at the Palais Imperial, formerly the EoyaL which Louis had entirely refitted for a residence that 142 THE JOURNEY OF 1811 [On. VI lasted only two months in all. There were three days of reviews, receptions, and audiences. Their Majesties did not appear at the ball given by the city. At Utrecht, Marie-Louise purchased two cases of toys : not to be opened before her return. Such was the souvenir she kept from Utrecht. Their Majesties departed for Amsterdam between nine and ten in the morning. The travelling carriages halted outside the gates ; the Empress entered the State coach, and the Emperor mounted his horse to ride in the military procession, which comprised four regiments of cuirassiers, the whole of the cavalry, with a guard of innumerable foot-soldiers lining the route. The usual receptions, audiences, Masses, presentations, and theatrical performances followed. None of the Dutch were invited to the reception, only the travel- ling suite being admitted. While the Emperor was away from her in the Island of Texel for three days inspecting the fleet, Marie-Louise explored the shops to such good effect that she exhausted her purse. She wrote : " I greatly fear the Emperor will think it wrong of me to ask him for an extra subsidy for my toilet, so I shall wait for a day when he is in a very good temper to speak to him about it." She had, indeed, made large purchases, " linen finer than cambric to be used for nightdresses, and many other goods of which the name and country are a secret. I am bringing you back teapots of Boucaron (Bokhara) and some old Chinese lacquer which I picked up myself in the best shop in Amsterdam." This she preferred to running about the environs, however pretty they might be, for THE EMPEROR'S ENERGY 143 she remarked, " One sees so much water here, that one is soon disgusted with it." On the Emperor's return a, fete with its full accom- paniment of flowers and quadrilles was held as at the Tuileries. There were performances at the Theatre Hollandais in which Mme. Watier, the great Dutch tragedian, took part, representations displaying the skill of the French actors, Talma, Duchesnois, Bour- goin, and Dumas. On the 24th they left for Leyden, The Hague, Rotterdam, Gouda, and the Loo. Marie- Louise had only one idea, to get away from the bad climate of Holland. The Emperor, too, seemed in haste to be off. On the 30th they were at Nimeguen, and after an adventure at the Chateau of Ottenberg, where they were obliged to stop without either sleeping accommodation or supper, the Empress arrived at Dusseldorf, where she was lodged at the Chateau de la Venerie. Presentations were made, and fetes and excursions organised, about which Roederer, Minister of State, and Beugnot, Minister of the Grand Duchy, were most enthusiastic, having described them as ' The prettiest of the whole journey, not excepting Amsterdam ; but the Empress is satiated with fetes and is half dead with fatigue." At cards she answered the Emperor in monosyllables, the others by mono- tonous movements of her head. This whirl of travel was not yet at an end. On the 4th, owing to despatches from Paris, the Emperor decided on an immediate return. At Cologne he would hardly allow the Empress twelve hours in which to adore the famous relics and inspect 144 THE JOUENEY OF 1811 [On. VI the treasures. The journey had to be rushed through in three days. On account of Marie-Louise, halts were made for lunch and at night ; from Cologne they went to Liege, from Liege to Gurt, but the Marne, owing to flood, had carried away the bridge of boats ; it was not until midday that they were able to cross, by a flying bridge constructed by the English prisoners at the depot ; they were forced to sleep at Mezieres, which they left on the 10th at six in the morning, and breakfasted at Rethel. From there they passed through Rheims, and at ten at night arrived at Corn- pi egne. Next day at seven in the evening they reached Saint-Cloud. At the entrance of the Grand Vestibule the Empress found her son in the arms of his governess. She wrote : " You were quite right to say how delighted I would be to see my son again after a journey of two months ! What I felt in my heart it is impossible to express in words." That ended the travels for this year. Their Majesties remained three weeks at Saint-Cloud, and then returned to Paris for the 1st of December. CHAPTER VII JOUENEY TO DRESDEN AND PRAGUE, 1812 THE days passed. Many entertainments were given, including balls, plays, and quadrilles, in reality plays in which the princesses and the ladies of the Court were the actresses. The Quadrille of the Queen of Naples and that of Queen Hortense, the one in honour of the King of Rome, the other for le Roi Soleil, were both performances with which to amuse the gallery. Great events were looming on the horizon. Already, during their visit to Amsterdam, mis- understandings had arisen between France and Russia, and Napoleon had shown in many ways that his sentiments towards Russia were not very cordial ; for instance, he took very little interest in Zaandam, famous as the temporary abode of Peter the Great, also he removed the bust of Alexander from Marie- Louise's piano. The movements of the troops showed hostilities were premeditated ; the Emperor, however, imagined he could still conceal his hand. He devised a scheme to involve his father-in-law in the dispute, thinking perhaps that by showing how close was the alliance between the two Empires, he might prevent the war. He wished, therefore, to meet the Emperor before setting out to take command of his armies. 140 146 JOURNEY TO PRAGUE [On. VII The Emperor came as far as Dresden, so spared his son-in-law half the journey.* Napoleon left Saint-Cloud on May 9 at half-past five in the morning ; Marie-Louise was in his carriage, and the suite was even more numerous and more brilliant than that which attended their Majesties on the journey to Holland. There was no military escort for the Emperor (all the military forces having been at Posen since the beginning of May), but thirty-nine honorary officers accompanied him and seventeen waited on the Empress. As for the paid retinue, the chamber, table, pantry, kitchen, and livery services were even better equipped than in the earlier journeys through the Empire. At Dresden, the Emperor Napoleon (although the guest of the King of Saxony) would receive the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Austria ; and (with the exception of the State carriages which were to be provided by the West- phalian Court and the Saxon Court) everything would be French, and the whole ceremony was to be carried out in the French manner. ' The Emperor has left to-day to proceed to the inspection of the Grande Armee assembled on the Vistula," one may read in Le Moniteur of the 9th. " H.M. the Empress will accompany His Majesty as far as Dresden, where she hopes to have the pleasure * I may be permitted here to refer to the valuable documents which I published in the numbers for March-April and May-June, 1914, of La Rdvue des Etudes Napolfoniennes on Le Role de VAustriche en 1813, despatches from M. de Lebzeltern to Metternich. The complicity of Austria with Russia from the month of March, 1812, is established by the text of these despatches. F. M. CHALONS METZ WUKTZBURG 147 of meeting her august family. She will return at the latest in July." Although they were to travel incognito as far as Mayence, at Chalons the Emperor received the authorities after dinner, and their Majesties spent the night at the Prefecture. On the 10th at Metz, where they also stayed the night, the Emperor visited the Arsenal, reviewed the troops, and assured himself that the fortifications were in good order. They started for Mayence at half-past two on the morning of the llth and arrived there during the day. This was the first appearance there of the Empress. Their Majesties were lodged in the Palais de 1'Ordre Teu- tonique, notwithstanding the Artillery School was established in it ; nevertheless it was turned out by order of the Emperor, and the Palace was converted into the Imperial Head-quarters. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt came to pay their respects, together with the Hereditary Prince and a number of the Princes of the Ehine. Their Majesties remained over the 12th for reviews, re- ceptions, and audiences. On the 13th they break- fasted at Aschaffenburg as guests of the Prince Primate and dined and slept at Wurtzburg under the roof of the Grand Duke, uncle to Marie-Louise. Here they met the King of Wurtemburg and the Grand Duke of Baden. Everywhere they were welcomed with salutes of cannon, troops, the ringing of bells, and illuminations ; but from Mayence onwards the escorts were provided by the Cavalry of the Guard, only at the frontier of Saxony did the Emperor, after 148 JOUENEY TO PKAGUE [On. VII receiving the congratulations of the Saxon Grand Chamberlain, accept an escort of the Saxon Guards. They slept at Plauen, and reached Freyberg on the 16th, where they dined. They were received by the King and Queen of Saxony with whom they entered Dresden at half -past eleven at night. The Emperor had declined the offer of the Saxon State coaches ; nevertheless the city was illuminated, all the troops were under arms, while the cannon thundered, the bells pealed, and at the Palace, the Eoyal family with the whole Court awaited the Emperor, to conduct him to the suite of apartments called after Augustus II., which had been reserved for him. The Empress wrote on the 17th to Mme. de Lu9ay : " I write to you from my bed to let you know we arrived at Dresden safely yesterday at half- past eleven in the evening. The Emperor is well. I am excessively fatigued by the heat and the bad roads." The Empress made no public appearance, but dined tete-d-tete with the Emperor. On the following day at midday the Emperor and Empress of Austria arrived. Marie-Louise, who had been forbidden to meet her father, wrote to excuse herself and to express how very excited she would be until the moment arrived when she could reassure him of her filial affection. The reigning Empress of Austria was Maria- Ludovica d'Este, a pretty little woman, with wicked eyes, who from birth had dreamt of war against the French and brought to bear on it the love of intrigue MARIA-LUDOVICA'S INTRIGUES 149 which she had inherited from her maternal ancestors. Her mother, Maria-Beatrix-Ricarda, was the daughter of the Duke of Modena and of Maria-Teresa Cibo Malaspina, Princess of Massa and Carrara. She had been forced to marry an Arch-Duke, and from their union sprang the house of Este-Modena, who upheld the traditions of violent hatred of France and the leaders of the Revolution. From her very first inter- view with Napoleon, Maria-Ludovica could scarcely conceal her dislike. She wrote to her mother com- plaining of the way in which Napoleon had all but embraced her and had actually kissed her, while he fired off a volley of questions to which she was careful not to reply ; also expressing her resentment because Marie-Louise had come into her rooms in full toilette covered with diamonds. Marie-Louise also was out for revenge. She was very indignant that her mother's place had been filled so quickly by this Princess whose reputation was by no means unblemished ; she had watched the new Empress precipitate Austria (hardly yet recovered from the defeats of 1805) into a fresh war in which it had all but perished, while Marie-Louise herself had been sacrificed as surety for peace. Even in her travelling over the country as one of the exiled, she had been the victim of Maria-Ludovica. It was only right she should now take her revenge. She had singularly improved in looks, until her appearance now was so elegant people hardly recognised her. Her figure was charming, her little feet ravishing, added to which every one was talking of her suite, 150 JOUENEY TO PRAGUE [Cn. VII her hundred and fifty valets de chambre, pages, and lackeys. The Emperor of Austria himself had but two. Maria-Ludovica (who in order to avoid rivalry and comparison of ornaments, had adopted the Hungarian costume which suited her to perfection) passed her time rummaging through her step- daughter's belongings and never emerged empty- handed. Napoleon, convinced that Maria-Ludovica would at length yield either to his blandishments or his power, exerted himself to please her and to win her favour. " He believes he has conquered her," remarked his secretary. In a few days she capitulated to the ascendancy which he exerted over every one. Napoleon passing through the apartments, with his hat in one hand, while the other rested on the door of the Empress's Sedan chair, talked to her gaily and adopted airs of intimacy. The Empress appeared to be deeply interested in his conversation, for she listened, and answered him with eager interest. Napoleon was convinced she felt specially attracted to him when she was with him, and remarked, " Her face was agreeable and piquante, with something quite characteristic about it." She was ' a very pretty little nun.' She let him think what he liked, so with the fatuity of the man who with money in his hand had never failed to soften the heart of a fair, cruel lady, he instantly imagined he had won her and allowed himself to be hoodwinked. Naturally she won him. Hers was the decisive throw. She had anticipated the influence the son-in-law would acquire over the father-in-law, if given a free hand, PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS 161 and she intended to remain the undisputed mistress of the husband who was in her toils. It was not enough for Napoleon that the Emperor Francis had handed over to him the Austrian army to use as he wished ; but he had decided that Francis himself should take command, should enter Russia, and personally take part in the campaign ; and moreover, take part with him. That would indeed have been in direct opposition to the arrangements that Lebzeltern had made with Russia; but Maria- Ludovica was on the watch. She used all the means in her power, reproaches, prayers, and tears, to prevent her husband engaging in this adventure which would have linked his policy for ever with that of France. As a final expedient, although not having any confidence in Metternich, who, she believed, had been won over to the French by handsome bribes, she nevertheless appealed to him for support, and to her surprise he supported her. The Emperor Francis declined to set out ; he resisted the influence his son-in-law brought to bear on him, and yielded to the representations of his wife and Metternich. The snare was laid ; if Russia would play her part, Austria would be ready to finish ofl the foe. This drama was enacted amid the most sumptuous fetes. The table was laid for sixteen princes, some- times in the apartments of the Queen of Saxony, where the superior officers of the Saxon Court acted as attendants, sometimes in the apartments of the Em- peror of France. The levee was usually held in the quarters of the Emperor of France, occasionally in 152 JOURNEY TO PKAGUE [On. VII those of the King of Saxony. Now and then dinner was followed by a concert. They hunted one day ; the princes on horseback, the princesses in carriages ; two boars were killed. On the 26th the King of Prussia arrived from Dresden and the Emperor paid him a formal call. He was then invited with his son, the Prince Koyal, to dine with the King of Saxony, and a banquet took place on the 27th in the great dining-hall, served by the pages of Saxony assisted by the officers of the chamber. On the 28th, the Fete-Dieu, Marie-Louise attended the Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Malines ; the Emperor at three o'clock bade farewell to the Emperor of Austria, the Grand Duke of Wurtzburg, the Prussians, Saxons, and the Princess Augusta. The entire Court attended the Emperor's dinner as he was to depart at three in the morning. Marie- Louise's tears must have convinced the most in- credulous that she loved her husband very sincerely. The Emperor himself seemed preoccupied. He al- ways had been anxious in Josephine's tune at the opening of a fresh campaign, and on this occasion, had he not cause for uneasiness ? His departure was delayed beyond the appointed hour, and his agitation was shown by his incessant pacing to and fro between his apartment and that of the Empress. The carriages only rolled off at half -past four in the morning. ' You know me sufficiently well," wrote Marie-Louise to Mme. de Luay, " to understand how sad and unhappy I am. I try to control myself, but I shall be like this until T see him again." In JEALOUSY OF PRECEDENCE 153 this state she was more than ever in need of demon- strative affection and tender caresses, therefore she gladly arranged to go to Prague for six weeks, where her sisters and brother, her uncle, and the whole of her family might visit her. The Austrians left Dresden on the morning of the 29th. Marie-Louise, who was to be received as Empress, prolonged her stay in Dresden, where the Saxon family, the Queen of Westphalia, and the Grand Duke of Wurtzburg lavished attentions on her ; her uncle himself was to accompany her to Prague. On June 4, at five in the morning, she left Dresden with an escort of Saxon Cuirassiers ; she was received in Bohemia with Imperial honours. At Teplitz she made a point of promenading at the baths as was the habit of every fine lady in Europe ; she slept there, and departed again next day at seven in the morning. Their Austrian Maj esties met her at the Abbey of St. Margaret, which she reached at four o'clock, and seated herself on the right of her stepmother's carriage. On the 6th she enter- tained her father and stepmother at dinner in her apartments, and sat in the centre of one of the long sides of the oval table, with the Prefet du Palais standing opposite her, having the Emperor on her right hand with the Empress on her left. This was her usual procedure, as is shown by the following : " Her Majesty the Empress of France generally occupied the centre place, whether in her own apart- ments or in those of their Austrian Majesties, or at the play." 154 JOURNEY TO PRAGUE [Cn. VII It was a difficult matter to keep the peace between the Austrian household and her French household. The universal detestation of France made the Austrians extremely uncordial to the Court of the Tuileries. Already at Dresden, this attitude of cold- ness and rumour had been displayed by the Empress of Austria's ladies. It must be admitted that Marie- Louise placed herself at the head of the French faction, but this was only natural seeing that the influence of her lady-in-waiting was paramount with her. She wrote to Mme. de Lu9ay : "I assure you that, in spite of my old gowns, your self-respect as mistress of the robes need not be wounded, for they are thought splendid, and really are marvellously effective amid all the frumpish toilettes that one sees here." She affected only to like and esteem what was French, and on all occasions paraded her love for the Emperor. She wrote : " He is wonderfully well and always gives me the hope of seeing him shortly, God grant this may be true ! I should be too unhappy but for this. They entertain me with perpetual fetes which only make me sadder. My uncles come to visit me. I could be perfectly contented here if the Emperor were with me, but without him, there is no happiness for me." At Prague every day at least one Arch-Duke came to see this sorrowful lady who, in spite of everything, looked remarkably well. She walked daily in the gardens and visited the Bubenetz Park, Prince Matislau, Count Clam, Count Chotek ; she also attended balls, and plays in Czech, such as The Siege BRIBES FROM PARIS 155 of Prague by the Swedes or Bohemian Loyalty and Courage. No pains were spared to find congenial amusements for the Empress ; her favourite diversion was riding with her father who had made her a present of the horse she rode. The Empress in her turn lavished on every one tokens of her generosity ; she sent to Paris for flowering bulbs, bracelets, boxes of preserved fruits, " trinkets containing a horse, three saddles and all the fittings of the harness," tables with thirty-six games purchased at the Singe Vert ; she exerted herself to find out what her friends required, and presented them with all the most elegant Parisian novelties. For instance, she com- missioned Biennais to send a dressing-case costing 26,000 frs., with others at 1500, 1200, and 1000 frs., also an inkstand at 13,000 frs. ; from Mugnier, two gold watches at 1500 frs. ; from Corbie and Gabriel, nine cashmere shawls at prices ranging from 3250 to 1800 frs. ; she ordered from the drapers thirty-nine piece robes, twenty-five gowns from Leroy, fifteen of which were for her stepmother ; Despaux provided thirty-two hats ; Corot, Guerin, and Vaulont every imaginable kind of trimming in artificial flowers ; Tessier twenty-four pairs of stockings at anything from 96 frs. to 72 frs. the pair ; she ordered twenty- two fans in all the fashions then made in Paris ; a drawing-room suite, chairs and arm-chairs ; chenilles for embroidering with gold and silver-gilt shuttles: twelve dozen pairs of gloves ; a mahogany bookcase enclosing a hundred and forty-nine volumes bound in green morocco with armorial bearings for which 156 JOURNEY TO PEAGUE [On. VII special dies were engraved. She exerted her ingenuity to find corsets, toys, bonbons, and chocolate ; in fact, Paris was ransacked for her presents. Her total expenditure amounted to 122,642 frs. 70 c., of which the main portion was for Maria-Ludovica. The latter, however, missed no opportunity of showing her hostility to France and her step-daughter, and there was great difficulty in averting an open rupture. The French suite were exhausted by their stay in Prague. The long dinners, tedious receptions, glitter- ing illuminations, endless concerts, excursions in carriages and the strenuous attendance in the salons, which required a serious demeanour, with at the same time a keen watchfulness against any infringement of prerogative. :t That is approximately what these much coveted pleasures amount to." So said one who had much wished to be of the company. The visit to Prague lasted a whole month, and the return was fixed for the beginning of July. Most of the Arch-Dukes had already departed, but audiences still had to be given to the entire Austrian Court. Napoleon admitted having satiated every one who approached him with diamonds. The presents from Marie-Louise were not less valuable. Most of them appeared under the 125,000 frs. charged in the Grand Chamberlain's account ; in addition she had emptied her own purse. " I have nothing left for private expenses," she wrote to Mme. de Lugay. " I have been obliged to give away a great deal in Prague, but shall economise next month so as not to be in arrears." On July 1, at seven in the morning, Marie-Louise RETURN JOURNEY TO FRANCE 157 departed with her father ; her stepmother and her sisters accompanied her to the carriage, and the procession set out amid the ringing of bells, while troops lined the route. It rained all day, and they were obliged to postpone their visit to the gardens of Count Czernin at the Schonhof. They slept at Carlsbad, where they halted to look at the curiosities, and on the 4th, at Schonfeld they descended the tin mines ; on the 5th the night was spent at Franzbriinn near Egra, where, on the morning of the 6th, the Emperor took leave of his daughter. By midnight of the same day, after travelling over shocking roads, Marie-Louise reached Bamberg, where the Duke of Bavaria, Berthier's father-in-law, paid his respects to her. The Duke, surrounded by all the members of the Bavarian Government, had been waiting at the foot of the staircase of his palace (that tragic palace) since six in the evening, the hour appointed, but at one in the morning he had the honour of dining with her Majesty. On the 7th, Marie-Louise was at Wurtzburg, where she found her uncle who had been her devoted companion from Dresden, and had only preceded her for the final preparations. Marie-Louise remained with him a whole week, which passed off very happily. She spent her time in sylvan excur- sions, picnics, and concerts in which the Grand Duke exhibited all his talents as " Cantor of the Cathedral." Marie-Louise, however, was full of fancies, as her letter of July 9 shows. "My health is very good notwithstanding a sharp pain in the stomach yester- day." Again on the 10th : " I have great pain in L 158 JOUENEY TO PRAGUE [On. VII one arm, and am packed up in plasters which do not sweeten the air of my room." The plasters must have been efficacious, for on the same day she went riding, held a reception, and was present at two acts of Le Mariage de Figaro. On the 14th she decided to leave, and travelled in one day from Wurtzburg to Mayence. On the 15th she left Mayence, travelling day and night, and arrived at five in the morning at the Chateau de Pange, where M. de Pange, her Chamberlain entertained her with the most lavish and well-arranged hospitality. On the 1 7th she passed through Metz and slept at Chalons. On the 18th, at seven in the evening, the cannon of the Invalides announced to the Parisians that the Empress had returned to Saint-Cloud. From May 9 to July 18, two whole months ! Can we say that any one noticed her absence ? CHAPTER VIII JOURNEY TO MAYENCE, 1812-1813 THE existence led by the Empress from July 18th, the day of her return, to December 18th, when the Emperor arrived unexpectedly, was the most monotonous and uneventful conceivable. She was very lonely, almost entirely tete-d-tete with Madame de Montebello and M. Corvisart ; everything relating to ceremonial bored her, so that even when convened by the Grand Chamberlain the Grand Officers were not sure of a reception. Thus, on the 19th, when they presented themselves to offer congratulations on the journey, the Empress pleaded fatigue and refused to receive any one. Nevertheless, according to the orders left by the Emperor, the Empress usually attended the theatre in state on Thursdays, and on Sundays Mass, followed by a reception and diplomatic audience ; on these occasions she did her best, but with little success. She endeavoured, on August 15th, to carry out the programme planned by the Emperor, an account of which was given him each day. As the receptions became more restricted and less frequented, she felt more at ease, for the same faces reappeared each time and she became familiar with these people. " She does the honours with much grace and sim- plicity. She plays billiards with the persons she selects, . . . and the evening terminates with a concert 159 160 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII or a play." When still fewer people came, some of them were astonished at her singular taste for coarse- ness in conversation, but this was quite usual in the intimate circle of Madame de Montebello. Despite the attacks of fever, of which she had at least one every three days, and which she could only shake off by distracting herself with long expeditions in the woods of Saint-Cloud, or it may be in conse- quence thereof, she constantly thought of the Emperor. Without doubting his success, she felt his absence, and in order to afford herself some distraction, she had bracelets made, which she could wear constantly on her arms inscribed with such names and dates as were connected with the most important periods in her life. It was not easy to decipher this enigma in coloured stones, but it ran as follows : Natrolite Malachite Amethyst Amethyst Peridot Ruby Opal Iris Lapis Emerald Emerald 12 Onyx Diamond Natrolite Emerald 15 Chrysoprase Agate Emerald Opal Malachite Uranium Beryl Turquoise Ruby 1769 in small brilliants Emerald 1791 THE COMING DISASTER 161 27 Malachite-Amethyst-Ruby-Serpentine. 2 Amethyst- Vermeil (coral) -Ruby-Iris-Labrador, 1810. This reads : Napoleon, 15 Aout, 1769. Marie, 12 Decembre, 1791. 27 Mars, 2 Avril, 1810. So she occupied herself, ignoring every- thing concerning France, even when disaster was threatened. On the day when, in a fit of delirium, the before- mentioned General Malet escaped from the Maison de Sante, in which he was confined, to the Place Vendome, it was described to her as " An outbreak of brigands which was immediately put down," which had occurred during the night in Paris. She took no notice, but remarked to Cambaceres : " What could they have done to me ? " to which he did not reply. She sought distraction at a party at Saint- Leu and another at Maisons, after which she visited the Salon. She wrote : " I am not at all alarmed by the trouble incited by a handful of lunatics (tetes folles) , for I know too well the good disposition of the people and their devotion to the Emperor." She attended the theatre, where Savary filled up a few boxes and seated some of his people in the audience to provide sufficient enthusiasm. In time even her retinue became slack, and found excuses for absent- ing themselves, until eventually, out of her whole suite, one single lady only remained. As for the gentlemen, " Their habit was to gamble from morning to night in the Salon de service, and the single lady- in-waiting was fortunate if they did not propose 162 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII she should amuse herself for a while at trente-et- quarante." Nevertheless, the winter sojourn at Saint-Cloud was a penance. On December 17th the Moniteur published the twenty-ninth bulletin which exploded silently, but its effects disintegrated everything. The edifice was shaken, every one anticipated its fall. On the 18th, at half-past eleven in the evening, as the Empress had just gone to bed, and the " red " lady- in-waiting * was about to close the doors and retire, she heard a noise in the adjacent salon. Naturally, after the episode of Malet she imagined assassins. At the same moment the door opened and two men enveloped in fur pelisses deliberately entered. Mdlle. Katzener shrieking, rushed forward, endeavouring to bar the entrance to the bed-chamber ; but one of the men threw aside his cloak and revealed the Emperor ! The Austrian Alliance, since 1810, had been the primary consideration of the Emperor's regime, for he trusted implicitly the piety and honour of his father-in-law. " I hold him in profound esteem," were his very words. Having then such an idea of the family he could hardly feel he had been deceived, or that in giving him his beloved daughter to wife, an Emperor, and this Emperor in particular, should * The six principal ladies (premieres-femmes) who attended the Empress were known as the femmes rouges from the colour of their costume. Next in rank came the femmes noires or wardrobe- women, so-called from their black silk aprons ; below them again the femmes blanches, or wardrobe-maids, with white aprons. V Impiratrice Marie Louise, pp. 196 and 203. PERFIDY OF THE AUSTRIAN EMPEROR 163 have consciously endeavoured to draw him into the abyss. Napoleon never doubted that Austria desired a general peace and claimed to intervene ; he recog- nised this and indeed desired it, but the question was whether Austria was working in favour of France and in her interests. He undoubtedly recognised Austria's claim to mediate in the ostensible dispatch from Metternich to the Austrian Charge d' Affaires in Paris (December 9, 1812), but he read : " The blood rela- tions that unite the two Imperial Houses of Austria and France lend a particular character to all over- tures made by our august Master. . . . The Emperor of the French appears to have anticipated what is happening at this moment, in so frequently observing to me that the marriage had changed the face of things in Europe," and the Emperor Francis himself inter- vened to say, " The moment has come when I can prove to the Emperor of the French who I am." Yes, indeed ! On December 30, 1812, also on January 20, 1813, he repeated his assurances, either personally or through his Minister : this convinced Napoleon that the Emperor of Austria was playing his game, that the combinations were settled, and that his father-in- law could not abandon him without dishonouring and disgracing himself. What use would there be in disquieting his wife with the propositions made to the Court of Austria by certain persons he had been acquainted with in Dresden and in Prague ? What was the good of telling her that her stepmother " Favours exclusively all the enemies of the existing 164 JOUKNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII system, and that her society is composed of the most ardent and most intrepid coalitionists " ? What was the good of revealing to her that Maria-Ludovica, as also her brother Maximilian, had been initiated into the Secte des Amis de la Libert e ? Far better to keep up appearances by lavishing beautiful garments on la petite religieuse. At her step-daughter's expense the latter accepted, in January, 1813, 1024 frs. worth of dresses from Leroy ; in February, 2445 frs. 50 c. worth; in March, 1937 frs. worth; in May, 743 frs. worth ; in June, 1025 frs. worth. Later on there would be blood upon the garments ! As to the Emperor of Austria, in each letter written to him by his daughter, she repeated the sentiments of his son-in-law. The Emperor Francis proclaimed his intention of being represented, at the approaching Coronation of the Empress, by Prince Esterhazy, " The most important man of his Court owing to his wealth and the extent of his possessions." At the same time he would send Schwarzenberg to Paris, ' To give Europe striking proof of the intentions of the Court of Austria, by causing the Commandant of the Auxiliary Corps to make his appearance at the Court of France, so as to be near his Chief and able to take orders from him." Such was the outlook which, though it may have been deceptive, could hardly remain so for more than a few days longer. Was it not possible that the Emperor, in a game of war, had sufficient advantage to give pause to this Austria, if she became treacher- ous ? At any rate he decided not to disturb the NAPOLEON REALISES THE TREACHERY 165 Empress ; but left her so confident that when, in mid- June, she heard of Metternich's mission to Dresden, she saw in it only the definite consolidation of the Alliance, and wrote thus to her father : "I may tell the truth to you, namely, that no tidings have given me such pleasure as these, because they have put an end to all my fears and anxieties. In this I recognise your goodness, I am extremely touched by it, and I cannot sufficiently express all my gratitude to you." As for the Emperor, he could not believe the treach- ery, but said to Bubna on May 16, "I have held my father-in-law in great esteem ever since I have known him, he arranged this marriage with me in the noblest manner possible. I am most sincerely grateful to him, but had the Emperor of Austria wished to change his policy, he would have been wiser not to en- courage an alliance which I am now obliged to regret." On June 26 he received Metternich at Dresden, and the scoundrel whom he had gorged (but of whose appetite he was ignorant) brought him the conditions upon which Austria would consent not to fight against him. These were the renunciation of Illyria, half Italy, Poland, Spain, Holland, the Confederation of the Rhine and Switzerland ; whereupon he exclaimed : "Is it my father-in-law who makes such a project ! It is he who sends you ! How does he wish to make me appear in the eyes of the French people ? " " The Emperor only recognises his duties, and he will fulfil them," replied Metternich. ' Whatever fortune may be in store for his daughter, the Emperor Francis is before all else a sovereign and the interest of his 166 JOUENEY TO MAYENCE [Cn. VIII subjects will always be his first consideration." : ' Yes," concluded Napoleon ; " what you have said does not surprise me. Everything points to the fact that I have made an unpardonable error. In marrying an Arch-Duchess, I sought to unite the present and the past : Gothic prejudices and the institutions of my era. I have deceived myself, and now realise the extent of my error." All the mistakes he had perpetrated down to the last, the prolongation of the armistice till August 10, were made on account of his wife, and now, on the eve of facing Europe with the arms on which he felt he could place so little reliance, he wished to see his wife. The Arch-Duchess had been his downfall ; but was the wife responsible ? On July 16, he addressed a letter from Dresden to Cambaceres, which he calculated should reach Paris on the 20th. On the 22nd it was arranged that the Empress should start in time to reach Mayence on the 24th. The entire journey was planned with minute care. He wrote : " She will take the Duchess, two Court ladies, two ' red ' women, two ' black ' women, one Prefet du Palais, two chamberlains, two equerries, one of whom will leave twenty-four hours earlier for Metz so as to divide the route ; also four pages will be distributed along the route to reduce the fatigue for these young persons, her Secretaire des Commande- ments if he is well, and her physician, will also ac- company her. In addition she will require a Com- missariat, so arranged that her table may be well \ HER SECOND DIARY BEGINS 167 served, for I shall take no one with me, and possibly several kings or German princes may visit her. It will, however, be unnecessary to bring the silver gilt service." He arranged every detail, the sleeping quarters, the addresses, the post services, the escorts, every- thing it was possible to foresee. There were eighteen officers and ladies and fifty-one servants. All were in readiness to depart on the night of the 22nd, when a letter arrived from the Emperor enjoining twenty- four hours' delay, which Marie-Louise knew meant war, for her father had just informed her that hostilities were imminent, to which she replied : " I received your last letter three days ago ; it grieved me very much because I realise the last hope of peace is gone. This thought must be as terrible to you as to me. I pity you inwardly, my dear Papa. I am persuaded that this war will bring many misfortunes. Count upon me, my very dear Papa, and if I can be of any service to you after the issue of events, I shall render it very willingly." And this is what she wrote in her diary : " It was on the 23rd of July that I set out upon my journey to Mayence. Never had there been one which was undertaken so gaily, the idea of seeing the Emperor again after three long months of separa- tion enchanted me, but I am much afraid Mme. Montesquieu must have said I had a heart of stone when I took leave of my son without a tear (which does not happen often). 168 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII " I left at six in the morning firmly resolved to travel day and night, rather than not arrive at Mayence on the 25th. The road is pretty enough as it winds around Paris ; on leaving the Barriere one sees Rincy (le Raincy) on the right, the park is very fine but the house very small. The Emperor once wished to present it to me, but I had the good sense to refuse his offer not wishing to occupy myself with an estate, and was the more pleased afterwards when I learned that it only produced 30,000 frs., and that one is obliged to spend 60,000 frs. annually upon it. " Next we passed the vast forest of Bondy, which is very beautiful. The road as far as La Ferte-sous- Jouarre, where we lunched, is extremely pretty ; many country houses and orchards are to be seen always against a background of hills. ' We breakfasted with the postmaster, who has rather a nice house. The road becomes continually prettier as one approaches Chateau Thierry, which lies a few leagues further on ; the valley narrows until we are surrounded by woods and pretty villages. Chateau Thierry is rather a badly built little town ; the road divides, one branch leads to Chalons and the other to Etoges, the property of the Duchess's father. She spoke to me a good deal about an estate called St. Martin du Bois which is quite near to Etoges and which she wishes to buy to retire to when her services shall be no longer needed. ' When she turns the conversation on to this subject I have the greatest difficulty in the world to prevent myself being angry with her. Nevertheless, it is true that in the delightful society in which we live there is always the uncertainty of the morrow. AN UNCOMFORTABLE JOURNEY 169 The Sovereign who receives you well to-day and treats you as a friend, may exile and forget you to-morrow, therefore, my one prayer is that God will grant that I may never have the heart of a Sovereign. Anyway, at present I feel that if one of my friends were to fall into disgrace to-day he would only be dearer to me. " Afterwards we passed by the little town of Epernay, which is very pretty ; the Mayor is a wine merchant on a large scale, and has a fine house with conservatories containing exceedingly rare plants. This part of the country is more barren, there are few trees and many fields which have nothing to recommend them. The landscape is monotonous as far as Chalons. ' There were still four leagues before reaching Chalons-sur-Marne, where we arrived at ten in the evening very tired, the waggons and military having cut up the roads. Here I expected to find a good dinner and a good bed, but nothing of the kind. ' The first din Tier had apparently fallen into the fire, so they served us one which was not cooked, which consisted of mutton smelling of goat, and roast chickens so called, for I am certain they were old cocks, also eggs which were at least eight to ten days old ; I should have gone to bed fasting had they not brought me some sour cream, which I fell upon, and had an indigestion which called forth some fine lectures from the Chevalier Bourdier, but I do not fear them like those of M. Corvisart. " I had scarcely got into bed when I heard a horrible noise of big drums and tambourines which had estab- lished themselves under my windows, and which, in spite of my entreaties, remained there till one o'clock 170 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII in the morning. I was lodged at the Prefecture with the Chevalier de Jessaint, who is a very worthy man, but has the misfortune to have a daughter who is out of her mind. There is a pretty garden in front of his windows. '' The town of Chalons is not pretty and has not much commerce. " On the 24th before leaving, I received the authorities en passant, and at six o'clock was in the carriage but without desiring to travel day and night, as the adventures of the previous evening had ex- hausted me. The country is charming as far as Clermont, where we breakfasted ; there are hills and orchards, fields, and pretty villages. " On entering the little town of Clermont I was agreeably surprised to meet M. de St. Aulaire, the Prefet, Chamberlain to the Emperor, one of my old acquaintances, who is an excellent man and extremely amiable. He talks wonderfully well, but is a little too pretentious, and I never found myself able to keep up a long conversation with him, but I like to listen to him. I was especially pleased to see him because it was quite a surprise. We conversed together during breakfast at which I also saw the Mayor of Clermont who seems to be a clever young man ; he never forgets to recite a discourse in verse when we pass by this place. ' The environs appeared to be very pretty. They are densely wooded and M. de St. Aulaire told me there were some charming walks. I got into my carriage immediately, and after passing Dombaslewe arrived at the descent to Verdun, which is pretty steep, from which one sees Verdun and all the surrounding HER ADOPTED CHILD 171 country, which looks very ugly. Whilst we were passing over the heights, I noticed a number of English, who are recognisable from their appearance and impertinent manner. There was one who at- tracted our attention, he was holding a very pretty little boy by the hand, who had the most beautiful fair hair. ' There are more than 900 English prisoners, all officers. The little girls presented me with a basket of bonbons while we were changing horses. Verdun is renowned for its sweetmeats. In passing through Maubeuge I made inquiries as to what had become of the little girl whom I had adopted the year before, and whose parents had so shamefully abandoned her to the foster-mother. I was told that as soon as they learned I intended to give her an allowance, they had come to fetch her. :< The road is very ugly till within a league of Metz. " I admired the fine road that the Emperor had made over the hill ; one cannot really take a step without coming across some benefit or great work ordered by the Emperor. " Half a league along the Moselle one reaches Metz. The city has a melancholy and ancient appearance. Many buildings of which one sees the ruins have been destroyed or bu ned, and the fortifi- cations do not help to enliven the place. There are from 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. I was lodged at the Prefecture in an apartment that the Emperor had occupied last time. We arrived at nine o'clock. After dinner I received the authorities. " I met again with pleasure the Comte de Pange, 172 JOUENEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII Chamberlain, who is now in the Garde d'Honneur. He has nearly always been in waiting on me since my arrival in France, but is a man of no brilliant qualities, although having much good sense and firmness, and is an excellent man in all respects. I was sorry when he left us because I readily accustom myself to those who are about me when they are worthy, also I dislike new faces, and become attached with difficulty, but when I have a friendship for any one it is for life. " Prince Aldobrandini made me angry by saying I could not depart next morning before six o'clock. Knowing I had 56 leagues to travel, I was in despair to think I might not arrive until after the Emperor. I attempted to show him the possibility of starting at four o'clock, but he was obstinate, and my resolu- tion, although worthy of a Bretonne, was obliged to yield to his. " The country as far as Saarbourg where we took breakfast is very pretty with many wooded hills from which there are some lovely prospects. This fine metalled road from Metz which the Emperor made cost much money. Formerly it took more than 60 hours to travel to Mayence through the sand, whereas now, when the surface is good, one can reach it in 17 hours. " The road, however, was as bad as the weather, it rained in torrents. The distance from Metz to Saarbruck is 17 leagues, through woods and valleys, where there are many foundries and manufactories, especially between Saarbruck, Forbach, Homburg, Bruckruhlbach, and Landsthul as far as Kaiserslautern, a very dirty little town. " After Saarbruck nothing is spoken but German, ARRIVAL AT MAYENCE 173 In the background to the left one sees Mount Tonnerre, which is usually enveloped in clouds. The road leads through woods of green trees. I prefer these to other trees, which I think give a melancholy touch to the landscape. ' We dined at nine in the evening at Kirchen Boland in a splendid mansion, belonging to a merchant from Frankfort, who is reported to have an income of 100,000 per annum. The park must be pretty and the house is furnished as luxuriously as any of the largest in Paris. The rain poured incessantly, and we still had 15 leagues to travel. I lay down as best I could in the carriage, but we advanced so slowly that we were still a league from Mayence at four in the morning. I then saw before me all the mountains of the Rheingau and the Hunsrucken, and at five o'clock we entered the first gate of the fortifications of Mayence. Everybody was tired of waiting for us, so had gone to bed, and I was much pleased when on leaving the carriage, General Fouler brought me a letter in which the Emperor told me he should not arrive before the day of the 27th. I cast myself at once upon my bed, but could not sleep. " I am lodged in the same house and in the same apartment as during my last visit, but it has been refurnished and is much improved ; formerly, one was devoured by bugs. I have a view over the Bridge of Boats and the mountains of Wiesbaden and to the right over a mountain named the Meli- bocus 15 leagues away, upon which there is a Roman tower. The mills are in front of my windows and make an insufferable noise. Outside my sitting-room there is a little terrace where one can walk during the M 174 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII great heat. I spent the whole of the next day at the window watching the Bridge of Boats and the road to Frankfort, for knowing the Emperor must come that way I thought he might very likely surprise me by arriving on the 26th. My watching was in vain, so I went to bed dying of sleep. Every one was so tired that when the Emperor did arrive he came through all the salons in which the page and my women slept without any one hearing him. I will not attempt to describe the joy I felt at seeing him again, that cannot be written but only felt. He looked well and in very good spirits. " I spent the whole morning of the 27th at home and received the authorities. The mayor told me there was scarcely any trade now at Mayence. The city suffered a great deal during the first wars, one can still see bullet marks on all the houses. Since the Emperor's reign, however, the population has increased ; there are now as many as 40,000 in- habitants. The Prefet is an old man, by name M. Jambon St. Andre. " In the evening I took a short walk along the road to Frankfort ; this is not a pleasant route as it necessi- tates passing the Bridge of Boats and Fort Cassel (Castel), which is opposite Mayence, and the road thither is detestable. The country is beautiful, one walks in alleys of fruit trees and fields, all the time looking on to the high mountains of the Rheingau. ' We had company to dinner, among whom was Marechal Kellerman ; the wine made him rather lively, and he insisted that I ought to drink a great deal ; however, he gained my esteem that day because he had the courage to tell the Emperor several times PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF NASSAU 175 that he was doing an injustice in not giving the Cross to an engineer whom he named. I do not know whether he always speaks the truth like this, or whether the wine gave him this frankness. " On the 28th the heat was still appalling. In the morning I received a visit from the old Prince de Nassau with his wife and the two princesses, his daughters. The mother is very witty, but the two princesses are hideous. The eldest, who is as fat as Prince Schwarzenberg, had only been married three days to a Prince of Baden, when she was divorced from him because she had an infatuation for one of her father's grooms ; as for the younger, I hardly know what to say, for she shows no intelligence, nor does she utter more than a couple of words during the day. Some one who knows this Court told me that during the six years he had known her he had never yet heard her voice. They have another daughter who is out of her mind, who threw herself into the Rhine last year, and I am very much afraid that the little princess will shortly do the same. " I went in the evening to Wiesbaden Baths which are three leagues from Mayence. I followed the same road as the evening before to a village in another direction ; in the distance, in an obscure and romantic valley, can be seen the rock which bears the ruin of Sonneck, a castle of the Emperor Adolf of Nassau, in which he hid his mistress and where his hound came to seek her to lead her to the field of battle on which his master had perished. Wiesbaden is at the foot of the mountains. A number of new houses are being built in the town. The baths, which are beneficial for wounds and rheumatism, are much frequented, 176 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII especially by Poles. The Assembly-room is very fine and worthy of a large capital ; it has a small garden prettily laid out with a sheet of water. The view on the return journey is superb. The Rhine, the town of Mayence, and the Malibocus with its white tower, lie to the left, while on the right are the mountains which I intend to explore. " I found the Emperor at Cassel visiting the fortifi- cations : we embarked upon the Rhine, then had a beautiful walk while the sun was setting. We returned by carriage along the right bank of the Rhine, which is the promenade of the Mayengois. " After dinner at ten o'clock the Emperor proposed a walk upon the terrace. In vain I suggested my short sleeves were not in keeping with the recommendations of my doctor. He grew angry and called physic and physicians fools, and I was constrained to obey, which gave me an attack of rheumatism in the right arm. " On the morning of the 29th I received the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt and her brother. The Grand Duchess must have been very beautiful ; she is fifty years old, and with the aid of a little rouge and white powder is still handsome ; though very large and stout she is well made, she converses well and apparently is clever. The Emperor has since told me I was quite right, that she was very clever, and some years ago endeavoured to incite the Grand Duke against the Emperor, but the latter perceived it, and compelled the Grand Duke to exile a young emigre who was more than a friend to the Grand Duchess, who did all she could to get him back ; the Emperor was inexorable, since when, fearing a similar fate might await his successor, she HER WISH TO PLEASE NAPOLEON 177 has been charming to the Emperor,and now endeavours to render him all the services in her power. " I saw also the Prince of Nassau and the Prince of Isenbourg. The Emperor fortunately put an end to all these visits and came to spend the morning with me as hitherto. I read to him out of Gil Bias ; he asked for the part about Doctor Sangrado, which amused him very much ; I laugh at it but only in secret, having a profound respect for doctors and being far too frightened of all drugs (especially those of M. Bourdier) to call down their vengeance upon me. " I went to see Biberich, the residence of the Duke of Nassau ; it is on the same side as Wiesbaden, on the bank of the Rhine ; the castle is very large but Gothic. The Prince and his eldest daughter showed me the garden. They have made the old castle very pretty and furnished it inside in modern style. They made me sit upon a couch which was not very com- fortable and told me there was a bath underneath, I rather suspect it was something else ! They served us with sour cream, politeness compelled me to swallow a mouthful, but the same thing nearly happened to me as to the painter in William Pikle, when the doctor in the repast a la romaine forced him to eat a hash of glow-worms and asafcetida. ' We had the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt to dinner ; the Emperor lectured me severely because I was not ready when she arrived. I dread nothing more than to see the Emperor angry with me, but would sooner die than give him the pleasure of witnessing my pain by crying on account of his reproaches, so I restrain my grief until the Emperor is out of the room. 178 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [Cn. VIII " On the 30th, the Grand Duke of Baden and the Prince Primate came to see me in the morning ; how tedious these visits are, these demonstrations of friendship for people for whom one does not care are terrible ! It must, however, be noticeable in my expression, for on meeting my friends, I am talkative enough to be choked by the words I wish to say, whereas with other people I find the greatest diffi- culty in the world in framing a single sentence. ' The heat was intense all day ; in the evening I made an excursion with the Emperor in a boat. We ascended the Main which flows into the Rhine a short way above the last fortifications ; the evening was magnificent, every one was gay except myself, for this was the evening before the departure of the Emperor. ' We had company to dinner. The Prince Primate is very amiable. After dinner he told me some amusing anecdotes more worthy of a lieutenant than of a Prince of the Church. They made every one laugh, but are too droll to be written here. ;< The weather was rather uncertain on the 31st. I spent the morning with the Emperor and endea- voured to be cheerful. At eight o'clock I took a little walk in a pretty wood of fir trees on the right bank of the Rhine. The weather became very stormy and we could scarcely see the mountains, which made us foretell bad weather for our voyage upon the Rhine. In the evening the Emperor received a great many people. As it was the eve of his departure, he also had an important discussion with the Prince Primate about the woods of Spessart that the latter wished to sell to him. NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE 179 " On the 1st, after Mass, the Emperor decided to depart immediately. The equipages could not be ready before four o'clock. I was obliged to attend the dinner to which he had invited all his household, but have now learned to control myself so as to assume a cheerful countenance ! " I endeavoured to be calm until the Emperor entered his carriage as he felt too much grief at parting for me to add to his distress. My courage upon this occasion satisfied me ; however, I might have done better, for I recollect having had a great sorrow some time ago which I disguised so well that the Emperor said to me, * I do not know you, you are too sprightly to-day.' It took all my pride to deceive him, and I paid dearly for it afterwards, for I suffered for a long time. " The evening passed very sadly, it is to be hoped that I shall not have many such in my life. I gave orders for my departure next day, it was so lonely at Mayence. " On the 1st of August, at nine in the morning, I went on board the yacht, which really had the appear- ance of a small man-of-war ; there were three cabins, a saloon, a bedroom, and a dining-room, besides several other closets. I went up on the deck im- mediately where a fine awning had been prepared for us. The yacht belongs to the Prince of Nassau, who lent it to me and sent me his Grand Ecuyer, Grand Marechal, Grand Veneur, Grand Chambellan (the same person holds all these offices) to accompany me. This did not prevent my ladies ridiculing the princesses before him. Their behaviour made me very indignant, only the Duchess refrained, but she 180 JOUKNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII is a perfect woman, such as there never was before. The yacht, carried along by the current, travelled fairly fast. We made a league in the hour. " Mayence receded by degrees, until we passed before Biberich (Biebrich), the castle of which, seen from the Rhine, has an imposing aspect. The two Princes of Nassau came to bid us farewell. Many boats with music, and others with cannon, resounded over the Rhine. I confess I could have done very well without the latter, but the former, in con- junction with the important places which we passed, made our whole cruise so romanesgue and romantic, it stirred my imagination. My thoughts were carried back to olden times, and pictured the ancient castles, in all their splendour, inhabited by brave lords and fair ladies. ' The condition of women, however, was not as agreeable then as now, for they had often only one room for their family, and to me a fine apartment is one of the pleasures of life. " Near Biberich are some very pretty islands in the Rhine which is very broad there ; on the left lies a plain, while on the right are high mountains in the distance, with vine-covered hills in the fore- ground. We passed Walluf where the Rheingau connects, before which is the village of Scheisten (Schierstein) where are the country houses of Count Stadion. Ellfold (Eltville) a pretty little town with an ancient Gothic tower, is upon the same bank. ' Upon the left bank is the fringe of the forests of pine trees which dwindle away in the landes near Ingelheim. Near Eltville is the village of Esbarck (Esbach) which contains a Carthusian Monastery HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES 181 half destroyed, lying in a delightful valley in the mountains. We were told it had once been very rich, and the church is said to contain many fine tombs. On the left side we were able to see Tulpheim on a hill in the distance. What recollections this city calls up ! Nothing now remains of its former great- ness but a few ruins ! There is not a vestige of the Palace of Charlemagne. " On the island in the Rhine, Louis le Debonnaire died, and here Henry IV. Emperor of Germany was despoiled of his crown. Here also Emma, during a dark night, bore Eginard upon her shoulders through the snow, to conceal the print of his footsteps from Charlemagne. I think nothing is more interesting than a journey which recalls historical reminiscences. " Near Hatteheim (Hattenheim) is another splen- did view ; the best Rhine wines are grown near Ostreich (Ostrich) and Mittelheim. While passing these places we took breakfast on board the yachfc. Here the hill called Johannesberg, which belongs to the Duke of Valmy (it was formerly the demesne of an abbey), is planted with vines from top to bottom, and produces 400,000 frs. worth of excellent wine ; the view from it is said to be magnificent. The Convent of the Nuns, called the Gottesthal, is con- cealed in an obscure and picturesque valley ; its solitude is supreme, and it is well situated for its purpose, whether as a retreat for meditation, or if one should wish to be alone when in distress. I feel that were I to experience great misfortunes or losses, I would willingly bury myself in this convent. " We passed by Geissenheim (Geisenheim), a pretty little town ; between it and Riidesheim there is a 182 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII magnificent abbey called Enbingen (Eibingen) (now abandoned) situated on a mountain, where they used to show the ring of an Abbess Hildegarde, famed for her prophecies and writings, which bore the motto ' I love to suffer.' This made me feel less virtuous than her, for I should not choose that device. " At this place the Rhine widens considerably, forming a basin before it plunges into the gorge of Bingen. To the left is the Mountain of St. Roch (Rochusberg) and on the right Riidesheim with its ruins. On our arrival we found a book on the table, from which we learnt that in the old castle the por- traits of the Bromser family are preserved. This family flourished in 938. This was enough to tempt any one even less curious than ourselves, so we resolved unanimously to go and see them. The heat was dreadful and the wind against us, so we were obliged to beat about for an hour before we could reach our destination. We climbed up the mountain courageously and saw the ruins of an old castle, of little importance, built in the time of the Romans, but with no gateway. You may imagine our fury at having been put out of breath for nothing. When we reached the yacht we were told that the portraits were about 300 paces away, but disappointed by our first experience, we contented ourselves with the description and went on another tack. " We were still an hour from Bingen where we entered the gorge. On the heights are some delightful pleasure gardens belonging to a German Count. The wind became so strong that we were continually driven back, and it was necessary to double the crew to manreuvre the vessel. LEGENDS OF THE RHINE 183 " In the meantime I amused myself by telling General Caffarelly that there were some rocks near Bingen beneath the surface of the water on which boats were very easily wrecked. This put him into such a state that I expected him to suggest walking the remaining ten leagues. It is true that there are rocks near Bingen which cause certain eddies, but they have been blasted and are now much less dangerous. " A wonderful ghost story, connected with the Castle of Riidesheim, is told about a young girl who threw herself into the Ehine and still appears lament- ing, but it is too long to write here. " A convent of Capucins called Nothgottes is here, containing the horns of the ox of Jean Bromser and the chains worn by him when prisoner in the Holy Land. To the left at the place where the Rhine becomes narrower, one can see the town of Bingen with the old castle of Ehranfels (Ehrenfels) standing over it. All the cities on the Rhine seem to be ancient and badly built, having narrow and dirty streets and no trade. The left bank belongs to the Emperor, and the right to the Prince of Nassau- (Weil) Wilbourg, who was with us in Paris. The Rhine turns suddenly and breaks against the rocks as far as the spot where the Nahe flows into it. '' This is one of the most picturesque spots, and the valley of the Nahe is charming. A delightful feature is a stone bridge. Near the old Castle of Kloppe (Klopp) are the ruins of the convent of Ruppertberg (Ruppertsberg) upon a mountain of the same name, where Hildegarde wrote her prophecies, and hollowed out a tomb and a well with her own hand in 1148. For some distance the difference 184 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [Cn. VIII between the waters of the Nahe and those of the Rhine is quite noticeable. The former are yellow, and the latter of a greenish colour. " From here one sees the Mouse Tower, built upon a rock projecting into the river ; legend tells us that Archbishop Hatto of Mayence was devoured by mice for having refused to give corn to the poor during a famine. It is almost destroyed and serves as a light- house to show the famous rocks which caused the panic of General Caffarelli. '' The country now begins to have a wild appear- ance, the plain becomes more confined, and if only the mountains were more wooded, this landscape would be extremely beautiful. After the twists and turns which the Rhine makes here, Asmanshausen (Assmannshausen) comes into view with numbers of old castles on the summit of the mountains ; then on the left are Bautzberg (Vauts-) and Kneiptein (Konigstein), while on the other side is Falkenberg. I was told a red wine is grown near Asmanshausen which has the same flavour as Burgundy. " I much regretted not being able to stay to make excursions into all the beautiful valleys of which one here gets glimpses. They are rilled with convents of nuns, on this side is that of Athensen beneath the ruins of Sooneck. Upon the left bank are seen the smiling villages of Dreickshausen and Nieder- heimbach, to the right is the ruin of Lorch, the frontier of the Rheingau. This ruin is built upon a mass of inaccessible rocks, crowned by an ancient castle, of which it is said that the chatelaine who inhabited it made a vow not to marry any knight unless he should ride up on horseback. A dozen broke their necks in WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE AGES 185 the attempt ; there was one, however, who made a compact with the devil and succeeded. He married the lady and did so many good deeds that the devil dared not come to fetch him at the time appointed ! :< The mountains become less elevated towards Steinbach and the ruins of Furstenberg and Stahleck and Bacharach are seen on the righb bank of the Rhine : it was formerly an Imperial City. Near by there is an altar in the Rhine which the Romans dedicated to Bacchus, only to be seen at low water. The town is dominated by the ancient castle of Stahleck. The wind here became so strong that our yacht was turned about at least a dozen times, at the same time it became excessively cold, so everybody went below. I remained on deck at the risk of catch- ing a fever, to contemplate the beauties of nature : moreover to disobey my doctor delighted me ! The Rhine widens again very much here, and one appears to be in a sort of lake, in the midst of which is the square Pfloz (Pfalz) built on a rock, without any entrance except a trap-door, with little loopholes for windows. According to the old records, this is where the Palatine Countesses were obliged to pass the period of their pregnancy and confinement, in an apartment consisting of a triangular chamber where one would not even lodge one's waiting-maid. How miserable the condition of those poor women must have been in that age of barbarism ! It is not even now very agreeable but I would not change with our great grandmothers. " The town of Caub with its old fortress of Gutenfels is noticeable on the right, from the windows of which Gustavus Adolphus gave orders to repel the assault 186 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII of the Spaniards. It is said the scenery in the country about a league from Caub is very beautiful. Next comes Oberwesel on the left bank with the ancient ruin of Schonberg, whose founder belonged to the Belmont family. On looking back from here one obtains a beautiful view of Caub and the square tower. The industry of the inhabitants in cultivating their vines on every inch of ground is incredible ; they even plant them upon some of the steepest rocks and endeavour to prevent the earth crumbling by means of walls. Here is a rock called Luchy (Lurlei) which is quite imposing in its form, where an echo will repeat seven times. " Near this place is a bank of sand which is a danger to boatmen who do not understand the navigation of the Rhine. The fishermen make use of it in fishing for salmon, they live in huts, and in this respect are not unlike the Laplanders as described in travels : they presented us with two rather fine fish. It is reported that this bank is connected with the eddy at Bingen and boats which have been lost in the latter have reappeared on the bank. We were very agree- ably surprised on suddenly coming in view of St. Goar where we were to sleep, which was reached at half- past eight. We were saluted by the cannon of the old fortress of Rheinfels and Goarshausen which are opposite each other. " St. Goar is a little town with scarcely 2000 souls. The house I occupied looked over the Rhine, on which the illuminated boats made a pretty effect. My apartment was not sumptuous, consisting as it did of nothing but the four walls. " My love for the beauties of the scenery of the CASTLES, TOWERS ON THE RHINE 187 Rhine cost me dear ; I was desperately ill all night, and in the morning had still sufficient fever to prevent any departure before the middle of the following day, after being in a fine passion with poor Chevalier Bourdier who endeavoured to persuade me to swallow syrup of couch grass, camomile, soothing draughts, and a hundred thousand other things which would have poisoned me. I shall do nothing until we reach Paris, and then shall only follow the advice of the grand medetin. " On the 3rd we had tolerably fine weather for our voyage which was accomplished very pleasantly. We passed by Welmich with its remarkably handsome Gothic tower and old castle called the Mausthurm (Souris). " The rocks are quite bare as far as Hirzenach, where there is a very fine abbey. There are gold and silver mines here and more orchards. The Rhine turns eastward, and above Salzig are the two Castles of Liebenstein and Sternfels (Sternberg) called the Two Brothers, about which a charming fcale is told, but as it is a long one, my reclining posture will not permit me to write it. ' There was at Bornhosen (Bornhofen) a convent of Capucins which, until two years ago, was still a celebrated place of pilgrimage ; it was founded by Brb'mser, but had to be suppressed on account of the excesses committed there. " On the left is the town of Boppert (Boppard) with its ancient towers and walls, which is said to be one of the fifty fortresses built by Germanicus in this part of Germany. " Above the town at Marienberg there used to be 188 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII a convent in which were canonesses. The fine road constructed by the Emperor, after overcoming so many difficulties, traverses this bank. It necessi- tated the blasting of rocks, the building of stone bridges, and the boring of tunnels, and was only com- pleted a few years ago. " The Rhine widens again considerably, and one suddenly sees Braubach and the old fortress of Marks- burg, situated on the rock which is frequently enveloped in clouds, where the Emperor Henry IV. was received after his own son had refused him hospitality. " The landscape here is much more pleasing for the mountains recede, which brings Oberlahnstein into sight. To the left one sees the little town of Rhens which has a very curious square tower. Four hundred paces from this town in the shade of some walnut trees was formerly the site of the Konigsstuhl, but no traces of it can now be seen. Here, in the early days of Christianity, the Emperor and his Seven Electors held their deliberations, and Emperors were elected or dethroned. It was erected on this spot because the States of the Four Electors of the Rhine joined. " It made me feel sad to see the destruction of monuments of such ancient grandeur, and the pilot who related this story was unable to restrain his emotion. Not a vestige is left of this ancient monu- ment of the greatness of Germany. Opposite this spot across the river is the ruin of the chapel where the Emperor Wenceslas was dethroned by his electors in 1400. " The little town of Oberlahnstein is charmingly situated on the other bank ; the ruins of the ancient ARRIVAL AT COBLENTZ 189 castle of Kochenfels (? Stolzenfels) can be seen, and a little further on one comes to the mouth of the Lahn. Here we were besieged by a quantity of boats which brought us fruit and flowers, meanwhile being saluted with endless volleys of cannon, truly a 'most painful ordeal both physically and morally. I suffered much from it. * When the Duchess is present this reminiscence of unhappy memories must be very trying to her. The Lahn flows into the Rhine between the old castle of Lahneck and Neiderlahnstein, its banks are said to be very picturesque and a good hunting ground for botanists and mineralogists ; the mouth of it is only half an hour's distance from that of the Moselle ; near the Lahn is a very large island in the Rhine on which is a ruined convent founded in 1143, and occupied by nuns up to the time of the Revolution. " Having left the convent on our right hand, we passed the village of Horschheim, which has a glorious view. In the distance is a Carthusian Monastery on the left hand, to the right the ruined fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, and in front Coblentz with its very fine old residence of the Elector. ' We arrived at four o'clock. I was lodged in the Prefecture having a pretty outlook into a garden, but being still feverish I hastened to retire to bed. M. Bourdier came to see me and told me that two un- fortunate gunners who should have been of my guard had lost, one his arm, the other both wrists in endeav- ouring to discharge a cannon to celebrate my arrival. " It is very sad to reflect that no journey takes place without occasioning some such accident, though quite innocently. N 190 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII " The town is fairly large and very pretty, but has no commerce. " In the evening after dinner I received the authorities. Unfortunately I mentioned to General Caffarelli what I had been told about the two gunners. On reaching home he sent for M. Bourdier, and not only scolded him but treated him in a manner one would not even use towards one's servant. When he had vented his anger, he said to him, ' You see I am hasty but it quickly passes ofiV I know very well that had I been M. Bourdier I should not have taken it so patiently. General Cafiarelli is incredibly hot- tempered and suspicious, at the same time he is an excellent man, quick and clever, but none the less intolerant. In conversation he must always be right, expecting every one to be of the same opinion as himself, which is not always possible, as sometimes he is mistaken ; moreover, the charm of conversation lies in diversity of opinions ! " On the 4th, at eight in the morning, we set out once more, happy that it was the last day of our voyage. We were growing weary of the beauties of nature and found it very tiresome to remain inactive all day. Once again we looked upon Coblentz and the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, where on the left stands a little pyramid on a low mound to mark the tomb of Generals Marceau and Hoche. " Neuendorf!, a small village also on the left bank of the river, is the place which supplies Coblentz with vegetables. On the right, in the Island of Nidewith (Niederwerth), is a convent, besides two others at Vallesheim (Wallersheim) and Besselich not more than 100 paces away. On the right bank is the town of ENGERS NEUWIED 191 Wallendar, which carries on many industries and has many factories. "After passing a number of other villages, the names of which it would be tedious to repeat, we arrived at Engers, the summer residence of the Princes of Nassau- Vilburg, which is beautifully situated. The house is very large but has no garden. The Prince has made roads through the woods of the adjacent mountains in which there is an old chateau called Eulgen ; to the left is the village of Visterthurm (Weissenthurm), famous in history for one of the most bloody conflicts fought at the beginning of the Revolution between the French and Germans. :e Upon a mountain on the right bank is Montreaux (Monrepos), the summer residence of the Princes of Neuwied, constructed entirely of wood. " After this one of the finest views in the Rhine voyage may be seen, a smiling plain framed by mountains, setting off the Abbey of Romes-dof (Rommers-dorf). Two of the hills in the distance, on the left, are said to have formerly been volcanoes, owing to the amount of lava found there. At the back is a convent of Capuchins situated on the lake, which is several leagues in circumference, the bottom of which has never been found. " Neuwied, a charming little town, is on the right bank close to the river. The town is well built. The castle is small but pleasantly situated having a pleasure garden bordered by alleys of magnificent poplars. The reigning Princess is a lady brimming with wit and sensibility, who was left a widow while very young, with a number of children whom she has brought up extremely well. She is also an authoress, 192 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII many poems having been written by her which are said to have merit. " In this town is an establishment of Moravian Brethren whom I was disappointed not to have seen. I am told they are exactly similar to those I saw two years ago at Zeist in Holland. Each brother has his particular trade and the money produced by the sale of their crafts goes into the common purse. They assemble daily in the great hall to pray. The spinsters are set apart, the bachelors are in another wing, the married women in a third, and the widows in the fourth ; they sleep in dormitories. They are neither Calvinists nor Lutherans. When a Moravian Brother wishes to marry he draws lots and is compelled to wed the lady whose ticket he draws, hence it frequently happens that a young man is obliged to marry a damsel of 75 years. The women all wear the same costume, except that the married women have a crimson ribbon in their caps, the widows a black one, and the spinsters pink. " I recollect an unfortunate inadvertence on my part in regard to these pink ribbons which caused me much embarrassment, which I only relate here because this book is for myself alone. At the time of my journey in Holland I was as absent-minded as now, but had in addition the delightful habit of replying to every sentence to which I had not listened by the word ' Why ? ' In returning from Zeist, we were proceeding slowly in the carriage while M. de St. Aignan, who was on horseback, was exclaiming against the barbarous custom which compelled the Moravian Brothers to draw lots at the risk of obtaining a damsel, lame, ugly, or hunchbacked, and he said, THE MORAVIAN BRETHREN 193 ' If I had been in that plight and obliged, notwith- standing my entreaties, to marry, the lady would have kept the pink ribbon all her life.' I, being a hundred leagues away from the conversation, replied with the utmost sang-froid, ' But why, Monsieur ? ' He made no answer. The Duchess burst out laughing and explained the whole story to me. I was so embarrassed I dared not look at him for several days, and refrained for at least a week from using the unfortunate expression ' Why ? ' ' When a brother or sister dies no bells are rung, but the flute is played, which I think gives a far more delicate idea of death. They never use the word * Die/ but say ' Return from whence we came.' " Half an hour beyond Neuwied are the ruined foundations of an ancient Roman city. Beyond again is a mountain gorge before which stands the town of Andernach whose walls and towers bear wit- ness to their age, on the left bank of the river. At some distance from this town there used to be a convent which still looks as though it had once been very large ; it was founded in the twelfth century by the Countess Gennviedis de Spadeheim. " After passing Andernach we had breakfast and played faro, at which I was given a lesson, but was so wearied by it that after half an hour I returned to the bridge, where I found such a strong wind there was a danger of being blown overboard. ' The mountains are quite bare and present a wretched appearance. To the left of Leutesdorf is the small village of Namedy in which are the ruins of Gheineck (Rheineck), and on the right those of Hammers tein ; above them is an ancient castle of 194 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII the Templars destroyed in 1 200. After passing Ahren- fels and Ariendorf one sees the rock of Erpeley (Erpeler), a block of granite 700 feet high. Linz is close to Dattenberg, Breysig, and Sinzig with the old castles of Obbusken (?) and Landskron, and here the Rhine forms a lake which is the frontier of the Prince of Nassau's states. ' The Ahr joins the Rhine here, and in stormy weather is said to become very dangerous, causing many shipwrecks. Half a league from Rheinmagen (Remagen) is the little town of Unkel, where the river is also very rocky. From this spot can be seen the seven mountains (Siebengebirge), far-famed as having been the principal abode of the ' Invisible Tribunal.' Formerly each was crowned with a castle ; now only those of Drachenfels and Stolzenberg are left. The others were destroyed before the year 1000. There is still a chapel on the Lowenburg. The stories told of the Secret Tribunal have always filled me with peculiar fear. I should not like to have lived in those times, for this fear is justifiable when one realises that at times even peaceable knights are said to have heard a rapping at their door, on which was posted the following morning an order to present themselves on such and such a day at the cross roads, to be judged by the Secret Tri- bunal. If they did not appear at the third summons they would either be found assassinated in their beds or hanging from a tree on the highway, placarded with the announcement that the Secret Tribunal had exercised its just vengeance. The members of the Tribunal always wore black, were disguised with masks, and never showed themselves by day. They passed THE STORY OF DRACHENFELS 195 judgment in grottoes or caverns and represented persons of all classes from the prince to the lowest order of the people. This dread tribunal lasted from the year 1000 to 1300 or 1400. I know that whenever people talk to me about it I have terrible dreams ; this happened to me at Cologne. " Oberwinter is on the left bank of the Rhine in a very smiling country where some exceedingly pretty little valleys lie behind this town. " Several weeks should be given to this voyage on the Rhine to examine all the picturesque sites at leisure. " Oberwinter is almost at the foot of the Seven Mountains, and opposite to it there is a wooded hill on which two faces of wall are all that now remains of a large castle called Rolandseck. " Nonnenwerth is another island on the river resembling a pleasure-ground, and having in the centre a very fine convent, in which there are still a dozen nuns who were permitted by the Emperor to remain there, on condition they do not receive any novices. We saw them as we passed, dressed in black with violet fichus ; they looked very old. ' The inhabitants tell a story about the founda- tions of this convent which is true and may be read in the Archives of Cologne. Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, once lost his way and was obliged to beg hospitality at the Castle of Drachenfels, whose lord received him with the utmost cordiality. He was served by the Baron's daughter, who was beautiful as the day, and offered him wine and bread. Roland fell in love with her as soon as he saw her. On leaving, the following morning, the Baron asked his name, and 196 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII Roland gave it with modest blushes, for his courage and loyalty were made known in song by the people. The old Baron was pleased at having welcomed such a guest and begged him to remain another day. A glance from the youthful Hildegarde persuaded him. On that day Roland found occasion to tell her of his love. She was seated under an apple tree wearing a garland of flowers on her lovely fair hair, meanwhile playing with the birds. All trembling he told of his passion while Hildegarde looked down and blushed. Having kissed her hand he vowed eternal fealty to her. Next day they parted without words, nor did Hilde- garde weep, but was overwhelmed with melancholy. She climbed the tower to gaze upon him once more, and when she could no longer see the knight, her tears flowed fast owing to a dread presentiment which robbed her of all gaiety. Each day she spent in prayer, vowing to wear the veil until he returned, and if he did not, then to retire to a cloister for the remainder of her life. After this her father's castle was besieged by a neighbouring Baron; Hildegarde hoped that Roland would come to deliver her, but he came not. Secretly she sent a messenger to him, who returned with the good news that he was on the way to rescue her father with a considerable body of men. Roland, in fact, arrived next day and attacked the assailants, while old Drachenfels made a sortie to aid him. " Night came on during the battle, with the result that it was no longer possible to distinguish between friend and foe, and Roland had the misfortune with his own hand to slay the father of Hildegarde. The enemy fled at every point, and Roland was victorious HILDEGARDE AND ROLAND 197 at the moment when lie perceived the old man before him. The damsel arrived with retainers bearing torches ; she gazed fixedly upon the corpse, then clasping the hand of the knight, she said, ' You have committed no murder, but we must part, I feel that the soul of my father forgives you at this moment. You came to help him, but your hand is stained with his blood and I dare not grant you mine. I can only give it to you before we separate, our love must change to mourning. Heaven has willed it, and even if our hearts suffer we must submit to the decree. After burying my father I shall go to the Island Convent ; if you have courage to be constant until the life eternal, we shall meet in Paradise.' Roland felt all the purity of his mistress' love ; he swore eternal fidelity, after which they parted sadly. Hildegarde became a nun in the convent on the island, and Roland built himself a castle opposite, upon the mountain. He spent whole days at the window gazing upon the convent. At break of day when he heard the bell for matins, he listened to the chanting and fancied he recognised the voice of Hildegarde. When at night he detected a glimmer in some dark cell, he imagined it was his lady praying for him. At the end of two years, on a gloomy autumn morning, as he looked out as usual, he noticed a grave was being dug in the cemetery of the convent. Filled with gloomy foreboding, he dispatched a messenger to the convent, and heard that Hildegarde had departed. He saw her body placet in the grave and listened to the last farewell of tne living as they chanted for the dead. The following spring he saw the first flowers spring up over her grave ; the next year he, too, was gone ! 198 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII " I thought this a charming story. Women are still the same, but men are no longer so constant ! I remained till sunset gazing upon the Seven Mountains as they gradually vanished in the distance. " Here the Rhine Valley ends, to the right in this smiling plain are the villages of Dollendorf and Cassel, with the Abbey of Siegburg, and to the left Roisdorf, Mahlem, and Plittersdorf . Here was Godesberg with its ancient ruin, the finest I have ever seen. " I never regretted so much as on that day, that I was not then sufficiently skilled in drawing to be able to sketch from nature. This ruin is on the spot where there existed a temple in the time of Tacitus, who describes it as the Am Ubiorwn. In the old chronicles, a strange king with his army is said to have encamped there for a long while. He held intercourse with devils, for whom he built a temple on the mountain, on which he sacrificed men and women to them. The power of the devils kept him and his descendants on the throne for some while, until the Christian priests put an end to their reign. " Near this place is a spring of hot water famous throughout Germany as the waters of Draisch. " Bonn is now visible in the distance, on the very edge of the Rhine. It is quite a pretty town to judge from the houses that lie along the river. All the authorities came out in boats to meet us ; one was filled with young people holding garlands who presented me with flowers. The inhabitants wished me very much to remain for a day with them, but I could not comply. " Being weary of the beauties of the Rhine, I am quite resolved not to delay my return to Paris by a single day. BOREDOM ON THE VOYAGE 199 ' The route as far as Cologne is positively hideous ; on both sides villages situated on a plain without a view anywhere. Having contemplated this landscape for a few moments I went below and remained there for the rest of the voyage, except for a moment on deck to take the air. " Life on this yacht was very pleasant, notwith- standing we lived together in one room, every one did as he liked, which put me quite at my ease. I did not speak a word for over three leagues as I detest con- versation. However, the Emperor tells me I shall be different at the age of forty ; so much the better, that proves I shall have acquired a little amiability which is sadly lacking in me at present ! * We reached Cologne at nine in the evening, greatly fatigued and all suffering from severe head- aches, owing to the noise of the cannon which followed us the entire route. ' Hardly had we disembarked before we were placed in a carriage, at least a century old, which was so hard we must have expired at the end of a league, consequently the town of Cologne appeared to us interminable. It is true it is very badly built, there are only 90,000 inhabitants, but the town is so arranged one might easily believe there are at least 200,000. " I was lodged in the same house as two years ago which belonged to a German Baron who has just died. The rooms are very dirty and full of bugs, but it has a pretty garden with a small greenhouse containing beautiful flowers. " Cologne has beautiful churches. I recollect visiting a couple of them two years ago. The Cathe- dral is handsome, and has some very ancient pictures 200 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII which date from the commencement of painting, also the Chapel of the Three Magi in which their bones are preserved, kept in a golden coffin of extraordinary richness adorned with a quantity of precious stones. " I was struck by the fact that the relics have been surrounded by engraved stones representing subjects taken from mythology. Over the coffin are their three crowns inlaid with diamonds and coloured stones. " The Church of St. Ursula is also very beautiful, one of its chapels contains the heads of St. Ursula and her husband, also of her 11,000 virgins. Each head has its separate niche and is adorned with jewels, those of St. Ursula and her husband and one other are kept in bags of taffetas. On one of them hair can still be seen with clotted blood round an enormous wound. St. Ursula's head-dress is still preserved here along with many other precious things in the treasury. In the Chapter of the Canonesses of St. Marie, Marie de Medicis spent the last years of her life. " Before the Revolution there were 83 churches and convents in this city and over 12,000 beggars. There is also a very pretty botanical garden with a school of natural history. When a Sovereign passes there the guilds parade in front of his windows in the most extraordinary garments. They spared me this infliction. " In the Church of St. Ursula some very curious paintings may be seen, done in fresco and oil, repre- senting the history of the Saint and her virgins. " On the 5th we took our breakfast at Cologne, after which I received the authorities until noon ; then we entered our carriages, but I felt very impatient AIX-LA-CHAPELLE 201 because too few relays had been arranged to admit of our travelling at full speed. " I believe our journeys are a perfect nuisance to the peasants, who are obliged to provide horses to draw the carriages of the suite. Sometimes a quarter of them break down, then fifty francs for each horse is given in compensation. ( The first stage from Cologne to Bergheim is six leagues, through a superb forest, the country generally is very fine, also from Bergheim to Juliers, which is quite a small and rather pretty place. I think the houses in the town of Bergheim are very like those of Holland on the outside, and seem fairly clean. The last stage from Juliers to Aix-la-Chapelle is seven leagues. " As may be supposed, it is not possible to travel very quickly, but the beauty of the landscape is sufficient compensation ; the wooded hills abound with orchards and the delightful valleys with streams and cottages. The scenery continues to improve as one approaches Aix-la-Chapelle, where there are many pretty gardens, and the town appears quite close, though still two leagues away. " On our approach the roads became lined with people. At this season numbers of people take the baths at Aix-la-Chapelle, where we arrived at half- past seven. It looks quite pretty and attracts me more than many places, but it is true I have a weak- ness for this country, and really am most unfortunate, for this is the second time I have been obliged to pass through here without being able to prolong my visit for a few days to enjoy the beauty of the surround- ings. I am lodging in the house of the Prefet, M. de la 202 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII Doucette ; he has a wife who is said to be very amiable, also three charming children. All I know of him is his translation of a German novel, which is incredibly wearisome. I should have been all right there if I could have slept, but a pretty little mouse ensconced itself behind my bed and disturbed me terribly. " I cannot explain why I was in a very sulky humour on my arrival, but when the Duchess came to inquire whether I would like to see the Cathedral before leaving the following day, I refused to consider the suggestion. She told me how wrong I was, nevertheless I insisted ; whereupon she told me many home truths, and as I am perhaps no better than I should be, I soon admitted my error and thanked her for all she had said. Such a friend as the Duchess is very rare at Court ! Shortly after, a storm such as I had never experienced burst upon us, and my bad mood disappeared ; I think it may be attributable to the atmosphere which had reacted on my nerves. " After dinner I received the authorities and some little girls presented me with flowers. Next day at eight o'clock, I visited the Exhibition of the Products of National Industry, where the very fine sheets, linens, needles, and pins, and much beet sugar, were particularly noticeable, also a certain kind of cotton fabric made there which is nearly as good as the English. Besides these there were some splendid cotton velvets which are as beautiful as those of Lyons, and quite as pleasant to wear. At Spa they make very gay wooden boxes painted with birds, flowers, or landscapes. From there I moved on to the Cathedral which is very beautiful and of great historical interest, for many Emperors have been CORONATION THRONE OF CHARLEMAGNE 203 crowned there ; also I was shown the place where Charlemagne was buried. " After that I saw the chief relics and those of less importance : the former consist of garments of our Saviour and the Virgin, the latter being the skull and bones of Charlemagne, which are encased in vases of gold inlaid with jewels, while the rest are in taffetas. They told me that during a journey which he made some time ago to Aix-la-Chapelle, M. Corvisart saw these relics and discovered that the bone which was shown as the leg-bone of Charlemagne was really from the arm. This has not been corrected. We had some rings blessed, which I hope will bring me luck, as I have been badly in need of it for some time. ' They also showed us ornaments embroidered by the Empresses, and the State chair of Charlemagne, which is of stone. He was buried sitting in this, but it has since been exhumed, and is now used by each Emperor at his coronation to sit in for a short while. " At ten o'clock we left Aix-la-Chapelle in torrents of rain, by a very bad road as far as Battice, which is six leagues from there. The country is very fine, abounding in wooded hills and beautiful valleys. This is the coal district. " I was mentioning the affair of the Chevalier Goffin when some one told me it was even less satis- factory than had been stated, but as the accident happened at the mines of Beaujouc, and had been caused by the negligence and carelessness of M. Micoud (the Prefet), he had decided on a bold action which would be talked of a great deal, so that the original cause of it might be forgotten. 204 JOUKNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII " It is very sad to find how often one is disillusioned on hearing the reason of a virtuous action. ' We did not arrive at Liege, which is eight leagues from Battice, until three o'clock. As we were dying of hunger we lunched at the ' Prefecture/ which was disgustingly dirty ; this is quite unpardonable, as the Prefet is a married man, and the first duty of a wife should be cleanliness. I saw the authorities on my way through and left at four o'clock. Liege is a town of 30,000 inhabitants, situated on the Meuse, having a rather gloomy appearance, but a very fine foundry for cannon. " On leaving the town, one proceeds along the banks of the Meuse which, although of a softer beauty than those of the Khine, are in no wise inferior to them in the varied character of the landscape. Many pretty country houses and wooded hills are noticeable, besides enormous masses of rock threatening to crush those who pass between them ; there are also some old castles, but they are rare. We passed Chokrier, Huy, andSchergen, but the scenery is most beautiful be- tween Huy and Namur. I should very much have liked to make the same voyage on the Meuse as on the Rhine. ' We reached Namur at nine o'clock, a small and ugly town famous for its cutlery, but the manufactures are said to be no longer as good as they used to be. " I arrived quite ill, my health now is not good, which makes me realise I shall not be much longer in this world ; this thought saddens me, for I am so happy, and was exceedingly so before this fatal war. But what is the good of talking of that ? It is far better to hide one's sorrow in one's heart, and resign one's self to the will of God. DINANT GIVET FUMAY 205 " During dinner M. de Croix, the Chamberlain, and his wife, one of my ladies-in-waiting, called on me ; they live a few leagues from Namur. I stayed at the Prefecture, which is quite comfortable. The Prefet is an old man. Again in the evening, I received the authorities. On the 6th, at eight in the morning, I continued my journey, feeling sad, for it was begin- ning to weary me ; the route onward is as fine as the one yesterday evening. " Between Eossillon and Dinant is a rock through which the road has been made, just wide enough for a single carriage. I admit my courage failed me a little at this place. ' We arrived at Givet at one o'clock for luncheon. The town consists of Petit Givet and Grand Givet and Charlemont, a fortress built on a height dominating the town. A stone bridge now connects the two Givets, where I remember two years ago we were delayed for sixteen hours, the Bridge of Boats having collapsed owing to the Meuse being in flood. Some English prisoners hurriedly built a flying bridge whereby we crossed, for which the Emperor gave them their liberty. ' We took luncheon at the house in which the Duchess had lived between the ages of three and nine, which recalled to her many pleasant recollections of it ; afterwards, at two o'clock, we departed, passing by a large building in which all the English prisoners were interned, and appeared to be very much crowded together. ' We proceeded to Fumay, a distance of five leagues, where we left the banks of the Meuse, to climb a very steep ascent into a forest. This continued for more 206 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII than an hour, until on emerging, the whole of the Ardennes were visible. A short distance from Rocroy, we passed an insignificant fortress, noted only for its name, which recalls the famous battle that was fought on these plains. :< The country is hideous as far as Mezieres, where we were met by the sous-prefet who had come to tell us it was impossible for us to proceed any further, as we should risk breaking our necks. This disappoint- ment threw me into a shocking temper. I remem- bered that two years ago we had been very ill there, and moreover, there was the prospect of getting no dinner, so, despite the fears that might have over- come some people, I insisted on continuing the journey. On arriving at the town the sous-prefet knocked into General Foache, overthrowing him and his horse ; fortunately he escaped with nothing worse than a shock, but the accident might have killed him. Flowers were offered me. " At ten in the evening, after leaving the town, we stopped to partake of a very indifferent dinner by the roadside, particularly so to me, as I am always upset by cold meat, and detest bread. After this I lay down in the carriage, but the road was so atrociously rough and the carriage swayed so badly that I was as much hurt as if it had upset. " At last we reached Rethel on the 3rd at three in the morning, dead with fatigue. Every one, except myself and the Duchess, went off to have a second dinner. I betook myself to bed immediately, but was unable to sleep. " Next day after breakfast, we attended Mass and I received the authorities. The Mayor exhausted RHEIMS SILLERY 207 himself by repeating to me over and over again in his harangue, the fact that he was a good Champenois (inhabitant of Champagne). This was obvious with- out much talk. :t Two years ago we lunched here, after which the Emperor met a man in the courtyard, who asked for a pension, explaining he had formerly been the Emperor's writing-master. The Emperor recognised him, granted his request, and clapped him on the shoulder, saying, ' Right, my good friend, you made a fine pupil then.' " Rethel is a poor little town of 3000 to 4000 in- habitants, which I left at midday ; the country is hideous. As far as Rheims, one sees nothing but plains and fields, fertile certainly, but there is nothing agreeable for the eye to rest upon. Towards three o'clock we descended into Rheims, a very fine city ; all the houses were hung with the products of the municipal manufactures. I was offered a basket of gingerbread. " A league away from Rheims is Sillery, the estate of M. Valeures, where I had lunch when I first came to France. The scenery is pretty enough between Jonchery, Fismes, and Braine (Braisne) ; there is a pretty little stream in a valley, and the landscape becomes more wooded. Near Braisne I recognised the cemetery where the Emperor awaited me as I passed through. I recalled the terror I felt on seeing him arrive without having been forewarned. It was, however, very good of him to have saved me the embarrassment of the reception which was to take place the next day. " At ten o'clock we arrived at Soissons where we dined at the Bishop's palace, which is a very fine building, but simply furnished. M. de Beauharnais, I 208 JOURNEY TO MAYENCE [On. VIII believe, has his rank of Senator here, but it is not yet arranged. During dinner the noise of the pealing bells made horrible music. We entered our carriages again in a fearful storm, to leave Soissons. This is where the King of Holland awaited me with a letter from the Emperor, and was astonished on opening my door to find the Emperor in my carriage ! ' The road to Compiegne is quite good. I slept nearly all the way until our arrival on the 9th at one o'clock in the morning. It was quite strange to find myself in such a vast palace, but thankful for a good bed and beautiful rooms a great comfort. However, this pleasure was not without bitterness, for I thought of the days I had spent there with the Emperor and passed the night in tears. " Next morning I was surprised to find the changes in the garden which has been laid out in front of the house ; it is very much enlarged and the trees are growing well. ' My son's room which adjoins my own has been furnished, and is very pretty. " On the 9th I lunched with my ladies, each of whom related her adventures. We were gay and happy because we were nearing Paris. " At one o'clock I started in the carriage and arrived without mishap at the Pont Saint Maxence, where an unfortunate postilion who was attached to Prince Aldobrandini's carriage broke his arm. It is really very sad, but I feel thankful my carriage was not to blame, for whenever I am the innocent cause of such a misfortune, I invariably reproach myself with it. Finally, at half-past seven in the evening, we arrived in good health at Saint-Cloud, where I found my son, much improved." CHAPTEK IX JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG, 1813 ALTHOUGH after his recent interview with Metternich, the Emperor could no longer doubt the adhesion of Austria to the Coalition, he wished Marie-Louise to be kept in ignorance of it until the last moment. He had promised to assist at the inauguration of the basin at Cherbourg, but being unable to attend himself, desired the Empress to represent him. He wrote to Cambaceres on August 12 : "I wish the Empress to undertake her journey to Cherbourg, but only on her return to learn all this [the affair with Austria] ; let her start on the 17th." She intended to leave on the 19th, and wrote : " The Emperor will send me to Cherbourg on the 19th to inspect the New Port." She did not proceed, however, until the 23rd ; and the following is her own account of it : " On 23rd August, at eight in the morning, I left Saint-Cloud for Cherbourg, feeling very depressed and therefore without any interest in the undertaking, for I detest travelling more than ever. Moreover, I am certain my countenance must depress every one, for I feel so sad and have no wish to hide it ; also the separation from my son, who is my consolation during the Emperor's absence, is very trying to me. 209 210 JOUKNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX All this put me in such a bad humour that I was silent during the whole of the first stage, and entirely oblivious to the beauties of the route as far as St. Germain; however, the cheers of the young people from the Ecole, who had come out on horseback to meet me, at length aroused me from my thoughts. " We changed horses very quickly and afterwards went through an exceedingly beautiful part of the forest. The road as far as Melun with its slopes covered with vines and fruit trees attracted me very much, also the charming country houses, one in particular, which lies on the left, along the bank of the Seine, with a large garden on the right hand. " Melun itself is a detestable little town if all the houses resemble the one where we lunched, it must be renowned for its dirtiness. We were obliged to pass through the kitchen and a horrible dark passage to reach the dining-room, and risked our lives owing to two or three grimalkins which ran through our legs! But these little accidents only add to the amusement of a journey. "Two leagues from Melun we passed M. de St. Aignan's house which looks quite attractive ; his little children were walking in the garden, looking as pretty as loves. " The road passed through the avenues of the fine park of Rosny, leaving the ancient castle to the right, along the bank of the Seine, until it ascends a steep slope from which a glorious view can be obtained. The country as far as Evreux is not unpleasing, particularly the approach to the town where wooded hills give a fine effect. " We arrived at Evreux at five o'clock. The ACCIDENTS ON THE JOURNEY 211 postilions drove like mad into the town, thereby causing a Brigadier-General to find himself in danger of his life between the carriage and the houses, which gave us a terrible fright. There are truly many things to make one's blood curdle during a journey, and the doctors who always scold when one returns ill after a journey, should really forbid the Generals getting caught between the wheels, and the postilions falling off their horses. "I lodged at the Prefecture at the house of M. de Micomes (Miramon), Chamberlain to the Emperor, where I was made exceedingly comfortable in four rooms with a very pretty garden in front of my window. " Some excellent cream was brought me of which I longed to partake, but thought of M. Corvisart and sacrificed myself to his wishes. This was not easy but was commendable, for he never knew of it. "Evreux is a town of 16,000 inhabitants, with scarcely any commerce. After dinner I received the authorities,who treated me to some rather ludicrous speeches. Little girls came to offer me flowers, and a concert was given in the salon. Verses were sung and a pretty young lady played the harp, also one of the Guard of Honour the bassoon. The garden and the town was illuminated. " At eight o'clock next day I left for Caen, passing on the left the Chateau de Navarre, which has a somewhat Gothic appearance, at the end of a fine avenue. We followed this beautiful road across a great plain to the river Thibouville, running through a fairly broad valley surrounded by high hills. A very clear little stream runs at the bottom of it. 212 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [Cn. IX I stopped for lunch at a place called La Riviere Thibouville where is a castle belonging to the Chevalier de Reveillac, very badly kept but in superb sur- roundings. From the terrace a view of the whole valley can be obtained; the village is on the left and on a hill are the ruins of an ancient abbey. On leaving this we crossed a large part of the park where there are magnificent forest trees. " The country is extremely beautiful, and is quite enchanting from the hill of Lisieux which is rather steep. The town lies in the valley, approached through gardens and meadows and orchards ; the scenery recalls Brussels on the side towards Laeken. " On passing through Lisieux, I was welcomed in a truly touching manner. Generally, throughout Normandy every one is sincerely attached to the Emperor, and the enthusiasm of these good people impressed me much. " The Mayor and a number of young ladies dressed in white awaited me at a triumphal arch, where twelve charming little fountains had been arranged, from which water was playing. They wished to present me with flowers, so I called out to the Equerry to stop, but General Caffarelli, who feared they were going to eat me (always being suspicious), made a sign to go on, consequently I was not listened to, for in this world those who make themselves feared are always obeyed ; the inhabitants therefore were much disappointed. I told them I would take luncheon there on my return. " The country is delightful to within a few leagues of Caen, with its orchards and meadows, where the finest cattle are fattened ; there are some splendid CAEN 213 herds and excellent butter and good cream are made in Normandy. I must confess my virture was not equal to the last occasion, for I succumbed to the temptation, regardless of the result. "The Cauchoises (women of the Pays de Caux) are first seen in this part, recognisable at once by their caps, which are pointed and have two lappets. They are a very fine race. We noticed many beauti- ful peasant women. "Farther on the landscape is less attractive, for it is much flatter, consequently Caen may be seen from a long distance. We arrived at five o'clock. I was comfortable in the house of a pay-master ; the Prefecture was being built. " Caen is rather picturesque and has a population of between 20,000 and 30,000, who make a kind of lace, also cotton stockings, but they are worthless because they are bleached in lime water. There is a magnificent church built of white marble by William the Conqueror, in which he is buried ; it has splendid stained glass windows. " After dinner I undertook my habitual task of receiving the local authorities. Rank is truly a mixed blessing, for it necessitates the holding of receptions though one may be fatigued, and though longing to weep, the obligation to laugh ; and one is never even pitied. "After this a delightful fete was given for me in the garden of M. Michin, at which all the ladies of Caen, dressed as Cauchoises, were arranged in a circle. Madame Michin sang some verses in honour of me, accompanied by the choir. After this, one of the Guard of Honour in peasant dress offered 214 JOUKNEY TO CHEKBOURG [On. IX me a bull, meanwhile making a speech, delivered with much enthusiasm, and the prettiest little girl imaginable was brought seated between two barrels, one of cider and the other of milk, of which she scattered some drops. Another member of the Guard of Honour presented me with a superb bay horse, with the request that I would name him Calvados. The fete ended with a Norman Ronde (roundelay) composed of some very pretty couplets, and was most charming and well carried out. " I left Caen at eight o'clock on the morning of the 25th, thankful to be on the move again, for this was the only means of escaping the tiresome con- gratulations of an immense number of persons who were either hostile to me or at the best quite indifferent. " The scenery is much the same as that through which I passed on the previous evening. At ten o'clock I reached Bayeux, a pretty little town with 7000 people, where a kind of lace is made, similar to that of Caen. " Hardly had I put the first morsel in my mouth when M. de Beam bothered me to know if I would hear Mass, asking what I would like to do ; his importunity threw me into a passion. Truly he deserved the nickname of M. 1'Embarras, for it describes his whole character. Since it was necessary to make up my mind, I decided to go in procession to the canopy prepared in this beautiful church, which is large and Gothic in style ; it also was built in the time of William the Conqueror. " After Mass, the Bishop kept me waiting a good quarter of an hour while he was making his toilet ; usually I laugh at these disturbances, but this time ARRIVAL AT CHERBOURG 215 I was too angry, I was suffering, I was catching cold, and am sure the inhabitants of Bayeux, on seeing me pass, must have said ' What an ugly and ill- tempered Empress ! ' "Eight leagues from here we crossed the Day at low tide. This is an arm of the sea over which there is a bridge (as also over the river Conce) and reached Courlan (Carentan), a small ugly town and unwholesome on account of the marshes which surround it. The Emperor has already done a great deal to make the district more healthy, but there still remains much to be done. " The scenery is everywhere very pretty as far as Valogne(s), a small town famous for its horse fairs, the most celebrated in Normandy. " The dust was terrible all along the road, which became very bad and stony, and we were so jolted it was impossible to sit upright. The landscape was no compensation, for there was nothing to see but heaths and thickets, while we continued up and down hill, impatiently awaiting the moment when the sea should appear in view. Owing to the tardiness of the Bishop of Bayeux we did not reach Cherbourg until nine o'clock, tired to death, and very anxious to find a comfortable bed. " I was pleased to find myself once again in the house I had occupied two years ago, for the memories of that journey when I was so happy and light-hearted were very pleasant, but what a difference now ! "My room is the Emperor's bedroom, looking on to a wretched little courtyard where nothing can be seen, and into which all the nasty smells come from the kitchen. 216 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX "Cherbourg contains only 7000 or 8000 people, but the town appears much larger than it really is ; there are quantities of dirty little streets and not one fine mansion. " On the 26th I went to see the dock, which was still empty in spite of all the efforts that had been made ; the water had penetrated a little and had risen over 2 feet, but a dry place had been kept at which I went down. The medals and screwplate had been buried there. I remained there for some moments and was the last person to set foot on it. CafEarelli left one of his spurs behind, which caused us much amusement. " This dock is a very fine piece of work, it is 50 feet high, and in order to excavate it an enormous rock had to be blasted and hollowed out, they have been working at it for ten years and the dam alone cost two millions : it has an immense framework which is blocked up with earth and clay, a portion of which is to be cut out to-morrow. In order to do this workmen are let down by a rope on the side towards the sea and then saw through it, two steam pumps meanwhile suck out the water that leaks in. " A second dock is to be constructed which will take two years to complete ; it will not be so difficult because the water will enter from the first basin by a simple dam. It is a masterpiece worthy of the creative genius of the Emperor. " From there I went to see the place for repairing the large ships, which is entirely built of stone, and a spring of fresh water has been led to it. The whole dockyard is like this, made of enormous stones weighted with lead, constructed by Spanish prisoners. CONVICTS AND THEIR GUARDS 217 " One meets convicts here, the murderers wearing green caps, the others red, and it is very sad to see a deserter attached to the same chain as a malefactor. In the galleys here is a Sous-prefet, a Cure with his Vicaire,and a Mayor, the latter for having exempted his only son from conscription. When they attempt to escape the guns are fired three times, and as soon as they hear them the guards station themselves on the roads to St. Lo and Nay, so that all means of escape is cut off. "Afterwards I received the authorities, two of whom made me such ridiculous speeches that every one burst out laughing. I refrained, but no merit is due to me, for I have not been able to laugh since last year. "I drove in a barouche towards Valogne(s) to a pretty country seat belonging to M. Dumancel, the park of which is large, but the house atrocious. They do not obtain the advantages they might from it. " On the return journey, the view is magnificent ; from the main road the sea can be seen, with the boats in the roadstead and the ships of the line. We saw two of the enemy's vessels from a long way off, also the camp of the national guard which was pitched on a hill. It is a pity that the road, being so bad, should make the drive such a penance. In the evening some young ladies presented me with flowers. On the estate of M. Dumancel there are some magnificent larches and some fairly large thujas. " On the 27th, the day fixed for the opening of the dock, the weather was shocking ; the sea 218 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX was very rough, so it was decided the ceremony could not take place before four o'clock in the afternoon. " I drove to the shore near Fort Kerkervitz (Quer- queville) and took a walk. The road was not very good and one sank halfway up one's legs in the sand. I looked for shells but did not find any that were very pretty. We saw a number of little crabs of different colours. Five enemy vessels were in sight, but they could not come near on account of the wind, which was terrific. There is not much good fish to be had in these parts, for what fish there is has to be brought from a distance of ten or twelve leagues, but the crayfish and lobsters are excellent. As there is no fear of being scolded for eating them during my sojourn here, I do so to the point of indiges- tion; however, I shall be obliged to confess it in Paris, but I hardly think I shall dare to do so. " I returned at three o'clock. On the journey back we were told that at a place under the sea an ancient forest could be seen at very low water, but though the tide was very low I could see nothing. " On returning to the Mairie, the Minister told me that the dock could not be ready before half- past three. We were put off like this from hour to hour until six o'clock. I know nothing more vexatious than this uncertainty, for it prevents me doing anything to pass the time, not daring to undertake anything serious, so we consoled our- selves by reading about a dispute between a doctor and a painter, which was very amusing, particularly the doctor's remarks. " At last, at six o'clock, the Minister came for me THE DAM BURSTS UNEXPECTEDLY 219 and took us down a slope at the side of the dam, where it was so cold that two shawls and a fur-lined redingote were not sufficient to keep me warm. " The water was already coming in at two openings, and made a cascade 15 feet high, a third aperture was soon forced, but the dam did not look as though it would break. M. Cachin was in a very bad temper because his coup de theatre had not come off. " During this time all the ships, dressed with flags, were passing in front of the dock. The Admiral caused them to make some splendid and very daring manoeuvres by turning completely round. Had he been a little less adroit the vessels must have collided, and undoubtedly one would have sunk. "At half-past seven, the water had not yet risen, and I was in such a bad humour at having to wait for nothing that I returned home. At nine o'clock the Minister arrived in great consternation to tell us the dam had given way without our having seen it. ' The cascade is still superb : will you just come and look at it ? ' So we hurried back to the dock, but at a quarter-past nine there were no more cascades ; the basin was full, and the water as calm as if it had been there for many centuries ! " They told me that at nine o'clock the increased pressure of the water against the dam had carried away a piece over 30 feet in width, with a horrible crash which had made the ground shake. " I shall never forgive myself for having missed this spectacle, the more so as it was for this that I had come to Cherbourg. They are now going to remove the rest of the dam. " The night was fine and warm, which was really 220 JOUENEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX surprising after the cold of the day. We were obliged to enter our carriages again to watch the 10,000 rockets which were to be sent up from the Forfc of Le Roule ; but, as one misfortune never comes without another, the Prince Albodrandini made us wander through the whole town with the result that we arrived half an hour too late. Perhaps it was no great misfortune. " Malicious tongues say that the 10,000 rockets were limited to five or six and even these did not go off. " On the 28th, as the sea was a little less rough, I took the opportunity to make an excursion on the water, so we went out by the Pont des Marchands : in the roadstead we pitched and rolled, but in spite of my wish to be seasick in order to cure my cold, my wishes were not granted. However, the sea was sufficiently rough for Mile. Montalivet to almost die of sickness. " We landed on the dyke, which is a league away in the roadstead. For thirty years they have been working on it, but it is not yet finished, and only by sulking stones at random into the sea have they been able to raise up what remains of it. They have now constructed the Napoleon Battery, which has been raised 25 feet higher in the last two years at the cost of incredible labour. " The Minister had put up a very pretty tent for us, from which we admired the seashore, the town of Cherbourg, the ships in the roadstead, and the sea which had become perfectly calm. " They showed me the place where, in 1809, 147 men perished in the dyke ; they went to sleep one VISITS TO THE BATTLESHIPS 221 day never to wake up again, the sea having carried them away with the fort. Only one remained who, being drunk, had found shelter in a hole, and was greatly astonished next day to find himself alone upon the dyke. " There is now a shelter to which the garrison can be withdrawn at the slightest risk. " On returning to Cherbourg we went on board the ship Amiral le Courageux, of 82 guns. We partook of refreshment in the captain's cabin. The Admiral assured us we should find every convenience of life in sucE a vessel. A battleship, however, is a sorry dwelling. The troops went through some manoeuvres. " I descended to the first and second gun-decks, but did not venture into the hold where the wounded are put, because to do so entailed climbing down a ladder at the risk of showing my legs ! " The other vessels in the harbour are the Polonais, Talemine, and the Iphigenie, frigates, brigs, and corvettes. On our way back to Cherbourg all the vessels saluted us. I find the noise of the cannon very trying, especially so just now. " In the evening there was a theatrical performance, in an ugly hall which was badly lighted, and only holds 400 people. They gave us Le Petit Mateldt, into which they had introduced some verses for me which drew particular attention to my presence. This annoyed me very much and caused me so much embarrassment that I did not know how to hide myself. " I cannot endure these barefaced flatteries, especially when they are not true, and particularly 222 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX when they say how beautiful I am ! I only like one form of praise, that is when the Emperor or my friends say to me, ' I am pleased with you,' which makes me anxious to do still better ; but this evening I was so angry I coughed for over an hour and could willingly have beaten every one. "Again, on the 29th we went on the sea; it was rougher than yesterday, the pitching was intolerable, and we were quite unable to get near Fort Imperial which was the object of our trip ; it is situated on the Isle Pelee in a line with the dyke. After trying for two hours we were obliged to return to the place where the fishing was to begin, and in order to land, had to get into a small boat while the ship rocked so much, that we ran a risk jumping from it, or falling into the sea between the ship and the boat. " The tide was too low for us to land outright, so we were carried in chairs to the spot where the fishing began. I watched it from my carriage ; five nets were used along the shore as far as the port of Cherbourg. The casts were not very successful as only small fish were taken. These included grey mullet, plaice which are a beautiful green colour, skate, also quite small cuttlefish which make the water black when they are touched, also crabs and an octopus so frightful that I shall not forget its appearance for a long time. It had a red body with a pouch and a dozen legs or arms, the colour of raw meat, which it extended at will and twisted round one so that it became impossible to release one's self. The English came so near that we thought it prudent to retire. " In the evening all the battleships were illuminated ; MATHILDE, QUEEN OF ENGLAND 223 they gave a fete for me at night which was not bad for this little town. " I am always amused at fetes given for me person- ally, because some people dance so absurdly. Among others there was a lady who lifted her foot so high that we could see her leg as far as the knee, also a gentleman who danced like SL lobster opening its claws. " On the 30th there was so much wind we could not go on the sea ; the ladies tried it for a short time but were obliged to return at the end of a quarter of an hour. I had a great desire to go too, because they told me it was impossible, being blessed with the spirit of contradiction to a considerable extent ; but the Minister would not allow it as he feared the danger. I was therefore obliged to content myself with going over the Zelandois, a vessel on the stocks which is to be launched on September 10 ; it also has 82 guns and is quite finished with the exception of the masts, but is not yet equipped. The place where the Zelandois lies is remarkable because it is where the first houses of Cherbourg were founded. " One reads in the ancient chronicles that towards the middle of the twelfth century, Mathilde, grand- daughter of William the Conqueror, Queen of England, and Duchess of Normandy, was caught in a violent storm not far from the port of Cherbourg, and believing herself about to perish, she made a vow to sing a hymn in honour of the Blessed Virgin and to found an Abbey in her name at the place where the vessel could make a landing. The pilot on seeing land and apprehending a safe arrival, cried out in a trans- 224 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX port of joy : * Cante Regne, vechi terra ' (Sing, Queen, behold the land) ! The grateful Mathilde fell on her knees, sang the hymn, and caused a chapel to be constructed near the stream where she landed, which still bears the name of ' Chantereine.' "This chapel, the ruins of which could be seen down to 1790, was situated a little above the place where the Zelandois is being constructed at this moment. " Constant to her vow, Mathilde also founded the Abbey of Cherbourg, which is served by regular Canons of the Order of St. Augustine, and was razed to the ground by Charles II., King of Navarre, for fear the English should come there ; the chapel of Notre Dame du Voeu subsequently suffered the same fate. " Both the Abbey and Chapel were rebuilt, but a little above the original site. It still stands quite near the Chantereine stream, and the ancient Abbey of Cherbourg has been converted into a naval hospital since the Revolution. The Abbot, now Cardinal de Bayonne, was the last Commendatory Abbot of the Abbey of Cherbourg. Up to the Revolution, Mass was said almost daily in the chapel of Notre Dame du Voeu. "It is to her, following the example of Mathilde, that sailors in peril from storms address themselves. Scarcely had they landed when they went in a pro- cession to discharge their vows, with every sign of respect and gratitude to the Star of the Sea. In 1790, this chapel was transformed into a powder magazine. "It is to Charles VI. that France is indebted for the possession of Cherbourg, but the English, profiting A RELIGIOUS MODEL 225 by the unfortunate illness of this monarch, descended upon Normandy with 50,000 men. Being unsuccess- ful in taking Cherbourg, which was vigorously defended by the inhabitants, they bribed the governor with money, and this place was surrendered to them in 1418. Charles VII., however, drove them out in 1450. " The inhabitants of Cherbourg remained devoted to their legitimate sovereigns and made a vow to God (during the thirty-two years that they lived under the dominion of the English, from 1418 to 1450) that if they were delivered from the yoke of these islanders they would erect in the church, to the honour of the Virgin, a monument representing her Assumption into Heaven. This monument was executed under the direction of Jean Amber, an architect of Cherbourg, and was completed in 1468, when it was placed under the vault of the nave of Notre Dame de la Montee, and is now in the parish church. " This model consisted of figures moved by springs, and represented the coronation of the Mother of God in Heaven. " This pious spectacle attracted a great crowd of people to Cherbourg, during the solemn religious ceremonies, especially on the Feast of the Assumption. It gave birth to an illustrious and numerous Con- fraternity composed of all the nobility of France, England, and Holland, and was distinguished by having at its head Cardinal George of Austria, Archbishop of Valence, uncle of Charles V. " This monument ceased to work in 1704, on account of a fatal accident that occurred during the ceremony, but remained under the vaulting of Notre Dame 226 JOUKNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX de la Montee until the commencement of the Revolu- tion. " On April 28, 1532, King Francis I. came to Cher- bourg. The keys of the town were presented to him by Jean Lasne, Governor of the place, who, at the head of the twelve most notable burghers, delivered an address to his Majesty at the door of Notre Dame. " The King then took his place under the canopy, entered the town, and was conducted to the church, in the centre of which he placed himself on the throne ; the Te Deum was intoned by the Cardinal of Lorraine, who had accompanied the Dauphin on this journey. After this homage, rendered to the Supreme Being, the King retired to the castle, remained there three days, and granted complete freedom to the town. " The inhabitants of Cherbourg had amassed the sum of twenty-eight thousand francs to complete the west door of the aforesaid church, but Francis, having been taken prisoner at the battle of Pavia, the town of Cherbourg allocated this sum for the ransom of its sovereign. " In 1366, when the town of Cherbourg belonged to Charles II., King of Navarre, this prince, in order to confer honour on the inhabitants of the city in consideration of the bravery with which they had attacked and repulsed the English in their district, created them all Barons. An inhabitant of Cherbourg was addressed as pere a baron. "This town, where affection for the sovereign is a distinctive and hereditary quality, has for its motto these words : ' Semper sui conservatrix.' " After seeing the Zelandois I embarked on the A MAKVELLOUS GARDEN 227 basin in order to say I had been all over it. The water was very calm, some vessels were trying to enter by the opening in the dam, but it was not yet large enough, and the sea was so rough they were unable to come through it. " I went round three times, and afterwards drove to the garden of M. Cachin, the chief engineer, which is situated at the far end of the town, on the road to Valogne(s) ; it is very small, not exceeding two and a half arpens (arpent = F?en.ch acre, nearly four English acres), but is so well laid out that to walk there for more than an hour, always by a different path, is quite possible. The house is quite small, having only three rooms. Farther on there is a billiard-room cut out of the rock, and the garden is arranged to make Le Roule appear to be included in it. It is bounded by a stream of very clear water, up which salmon of twenty to thirty pounds sometimes come in bad weather. "A very beautiful vie wean be seen from the top of the garden, embracing on one side the harbour, on the other Le Roule, and behind are the main road and the valleys of Valogne(s). " The garden was well worth the difficulty of laying out, for when M. Cachin bought it there was nothing but a barren rock, whereas now it is remarkable for its luxuriant growth and beautiful turf. Myrtles and hydrangeas flourish in the open air ; plants that require a hothouse in Paris grow here in an ordinary conservatory. The temperature in winter never drops below two degrees and snow scarcely ever falls, but the weather is very uncertain. " At four o'clock I went home ; the weather had 228 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [Cn. IX become piercingly cold, which was not good for my cold and made me think I was neglecting M. Corvisart's sermons rather too much, but I wish to live up to my reputation of being a bad patient. " This evening there was a theatrical performance, happily not a topical piece, in which case I had resolved to have a headache. " On the 31st, I wished to bid farewell to the sea, which was calm enough when I embarked, but at the end of five minutes such a wind arose, I was unable to do any of the things I had intended. We drifted about at the mercy of the waves for an hour, and I disembarked at the Pont des Marchands to ascend Le Roule by carriage. The road thither is extremely bad and uneven, and it is necessary to make a detour to get up it, but once at the summit one is rewarded by the beautiful view seen from this fort, which is not a very important one. Cherbourg lies at one's feet and the hills to the left ; to the right is an exquisite valley studded with country houses and woods, and in front lies the sea more than fifteen leagues in extent, which makes the ships look like little black dots. On turning round to look at the view behind me, a gust of wind blew such a cloud of dust into my eyes that I was obliged to give it up and be satisfied to be told that it was magnificent. " I descended on foot by a dreadful path covered with pebbles and large rolling stones which were dangerous, for if one looked at the view instead of the road one ran a great risk of laming one's self. Two of the gentlemen fell down, which made us laugh very much. " With maimed feet we arrived at the house, where DEPARTURE FROM CHERBOURG 229 I was most agreeably surprised to hear the good news of the great battle of Dresden which made our last evening at Cherbourg very lively. Every one was so pleased, but my joy was not entirely unmixed, for although we had won a battle, that would not bring back the Emperor to me ; this thought poisoned all my happiness. " The next day we departed at eight in the morning for Caen. The Prince (Aldobrandini) had got it into his head that the Day must not be passed before five o'clock, hence we were obliged to go so slowly that I was seized with impatience ; when that passed it was succeeded by ennui, as in order to distract myself I went on eating the whole day ; this resulted in indigestion, without the Prince having any idea of all the annoyances he was causing. I think he would be readily consoled, for it is his habit to put every one out of patience. " I reached Bayeux too late to be able to see the tapestry of Queen Mathilde. We had only time to change horses, and reached Caen at ten o'clock. I left again at half-past eight the following day, and took lunch at Lisieux, in a very fine mansion. " We left the old road between Marcheneuf and Brienne ; before arriving at this last little town, we passed through a charming district, after which the country became arid and the road hilly until we reached a very beautiful wood. Farther on is a fairly steep hill from which the view is quite superb. " The Seme flowed below on the left hand having country houses and gardens on both sides of it, with hills beyond, while on the far horizon others still higher appeared ; at the foot of these the spires 230 JOUKNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX of the city of Rouen could be seen. Thus we arrived at Moulineaux where we changed horses. I could not see as far as Rouen for it became dark, but half a league from there we entered a fine illuminated avenue where the Mayor was awaiting me. "The road into Rouen was illuminated round the Pont de Bateaux, and the boulevards were lit up in a charming fashion by a garland of lanterns from one line of trees to the other, with a crown on each tree. This made a delightful effect from a distance. " I stayed with the Prefet, M. de Girardin, a pleasant man with very good manners. I was accommodated in the apartment of Mme. Girardin, overlooking a small garden and the boulevards. The only drawback was the impossibility of sleeping there owing to the noise in the street, which was terrible from four in the morning. " To-day I arose in a bad humour, having no news of the Emperor. He is erratic. I realise he forgets me. Ah, it is only we women who love with constancy ! Men are so frivolous, therefore one should not take it too seriously ; unfortunately I am not reasonable enough for that, but I shall punish him by not writing to him for a week, then he will realise how pleasant it is ! " The weather has been glorious all day. At noon I received the local officials of whom there were a great number. " The brother of the Arch-Chancellor is here, he is a bishop and a fright. Some one suggested to me he should be put in a glass case and preserved as a curiosity and called the sea-monster ! ROUEN ' 231 " Rouen is a very large town ; it has 80,000 inhabitants and much trade, especially in cotton goods and sweetmeats. The town presented me with a basket of bonbons. " I went out at midday, and visited the stone bridge the Emperor is having built, which will be very fine. It was commenced two years ago and will be completed in eight. It is a difficult undertaking because the water is 40 feet deep at this spot. I was also shown the plans for building quays and a bourse which is to be erected on the bridge ; more benefits from the Emperor to his people, how then can they do otherwise than cherish and adore him ? " From there I went to the valley of Deval (Deville), three leagues from Rouen, which is really delightful. It is very narrow and contains many country houses with delightful gardens ; the wooded hills at either side belong to M. Montaut (Montault), Chamberlain to the Emperor, and one of the richest landed pro- prietors in this district. " There are also many manufactures. I saw one very fine spinning mill, which employs over 600 workers, and spins four thousand pounds weight of cotton a month. Many highly ingenious and quite new methods are employed, but I am not sufficiently learned to explain them. This is the only house which has never ceased paying. Next to this the Mayor of Deville had a factory for making indian red, which I went to see. They have a secret for making red dyes, as fine as scarlet. On the way back to Rouen I visited a factory where printed calicos are made. I printed a piece of calico myself ; some of these are exceedingly pretty and are in great 232 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX demand in this district, where 26,000 pieces are made annually. The garden of this factory, though small, is very charming ; they have made a pretty summer-house out of a dovecote ; the house is furnished with exquisite taste. "I returned to Rouen by the road I came on. All the townspeople were on the boulevards. I walked for a little while in the garden of the Prefecture, which is tiny ; after which, on entering the house again, I received news from the Emperor which rilled me with remorse for what I had written this morning ! It is true that though we may not be thoughtless, at least we judge very thoughtlessly. I had a large company to dinner, at which I con- versed with the Prefet, and listened with pleasure whilst he said kind things about our friends in Paris ; when one is absent it is a very great pleasure to talk of people for whom one feels friendship. " The young ladies brought me a basket filled with the products of the national industry and were presented to me, after which I went to the play. The hall is very pretty and circular. They performed Le Billet de Loterie ; the music would have been charming had it been better executed. After that they acted a topical piece for me, much prettier and more simple than that at Cherbourg ; otherwise I had decided to strike out half the couplets before- hand. Between the two acts a cantata was given composed by an amateur. The fireworks were extremely good I was told, personally I preferred to go to bed rather than watch them ! " I left Rouen to-day at noon ; it took us over an hour to pass through the Boulevards which END OF THIRD DIARY, SEPT. 5, 1813 233 extended over a league, but afterwards we travelled more rapidly. The country is very fine, and the road continues along the bank of the Seine, almost the whole distance, by many beautiful country seats and much woodland, until, between St. Ouen and Notre Dame du Vaudreuil, it crosses over the Pont-de-1'Arche which the Emperor had constructed at a cost of 150,000 francs. The Seine was not navigable at this point, but with the aid of two sluices and a rock built up from the bottom, it can now be negotiated here as easily as anywhere else. The road as far as Rosny is as pretty as the last we travelled on. We dined in a dirty inn at Meulan and arrived at one in the morning at Saint-Cloud, where I immediately made a vow that this journey should be the last." What more need be said ? This journey to Cherbourg immediately preceded the disaster of Leipsic, and from that moment the Emperor held his death at the enemy's hands to be the best solution. The defection of the Austrians had changed the whole situation. The army of 1813 was broken up and forced to retreat in haste, although, formidable to the last, it crushed the Bavarians who attempted to obstruct its retreat to Hanau. Throughout these disasters, Marie-Louise pursued her customary routine and contrived to show a smiling countenance although surrounded by traitors. Returning on November 9 to Saint-Cloud, the Emperor was unable to remain there, so moved into Paris on the 20th, contrary to the wishes of Marie- Louise, for it was said, " The air of Saint-Cloud suits her better than that of Paris." 234 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX The Emperor endeavoured to ascertain if lie could rely on any support from the Government by enlarg- ing on national independence to the representatives, but they replied in the jargon of liberalism. Through Marie-Louise he attempted final overtures of peace with the Emperor of Austria. The reply was more than ambiguous : ''' This will cause some delay to begin with ; afterwards, it will settle itself, please God." The fabric was crumbling : nothing remained to Napoleon but his people and his sword ; accordingly, he hastened again to throw himself into battle, leaving the Empress as Regent in Paris, with the remark that " She herself has more intelligence than all the councillors." It was from a note of Napoleon to Marie-Louise, intercepted by Blucher's runners, that the Allies learned of the decisive movement contemplated by the Emperor, and so were able to seize the road to Paris, where traitors awaited them ready to deliver up the capital and France. Thus we reach the last journey Marie-Louise was to make as sovereign a proscribed sovereign the journey to Blois. Some day, perhaps, a diary of it may be discovered in her own hand, a light-hearted account, designed to be entertaining ! In conclusion, what opinion are we to form of this woman who, for four years, was Empress of the French? For the few months during which she bore the title of Regent, she was nominally empowered by the Emperor to direct everything, until the moment came when she ought really to have taken the reins, then he CHARACTER OF MARIE-LOUISE 235 deprived her of all authority. There is no evidence that she possessed the extraordinary powers attributed to her by her husband, and we are forced to assume that he was deluded by conjugal affection. The record of the journey to Saint-Quentin is calculated, indeed, to alter the prevailing opinion of the intelligence of the Empress, written only three months after her arrival in France; Marie-Louise thought, observed, and wrote like an experienced Frenchwoman. Her criticisms of her sister-in-law, Caroline, plainly show what opinion she held of her ; she knew what to think of Metternich and of the Grand Duke of Wurtzburg, who were both courting the Queen of Naples. She described the aspect of the country as well as she judged human nature. Then all this suddenly ceases. During the follow- ing year her letters to the Emperor were those of a good, loving little girl. A certain Viennese author has asserted that she was incapable of love. What, then, accounted for her anxiety, her paroxysms of depression, her reproaches, if she were not in love ? Even if we admit that the Empress loved her husband passionately, this cannot be said to have developed her intellect, and the general opinion of her may after all be well founded. It is by no means impossible that great timidity, extreme shyness, pride, and the continual flattery of her lady-in-waiting may have set up an impassable barrier between the Empress and the ladies of her court, between Marie-Louise and society, in a word between herself and France. It is not likely that Madame de Montebello imparted this 236 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [On. IX air of simplicity to all that Marie-Louise said and wrote. Her father employed his leisure in making sealing-wax of which he was as proud as of his crown ; yet, unless we are to believe he had no part in the policy of his Government and that his Ministers were entirely responsible, we are constrained to recognise a continuity in his purpose ; for no matter what adviser he summoned, he persistently followed his own line which might bend or twist, but never broke. One might be tempted to regard the Emperor as the puppet of a caste from which he recruited all his servants, and to which his wife, his brothers, his cousins, and all those who surrounded him belonged, and which influenced his ideas and procedure. But, on the day when one of the most famous of the Arch- Dukes, the only one who may be said to have acquired personal glory, ventured to oppose the Emperor's decisions, describing them as felonious, he was swept aside, and vanished. Left to her own devices (at least as regards the Emperor, whom Madame de Montebello did not at that time venture to attack), Marie-Louise appears to have developed a sensual passion for Napoleon, fostered doubtless by her admiration for his invinci- bility, his genius, and perhaps his physical robustness and generosity. He gratified all her wishes and desires for herself and hers ; he delighted in providing what- ever pleased her, or could adorn her person. She had nothing to wish for, and save that he implored her from time to time not to over-tax her digestion, he enforced few commands. Convinced of her quasi- divine extraction, he respected the prestige conferred on her by birth, and felt himself allied to a sacred being. She was fully aware of the authority with which he had invested her and of her position in his eyes, and while she did not lead him, he occasionally consulted her. Yet she knew nothing of her world, and was not interested (in the seclusion the Emperor prescribed for her, and in which it was her own pleasure to live) in anything beside herself, the Duchess, and the Baron. What of her son ? Was she even conscious of his existence ? When he was still an infant she feared to take him in her arms, and would not attempt to do so. She would not learn to be a mother in her confidential intercourse with Madame de Montebello, for the latter hated the governess, Madame de Monte- squiou, and lost no opportunity of doing her an ill- turn. Without asserting that Marie-Louise did not love her son, the allusions made to him in her diary prove that she did not know him. The only motive by which she was imperiously dominated was her feeling for her father and her brothers and sisters ; nothing conflicted with this when she was uprooted from her environment. Madame de Montebello alone could have counteracted it, but she was indifferent. No other influences counted red women, white women, black women, all were of negligible importance in the eyes of Marie- Louise. There was, of course, the Emperor, but the reasons for his ascendancy have already been explained, and chief among them were the imperative and 238 JOURNEY TO CHERBOURG [Cu. IX exacting demands of the young wife's temperament. Herein lies the true explanation of the story : it is not nattering to human nature, but it must be remembered that while fortunate Austria gained by marriage what other nations conquered by the sword, her daughters bore the hall-mark of a fatal dowry. Wretched woman ! Was it not she who at Blois, in the midst of disasters, allowed two Court officials to come into her room when she was in bed and thinking that one of them was gazing at her foot said, " You are looking at my foot. Don't you think it is a pretty one ? " " Oh / femme, femme carogne de femme, n'est-ce pas, Figaro? " FREDERIC MASSON INDEX ABBEVILLE, 102 Ahr, 194 Aix-la-Chapelle, 10, 201, 203 Aldobrandini, Prince, 13, 90, 172, 208, 220, 229 Alexander, Emperor of Russia, 27 Altheim, 39 Amsterdam, 92, 121, 142, 145 Andernach, 193 Antwerp, 82, 85, 87, 102, 121, 122, 133, 135, 140, 141 Arc de Triomphe, 62 Archduke Charles of Austria, 38 Ardennes, 206 Argenfels, 194 Asmanshausen, 184 AsschaSenburg, 147 Athensen, Convent of, 184 Auersperg, Prince of, 38 Austria, Court of, 13, 39, 156 , Emperor of, 16, 25, 35-38, 52, 146, 148, 150-153, 162, 164, 167, 236 , Princesses of, 12, 15, 24 BACHARACH, 185 Baden, Grand Duke of, 51, 147, 148 , Prince of, 175 Bamberg, 157 Baptismal ceremony, 111-115 Bassano, Duo de, 51, 90, 135 Battice, 203 Bavaria, Duke of, 157 , King and Queen of, 44 Bayeux, 214, 229 B6arn, M. de, 132, 214 Beauharnais, M. de, 87, 90, 114, 126, 207 Beaujouc, 203 Beaumarchais, Mine, de, 53 Beauvau, M. de, 47, 48 Belmont, family of, 186 Bergheim, 201 Berg-op-Zoom, 92 Bernadotte, Prince of Sweden, 110 Berthier, Prince of Neuchatel, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 47, 48, 87, 89, 93, 111 Bessieres, Marechal, 47 Besslich, 190 Biberich, 177, 180 Biennais, 155 Bigot-de-Paeameneu, 64 Bingen, 182-183 Blois, 10 Blucher, 234 Bois-le-Duo, 89, 90 Bologna, Archbishop of, 63 Bondy, M. de, 47, 87, 91 Bonn, 198 Boppard, 187 Borghese, Prince de, 51, 106 Bornhofen, 187 Bouchain, 76 Boulogne, 102, 122, 123 Bourdier, M., 89, 93, 137, 169, 177, 187, 189, 190 Braisne, 207 Braubach, 188 239 240 INDEX Braunau, 9, 38, 39, 40, 44 Breda, 88, 89, 93, 140, 141 Breske, 122 Breysig, 194 Bridge of Boats, 144, 173, 205 Brienne, 229 , General, 27 Brdmser, family of, 182, 183, 187 Bruckriihlbach, 172 Bruges, 102 Brussels, 77, 79, 102, 122, 133, 136, 140 Bubna, 22 Buda, 22, 26 CAOHIK, M., 219, 227 Caen, 118, 211, 212, 213, 229 Caffarelly, General, 114, 183, 184, 190, 212 Calais, 102, 122 Cambaceres, 59, 60, 161, 166, 209 Cambrai, 73, 75, 76 Carlsbad, 157 Carlsruhe, 46, 47 Carthusian Monastery, 180, 189 Cassel, 176, 198 Caub, 185, 186. Chalons, 147, 158, 168, 169 Champagny, M. de, 21 Chantereine, 224 Charlemagne, Battleship, 81, 123 Charlemagne, The Emperor, 181, 195, 203 Charlemont, 205 Charles II. of Navarre, 226 VI. of France, 224 VI., Emperor of Austria, 11 Chateau-Thierry, 168 Cherbourg, Abbey of, 224 , Town of, 10, 118, 119,208,215 Chokrier, 204 Chotek, Count, 154 Clam, Count, 154 Clary, Count, 51 Clermont, 170 Coblentz, 189, 190 Colloredo-Wallsee, Comtesse, 19, 20, 22, 23, 181, 195, 203 Cologne, 143, 144, 195, 199 Compiegne, 9, 48, 50, 51, 53, 69, 71,73, 121,123,126,127,144,208 Corbie, M., 155 Corot, M., 155 Corsini, Prince, 47 Corvisart, M., 32, 159, 169, 203, 211, 228 Courlan, 215 Courcelles, 50 Crenneville, Comtesse de, 20 Croix, M. de, 205 Czernin, Count, 157 DATTENBERGf, 194 Day, The River, 215, 229 Denain, 76 Despaux, M., 155 Deville, 231 D'Hauterive, M., 55 Dieppe, 102 Dinant, 205 D'Istrie, Due, 49, 87, 95, 99 Dollendorf, 198 Dombasle, 170 Doucette, M. de la, 202 Drackenfels, 194, 195, 196 Draisch, 198 Dreickshausen, 184 Dresden, 9, 146, 148, 152, 153, 165, 166 , Battle of, 229 Dreux-Brez6, M. de, 47 Dumancel, M., 217 Dunkirk, 102, 122 Duplan, M., 115 D'Ursel, Due., 132 Dusseldorf, 143 Dutch Villages, 87 EGINARD, 181 Ehrenbreitstein, 189, 190 INDEX 241 Ehvanfels, 183 Elisa, Sister of Napoleon, 30 Ellfold, 180 Emma, Legend of, 181 Ems, 38 Enbingen, 182 Engers, 191 English invasion of Normandy, 225 English prisoners, 97, 144, 171, 205 Epernay, 169 Erfurt, 27 Erpelin, 194 Esbach, 180 Essling, Battle of, 22, 30 Este-Modena, house of, 149 Esterhazy, Prince, 35, 164 Etoges, 168 Eugene, Prince, 29, 63, 76, 105 Eulgen, 191 Evreux, 210, 211 FALKENBERG, 184 Family Contract, The, 15 Fert6 Sous-Jouarre, 168 Fesch, Cardinal, 51, 63, 112 Fismes, 207 Flushing, 87, 96, 100, 121, 122, 138 Foache, General, 206 Folliot de Crenneville, Mile., 19 Fontainebleau, 111, 121 Fort Haag, 98 Forbach, 172 Fouler, General, 173 Francis I. , King of France, 226 King of Lorraine, 11, 12 II., Emperor of Germany, 12, 16, 20, 23 Frankfort, 174 Franzbrun, 157 Friedland, 84 Fumay, 205 Furstenberg, 185 GAQNY, 53 Genneviedis de Spadeheim, Coun- tess, 193 Geissenheim, 181 Germany, Emperor of, 12 Gertruidenberg, 92 Ghent, 102 Gil Bias, 177 Girardin, M., and Mine., de, 230 Givet, 205 Goarhausen, 186 Godesberg, 198 Goffin, Chevallier, 203 Gorcum, 141 Gottesthal, 181 Gustavus Adolphus, 185 Gutenfels, 185 HAMTVTTCBSTEIN, 193 Hapsburg Lorraine, House of, 11 , Children of the House of, 12, 14,48 Hattenheim, 181 Hatto, Archbishop, 184 Henri IV., King of France, 51 Hesse-Darmstadt, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of, 147, 176, 177 Hildegarde, Abbess, 182, 183, 196, 197 Holland, 9, 87, 92, 143 , King of, 51, 64, 208 Homburg, 172 Hoopf ort, Isle of, 96 Horscheim, 189 Hortense, Queen, 111, 114, 145 Hunsrucken, 173 Huy, 204 INVISIBLE Tribunal, The, 177 Isabey, 107, 115 Isenburg, 177 Isle-Pelee, 222 242 INDEX JAMBON ANDRE, St., M., 174 Jessaint, Chevallier de, 170 Johannesburg, 181 Jonchery, 207 Josephine, Empress, 23, 30, 32, 33, 111, 114, 115, 119 Jouan, M., Doctor to Marie- Louise, 72, 73, 78, 79, 84, 89 Juliers, 201 KAISERSLAUTERN, 172 Katzener, Mile., 162 Kellerman, Mar&jhal, 174 King of Navarre, Charles II., 224 Kirchen Boland, 173 Kloppe, Castle of, 183 Kochenfels, 189 Konigstein, 184 Konigstuhl, 188 Eossluch, M., 23 LACES, Expenditure on, 136 Ladies Treaty, The, 75 Laeken, Palace of, 78, 102, 125, 126, 127 Lahn, 189 Landskron, 194 Lazinska, Mme., 40, 44, 45 Lebeltzern, 151 Leipsic, 233 Lejeune, 35, 48 Leopold II., of Germany, 12, 16 Leroy, M, 155, 164 Letters of Marie-Louise, 123-139 Leutesdorf, 193 Liebenstein, 187 Liege, 144, 204 Lille, 102 Linz, 194 Lisieux, 212, 229 Liverstein, Comtesse de, 95, 97 Lorch, 184 Lowenburg, 194 Lu$ay, Mme. de, 33, 46, 64, 105, 107, 120, 123, 137, 140, 156 Luneville, 47, 48 Lurlei, 186 MAHLEM, 198 Maisons, 32, 161 Malet, General, 161, 162 Malibocus, 173, 176 Malines, 80 , Archbishop of, 152 Marcheneux, 229 Maria Ludovica, Empress of Austria, 22, 23, 148, 149, 150, 155, 156, 163, 164 Maria Theresa, Empress, 11, 12, 15, 17, 28, 132 Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, 26, 28, 29, 31 Marie of Burgundy, 102 Marienberg, 187 Marksburg, 188 Maine, River, 144 Matislau, 154 Mauberge, 171 Maximilian, 164 Mayence, 10, 147, 158, 159, 167, 173, 174, 176 Melun, 210 Meneval, M., 10 Merode, Mme. de., 132 Metternich, Austrian Ambassador, 25, 26, 31, 60, 51, 65, 73, 76, 163, 165, 209, 235, 236, 237 Metz, 147, 158, 166, 171 Meulan, 233 Meuse, 92, 204, 205 Mezieres, 144, 206 Michin, M. and Mme., 213 Micomes, M. de, 211 Micoud, M., 203 Middelburg, 9, 96, 98, 100, 101, 123 Missiessy, Admiral, 80 Mittelheim, 181 Moerdyk, 92 Monrepos, 191 Mons, 77, 127 INDEX 243 Montalivet, Mile., 220 Montaran, M. de, 87 Montault, M., 231 Montebello, Duchesse de, 30-33, 44, 46, 64, 71, 77, 86, 87, 93, 101, 136, 159, 160, 168, 179, 189, 193, 202, 205, 235 Montesquieux, Mme. de, 57, 106, 124, 129, 133, 136, 167 Montreuil, 122 Moravian Brethren, The, 192 Moulineaux, 230 Mouse Tower, The, 184 Munich, 44, 48 NAHE, River, 183, 184 Namedy, 193 Namur, 204, 205 Nancy, 47, 48 Nassau, Emperor of, 175 , Prince of, 176, 177, 179, 180, 183, 191, 194 Neipperg, Count, 10 Neuendorff, 190 Neuwied, 191, 193 Niederheimbach, 184 Niederlahnstein, 189 Niederwerth, 190 Nonnenwerth, 195 Normandy, 9, 117 Nothgottes, Convent of, 183 OBBUSKEN, 194 Oberlaknstein, 188 Oberwesel, 186 Oberwinter, 196 Orange, Prince of, 88 Ostend, 102, 128 Ostrich, 181 PALATINE, Countesses, 185 Pange, M. de, 158, 171 Paris, 144, 155 Pauline, Princess, 30, 51, 124, 130, 134,138 Peter the Great, 145 Peloz, 185 Plauen, 148 Pontecorvo, Prince de, 111 Pontet, Mile, de, 20, 21, 23 Prague, 9, 153, 156 Prussia, King of, 152 QUEEN MATHILDE OF ENGLAND, 223, 224, 229 of Naples, 30, 31, 40, 41, 44, 45, 60, 51, 53, 64, 71, 73, 74, 76, 138, 139, 146, 235 of Prussia, 108 Quentin, Saint, 72, 73, 235 Querqueville, Fort, 218 RAMBOUILLET, 106, 117, 120 Rastadt, 46 Reggio, Marshal, Due de, 89 Regnaud, M., 65 Reinusat, Comte. de, 57 Mme. de, 69 Reveillac, Chevallier de, 212 Rheims, 144, 207 Rheineck, 193 Rheinfels, 186 Rheinmagen, 194 Rheingau, 173, 174, 180, 184 Rhens, 188 Rhetel, 144, 206, 207 Ried, 38, 39 Rincy, 168 Rocroy, 206 Roland, Legend of, 195, 196, 197 Rolandseck, 195 Romans, 182 Rome, King of (son of Marie- Louise), 9, 29, 65, 116, 117, 119, 125, 130, 144, 145, 208, 237 Romesdorf, 191 Ronsdorf, 193 Rosillon, 205 Rosny, 210, 233 Rouen, 102, 230, 231 244 INDEX Roule, Fort of, 220, 227, 228 Rubens, 86 Rudesheim, 181, 182, 183 Rupel, River, 80 Ruppertsburg, 183 Russia, 18, 145, 151 SAAEBEUCK, 172 Saarburg, 172 Saint Aignan, M. de, 32, 44, 87, 90, 126, 192, 210 St. Aulaire M., de, 170 St. Cloud, 10, 53, 54, 57, 102, 107, 119, 120, 144, 146, 158, 160, 162, 208, 209, 233 St. Germain, 116, 210 St. Goar, 186 St. Leu, 161 Saint Ouen, 233 St. Polten, 38 Salsig, 187 Saverne, 49 Saxony, King and Queen of, 146, 148, 151, 152 Scheldt, River, 73, 74, 80, 81, 82, 85, 94, 122 Scbergen, 204 Schierstein, 180 Schonberg, 79 Schonfeld, 157 Schonhof, 157 Schwarzenberg, Prince, 25, 29, 50, 51, 74, 104, 125, 164 Segur, M., 121, 126 Seine, 52, 210 Siegbourg, 198 Sillery, 49, 207 Soigne, 132 Sinzig, 194 Soissons, 50, 207, 208 Sonneck, 175 Sooneck, 184 Spa, 202 Spessart, 178 Stahleck, 185 Steinbach, 185 Sternberg, 187 Stolzenberg, 194 Strasbourg, 46 Stuttgart, 45, 47, 48 TALLEYRAND, M., 21 Teplitz, 153 Tessier, 155 Thibouville, 211 Thierry, King of the Goths, 76 Tholen, Island of, 95 Tilsit, 27 Trauttmansdorff , Count von, 40 Tour du Pin, Madame de la, 129, 131 Trianon, The, 60, 62, 107, 120, 121 Tuileries, The, 53, 61, 66 Tuplheim, 181 Tuscany, Grand Duchy of, 11 ULM, 45 Unkel, 194 Ursula, Church of St. 200 Utrecht, 121, 141, 142 VALENCIENNES, 76, 126 Valeures, M., 49, 207 Valmont, M. de, 110 Valmy, Duke of, 181 Vautsberg, 184 Verdun, 170 Veere, 122 Victor de Broglie, 103, 104 Vienna, 10, 22, 24, 26, 29, 30, 33, 38, 48, 55 Villars, Marshal de, 76 Vilvorde, 79 Vincennes, Forest of, 116 Vinceslas, Emperor, 188 Visterthurm, 191 Vitry sur Seine, 49 WALOHEEEN, Island of, 96, 98 Wallendar, 191 INDEX 245 Wallersheim, 190 Walluf, 180 Welmich, 180 Westphalia, Queen- of, 61, 79, 80, 84,87,92,93,95,96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 140, 153 , King of, 83, 87, 92, 93, 94, 101 Wiesbaden, 173, 175, 177 Wimereux, 122 William the Conqueror, 213, 223 Wurtemburg, King of, 45, 147 Wurtzburg, Duke of, 51, 71, 76, 147, 152, 153, 157, 235 XINZLO (Fenelon ?), 76 ZAANDAM, 145 Zeebourg, 96 Zeist, 192 Zinzendorf , Prince of, 35 Zuid Beveland. Island of, 96 THE END FRISTKD BY WILLIAM ClOWBS AND SONS. LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES, BNOLAND. RECENT BIOGRAPHIES AND REMINISCENCES LORD BYRON'S CORRESPONDENCE Chiefly with Lady Melbourne, Mr. Hobhouse, the Hon. Douglas Kinnaird and P. B. Shelley. Edited by JOHN MURRAY, C.V.O. With Portraits. 2 Vols. EDMOND WARRE, D.D. Sometime Headmaster and Provost of Eton College. By C. R. L. FLETCHER, M.A., Author of "An Introductory History of England," etc. With Illustrations. PARLIAMENTARY REMINISCENCES AND REFLECTIONS, II 1886-1906 By the Rt. Hon. LORD GEORGE HAMILTON, G.C.S.L, Author of " Parliamentary Reminiscences and Reflections, 11868-1885." SOME REVOLUTIONS AND OTHER DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCES By the late Sir HENRY ELLIOT, P.C., G.C.B. With Intro- duction, Notes and Appendix by his DAUGHTER. With a Portrait. THE PRIME MINISTERS OF GREAT BRITAIN, 1721-1921 By the Hon. CLIVE BIGHAM, C.M.G., C.B.E. 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