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NAPOLEON THE THIRD
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
N
APOLEON THE THIRD:
THE ROMANCE OF AN
EMPEROR Jg" BY WALTER GEER
JONATHAN CAPE : ELEVEN GOWER ST.,
LONDON
"iSAAcToor
LIBRARY
First published, 1921
All rights reserved
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOREWORD
NEARLY fifty years have elapsed since the
death of Napoleon the Third at Chislehurst
in January 1873, and it seems as though the
time had now arrived for an unprejudiced story of his
career. After the catastrophe of Sedan, there was a
violent reaction in France from the Napoleonic idola-
try of the Second Empire. Condemnation ran to as
great an extreme as worship had gone before. The
Napoleonic legend was torn to tatters, and the central
figure of its revival was held responsible for all the
misfortunes of "I'annee terrible." From an over-rated
hero, Napoleon the Third was transformed into an
equally impossible demon. Time has now checked the
reaction, and softened the rage of the iconoclasts.
The wrong of the Peace of Frankfort has been undone,
and the glorious tricolor of the Empire and the Re-
public once more floats over the "lost provinces'* of
Alsace and Lorraine.
While Napoleon the Third possessed but little of the
administrative ability, and none of the military genius,
of the Great Emperor, he certainly was far from de-
serving the title of "Napoleon the Little" bestowed
upon him by Victor Hugo. Compared with the leaders
of public opinion in other countries during his time,
with Cavour in Italy, with Disraeli and Gladstone in
England, even with Bismarck in Prussia, he cannot
be considered inferior. Time has shown the "Iron
nv3
FOREWORD
Chancellor" of Germany in his true proportions. The
German propaganda is better understood now than it
was a few years ago. In his memoirs Bismarck has re-
lated cynically, and even vauntingly, the story of the
falsified Ems dispatch, which precipitated the Franco-
Prussian war, the whole blame for which at the time,
and for years afterwards, was laid at the door of
France.
In the days of disaster which followed, with equal
injustice, all the misfortunes of France were attrib-
uted to the Imperial regime. The Nation, which had
refused to provide for adequate military prepared-
ness, threw the whole blame upon the Emperor. If the
French eagles had been borne in triumph to Berlin,
as after Jena in 1806, Napoleon the Third would have
been acclaimed by all the world as the worthy suc-
cessor of Napoleon the Great. Because, prematurely
old, and already suffering from a mortal malady, he
failed, the world united to decry and belittle him.
But, whatever the final verdict of History may be,
upon these controverted points, there can be no doubt
as to the fact that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was one
of the dominating personalities of the great Nine-
teenth Century, and one of the most interesting char-
acters in history. The story of his life reads like the
pages of a great historical novel, and may well be
called The Romance of an Emperor.
Walter Geer
New York, August, 1920
nvi]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
1804-1808
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
PAGE
Louis Bonaparte — Hortense de Beauharnais — The Em-
press Josephine — Marriage of Louis and Hortense —
Birth of Napoleon Charles — The Problem of Suc-
cession — Birth of Napoleon Louis — The King and
Queen of Holland — Death of Napoleon Charles
— The Baths of Cauterets — The Verhuell Calumny 3
CHAPTER TWO
1808-1815
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
Birth of Louis Napoleon — Holland Annexed to the Em-
pire — Separation of Louis and Hortense — Flahaut
and Morny — The Hundred Days — Departure of
Napoleon — Josephine's Estate — Malmaison and
Saint-Leu. — Hortense in Exile 16
CHAPTER THREE
1815-1831
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
Exile at Constance — The Chateau of Arenenberg — Char-
acter of Hortense — Education of a Prince — At Augs-
burg and Thun — Death of Eugene — The July Revolu-
Cvii]
CONTENTS
PAGE
tion — The Italian Insurrection — Death of Napoleon
Louis — Flight from Ancona to Paris — Louis
Philippe — First Visit to England — Return to
Arenenberg 28
CHAPTER FOUR
1831-1836
YEARS OF WAITING
Life at Arenenberg — Death of the Duke of Reichstadt —
Louis Napoleon Head of His Party — Captain Bona-
parte at Thun — Political Activity — Visitors at the
Chateau — Interview with La Fayette 48
CHAPTER FIVE
1836-1837
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Revival of the Napoleonic Legend — The July Monarchy
— Persigny at Arenenberg — Preparations at Baden
— Eleonore Brault — Precedent of the Return from
Elba — The Meeting at Strasbourg — The Thirtieth
October — End of the Great Adventure — Hortense
Rushes to Paris — Clemency of the King — Banish-
ment to America — Days in New York — Return to
Arenenberg — Death of Hortense 59
CHAPTER SIX
1837-1840
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
Last Days at Arenenberg — Maxims and Will of Hortense
— Departure from Switzerland — Residence in London
— Preparations for Boulogne — The Napoleonic Propa-
CONTENTS
PAGE
ganda — Departure of the Expedition — Landing in
France — The Second Fiasco — Arrest of the Conspir-
ators — Trial by the Chamber of Peers — Sentenced
to Perpetual Imprisonment — The Remains of Napo-
leon Brought Home from Saint Helena 78
CHAPTER SEVEN
1840-1846
PRISONER OF STATE
The Chateau of Ham — Life in Prison — Literary Pas-
times — A Prison Romance — The Crazy Duke of
Brunswick — The Escape from Ham — Second Resi-
dence in London — The Affair with Miss Howard —
The Princesse Marie de Bade — Death of King Louis. 95
CHAPTER EIGHT
1846-1848
REVOLUTION OF 1848
Awaiting the Call of Destiny — Government of Louis
Philippe — The Mehemet Ali Affair — Ministry of
Guizot — The February Revolution — Flight of the
King — The Provisional Government — The June
Riots — Louis Napoleon at Paris — Elected to the
Assembly — A Crucial Moment — The New Constitu-
tion — Candidate for the Presidency — Triumphant
Election — Inaugurated as President of the Republic . . 113
n«3
CONTENTS
CHAPTER NINE
1848-1852
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
PAGE
The Elysee Palace — The Prince Plans a Coup d'Etat —
Strength of the Monarchlal Party — The June Insur-
rection — Franchise Law of 1850 — The President and
the Assembly — Removal of General Changarnier
— The Coup d'Etat — The Second of December —
The Two Following Days — Verdict of the Nation —
The New Constitution — Old Debts Paid — Last
Year of the Republic — The Plebescite — The Empire
Proclaimed 126
CHAPTER TEN
1853
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
First Year of the Empire — Napoleon the Third and the
Great Powers — Lord Cowley's Anecdote — Final
Recognition of His Title — The Question of the Succes-
sion — Matrimonial Ventures of Louis Napoleon —
Eugenie de Montijo — The Imperial Marriage — The
Bonapartes Return — Splendor of the Court — Char-
acter of Napoleon — The Napoleonic Ideas — Political
Institutions of the Empire — The Emperor's Policy ... 146
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1854-1855
THE CRIMEAN WAR
Prosperity of the Empire — Obligations of a Warlike Heri-
tage — The Famous Speech at Bordeaux — Causes of
the Russian War — The Sick Man of Europe — The
CONTENTS
PAGE
Holy Places — Russia Invades the Danubean Princi-
palities — The Anglo-French Alliance — First Year of
the War — Battles in the Crimea — Siege and Fall of
Sebastopol — Treaty of Paris — Results of the War
— Visit to England — Birth of the Prince Imperial —
Royal Visitors to Paris — The Exhibition of 1855 —
Visit of Queen Victoria 158
CHAPTER TWELVE
1859
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
Count Cavour — Piedmont in the Crimean War - — The
Congress of Paris — The Comtesse de Castiglione —
The Orsini Conspiracy — The Pact of Plombieres —
The Austrian Ultimatum — The Campaign in Lom-
bardy — Victories of Magenta and Solferino — The
Peace of Villafranca — Explanation of Napoleon's
Action — Resignation of Cavour - — Savoy and Nice
Annexed to France 1 75
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1860
FRANCE AND ITALY
New Year*s Day at Rome — Resignation of Walewski —
The Speech from the Throne — Monsieur Thouvenel
— The Italian Question — Nice and Savoy — The
Great Powers — Treaty of Turin — Napoleon and
Pius Ninth — General Lamoriciere — The Pontifical
Army — Journey of the French Sovereigns —
The Piedmontese Invasion — Castelfidardo and
Ancona — Kingdom of Naples — Diplomatic Protests
— The Interview of Warsaw — Victor Emmanuel at
Naples — End of the Year i860 189
Cxi;]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1855-1867
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
PAGE
Two Great Military Reviews — Death of the Grand
Duchess Stephanie — The Baden Interview ^ — The
Visit to Corsica — The Reconstruction of Paris —
Home Life in the Tuileries — The Exhibition of 1867 . . 206
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1860-1870
HOME AFFAIRS
EfFect of the Italian War — Damage to the Emperor's
Prestige — The English Treaty of Commerce — Op-
position of the Protectionists — Religious Agitation
— Foundation of the Liberal Empire — Change in the
French Navigation Laws — Further Concessions to
the Liberals — Growing Strength of the Opposition —
Death of Morny — Rise of the Third Party — ^^Waver-
ing Policy of the Emperor — Final Adoption of the
Liberal Plan — The Ollivier Ministry — The Nation
Approves the Liberal Reforms — Satisfaction of the
Emperor 222
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1860-1866
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Syrian Massacres — Napoleon's Letter to Palmerston
— Limited Results of the Expedition — The Chinese
War — The French and English Forces — Battle of
Palikao — Destruction of the Summer Palace — Treaty
of Pekin — The Mexican War — Ulterior Plans of
CONTENTS
PAGE
Napoleon — The Mexican Empire — Maximilian and
Carlotta — Withdrawal of the French Army — Execu-
tion of Maximilian — Blow to Napoleon's Prestige —
Plans for German Unity — Rise of Bismarck — The
Schleswig-Holstein Question — The Biarritz Confer-
ence — The Italian Alliance — The Seven Weeks'
War — Victory of Sadowa — North German Confeder-
ation 234
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
1860-1870
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
Incapacity of the Government in External Affairs — The
Peace of Villafranca — The Mexican War — The Rise
of Prussia — Alienation of the Church of Rome —
Meddling of the Empress — The AiFair of Schleswig-
Holstein — The Seven Weeks' War — Army Reorgani-
zation — Napoleon's Lassitude — His Poor Health —
Reasons for the Constitutional Changes — The Popular
Approval — Negative Votes of the Army — The Ho-
henzoUern Candidature — The Famous Ems Dispatch
— Bismarck's Duplicity — France Declares War. .... 250
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1870
THE GERMAN WAR
Effect of the Ems Dispatch — Declaration of War — En-
thusiasm of the Parisians — Isolation of France — Dis-
organization of the Army — Perfect Preparation of
Prussia — Advance of the Three German Armies —
MacMahon Defeated at Worth — Despair of the
Emperor — Bazaine in Command — Attempt to
c xiii 2
CONTENTS
PAGE
Retreat on Verdun Checked at Borny — Night Visit
to Napoleon — The Emperor Goes to Gravelotte —
Final Interview with Bazaine — Battles of Vionville
and Gravelotte — Siege of Metz Begun — Napoleon
at Chalons — A Council of War — Veto of the Em-
press — MacMahon Decides to March on Metz —
Further Indecision — The March Resumed — Posi-
tion of the Germans — They Follow the French
Army — Further Defeats of the French — Retreat
to Sedan — The French Position — MacMahon
Wounded — WimpfFen in Command — Misery of the
Emperor — Desperate Position of the Army — The
White Flag Hoisted — Napoleon's Letter — 270
CHAPTER NINETEEN
1871-1873
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
The Surrender at Sedan — The Emperor's Last Meeting
with Bismarck — His Interview with King William —
Prisoner in Germany — The Chateau of Wilhelmshohe
— Visit of the Empress — End of the War — Final
Exile in England — Life at Camden Place — Fail-
ing Health of the Emperor — Operation of the Sec-
ond January — Death on the Ninth — Funeral at
Chislehurst 287
CHAPTER TWENTY
1856-1879
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
His First Public Appearance — The Baptism of Fire — His
Wanderings During the War — Chislehurst and Wool-
wich — Service in South Africa — Killed by the Zulus
Cxiv]
CONTENTS
PAGE
— Prince Victor Head of the Family — His Marriage
with Clementine — Birth of Louis Napoleon — The
American Bonapartes — The Empress at Farnborough
Hill — Her Visits to Paris and Cap Martin — Her
Death — The Fate of the Tuileries 298
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
1808-1873
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD
His Mission — His Heredity — His Youth and Education
— His Mother's Influence — His Personal Attraction
— His Excellence in Sports — His Powers as a Linguist
— His Efforts to Improve France — His Personality
— His Entourage — His Dignity — His Affability —
His Tenacity — His Lack of Decision — His Love of
Startling Effects — His Impassibility — His Personal
Appearance — His Place in History 313
THE BONAPARTES
GENEALOGICAL TABLE 327
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 328
CHRONOLOGY 332
BIBLIOGRAPHY 334
INDEX 337
Cxvll
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Napoleon the Third Frontispiece
Napoleon 20
Josephine 24
Louis, King of Holland 32
Queen Hortense 48
Le Chateau of Ham 96
President Louis Napoleon 112
Napoleon the Third 128
Eugenie 144
La Princesse Mathilde 160
La Comtesse de Castiglione 176
Le Comte Walewski 192
Le Due de Morny 208
The Tuileries 288
Le Prince Imperial 304
Cxvii]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR
CHAPTER ONE
1804-1808
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
Louis Bonaparte — Hortense de Beauharnais — The Empress
Josephine — Marriage of Louis and Hortense — Birth of
Napoleon Charles — The Problem of Succession — Birth of
Napoleon Louis — The King and Queen of Holland —
Death of Napoleon Charles — The Baths of Cauterets —
The Verhuell Calumny
IN all history there are few personalities more in-
teresting than that of Napoleon the Third. The
story of his life reads like a romance. His adven-
tures unroll before the eyes with all the attraction of
a moving picture, with all the enthralling interest of
a melodrama. The student of his career finds it diffi-
cult to avoid the impression that he is in the presence
of a hero of fiction or of the drama, beside whom all
other characters of romance seem insignificant.
At the time of his birth, his father Louis Bonaparte
was King of Holland. His mother was the fascinating
Hortense, daughter of the Empress Josephine by her
first marriage with the Vicomte de Beauharnais, who
was guillotined during the French Revolution. He was
therefore at the same time the nephew and the grand-
son by marriage of the Great Emperor.
Louis Bonaparte was the favorite brother of Na-
poleon, who carefully supervised his education and
treated him almost like an adopted son. In 1795 he
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
procured for him admission to the mihtary school at
Chalons. At that time he wrote of him as follows:
"Je suis tres content de Louis, il repond a mes es-
perances et a I'attente que j'avais con^ue de lui; c'est
un bon sujet; mais aussi c'est de ma fa^on: chaleur,
esprit, sante, talent, commerce exact, bonte, il reunit
tout."
In this letter we find a tenderness, almost a paternal
blindness, which one would hardly look for in Na-
poleon.
During the first Italian campaign Louis acted as
aide de camp of Napoleon. He was his messmate, his
private secretary, his man of confidence. During this
period he gave proofs of a strong constitution, was
always gay, and showed himself to be an amiable
companion and a bon vivant. Later he had an attack
of rheumatic gout which in a short time seemed to
change both his physical temperament and his moral
character. For the rest of his life he was sickly, mo-
rose, melancholic, constantly occupied with his health,
and persuaded that he was doomed.
At the time no one suspected this transformation
in his character. Napoleon least of all.
After the return from Egypt, where Louis again
acted as aide de camp of his brother, this young man,
without merit, without experience, without military
taste, without glorious achievement, was rapidly ad-
vanced by Napoleon to the grade of general of brig-
ade. After this appointment in January 1800, when
he was only twenty-two years of age, Louis resided
at Paris, where he occupied himself with nearly every-
thing except his military duties.
Z42
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
After Marengo, the First Consul began seriously to
consider the question of his heir. It was then that
Josephine conceived the idea of a marriage between
her daughter Hortense and Louis.
At that time Hortense was only seventeen years of
age, or five years younger than her future husband.
She was not at all pretty, but was singularly attrac-
tive from the beauty of her form and the grace of her
movements. Except for her blond hair she would have
been considered rather plain. Her nose was large and
her mouth homely, with bad teeth even in her youth.
Her eyes, of a blue violet color, at times gave an ex-
pression of exquisite tenderness and vivacity to her
face. The tout ensemble was one which attracted and
fascinated everybody. She had been educated at the
famous school of Madame Campan and possessed
all the accomplishments of a young lady of good
family. She danced well, she embroidered, she sang,
she played the harp and the piano, she excelled in all
the little tasks of the salon, she was quite literary in
her tastes. In character she was sweet, loving, viva-
cious, and very amiable if not crossed, when she be-
came very obstinate. She was a fine horsewoman,
and took a prominent part in the sports and pastimes
of the chateau life. Her finest trait was her life-long
adoration of her mother.
Josephine, it must be confessed, was little worthy
of the love which both her children always gave her.
In spite of her many amiable qualities she was sel-
fishness personified and never really loved anybody
but herself. She was fond of her position as the wife of
the head of the State, and the many worldly advan-
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
tages which this brought her, but she never really
loved Napoleon the man, and never showed much
affection for her children. She was one of those rare
characters who seem to possess the natural gift of
attracting others without themselves giving anything
in return. Her memory has been crowned with a
halo which it little deserved.
All the memoirs of her time are in accord In attrib-
uting to Josephine great affability and social tact.
All are equally unanimous in saying she had very lit-
tle intellect. The depths of her selfishness were con-
cealed by an appearance of affability and tenderness.
As a woman she had no instruction, no belief, no rule
of morality, but she possessed in the highest degree
the gift of social tact, of savoir faire, of always saying
and doing the right thing at the right time, of win-
ning all hearts. Intelligent or not, she was successful
for fourteen years in keeping the love of a husband
six years her junior against all the attacks and all the
conspiracies of the whole Bonaparte family. Hortense,
with much more Intelligence, possessed all the attrac-
tive qualities of her mother, with few, if any, of her
faults. Josephine, in considering the different partis
who presented themselves for Hortense, never re-
garded them from the point of view of the happiness
of her daughter but only from that of her own per-
sonal Interest.
Finally matters were brought to a head by the at-
tempt on the life of the First Consul the night of
24 December 1800, when he was on his way to the
opera. His life was spared almost by a miracle, and
Josephine and Hortense, who followed in another
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
carriage, owed their safety to a short delay in starting
occasioned by an accident of toilette. Every one was
impressed as never before with the necessity for the
safety of the State of having an heir for Napoleon.
Josephine was now firmly resolved upon the marriage
between her daughter and Louis, but it was nearly a
year before she succeeded in carrying out her plans.
In September 1801 Louis came to Malmaison to
make a visit to his brother and sister-in-law and it
was the evening of a ball there that after a decisive
interview with Hortense the marriage was finally ar-
ranged. According to Masson, who is the latest and
best authority on the subject of "Napoleon et sa
Famille," there was little if any foundation for the
re-iterated affirmations of Louis in later years that the
marriage was forced upon him. Three months
elapsed between the ball at Malmaison and the cere-
mony. During this period Louis showed himself very
much in love, while Hortense, if not very enthusiastic,
was at least resigned to her lot. The 3 January, 1802,
the marriage contract was signed in the presence of
nearly the entire Bonaparte family, and the following
day the civil marriage itself took place, followed the
same evening by a religious ceremony, at the Bona-
parte hotel in the Rue de la Victoire.
This function terminated. General Murat ap-
proached the cardinal-legate, Caprara, and said
that his marriage with Caroline Bonaparte had only
been a civil ceremony, and requested him to unite
them by the rites of the Church. Caprara immedi-
ately performed the ceremony, with the same witnesses
who had attested the marriage of Hortense and Louis.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Thus was realized the ardent wish of Josephine,
who now felt that her position was not only assured
for the present, but was certain to be stronger in the
future. Her only daughter was the wife of the favorite
brother of Napoleon, and the only one whom he was
likely to accept as his heir.
Louis was married only a few days, and hardly
settled in the little hotel loaned them by Napoleon in
the Rue de la Victoire, before trouble began between
the young couple. The cause of the quarrel was over
Josephine, whom Louis both disliked and distrusted,
and whom he wished so far as possible to keep sepa-
rated from her daughter. He soon left his young
wife, and except for a short appearance in April was
absent all summer. Abandoned by her husband the
second month of her marriage, Hortense passed most
of her time with Napoleon and Josephine either at
the Tuileries or at Malmaison where she spent the
summer and fall. During the three weeks that her
mother went to Plombieres to take the waters, Hor-
tense did the honors of the Chateau. The prolonged
absence of her husband after so short a period of
marriage and the intimacy into which she was neces-
sarily thrown with her young stepfather, who was
only fourteen years older than herself, soon gave oc-
casion for scandal. The hatred of Josephine by Napo-
leon's brothers, and the jealousy of his sisters towards
Hortense, served to fan the flame. When these reports
reached the ears of Napoleon, he thought it better
for Hortense not to continue to live at the Tuileries,
and as the little hotel which he had loaned them in
Rue de la Victoire was too small, the last of July 1802
ZS2
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
he bought for about 180,000 francs, in the name of
Louis and Hortense, and presented to them, a Httle
palace at number 16 in the same street. Here on
ID October 1802 was born a son who was called
Napoleon Charles. Louis, in response to a formal
order from his brother, had returned to Paris just in
time to be present on the interesting occasion.
Napoleon Charles was the first male child born
in the Bonaparte family in Napoleon's generation.
Joseph had only one daughter; Lucien, two. In a way,
the feeling of Napoleon towards him was that of a
grandfather. He was the child of Louis, who was
almost like a son to him, and of Hortense, who was
his daughter by marriage, and by adoption in his
heart. The months before his birth Hortense had
passed with Napoleon and Josephine during the ab-
sence of her husband. The child strongly resembled
his uncle in the shape of his head and the form of his
features, but was blond like his mother.
The scandal-mongers, of whom the latest and
meanest and most mendacious of all was the so-called
"Baron d'Ambes," who claimed to be the "life-long
and intimate friend of Napoleon the Third," have
endeavored to establish the fact that King Louis was
not the father of any of his reputed children! Ambes,
in his "Intimate Memoirs," of which an English
translation was published here in 191 2, writes, "Napo-
leon, too, insisted on the marriage, and so peremp-
torily, he must have had a pressing motive. We can
guess what it was ! . . . The case was urgent — these
four words sufficiently reveal the predicament."
Now for the facts in the case, which Monsieur
1:93
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
"d'Ambes" carefully ignores. In the first place, the
marriage did not take place until over three months
after it was first arranged, as we have already seen.
So much for the urgency! In the second place, the
First Consul left Paris for Lyon the night of the eighth
of January, only four days after the marriage, and did
not return until the first of February. During these
four days Hortense was with her husband in their
Paris house and did not once visit Saint-Cloud.
Napoleon Charles was born the tenth of October.
The reader can make his own calculations and deduc-
tions. To be sure, the eldest son of Hortense strangely
resembled Napoleon. But the striking family resem-
blance of the Bonapartes has often been remarked.
Jerome Bonaparte of Baltimore, the son of Napoleon's
youngest brother Jerome by his first marriage with
Elizabeth Patterson, and Prince Napoleon, his son
by his second wife the Princess Catherine of Wiirtem-
berg, in personal appearance both bore an extraor-
dinary resemblance to the First Napoleon. On the
other hand. Prince Victor, the elder son of Prince
Napoleon, and the present head of the Bonaparte
family, strongly resembles his Italian mother, the
Princess Clotilde, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel,
as Napoleon the Third strongly resembled his mother
Queen Hortense.
Returning to Paris just in time for the birth of his
son, Louis decided to live for the present in his new
mansion, and a kind of reconciliation, to be only too
brief, was arranged between the young couple. Before
many months had passed, Louis again left Paris,
where Hortense remained with her child, and did not
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
return until the month of September 1803. Then for
a short time he and his wife were again united, at
Compiegne, where his brigade was stationed.
In the spring of 1804, the question of the succession
again came up, and was discussed in many family
councils, and with the chief dignitaries of the State.
Napoleon had decided to assume the title of Emperor
of the French, and it was necessary to arrange the
matter of the heredity of the Imperial crown. After
eight years of marriage, Napoleon had given up all
hope of a direct heir. His eldest brother, Joseph, had
no sons. Both Lucien and Jerome had married con-
trary to his wishes, and could not be considered.
Louis was thought to be unfitted mentally and
physically for the honor. The law, as finally adopted
in May 1804, gave Napoleon the power to adopt any
child or grandchild of his brothers who had reached
the age of eighteen years, provided at the time of such
adoption he himself had no male child. His brothers
Joseph and Louis, and their male descendants, were
placed next in order of succession. This law of adop-
tion was expressly restricted to Napoleon himself
and did not extend to his successors. So at last the
great question of heredity was settled — to the
satisfaction of nobody. Of the four brothers, two,
Lucien and Jerome, were excluded from the line of
succession because of their marriages, and two,
Joseph and Louis, were wounded to the quick by the
law of adoption.
About this time, Louis, who had always detested
the mansion in the Rue de la Victoire, which his wife
had selected during his absence, proceeded without
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
consulting Hortense to exchange it for a large hotel in
the Rue Cerutti, now Rue Laffitte, for which he paid
an additional sum of 300,000 francs. This mansion
had previously been the residence of four different
men of finance, and later was to pass from Hor-
tense to still another, a member of the Rothschild
family. It was a most pretentious, but very gloomy
house, without a ray of sunlight. At the same time,
Louis purchased at Saint-Leu, about twelve miles
from Paris, for the sum of 464,000 francs, two beau-
tiful adjoining properties for a country residence.
Here Hortense passed the summer, Louis being ab-
sent as usual. The 10 October 1804 she returned to
her Paris residence, where on the following day was
born her second son Napoleon Louis. The 24 March
following, in the presence of the whole Imperial
family, he was baptized at the palace of Saint-Cloud
by the Pope himself, who had not yet left Paris after
the coronation of the Emperor in December. Such
exceptional honors had never been accorded before
even to a dauphin of France. But it was not without
a definite political end in view, that the Emperor had
acted on this occasion. He had thus affirmed before
his family and his Court the intention of adoption
which he later expected to carry out.
The 2 August 1805 Louis was appointed Governor
of Paris. During the campaign of Austerlitz, in the
absence of the Emperor, Louis showed such zeal and
activity in his new post as to win the enthusiastic
approval of his brother.
After the great victory of Austerlitz, 2 December
1805, Napoleon began to carry out his plan of form-
1:123
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
ing a ring of states surrounding and in close alliance
with the French Empire, and the 5 June 1806 he pro-
claimed Louis King of Holland. Almost from the start,
Louis was in trouble with his brother because he
wished to govern his Kingdom in the interests of
Holland rather than of the French Empire, entirely-
ignoring the fact that he was neither the hereditary-
sovereign of the country, nor the elective choice of
its people, but only the representative on the throne
of his brother the Emperor of the French.
Hortense accompanied Louis to The Hague, when
he went there to take up the reins of his new govern-
ment. For a short period, peace reigned once more
in the family. Then the quarrels began again. In July
1806 Hortense went with her husband to Aix-la-
Chapelle, but did not go back to The Hague with
him on his return the last of September. The cam-
paign of Jena was just commencing and the Emperor
directed Hortense to join her mother at Mayence,
where the Empress was to be with her court. She did
not return to her capital until seven months later at
the end of January 1807, and then only upon the
express order of the Emperor. She was no sooner back
than a new quarrel began. This time it was Hortense
who took it into her head to be jealous and caused
the dismissal of a lady of the court.
The 13 December 1806 there was born at Paris a
child to whom was given the name of Leon. He was
the fruit of a short liaison between the Emperor
and a reader of his sister Caroline, named Eleonore
Denuelle, aged twenty years.
C133
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The 5 May 1807, at the royal palace of The Hague,
Napoleon Charles, the elder son of Louis and Hor-
tense, died of the croup, at the age of four years and
seven months.
These two events, seemingly of no great importance
at the time, changed the destiny of the Empire and
of the Emperor.
The heir-presumptive to the throne was dead, and
Napoleon for the first time was satisfied that it was
possible for him to have a direct heir of his own blood.
From that moment the fate of Josephine was de-
cided. The divorce was only a question of time.
The grief of Hortense over the death of her boy
was so great that it was feared that she might lose
her reason. She was finally persuaded to take her
other child and go to join her mother, who came part
way to meet her. After a brief visit at Malmaison,
Hortense went to Cauterets in the Pyrenees, where
she was joined later by Louis, who had obtained per-
mission from the Emperor to absent himself from his
Kingdom. At this little watering-place, Louis and
Hortense once more resumed their life in common.
The 6 July, Louis left for Toulouse, where the Queen
rejoined him the 12 August, and travelled with him
to Saint-Cloud, where they arrived the last of the
month. At that time there seemed to be a good
understanding between them.
During the five weeks that Hortense remained at
Cauterets after the departure of Louis, she only once
saw Monsieur Verhuell, who was at Bareges and came
to pay his respects to his sovereign. Upon so slight
a foundation was built the calumny which attributed
THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND
to his fascinating brother, who was never there at
all, the parentage of Louis Napoleon, born at Paris
nine months later. According to Masson, the Verhuell
who called on the Queen was not the Admiral Carel-
Hendrik, who was then at his post of Minister of
Marine at The Hague, but his brother C. A. Verhuell,
whom Louis had just appointed as Minister to Spain,
a large, fat, stupid individual, who was generally
disliked.
1:153
CHAPTER TWO
1808-1815
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
Birth of Louis Napoleon — Holland Annexed to the Empire —
Separation of Louis and Hortense — Flahaut and Morny —
The Hundred Days — Departure of Napoleon — Jose-
phine's Estate — Malmaison and Saint-Leu — Hortense
in Exile
LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, after-
wards Napoleon the Third, Emperor of the
French, was born at Paris on Wednesday, 20
April, 1808. The place of his birth was not the Tuile-
ries, as the official historians state, but the new town
house of his mother, Queen Hortense, at 8 Rue
Cerutti, now the Rue Laffitte.
According to the testimony of the doctors in at-
tendance on Hortense, one of whom was Corvisart,
the Emperor's personal physician, the child came into
the world nearly a month too soon, as was shown by
his great weakness at the time of his birth. To revive
him, it was necessary to employ wine baths and to
wrap him in cotton.
At a later date, Louis, who was ill, restless and
suspicious, on several occasions expressed doubts
as to the legitimacy of his youngest son, saying that
"not a drop of the blood of the Bonapartes flowed in
his veins." It must be admitted that Hortense, who
was young, attractive and capricious, and who with
good reason detested her husband, from whom she
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
was separated most of the time, often acted in a
manner to lay herself open to suspicion. But there
is conclusive evidence, in the form of letters and
memoirs, besides the facts above stated, which defi-
nitely disposes of the calumny, that Louis Napoleon
was the offspring of the attractive Dutch Admiral.
Furthermore, there is no question of the strong re-
semblance in disposition between King Louis and
his youngest son, who early gave signs of the grave
and dreamy character of his father. Another ground
of suspicion was found in the undeniable fact that
Louis, who greatly resembled his mother, was en-
tirely lacking in those physical traits which so
strongly marked nearly all the members of the Bona-
parte family, but this is very far from being any proof
of illegitimacy.
The mendacious "Ambes'* also tries to establish
the fact that Napoleon was the father of Louis Napo-
leon. He begins by saying that the 7 July 1807 Napo-
leon had signed the famous Treaty of Tilsit, and then
continues: "He was back at Saint-Cloud before the
end of the month. . . . Here Is something then to go
upon. Napoleon was In France at the end of July,"
and so on. He absolutely Ignores the well-established
facts that while Napoleon was at Saint-Cloud, In the
suburbs of Paris, Hortense during the months of
July and August was hundreds of miles away, at the
baths of Cauterets In the Pyrenees, and that she did
not reach Saint-Cloud until the very end of August,
when she was enceinte. This is only mentioned to
show to what ridiculous extents the calumniators
can go In trying to make out their case.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
At the time of the birth of Louis Napoleon, the
Emperor was at Bayonne in southern France, direct-
ing the movements of his armies in Spain, and trying
to straighten out the tangle of affairs in the Penin-
sula, but he was not too busy to send a letter of con-
gratulations to Hortense, in which he directed that
the boy should be named Charles Napoleon. Two
years and a half were to elapse, however, before the
christening, which was celebrated very brilliantly in
the chapel of the palace of Fontainebleau, 4 Novem-
ber 1910, his sponsors being the Emperor and the new
Empress Marie-Louise. Several years before, a family
register had been prepared by order of Napoleon, in
which to record the births of the children of the Im-
perial family, and by a chance which strikes the
imagination, the name of Louis Napoleon was the
first to be inscribed in the book. He was christened
Charles Louis Napoleon, Charles in honor of his
grandfather, Louis for his father, and Napoleon for
the Emperor. He never used the name of Charles,
however, and always signed himself Louis Napoleon
until he became Emperor, when he dropped the
name of Louis by which he had always been known In
his family.
In March 1808 the Emperor offered to Louis the
throne of Spain, which had been declared vacant.
On his refusal to accept it, the doubtful honor went
to his eldest brother Joseph,
Meanwhile the disagreement between Napoleon
and Louis over the policy of Holland continued, and
the increasing stringency of the continental blockade
against English goods finally brought the two brothers
ni8:i
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
to the breaking point. In the latter part of 1809, the
Emperor decided to annex Holland to the French
Empire in order to put a stop to the trade which the
Dutch secretly carried on with England, and early
in the following year French troops began to occupy
various parts of Holland, and finally moved on the
capital. Thereupon Louis fled from his Kingdom, and
after some wanderings took up his residence in Bo-
hemia. The rest of his life he spent entirely separated
from his wife. In July 18 10 the Low Countries were
formally annexed to the French Empire.
After the exile of Louis, Hortense continued to live
in Paris in close relation with the Imxperial court. Her
conduct was far from irreproachable, and in October,
181 1, she gave birth to a son who afterwards became
the celebrated statesman of the Second Empire, the
Due de Morny. His father was Comte de Flahaut,
a well-known French general and statesman, who is
perhaps better remembered for his exploits in
gallantry, and the elegant manners in which he
had been carefully trained by his mother, than for
his public services, which however were not incon-
siderable.
It was generally believed at Paris that Flahaut was
the fruit of his mother's liaison with Talleyrand, who
certainly took a fatherly interest in his career. Fla-
haut served with distinction during several cam-
paigns of the Empire and finally became general of
division and aide de camp to the Emperor. After the
abdication of Napoleon in 18 14 he submxitted to the
new Government, and continued to reside at Paris,
where he was devoted In his attentions to Hortense.
1:193
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
He rejoined the army during the Hundred Days and
fought at Waterloo. After the return of the Bourbons,
he probably would have been shot, like Marshal Ney,
except for the powerful influence of Talleyrand. He
retired to England, where he married the daughter
of Admiral Lord Keith. His eldest daughter, Emily,
married the Marquess of Landsdowne, and was the
mother of the present Lord Landsdowne. He returned
to France in 1827, and in 1830 was made a peer of
France by Louis Philippe. In 1841 he was ambassador
to Vienna, where he remained until the Revolution of
1848. Under the Second Empire he was ambassador
at the court of St. James's from i860 to 1862. He
died I September 1870, the eve of the surrender at
Sedan. His life of eighty-five years therefore covered
the entire period of time from the French Revolu-
tion to the Third Republic, which was proclaimed
three days after his death. He survived his celebrated
son, Morny, by five years.
After the first abdication of Napoleon and his de-
parture for the island of Elba, Hortense lived at
Malmaison with her two children, under the protec-
tion of the Czar Alexander. She had received permis-
sion to remain at Paris on condition that she should
be calm and prudent. At the request of Alexander, the
King conferred upon her the title of Duchesse de
Saint-Leu, and also continued the handsome allow-
ance from the State of 400,000 francs which she had
received under the Empire.
Then came the sudden return of the Emperor from
Elba, the flight of the Bourbons, and the eventful
Hundred Days.
NAPOLEON
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
On his arrival in Paris the night of Monday 20
March 181 5, Napoleon went directly to the Tuileries,
where he was received by Hortense and the greater
part of the grand dignitaries of the Empire. At two
o'clock that afternoon the white flag of the Bourbons
had been pulled down and the tricolor raised on the
Pavilion de I'Horloge at the centre of the Chateau.
The Emperor's greeting to Hortense at first was
rather cold, because of the reports which had reached
him of her friendship with the Czar and her ac-
ceptance of a title from the King. But almost im-
mediately the memory of Josephine disarmed his
resentment towards her daughter, and opening his
arms he tenderly embraced Hortense, saying:
" Vous avez done vu mourir cette pauvre Josephine ?
Au milieu de nos desastres, sa mort m*a navre le
coeur.'*
He also spoke of his little son the King of Rome,
four years old that very day, whom he was never to
see again.
After remaining at the Tuileries for four weeks, on
the 17 April he moved to the Elysee for the sake of
greater tranquillity and less interruption to his tre-
mendous labors. Here he dined alone every evening
with Hortense. With her two sons she took part in
the ceremony of the Champ-de-Mal, when the eagles
were presented to the army before its departure for
Belgium.
Before leaving Paris for the front, Napoleon wished
to go to Malmaison, and asked Hortense to accom-
pany him. After visiting the Chateau and the death-
chamber of Josephine, where he displayed the most
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
profound emotion, he walked for an hour with Hor-
tense in the gardens, talking of Josephine.
The evening of the ii June, Hortense, at the re-
quest of the Emperor, took her two sons to his cabinet
to bid farewell to their uncle who was to leave Paris
at an early hour the next morning. Napoleon was
more affectionate than usual in his caresses of the
young Louis, who burst into tears and begged the
Emperor not lo leave for the war. After Hortense
had taken him away. Napoleon turned to Marshal
Soult, who was present, and made the prophetic re-
mark:
"II sera un bon cceur et une belle ame; c'est peut-
etre I'espoir de ma race.'*
Only ten days later, overcome with fatigue and
grief, abandoned by fortune, this time forever, the
Emperor returned to the Elysee from the fatal field
of Waterloo. On Sunday 25 June he left Paris for the
last time, and went to Malmaison, where he found
Hortense and a few faithful friends awaiting him.
Here he remained for several days in a state of doubt
and hesitation very foreign to his usual character. In
the meantime the Allies were fast drawing nearer to
Paris, and it was necessary to reach a decision. Thurs-
day afternoon at five o'clock, dressed in civilian cos-
tume for the first time in many years, after bidding
a last adieu to his mother and Hortense, he entered
his carriage and started for Rochefort. It was the
first stage of the journey to Saint Helena!
Then, only a few days later, when the victorious
Allies once more entered Paris, Hortense was forced
to receive at her Chateau of Saint-Leu King Frede-
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
rick William of Prussia and his two sons, the younger
of whom, then a boy of eighteen, was afterwards the
first German Emperor. So the two Emperors, WilUam
and Napoleon, who fifty-five years later were to meet
for the last time on the tragic field of Sedan, here
met for the first time as boys.
The Bourbons are once more seated on the throne
of France. Napoleon is on his way to Saint Helena.
Josephine has been dead a year. For the moment, the
Bonaparte family is scattered far and wide. The Em-
peror's mother, Madame Mere, is living at Rome.
Jerome and his wife have been banished to Trieste,
where are also Caroline, the widow of Murat, and her
sister Elise. Joseph has found a refuge in the United
States, and is widely separated from his wife and
daughters who are in Brussels.
' Hortense has lost forever her title of queen and her
allowance from the State. For the rest of her life she
is to be known as the Duchesse de Saint-Leu. Already,
during the first Restoration, the calm and uneventful
life which Hortense led with her two children at
Saint-Leu and Malmaison had excited the suspicions
of the royal spies. She was accused of plotting for the
return of the Emperor, which was very far from being
true. It was represented to the fat old Bourbon King
that it was very dangerous for him to allow the fas-
cinating Hortense to live only a few leagues from his
capital, and to visit Paris as often as she wished, and
above all to permit the two young Napoleons to grow
up so near his throne. These apprehensions at the
moment seemed ridiculous, but time was to show that
they were not so unreasonable.
n 23 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
After the Hundred Days, the attacks on Hortense
redoubled in violence, and she finally decided to go
and take up her abode in Josephine's chateau at
Pregny near Geneva.
Aside from her two chateaux of Malmaison and
Pregny, and her fine collection of jewels, Josephine,
who was one of the most extravagant of women, left
little of value at the time of her death. During the
period of less than ten years from her coronation 2
December 1804 to her death 29 May 18 14, she spent
the enormous sum of thirty million francs — all for
her pleasure, her amusement, and the embellishment
of her body. No less than seven times in these ten
years Napoleon was called on to pay her debts, which
again at the time of her death amounted to three
millions more. In the settlement of her estate, Eu-
gene took Malmaison and assumed the payment of
her debts, while Hortense received Pregny and her
jewels. When the succession was finally liquidated
the share of each of her children amounted to about
two million francs.
In June 1829, five years after the death of Prince
Eugene, It was found necessary. In the final settlement
of his estate, to dispose of Malmaison. At that time
the chateau was purchased by a Swedish banker,
and at his death in 1842 was resold to Queen Marie
Christine of Spain. In 186 1 It was bought by Napoleon
the Third and made a museum for objects formerly
belonging to Napoleon and Josephine. During the
Franco-Prussian war it was pillaged by the Germans,
and set on fire by the shells from the Paris forts dur-
ing the last sortie from the city. In 1877 it was sold
1:243
JOSEPHINE
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
by the Empress Eugenie, and after passing through
several hands was finally bought by a Jewish million-
aire, named Osiris, who had the generous thought of
restoring it as nearly as possible to its former state
and presenting it to the government as a museum of
Napoleonic relics.
In the crypt of the handsome church built by
Napoleon the Third, in the village of Saint-Leu, is
the burial-place of many members of the Bonaparte
family. In the vault there lie Charles Bonaparte of
Corsica, the father of the race, his son King Louis,
and his sons Napoleon Charles and Napoleon Louis.
Josephine and Hortense are buried in the beautiful
church, rebuilt during the Second Empire, at Rueil,
near Malmaison.
It was hard for Hortense to make up her mind to
bid adieu forever to Saint-Leu and to the woods and
gardens of Malmaison where so many happy days
had been passed. While she was still hesitating over
the date of her departure, the 19 July 18 15 she re-
ceived a peremptory order to leave Paris within
twenty-four hours. The following day Hortense left
Paris for her long exile in Switzerland. The provinces
were in a state of great disorder, and she owed her
safety during the journey to the Austrian Prince
Schwarzenberg, who appointed his own adjutant,
Comte de Woyna, to escort the exiles to the
frontier, a mission which he fulfilled with courage
and delicacy. The journey to the frontier was full of
perils, but after experiencing many anxieties and
dangers, the fugitives finally reached Geneva in
1252
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
safety, and went to the Hotel de Secheron, where they
hoped to find a little rest and peace. But Hortense
was not yet at the end of her troubles, for she was at
once ordered to leave the city. For the moment she
retired to Aix in Savoie, where she hoped to be al-
lowed to remain. To add to her distress of mind, while
at Aix she was forced to part with the elder of her two
remaining children. Some months before. King Louis,
who was living in retirement at Rome, had begun an
action in the French courts to recover possession of
his two sons, claiming that he wished to supervise
their education. Hortense defended the action, but
in March 1815 the case was decided against her so far
as the elder of the two boys was concerned, and by
decree of the court she was ordered to send Napoleon
Louis to his father. The return of Napoleon from Elba
and the Hundred Days made it possible for her to
put off the date of parting with her son, but she was
finally forced to yield.
Hortense at last on the 21 October received the
decision of the Swiss Government granting her per-
mission to make her home upon the banks of Lake
Constance. The last of November, in wintry weather,
she set out upon her journey, and though difl^iculties
were raised at every stage of her progress, she at
length reached Constance. Here she was compelled
on her arrival to put up at a wretched inn, where it
was impossible to find room for her household. She
had but one sitting-room; she was without her piano
or books; and her only distraction, when she could
go out, was a walk through the snow-covered streets
of the town. It is difficult to imagine a duller winter
1:263
CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS
place than Constance. The only points of interest are
the famous Council Hall, the house of John Huss,
and the place in which he was burned at the stake;
but there is a magnificent view of the snow-capped
mountains beyond the lake. Even now, at the height
of the season, there is scarcely an English or French
book to be had, and certainly not a newspaper. But
in 1815, in the dead of winter, a more dreary spot
could not be imagined, and especially for a person of
the temperament of Queen Hortense.
Hortense immediately began the search for a house,
and succeeded in finding a comfortable dwelling just
at the point where the lake flows into the river Rhine.
The house commanded a view of the expanse of the
lake on one side and of the river on the other. The
place was out of repair, and it was the end of the year
1 81 5 before Hortense was finally established with her
household. Here she remained until February 18 17,
when she concluded the purchase of the old Chateau
of Arenenberg, which was to be her permanent home
In Switzerland during the remaining twenty years of
her life.
1:27:
CHAPTER THREE
1815-1831
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
Exile at Constance — The Chateau of Arenenberg — Character
of Hortense — Education of a Prince — At Augsburg and
Thun — Death of Eugene — The July Revolution — The
Italian Insurrection — Death of Napoleon Louis — Flight
from Ancona to Paris — Louis Philippe — First Visit to
England — Return to Arenenberg
HAVING purchased the lo February 1817
for the sum of 44,000 francs the Chateau
of Arenenberg, Hortense took possession
during the summer of that year and occupied herself
with making it as attractive as possible. She had as
neighbors her brother Eugene, who had built a house
on the lake, and her cousin Stephanie, the Grand
Duchess of Baden, who had a summer place at Man-
nenbach.
The Chateau, located about six miles west of Con-
stance, stands on a magnificently wooded hill, over a
thousand feet above the level of the sea. It overlooks,
not the Lake of Constance itself, but what is known
as the Unter See, an expansion of the Rhine where
the river leaves the lake, and it is charmingly situated
opposite the isle of Reichenau.
Arenenberg, in spite of its name, possessed very
little of the character of a chateau either in its exterior
architecture or in its interior arrangements. The en-
trance was very simple, and the park around the
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
house did not give the idea of an extensive domain.
The site however was very picturesque, with its
magnificent view over the Lake of Constance, and
the valley, with the dark Hne of the Black Forest in
the background. In the gardens the attention of the
visitor was drawn to the great number of rare shrubs
and plants. The rooms of the mansion, although
small in size, were adorned with a magnificent col-
lection of objets d'art.
Jerrold, in his "Life of Napoleon III," states that,
at the time Hortense purchased Arenenberg, it was
a little old-fashioned chateau, commanding superb
views of the lake and river and landscape, sheltered
around by fine timber and approached on all sides
through vineyards. The entrance was reached by an
old drawbridge. It was just the spot to appeal to the
romantic imagination of a woman like Hortense. It
was a fine old feudal seat, which she transformed into
a palace. To-day not much more than the shell of the
original house remains. A broad terrace was thrown
out, from which there is a magnificent view. Winding
paths, shady groves, arbors and shrubbery were con-
trived. At the time Hortense bought it, the Chateau
was surrounded by walls — it was a fortified place.
During her life-time the house was filled with relics
from Malmaison. It was a museum of Napoleonic
souvenirs and family portraits. Unfortunately some
of the finest pieces were removed to Paris during the
Second Empire and perished in the destruction of the
Tuileries and Saint-Cloud.
Arenenberg was later given by the Emperor Napo-
leon to Eugenie, who made frequent visits there dur-
1:293
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
ing the palmy days of the Second Empire, and later,
with the young Prince Imperial, when she was living
in exile in England. In the first moments of his mis-
fortune, in 1870, the thoughts of the Emperor turned
to his former home in Switzerland, and he sent to the
Chateau the little iron bedstead which he had used
during the fatal campaign of Sedan, and it was placed
in his mother's room beside the bed on which she
died. The carriage in which he was borne away to
captivity, and the Imperial fourgon, were also sent
to Arenenberg.
For the present, the wanderings of Hortense and
Louis were at an end. But, notwithstanding the quiet
life which they led, for many years they were not
free from the watchful eyes of the French secret
police. All they could learn, however, was that Hor-
tense received quite frequent visits from the outside
world, that she was always ready to help her neigh-
bors who were in need, and that she was much be-
loved by all the people of the canton. What the police
had no means of learning was that Hortense kept
alive In her soul the fire of faith in the future of the
Bonaparte cause, and that she only awaited the
moment when her son should be old enough to learn
from her the principles and the duties of a militant
imperialism. To the education supervised by his
mother, the future Emperor owed the ideals and
aspirations which through many years of failure
were to be the guiding star of his life. Like his uncle
the Great Emperor, Louis Napoleon had much of the
fatalist in his character.
Though little suspected at the time, the connect-
1:303
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
ing link between the First and Second Empires was
Hortense, the daughter of Josephine and the mother
of Louis Napoleon. In spite of her frail appearance,
her quiet life in a secluded district of Switzerland, her
air of detachment from all that was going on in the
great world outside, Hortense possessed an energy
and vitality of spirit which no one realized. Of a lan-
guid temperament, in the ordinary affairs of every-
day life she usually complied with the wishes of others.
But it was very different when any question of real
importance was to be decided. Then she showed the
greatest decision of character, a reserve of moral
force which surprised everybody.
As we have already seen, Hortense was not a model
wife, and was not above reproach in this respect,
notwithstanding the excuse she had for her conduct.
But she was a perfect mother, and to the education
of her son she gave all that was best in her. To her
maternal duties she devoted all the thought and at-
tention which King Louis accused her of not showing
as a wife. She was never demonstrative in her ten-
derness towards her sons and brought them up in the
simplest and most natural manner. In the family they
were always addressed by their names of Napoleon
and Louis and never as "Prince." At Saint-Leu in
1 8 14 the boys were much surprised when the royal
visitors at the Chateau in speaking to them used the
term "Monseigneur." Hortense was always the soul
of generosity. During the last day of the visit of Napo-
leon at Malmaison, in 1815, when his mother and
other members of the family were importuning the
Emperor for money, Hortense brought to him and
1:313
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
insisted upon his accepting her handsomest diamond
necklace. Her heart was nearly broken when she lost
her eldest child at The Hague, and according to
Madame de Remusat she never forgot or forgave
the conduct of her husband prior to the birth of Louis
Napoleon in believing her capable of an intrigue
galante at a time when plunged in grief she only
wished for death. It was then that she conceived such
a feeling of hatred and contempt for the jealous and
suspicious nature of Louis that she resolved never to
live with him again. It was also a terrible blow to her
later when she was forced by the decree of the French
courts to yield to her husband the possession of her
second son Napoleon Louis, who as a boy possessed
a charming spirit and a very precocious mind. After
that all her hopes and aspirations were centered in
Louis. We shall see how the future Napoleon the
Third reflected in his character and in his acts the
sweet and romantic, but at the same time strong and
positive nature of his mother.
As a child Louis Napoleon was quiet and good, but
gave no indications of possessing extraordinary talent
or more than average intelligence. His mother made
no attempt to hurry his education, but she lost no
opportunity of studying his character; and, in talk-
ing and playing with him at this early age, she en-
deavored to develop his mind slowly, so that when
the time came for him to have a regular teacher he
could make rapid progress. His first master was the
good Abbe Bernard, who did but little to awaken his
interest in his studies. After several years, during
which he made little progress, it was thought best
1:323
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LOUIS, KING OF HOLLAND
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
to confide the direction of his education to more
capable hands.
His next professor was Philippe Le Bas, a man of
very different character. Son of an old member of
the National Convention, a follower of Robespierre,
brought up in the hard school of toil and poverty, he
was a man of severe taste and scrupulous integrity.
It was only after much hesitation that he decided to
leave his family in Paris and accept the new position
to which he had been highly recommended by friends
of Hortense. At the very outset he recognized the
fact that in Louis he had to do with an unusual char-
acter, at once sweet and strong, timid and restrained.
Also that so far the boy had learned practically noth-
ing of the subjects which he had studied, and that his
education must be recommenced from the first rudi-
ments. Hortense had placed him in full charge of his
pupil, and he began by trying to create around him a
new atmosphere. There was to be no more interfer-
ence by the household ; all of his meals were to be sim-
ple and frugal and taken in company with his tutor.
As Louis was of a very nervous temperament, all
violent exercises were forbidden him, horse-back
riding, skating, even dancing. He found that his
pupil had a natural aptitude for learning, but very
little precise knowledge. For his age, he was very
backward. He was completely lacking in concentra-
tion and had a great distaste for serious study. Le Bas
began by endeavoring to arouse his intelligence, to
excite his amour-propre. Louis was naturally so sweet
and amiable that he quickly responded to the interest
which his tutor took in him, and formed a real affec-
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
tion for Le Bas. Under the good Abbe there had been
no regular hours either for meals or for study. A
radical reform was at once inaugurated by Le Bas.
Each hour had its appointed task. Many of our school
boys of to-day would consider very severe the regime
of study and exercise to which Prince Louis submitted
without a murmur. His advancement was slow but
sure. The daily walks which he took for his health
were enlivened by lessons in natural history and
astronomy. So much trouble and effort had its re-
ward, and both the master and Hortense were well
pleased with the rapid progress of the pupil. All his
after-life Louis Napoeon was to show in his acts and
his policies the strange mixture of despotism and
liberalism which he received by inheritance and by
education. It was a singular chance by which the
nephew and heir of the modern Caesar, who was also
to win his way to absolute power by a coup d'etat,
should have had his young intelligence guided by the
son of the ancien conventionnel, an ardent believer
in the rights of the people.
Although Louis had made very satisfactory prog-
ress in his studies, in the spring of 1821 Le Bas ad-
vised Hortense to put her son in a public school at
Augsburg in Bavaria, where he felt that competi-
tion with other boys of his own age would both
stimulate and encourage him. After Easter he entered
the school, where at first he was at a great disad-
vantage on account of his ignorance of the German
language. Le Bas was much pleased at the stand
taken by his pupil, writing his father that in a class
of ninety-four the young Prince had taken the fifty-
1:343
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
fourth place. A little later he advanced to the rank
of twenty-fourth in his class. In the gymnasium at
Augsburg his love of study and his mental qualities
were gradually revealed. He was stronger in literary
subjects than in mathematics, and he became an adept
in physical exercises, such as fencing, riding and
swimming. His mother, in her joy and pride over the
reports of his progress, was arranging a special fete
in his honor at the Chateau when the sad news was
received of the death of the Great Emperor.
During his school days at Brienne, Napoleon had
written out a lesson in geography which he left un-
finished, the last word being the name of the island of
Saint Helena. Who could have Imagined then what a
sinister role this little island, then almost unknown,
was to play in his career! Here he drew his last breath,
after nearly six years of captivity, 5 May 1821, at
ten minutes to six in the afternoon, just as the sun
was setting. The last words which he had articulated
before becoming unconscious the night before were:
" France — Mon fils — Armee."
Both Hortense and Eugene were profoundly af-
fected by the sad news. Louis was so touched by his
mother's grief that he wrote her a letter of consola-
tion in which he addressed her as: "La fille aimee de
I'Empereur."
Prince Eugene did not long survive Napoleon. He
died suddenly at Munich 21 February 1824, of an
attack of apoplexy, at the early age of forty-two. The
end of his life had been very tranquil. After the fall
of the Empire he had retired to the Kingdom of his
father-in-law, where he bore the title of Duke of
l3Sl
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Leuchtenberg. In his palace at Munich he had ar-
ranged a chambre des souvenirs which contained a large
collection of objects which had belonged to Napoleon
and Josephine.
The six children of Prince Eugene all made distin-
guished marriages. His eldest son, Eugene, married
Queen Maria of Portugal in January 1835, but died
only seven weeks later. The second son. Max, who
succeeded his brother as Duke of Leuchtenberg,
married the Grand Duchess Marie, eldest daughter
of the Czar Nicholas. They had a large family of
children, who were prominent in court circles in Russia
during the Imperial regime. His eldest daughter,
Josephine, in 1823, married Oscar, the Crown-Prince
of Sweden, son of Napoleon's former Marshal Berna-
dotte, and was the grandmother of the present King
Gustavus the Fifth. The second daughter, Eugenie,
became the wife of a Prince of the Hohenzollern
family. Amelie married Dom Pedro, the first Emperor
of Brazil, and was In London in 1831 at the time of
the visit of Hortense and Louis, her husband having
just abdicated in favor of his son. The youngest
daughter married the Count of Wiirtemberg.
During the lifetime of her brother. Queen Hor-
tense lived a part of the year In Bavaria to be near
him. After his death she no longer had any reason for
visiting Germany, so she spent all her time at Arenen-
berg.
As Louis was becoming more mature, Hortense now
felt that he should have another tutor than Le Bas,
who was imbued with the Ideas of the Revolution.
His successor was a democratic Imperialist named
1:363
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
Vieillard, who had previously been employed by
King Louis as instructor for their son Napoleon.
Vieillard remained his intimate friend and trusted
adviser to the end of his life.
Louis seems to have remained in the college at
Augsburg more than four years, a longer period than
stated by m.ost of his historians. Here the most me-
thodical part of his education was pursued, under the
eyes of his mother as well as his tutor. Even when his
mother finally left Bavaria in 1824 after the death
of her brother Eugene, Louis remained behind with
his tutor.
After the completion of his civil education in the
college at Augsburg, Louis went to the camp at Thun
in Switzerland. Here he took up and completed a
course In military training, with Colonel Dufour and
Colonel Fournier, both old officers of Napoleon, who
instructed him in artillery and military engineering.
During his vacations, Louis travelled with his
mother over every part of Switzerland, — he visited
his uncle Eugene, he went with his mother to Rome,
where she spent all her winters from 1824 to 1831,
except the winter of 1827 which was passed in Geneva.
In the course of these travels he became acquainted
through the fascination of his mother and her love of
society with many of the leading men of the time.
This helped to develop his mind rapidly.
The third Lord Malmesbury, who made the ac-
quaintance of Louis at Rome in 1829, and who re-
mained his close friend throughout his life, has given
In his memoirs a description of the Prince at that
time. He says: "Although short he was very active
1:373
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
and muscular. He excelled in all physical exercises.
He was a remarkable swimmer, an admirable horse-
man, and a noted gymnast. His face was grave and
dark, but redeemed by a singularly bright smile.
Such was the personal appearance of Louis Napoleon
at the age of twenty-one years."
His portrait has been sketched at greater length
by another who knew him well about this same
time:
"The Prince has an agreeable face, is of middle
height, and has a military air. At first sight, I was
struck with his resemblance to the Prince Eugene
and the Empress Josephine, but I have not remarked
the same resemblance to the Emperor. The moustache
which he wears, with a slight imperial, gives to his
face a too specially military character, not to interfere
with his resemblance to his uncle. But on observing
the essential features, one is not long in perceiving
that the Napoleonic type is reproduced with an as-
tonishing fidelity: the same high and broad and
straight forehead, the same finely proportioned nose,
the same gray eyes, although the expression is soft-
ened. There are above all the same lines and the same
inclination of the head, so marked with the Napo-
leonic character."
In 1825 Prince Napoleon, at the age of twenty-one,
married his cousin Charlotte, second daughter of
King Joseph, but continued to reside at Florence
with his father King Louis. Napoleon seems to have
had all the fine qualities and striking presence of his
uncle Eugene. He was a stalwart, bold, dashing
fellow, full of health and spirits. There were no limits
1:383
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
to the love and admiration of Louis for his elder
brother.
The French Revolution of 1830 found Napoleon
in Italy, and Louis at the military school of Thun.
Both were aroused to action by the news from Paris.
Though separated, their feelings were the same. They
both wrote their mother in the same terms:
"France at last is free. Our exile is over. The
country Is open — no matter how, we will serve it."
Hortense, however, was far from sharing their hopes.
Prince Napoleon was urged to come to France to
work to put his cousin Napoleon the Second on the
throne. But a new sovereign, Louis Philippe, had
already been chosen, and he refused to take any ac-
tion which might result In plunging the country In
civil war.
In October 1830, Queen Hortense, accompanied
by Prince Louis, set out from Arenenberg to pass the
winter as usual in Rome. She travelled by way of the
Tyrol to Venice, and thence by Bologna to Florence,
where she passed a happy fortnightwith her two sons,
the father, King Louis, being for the moment In Rome.
She found that the young Napoleon had received
communications from Paris urging him In the absence
of his cousin the Duke of Reichstadt to take the lead
of the Bonaparte family, and that he had refused from
motives which did him honor.
The middle of November, Hortense started for
Rome with Louis. Arrived in Rome, the Queen pre-
pared to spend the winter In her usual fashion. But
it was not to be. The winter was to prove to be the
most unhappy of her life.
1:393
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The death of the Pope, Pius the Eighth, the last
day of November, was the signal for an insurrection
in the States of the Church. The whole Peninsula
was in a state of great unrest. All of the secret socie-
ties were confident that the time had now arrived to
carry out their purposes. Leaders, however, were lack-
ing. There was no unity of purpose, no guiding hand.
In half a dozen places there sprang up as many sepa-
rate and distinct provisional governments. Louis, who
had shown his sympathy with the revolutionary move-
ment, was seized in Rome and escorted across the
frontier of the Papal States. He went to Florence and
joined his brother. Here they were approached by
MenottI, one of the chiefs of the Insurrectionary
movement, who appealed to the two young Princes
to join the cause and strike a blow for the freedom of
down-trodden Italy. He represented to them that
their name would be a rallylng-point for patriots
from the Alps to the Strait of Messina. With his
earnest manner and persuasive tongue, he aroused
the enthusiasm of Napoleon and Louis, who threw
themselves Into the movement heart and soul.
The 20 February 1831, Napoleon left his young wife
and his father at Florence, and with his brother Louis
went to join the Insurgents In the Romagna. Both
King Louis and Queen Hortense attempted to dis-
suade their sons from this perilous enterprise. But
Prince Louis wrote to his mother: "Nous avons pris
des engagements, nous ne pouvons y manquer."
One of the consequences of these engagements was
to be, at a later day, the Italian war of 1859.
Both of the Princes were given commissions as
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
officers. Louis soon showed the benefit of his military
training and rendered very valuable service. But the
Princes soon aroused the jealousy and enmity of the
other leaders, who claimed that their names and im-
perial antecedents were a menace to the cause of
democracy. They therefore resigned their commis-
sions and volunteered to fight as simple soldiers in
the ranks. Even this offer was refused. So they left
the insurgent forces and retired to Bologna. By this
time the Austrian troops were pouring into Italy,
and their position was one of extreme peril. The
authorities were active in their pursuit.
On the tenth of March, Hortense set out from
Florence to find her sons and save them from the
Austrians. A week later, she finally got in communi-
cation with them. Pushing on towards Ancona, she
was met by Louis who brought the news of his
brother's sudden death at Forli, on the 27 March,
after only three days' illness, on the eve of the occu-
pation of the place by the Austrian troops.
The unfortunate mother, who had just lost her elder
son, was in mortal terror of also having her only re-
maining son arrested and condemned as an insurgent.
It required all of her courage and all of her presence
of mind to save him. With Louis, who was also ill,
she went on to Ancona, where she found refuge in the
house of her nephew. Here Louis also came down
with the measles, which had been the cause of the
death of his brother, and which seem to have been of
a malignant type.
By this time the insurrection had been suppressed,
and the town was occupied by the Austrian Army.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The general in command, Geppert, chose the house
where Hortense was staying for his headquarters,
and she was in constant fear that the hiding-place of
Louis might be discovered. He was seriously ill, and
could not be moved for several days. Hortense had
given out the report that Louis had escaped by sea
to Greece, and this seems to have been believed by
the Austrians. Hortense apparently succeeded, as
usual, In fascinating Geppert, who treated her
with great courtesy, and granted her request for a
pass through the Austrian lines. As soon as Louis was
well enough to travel, they left Ancona, early on
Easter morning. Louis was disguised In the livery of
a domestic, and sat on the box of his mother's caleche.
After traversing the greater part of Northern Italy,
meeting with every kind of accident, and In con-
tinual danger of discovery and arrest, they finally
arrived In safety at Genoa. From there they were able
to travel to Cannes In France without further ad-
ventures.
From Cannes they proceeded to Paris, In spite of
the law of proscription which forbade them to enter
France. The intention of Hortense was to remain In
Paris only long enough to see the King and Inform
him of her plans and then proceed to Switzerland.
She felt that she had every reason to expect a cordial
reception from Louis Philippe on account of favors
which she had shown his mother and other members
of his family In the past.
All of the route traversed by Hortense on her way
to Paris was full of memories of the past. At Nemours,
in 1809, by order of the Emperor, she had met her
:423
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
brother Eugene, summoned from Italy, and an-
nounced to him the painful news of the coming di-
vorce of their mother the Empress Josephine. At
Fontainebleau, she recalled the splendors of the Court
of Napoleon during the glorious days of the Empire.
Here she showed her son the Palace where she had
stayed in 1807 during the brilliant fetes in celebra-
tion of the Treaty of Tilsit, when the city was crowded
with foreign princes who came to pay their homage
to the Great Emperor. Here also she pointed out to
Louis the place where he was held at the baptismal
font by Napoleon while Cardinal Fesch, his great-
uncle, performed the christening ceremony. In the
cabinet of the Emperor they saw the small table,
which Is still preserved there, upon which in 18 14 he
signed his first abdication of the Imperial crown.
After passing the fortifications of Paris, on their
arrival, Hortense told the coachman to go by the
boulevards to the Rue de la Paix and to stop at the
first hotel he came to. Chance took them to the Hotel
de Hollande, which still exists in the same street.
From her little apartment on the first floor she could
see on the left the boulevard and on the right the
column of the Place Vendome.
A few days after her arrival she was received by
Louis Philippe In a private audience at the Palais
Royal. The King greeted her very cordially and spoke
of his own days of exile, when he was obliged to teach
to gain his living. On the 5 May, anniversary of the
death of Napoleon, enormous crowds of old soldiers
filled the Place Vendome, where they placed wreaths
and crowns of flowers at the foot of the column. This
1:433
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
spontaneous celebration seems to have aroused the
fears of the French Ministry, and Hortense and Louis,
who were still living incognito at the Hotel de Hol-
lande, received a peremptory order to leave Paris
immediately. The following day they set out for Eng-
land. In London, after a temporary stay at Fenton's
Hotel, they took up their residence in Holies Street,
where they again resumed their own name, and were
soon the centre of a brilliant circle of influential
friends.
In London, Louis soon entirely recovered his health,
which had been delicate since his illness in Italy.
Much of their time was spent in sight-seeing. They
visited the Tower, the Thames Tunnel, Richmond
and Hampton Court. The Duchess of Bedford, whom
Hortense had entertained in Paris at the time of the
Peace of Amiens, was especially friendly, and paid
most marked attention to the exiles, giving a mag-
nificent fete in their honor at Woburn Abbey. In
London, Hortense was visited by her niece Amelie,
married to Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil ; and Prince
Leopold, soon to become the King of the Belgians,
called to pay his respects.
The first of August 1831, Prince Talleyrand, then
Ambassador of France at the Court of Saint James's,
sent Hortense word by his niece the Duchesse de
Dino that he had procured passports for herself and
her son which would enable them to return safely
to Switzerland by way of France. After the receipt
of their passports they spent several days at Tun-
bridge Wells en route for Dover, where they em-
barked for Calais.
1:44:!
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
At Boulogne they visited the site of the former
camp of the Emperor, at the time he was preparing
for the invasion of England in 1805. Some historians
state that they also went to see the lofty marble
Column of the Grand Army, crowned by a bronze
statue of the Emperor, but this was not erected until
some years later. They then travelled directly to
Chantilly, near Paris, where they stopped to visit the
Chateau, which during the Empire was given by
Napoleon to Hortense for her second son Napoleon
Louis. The Chateau had formerly belonged to the
Princes of Conde.
The house of Conde, for many centuries the most
distinguished in France next to the royal family, was
descended from Louis de Bourbon, fifth and last son
of Charles, Due de Vendome, younger brother of
Antoine, King of Navarre. He was therefore first
cousin of Henri Quatre.
The existing Chateau was built by the famous
Constable de Montmorency, whose grandson and
heir was beheaded at Toulouse for joining In the
conspiracy of Gaston d'Orleans, the brother of Louis
the Thirteenth, against Richelieu. His confiscated
domains were given by the King to his sister Char-
lotte, who married the Prince de Conde, and was the
mother of the Grand Conde, and of the Duchesse
de Longuevllle, whose exploits will be remembered
by all readers of the great historical romances of
Dumas.
The magnificence of Chantilly dates from the
Grand Conde, who In 1671 gave there a celebrated
fete In honor of Louis the Fourteenth. It was on this
1:4s 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
occasion that the famous cook Vatel killed himself
because the fish was late.
The last of the family was the Due de Bourbon,
father of the Due d'Enghien executed by Napoleon,
and who m.arried his cousin, Louise d'Orleans. After
the Second Restoration, he bought Saint-Leu of
Hortense, and committed suicide there a few days
before the Revolution of 1830. Chantilly was be-
queathed with most of his property to his great-
nephew, the Due d'Aumale, the balance being left
to his English mistress Sophia Dawes, known as the
Baronne de Feucheres.
The first and last King of the Orleans family, which
was descended from the Due d'Orleans, younger
brother of Louis the Fourteenth, was Louis Philippe,
who was King of the French from 1830 to 1848. The
Due d'Aumale was his most distinguished son.
The Bourbon family became extinct with the death
in 1885 of the Comte de Chambord, the grandson of
Charles the Tenth. The present head of the Orleans
family is the Due d'Orleans, son of the Comte de
Paris, who was a grandson of Louis Philippe.
The Chateau of Chantilly, which was partially
destroyed during the Revolution, was rebuilt on a
magnificent scale between 1876 and 1882 by the
Due d'Aumale. At his death In 1897 he left the Cha-
teau with its magnificent collection of paintings and
sculptures to the Institute of France, and it is now
known as the Musee Conde.
Hortense thought it best not to enter Paris, but she
spent several days in the neighborhood. She could
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND
not bring herself to visit her old home at Saint-Leu,
on account of the many mournful associations con-
nected with it. She went however to Rueil to see the
tomb of her mother.
In 1824, the year of his death, Eugene had pur-
chased with his sister Hortense one of the chapels
of the church at Rueil in order to build a tomb for
Josephine. This monument, of white marble, bears
the figure of the Empress, dressed as in the corona-
tion painting by David, kneeling at a prie-dieu, and
is inscribed: "A Josephine, Eugene et Hortense,
1825." The church itself was afterwards rebuilt by the
Emperor Napoleon the Third, who had erected on
the other side of the altar the tomb of his mother,
with the figure of the Queen kneeling and crowned
by an angel, and inscribed: "A la Reine Hortense, le
Prince Louis Bonaparte."
After having prayed before the tomb of her mother,
Hortense wished to visit Malmaison, which is only
about half a mile from Rueil, but was refused admis-
sion as she lacked the necessary permit from the new
owner. She therefore returned to Switzerland without
having seen either of her former homes.
1471
CHAPTER FOUR
1831-1836
YEARS OF WAITING
Life at Arenenberg — Death of the Duke of Relchstadt — Louis
Napoleon Head of His Party — Captain Bonaparte at
Thun — Political Activity — Visitors at the Chateau —
Interview with La Fayette
HORTENSE and Louis passed the autumn
and winter quietly at Arenenberg. The
Queen, after the trying experiences of the
summer, was glad to find herself once more in her
quiet Swiss home, with its beautiful surroundings,
where one heard only the song of the birds and saw
only the cultivators at their work. Without giving
up her hopes for the future, for the moment she was
content to be forgotten by the outside world, in a
refuge where she could have peace and quiet.
But in her solitude, Hortense never ceased to
dream of the future which lay before the bearer of the
magic name of Napoleon. Wherever she might be
■ — at Geneva, in Italy, on the shores of Lake Con-
stance, she carefully followed the political movements
of the great nation over which her step-father had
reigned. With her clear intelligence she foresaw a
great future for her son. She lost no occasion of im-
pressing upon Louis her political ideas. She told him
that the name he bore would never be forgotten in
Europe, and was a certain guarantee of a privileged
position. "You never can tell," she said, "when popu-
us 3
QUEEN HORTENSE
YEARS OF WAITING
lar imagination will raise to the skies the bearer of a
great name."
"A woman of intelligence has always been the
guiding star of men called to superior destiny," says
Loliee. From Hortense, Louis Napoleon derived the
principle, which he made the governing idea of his
politics, that popular crowds are not guided by
reason, but swayed by sentiment. From his mother
he received not only his political training, but he also
inherited the best side of his adventurous nature,
the dreamy and romantic tenderness, the quiet
obstinacy, the unalterable self-confidence, the force
of character, and even the delicate sensibility.
The Prince, for his part, continued to occupy him-
self with his political and military studies. His
thought was to keep himself before the public by his
writings if he could not by his deeds. At the same
time he did not neglect his daily exercise in swimming
and equitation in which he excelled. A contemporary
writer, Alphonse de Candolle, relates how, at Geneva,
he saw the Prince spring from his mount and, after
making the horse trot before him, jump into the
saddle like a circus rider, displaying great suppleness
as well as muscular force. "Yet he did not seem to
be built for a good horseman, being thick of body and
short of limbs," he adds. Many years later, his only
son, the young Prince Imperial, was to lose his life
in Africa because he lacked his father's skill in horse-
manship, and could not mount without the aid of the
stirrups.
From his earliest childhood, Hortense had insisted
that Louis should be trained in all kinds of sports,
C493
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
that he might acquire force, agiHty, promptness, and
the moral quahties, decision, coolness and bravery,
which go with such physical fitness.
Like Roosevelt, Louis Napoleon was very delicate
and even feeble in early life, but like the great Ameri-
can he became by force of physical training a strong,
healthy man in later years.
His mother, however, with all her love and devo-
tion, could not entirely fill his life. He felt the lack
of a companion of his own age. He thought of his
brother Napoleon, who had married very young, and
dreamed of a love-match for himself. He wrote to his
father in Florence:
" J'ai tellement besoin d'affection que si je trouvais
une femme qui me plut et qui convint a ma famille,
je ne balancerais pas a I'epouser. Donnez-moi des
conseils."
Hortense, from whom he had no secrets, was not
kept in ignorance of his matrimonial projects. Not-
withstanding her own unhappy life with her husband,
she was far from being opposed to matrimony in
principle. "It is the destiny of a woman," she said,
*'to have a home, a good husband, pretty children
to bring up. What good is a woman without that.^"
In accord with these ideas, Hortense, like every
good woman, was a fervent match-maker. But she
had not yet found the ideal mate for her beloved
Louis.
It was at this time that a great event in their lives,
for the moment, changed the course of their thoughts:
the King of Rome, Napoleon the Second, the Aus-
trian Duke of Reichstadt, died at Vienna, 22 July
CSoJ
YEARS OF WAITING
1832, after eighteen years of gilded captivity in the
capital of his grandfather. No sensitive heart can
avoid a feehng of sadness over the mournful end of
a career which had begun with such a promise of
glory and happiness.
The little Napoleon, in spite of a physical resem-
blance to his father, had much more of his Austrian
mother in his disposition and character. It is difficult
now to say, whether, given another environment and
a different education, "I'aiglon" might not have de-
veloped into "Taigle." His admirers tell us of his
martial ardor, of his favorite amusement as a child
of playing with toy soldiers, of his training his boy
comrades in the manual of arms; but his mother
Marie-Louise was probably nearer right when she
replied to the Prince de Ligne, who said he had found
a martial expression in his eyes: "II est pacifique
autant que moi." As the French very expressively
put it: "II etait doux comme un agneau."
The death of the Duke of Reichstadt brought about
grave political consequences. Louis Napoleon Bona-
parte was now the head of the family. The two lives
which stood between him and the succession had been
removed within a period of sixteen months.
During the lifetime of his brother, who was his
idol and his model, Louis had been content to play a
subordinate part. From now on he was the head
of the family, "the slave of a mission." His life no
longer belonged to himself alone, to do with it as he
pleased. His future was pledged to the interests of his
dynasty and of his country, France. He was the only
Bonaparte living who had sufficient energy and abil-
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
ity to seize the heritage of power and glory which the
Great Emperor had left to his family. Joseph, the
eldest of the family, had no wish to take up the heavy
burden of the succession. Jerome, the youngest
brother of the Emperor, thought the family chances
were so small that he called himself an Orleanist,
with the idea of being allowed to resume his residence
in France through the clemency of that family.
Louis, who was so crippled by rheumatism that he
could hardly walk, had no ambition to assume the
responsibility of trying to restore the fallen fortunes
of the family. He was the last person to imagine that
a visionary like his youngest son would ever occupy
the throne of the Great Emperor. Lucien, ruined
both in fortune and in health, then almost at the
point of death, cared so little for the family suc-
cession that he had had his children naturalized as
Roman citizens.
This general, if tacit, withdrawal of all claims in
his favor, well answered the ambitious plans of the
son of Hortense. After a visit the following year to
his uncle. King Joseph, in England, who wished to
discuss with him the new political situation brought
about by the death of his cousin, the Duke of Reich-
stadt, Louis Napoleon no longer hesitated to pose as
the inheritor of the Imperial claims. Joseph, who was
old and cautious, hardly understood the plans of his
nephew, and appears to have been somewhat bored
and tired by what seemed to him to be only chimeri-
cal ideas. His advice was to be patient and wait until
the times were more propitious. Louis on the other
hand was burning with impatience to begin the con-
YEARS OF WAITING
flict at once. It was another instance of the proverb:
*'01d men for counsel, young men for war." Louis
Napoleon would have saved himself many years of
exile and imprisonment if he had been willing to follow
the advice of old King Joseph.
As all of his uncles, the former Kings, had with-
drawn from the field, Louis Napoleon remained as
the only representative of the Napoleonic legend.
Born the third son of the Em.peror's younger brother,
Louis, King of Holland, three times the stroke of
death had now removed those who stood between
him and the Imperial succession. The year before his
birth, his eldest brother. Napoleon Charles, had been
carried off by the croup. The second brother, Napo-
leon Louis, had died of the measles, after only three
days' illness, in Italy in 1831. Finally, his cousin, the
Second Napoleon, had been laid to his eternal rest
in the Church of the Capucins at Vienna. Without
any wish or even expectation on his part, all who
stood in his way had one by one been removed
by the destroying Angel. He was now alone at the
foot of the path which led to the summits of human
grandeur.
The year following the journey of Hortense and
Louis to England, they received at Arenenberg a
visit from Chateaubriand. It was passing strange
that in her misfortunes Hortense should have re-
ceived the homage of the writer who in 18 14 had
penned against the fallen Emperor that violent libel
entitled; "Buonaparte and the Bourbons,'^ which
was of so great assistance to the royal cause. It was
Cs3 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
certainly a great tribute to the charm of Hortense that
this Bourbon partisan of other days found pleasure
in sitting at the fireside of the former Queen of Hol-
land. In his "Memoires d'outre-tombe" he has drawn
this charming picture of the life at Arenenberg:
"The 29 August 1832 I went to dine at Arenenberg,
which is situated on a kind of promontory in a chain
of steep hills. The Queen of Holland has built here
a chateau, or, if you wish, a pavilion. The view,
which is extended but sad, dominates the lower lake
of Constance, which is only an expansion of the
Rhine over the inundated fields. The other side of
the lake, you see the sombre woods, remnants of the
Black Forest, and some white birds flying under a
gray sky, driven by a freezing gale. There, after
having sat upon a throne, after having been out-
rageously calumniated. Queen Hortense has come to
perch upon a rock.
"As strangers, there were Madame Recamier,
Monsieur Vieillard, and myself. Madame la Duchesse
de Saint-Leu, which was the name then borne by
Queen Hortense, had well outlived her difficult posi-
tion as Queen and Demoiselle de Beauharnais.
"Prince Louis lives in a separate pavilion, where
I saw weapons of all kinds, topographic and strategic
maps, things which made one think by chance of the
blood of the Conqueror. Prince Louis is a studious
young man, well-informed, very honorable, and
naturally serious."
Madame Recamier has also given in her "Sou-
venirs" some Interesting details of this visit of
Chateaubriand. She says:
C54:
YEARS OF WAITING
"Queen Hortense put a gracious coquetry into the
temporary hospitality which chance led her to extend
to the faithful servant of the Bourbons, the former
Minister of Louis XVIII, the author of the immortal
pamphlet which had so powerfully contributed to the
fall of the First Empire.
"Her establishment at Arenenberg was elegant,
large without display, and her personal manners were
simple and affectionate. Too much perhaps for one
to have entire confidence, she made a great pretense
of a taste for retired life, of a love of nature and an
aversion for grandeur. It was not without some sur-
prise, after all her protestations of the renunciation
of the delusions of fortune, that the visitors saw the
care which the Duchesse de Saint-Leu and all the
members of her household took to treat her son
Prince Louis as a sovereign: he was the first in every-
thing."
Later came another visitor, of aspect very different
from that of the grave Chateaubriand. In his "Mem-
oirs," Alexandre Dumas has told the story in his usual
lively manner. It is too long to quote here in full, but
his account of one of the songs of Queen Hortense
is worth repeating. He says, in part:
"After dinner, we returned to the drawing-room.
Presently Madame de Saint-Leu was begged to in-
stall herself at the piano. She sang several songs
that she had recently composed. I ventured to ask
her for one of her old songs: *Vous me quittez pour
marcher a la gloire.' She said that the words had
gone from her memory. I rose, and leaning over my
chair, I recited the verses to her:
C553
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
'Vous me quittez pour marcher a la gloire,
Mon triste cceur suivra partout vos pas;
Allez, volez au temple de memoire;
Suivez I'honneur, mais ne m'oubliez pas.
'Que faire, helas! dans mes peines cruelles?
Je crains la paix autant que les combats:
Vous y verrez tant de beautes nouvelles,
Vous leur plairez! — mals ne m'oubliez pas.
*Oui, vous plairez et vous vaincrez sans cesse;
Mars et I'Amour suivront partout vos pas:
De vos succes gardez la douce ivresse,
Soyez heureux, mais ne m'oubliez pas/
"The Queen raised her hand to her eyes to dash
away a few tears. Then she told me the story of the
song: In 1808 the rumors of divorce began to spread,
and when the Emperor was about to start for Wa-
gram, Josephine begged Monsieur de Segur to write
her some verses on his departure. He brought her
these words, and Hortense set them to music and
sang them to the Emperor the day before he left.
The Emperor Hstened to the end, then kissing Jose-
phine on her forehead, with a sigh, he turned away
into his study. The Empress burst into tears, for
from that moment she felt that her fate was decreed."
Prince Louis had never finished his course of mili-
tary training which he had begun in 1830, and which
had been interrupted by the journey with his mother
to Italy in October and the later events which have
already been related. At Arenenberg in May 1832 he
received formal notice that he had been awarded the
title of honorary citizen of the Helvetian Republic.
t.562
YEARS OF WAITING
The future Emperor expressed in the warmest terms
the satisfaction which he felt at being able to call
himself the citizen of a free country.
To complete his term of instruction, he arranged
to enter directly the Swiss army with the grade of
honorary officer. In 1834 he began his new military
apprenticeship under the name of Captain Bona-
parte, thus following in the footsteps of the greatest
member of the family. To add to the resemblance,
he had chosen as his arm of the service the artillery, in
which the Emperor had served in his youth. He was
assiduous in his attention to his military duties, strict
as an officer, but kind to his subordinates, always ready
to share with the privates the soup and the straw of
the bivouac. He was well liked by all on account of the
simplicity of his manners and his frank cordiality.
As the result of his studies and his experience he
published a *' Manual of Artillery," dedicated to the
officers of the camp at Thun, the circulation of which
was not confined to the borders of Switzerland. The
work received the approbation of officers in the best
armies of Europe. The success of this manual greatly
increased his self-confidence, and he began to lose his
former timidity. To the members of his party who
came to Arenenberg to pay their respects to Queen
Hortense he stated, with an assurance that astonished
them, the certainty that he would one day be Em-
peror of the French.
His activity at this time was very great. He was
full of ardor and enthusiasm. No means were neg-
lected to keep himself before the eyes of the world.
The events in France, the recent emeutes at Paris,
LS7l
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the imprudence of the Government, and the attacks
of its opponents, vividly excited his disposition to
become a conspirator.
At this time he paid a visit to his cousin the Grand
Duchess Stephanie in Baden, where he was very near
the French frontier. Here he met many of his par-
tisans. Hortense, in her correspondence with him,
urged him to go slow, and await an opportune mo-
ment, but not, like his uncles, to go to the other ex-
treme of silence and inaction.
In the very adroit letters which he wrote at this
time to personal friends in France, he announced his
theories of government, which permitted almost any
interpretation which the reader wished to find in
them. In one letter he writes: "Authority which is
not based upon popular election is naturally turned
to arrest the progress of civilization," and he adds:
"Napoleon faisait tout pour le peuple, et le peuple,
a son tour, a tout fait pour Napoleon."
He had recently had an interview with La Fayette,
a man ever prompt to follow each turn of the wheel
of fortune, whose fame has always been much higher
in the United States than in his native land. This
notorious turn-coat, who, after Waterloo, had pre-
sented to the Chambers the motion for the dethrone-
ment of Napoleon, promised his support to the new
Imperial candidate. He said: "The Government can-
not continue: your name is the only one which is
popular." And, doubly unfaithful to the house which
he had helped to elevate, he added: "Osez done et je
vous aiderai de tous mes moyens, quand le moment
sera venu." Louis replied confidently: "II viendra!"
CHAPTER FIVE
1836-1837
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Revival of the Napoleonic Legend — The July Monarchy —
Persigny at Arenenberg — Preparations at Baden —
Eleonore Brault — Precedent of the Return from Elba —
The Meeting at Strasbourg — The Thirtieth October — End
of the Great Adventure — Hortense Rushes to Paris —
Clemency of the King — Banishment to America — Days
in New York — Return to Arenenberg — Death of Hortense
IN 1814, at the time of the return of the Bourbons,
France was so weary of war, after a quarter of a
century of almost continual conflict, that in
many quarters the coming of the Allies was actually
welcomed. Twenty years later the general sentiment
had entirely changed. The horrors of war were for-
gotten, and only the memory of the glorious days of
the Empire remained. A surprising warlike fervor
took possession of the imagination of the people. In
ardent lyrics the poets sang of the victories of the
Revolution and the Empire. A legendary ideal grew
up in which the memory of Napoleon shone, free from
the shadows of misery and disaster which had dark-
ened the last years of his reign. With a political
blindness now hard to understand, the Orleans Gov-
ernment threw itself into the popular current, and
thought to strengthen its position by favoring the
new movement. With the desire to glorify the tri-
ns93
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
color, which since the Revolution of 1830 had once
more become the national ensign of France, the
Government of Louis Philippe did everything in its
power to encourage the cult of the Napoleonic legend.
The embers of Imperialism, fanned by their thought-
less breath, once more began to glow. Steps were
taken to obtain the permission of the English Gov-
ernment to bring back the remains of Napoleon from
Saint Helena, and a place was prepared for their
reception under the dome of the Invalides. In brief,
everything possible was done to encourage a renewal
of the Bonaparte plots. The House of Orleans played
a dangerous game in exalting the imagination of the
people, in displaying again the glorious flags of Aus-
terlitz and Jena. They simply put arms into the hands
of the representative of the race who only awaited
a favorable moment to again enter upon the scene.
Louis Napoleon was not slow to take advantage of
the opportunity. **It is not only the ashes," he wrote,
"it is also the ideas of the Emperor which should be
brought back to France."
The July Monarchy had furnished the torch to set
fire to its own house!
For some time past, Louis Napoleon had entered
into very close relations with a man whose uncon-
trolled zeal was at a later date to embarrass him seri-
ously. This was Fialin, known later under the Second
Empire by the title of Due de Persigny. Without
estate or fortune, although he talked much of a large
inheritance; of very doubtful birth, although he
claimed to belong to one of the most illustrious
n6o3
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
families of Brittany, he had been dismissed some
time before from the army, where he had held a
subordinate rank, for a notorious act of insubordina-
tion. For six years he had been looking for a favorable
opening for the employment of his not inconsiderable
talents for intrigue. He had been a royalist, he was
equally ready to turn republican, but for the moment
he was devoted to the Napoleonic cause. He was still
known as Fialin, but he had recently dropped his
family name to take the title of Vicomte de Persigny,
which, he declared, belonged to his family, although
he had previously neglected to bear it. Later, when
he had been created a count and duke of the Empire
by the favor of Napoleon the Third, he claimed close
relationship to the family of Montmorency and other
great houses distinguished in the history of France,
even the princely and royal family of Orleans. At
this earlier date, however, notwithstanding his pre-
tended relationship with the Orleans Princes, he was
devoted to the Bonaparte cause.
Fialin had already paid several visits to Arenen-
berg, which had now become a regular hotbed of
conspiracy. Hortense was the stimulating spirit of
the movement, although she still maintained her pose
of complete indifference. In an unpublished frag-
ment of her "Memoirs" she wrote at this time : *' It is
singular that I have never wished for anything but
quiet and repose, and that destiny has always placed
me en evidence. My ambition had been to live there,
ignored, forgotten, for the rest of my days."
Early in the year 1836, Fialin joined the Prince
and his party, then in process of formation, at Badea
n6i3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The place of reunion was the house of a very beau-
tiful singer, Eleonore Brault, widow of an Enghsh-
man, Sir Gordon Archer. She was a woman of very
adventurous spirit, who was said to have hunted the
tiger when in India with her husband, before she
charmed the capitals of Europe with her beautiful
voice. Now she had thrown herself heart and soul
into the Bonaparte cause. Formerly the amie intime
of Persigny, and now of Louis Napoleon himself, love
and politics were for the moment the double passion
of her life. Besides her residence at Baden she also
had a domicile at Strasbourg, which was very con-
venient for the plans of the conspirators.
The first person to be approached at Strasbourg
was an aide de camp of General Voirol, commander
of the 5th Military Division, whose adhesion would
be of great importance to the cause. This was not
successful, and Louis hazarded a second attempt
which was made direct to the General himself, an old
soldier of Austerlitz. The letter of the Prince was
very adroitly worded, and was intended to touch
the heart of the former companion-in-arms of the
Emperor. He was asked to send only a word of reply
by the bearer of the message. The "word" was brief
and to the point: "All that I can do for the Prince,'*
he replied, "is to give him a quarter of an hour to
recross the Rhine."
Attempts in other quarters were equally barren
of results. But Louis Napoleon had inherited from his
mother a very persevering will. A final appeal was
made to Colonel Vaudrey, commanding one of the
regiments of the Strasbourg garrison. Vaudrey was
1:62]
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
an old soldier of the Empire, and had fought at
Waterloo. A friend of the lovely Eleonore, the Colonel
was not so difficult to win to the cause, and he gave
his assurance that he would not be found wanting
when the moment for action arrived.
Strong in his convictions, decided to raise again
the Imperial eagles, or to fall a victim to his political
faith, Louis Napoleon was now determined to make
his attempt at Strasbourg.
"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch
To gain or lose it all."
The attempt of Louis Napoleon at Strasbourg has
been called crazy and foolhardy, and treated with
ridicule. Foolhardy it was, perhaps, but neither crazy
nor ridiculous. He had in his mind the memory of
the celebrated return of Napoleon from the Island of
Elba. He recalled the circumstances of his departure,
and the traverse of the sea ; the arrival at Cannes on
the coast of France; the audacious and rapid march
into the interior, at the head of a handful of soldiers;
the celebrated scene at the defile of Laffray near
Grenoble, where, clad in the familiar gray overcoat.
Napoleon advanced alone to meet the troops sent out
to capture or kill him, and baring his breast, said:
**S'il est parmi vous un soldat qui veuille tuer son
Empereur, me voila!'* ("If there is among you a
soldier who wishes to kill his Emperor, here I am!")
History has no record of an enterprise more fool-
hardy, more brilliantly executed, and crowned with
a more astounding success.
1:633
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Landing on the second of March, the night of the
twentieth he entered the Tuileries, borne in the
arms of his soldiers, by the light of their torches.
The night before, the Bourbon King, "who no longer
had any defence except the tears of his servants, "
had departed for Belgium.
An amusing instance of the shifting winds of public
opinion is to be found in the reports from day to day
in the "Moniteur," the royal official organ of the
Bourbons, of the progress of the Emperor :
5 March — The Corsican ogre has escaped from
Elba and landed at Cannes.
7 March — The traitor and rebel has arrived at
Grenoble.
1 1 March — Bonaparte has arrived at Lyon.
17 March — General Bonaparte is approaching
Macon.
19 March — Napoleon has left Autun.
21 March — His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor,
arrived last evening at his Chateau of the Tuileries.
In the same way, Louis Napoleon, the nephew and
heir of the Great Emperor, dreamed of being received
with enthusiasm by the garrison of Strasbourg,
greeted by the commanding officers as a restorer of the
glories of the Army, and at once by the success of his
plans the master of one of the strongest fortresses
of the country. From there the news of his achieve-
ment would cross the Vosges and fly to the capital.
Then would follow his victorious march to Paris, the
flight of the Bourgeois King, and the restoration of the
Empire.
1:64]
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
The 25 October of the year 1836, the seventh of
the reign of Louis Philippe, he left Baden in his car-
riage, and, following a roundabout route, arrived at
Lahr, where he spent the night of the twenty-seventh.
Then, returning on his traces, and traversing Fri-
bourg and Colmar, the following night he reached
Strasbourg, to sleep at No. 7 Rue de La Fontaine,
the home of the lovely Eleonore Brault.
The conspirators had agreed upon their meeting-
place under the walls of the ancient capital of Alsace.
Their plans were all arranged. The attempt was to
be made at daybreak the 30 October.
In the bottom of their trunks they had concealed
new uniforms bearing the insignia of officers of high
rank in the army — captains and even generals.
Louis was also provided with the plaque of the grand
cordon de la Legion d'honneur, which the Emperor
had given him in his cradle.
The night of the 29 October there was a general
meeting of the conspirators at a house in the Rue
des Orphelins, where all were present. The decisive
moment drew near. At the break of day the trumpet
sounded in the Quartier d'Austerlitz, name of good
omen! Already there was a great tumult in the streets.
Soldiers passed, horsemen galloped, windows opened
and closed. Louis Napoleon is notified that the
Colonel is ready to receive him at the barracks. The
Prince goes at once, accompanied by four officers in
their new uniforms. The regiment is drawn up in
battle array outside the gates. In front of the ranks,
sword in hand, Colonel Vaudrey begins an address,
which the half-awakened soldiers hardly understand.
16$ 2
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
He states that there has been a revolution, that the
Empire and the Emperor have returned. Their duty
is clearly traced out before them. Let all cry: "Vive
Napoleon!" The soldiers look on in astonishment,
and ask each other what it all means.
Then Louis Napoleon steps forward and addresses
them. He says that he is determined to conquer or to
die for the cause of the French people ; that he wished
to present himself first of all to the 4th Artillery, be-
cause it was the regiment in which his uncle had
served as Captain, and which had opened to the Em-
peror the gates of Grenoble on his return from Elba.
A few voices cried: "Vive TEmpereur," but there
was no general enthusiasm.
From this moment events followed each other so
rapidly that it is difficult to get a clear idea of what
happened. The party proceeded to the next barracks,
where, after a moment of hesitation, the commanding
officers got the situation in hand. Colonel Vaudrey
was arrested, and at once abandoned by his own men.
The Prince was also conducted to the guard-house,
where several of his comrades had preceded him.
From here they were taken to the New Prison, where
Louis was separated from the others. His imagina-
tion had conceived a very different ending for "La
Grande Aventure, " as it was called in the romance of
Georges de la Bruyere, founded upon this historical
episode.
In all human probability, the attempt at Strasbourg
never could have succeeded except by a miracle, and
then only for the time being. Napoleon had said "Du
sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas." Louis had
n663
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
attempted to attain the "sublime" — in his failure,
all the world then thought that he had fallen to the
depths of the "ridicule," from which he would never
emerge.
While he regretted that his plans had failed, he
was not discouraged. At least he had shown that the
Bonaparte family was not dead, and that the ideas
for which they stood still lived. While his family threw
all the blame on him, and his uncles Joseph and
Jerome treated him as a visionary adventurer, he
simply said: "Nous avons perdu la partie: c'est a
recommencer."
His mother's anxiety on receipt of the news from
Strasbourg was intense. Disregarding the law of
proscription which forbade her family to enter France,
as soon as the reports reached Arenenberg Hortense
set out for Paris. Appealing once more to the memory
of past favors which she had shown the family, she
was able to obtain from Louis Philippe, if not an
entire pardon, at least a very light punishment for
her son. The conspirators had deserved a sentence of
death, and had expected nothing less. The King ac-
cepted the representations of Hortense that this act
of insurrection, this beginning of a civil war, was only
a youthful indiscretion.
If Louis Napoleon met with disaster at Strasbourg,
says Jerrold, It was not because his enterprise
was a rash one. He had been carefully watching
public opinion in France for six years; he had been
in constant communication with many of the leading
men of the country. On all sides it was agreed that
1:673
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the existing government was weak; the popular
discontent was profound and general. It is true that
the reign of Louis Phihppe lasted twelve years after
the first attempt of Louis Napoleon, but these years
were full of trouble. Success alone justifies such an
enterprise, and it was generally condemned simply
because it failed. It was the general impression at
the time that had the garrison at Strasbourg been
won over by the Prince, all the troops in the towns
on the way to Paris would have joined him, and that
his march would have been as triumphal as that of
his uncle from Cannes.
The Prince remained a prisoner at Strasbourg
until the ninth of November; then in charge of two
officers he was brought to Paris, where he arrived
early on the morning of the eleventh and was con-
fined at the Prefecture of Police. Louis Philippe, in
answer to the prayers of Hortense, had already de-
cided to exile him from France, without the formality
of a trial. Therefore, after a detention of only a few
hours in Paris, he was hurried to the Fortress of Port
Louis near Lorient. Here he remained until the 21
November, when he sailed for America on the frigate
"Andromede," which had orders to make the voyage
to the United States by way of Brazil.
At Lorient, just before embarking in the frigate
which was to take him to America, there was placed
in his hands, by order of the King, a purse containing
16,000 francs in gold, a gift of the monarch whom he
had attempted to dethrone, who knew that his re-
sources had been for the moment exhausted by the
expenses of his conspiracy.
1682
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Orders had been given for the "Andromede" to
go to New York by the way of Rio Janeiro, Louis
Philippe having conceived the ingenious idea of giving
his prisoner a sea voyage of four months in order to
cool the fever of conspiracy. Treated as a prisoner of
war during the voyage, he only recovered his liberty
upon the soil of America.
Prince Louis arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on the
** Andromede" the 30 March 1837, after a voyage of
over four months. In a letter to his mother from New
York under date of the 17 April he describes his
journey from Norfolk to New York:
"The second of April the captain and officers con-
ducted me to the steamboat that conveyed me up
Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore. We left at four o'clock
in the afternoon. There were two hundred passengers
on board. The cabin, a narrow room, about 160 feet
in length, extends the entire length of the boat. Supper
was served at seven. Half an hour later, the tables
were taken away and beds were made for everybody.
The women have cabins apart. About four In the
morning, being very hot, I got up and went on deck
to get some fresh air. We arrived at Baltimore at six
o'clock In the morning, and started again immedi-
ately upon another boat. At the end of the bay we
found a railway that conveyed us to the Delaware
River, where we again took boat to Philadelphia.
From Philadelphia to New York, we travelled in the
same way, partly by railway and partly by boat.
I passed before Point Breeze, the residence of my
uncle (King Joseph, at Bordentown, New Jersey).
It Is a pretty little house on the banks of the Dela-
1:693
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
ware, but the surrounding country is flat. The only
fine features are the width of the stream, and the
steamboats which are magnificent."
In New York Prince Louis stopped at Washington
Hall, a hotel built in 1810, which occupied about half
the block on the east side of Broadway between
Chambers and Reade Streets. The building was then
one of the finest in the city. There were no club
houses in New York at that early day, and the cele-
brated "Bread and Cheese Club" founded by James
Fenimore Cooper in 1824 met there. One of the
houses on the same block contained two stores about
twelve feet wide, one of which was occupied by A. T.
Stewart. In 1844, Stewart bought Washington Hall,
and on the site, which was finally extended so as to
include the entire block front, he erected a fine
marble building for his store. When he moved up
to Tenth Street in 1862, the store was turned into
an office building. It is now owned by Frank A.
Munsey and occupied by "The Sun and New York
Herald."
The night of the Prince's arrival in New York,
General James Watson Webb, the editor of the
"Courier and Enquirer," which in 1861 was merged
in the "World," was entertaining at dinner a dis-
tinguished party of friends, includmg General Winfield
Scott, at the other leading hotel, the City Hotel,
which was located on the west side of Broadway,
just north of Trinity Church. Hearing of the presence
of Louis Napoleon in the city. General Webb sent
him an invitation to join the party, which he did.
Nearly thirty years later, at Paris, General Webb
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
negotiated with the Emperor Napoleon the Third
a secret treaty providing for the removal of the
French troops from Mexico.
General Webb has described Louis Napoleon as a
gentleman who was very quiet and reserved, who
seemed to prefer the society of old men and ladles.
He met only a few of the principal families of the
city at that time, such as the Stewarts, the Clintons
and the Livingstons. He also made the acquaintance
of Chancellor Kent, and of Washington Irving,
whom he visited at the "Roost." In New York,
he also saw Pierre, the son of Lucien Bonaparte,
and Achille and Lucien Mural, sons of Caroline
Bonaparte and the King of Naples, who were also
his cousins.
On arriving in New York, the Prince had found
awaiting him his faithful friend Count Arese and his
old servant Charles Thelin. During the short period
of two months which he passed in America, Louis
spent his time in travelling, and In visiting the many
new friends he made. His associations were almost
exclusively confined to the oldest and best families.
He also mixed occasionally in a small but refined
French circle. Politics and government were a fa-
vorite topic of his conversation with the public men
he met. It had been his intention to spend a year
in making the tour of the United States, that he
might have a better knowledge of our institutions
and observe for himself the practical workings of our
political system. But his plans were suddenly changed
by the news of the serious illness of his mother, which
cut short his stay. He had only time to visit Niagara
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Falls, and to go over his Uncle Joseph's property on
the Delaware. Joseph had returned to Europe five
years before, and was then residing in London. The
house, which is still known as the "Bonaparte Man-
sion," and the fine park of 200 acres surrounding it,
were sold by King Joseph in 1849.
In these ways the time had passed rapidly on from
April to June, when Louis received from his mother
a letter dated the third of April, which had been
delayed In transmission. On the outside, in the well-
known hand of Doctor Conneau, were the words:
"Venez! venez!" To the day of his death the Em-
peror carried a well-worn leather pocketbook, from
which he never parted. It contained this last letter
from his mother, stained and blurred from the salt-
water of Boulogne, some letters of the Empress, and
child-scrawls of his son, and a strange collection of
pictures of Saints,
Without the knowledge of her son. Queen Hor-
tense had been suffering for some time with a malady
which was to cause her death the following year.
When she visited France the last time for the purpose
of securing his release, after the "Great Adventure,"
the few old friends who saw her were alarmed at the
change In her appearance. The physicians whom she
consulted declared that an operation was impossible
and that there was no hope for her recovery. The first
letter she received from Louis was dated the 14
January 1837 at Rio Janeiro.
The third of April, when Hortense expected to
have an operation, she wrote Louis the following
touching letter:
1:72]
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
"Mon cher fils, on doit me faire une operation ab-
solument necessaire. Si elle ne reussit pas, je t'envoie
par cette lettre ma benediction. Nous nous retrou-
verons, n'est-ce pas? dans un meilleur monde, ou
tu ne viendras me rejoindre que le plus tard
possible, et tu penseras qu'en quittant celui-ci,
je ne regrette que toi, que ta bonne tendresse, qui
seule m'y a fait trouver quelque charme. Cela sera
une consolation pour toi, mon cher ami, de penser
que par tes soins tu as rendu ta mere heureuse autant
qu'elle pouvait Tetre. Tu penseras a toute ma ten-
dresse pour toi, et tu auras du courage. Pense qu'on
a toujours un ceil bienveillant et clairvoyant sur
ceux qu'on laisse ici-bas; mais, bien sur, on se
retrouve. Crois a cette douce idee! Elle est trop
necessaire pour qu'elle ne soit pas vraie. Ce bon
Arese, Je lui donne aussi ma benediction comme a
un fils. Je suis bien calme, bien resignee, et j'espere
encore que nous nous reverrons dans ce monde-ci.
Que la volonte de Dieu soit faite! Ta tendre mere,
HORTENSE."
(''I am about to undergo an operation that is
absolutely necessary. In case it should not succeed,
I send you my blessing. We shall meet again, shall
we not? in a better world, where you will come to
join me only as late as possible. And you will remem-
ber that in leaving this world I regret only you —
only your gentle affection, that has given some charm
to my life. It will be a consolation to you, my dear
child, to know it was your care for her which made
3^our mother as happy as it was possible for her to be.
You will think of all my love for you, and take cour-
1:733
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
age. Believe that we always keep a kindly and search-
ing eye on all we leave here below, and that certainly
we meet again. Have faith in this consoling idea;
it is too necessary not to be true. I give my blessing
also to good Arese as to a son. I press you to my
heart, my dear one. I am quite calm and resigned,
and hope we may meet again in this world. Let the
will of God be done.
Your tender Mother, Hortense")
On receipt of this letter Louis decided to return
immediately to Europe in the hope of seeing his
mother before the end. He engaged passage upon the
** George Washington," the first vessel leaving New
York, and sailed the 12 June. A month later he ad-
vised his mother of his arrival at London, on the 10
July, and stated his intention of continuing his
journey as soon as possible. Finding it impossible to
obtain passports through France, he crossed to Hol-
land, and reached Switzerland by way of the Rhine,
arriving at Arenenberg the fifth of August. He found
his mother very low, but she lived exactly two months,
expiring on the fifth of October 1837 at the age of
fifty-four.
In accordance with her desire, her remains were
transported to France three months later, and the
8 January 1838 were placed in a vault of the church
at Rueil where her mother was buried. The only
member of either family who was present at the in-
terment was Caroline, the widow of Murat, former
King of Naples. Caroline, who died the 18 May the
1:743
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
following year, was the ablest and most ambitious
of the sisters of the Emperor. About a year older than
Hortense, with whom she was a fellow pupil at the
celebrated school of Madame Campan, she was
always jealous of Hortense and displayed her enmity
on numerous occasions.
It was fortunate perhaps for Hortense on her death-
bed that she could not see into the future. She could
not foresee the future glory of her son, neither could
she know of his misfortunes. She did not know that
the Empire would be restored, nor did she know that
France was to see a day more disastrous even than
Waterloo.
Faithful to the memory of his mother, during the
Second Empire, Napoleon the Third rebuilt the
church at Rueil, in which he had already erected a
beautiful monument in memory of Hortense, on the
opposite side of the altar from the tomb which Hor-
tense and Eugene had built for their mother, the
Empress Josephine.
Among the grand avenues which spread out from
the Arc de Triomxphe at Paris, one was formerly called
Josephine, another the Avenue de la Reine-Hortense.
In the middle of the first was a statue of the Empress.
A new boulevard received the name of Prince Eugene,
and had a statue of the former Vice-roi of Italy. He
was represented standing, head bare, in the uniform
of a general, a mantle thrown over his shoulders,
his left hand resting on the hilt of his sabre, holding
in his right hand a letter which he appeared to be
"crumpling — the letter in which he was offered the
crown of Italy on condition of abandoning the cause
CrsD
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
of the Emperor. One side of the monument was
covered by the text of the noble reply which
Eugene wrote to the Emperor Alexander the 20 April
1814:
"Ni la perspective du duche de Genes, ni celle
du royaume d'ltalie, ne me porteraient a la trahison.
J'aime mieux redevenir soldat que d'etre souverain
avili. L'Empereur, dites-vous, a eu des torts envers
moi. Je les ai oublies; je ne me souviens que de ses
bienfaits. Je lui dois tout, mon rang, mes titres, ma
fortune, et, ce que je prefere a tout cela, je lui dois ce
que votre indulgence veut bien appeler ma gloire.
Je le servirai tant qu'il vivra; ma personne est a lui,
comme mon cceur. Puisse mon epee se briser entre
mes mains, si elle etait jamais infidele a I'Empereur
et a la France!"
Now all of these memorials have disappeared. The
Avenue de la Reine-Hortense is the Avenue Hoche,
and the Avenue Josephine is named Marceau. The
statue of Josephine occupies a corner of the Museum
of Versailles. The statue of Eugene has disappeared,
and the boulevard which bore his name is now called
Voltaire.
In his discourse when received as a member of the
French Academy, Victor Cherbuliez said :
"It has been written that if we sometimes astonish
the world by the excess of our self-confidence, we
astonish it still more by our ingratitude towards our
past.'*
Why should patriotism be iconoclastic ? Why should
France not take equal pride in the glories of the Em-
pire and of the Republic? Why not hold in equal
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
respect, at Versailles, the statue of the "Roi Soleil"
and of General Hoche, at Paris, the Column of July
in the Place de la Bastille and the Column of Na-
poleon in the Place Vendome? High above all the
Governments which come and go, there is France
which is eternal !
"Malheureux de ses maux et fier de ses victoires,
Je depose a ses pieds ma joie ou mes douleurs:
J'ai des chants pour toutes ses gloires,
Des larmes pour tous ses malheurs."
n77D
CHAPTER SIX
1837-1840
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
Last Days at Arenenberg — Maxims and Will of Hortense —
Departure from Switzerland — Residence in London — •
Preparations for Boulogne — The Napoleonic Propaganda
— Departure of the Expedition — Landing in France —
The Second Fiasco — Arrest of the Conspirators — Trial
by the Chamber of Peers — Sentenced to Perpetual Im-
prisonment — The Remains of Napoleon Brought Home
from Saint Helena
AFTER the death of his mother, in October
1837, Louis Napoleon passed several months
very quietly at Arenenberg. He saw no one
except a few old friends who paid him passing visits.
He wrote his father that his only occupation was
trying to put his mother's affairs in order. She had
left many charges and obligations on her estate, and
an old chateau only partially restored, which re-
quired considerable additional outlay to finish it.
His door was not closed to a few faithful adherents
who still clung to his cause. Among these were Colonel
Vaudrey and Persigny, who had both been involved
in the affair of Strasbourg. None of them had been
discouraged by that failure, and all looked forward
to a more opportune occasion.
When he wished to be alone, Louis retired to the
separate pavilion where his mother had furnished
1:783
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
an apartment for him, every detail of which recalled
her thoughtful and loving care. Here he read and
reread her maxims, which constituted a kind of polit-
ical testament:
Your title is of recent date; to make it respected,
you must prove yourself capable of being useful.
The role of the Bonapartes is to pose as friends of
everybody; they are the mediators, the concilliators.
Welcome everybody, repulse nobody, even the
curious, the man with an object to gain, the man who
offers advice. They all help.
Never be tired of claiming that the Emperor was
infallible, and that he had a valid national motive
for all his acts.
Do not fail to assert at all times that he rendered
France powerful and prosperous, and that each one
of his conquests brought to Europe institutions which
will never be regretted.
People end by believing that which is repeated
often enough: one always obtains that which is de-
manded continuously and in every form.
In discussions in France, he always gets the best of
the argument who cites history; nobody studies it
and everybody believes it.
Watch the horizon. There is neither comedy nor
drama, which, unrolling before your eyes, may not
furnish some motive for interfering, like a deus ex
machina.
1:793
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The will of Hortense, dated 3 April 1837, the same
day that she wrote her last letter to Louis at New
York, ends as follows:
"It is my wish that my husband give a thought
to my memory, and that he know that my greatest
regret has been that I could not make him happy.
"I have no political counsels to give to my son. I
know that he understands his position and all the
duties which his name imposes upon him.
**I pardon all the sovereigns, with whom I have
had relations of friendship, the lightness of their
judgment upon me.
"I pardon some Frenchmen, to whom I was able
to be of service, the calumny which they have had
heaped upon me in order to clear themselves; I
pardon those who have believed without inquiry,
and I hope not to be entirely forgotten by my dear
fellow-countrymen.
"I thank all the members of my household, in-
cluding my servants, for their good care of me, and
I hope that they will not forget my memory.'*
Queen Hortense left seven or eight compact volumes
of "Memoirs," in the writing of which she was prob-
ably assisted by Monsieur Mocquard, afterwards
Private Secretary of the Emperor. They were in-
tended for the reading of her own family, and never,
in their entirety, for publication. They are full of
indiscretions, and hasty verdicts on her contempora-
ries. Many of the intimate descriptions of Napoleon
are admirable, and show the finer side of his character.
Although she depicts her husband as a gloomy tyrant,
she at the same time always shows respect for him.
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
She acknowledges that she had not been a good wife
to him, and makes no attempt to deny her fraihies.
She endeavors, and not without some measure of
success, to bewitch the reader, rather than to appeal to
his judgment. The Memoirs are typical of her life in
which the good overbears and almost hides the bad.
There was no indication of any intention on Louis's
part of leaving his quiet retreat where he was
living amid the tender memories of the past, when
it became known that he had suddenly left Switzer-
land to go and take up his residence in London. A
number of serious incidents had hastened his depar-
ture. The French Government had reminded him that
it had only tolerated his presence in Switzerland in
order that he might be with his mother during her
last days, and that he was now taking advantage of
an excuse which had ceased to be valid. From dip-
lomatic notes to the Helvetian Government, recourse
was had to direct menaces, and an army of 20,000
men was massed upon the Swiss frontier.
The last day of January 1838, Prince Louis had
taken up his residence in the old Gothic Chateau of
Gottlieben, which his mother had left him, and
which he had completely restored. It was situated
on the arm of the Rhine which connects the Unter
See with the Lake of Constance. It had been the
prison of John Huss, Jerome of Prague and Pope
John. The following day the Due de Montebello, the
son of Marshal Lannes, appeared at Lucerne to de-
mand of the Swiss Government that the nephew and
heir of the Emperor should be expelled from the
country.
1:81 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
With a strong sentiment of hospitality, mingled
with national pride, the Swiss refused to yield to this
movement directed against an honorary citizen of
the Republic. But Louis preferred to save his gener-
ous hosts from any trouble on his account, and
voluntarily left the country. After selling his horses
and carriages by auction at Arenenberg, on Sunday
14 October, Prince Louis set out for England. He
descended the Rhine to Rotterdam, where he em-
barked for England the 23 October 1838. This was
only another instance of the short-sighted policy of
Louis Philippe and his ministers. For his plans,
London was a much more convenient place of resi-
dence than his mother's chateau in a distant and
obscure canton of Switzerland.
For the second time the great asylum of England
opened its doors to him. On his arrival at London, he
was accompanied by a suite of seven persons, in-
cluding Persigny, and Colonel Vaudrey, of Strasbourg
memory. After a short stay at Fenton's Hotel, he
leased until December 1839 the house of Lord Cardi-
gan, in Carlton Terrace, between Saint James's and
Regent Streets in one of the best parts of the West
End. At the expiration of this term he removed to the
house of Lord Ripon in Carlton Gardens. There were
seventeen persons employed in his househod and he
had five horses in his stable, including two saddle
horses.
Many reasons had led Prince Louis to fix on London
as his place of residence. He had many warm friends
there, who had been kind to him at the time of his
first visit after the Italian insurrection, and again on
:823
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
his return from America. In England he would have
absolute freedom of action, to go and come as he
pleased. He would be near his uncle Joseph, and in
the midst of a number of his countrymen. He was
nearer Paris than at Arenenberg, and in a place
better situated for his plans. He had passed from a
small chateau in a distant and obscure corner of
Switzerland to one of the great capitals of Europe,
where he was an object of interest from his historic
name, and where he was constantly in the public eye.
The folly of the French Government had transformed
the ridiculous conspirator of Strasbourg into an in-
teresting and powerful pretender. His movements
were chronicled day by day in the fashionable news-
papers. When he rode or drove out a crowd surrounded
his hotel. In his round of sight-seeing he was received
with royal honors; at the Bank of England, the
Governor escorted him, and the directors gave him
a breakfast. He was elected honorary member of the
most fashionable clubs. He become in short the lion
of the season.
Taking umbrage at this reception of Prince Louis,
the French Government now gave him additional
importance by another diplomatic blunder. They
requested the English Government to compel Prince
Louis Napoleon to reside away from London, in a
fixed abode. Lord Melbourne of course replied that
there was no law under which the right of asylum
could be restricted. Nothing remained for the French
Government but the use of spies, and a close watch
was kept upon all the Prince's movements.
He had brought from the Chateau of Arenenberg
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
a number of articles with which to embellish his
private rooms. Among these were a painting ot Jose-
phine and Hortense; some medallions of the family;
and some historical souvenirs, such as the tricolored
scarf worn by General Bonaparte at the Battle of
the Pyramids, his coronation ring, the orders, plaques
and cross worn by the Emperor, and the so-called
"Talisman of Charlemagne," taken from the famous
tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle.
The history of the "Talisman" is very interest-
ing. When Napoleon visited Aix-la-Chapelle in 1804,
the tomb of Charlemagne was opened and there was
found hung around his neck the Talisman which had
brought him success. It was a piece of the real cross,
encased in an emerald, which was hung to a thick
gold ring by a slender chain. It was presented to the
Emperor by the city authorities, and, at Austerlitz
and Wagram, he wore it on his breast, as Charle-
magne used to do nine centuries before. In 1813 he
gave it to Hortense. This relic was in the chamber
of Napoleon the Third when he died, and was
later in the bed-room of the Prince Imperial at
Chislehurst. A short time before her death in 1920,
the Empress Eugenie presented the Talisman to the
tresor of the great Cathedral of Reims, which was so
seriously imperilled by the German bombardment
during the Great War.
The Prince was no sooner settled in Carlton House
than invitations began to pour in upon him from the
few members of the leading English families who were
in town during this dull part of the London season.
' L843
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
Brilliant receptions were given in his honor by Lord
Holland, the Duchess of Bedford, and Lord Grey.
The Duchess of Somerset gave a grand dinner to
Prince Louis Napoleon. The great Duke of Welling-
ton showed him marked attention. "Would you be-
lieve it," he wrote at this time, "this young man
Louis Napoleon will not have it said that he is not
going to be Emperor of the French!"
At London he frequented particularly the salon
of Lady Blessington at Gore House. Here he met the
most brilliant society of the day. He had first met
her at Rome in March 1828 during one of his visits
there with his mother.
At Brodick Castle in Scotland, he passed several
days with the son of the Duke of Hamilton, who had
married his cousin Marie, daughter of the Grand
Duchess Stephanie of Baden. We shall meet her later
at the Tuileries during the Second Empire. The Duke
of Newcastle, who met him in Scotland, wrote Sir
Archibald Alison, the celebrated author of "The
History of Europe" as follows:
"Prince Louis Napoleon and I often went out to
shoot together, but neither of us being very keen for
the sport, we preferred to sit down in the heather
and discuss serious subjects. He always opened the
conversation by speaking of what he hoped to do
when he wore the crown, and I am convinced that
this thought never left him for a single moment."
He could only confide his plans to a very small num-
ber of persons, for fear of not being understood, or
of being considered visionary. He was so reticent in
general society that he was generally known as
CSS]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
"Prince Taciturn." He was more expansive than
elsewhere in the salon of Lady Blessington, who was
in full sympathy with his romantic ideas.
During the London seasons of 1839 and 1840
Prince Louis ostensibly led the life of a man of fashion.
But behind the scenes he thought and worked and
schemed, in daily preparation for the future which
he was sure lay before him.
The author of "Les Idees Napoleoniennes," which
he published in 1839, was assuredly a thoughtful,
serious, and earnest-minded person. " 'Les Idees,**'
wrote Mr. Jerrold, "are the brightest and fullest
expression of the mind of Prince Louis Napoleon. His
political life is this work in action. It is the text-book
of his policy, the code of his personal laws . . . the
Napoleonic idea amplified and carried forward for
the government of society by a second Napoleon.
"The * Idees Napoleoniennes' appeared when the
ground for them had been prepared by Louis
Philippe's Government. Prince Louis chose his time
well. The minds of the French people were filled with
the glory of Napoleon; and the Government of July,
havingno prestige of its own, fed the popular appetite.
The Arch of Triumph under which the King passed
daily to Neuilly was a sculptured record of Imperial
glory. The Vendome Column held the Little Corporal
aloft, to be seen by all Paris; and his old grenadiers
came again and again to deposit immortelles at his
feet."
A copy of the first edition was presented by the
Prince to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, who wrote
under the inscription on the title page: "The book
1:863
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
of a very able mind . . . Prince Louis Napoleon has
qualities that may render him a remarkable man if
he ever returns to France. ... He can conceive with
secrecy and act with promptitude. His faults would
come from conceit and rashness ; but akin with these
characteristics are will and enthusiasm. He has these
in a high degree. Above all, he has that intense faith
in his own destiny, with which men rarely fail of
achieving something great, without which all talent
lacks the mens divinior.'*
This estimate of Louis Napoleon was remarkable in
its prophetic vision.
With only a small band of supporters, with very
little ready money, without personal authority, the
Prince was still set on his idea of overthrowing
the existing Government of France, and restoring the
Imperial regime. He explained his plans to Joseph
Orsi, a merchant of Florence and the banker of the
Bonaparte family, who was then in London. Orsi
finally agreed to take charge of the details of the
enterprise. At first he had been in favor of putting
off the attempt until a more opportune moment,
but he was over-persuaded by the confidence of the
Prince, who believed that the time had come.
Since 1838, the Napoleonic propaganda had made
enormous progress. It was carried on zealously in
many newspapers and clubs. The diplomatic humili-
ation of France in the affair of Mehemet Ali, with the
outburst of patriotism which accompanied it, and the
concessions of the Government to public opinion
which followed, such for instance as the bringing
back of the ashes of Napoleon from Saint Helena,
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
all helped to revive Revolutionary and Imperial
memories.
For two years Louis Napoleon had been almost
continually in the public eye. With the funds realized
from the sale of a part of his property at Arenenberg,
he had subsidized a journal called the "Capitole."
The political Review which he published monthly
continued to harass the Government of Louis
Philippe. His plans for a new attempt were not un-
known at the Tuileries, and preparations had been
made and orders given, in anticipation of an insur-
rection. Police agents had been sent to London to
report upon the movements of the Prince and his
partisans. The coming expedition, the date of its
departure, and the place of landing in France, were
all matters of common gossip in London. The secrecy
so necessary to the success of such an undertaking
was decidedly lacking. How did it happen that the
project was so well known .?
The 21 June Prince Louis called on Orsi and in-
sisted that no more time should be lost in beginning
the preparations for the departure of the expedition.
Orsi, in the face of this determination, raised no fur-
ther objections. He suggested that a steamer should
be chartered for the ostensible purpose of a pleasure
cruise. This was easily arranged, and the first step
of the perilous adventure had been taken. The fourth
of August the expedition was ready to sail. Horses,
guns and military equipment of every kind were on
board the "Edinburgh Castle," which had been
chartered for the month of August. Louis Napoleon
was the last to arrive, having been delayed by the
CSS]
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
active surveillance of the French police agents in
London. It was found necessary on account of this
delay to postpone the landing in France until the
sixth of August.
The petty port of Wimereux, about two and a
half miles north of Boulogne, had been selected as
the point of landing. Boulogne had been chosen for
the attempt because it was easy of access, and the
garrison was weak, and also supposed to be friendly.
Including the Prince, the expeditionary force con-
sisted of fifty-six persons, more than half of whom
were servants.
In the first hour of the morning of the sixth of
August 1840, the coast guards on duty near the old
sand-choked port of Wimereux, constructed by
Napoleon at the time of his projected invasion of
England, made out through the darkness a small
steamer standing off and on about a mile from the
shore. About an hour later a small boat was lowered
and filled with men. It approached the shore and
grounded about thirty yards from the beach. The
boat was hailed by the guards, and the answer was
received that it was a party of the 40th of the Line
on their way from Dunkerque to Cherbourg. The
men, all in uniform, waded ashore, and the boat
went back for another load. In three trips all the
party were landed from the steamer.
The expedition, after making prisoners of the
coast guards, immediately set out for Boulogne along
the heights past the Napoleon column. They marched
on without interruption until they reached the guard-
house on the Place d' Alton. From this point on the
[89]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
narrative is very confused, and it is not now easy to
say exactly what happened. The soldiers seem to
have refused to join them, and the party went on
until they reached the barracks in the lower town.
It was five o'clock in the morning when they arrived
here. Again the soldiers, under orders of their officers,
refused to join them, and the expedition went on its
way to the upper town. Arrived at the ramparts, they
found the gates already closed against them. Appar-
ently discouraged by the coolness of their reception,
the march now turned back towards the column on
the heights. Here Louis Napoleon, who was in a state
of great nervous excitement, refused to retreat fur-
ther, and was carried by main force to the boat. An
attempt was made to regain the steamer. At a short
distance from the shore, they were fired upon and
one man was killed and one wounded, and in the con-
fusion the boat was upset. The Prince and the rest of
the party then swam towards the steamer, which they
succeeded in reaching, only to find it in possession
of the authorities. The prisoners were landed at the
Pidou jetty, and by nine o'clock the Prince and his
companions were locked up in the prison of the
Vieux-Chateau. A more complete fiasco could not
be imagined. It was far worse than the affair of Stras-
bourg. There for a short time there appeared to be
every chance of success. At Boulogne, if the soldiers
seemed friendly, the officers were hostile, and military
discipline prevailed.
Speculation now upon the hopes and promises of
the Boulogne expedition would be futile. The Prince
kept his own counsel, and his first care was to shield
n9o3
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
all who had put themselves in peril. It is evidence
of the strict sense of honor which prevailed among
his friends that the Government was never able to
obtain the least clue to the ramifications of the plot
of which the affair of Boulogne was the ridiculous
outcome.
Louis Philippe and his ministers claimed to have
been much amused over this "ludicrous affair." But,
as the French say: "Rira bien qui rira le dernier."
The laugh was on the other side eight years later
when the Bourgeois King crossed the Channel to
England as "Mr. Smith," while Louis Napoleon went
to Paris, to the Assembly, the Presidency and the
Empire.
From Boulogne, the Prince was conducted first
to the Chateau of Ham, and then transferred to
Paris where he was confined at the Prefecture of
Police. With his principal accomplices, he was ar-
raigned before the Chamber of Peers, sitting as a
High Court of Justice. The trial began the 28 Sep-
tember, and on the sixth of October all were found
guilty. Louis Napoleon was condemned to perpetual
imprisonment in a fortress of France, and the others
received sentences of from two to twenty years.
To defray the expenses of the Boulogne expedition,
before leaving London the Prince had disposed of
nearly all his remaining securities. The eve of the de-
parture, Orsi had placed in his hands the sum of
twenty thousand pounds, in gold and bank notes.
Part of his funds were lost in the sea during the at-
tempt to escape, but the authorities took from Louis
at the time of his arrest the sum of 160,000 francs,
1:91:1
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
all of which was subsequently returned to him by the
Government.
Before leaving Paris the 6 October for the prison
of Ham, the Prince arranged his affairs so that all
the persons to whom his mother had left annuities
as charges on her estate should receive the capital
sum in place of the income. All of his remaining
property was sold, and every claim satisfied. He en-
tered Ham as "poor as Job." Accompanied by the
venerable General Montholon he was put in a carriage
the evening of the sixth and under charge of a colonel
of the municipal guard was escorted to Ham where
he arrived at midnight on the seventh. By a curious
coincidence, it was the same day that the "Belle
Poule," the vessel sent to bring back the remains of
the Great Emperor, arrived in sight of the island of
Saint Helena.
While the body of Napoleon lay in the lonely grave
at Saint Helena his spirit had conquered Europe
anew. The peoples who had overthrown his Empire
soon found that they had exchanged a brilliant for a
stupid despotism. The more they saw of the little
hereditary tyrants who had supplanted him, the
more they regretted the great despot. The pledges
of liberty which they had received were ruthlessly
broken. The "Holy Alliance" really became a league
against popular rights and liberty throughout the
continent.
In his will Napoleon had said: "Je desire que mes
cendres reposent sur les bords de la Seine au milieu
de ce peuple Fran^ais que j'al tant aime." That the
body of the Emperor should be rescued from alien
THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE
soil and rest by the Seine became the great desire of
the French nation. As a concession to popular opinion
the Government of Louis Philippe decided to bring
back the ashes of Napoleon in accordance with his
desire. England having given her consent, the King
sent his son the Prince de Joinville to escort the
Emperor home. In his party were two of Napoleon's
faithful companions in exile, General Bertrand and
General Gourgaud; Marchand, his valet, and several
of the old servants at Longwood. With them also
was the son of Las Cases, who was now in manhood
to revisit the sombre scenes of his childhood days.
Still another was the son of Bertrand, who had been
born at Saint Helena.
They found that Longwood had reverted to its
former use as a stable, but the grave of Napoleon was
still carefully guarded by a British soldier. When the
coffin was opened, those who had thought to find
"Imperious Caesar, deadand turned to clay,'* were as-
tonished to see the Emperor so life-like, lying as if in
slumber, his body clothed In the familiar green uni-
form of the Chasseurs de la Garde, with the cross of
the Legion d'honneur gleaming upon his breast with
undiminished lustre.
The 15 December 1840, when his nephew and heir
was just beginning his term of life-Imprisonment at
Ham, Paris opened wide its gates to receive the re-
mains of the Great Emperor, as If he were a victorious
general returning from a glorious campaign. Mounted
upon a stately funeral car, escorted by aged veterans
of the Vieille Garde, followed by the white steed,
"Marengo," which he had ridden at Waterloo, the
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
body was borne in triumph to its last resting place
under the gilded dome of the Invalides. The King
and the whole royal family awaited the arrival of the
heroic dead. Amidst the general hush of expectation,
a chamberlain entered, and dramatically announced:
"L'Empereur!"
The Prince de Joinville delivered the coffin to the
King, who received it "in the name of France." At
last the ashes of the Great Emperor reposed upon the
banks of the Seine in the midst of the French people
whom he had loved so well.
1:94:
CHAPTER SEVEN
1840-1846
PRISONER OF STATE
The Chateau of Ham — Life in Prison — Literary Pastimes —
A Prison Romance — The Crazy Duke of Brunswick —
The Escape from Ham — Second Residence in London —
The Affair with Miss Howard — The Princesse Marie de
Bade — Death of King Louis
HAM, where Louis Napoleon was sentenced
to perpetual imprisonment, is a little town
of about three thousand inhabitants, in the
Department of the Somme, seventy miles north of
Paris. It is on the short route from London to Swit-
zerland followed by the trains which run direct from
Calais to Bale by way of Amiens and Reims without
passing by Paris.
The Chateau after having successfully resisted
the assaults of the English, the Spaniards and the
Austrians, was totally destroyed by the Germans
during the Great War.
The fortress was constructed by the Comte de
Saint- Pol, Constable of France, in the 15th century,
during the reign of Louis the Eleventh. The approach
from the town was through an avenue shaded by arch-
ing trees. From a distance the Chateau had quite a
picturesque aspect, with the red and gray towers,
and the battlements, which gave an impression of
age and strength. The central feature of the fortress
1:953
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
was the great tower, a hundred feet high, with walls
thirty feet thick.
After traversing the second drawbridge and enter-
ing the central courtyard, the visitor saw on the right
a range of low two-storied buildings. There Prince
Louis Napoleon was confined. The same suite had
previously been occupied, after the Revolution of
July 1830, by the Prince de Polignac, the Prime
Minister of Charles the Tenth, and later, in 1851,
was to be the home of Cavaignac and other oppo-
nents of the Prince-President. It was a gloomy and
malarious place, surrounded by damp walls with
mounds without and the river circling around. Ham
is suitated in the midst of a low, marshy country, and
the sun is frequently obscured by the mists, and low-
hanging clouds.
The entrance to the Prince's apartment was through
a narrow door into a white-washed corridor. On the
right on entering was the suite of General Mon-
tholon, consisting of a sitting-room with bed-room
beyond. Opposite were the bath-room and chapel.
At the end of the corridor was the guard-room.
Mounting a short flight of stairs, the visitor reached
the second story corridor, where the rooms of the
Prince were located. His apartment consisted of two
square, white-washed rooms, with brick floors, the
sitting-room on the left, overlooking the courtyard,
and the bed-room opposite. The furniture was of
plain black-walnut. Opening from this same corridor
were the rooms of Doctor Conneau, of Charles Thelin,
the Prince's valet, and the dining-room.
The only exit from the building was through the
1:963
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PRISONER OF STATE
guard-room on the first floor, by a door into the court-
yard, which was always kept locked. When the pris-
oners took their daily exercise on the ramparts they
had to pass through this guard-room and traverse
a narrow walk, at the end of which was another barrier
and a second guard-room. Sentinels were posted on
the ramparts, and on the opposite bank of the river
below, to prevent communication with the prisoners.
The broad walk on the ramparts was only about
fifty paces in length. Four hundred soldiers within,
and a vigilant police force without, carefully guarded
the fortress. Escape seemed impossible.
Along the inner slope of the mound, the Prince
laid out his little garden. After a time he was allowed
to take exercise on horseback around the limited
space of the inner courtyard.
The studious habits of Louis, which he had formed
in early childhood, and which he never abandoned
even in the Palace of the Tuileries, now stood him in
good stead. He was fortunate enough to have infinite
resources in himself. A complaint never issued from
his lips. With unbroken spirit and undisturbed faith
in his destiny, he proceeded to occupy himself with
literary work and scientific investigation. In his
sitting-room he built himself bookcases, and he
turned his corridor into an experimenting ground
for projectiles. A spare room was fitted up for a
laboratory, where he spent many days in scientific
investigations with the aid of a local chemist.
The Prince, who was always an early riser, was at
his work by seven o'clock, and was busy until eleven,
when dejeuner was served from the canteen. He then
1:973
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
went out for his regular walk on the ramparts or for
his horseback exercise in the court. Then he returned
to his study or his laboratory where he occupied
himself until five, when dinner was served. After
dinner he conversed with Montholon and Conneau,
and later the three prisoners, with their chief custo-
dian, Captain Demarle, made up a party of whist.
There was no break in this monotonous round of
life, except when he received an occasional visit from
some outside friend like Madame Cornu, the Hor-
tense Lacroix of his boyhood days, a filleule of Queen
Hortense, who at Arenenberg had been brought up
with him almost like a foster-sister. She was now
married and living in Paris, and was of great assist-
ance to him in his literary work. She looked up refer-
ences for him in the libraries, read and corrected his
proofs, and constantly cheered him up with her
bright and affectionate letters. Hortense was the
literary adviser as well as the assistant of the
Prince, and scores of letters which he wrote her dur-
ing his imprisonment show the deep appreciation and
gratitude which he felt for her invaluable services.
Another constant friend and visitor was Vieillard,
his former tutor at Arenenberg and Augsburg. Vieil-
lard, who was a Deputy under Louis Philippe, and
who mingled much in political circles, was his life-long
friend and adviser. He never took part in any of the
Prince's plots or plans, and never hesitated to disagree
with him when he did not approve of his schemes.
The amount of literary work which Prince Louis
accomplished during the six years of his imprison-
ment was very creditable, and especially so when
[98]
PRISONER OF STATE
we consider the disadvantageous circumstances under
which it was produced. His principal publications
were:
"Historical Fragments, 1688-1830"; "Manual of
Artillery"; "Extinction of Paaperism"; "Old His-
tory Always New," and "The Nicaragua Canal."
The "Historical Fragments" was published during
the first year of his confinement. In drawing together
1688 and 1830, his idea was that these two great
revolutions were divergent in their causes and their
results. For England, 1688 was the beginning of an
era of prosperity and greatness; for France, 1830 was
the commencement of an epoch of troubles, of which
no one could foresee the end. The "Fragments" fill
only 133 loosely printed pages. One of the striking
phrases was: "There has never been, among free
nations, a government strong enough to suppress for
a long time liberty at home without glory abroad."
This was to be the key-note of his policy when
Emperor of the French, and was to lead him into
many unprofitable and disastrous enterprises.
In May 1843, he was hard at work on the new
edition of his "Manual of Artillery," which finally
developed into practically a new work, and occupied
much of his time for the next two years. During this
period his letters to Hortense Cornu are full of re-
quests for different works on the subject, in Italian
and German, as well as in French. At the same time
he put forth his papers on the reform of the Army.
He gave an outline of the Prussian system, and recom-
mended its adoption by France. It was a democratic
system adapted to the manners and feelings of the
n993
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
French. It would produce an army of a million and a
half of men — not for conquest, but for the security
of his country's independence. His plan was almost
identical with that now in existence. In 1868, the Em-
peror submitted it to the Council of State, but it was
not adopted, unfortunately for France.
"The Extinction of Pauperism" was written in
March and April 1844, in the midst of his work on
the "Manual of Artillery." His solution of the prob-
lem was the localization of the poor over the waste
lands of France, and he was led to the idea, no doubt,
by Napoleon's project for assigning to his Old Guard
the unclaimed wastes of the Landes, a sandy region
in the southwest of France. His propositions inflamed
the popular imagination and attracted much favor-
able attention.
In an article entitled "Old History Always New,"
published in August 1844, he reviewed the feeble
foreign expeditions undertaken by the July Mon-
archy, which he claimed had lowered the prestige of
France. His argument was illustrated by the following
amusing anecdote :
"On a summer day the Emperor Napoleon, having
risen earlier than usual, crossed one of the great salons
of the Tuileries. To his surprise, he found a child
occupied in making an immense fire on one of the
hearths. The Emperor asked the boy why he was
kindling such a fire in mid-summer, and he answered
frankly, *I am making ashes for my father, they are
his perquisite.' "
Exactly in the same manner, the Prince argued,
the French Government for fourteen years had been
PRISONER OF STATE
burning the national fire-wood to obtain their per-
quisite. If the acts of the Government since 1830
were passed in review, the numerous foreign expedi-
tions were just so many useless fires. The country
got the smoke, and the Government the ashes —
which they sold by weight !
The pamphlet on the "Nicaragua Canal" was the
last fruit of his Imprisonment at Ham. This project
of a ship canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
was long under consideration, and was never defi-
nitely abandoned until the United States adopted
the Panama route and undertook the completion of
the canal begun by Lesseps. Many engineers still
think that a sea-level canal at Nicaragua would have
been better than the lock-canal actually constructed
at Panama. But it would be futile now to rehearse
the old arguments. The Interest which the Prince
took in this matter, and the profound study which he
gave to the problem, undoubtedly Influenced him
later In his grandiose scheme for a Latin Empire in
Mexico.
The year after his escape from Ham, Prmce Louis
endeavored to form a large corporation in London
for the purpose of carrying out his scheme, but politi-
cal events in France soon drew his attention away
from the project. In after years he often reverted to It,
and if he never realized his own dream, his studies
led him to espouse the Suez Canal project warm-
ly when presented to him by Monsieur de Lesseps.
The course of reading and writing which Louis
pursued during the five years of his Imprisonment
developed his intellect, and made of him a scholarly
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
man, one of the best-informed of his time. In after
years he often spoke laughingly of his education at
the "University of Ham." His activities included not
only historical studies and scientific investigations,
but also comments upon passing political events in
the outside world. But back of all this, there still
stands out, in all that he says and does, the Man of
Destiny, who has never lost sight of his ultimate goal :
the one idea is ever with him. Through the shadows
of the present, his eye is always fixed upon the star
of Napoleon, which is to guide him to the heights of
Imperialism.
At the time the Prince reached Ham, the quarters
in which he was confined were in a com^plete state of
delapidation — roof, floors, windows, doors were all
out of order. The building was low-lying and the
fortress was surrounded by malarious marshes. Ow-
ing to these unfavorable conditions, and the lack of
sufficient exercise, the health of Louis finally broke
down, and was never the same in after-life. He entered
Plam. a strong, vigorous man of thirty-two; he left it
five years later, thin and pale and sickly-looking. His
term of imprisonment undoubtedly shortened his life
by many years.
The name of Napoleon had often been associated
with that of Charlemagne, and ten centuries apart
the histories of the two Empires had often been com-
pared. The Great Emperor had always expressed
much admiration for the character and achievements
of his celebrated predecessor on the throne of France.
At Milan, as King of Italy, he had placed on his head
the Iron Crown of Charlemagne, and he had worn his
C 102]
PRISONER OF STATE
Talisman on his breast on the fields of two of his great-
est victories. It therefore seemed appropriate to Louis
Napoleon that he should become the historian of his
illustrious uncle's only prototype. Among those whom
he consulted on the subject was the eminent historian
Sismondi, whom he had met at Geneva during one of
his mother's winter visits. The reply was cordial but
not very encouraging. Sismondi pointed out the
great difficulties of the task, and ended with the
words: "You see, Prince, that if the splendor of con-
quest has led men to compare Napoleon with Charle-
magne, I feel that It is in this only there is relation
between them, and that the influence of these two
great men on the times which succeeded them was
absolutely different."
It was with some difficulty that Louis was finally
persuaded to abandon his project. It shared the fate
of the first plan of Napoleon for the Vendome Column
at Paris, which was to have been similar in design to
that of Trajan at Rome, and crowned with a bronze
statue of Charlemagne. As finally erected the column
bore on Its summit a bronze statue of the Emperor
In the toga of a Roman Senator. During the period
of the Restoration this statue was replaced by a colos-
sal fleur de Hs, the emblem of the Bourbons. In 1833,
Louis Philippe had placed upon the column a statue
of the Emperor clothed in the traditional great-coat
and hat, which Is now In the Invalides, having been
replaced in 1863, by Napoleon the Third, with very
poor taste, by a reproduction of the original statue.
At Ham, except that he did not breathe the air of
liberty, the Prince had little cause to complain of his
C1033
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
treatment by the authorities. All the books which he
asked for were furnished him. He was permitted to
correspond with public men, with savants, with lit-
terateurs. Many persons were permitted to visit him,
to cheer up his solitude, and among the number was
a young woman, who brought him the offering of her
love. Her name was Eleonore Vergeot. From this
liaison, which lasted during the term of his imprison-
ment, were born two sons, Eugene and Louis. The
mother was afterwards married, and died in poverty
in Paris forty years later.
Among those who wished to bring to him the evi-
dence of their sympathy were two Spanish ladies, of
whom the younger was to play an important part in
his life in after years. Endowed with a vivid and
romantic imagination, she had been much impressed
by the stories of the two adventures of the Prince
which had had such unfortunate results. In her eyes,
he was the Man of Destiny, suffering for his convic-
tions. She proposed to her mother a visit to the
Chateau of Ham. Madame de Montijo did not oppose
her daughter's request, but for some unknown reason
the visit never was made, and Eugenie never met her
future consort until he was first magistrate of France.
Among the many visitors to the Chateau was Lord
Malmesbury, whom Louis had first met as a young
man of twenty-one at Rome, and whom he had seen
frequently during his residence in London. A few
years later Malmesbury had a very cordial interview
with the Prince-President at Paris, during the course
of which the latter asked him if he remembered his
visit to Ham, and continued: "I told you then that
C 104]
PRISONER OF STATE
one day I would govern France, and you thought me
crazy, like all the rest."
Another caller, who was announced under the name
of Smith, was later to prove of great service to the
Prince at the time of his escape. He was the private
secretary of Sir Thomas Buncombe, a Member of
Parliament, and he came on behalf of his employer
to propose a treaty of alliance between the Prince
and the Duke of Brunswick, who had been expelled
from his country in 1830 and was then living in
London. All visitors to Geneva will remember the
magnificent mausoleum erected by that city to the
memory of this Prince, who on his death at Geneva
in 1873 left his entire fortune of twenty million francs
to the city.
Louis Napoleon, who was now making plans for
his escape, was in urgent need of funds for this pur-
pose. It will be recollected that on entering the prison
he had divested himself of what little property re-
mained to him, in favor of his mother's pensionnaires.
Now, taking advantage of the Duke's proposition,
he sent Joseph Orsi to see him in London. The story
of Orsi's visit reads like one of Poe's weird tales. In
the court of Brunswick House, attached to the wall
by chains, were two enormous mastiffs which guarded
the stairway. Through gloomy corridors he was con-
ducted into a vast hall which was furnished only
with a table, two chairs and a lighted candle. After a
wait of nearly an hour, Orsi was about to leave in
disgust, when a portiere was drawn aside and to his
wondering eyes there appeared the master of the
mansion dressed in a monachal robe of black satin,
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
with a hood covering his head to the eyes. In spite of
this remarkable reception Orsi found courage to ex-
plain the object of his visit. At first the Duke ab-
solutely refused his assistance, but at the end of a
long interview, the eloquence of Orsi won him over.
The Duke was converted, and promised to advance
the desired funds.
Duncombe, by chance, had made the acquaintance,
at London, of this half-crazy Duke of Brunswick, who
in 1830 had been overthrown by his subjects for his
disregard of the constitution, and on account of his
extravagance and love of pleasure. He had found
refuge in England and was laying plans to recover his
dominions. By another fortunate chance, Duncombe
had also been thrown into relations with Morny and
Walewski, who were respectively the half-brother of
Louis Napoleon and the son of the Great Emperor
by the beautiful Comtesse Walewska. Both were
to be very prominent during the Second Empire.
Duncombe had conceived the chimerical idea of an
alliance of Interest by which the rich Duke should
furnish the needy Prince with funds for his escape
from prison and for another attempt to reestablish
the Empire. In return for this assistance the Emperor
Napoleon was to replace the Duke upon the throne
of Brunswick. Such was the remarkable plan laid
before the prisoner of Ham by Smith. It is said that a
formal treaty was drawn up, approved and signed by
the high contracting parties, but no trace of It could
be found In after-years. Needless to say that it was
impossible for Napoleon at a later date to carry out
his part of this remarkable scheme. But for the mo-
1:1063
PRISONER OF STATE
ment he was ready to agree to almost any plan which
would give him a chance to be once more a free man.
In the meantime the Prince continued to take his
usual exercise, to receive visitors, and to occupy him-
self with his literary and scientific work. For five
years now there had been no break in the monotony
of his prison life, and the Government of Louis
Philippe began to think there would no longer be any
risk in relaxing somewhat their rigorous surveillance
of this apparently inoffensive dreamer. They even
went so far as to intimate to Louis that the only thing
which stood between him and his freedom was a for-
mal request on his part to be set at liberty. There was
nothing dishonorable on his part in making such a
request, but from fear that impossible conditions
would be attached to this act of clemency, he abso-
lutely refused to make the demand. His historical
reply was : " I will not leave Ham except to go to the
cemetery or the Tuileries."
As already stated, during the last year his health
had begun to decline, although his mental activity
was as great as ever. He felt that the time had come
for a change of air. As he had refused to make a formal
demand for his liberty, there only remained one out-
come of the situation: escape, and this was by no
means easy.
The general arrangement of his rooms and the
topography of the Chateau have already been de-
scribed. His apartment, at the end of the interior
court, was inclosed by thick walls. The entrance was
through a guard-room, the door of which was always
locked, and two sentinels were always on duty there.
C 1073
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The commandant of the prison was also ordered to
visit his prisoner three times a day. The fortress had
a garrison of four hundred men, of whom sixty were
on guard all the time. From these details, the difficulty
of any plan of escape is very apparent.
The Prince, after much reflection, hit upon a very
original scheme. To begin with, he did as much dam-
age as possible to his rooms, which were already in a
bad state of repair. Then he asked for an inspection,
and requested that his quarters should be put in good
order. If his request was granted, this would mean
the employment of a number of workmen, who would
come and go every day, and whose faces would not
be familiar to the sentinels on guard. This, he
calculated, would furnish him an opportunity for
escape.
The circumstances and incidents of this famous
escape have often been told and are quite well known.
With infinite patience the Prince waited until the
twenty-fourth and last day of the work of reparation,
that the guards might become used to the coming and
going of the laborers. Then, disguised as a mason, his
face spotted with mortar, a plank on his shoulder, he
calmly walked past the sentinels on duty, tipping
the plank so as to conceal his face when he met one
who knew him well. At a short distance from the
outer walls his valet Thelin awaited him with a car-
riage, in which he succeeded in reaching the Belgian
frontier a few hours later.
To this narrative of the escape may be added a
few interesting details to fill out the sketch. Doctor
Conneau says:
PRISONER OF STATE
"On the 25 May, we rose early at six o'clock. The
Prince put on his workman's disguise, consisting of
a coarse shirt, a blue blouse, and a pair of blue trousers,
with an apron, and a pair of sabots over his boots.
As his face was naturally pale, he colored it with some
dye, which gave him a ruddy complexion. He also
painted his eyebrows and put on a black wig, which
completely covered his ears. Shortly after seven, he
shaved off his thick whiskers and moustaches, and I
declare I should not have recognized the Prince, well
as I know his person. As soon as all was ready Thelin
invited the workmen to have something to drink, and
when the Prince knew they were all engaged he went
down stairs."
The Prince, in a letter dated from London a few
days after his arrival, thus continues the narrative:
"Once beyond the walls, I walked rapidly towards
the road to Saint-Quentin. Shortly after, Charles,
who the evening before had engaged a cabriolet for
himself. Joined me, and we arrived at Saint-Quentin.
I crossed the town on foot, after having got rid of my
blouse. Charles having procured a post-chaise under
pretence of a drive to Cambrai, we arrived without
hindrance at Valenciennes, from whence I took the rail-
road."
In the meantime, his friend Doctor Conneau had
been successful in putting off the regular visit of the
commandant, upon the plea that the Prince was ill
and sleeping quietly and must not be disturbed. Upon
his next visit, the officer approached the bed, and
found under the covers a manikin in place of the
Prince. An alarm was at once sent out, but Louis was
C 1093
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
already far on his way, and in those days there was
no telegraph to call into play, to intercept the fugitive.
The next day all the French and English journals
announced: "Louis Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped
from Ham." The day following his friend Hortensc
Cornu received this letter dated from London: '*It is
not necessary for me to relate my escape; the papers
will give you sufficient details. My plans were so well
laid that in less than eight hours I was in Belgium,
and twelve hours later in London. It seems like a
dream."
The first appearance of Louis Napoleon in London
after his escape was very dramatic. It was the night
of the 26 May 1846, and a large party was being given
at Gore House, the residence of Lady Blessington,
when he suddenly made his appearance. No one had
heard of his arrival in the city. He was again well re-
ceived by his old friends, and he made up for his five
years of seclusion by a furious pursuit of pleasure.
It was at this time that he first made the acquaint-
ance of the celebrated Miss Howard, whom he met
one morning when riding in Hyde Park. She was a
very beautiful girl, of rather humble origin. Her father
had been a riding-master, and was now the proprietor
of a fashionable academy much frequented by the
jeunesse doree of the day. His daughter, who was a
superb horse-woman, gave riding lessons, and soon
had a large circle of ardent admirers. She was very
fond of jewels, and in a short time had a magnificent
collection, presented by her adorers. It was not long
before she became the amie intime of the Prince, who
was very devoted to her. Like the Comtesse Walewska
Clio]
PRISONER OF STATE
with his uncle the First Napoleon, she seem s to h ave
beerTthe one great love of his life.
At this same time there was much talk of a mar-
riage between the Prince and a young and charming
English girl, Miss Emmy Bowles. By a very curious
coincidence she was then living with her brother-in-
law at Camden Place, Chislehurst, which a quarter
of a century later was to be the residence of the
Emperor after Sedan, and the place of his death.
The project was given up when Miss Bowles heard
of the liaison between the Prince and Miss Howard.
Two years later, when Louis Napoleon was in ur-
gent need of funds for the expenses of his presidential
campaign in France, Miss Howard sold or pawned
all of her magnificent collection of jewels and gave
him the money. Later, he repaid all of these loans
and gave her a very handsome allowance, besides the
title of Comtesse de Beauregard. His attachment
for her was so great that at the time of his marriage
to Eugenie, many of his friends thought that he would
never succeed in breaking his "English chains"; and
he had great difficulty in pacifying the lovely English
woman to whom he was so greatly indebted. The
secret police were so afraid that she might escape their
surveillance and make a public scandal at Notre
Dame that they constrained her to leave Paris before
the day of the Imperial wedding.
During his second residence in London, Louis was a
frequent guest of his cousin the Princesse Marie,
daughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden, and
Stephanie de Beauharnais, a cousin of Queen Hor-
tense. She was the wife of the eldest son of the Duke
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
of Hamilton, who became the eleventh duke of that
name on the death of his father in 1852. The title of
Due de Chatellerault, granted to his remote ancestor,
in 1548, was conferred on her son the twelfth Duke
of Hamilton by the Emperor Napoleon in 1864.
His cousin Marie, who was much attached to him,
did everything she could to dissuade Louis from any
more fool-hardy adventures. His reply was: ** Marie,
J I do not belong to myself; I belong to my name and
my country. Though fortune has twice betrayed me,
yet my destiny will none the less surely be fulfilled.
I wait.'' He was not to wait much longer.
The last year of the Prince's imprisonment at
Ham, when the news reached him of the mortal illness
of his father, the former King of Holland, he de-
manded permission from the French Government to
visit his dying parent in Italy. Although he offered
to give his word of honor that he would return to
Ham, as soon as the visit was accomplished, his re-
quest was refused. One of the principal reasons which
he gave for his escape was the desire to see once
more his father whose end was approaching. As soon
as he arrived in London he lost no time in calling upon
his most influential friends to aid him in obtaining a
sauf-conduit to go to Florence. The Austrian Am-
bassador absolutely refused to grant him the neces-
sary passports. Louis Napoleon therefore did not
have the consolation of being present during the last
moments of King Louis, who finally passed away from
an attack of apoplexy the 25 July 1846, two months
after his son's arrival in London.
■sciH^r-^i
PRESIDENT LOUIS NAPOLEON
CHAPTER EIGHT
1846-1848
REVOLUTION OF 1848
Awaiting the Call of Destiny — Government of Louis Philippe
— The Mehemet Ali Affair — Ministry of Guizot — The
February Revolution — Flight of the King — The Pro-
visional Government — The June Riots — Louis Napo-
leon at Paris — Elected to the Assembly — A Crucial
Moment — The New Constitution — Candidate for the
Presidency — Triumphant Election — Inaugurated as
President of the Republic
ON his arrival in London, the 26 May 1846,
after his escape from Ham, Louis Napoleon
went to the Brunswick Hotel In Jermyn
Street, where he registered as the Comte d'Arenen-
berg, taking the title of his mother's chateau In
Switzerland. On the following day, he wrote a very
affectionate letter to his father at Florence, briefly
telling of his escape, and announcing his Intention
of joining him as soon as possible.
Some months later he leased, at a rental of three
hundred pounds a year, a new house at No. 10 King
Street, near Saint James's Square. The house now
bears another number, and has on the front wall a
plaque commemorating the residence there of the
Prince Louis Napoleon from 1846 to 1848. It Is a
narrow, four-story mansion, with an entrance up two
steps from the level of the sidewalk.
nii3 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Early in February 1847, he wrote his old friend and
tutor Monsieur Vieillard regarding his new residence:
"For two weeks now I have been settled in my new
house, and I am delighted once more to have a home,
for the first time in seven years. I have brought to-
gether all my books and family portraits; in short
all the precious objects which escaped from the
wreck."
Here he lived very quietly, while awaiting the "Call
of Destiny." For several months after his escape, he
was in very bad health, and he occupied himself only
with his literary and scientific studies. He took part in
no plots or schemes, and made no plans for the future.
As soon as his health was better, he appeared again
in society, where he was quite as well received as
during his former residence in London before the
Boulogne fiasco. Every morning he rode in Rotten
Row, and in the afternoon was seen driving in Hyde
Park. In the evening he went to the theatre or opera,
or dropped in at one of his clubs for a quiet game of
whist, which he had learned to play at Ham. In brief,
he led the life of a man-about-town.
The stories about his being very short of money at
this time have no foundation of fact. It is true that
the fortune of several million francs received from
his mother's estate had been nearly all spent at the
time of the Boulogne attempt, and that the balance
had been divided among the old servants of Hortense
when he entered Ham. But under the will of King
Louis, who died just two months after his escape, he
received all of his father's property, consisting of a
palace at Florence, an estate at Civlta Nuova, and
REVOLUTION OF 1848
over three million francs in good securities. His father
also left him all of his decorations, his heirlooms,
and many precious souvenirs of the Emperor. Upon
the estate of Civita Nuova alone he afterwards bor-
rowed the sum of 325,000 francs. For that time, even
for a Prince, he could hardly be called a poor man.
Besides his own very comfortable bachelor establish-
ment, he also maintained a very handsome home for
the beautiful Miss Howard.
As for the Prince himself, his personal tastes were
always very simple, and he had ample means for all
his own requirements. But he was continually sur-
rounded by a crowd of partisans who made large de-
mands upon his purse. To give just one instance:
After the release of Doctor Conneau, who had been a
fellow-prisoner at Ham, and had materially aided his
escape, he urged the doctor to come to London, and
bought for him a practice, for which he paid nine hun-
dred pounds. It was to meet the large expenses of his
political propaganda, and the constant demands of
his friends and hangers-on, that he was obliged to
borrow large sums of the Barings and Rothschilds
and other leading banking-houses. This was un-
doubtedly the basis of the current gossip about his
being short of funds.
For some time past Louis Napoleon had been
closely watching political events in France. The
Government of Louis Philippe which had long been
in difficulties, was now "with its back to the wall"
fighting for its very existence. During the first ten
years of the July Monarchy, although there had
been ten difi"erent ministries, there had been a fairly
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
continuous policy, as all had worked to sustain the
Government, put down its enemies, and keep peace
with foreign countries. When this result had finally
been accomplished, there came a break in the Gov-
ernment due to the rivalry of two men, Thiers and
Guizot, each of whom desired the leading place. Out
of this rivalry there arose two separate parties, each
with its theory of the constitution. The Left Centre,
under Thiers, held that the King reigns but does not
govern, or in other words, the English theory of
government by responsible ministers. The Right
Centre, under Guizot, on the other hand, said: "The
throne is not an empty chair," and maintained that
the King was not bound to follow strictly the
opinions of the majority.
Louis Philippe, for his part, had no idea of being an
ornamental figure-head; he wished to govern as well
as reign. He insisted on conducting foreign affairs
himself, and meddled continually in internal mat-
ters. As soon as his government seemed firmly estab-
lished, he began to reveal his real purpose of being
King in fact as well as in theory. Taking advantage
of the party division, in 1836, the King forced Thiers
to resign, but was compelled to recall him three years
later. The chief feature of the second brief ministry
of Thiers was its foreign policy. A few years prior to
this date, a powerful vassal of the Sultan, named
Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, had revolted,
and after conquering all of Syria, had pushed on into
Asia Minor, and even threatened Constantinople
itself. The Sultan, thoroughly frightened, appealed
for aid, and Russia and England came to his assist-
REVOLUTION OF 1848
ance, while Prussia and Austria took the same side,
all actuated by different motives.
France, which had never ceased to be interested
in Egypt, since the time of Napoleon's expedition,
and which had officered and trained the Egyptian
army, took the other side, and supported Mehemet
Ali. But she stood alone, and her complete isolation
was shown in 1840 when the Great Powers met in
London, and, ignoring France, pledged themselves
to take measures to bring the rebel to terms. Thiers
urged a vigorous warlike policy, but the King, fearing
that he might involve France and his monarchy in
grave danger, refused to support him, and Guizot
became chief minister, and remained in power until
1848. This diplomatic humiliation of France caused
an outburst of popular wrath, which led to the bring-
ing back of the ashes of Napoleon from Saint Helena
and other measures taken to conciliate public opinion.
This was what Louis Napoleon meant when he said,
at the time, that they ought to restore Napoleon's
ideas as well as his remains to France.
Guizot, who was eminent both as an historian and
an orator, was a man of strong and rigid mind, of un-
changeable principles. A King with the Ideas and
tendencies of Louis Philippe could not have had a
more dangerous adviser. The Government was scru-
pulous in Its adherence to parliamentary forms, and
by a clever manipulation of voters always managed
to have a majority In the Chamber of Deputies. The
forms of the constitution were maintained but Its
spirit was nullified.
Opposition to this system was inevitable, and was
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the main feature of domestic politics in France from
1840 to 1848, when Louis Philippe and Guizot and
the entire regime were violently overthrown. Through
fear of shedding the blood of his people, when he
could easily have got the situation in hand, the King
abdicated and fled to England.
The Revolution of 1848 in France came like a
bolt from the blue. It was absolutely unpremeditated,
entirely unexpected, and perfectly successful. In
three days it was all over. On the morning of the 24
February there was no thought of a Republic ; by sun-
set the Second French Republic had been proclaimed.
Nominally it lasted nearly five years, from the 24
February 1848 to the 2 December 1852, when the
Second Empire was proclaimed. Practically, however,
it came to an end with the coup d'etat of the second
of December 1851.
The Provisional Government, chosen 24 February,
remained in power about ten weeks, and was then
succeeded by the National Assembly which framed
the Constitution of the Republic, and governed the
country until the election of the President and Legis-
lative Assembly the tenth of December of the same
year.
The Provisional Government was obliged to main-
tain itself by force of arms. The last of June there
was an insurrection of the Commune in Paris. General
Cavaignac, who was made military dictator, finally
put down the insurgents after four days of the most
fearful street fighting that Paris had ever known.
Ten thousand men were killed or wounded, and as
many more made prisoners, and imm.ediately de-
REVOLUTION OF 1848
ported. The anxiety for the future was so great that
the powers of the dictator were continued for four
months, until the end of October. One of the unfor-
tunate results of this insurrection was that it led to
the ultimate overthrow of the Republic. All classes
were united in demanding a government of law and
order. One-man power seemed to be the only salva-
tion of the country.
The first information which Louis Napoleon had
of the Revolution of 1848 was on the afternoon of
the 25 February. As he was returning to his home in
King Street he heard the loud cries of the newsboys
selling the "extras" which announced that the King
had been dethroned and a Republic proclaimed in
France. The Call of Destiny had come at last!
The Prince lost no time. Without any escort,
equipped only with a small travelling bag, he took
the first train for Folkestone. A few hours later he
trod once more the sands of Boulogne, which had
once threatened to swallow up his fortunes. At the
same hour Louis Philippe thanked God that he was
safe on English soil. What a strange turn of Fortune's
wheel !
By another remarkable coincidence, Louis Napo-
leon had crossed the Channel on the return trip of
the same boat which had brought over to England
the Due de Nemours, the son of Louis Philippe ; and
the next day in the train to Paris, Louis found him-
self seated opposite two friends of the Due who had
escorted him to the coast. They were so astonished to
see the former prisoner of Ham en route for Paris
that they could hardly believe their eyes.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
As soon as Lamartine and the members of the Pro-
visional Government learned of the presence of the
Prince in Paris, they strongly advised him to return
to England. His surprise was so great that for the
first time in his life he seemed to feel really discour-
aged.
At the April elections not a voice was raised in
favor of the name of Bonaparte. But his patience and
resignation were soon rewarded. At the June elections,
without having presented himself as a candidate, he
was chosen as Deputy from four Departments.
Once more the Prince packed his bag and set out
for Paris. On his arrival, he went to live quietly at
the Hotel du Rhin, in the Place Vendome, from the
windows of which he could see towering about the
capital the figure of the Great Emperor whose genius
had been the guiding star of his life. Here he played
his cards very adroitly. He avoided publicity, kept
himself carefully in the background, affected timidity
and indecision. He did not make his first appearance
in the Assembly until the end of September, and then
very modestly. He took an inconspicuous seat next
to his old professor Vieillard. In presenting a paper
two days later he created rather an unfavorable im-
pression by his marked German accent, which he
never entirely overcame. From the age of seven, his
boyhood and early manhood had been passed either
in a German-speaking canton of Switzerland or at
school in Bavaria, and it was not strange that he had
acquired a German accent.
On the ninth of October there was to be a vote
upon an amendment declaring members of the
C i2o3
REVOLUTION OF 1848
former imperial and royal families of France ineligible
as candidates for the presidency of the Republic.
This was perhaps the crucial moment of his entire
career. He entered after the debate had begun, as
though not particularly interested, and then listened
in complete silence. When he finally arose to speak
some of the members called for a vote, without hear-
ing him. The member who occupied the tribune, how-
ever, yielded his place to his "honorable colleague,
Louis Napoleon.'* Instantly there was complete si-
lence; every one expected from his mouth a grave,
solemn statement of his position. He pronounced a
few rambling words, without any particular signifi-
cance, and then descended from the tribune amidst
a general laugh of derision. The most eloquent and
carefully prepared address could not have better
served his purpose. He cut such a sorry figure that
Thouret contemptuously withdrew the amendment
by which he had intended to bar Louis Napoleon from
the presidency.
Under the new constitution the President of the
Republic was to be elected for four years and to be
ineligible for reelection until after a four years'
interval. The executive was given very considerable
powers, which was felt to be safe in view of the short-
ness of his term and the fact that he could not be
elected for two consecutive terms.
This being settled, the next important matter to
be decided was as to the method of choosing the
President. After a long debate, it was voted by a
large majority that the chief executive should be
elected by universal suffrage. This was very favorable
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
to the plans of Louis Napoleon, as the French elec-
torate, from its lack of political experience, would
probably be influenced more by the glamour of some
famous name, than guided by an intelligent analysis
of the character and fitness of the candidates for the
high office.
At the time of the Revolution of February 1848 the
only surviving brother of Napoleon was King Jerome,
the youngest of the family. Joseph had died at Flor-
ence in July 1844, and Louis at Leghorn two years
later. Jerome had forfeited all claims to be considered
a leader in the Bonaparte cause. In December 1847,
he had solicited, and obtained, permission from Louis
Philippe to reside three months in France ; and among
the papers found unsigned in the King's cabinet at
the Tuileries after his flight was the grant of a peerage
with a pension of 100,000 francs to the former King
of Westphalia. Under the favor of the Orleans Mon-
archy, Jerome and his son Napoleon were actually
living in Paris when the Revolution broke out. The
only member of the Bonaparte family who was
worthy of being the successor of the Great Emperor
was the pale and thoughtful student of the " Univer-
sity of Ham," who had done and suffered so much for
the cause.
At this time. Prince Louis Napoleon was practi-
cally unknown to the great mass of his fellow-country-
men, while with those who were better informed, the
failure of his attempts at Strasbourg and Boulogne
had not served to enhance his reputation. But so
quickly did events move and opinions change during
this remarkable year of 1848, that by the time a deci-
C 122]
REVOLUTION OF 1848
sion had been reached regarding the method of elect-
ing the President, he was generally known to be a
leading candidate for the position. His name was one
to conjure with. It was his only capital, but it was
sufficient. With universal suffrage, the peasants
formed the great majority of the voters, and there
was not one to whom the magic name of Napoleon
was unknown. Their fathers had fought with the
Great Emperor at Austerlitz and Jena, they had
carried the glorious eagles of France to Vienna and
Berlin, why should they not vote for his nephew and
heir.'*
But he also had much strength with the middle
classes, the bourgeoisie. Louis Napoleon by his pro-
fessions and his family name seemied to stand for law
and order, and for the rights of property, always so
dear to the French. Again, for many years a series
of brilliant writers had been portraying in history and
in poetry the wonders of the Napoleonic era, and a
new legend had grown up, fair, thrilling and alto-
gether captivating.
The only formidable competitor of the Prince was
General Cavaignac, who had governed Paris as mili-
tary dictator for several months, and was generally
unpopular, especially with the working class, by
whom he was detested for the sanguinary manner
in which he had put down the June insurrection.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the success of Louis
Napoleon as a presidential candidate was due both
to his strength and his supposed weakness. His name,
and the principles of government for which he stood,
appealed to the friends of tranquillity and public
C 1233
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
order. To the republicans and royalists, on the other
hand, he was satisfactory on account of his supposed
feebleness of character and lack of spirit and energy.
The former thought they could easily dominate him,
the latter that they could replace him, when the op-
portune moment arrived, by a prince of the royal
house. So all factions united in paving the way for
his election.
For these reasons, when the election was held in
December 1848, Prince Louis Napoleon was chosen
President by an overwhelming majority, receiving
5,400,000 votes to 1,500,000 for Cavaignac, his
nearest competitor.
When Louis Napoleon entered the crowded As-
sembly chamber, on the 20 December 1848, all eyes
were turned upon him. Monsieur Marrast arose from
the Presidential chair and announced that Citizen
Louis Bonaparte, having obtained an absolute ma-
jority of votes, was proclaimed by the National
Assembly as President of the French Republic, from
that day until the second Sunday of May 1852, and
he was invited to ascend the tribune and take the
oath of office, which was as follows: "In the presence
of God and before the French people, I swear to re-
main faithful to the democratic Republic, and to
defend the Constitution.'* The Prince raised his right
hand and said, "I swear."
The occasion is thus described by Jerrold: "Then
for the first time appeared in an official scene the
figure that was destined to become familiar to France
and to Europe : a thoughtful, pale face, overcast with
such sadness as years of care set upon a man's aspect;
C1243
REVOLUTION OF 1848
the broad brow, lightly covered with fair hair; the
blue eyes, veiled, but flashing at intervals; a slight
figure, slow in movement and dignified in carriage."
The Prince was in evening dress, and wore the
rosette of Deputy, and the grand cross of the Legion
d'honneur on his breast. The scene closed with the
departure of the Prince-President to the Elysee
Palace, which had been assigned as his official resi-
dence. By some oversight, not a room had been pre-
pared for his reception. The new occupant of the
Elysee had to be content for the first night with a
bed, a table and a chair. Fortunately the former
prisoner of State was a man of simple habits.
It was just a third of a century since the last visit
of Prince Louis to the Elysee on that memorable
evening in June 181 5, when just prior to his departure
for the fatal campaign of Waterloo, the Emperor had
embraced him for the last time, and had made to
Marshal Soult the prophetic remark: "He is perhaps
the hope of my race."
1:1253
CHAPTER NINE
1848-1852
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
The Elysee Palace — The Prince Plans a Coup d'Etat —
Strength of the Monarchial Party — The June Insurrec-
tion — Franchise Law of 1850 — The President and the
Assembly — Removal of General Changarnier — The Coup
d'Etat — The Second of December — The Two Following
Days — Verdict of the Nation — The New Constitution
— Old Debts Paid — Last Year of the Republic — The
Plebescite — The Empire Proclaimed
THE Palais de I'Elysee, the official residence
of the Prince-President during the Second
Republic, is situated to the north, or right,
of the Champs-Elysees as you ascend this magnificent
avenue towards the Arc de Triomphe. It is very
rarely noticed by the casual visitor to Paris, as the
building itself is entirely screened in summer by
the heavy foliage of the large park on the side of the
Avenue Gabriel which runs parallel to the Champs-
Elysees.
The Palace, which was built in 1718, during the
reign of Louis the Fifteenth, was inhabited, until her
death, by the notorious Madame de Pompadour. After
this it was the residence, till her emigration in 1790,
of the Duchesse de Bourbon-Conde, from which fact
it became known as the Elysee-Bourbon. Confiscated
during the Revolution, it was sold in 1803 to Murat,
who occupied it as Governor of Paris during the
[:i26 3
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
early years of the Empire, until he was made King
of Naples by Napoleon in 1808. It was then pur-
chased by the Emperor, who occupied it for several
weeks in the spring of 18 15 prior to his departure for
the campaign of Waterloo in June. Here he returned
for a few days after the battle, and here he signed his
final abdication.
After the Second Restoration, this palace of many
changes passed into the hands of the son of Charles
the Tenth, the Due de Berry, who lived there until
his murder in 1820. It was then occupied for a short
time by his son the Due de Bordeaux, born seven
months after his father's death. He was better known
later as the Comte de Chambord. Two years after
the Franco-Prussian war he might have become King
of France under the title of Henri Cinq but for his
refusal to adopt the tricolor of the Revolution and
the Empire in place of the white flag of the monarchy.
On his death In 1883, the elder branch of the Bourbon
lamily became extmct.
During the Second Republic the property was
again confiscated, and the palace was the official
residence of Louis Napoleon until he went to the
Tulleries at the time of the proclamation of the
Empire. Under the Third Republic it has once more
become the residence of the President. ""^
Louis Napoleon had not been installed in the
Elysee six weeks before he began to think of a coup
d'etat. The last of January 1849 he approached on
the subject Changarnier, the most popular of his
generals. But he had no sooner broached the matter
than he saw that the general was not inclined to be
C 127 J
{
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
sympathetic, and he adroitly changed the conversa-
tion, and maintained his sphinx-Hke silence until
three years later, when he carried out his plans with-
out the assistance of Changarnier. But with his usual
patience and perseverance, and tenacity of purpose,
he kept this project constantly in mind. To keep
silent called for no effort on his part: it was second-
nature. With slow steps he pursued his quiet way
towards the ultimate goal, always carefully watching
and taking advantage of every shift in the changing
winds of public opinion. In the meantime he had no
idea of showing his hand before the opportune mo-
ment arrived.
Twenty years before, Louis Philippe, just before
mounting the throne of Charles the Tenth, wrote
the exiled monarch that he had been constrained by
force of circumstances, and that if he were offered
a title, to which he had not aspired. His Majesty
could rest assured that he would not exercise any
(kind of power except temporarily and in the sole
interest of the exiled House.
So the Prince- President, before assuming the title
of Emperor, declared over and over again: "Je ne
suis pas un ambitieux." Never, never would he raise
a sacrilegious hand against the Republic, the object
of his sacred affection !
In his hopes he was greatly encouraged by the
evident dread of the red spectre by the great mass
of the French nation. Having had so little experience
with republican institutions, the majority of the pop-
ulation could only recall in this connection the ex-
cesses of the Revolution. They looked to the Prince
NAPOLEON III
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
as the symbol of law and order, the only barrier be-
tween the nation and anarchy.
At the first election of the Legislative Assembly, in
May 1849, out of 750 members, there were returned
about 70 moderate Republicans, about 180 Socialists,
and about 500 Monarchists, who were nearly all
adherents^ either^oF the Bourbon or Orleans family,
only a few being favorable to the Bonapartes. Thus
in the first legislature elected under the new Consti-
tution, only seventy were sincerely attached to the
new form of government. The explanation of this
remarkable result lies in the fact that the June riots
had not yet been forgotten, and the mass of the
French nation believed that the Republic was dan-
gerous to law and order. Both the President and
the Assembly therefore were enemies of the Constitu-
tion^which they had sworn to protect. This anoma-
lous situation could not long endure.
The three years that elapsed between the inaugu-
ration of the President and the coup d'etat of De-
cember 1 85 1, which virtually ushered in the Empire,
although it was not proclaimed until a year later,
can be passed over briefly, as they were not a
period of legislative or social reform, but of adroit
maneuvers for party advantages without regard for
the interests of France.
At first the President and the monarchial majority
cooperated against the Republican party, which each
felt to be the real enemy. The Opposition soon pre-
sented the Government with an opportunity of which
it was not slow in taking advantage. In June 1849 an
insurrection broke out which was easily put down.
C 129]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Following up its victory, the Government arrested
33 Members of the Opposition and deprived them of
their seats, and also suppressed their journals. Public
meetings were forbidden for a year. Paris was put
under martial law, a measure which greatly increased
the power of the President.
In 1850 the Assembly enacted a new Franchise
Law, which deprived over three million men of the
right to vote, and practically abolished universal
suffrage. By this measure over one third of the elec-
torate were deprived of the suffrage, and they natu-
rally were very bitter against the Assembly. Another
law was passed, restricting the freedom of the press,
which resulted in wiping out of existence most of the
cheap papers of the Republicans and Socialists, who
could not meet the requirements.
The common enemy having been overcome, war
now broke out between the President and the mon-
archial majority in the Assembly. The most bitter
fight was over the revision of the Constitution. Louis
Napoleon, who had no idea of retiring to private
life at the end of his four-year term, demanded that
this clause be stricken out. When the Assembly re-
fused, he turned the tables on his opponents by de-
manding the repeal of the act limiting the suffrage,
thus posing as the guardian of the Constitution. He
J thus gained the good-will of the three million voters
who had been disfranchised, and made sure of their
V support in any attack which he might make on the
^ Assembly.
V Balked of his ambition of remaining In power by
I peaceful means, the Prince-President now planned
^ C1303
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
and carried out with extraordinary precision and sue- f
cess a remarkable coup d'etat. For its success, secrecy \
was the absolute prerequisite, and never was secrecy
better maintained. Possessing the power of appoint-
ment to civil and military positions, his first step was
to remove General Changa rnier from the command
of tlie Army of Paris. '
The excitement in the Chamber was intense. The
man whom they had despised and derided when he
first appeared as a Deputy in their midst, whom they
had thought to control, and to twist and turn at their
pleasure, had suddenly displayed the power and de- I
cision of a master-mind. Changarnier exchanged his »
headquarters in the Tuileries for the modest apart-
ment which he leased in a small furnished hotel of the
Rue Saint-Honore. Paris was quiet, and securities
went up on the Bourse.
The struggle between the two opposing forces con-
tinued throughout the year 1851. The Prince-Presi-
dent continually gained friends and supporters.
Desirous of strengthening his hold on the people he
made a triumphant tour of the provinces. The field
of operations was now ready, it only remained to
choose the men who by their character and their
assurance would carry his plans to a triumphal finish.
The decision that the hour for action had come
was not reached until he was convinced by Morny,
Persigny and Saint-Arnaud that he could no longer
temporise, unless he wished himself to go to Vin-
cennes instead of his enemies. It is not surprising that
he preferred the route to the Tuileries.
The chief reliance of Louis Napoleon in planning
1:1313
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
and carrying out the coup d'etat was his old friend
; and accomplice in the affairs of Strasbourg and
Boulogne, Persigny, who was assisted by two men
who proved of inestimable value in the enterprise.
Although the names of Fleury and Veron were then
! comparatively unknown, they both contributed pow-
; erfully to the elevation of the Prince-President to
; the Imperial throne.
At the time, Fleury held a position of importance
in the Ministry of War. It was he who selected the
regiments to be successively quartered in Paris, and
sent them back to the provinces thoroughly won over
to the idea that the Imperial form of government
was the best hope both for France and the Army.
It was Fleury also who designated the officers for
promotion, and who won the adhesion of Saint-
Arnaud and Magnon. The success of Fleury proved
that he was a skilful diplomatist as well as a valiant
soldier. In 1848, however, Colonel Emile Fleury was
known only as a brilliant, dashing officer, with a
splendid record for personal valor. It was Persigny
who detected in him the sterling qualities necessary
for his purpose.
Almost without exception, the men who carried
through the coup d'etat had given proofs of their
courage on the field of battle. Persigny knew all about
Saint-Arnaud and probably suggested his name to
Fleury. Like Persigny himself, Saint-Arnaud had had
rather a checkered career. Although member of a
good family, he had been a soldier, and then in turn
a commercial traveller, an actor and a fencing-master,
I before he again entered the army.
C 132]
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Doctor Veron was at that time the proprietor of
the "Constitutionnel," which in the opinion of La-
martine was the ablest journal of the RepubHc, and
he was the sole arbiter of its policy. He was also the
Director of the Opera, which he had raised to a pitch
of prosperity such as it never reached before. All
this, however, did not satisfy his ambition: his one
desire was to become a factor in politics.
Another man of mark who rallied to the Prince-
President at this time was the Comte de Morny, a
former adherent of the Orleans "dynasty, who had
become convinced that the star of Napoleon was
again in the ascendant. As a young man, Morny had
shown great aptitude for commercial enterprises, but
he was first of all a man of fashion and of pleasure. A
courtier and a man of affairs, a dandy and a sports-
man, this son of Hortense, with the powerful backing
of his reputed grandfather, the great Talleyrand, had
become a favorite in society and a power in the politi-
cal world. *'Like all men who have had many love
affairs," Emile Ollivier remarks of him, *'he had no
tenderness; m Its stead he had grace, an easy wit,
tact, cordiality, a seductive charm. There was no pose
in his manner, no surliness, but a captivating spon-
taneity. He was always affable, and although busy
never appeared to be in a hurry. It was impossible to
approach him without feeling attracted at first, and
then moved by sympathy." The figure of Morny is
familiar to the general reader in the Due de Mora
of "Le Nabab" of Alphonse Daudet, who had been
one of his secretaries.
Morny had in short the qualities and defects of the
C 1333
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
society in which he had been brought up, in the salon
of the briUiant Madame de Souza, the mother of
Comte de Flahaut. A briUiant cavalry officer, he had
won the cross by his valor on the field of battle. At
the age of thirty he was at the head of the beet-sugar
industry of France, and a Deputy. In the Chamber
he distinguished himself by his knowledge of financial
matters.
Once attached to the cause of the Prince-President,
he became, and remained for the rest of his life, one
of his ablest assistants and counsellors. He was his
representative in the many conferences which took
place while the plans for the coup d'etat were being
matured. The coming event cast its shadows before.
Saint-Arnaud was made Minister of War, and General
Magnan was put in command of the Army of Paris,
I thus putting the military power of the capital com-
I pletely under the control of the Prince-President.
Through the new Prefect of Police, Maupas, this
powerful organization was also In the hands of the
Prince.
On the first of December the opposition party in
the Assembly were cheerful in the belief that the day
of their triumph was near at hand, and the Orleanists
were looking forward to a Third Restoration. Prince
de Joinville had crossed the Channel to join his
brother the Due d'Aumale, who was to take the com-
mand of the troops at Lille, who were supposed to be
well-aff^ected towards the Royal party.
At the Elysee, the day passed quietly. The Prince-
President went over his correspondence with his
secretary, Mocquard, gave interviews to his Minis-
1:1343
r
I
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
ters, and saw his friends as usual. In the evening he
gave a dinner, which was followed by his regular
Monday evening reception. Morny rode in the Bois
in the morning, appeared later at the Jockey Club,
and in the evening sauntered from box to box at the
Opera Comique.
During the day, the final plans were arranged, the
military by Fleury and Saint-Arnaud, the political
by Morny and the Prince. The reception at the Elysee
in the evening was crowded as usual. At eight o'clock,
the Prince withdrew for a moment, to give some direc-
tions to his secretary, who was docketing the papers
relative to the coming event. Upon the package, Louis
Napoleon wrote in pencil, '" Rubicon ." An hour later
he paid his secretary a second visit, and carefully
corrected the proofs of the proclamations, which in a
few hours were to be posted on the walls of Paris. At
ten o'clock, as usual, he finally withdrew to his pri-
vate apartment. As he reentered his cabinet he said
with a laugh to Monsieur Mocquard: "There is
general talk in the rooms to-night of an imminent
coup d'etat, but it is not ours: the National Assembly
is going to send me to Vincennes in a panzer a salade"
— the French name for the "Black Maria.'*
With a key attached to his watch-chain. Prince
Louis opened a secret drawer in his desk, and with-
drew three sealed packets which contained the final
secret instructions. These he placed upon the Roman
mosaic table upon which the Emperor had signed his
second abdication. Then Persigny arrived, followed
by Maupas, Morny and Saint-Arnaud. After a short
conference, the meeting broke up and the Prince re-
1:1353
J
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
tired to his room for the night. Morny went to the
Jockey Club for a rubber of whist, as he had no
further part to play until the next morning. Saint-
Arnaud, as Minister of War, gave his final orders to
Magnan, the commander of the Army of Paris, who
was bound to obey him, and in this instance did so
with a will.
When Maupas, the new Prefect of Police, left the
Elysee at eleven o'clock, he took with him in his
carriage Colonel de Beville, to whom had been en-
trusted the proclamations to be printed. The Colonel
was to pass the night at the Imprimerie Nationale, to
watch the printing, so that the news should not get
out, and well he performed his task. Sentinels were
placed at every window and door, and no one was
allowed to leave the establishment until the printing
was done. At the appointed hour, the proclamations
were ready, and Paris awoke to find them posted on
all the walls of the capital.
The success or failure of the coup d'etat rested
primarily with Maupas. If one of his arrests had
failed, the alarm would have been given, and the
success of the carefully laid plans put in jeopardy.
But the new Prefect was an experienced policeman,
and there was not a single mistake made. Before
morning the State prisoners were all safely escorted
to the prison of Mazas. Within an hour all the public
men, seventy-eight in number, who could have op-
posed the plans of the Prince, had been arrested in
their beds, and put under lock and key.
Such in brief is the story of the preliminaries of the
coup d'etat, as told by Jerrold, in his voluminous
1:1363
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
"Life of Napoleon III." While the account differs
in some respects from the generally accepted version,
and is' undoubtedly colored by his sympathies, it is
probably in the main reliable.
The historical day, the second of December 1851,
began with a great movement of troops. At ten o'clock
in the morning the Prince-President descended from
his apartment in the Elysee, and appeared in the |
Court of Honor. The cuirassiers of the guard drew |
their sabres and cried: "Vive I'Empereur!" It was a
little premature, and they were ordered to moderate
their zeal. Louis Napoleon and his brilliant suite of
forty general officers, with their plumed hats, and
uniforms covered with gold braid, immediately
mounted, and the cavalcade set out for a promenade
through the streets of Paris. The party turns to the
right in the direction of the Rue Royale and the
Place de la Concorde. The President rides alone at
the head. A little behind at his right is King Jerome,
and at the left, General Saint-Arnaud, the Minister
of War. All the way to the Place de la Concorde the
streets are lined with regiments of infantry. The side-
walks are crowded with spectators, who look on in
curiosity and surprise.
Louis Napoleon, riding ahead, on his superb Eng-
lish mount, shows in his set face neither pride nor
joy.
In the Place de la Concorde there were general
cries of: "Vive I'Empereur!" and other voices added :
" Aux Tuileries." The gates of the Garden were open,
and the Prince entered and took the route to the
Palace. But old King Jerome, prudent for once in his
C1373
!
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
life, whispered in his ear: "Louis, you are going too
fast. Better not enter the Chateau yet/' The Prince
turned and went back.
The cavalcade then crossed the Place de la Con-
^ corde, traversed the Pont-Royal, and reached the
Place of the Palais-Bourbon, the seat of the Legisla-
tive Chamber. The President had now finished his
t course, and the party returned to the Elysee by way
of the Pont de la Concorde.
This demonstration was only the preliminary of the
real drama which was to follow. That evening the
Prince suffered from the same attack of nerves which
had affected Napoleon the i8 Brumaire, when his
brother Lucien came to his aid. Morny and Persigny
advised him to go to bed and sleep off his nervous
headache and leave the direction of affairs to them.
He shut himself up in one of the salons of the
Elysee, where the Emperor had retired to sign his
abdication. At the last moment he hesitated to follow
i, the road to power and glory upon which he had en-
tered and thought only of his oath to preserve the
Constitution. But it was too late now to turn back.
The cavalry was already charging the crowds and
clearing the boulevards.
One can never be sure of the final outcome of a
political coup de main until all is over. On the second
December all chances favored the Bonaparte enter-
prise. The day was the anniversary of the coronation
of the Emperor Napoleon in 1804, and of his most
brilliant victory, Austerlitz, the following year. Dur-
ing the early morning hours many arrests had been
made of leading republicans and monarchists. Plac-
ni38 3
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
aids were pasted on all the walls of Paris announcing
the dissolution of the Assembly and the reestab-
lishment of universal suffrage, and suggesting a
change in the Constitution by which the President
should hold office for ten years. The people were called
upon to approve or disapprove these suggestions.
What would be the popular verdict ?
During this eventful day, there had been no ex-
citement in Paris. The shops, banks and offices had
remained open. The law courts held their sittings. At
no time had business been interrupted or the ordinary
current of Paris life been changed. By four o'clock
in the afternoon, all danger of opposition seemed over.
In the evening the theatres were as crowded as usual.
But Morny, Saint-Arnaud and Maupas did not
relax their vigilance. There were indications of
dangerous undercurrents foreboding trouble on the
morrow. Magnan kept the army in hand, ready for
any eventualities. The Prince-President gave a dinner
that evening to Turgot, the new Minister for Foreign
Affairs, and afterwards held a small reception at the
Ely see.
On the morning of the third, the "Moniteur" pub-
lished the list of the new Ministry. The principal mem-
bers, besides Turgot, were Eugene Rouher, Justice;
Saint-Arnaud, War; and Morny, Interior.
The Marquis de Turgot had been a Peer of France
under Louis Philippe, but had finally rallied to the
cause of the Prince-President, and from this time until
his death in 1866, he served the Emperor, as Minister,
Senator and Ambassador.
C1393
'
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Monsieur Rouher had already distinguished him-
self as an advocate in the provinces and as a Deputy
at Paris. He was rough and uncouth in his manners,
but was a man of strong, original mind, and pos-
sessed great gifts as an orator. He continued in public
office nearly all the time until the fall of Napoleon,
and during the final years of the Empire was known
as the "Vice-Emperor." His figure has been sketched
by Zola in *'Son Excellence Eugene Rougon."
Le Roy de Saint-Arnaud was a brilliant soldier,
who "had served with credit under the Due d'Aumale
when he was Governor of Algeria. For his services
during the coup d'etat he was made a Marshal of
France. He commanded the French army in the
Crimea and with Lord Raglan won the victory of Alma
20 September 1854. He died at sea nine days later.
No precautions had been neglected by the Prince-
President to insure the approval of the nation. Never-
theless, on the third of December barricades were
raised in the streets of Paris, and on the following day
occurred the famous "massacre of the boulevards."
Over 150 were killed and many more wounded. Paris
was cowed. The coup d'etat was an assured success.
Many of the departments of France were put under
martial law, and thousands were arrested and im-
, prisoned or exiled. The work begun on the second
I of December was thoroughly carried out.
During the excitement of the third, the Prince-
President had appeared in the Faubourg Saint-An-
toine in his carriage, alone and without escort. The
mob, awed by the Prince's courage, took off their
caps and raised a shout of, "Vive I'Empereur!"
C 1403
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
*'0n the fourth night after the coup d'etat," re-
lates Captain Gronow, "I was present at a ball given
by the DucHess of Hamilton in honor of the Prince-
President, at the Hotel Bristol, Place Vendome. The
Prince entered the ball-room accompanied only by
one aide. He appeared perfectly cool and collected;
he conversed with a great many persons, but more
particularly with Lord Cowley, who had only arrived
in Paris that morning to fill his post of British Am-
bassador. The instant the clock struck twelve, the
Prince's carriage was announced; whereupon the
Duke of Hamilton, taking two wax candles, con-
ducted his guest downstairs, and handed him into
his plain brougham. On his return to the ball-room,
the Duke remarked that it was extraordinary that
there was neither a police nor a military guard to
protect the President." In fact, the Prince, without
an escort, returned at midnight to the Elysee in a
one-horse brougham!
Having thus thoroughly prepared the ground, Louis
Napoleon appealed to the nation to approve his prop-
osition for remodelling the Constitution. At the elec-
tion held 20 December over seven millions voted in
favor of so doing, and less than seven hundred thou-
sand in the negative. Although the election was by
no means fair, although force and intimidation were
resorted to, it was evident that a vast majority of the
nation approved of the coup d'etat and was willing
to entrust the government to another Napoleon.
Although still nominally President of the Republic,
Louis Napoleon was in fact an absolute monarch.
Little by little he surrounded himself with all the
Chi 3
i
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
state of a sovereign. He did not yet take up his resi-
dence in the Tuileries, partially because the lower
floor was being repaired, but he gave large fetes in
the state apartments on the first floor.
The 14 January 1852 the new Constitution was
given out. The President of the Republic was named
for ten years with an annual civil list of twelve mil-
lions. In his hands were placed the supreme com-
mand of the army and navy, the power to conclude
treaties of peace, of alliance and of commerce. His
power was practically unlimited; he was Emperor in
all but name.
The Prince-President neglected no occasion to
show himself in public. A Sunday *'des Grandes Eaux'*
he was acclaimed at Versailles. He appealed to the
sympathies of the populace by frequent military
parades and reviews. He was present at nearly all
the premieres of the Opera and the Comedie-Fran-
caise. He drove to Longchamps in an open carriage
without escort. He even showed his courage and his
confidence in the public by walking alone in the
streets.
But if Louis Napoleon was willing to bide his time
before assuming the Imperial mantle, his family and
friends were not so patient, least of all Prince Napo-
leon, the son of King Jerome. From every side, from
Murat, from Ney and from Persigny, came demands
for titles, for honors, for grants of money.
From the second of December Louis Napoleon be-
gan to draw his monthly allowance of a million francs,
and was able to put his financial afi^airs in order and
pay off his old debts. Other claims were also liquidated
C 1423
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
at the same time. His old friend, Miss Howard, was
given the title of Comtesse de Beauregar37"wilh a
very~ handsome revenue. But the "chaine anglaise'*
was not easily broken, and their relations continued
until a short time before his marriage.
The national tranquillity was never greater than
during the last year of the Second Republic. The
President certainly had the public confidence and
sympathy. He was therefore in no haste to take the
final step of proclaiming the Empire. His thought
seemed to be not to shock the susceptibilities of the
people by appearing to be too eager to assume the
sovereign power, and to accustom the nation gradu-
ally to the change. Already the eagles had been
placed upon the flags, and his head was engraved
upon the coins of the Republic; but he requested the
municipal authorities, during his Presidential trips
through the country, not to receive him with Imperial
honors.
Secret petitions were circulated, begging him to
restore the Imperial regime. Delegations called upon
him to urge him to accede to the popular desire. So
much discretion and procrastination drove his family
almost mad, and they were loud in their reproaches.
Finally he decided that the moment had come.
On his return from the famous visit to Bordeaux,
where he had been received with great enthusiasm, .
he said that he was forced to recognize the fact that
France desired the Empire. As a matter of duty, he
consulted the Senate, which stated in its report that
"the Imperial monarchy has all the advantages of
the Republic without any of its dangers." \
ni43 3
I
}
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
On the 21 November 1852 the people of France
votecHon the proposition of reestabhshing the Im-
perial dignity and of proclaiming Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte Emperor under the name of Napoleon the
Third. Nearly eight million Frenchmen voted "yes"
and only a quarter of a million "no". On the second of
December 1852, the anniversary of the coronation of
the Great Emperor, Napoleon the Third was pro-
claimed Emperor of the French. The Second Empire
was established.
In the brief period of four years Louis Napoleon
had mounted from the position of an obscure and
almost unknown Deputy to the Imperial throne of
France. He had seen the complete realization of the
most fantastic dream ever conceived by the mind of
man.
"Though unfortunate in the circumstances con-
nected with the coup d'etat," says Hassall, "the
Second Empire owed its origin to the disunion exist-
ing among the monarchists, the republicans, and the
democrats. This disunion was certain to lead to
anarchy, and the nation was justified in giving itself
a dictator. Its choice of Louis Napoleon was due to
the extraordinary development of the Napoleonic
legend, the strength of which lay in tHe undoubted
fact that Napoleon the First had reconstructed French
society on a permanent basis and had saved France
from a complete return to chaos and barbarism."
The revival of the legend was due to such writers
as Beranger and Thiers. The ballads of the former
became immensely popular, and *'the little corporal
with his gray military coat" became a well-known
C 144]
EUGENIE
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
sajdng; while the histories of Thiers caused the name
of Napoleon to become so endeared to the masses
that the first use the peasants made of the grant of
universal suffrage was to elect Louis Napoleon dic-
tator. For the establishment of the Second Empire
Thiers was as responsible as any one manf
When the question of the revival of the Imperial
dignity in the person of Louis Napoleon came up in
the Senate, one member, and one only, voted against
it. This negative vote was cast by the Prince's former
tutor, and life-long friend and adviser. Monsieur
Vieillard. The next day Vieillard wrote the Prince to
the effect that he feared his act, which had been
dictated by his conscience, might sever their friendly
relations. He received the following reply:
"Mon cher Monsieur Vieillard:
*' Comment pouvez-vous croire que votre vote
puisse nuire en quoi que ce soit a la vieille amitie que
je vous porte? Venez dejeuner jeudi a onze heures
comme a I'ordinaire, et le nouveau titre que je re-
cevrai de la nation ne changera pas plus nos habitudes
que mes sentiments pour vous. Recevez-en I'assurance.
Votre ami,
" Louis-Napoleon
"Saint-Cloud, 9 novembre."
CHS]
CHAPTER TEN
1853
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
First Year of the Empire — Napoleon the Third and the Great
Powers — Lord Cowley's Anecdote — Final Recognition
of His Title — The Question of the Succession — Matri-
monial Ventures of Louis Napoleon — Eugenie de Montijo
— The Imperial Marriage — The Bonapartes Return —
Splendor of the Court — Character of Napoleon — The
Napoleonic Ideas — Political Institutions of the Empire —
The Emperor's Policy
SINCE the day in 1832, when the death of the
Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleon the Second,
had made him the head of his party, the only
thought of Louis Napoleon had been to become Em-
peror of the French. Now after twenty years of wait-
ing his great desire was accomplished.
For many years all the world had ridiculed and
derided him. Lord Malmesbury in his Memoirs tells
us of how even his mother, the Duchesse de Saint-Leu,
laughed with her guests at Arenenberg, over his dream,
although at the bottom of her heart she believed in
him and encouraged his aspirations, which she did
not find so chimerical. His final success had surprised
everybody, even those in the best position to form a
careful opinion on the subject. Thiers had said of
him: "He comprehends and understands nothing;
a regular block-head." Victor Hugo, on the other
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
hand, said in 1848, on the eve of the presidential elec-
tion: "The name of Napoleon Bonaparte means
order, force and glory.'* A little later, the day of the
election, he also said: "There is one name which sums
up all the memories of the past, all the hopes of the
future ; it is the name of Napoleon, of the man most
beloved by the people." At a later day, when disap-
pointed in his personal ambitions, he called him
"Napoleon the Little."
Tranquil and disdainful, Louis Napoleon went his
way, without being disturbed for a moment by these
contradictory judgments. Friends and enemies alike
were surprised by the rapidity with which one event
followed another: the dissolution of the Assembly, the
reestablishment of universal suffrage, the declaration
of martial law at Paris.
The Empire was reestablished, the dream of Louis
Napoleon had become a reality. Paris was never more
tranquil. The Prussian Ambassador at this time wrote
in his memoirs: "Luxury and comfort have reap-
peared as if by enchantment. The eve of the coup
d'etat France was full of fear; the eve of the Empire,
she is full of confidence."
The Emperor had only one regret, that his mother
had not lived to see his dream realized. He called to
mind the gloomy days of their exile in Switzerland,
the despair of their flight from Italy, after the death
of his brother, the days of exile and imprisonment.
As he looked around the salons of the Tuileries, and
his eyes rested on the Imperial insignia, the past
seemed like a hideous nightmare. With all the palaces
of France at his disposal, with a civil list of twenty-
. 1:1473
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
five million francs, he could not but smile at the
remembrance of his miserable lodging at Ham, and
the petty loan of the crazy Duke of Brunswick which
defrayed the expenses of his escape and flight to
London.
To crown his ambition there now remained only
the question of his recognition by the Great Powers
of Europe. So far as France was concerned, his vic-
tory was assured, although won by means open to
much question. But beyond the frontiers the name of
Napoleon still carried with it the idea of war and
conquest. At the public banquet at Bordeaux in
October, on the eve of the proclamation of the Em-
pire, he had uttered the memorable words : " L'Empire,
c'est la paix." Could he convince the foreign Courts
that the Empire no longer meant war .?
From the first, the London journals manifested
their hostility, and English public men their sus-
picions of his sincerity. Would not the Nephew seize
the first opportune occasion to avenge the Uncle.?
Immediate steps were taken to reorganize the
national defences, which had been much neglected
since the close of the Napoleonic wars nearly forty
years before. There was a regular state of panic in
London, only surpassed during the gloomy days of
1805 when Napoleon was awaiting at Boulogne a
favorable moment for throwing his army across the
channel. But little by little these fears disappeared.
Reports were received from France that there had
never been so few signs of military activity. For his
part the Emperor Napoleon was prodigal in his as-
surances of friendship, and of gratitude for the
[,1483
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
generous hospitality shown him in London during his
many years of residence there. He only asked of the
Foreign Office a recognition of his title of Napoleon
the Third, with the principle of heredity, past and
future, which that designation carried with it. But
just here was the rub, as Hamlet said. The Govern-
ment could not see its way clear to recognize Napo-
leon the Third when they had never known officially
a Napoleon the Second. Napoleon had twice abdi-
cated the throne in favor of his son the King of Rome,
but none of the Great Powers had ever in any way
accepted this abdication. The opposition to the
numeral "three'* was as great in Berlin and Vienna
as it was in London.
In this connection an interesting, if not strictly
authentic anecdote is told, on the authority of Lord
Cowley, the English Ambassador at Paris. During
the last visit of the Prince- President to the provinces,
the Prefect of the city of Bourges had issued orders
that the Prince should be received with cries of "Vive
Napoleon! ! 1" and the printer of the proclamation
had taken these three exclamation points for the
Roman numeral HL When the President heard the
cries of "Vive Napoleon Trois!" he asked an explana-
tion, and having received it, remarked with a smile:
"I did not know that I had a Prefect so machiavel-
lian."
After the exchange of many diplomatic notes, after
many calls by the French Ambassador, Comte
Walewski, at the Foreign Office, the English Govern-
ment, weary of the whole matter, finally abandoned
its opposition. But the Emperors Nicholas of Russia
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
and Francis Joseph of Austria had more difficulty in
coming to an understanding with their "frere,"
Napoleon. The Czar nevertheless had no great love
for the Bourbons, and shared the warm admiration
of his brother Alexander for their great enemy Napo-
leon. In his case there were also quite close family
ties, his daughter the Grand Duchess Marie having
married the son of Prince Eugene, brother of Queen
Hortense, and therefore a first cousin of Napoleon.
But it was important that the matter be decided.
Prussia was the first to yield, and Austria soon fol-
lowed. The Czar finally modified his objections, to the
point of addressing the new sovereign of France as
"Sire et bon ami" in place of the usual "Monsieur
mon frere." All the small European States naturally
followed the example of the "big four.'* So this rather
ridiculous matter was finally settled.
Europe was now reassured as to the policy of the
Empire; France was quiet, and the future seemed
free from clouds. It was time to think of a successor
to the Imperial throne. This was a matter which had
given the First Napoleon much anxiety, and his mar-
riage with Marie-Louise had been the indirect cause
of all of his later troubles and his final downfall. His
nephew was not destined to be any more happy in
his choice of a spouse, and the later misfortunes of
the Second Empire can be traced directly to the per-
nicious influence of the Empress upon Napoleon's
policy and acts.
On all sides. Napoleon was urged to choose a wife.
The idea was not a new one to him, for on several
previous occasions he had seriously considered it. His
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
elder brother, at an early age, had married his cousin,
the daughter of King Joseph, and Louis Napoleon
had thought of following his example, and had asked
the advice of his father on the subject at the time he
was still living at Arenenberg. At a later day, when
residing in England, after his escape from Ham, a '
marriage had nearly been arranged with Miss Bowles, '^
but was broken off on account of his relations with the
notorious Miss Howard. At another period there had
been quite a romantic attachment between the
Prince and his cousin Mathilde, the daughter of King
Jerome. This was ended by the affair of Strasbourg
and his long absence in America. At still another date
he had thought seriously of marrying his cousin the
Princesse Marie of Baden, the future Duchess of
Hamilton, for whom he always showed great affec-
tion. But her mother, the Grand Duchess Stephanie,
had higher aspirations for her daughter than a mar-
riage with her visionary cousin Louis Napoleon.
It was certainly a strange freak of fortune that this
man who was destined to reign over a rich and power-
ful nation, to appear, when at the height of his
glory, to be the arbiter of a continent, should have
met with nothing but rebuffs in his matrimonial
plans.
As Emperor, his success was no greater. The reign-
ing families of Europe, although they had been
constrained to recognize him as a "broth er/* w ere
unanimous in declining him as a son-in-law.
Disappointed in all of his hopes of a royal marriage,
the Emperor made a virtue of necessity and an-
nounced his intention of selecting himself the wife of
/
t
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
his choice. Every one about the Court knew in ad-
vance who was to be chosen. Even before the coup
d'etat, every one had noticed, at all the Presidential
fetes, his marked attention to a beautiful stranger.
Although not of royal blood, Eugenie de Montijo was
beautiful enough to turn the head of an emperor.
She was the daughter of the Count of Teba, subse-
quently Count of Montijo and grandee of Spain, and
was born at Granada on the 5 May 1826, the date of
the death of Napoleon at Saint Helena five years
before. She was therefore eighteen years younger
than her future husband. Her mother was a daughter
of William Kirkpatrick, United States Consul at
Malaga, a Scotsman by birth and an American by
nationality. Her childhood was spent in Madrid,
but after she was eight years old she lived with her
mother and sister in Paris, where she was educated
in the convent of the Sacre Cceur.
She had appeared frequently at the balls given by
the Prince-President at the Elysee, where she first
met her future husband. In November 1852, mother
and daughter were invited to Fontainebleau, and in
the numerous hunting parties, the beautiful young
Spaniard, who showed herself an expert horsewoman,
was greatly admired by her host. The following month
she was present at a series of fetes given at Compiegne
after the proclamation of the Empire, and Napoleon
became more and more fascinated. Early in January
he made a formal proposal of marriage. The engage-
ment was announced on the 22 January in a speech
from the throne in which the Emperor said: **I have
preferred a woman whom I love and respect, to a
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
woman unknown to me, with whom an alHance would f
have had advantages mixed with sacrifices." |
Seven days later the civil marriage was celebrated
at the Tuileries, with imposing majesty, and all the
traditional forms of the ancien regime ; and the day
following the religious ceremony was performed at
Notre Dame with unparalleled magnificence.
The reestablishment of the Empire had brought
back to Paris all of the members of the Bonaparte
family who had not previously returned during the
days of the Presidency. Now that they were once
more reunited, every one noticed the strong family
resemblance which nearly all bore to the Great Em-
peror, whose face was so familiar from the paintings
of scenes of the First Empire. This was most marked
in the case of Prince Napoleon and the Princesse
Mathilde, and In the Comte WalewskI, the son of
Napoleon. Of all the family, the one who least re-
sembled the First Emperor was his successor ori~ the
throne. '"^~"'" "'
The Imperial Court was established on a scale of
the greatest splendor. The Tuileries were put in a
state of comfort and elegance unknown before. The
stables were filled with superb horses, and the state
carriages excited admiration wherever seen. Amidst
all of this splendor of the new Empire, the man the
most unconcerned, the most Indiff^erent, was the Em-
peror, who appeared to have been accustomed to
this scale of living all his life.
As had been the case under the First Empire, little
by little the old aristocracy surrendered its preju-
dices and forgot Its animosities and appeared at the
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
fetes of the Tuileries. If the French army, as was
found at a later date, was not as well armed and
equipped as it should have been, no fault could be
found with the appearance of the picked troops who
took part in the frequent parades at the capital. The
brilliancy of the uniforms aroused the enthusiasm
of the people, and enhanced in their eyes the grandeur
of the Empire.
"The President, who by the endless witchery of a
name, by a profitable absence of scruples, and by
favorable circumstances, had known how to become
an Emperor,'' says Hazen, "was a man of ideas as
well as of audacity, of generosity as well as egoism,
of humanitarian aspirations for the betterment of
the world, as well as of a vivid perception of the
pleasures of personal advancement. His ideas, ex-
I pounded gracefully in writings and in speeches, were
\ largely derived from a study of the life of the Great
I Napoleon."
In a book called "Napoleonic Ideas," published
during the period of his last residence in London,
Louis Napoleon has given us an appraisal of the his-
torical significance of the First Emperor. The funda-
mental idea of this work was that Napoleon had two
purposes in view throughout his career. The first was
the preservation of all that was valuable in the Revo-
lution, the foundation of Society and the State upon
a solid and enduring basis, which in his opinion could
only be accomplished by the exercise of absolute
power on the part of the ruler. This great end having
been attained, through the preliminary period of
training under an active and intelligent autocrat,
1:1543
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
France would then be fitted to enter upon the Hfe of
freedom, the goal which he had always in view, and
he could then carry out his second purpose, which
was to put an end to this preliminary and proba-
tionary period of absolute rule, and give to the edifice
the ** crown of liberty" which it would be unsafe
earlier to bestow.
That the latter part of his program, the granting
of free institutions to France, was never carried out
by the First Napoleon, was not his fault, but that of
the re-actionary nations of Europe who continually
made war upon him, and by his final defeat at Water-
loo forever put an end to his plans.
Whether or not we agree with this analysis of
Napoleon's ideas, it is of importance in that it throws
a bright side-light upon the underlying policy of
Napoleon the Third and explains to a great extent |
his policy as Emperor. It was his desire to finish the
work which his uncle had been forced to leave incom-
plete, to restore law and order in France through the
exercise of autocratic powers, and then to crown the
finished structure with the cap of liberty, and this in
brief is the history of the Second Empire — eight
years of despotism, followed by the ten years of the
''Empire liberal," with his program also unfulfilled
when the catastrophe of Sedan occurred.
The political institutions of the early years of the
Empire, adopted mainly from the Consulate, merit
a word of description. There was a Legislative Body
of 251 members elected every six years by universal
suffrage, which was made the basis of the whole
Imperial regime. But the role of this assembly was
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
modest in the extreme. It was not a real parliament
such as had existed under the Restoration and the
July Monarchy. It could not propose laws; all bills
were laid before it by the Emperor. It could not even
elect its own presiding officer; he was appointed by the
Emperor. It did not even possess the power of taxa-
tion.
There was also a Senate, composed of high officials
of the army, the navy, tlie church, and others, all
appointed by the Emperor. This body too had no
power of any kind, and was the mere tool of the
sovereign.
There was also a Council of State, appointed by the
Emperor, whose function was to frame the laws to be
submitted to the Legislative Body.
At the head of the State stood the Emperor with
practically despotic powers. He could say as truly as
Louis the Fourteenth, "L'etat, c'est moi." During
the first eight years of the Empire parliamentary
institutions were a form rather than a reality.
Although there was nominally universal suffrage,
the elections were controlled by the Government,
which named an official candidate in every district
and usually succeeded in electing him.
The press was so thoroughly shackled that prac-
tically only government organs could exist. No new
journals could be started without the permission of
the Government. There could be no reports of the
proceedings of the Legislative Body other than the
dry summary prepared by the presiding officer. Under
this system, political independence was completely
extinguished. To all intents and purposes France
1:1563
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH
was living under a despotism as autocratic as that of
the Czar of All the Russias.
In return for all this the Emperor sought to enter-
tain and enrich France, in which effort he met with
marked success. If the country was not free, it was
rich and prosperous, and generally contented.
But pleasure did not engross the entire attention
of the monarch. His reign was distinguished by a
spirit of great enterprise ; of good works, of benefit to
many classes of society. The Emperor was anxious
that his reign should be memorable for works of
utility and improvement. He had a genuine love of
humanity, a kindly feeling for the masses, and a
desire to better their condition. He founded many
hospitals and asylums, and societies for the relief of
the poor. Free distribution of medicine was provided
for. The railroads, denounced by Thiers as "the
costly luxury of the rich,'* tripled their mileage in a
few years. Canals were built, and steamship lines
established to facilitate ocean transportation. No
class of the population was ignored in these schemes.
The Empire, he said, stood for the whole nation. In
Napoleon's opinion the two preceding Governments
had failed chiefly because they favored the classes
instead of the masses — the Bourbons, the aristoc-
racy, and the Orleanists, the rich middle classes.
c 1573
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1854-1855
THE CRIMEAN WAR
Prosperity of the Empire — Obligations of a Warlike Heritage
— The Famous Speech at Bordeaux — Causes of the
Russian War — The Sick Man of Europe — The Holy
Places — Russia Invades the Danubean Principalities —
The Anglo-French Alliance — First Year of the War —
Battles in the Crimea — Siege and Fall of Sebastopol —
Treaty of Paris — Results of the War — Visit to England
— Birth of the Prince Imperial — Royal Visitors to Paris — •
The Exhibition of 1855 — Visit of Queen Victoria
TIE first year of the Empire was one of un-
precedented prosperity. In the abundance of
work, and the general increase in wages, the
working classes were resigned to the thought that
they were no longer free to revolt at pleasure, and
tear up the streets for barricades. The great middle-
class, the bourgeoisie, was satisfied with its large
profits and the great increase In well-being. The
members of the old aristocracy, born-enemies of the
Revolution and the Empire, yielded by degrees to
the attractions of the brilliant Court of the Tuileries.
Literature and the Arts took on a new life. The
theatres were prosperous, and the opera crowded.
The dawn of the Imperial regime seemed to have
ushered In an era of "peace on earth, good-will to
men." Humane and generous by nature, anxious that
THE CRIMEAN WAR
his reign should be remembered as a period of uni-
versal prosperity, Napoleon could not forget, how-
ever, that he was the successor of the great man whose
victories had brought undying glory to France, and
that his heritage carried with it the obligation, not
only to conserve, but also to increase, the prestige of
the powerful nation over which he reigned. With all
his generous impulses in favor of humanity and civi-
lization, there were moments when he carefully studied
the map of Europe, and dreamed of wars and con-
quests. The benefits of a reign marked by peace and
prosperity appealed to him as the noblest aim of a
great monarch, but at the same time his imagination
was captivated by the thought of military glory, and
European supremacy. As Emperor of the French he
felt that he must wage war, and events pointed to
Russia as the predestined foe. A contributory motive,
which without doubt influenced his decision, was the
position taken by the Czar in the matter of the recog-
nition of his title. He also felt that it would be good
politics to divert the minds of the French people, by
the clash of arms, from the thoughts of their lost
liberties. But the crowning motive of all was the de-
sire to piake an alliance with one of the great Powers,
which would restore to his Government the con-
sideration which it had lost in the eyes of Europe
through the dubious methods by which he had ar-
rived at sovereign power. Autant de raisons, autant
de pretextes.
Thus far Napoleon's policy had been controlled by
a very clear perception of what was best for France.
Now it was to change decidedly for the worse, to
1:1593
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
become at the same time bolder and more uncertain,
to create a general sense of insecurity both at home
and abroad.
In the famous speech at Bordeaux in October 1852,
just prior to the proclamation of the Empire, Napo-
leon had endeavored to reassure France and also
Europe on this subject. He then said: "There is a
fear to which I ought to reply. In a spirit of distrust
people say: the Empire is war. But I say: the Empire
is peace." Nevertheless, as Emperor, he failed to ad-
here to this wise policy. His reign was marked by
frequent wars, disastrous alike to France and to his
dynasty, wars which could easily have been avoided,
and which were begun, with the exception of the last
and most fatal of all, upon pretexts rather than
reasons of political necessity.
To understand the Crimean War, which brought
much misery to France, and only a little fictitious
glory, it is necessary to outline briefly the causes
which led up to it.
Early in 1853, the Czar Nicholas, in a note to
the English Government, stated that the collapse of
the Turkish Empire was imminent. He spoke of the
Sultan as a "sick man," an expression which became
historic, and proposed that England and Russia
should agree upon the division of his estate. Dis-
claiming for himself any idea of taking Constanti-
nople, he suggested that the provinces of Turkey in
Europe should be made independent states, presum-
ably under the control of Russia, while England
should take Egypt and the island of Crete, thus
safeguarding her route to India. Nothing came of
1:1603
LA PRINCESSE MATHILDE
THE CRIMEAN WAR
this proposal, as the English Government refused to
consider it.
For some time before this, there had been a quarrel
going on between Turkey and Russia and France,
regarding the control of the so-called "Holy Places"
in Palestine, the spots identified with the life and
death of Christ. This dispute was finally settled by
negotiations, but the Czar immediately afterwards
made a demand upon the Sultan that he should put
under the protection of Russia all Greek Christians
living in the Turkish Empire, of whom there were
several millions. Under advice of the English and
French Governments, to which this demand was sub-
mitted, the Sultan declined to comply. His refusal
was immediately followed, in June 1853, by a Russian
invasion of the Turkish provinces of Wallachia and
Moldavia, which now make up the Kingdom of
Roumania. The demand of Turkey, that Russia with-
draw her troops, was not heeded, and the two nations
were at war. Russia thought that hostilities would
be confined to these two powers, but in this the Czar
was mistaken, for England and France, and later
Piedmont, came to the assistance of Turkey, and
Nicholas had four enemies to contend with instead
of one. The first general European war since the days
of Napoleon had commenced.
England went into the war from a number of
mixed motives. The country was tired of peace and
both the political parties were in favor of war. It was
the general belief that the continual expansion of
Russia would sooner or later threaten the routes to
India, and that the time had come to check it.
C 161 2
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
England and France had joined in the demand that
the Russian armies retire from the Principahties, and
on the refusal of the Czar to do so, on the 27 March
1854, both countries declared war. The French and
English armies joined the Turks, who had been
fighting the Russians on the Danube. After a short
campaign the Russians were driven across the river,
and by July were out of the Principalities. England
and France had now gained the object for which they
had entered the war, but they had ulterior purposes
in view, so the conflict went on. They desired to defeat
Russia decisively, so as to prevent her from further
expansion in southeastern Europe. In September
1854, they therefore invaded the Crimea, a penin-
sula in southern Russia extending out into the Black
Sea. The object of the campaign was to capture
Sebastopol, a strong Russian naval station, and de-
stroy the Russian fleet which had its base there, and
so cripple the naval power of the nation for many
years to come.
At the Alma, a river about twenty miles north of
Sebastopol, on the 20 September 1854, the Allied
army defeated the Russians. On the 25 October there
was an engagement between the Russians and the
Allies at Balaklava, a small seaport about eight miles
southeast of Sebastopol. Through a misconception
of Lord Raglan's orders, the Light Brigade under
Lord Cardigan was ordered to charge the Russian
artillery at the extremity of the valley. With a bat-
tery in front and one on each side, the Light Brigade
hewed Its way past the guns and routed the enemy's
cavalry. This charge was the inspiration of the well-
1:1623
THE CRIMEAN WAR
known poem by Tennyson. In a severe battle at
Inkerman, near Sebastopol, the French and EngHsh
severely defeated the Russians on the fifth of No-
vember, with heavy losses on both sides.
The chief feature of the war, however, was the siege
of Sebastopol, which lasted for eleven months. After
a heavy bombardment, the place finally surrendered
the 8 September 1855.
The Crimean War was marked by the fearful suf-
fering of the troops from the intense cold, and the
general inefficiency of both the commissary and medi-
cal departments. These deficiencies were remedied
before the end of the war, but only after a deplorable
loss of life.
The fall of Sebastopol, after one of the longest and
most terrible sieges in history, had been followed by
a feeling of lassitude in both armies. Although the
war dragged on for several weeks longer, all parties
were now anxious for peace. In spite of the warlike
attitude of the English Minister, Lord Palmerston,
it was agreed to submit all the questions in dispute to
a Congress to meet in Paris the last of February 1856.
Nicholas, the Czar of Russia who began the war,
had died the second of March 1855, bitterly disap-
pointed over the failure of his plans. He had been
succeeded by his son, Alexander the Second, a man
of very different character, who was sincerely desirous
of improving the conditions of Russian life. After a
month's deliberations, the Treaty of Paris was signed
the 30 March 1856. So ended a needless war which
had sacrificed several hundred thousand lives and
resulted in no enduring advantages to the Allies. As a
1:1633
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
solution of the Eastern Question the war was a com-
plete failure. The French Emperor gained some
military glory and diplomatic prestige, and the King
of Piedmont earned the gratitude of Napoleon, who
a few years later materially aided him in his Italian
policy.
In the importance of the negotiations, and in the
brilliancy of the receptions by day and of balls at
night, the famous Congress of Paris in 1856 recalled
the equally celebrated gathering at Vienna in the
winter of 181 5, which was so rudely interrupted by
the unexpected return of Napoleon from Elba. The
business meetings were held only every other day.
Every evening there was a state dinner followed by
a ball. Comte WalewskI, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, gave a celebrated dinner, at which he pro-
posed a toast to the durability of the peace. "It will
be lasting," he said, "because it is honorable for
everybody."
Two days after the signing of the Treaty, on the
first of April 1856, the Emperor ordered a grand re-
view, on the Champ-de-Mars, of his army which had
covered itself with glory. That day his usually im-
passible countenance was glowing with an expression
of joy and pride. The delegates to the Congress showed
by their presence the high regard in which the Em-
peror was held both by his Allies and his late enemies.
It was one of the red-letter days in the life of Napo-
leon the Third.
During the month of April of the year 1855, while
the siege of Sebastopol still drew out its seemingly
interminable length. Napoleon had the desire to visit
1:1643
THE CRIMEAN WAR
as a sovereign the places associated with his Hfe in
exile. Before bpening the Exposition at Paris, ac-
companied by the Empress, he crossed the Channel *
to pay a visit to England and draw tighter the ties
of friendship existing between the two great nations
which for the first time in their long history were
fighting as allies and not as enemies.
Credit has generally been given to Edward the i
Seventh for bringing about the Anglo-French entente,
but its real author was the Emperor Napoleon the
Third. The Imperial visitors had an enthusiastic re-
ception in the city of London and at Windsor Palace.
Queen Victoria herself attached to the knee of the
Emperor the great English decoration of the Order
of the Garter, and placed the collar around his neck
and gave him the accolade. At the Guildhall he was
formally presented by the Lord Mayor with the Free-
dom of the City of London. Wherever he appeared
in public he received a popular ovation. The Queen
herself spoke of the remarkable vicissitudes of fortune
which had raised to the rank of one of the most
powerful monarchs of Europe the former English
exile who seemed then to have so little future before
him. In her journal she wrote:
"Is it not extraordinary that I, the grand-daughter
of George the Third, should dance in 'Waterloo
Room' with the Emperor Napoleon, nephew of the
greatest enemy of my country, to-day my close ally,
and who eight years ago lived In this countiy an
unknown exile." ' " ""
In truth what a striking example of the changes of
fortune !
1:1653
I
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
In France, in spite of the war, and the shortage of
provisions, the direct taxes, the most certain indica-
tion of pubHc wealth, each year produced a revenue
in excess of the most optimistic expectations. The
credit of France had never stood so high. The Em-
peror never saw days so flourishing as those of the last
year of the Crimean War.
The first two years of the Empire had been marked
by sore, although temporary calamities, while during
the year 1855 terrible inundations had devastated
the country districts, and the long and expensive and
bloody war had afflicted humanity.
In the spring of 1856, only the memory of this
period of sadness remained. The month of March
had been marked by two important events in the
annals of the Empire, the birth on the sixteenth of
an heir to the throne, the Prince Imperial, and the
conclusion of the Treaty of Paris on the thirtieth —
events which at the time seemed to hold the promise,
unfortunately never realized, of great hopes for the
destiny of the Empire.
Not a cloud obscured the bright sky of the national
life. Peace had brought its boon to the continent.
Napoleon, more ambitious for glory, or for its sem-
blance, than for assured and permanent benefits,
was for the moment triumphant. The principal object
of the Crimean War, the neutralization of the Black
Sea, had been attained. He could not foresee that only
fourteen years later, during the Franco-Prussian war,
when Europe was powerless to prevent, Russia would
seize the opportunity to abrogate this provision of the
Treaty of Paris. No tangible or enduring profit, either
THE CRIMEAN WAR
for France or his dynasty had been gained by so great
an expenditure of Hfe and money. But for the moment
France was the arbiter of Europe. This theatrical
result satisfied him; he asked for nothing more.
But a fortnight before the conclusion of the Treaty,
the Emperor had experienced a joy more personal
and more complete. The birth of an heir to the throne
was expected during the month of March. Every day
there was a crowd of visitors at the Hotel de Ville to
admire the silver cradle to be presented to the Im-
perial child by the City of Paris.
The first news came in the midst of a dinner given
to the Ambassadors by Baroche the President of the
Council of State on the evening of the 15 March.
Suddenly an officer entered and summoned the host
to repair at once to the Tuileries where the birth of a
child was momentarily expected. The Emperor was
in a state of indescribable nervousness. Finally, how-
ever, his agony was turned to transports of joy. At
three o'clock in the morning the infant so much de-
sired came into the world. Every one was delighted
except Prince Napoleon, the son of King Jerome, who
until that moment had been the heir-presumptive of
the Imperial throne. He could not conceal his jealous
rage. For several hours he refused to sign, as first
Prince of the blood, the birth certificate of Louis-
Eugene-Napoleon. Finally he was brought to reason
by his sister Mathilde who said: *' Of what use is your
refusal to sign. The evidence will not be less than it is.
The bad blood which you are showing will only injure
yourself." He took the pen with a gesture of rage and
signed.
1:1673
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The city had not yet been notified of the joyous
event. Finally at seven o'clock in the morning was
heard the first discharge of artillery announcing the
great news. The old officer at the Invalides, who
commanded the squad of artillery men, had filled the
same place at the birth of the King of Rome, the Due
de Bordeaux, the Comte de Paris, and now of the
Prince Imperial — four heirs to the throne of France,
none of whom was ever destined to reign. As usual,
the birth of a daughter would be announced by
twenty-one reports, of a son by one hundred. After
the twenty-first discharge, there was a slight pause,
in order to accentuate the eftect, and then followed
the twenty-second and so on up to the final report.
But the populace had ceased to count, and universal
joy was expressed.
By a coincidence of dates, the Prince Imperial was
born on the same day of the month of March that the
Allies during the Campaign of France in 1814 re-
fused the final peace proposals submitted by the
Emperor Napoleon to the Congress of Chatillon.
The ministers meet on 16 March and unanimously
rejected the plan. So ended the last hope of pre-
serving the Imperial crown. Two weeks later Paris
opened its gates to the Allied troops, and that city
for the first time yielded to the bitter experience
which the generals of the Revolution and the Empire
had so often imposed on foreign capitals. Now the
wheel of fortune had turned, and the victors of 18 14
received peace at the hands of another Napoleon,
who had become their host and their ally. For France
and her Emperor the revenge was complete.
1:1683
THE CRIMEAN WAR
The 14 June 1856 the Prince Imperial was christ-
ened at Notre Dame with a pomp and ceremony
before unknown. It was a holiday in Paris, and the re-
joicing among the people was not less than in official
and court circles. The conspirator of the coup d'etat
might well feel that he had arrived at the summit of
human felicity.
"Forty years later," says Loliee, "an adherent of
the Orleans family, and consequently an adversary
whom one could not accuse of complaisance towards
the Imperial regime, recalled to me In conversation
his impression of those days — of admiration mingled
with fear, of admiration for the beauty of the spec-
tacle, and of fear for its fragility."
In the midst of these appearances of strength and
security, only a few clairvoyant spectators, like the
Due d'Aumale, had a presentiment that the catastro-
phes of war would one day ruin this magnificent
Imperial structure.
But few then thought that this first war of the J
Second Empire would lead to another, and this again f
to a third which was to bring In its train untold dis- \
aster and ruin. ■
France was rich, happy and respected. Foreign
princes repeated their visits to the Emperor, drawn
by the attraction of a noble and cordial hospitality.
Among others, in 1856, the Emperor received the
visit of the Prince of Prussia, afterwards the first
German Emperor. He was accompanied by Moltke,
who was to become at a later day the Chief of the
General Staff of Prussia. At the Tulleries and at
Compiegne, and in the highest circles of French
ni693
1
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
society, the visitors were entertained with the greatest
courtesy.
This visit was followed by that of the Grand Duke
Constantine, brother of the Czar, and High-Admiral
of Russia. Yesterday he was the mortal enemy of
France ; to-day he was the messenger of peace, desirous
of bringing in person the assurances of complete
reconciliation between the two nations.
While the Crimean War was still being waged, the
Emperor was happy to be able to turn to the prepa-
rations which were being made in the Champs-Elysees
for the "Universal Exhibition of the Arts of Peace,"
which had been put under the charge of his cousin
Prince Napoleon.
The Exhibition of 1855, which opened on the 15
May, included the Fine Arts, and was admirably
classified and arranged. Even Russia, with which
France was still at war, had been invited to send
exhibits. There were no less than twenty-five thousand
exhibitors, and during the summer and autumn, Paris
was crowded with visitors from all parts of the world.
On the 18 June, Queen Victoria accompanied by
the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the
Princess Royal, afterwards the Empress Frederick
of Germany, arrived at Boulogne to visit the Exposi-
tion. Napoleon himself had gone to Boulogne to meet
the royal party. It was nearly two o'clock before the
Queen's yacht was moored to the quay, and twilight
when the special train reached Paris.
The Queen has recorded her impressions of her
** first sight of Paris." She speaks in her journal of the
drive from the station by the Boulevard de Stras-
C 170]
THE CRIMEAN WAR
bourg, the Emperor's creation, and along the inner
boulevards by the Porte Saint-Denis, the Madeleine,
the Place de la Concorde, up the Champs-Elysees,
past the Arc de Triomphe, and through the Bois de
Boulogne, to the Palace of Saint-Cloud. The Queen
was delighted with the splendor and brilliancy of the
scene. Within the Palace, she said that ''everything
was magnificent and all very quiet and royal."
The next day began with a visit to the Exposition,
through immense crowds of enthusiastic Parisians.
Later the Emperor conducted his guests to the Sainte
Chapelle and other sights of his capital. In crossing
the Pont au Change he called the attention of the
Queen to the Conciergerle and said ''Voila ou j'etais
en prison." "Strange contrast," writes the Queen,
"to be driving with us as Emperor through the streets
of the city in triumph,"
The good impression which the Emperor had
created at Windsor was confirmed while he acted as
host. The Queen said that no one could be kinder
or more agreeable.
A day was spent at Versailles, where the party had
luncheon. An evening was given to a gala perform-
ance at the Opera. A visit was also made to the pri-
vate apartments in the Tuileries, where, on the day
of the State ball at the Hotel de Ville, a "cosy little
dinner" was given by the Emperor. "The Emperor
was in high spirits, and we talked most cheerfully
together," remarks Queen Victoria; and she then goes
on to tell how she stood in the window with the Em-
peror and Prince Albert, and talked of old times,
while looking out on the Gardens and listening to the
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
music, and how extraordinary it was that they should
be there together in the old Chateau of the Tuileries,
so full of historical memories.
Another day, on the Champ-de-Mars, there was
an imposing review of 40,000 troops. Afterwards, in
the dusk of the evening they visited the Tomb of
Napoleon in the Invalides. Here by the light of
torches borne by some of the Old Guard, the Emperor
led Queen Victoria into the chapel where the Con-
queror still lay, with the sword of Austerlitz upon his
coffin, which had not yet been placed in the magnif-
icent mausoleum which was then in course of con-
struction.
I ^' There I stood," the Queen remarks in her Diary,
"at the arm of Napoleon the Third, his nephew, be-
fore the coffin of England's bitterest foe; I, the
grand-daughter of the King who hated him most,
and who most vigorously opposed him, and this very
nephew, who bears his name, being my nearest and
\ dearest ally! The organ of the church was playing
*God save the Queen,' at the time, and this solemn
scene took place by torch-light and during a thunder-
storm. It seemed as if in this tribute of respect to a
departed and dead foe, old enmities and rivalries
were wiped out, and the seal of Heaven placed on that
bond of unity, which is now happily established be-
tween two great and powerful nations. May Heaven
bless and prosper it!"
The illustrious party went back to the Tuileries
for another quiet dinner and thence to the Opera
Comique. The Queen returned to Saint-Cloud for the
night more delighted than ever with the Emperor.
C1723
THE CRIMEAN WAR
A State ball was given at Versailles, the imperial
magnificence of which was the talk of Paris for many-
days. Among the few persons presented to the Queen
on this occasion was the Prussian Minister at Frank-
fort, Otto von Bismarck.
The last day of their visit the Emperor drove the
Queen through the park in his phaeton, and in the
course of their drive they had a very frank conversa-
tion, in which the Queen explained her relations
with the exiled Orleans family, and the Emperor in
turn gave his reasons for the confiscation of their
property in France, an action for which he had been
much attacked. This is all recorded in full in the
Queen's Diary.
The following day, in beautiful weather, the Royal
visitors left for England. The Emperor conducted
his guests to Boulogne and bade them au revoir on
their yacht.
The Queen, in her final impressions of her ten days'
visit to Napoleon, during which they were thrown
together constantly for many hours every day, pays
a most graceful tribute to her host. She says:
"It is extraordinary how very much attached one .
becomes to the Emperor. He is so quiet, so simple, j
naif even, so gentle, so full of tact, dignity and ,■
modesty. His society is particularly agreeable and «
pleasant; there is something fascinating, melancholy
and engaging, which draws you to him, in spite of any
prevention you may have against him, and certainly
without the assistance of any outward advantages of
appearance, though I like his face. He undoubtedly
has the most extraordinary power of attaching people
C1733
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
to him! The children are very fond of him; to them
also his kindness was very great, but, at the same
time, most judicious.'*
Certainly a very fine tribute from a noble woman
to an extraordinary man!
On her return to Obsorne the Queen wrote a most
cordial letter of thanks for the ten happy days passed
as his guest, and signed herself with "tender friend-
ship and affection" his "bonne et affectionee soeur
et amie, Victoria."
The Exposition was closed in November in the
presence of an extraordinary assemblage of distin-
guished persons, and afforded the Emperor one of
those opportunities which he knew so well how to use,
for making his sentiments and wishes known, not
only to France but to all Europe.
I ml
CHAPTER TWELVE
1859
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
Count Cavour — Piedmont in the Crimean War — The Con-
gress of Paris — The Comtesse de Castiglione — The Orsini
Conspiracy — The Pact of Plombieres — The Austrian
Ultimatum — The Campaign in Lombardy — Victories
of Magenta and Solferino — The Peace of Villafranca —
Explanation of Napoleon's Action — Resignation of
Cavour — Savoy and Nice Annexed to France
IN his youth, Louis Napoleon had made two su-
preme resolutions, the first that he would restore
the Empire, the second that he would free Italy.
The first part of his life's work had been accomplished ;
the second remained still unfulfilled. Although the
thought of Italian unity had never left his mind, he
still hesitated for fear of foreign complications to
commit his country to the ambitious plans of Cavour.
Count Cavour was born at Turin on the first of
August 1810. As a younger son he was destined for
the Army. At the age of sixteen he graduated from the
Military Academy at Turin at the head of his class.
After serving five years in the engineers, he resigned
his commission, and during the next few years de-
voted himself to study and travel, frequently visiting
London and Paris. He began at this time to dream of
a united Italy, free from foreign influence, but was
unable to take any active part in politics owing to the
reactionary tendencies of the government.
1:1753
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
In 1848 the revolutionary movement in Germany
and France extended to Italy, where revolts broke
out everywhere against the established order. The
King in the month of March had been forced by public
opinion to declare war against Austria, but the Pied-
mont Army was no match for the veteran legions of
Austria, and an armistice was concluded in the
summer. When hostilities were resumed the next
winter, the Piedmontese were totally defeated at
Novara 23 March 1849 and the King, Charles Albert,
abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel. In
the July elections Cavour was returned to Parliament,
where he soon gained a dominating influence. On the
fourth of November he became Prime Minister, a
position which he held with the exception of two
short intervals until his death in 1861.
Then followed the Crimean War, in which Cavour
first showed his extraordinary political insight and
diplomatic genius. His preparations for the war of
Italian Independence were begun as early as 1854.
In January of that year he broached the subject to
the King with the tentative inquiry: "Does it not
seem to your Majesty that we might find some way
of taking part in the war of the Western Powers with
Russia.?" To which Victor Emmanuel answered
simply : " If I cannot go myself I will send my brother."
But it is not too much to say that the whole country
was against him; even the heads of the Army were
lukewarm; this was not the war they wanted. In the
light of after events it seems strange that the alliance
with France and England found so very few support-
ers. But it was not given to many to have the pro-
1:1763
LA COMTESSE DE CASTIGLIONE
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
phetic vision of Cavour. Just a year later, lo January
1855, the protocol of the alliance of Sardinia with
France and England was at last signed. Never did a
statesman play for a more daring and hazardous stake.
When asked how the alliance could possibly be of
use to Italy, he replied that plots and revolutions
could never free Italy from the Austrian yoke. The
laurels won by Sardinian soldiers in the East would
do more for Italy than anything else; it would prove
that Italians could fight. But what if the laurels were
never won ? At last the long-desired news arrived. On
the 16 August the troops fought a successful engage-
ment in which the men showed courage and steadiness.
The nation was at once converted to the war policy.
In February 1856 the preliminaries of peace were
signed, much to the disappointment of the King and
Cavour. The nation also asked once more, what was
the good of it all.? Time was soon to answer the
question.
The Congress met in Paris the last of February
1856 and Cavour was present as the representative
of Sardinia. Although he hated the task, he had all
the qualities of a successful diplomatist. He neglected
no opportunities, and enlisted in his services every one
who could aid the cause. Thus he made an emissary
of his cousin the beautiful Comtesse de Castiglione.
If"personal beauty be regarded as the sovereign
gift, the crown among the charmeuses of the Second
Empire should be awarded to the Comtesse de Cas-
tiglione. According to authentic documents she was
boriTm the palace of her father the Marquis Oldoini
the 22 March 1835, although she claimed a date eight
C1773
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
years later. At the age of twenty, Virginie Oldoini
married the Comte CastigUone, a gentleman of the
household of the King of Piedmont. At twelve years
] of age she was as large and as beautiful as she was
I at twenty. As a child, she had known Louis Napoleon,
who had often visited the Oldoini palace during his
winters in Florence, where her father at one time was
his tutor. Her cousin Cavour was the first not only to
[ appreciate her beauty, but also to realize how useful
her intelligence and talent for intrigue could be in his
diplomacy.
It was at the instigation of Cavour that Madame
de Castiglione went to Paris early in the winter of
1856, just prior to the meeting of the Peace Congress.
Her first visit was to Madame Walewska, a Florentine
like herself, and the wife of Comte Walewski, Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs, whom she wished to see for
the purpose of renewing old acquaintance and also
to be assured of a favorable reception by Parisian
society. But the lovely Comtesse had no need of a
sponsor, for the reputation of her charms had pre-
ceded her. Her debut was made at an official ball at
the Tuileries, where she attracted great attention, and
I danced with the Emperor himself. It did not take her
long to capture the susceptible heart of Napoleon.
That she came from Turin to Paris with the formal
intention of attracting the attention of the Emperor,
and of aiding the diplomacy of Cavour, is shown con-
clusively by a letter which the latter wrote at the
{ time: "La belle Comtesse," he said, "est enrollee
dans la diplomatie Piemontaise. Je Tai invitee a co-
i queter, et, s'il le faut, a seduire TEmpereur."
^- ni78 3
.1
If
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
Cavour had been a great gambler all his life. In
this game7the'"beauty of Madame de Castiglione was
his trumpTcard, and with it he won the game. She
soon gained sufficient influence over Napoleon to
persuade him to invite Cavour to be present at the
Congress of Paris. With his trump card, Cavour had
won the first trick of the game, of which the stake was
to be the unity of the Kingdom of Italy. It would be
absurd, of course, to claim that the influence of the
lovely Comtesse was the decisive cause of the war, |
but there is much evidence to show that she greatly
aided the plans of Cavour in deciding the wavering
mind of the Emperor.
In the two months which Cavour spent in Paris
he found that Walewski and the other Ministers were
far from friendly to his plans. He could count on two
men, however, to continue his work by keeping the
cause of Free Italy constantly before Napoleon; one
was Prince Napoleon, who in 1859 married the
Princess Clotilde, daughter of Victor Emmanuel;
the other was Doctor Conneau, Napoleon's com-
panion in prison at Ham, who was entirely in the
Imperial confidence. Henceforth, Conneau was the
secret, and for a long time the generally unsuspected,
intermediary between Cavour and the Emperor.
Another powerful influence was that of the Italian
Count Arese, the truest and most disinterested friend
of Queen Hortense, who remained attached to her
son in good and evil fortune. Arese was in Paris dur-
ing the Congress, having been sent by the King to
convey his congratulations upon the birth of the
Prince Imperial.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
With regard to Cavour's real business at Paris,
the fate of Italy, he was obliged to act with the
greatest self-restraint. The object nearest his heart
was the union, or rather reunion, of Parma and Mod-
ena with Piedmont, to which those duches had annexed
themselves in 1848. Cavour returned to Turin with-
out bringing "even the smallest duchy in his pocket,"
but satisfied that his moral victory was complete.
Time seems long to those who wait. After the
great expectations aroused by the Congress of Paris
there followed a period of great depression in Lom-
bardy. The years went by and the hope of assistance
from outside seemed more remote than ever. Then
came one of those unforeseen events which have so
often marked a turning point in the world's history.
In the year 1855, an attempt had been made on the
I life of the Emperor by an Italian named Pianori.
Napoleon, who was on horseback, was riding at a
walk, when a man standing on the sidewalk took
; careful aim and fired at him. The Emperor was nearly
I thrown from his saddle by the force of the bullet,
which hit him full in the chest. His life was saved
either by a coat of mail which he wore under his tunic
or by the ball encountering some article in his pocket.
Over two years later occurred the celebrated at-
tempt of Orsini.
The evening of the 14 January 1858 there was to
be an extraordinary performance at the old Opera
in the Rue Le Peletier for the benefit of the tenor
Massol. One act of "Guillaume Tell" was to be
given, followed by the ballet of "Gustave III," and
"Maria Stuarda" with Ristori. The Emperor and
CiSo]
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
Empress were to be present. The Opera stood be-
tween three streets, the Rue Le Peletier, the Rue
Rossini and the Rue Drouot. On the fourth side was
a narrow sombre passage-way called the "Passage
Noir'* which communicated with the Boulevard des
Italiens by two showy galleries. The building had
been constructed in 1820 upon the site of the former
gardens of the Hotel de Choiseul.
That evening the directors of the Opera and several
dignitaries of the Court were awaiting the arrival of
the Imperial party. It was half past eight, and the
street was occupied by the escort, composed of the
Lancers of the Guard. The Imperial equipage was
drawing up before the stairway leading to the official
box. Suddenly, at short intervals, were heard three
terrible explosions. The window panes on all sides
were broken, and the street was filled with the killed
and wounded. The Emperor descended from his car-
riage as calm as usual, and a few minutes later ap-
peared in his box with his usual impassible face,
while the conspirators on the stage sang the chorus
of the oaths in "Guillaume Tell." He had escaped as
by a miracle. Two projectiles had pierced his hat, ')
but he had received no injury beyond a slight scratch j
on the nose.
Two months later Orsini and Pieri, the chiefs of
the conspiracy, were guillotined. It was the strong
desire of the Emperor to pardon Orsini, but the loss
of life had been too great, and it could not be. Yield-
ing to the advice of his Ministers, Napoleon signed
the death warrant. '
No one in Europe was more dismayed by the news
Z1811
t
\
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
of the Orsini attempt than Cavour, who feared that
the sympathy of Napoleon for Italy would be turned
to ill-will. A little later he received from Paris a copy
of Orsini's last letter to Napoleon before his execu-
tion, with his dying prayer: "Free my country and
the blessings of twenty-five million Italians will go
with you." Napoleon himself had been a conspirator
most of his life, and this plea awoke a responsive
echo in his heart. It was this, and not fear, as insin-
uated by the Prince of Prussia, which so strongly
moved the Emperor. The memory of his own part in
the Italian revolutionary movement of 183 1 also gave
^ dramatic force to the appeal.
A month after Orsini's execution, Cavour received
from a secret source, probably the Comtesse de
Castiglione, the report that the Emperor was seriously
considering an alliance with Sardinia, and also a mar-
riage between his cousin. Prince Napoleon, and
Clotilde, the King's daughter. Cavour showed the
report to the King, but did not place much credence
in it.
In June, Doctor Conneau, who was travelling for
"pleasure," saw both the King and Cavour at Turin.
Under the seal of absolute secrecy it was arranged
that Napoleon and Cavour should meet by "acci-
dent" at Plombieres, a watering-place in the Vosges.
Next month the Minister left Turin to take the cure.
He succeeded in travelling so secretly that he was
nearly arrested on his arrival because he had no pass-
port. But one of the Emperor's suite recognized him,
\ and made everything straight. He passed nearly all
I of two days in secret conference with Napoleon.
ni823
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
After the meeting on the second day the Emperor
took him out in a carriage driven by himself, and at
this time the project of Prince Napoleon's marriage
with the Princess Clotilde was talked over. That
evening the Emperor informed Cavour with a smile
that Walewski had just telegraphed him from Paris
the news that the Italian Minister was at Plombieres!
Cavour went home with great hopes, but no cer-
tainty that the Emperor meant to act. He never felt
sure whether Napoleon was in earnest or only build-
ing castles in the air. Still the basis of an understand-
ing had been reached. The Austrians were to be driven
from Italy; then there was to be formed the Kingdom
of Upper Italy. In return for the French assistance.
Savoy was to be ceded to France; the fate of Nice
was left undecided. Cavour had been authorized
by the King to agree to all of these propositions;
but had been instructed not to yield the point of the
marriage of his daughter to the Emperor's cousin
unless the alliance depended on it, which did not
prove to be the case. On his return, however, Cavour
urged the King, as a matter of policy, not to put any
obstacles in the way of the marriage. Such was the
celebrated Pact of Plombieres.
The French alliance still rested on nothing more
substantial than a verbal understanding which Napo-
leon could repudiate at will. The marriage of Prince
Napoleon, however, afforded an opportunity for ob-
taining a more solid bond. The vanity of the Emperor
was so flattered by the alliance of a member of his
family with one of the oldest royal houses in Europe
that he authorized Prince Napoleon, when he went
1:1833
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
to Turin, to sign a formal agreement pledging France
to come to the assistance of Piedmont in case of an
act of aggression on the part of Austria.
As early as the month of December, in a conversa-
tion with Odo Russell, Cavour had declared that he
would force Austria to declare war against Italy, and
when the incredulous Englishman asked when he ex-
pected to bring about this consummation of his plans,
he replied, "About the first week in May." Even so
astute a statesman as Bismarck once declared that he
never could tell in advance whether his plans would
succeed ; he could take advantage of political events,
but he could not direct them. But since the meeting
at Plombieres, Cavour had undertaken to direct
events, the most difficult game which a statesman
can play.
Almost at the eleventh hour, it looked as if Napo-
leon, in spite of his promises and his treaty, would
decide not to go to war. For a moment Cavour thought
he had failed. Apparently the Emperor's hesitation
was real and not feigned. His Ministers and the
Empress were strongly opposed to the war, for fear
of a reverse. As Eugenie said, when flying from Paris
in 1870: "En France il ne faut pas etre malheureux."
At the very moment that Cavour thought that the
game was lost, the unexpected happened. The Aus-
trian Minister Buol sent a contemptuous refusal of
the English proposal for a Congress, and said that
they would themselves call upon Piedmont to disarm.
Here was the famous act of aggression: Napoleon
could not escape now. Such a piece of luck could not
happen once in a century.
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
At the meeting of the Chamber of Deputies 23
April 1859, the Austrian ultimatum was presented.
The Sardinian army was to be placed on a peace-
footing, and unless a .satisfactory answer was re-
ceived within three days Austria would resort to
force. Cavour replied that Piedmont had accepted
England's proposal for a Congress, and that he had
nothing more to say. The French Ambassador at
Vienna notified Buol that his sovereign would con-
sider the crossing of the frontier by Austrian troops
equivalent to a declaration of war.
At the end of April the war began. The public
opinion of other nations blamed Austria and exoner-
ated Piedmont, most unjustly, for, as we have seen,
this war had been desired by Cavour and brought
about by him with extraordinary skill. That he had
succeeded in throwing the whole responsibility for
it on the enemy was only further evidence of his
clever statesmanship.
The war lasted only about two months. The Aus-
trian armies were large, but as usual badly led. When
Piedmont was at their mercy, before the arrival of
the French troops, they wasted their time. Active
fighting did not begin until the French army, under
command of the Emperor, reached Italy. The theatre
of war was limited to Lombardy. At Magenta, on the
fourth of June, and at Solferino twenty days later,
the Allies were victorious. The latter was one of the
greatest battles of the 19th century. It lasted eleven
hours, and more than 260,000 men were engaged,
and nearly 800 cannon. All Lombardy was conquered
and Milan was occupied. It looked as if Venetia could
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
be easily over-run, and Napoleon's statement that
he would free Italy *'from the Alps to the Adriatic'*
accomplished.
Suddenly Napoleon halted in the full tide of success.
On the eleventh of July, he sought an interview with
Francis Joseph at Villafranca, and concluded an
armistice without consulting the wishes of his Ally.
The terms agreed upon between the two Emperors
included the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia, and
the inclusion of Venetia in the Italian Confederation,
which was to be formed under the honorary presi-
dency of the Pope, as a province, however, under the
crown of Austria.
The considerations which had determined Napo-
leon to halt in the middle of a successful campaign,
and before he had attained the objects of the war,
were many and serious. While Magenta and Solfe-
rino were victories, they might easily have been de-
feats. Although Lombardy had been conquered,
there lay before the Allies the famous Quadrilateral,
a strongly fortified position, and they would soon be
out-numbered by the Austrian reserves which were
coming up. Moreover, Prussia was mobilizing her
troops on the Rhine, and threatening intervention,
and France could not afford to fight Austria and
Prussia combined.
Francis Joseph was equally eager for peace. He had
no competent generals to command his armies.
Hungary was making trouble, and he had no desire
to be saved by Prussia, which] might then seize the
leadership in Germany. Thus both sovereigns were
eager to come to terms.
ni86 3
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE
The news of the armistice was a cruel blow to
Cavour, dashing his hopes of a free Italy just as they
seemed about to be realized. He completely lost his
self-control, and, in a fit of rage, resigned his premier-
ship, because the King refused to follow his advice
and resort to desperate measures. He was also very
unjust to Napoleon, who if he had not done all that
he had planned for Italy had yet rendered very valu-
able service, in securing the annexation of Lombardy
to Piedmont. The Emperor himself acknowledged
that the failure to carry out the entire program can-
celled any claim he had for the annexation of Savoy
and Nice to France.
In January i860, after an absence of six months,
Cavour returned to power. He soon saw that the
annexation of Central Italy to Piedmont could not
be effected without Napoleon's consent, which could
only be obtained by paying his price, which was the
cession of Savoy and Nice to France.
In order not to violate the principle that people
have the right to dispose of themselves, it was ar-
ranged that a plebiscite should be taken in both cases.
As was expected, the states of Central Italy voted
almost unanimously in favor of annexation to Pied-
mont. Modena, Parma, Tuscany and the Romagna
were thus added to the Kingdom of Piedmont, which
had already received Lombardy. In less than a year
a small state of five million inhabitants had more
than doubled its population. Savoy and Nice, with
a population of about 700,000, also voted almost
unanimously in favor of annexation to France. One
result of this annexation was to prove unfortunate
1:187]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
to France : it alienated England from Napoleon com-
pletely. England had no wish to see her powerful
neighbor grow larger. The Emperor was to feel the
effect of this estrangement before many months had
passed.
Hiss]
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1860
FRANCE AND ITALY
New Year's Day at Rome — Resignation of Walewski — The
Speech from the Throne — Monsieur Thouvenel — The
Italian Question — Nice and Savoy - — The Great Powers
— Treaty of Turin — Napoleon and Pius Ninth — General
Lamoriciere — The Pontifical Army — Journey of the
French Sovereigns — The Piedmontese Invasion — Castel-
fidardo and Ancona — Kingdom of Naples — Diplomatic
Protests — The Interview of Warsaw — Victor Emmanuel
at Naples — End of the Year i860
AT the reception of the Diplomatic Corps at
the Tuileries on New Year's Day 1859,
Napoleon, in a calm and courteous tone,
had addressed to the Austrian Ambassador the re-
marks that had foreshadowed the war of Italian
Independence. But the first of January i860 passed
at Paris without any such dramatic stroke as had
ushered in the previous year.
At Rome, however, the occasion was not so quiet.
The Pope, Pius Ninth, in reply to General de Goyon,
who had presented the respects of the French army
of occupation, alluded to a publication, well known
to have been inspired by the Emperor, as "a signal
monument of hypocrisy," and made It very evident
that the continuance of friendly relations between
the Empire and the Holy See depended upon a dis-
avowal of that publication. The French Ambassador,
ni89 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the Due de Gramont, wrote to Walewski, Minister
of Foreign Affairs, of the painful impression made
by the earnest words of the Holy Father, who gave
way to his feelings in a manner most unusual to him.
On receipt of the news at Paris, the Empress was
very much distressed. She could not hope to obtain
a disavowal from the Emperor and, as a devoted ad-
herent of the Pope, she dreaded the result. She de-
sired to see the occupation of Rome by the French
troops continued, as much as the Emperor wished to
put an end to it. This might be called the beginning
of an "irrepressible conflict '^ which was to last as
long as the Empire existed, and which was finally
to prove the ruin of the Imperial dynasty. Napoleon
was literally "between the devil and the deep sea."
If he recalled his troops from Rome, he would remove
the last hope of the continuance of the temporal
power of the Papacy and alienate forever the Catholic
Church, which from the time of his candidacy for the
Presidency had been his strongest and most effective
supporter. If, on the other hand, he continued to
maintain his forces in the Sacred City, he would
block the hopes of Italian unity and lose the dearly-
won friendship of his ally in the war of 1859. This
antagonism between the two elements in the councils
of the Emperor was to be displayed on more than
one occasion during the year.
Up to the close of the Congress of Paris, Comte
Walewski, who was in charge of the Foreign Affairs
of France, had been in entire accord with the Em-
peror, but as soon as he saw that Napoleon was in-
clined to favor the plans of Cavour, this complete
FRANCE AND ITALY
agreement no longer existed. As has already been
stated, he was kept in ignorance of the meeting of
Napoleon and Cavour at Plombieres. He was op-
posed to the war, and eager to bring it to a close.
This may have led him, in his dispatches to the Em-
peror, to exaggerate the danger of Prussian inter-
vention, which was the compelling motive that led
Napoleon, in the full tide of success, to seek an inter-
view with Francis Joseph and arrange the Truce of
Villafranca.
The Treaty of Zurich, which finally ended the war,
had contained the proposition of a Congress, but the
Emperor, after long hesitation, made up his mind
to abandon to Sardinia the whole of Central Italy,
including the Legations, and to demand in return
the cession of Nice and Savoy. As it would be difficult
to justify annexations so contrary to the Treaty, he
no longer desired a Congress. The last of December
there was published the pamphlet called "The Pope
and the Congress," which had so deeply moved the
Holy Father.
The Pope, bound by his solemn oath of office,
could not consider for a moment the idea of ceding
any part of the States of the Church. When the Con-
gress was definitely abandoned, Comte Walewski,
a staunch supporter of the Papal claims, resigned his
portfolio. The "Moniteur" of the fifth of January
i860 published the following decree: "Monsieur
Thouvenel, Ambassador at Constantinople, is ap-
pointed Minister of Foreign Affairs to succeed the
Comte Walewski, whose resignation has been ac-
cepted."
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The English view of the episode was well expressed
by a leader in the London ''Morning Post" which
concluded thus: "There will be no more of those
hesitations which have characterized the interval
betv/een the interview of Villafranca and the present
moment. The head which directs the policy of France
will be in accord with the hand which will carry it out.
In any case, there will be no intervention, and no
opposition to Italy's taking the rank which be-
longs to her among the nations of Europe, and which
will satisfy at the same time the wishes of the
Emperor Napoleon and the desires of the English
nation."
This article was reproduced in the "Moniteur" of
the following day, and the French public was in this
indirect manner notified of the diplomatic situation.
The parliamentary session was opened this year on
the first of March, at the Louvre, in the Hall of States,
which is near the Salon Carre. During the reign of
Napoleon, the speeches from the throne were always
an event, the Emperor writing them himself and care-
fully correcting the proofs. His speeches nearly always
foreshadowed his policy for the coming year, and were
therefore looked forward to with curiosity. Published
immediately after delivery, they were at once trans-
mitted by telegraph to all countries.
In i860, the speech from the throne was more
widely read and commented on than usual. The Em-
peror said that, as he had guaranteed Italy from
foreign intervention, he had not hesitated to inform
the King of Sardinia that he could not follow him in
his apparent tendency to absorb all the Italian States,
C 192]
T.E COMTE WALEWSKI
FRANCE AND ITALY
and that he had advised him to maintain the auton-
omy of Tuscany and respect in principle the rights
of the Holy See.
He next foreshadowed the coming annexation of
Nice and Savoy. He said: "In view of this transfor-
mation of Northern Italy, which gives to a powerful
State all the passages of the Alps, it was my duty,
for the sake of our frontiers, to claim the French
slopes of the mountains. There is nothing in this
demand for a very limited territory which should
alarm Europe or seem to contradict that policy of
disinterestedness that I have more than once pro-
claimed."
Then touching on the subject of the recent religious
agitation, he said that the past should be a guarantee
for the future, that for the last eleven years he alone
had maintained in Rome the power of the Holy
Father, without ceasing for a day to revere in him
the sacred character of the chief of his religion.
He assumed full responsibility for the commercial
treaty with England, and concluded his speech with
these eloquent words: "The protection of Providence,
so visible during the war, will not be lacking to a
peaceful enterprise whose object is the amelioration
of the condition of the more numerous classes. Let
us then steadily continue our progressive march,
delayed neither by the murmurs of selfishness, the
clamoring of parties, nor unjust suspicions. France
threatens no one; she wishes to develop in peace
the immense resources bestowed on her by Heaven,
and she ought not to arouse jealous susceptibilities,
since, at our present state of civilization, a truth which
C 1933
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
consoles and reassures humanity becomes every day
more dazzlingly evident : namely, that the more pros-
perous a country becomes, the more it contributes
to the riches and prosperity of all others."
With the opening of the session of the Corps Legis-
latif, general attention was directed to the negotia-
tions for the annexation of Nice and Savoy. These
were conducted with great skill by Thouvenel, the
new Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Thouvenel, who belonged to an old and honorable
family of Lorraine, was born at Verdun, 1 1 November
1818. At college he showed a real vocation for his-
toric and diplomatic questions, and a volume which
he published on "Hungary and Wallachia," after a
journey to the Orient, attracted the attention of
Guizot, who obtained his admission to the political
department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1845, he was sent to Athens, as attache, and was
finally appointed Minister by Louis Napoleon four
years later. After serving for over a year as Minister
at Munich, in February 1852, he was made chief of his
old department in the Foreign Affairs. Owing to fric-
tion with the Minister, in 1855, he was appointed
Ambassador at Constantinople, where he made a
brilliant record, bringing to a happy finish every
negotiation that he undertook, notably the negotia-
tions relating to the opening of the Suez Canal.
With such a record, the appointment of Monsieur
Thouvenel as Minister of Foreign Affairs was very
favorably received by the public. He brought to his
work limitless zeal, intelligence and activity. He was
at once a student and a man of action. Thouvenel
L 1943
FRANCE AND ITALY
was one of the men who have most dignified the reign
of Napoleon the Third.
When Thouvenel entered upon his duties as Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs, the ItaHan question had taken
a new phase. England had just formulated four propo-
sitions: (i) France and Austria to refrain from any-
further interference in Italian affairs; (2) France to
withdraw its troops from Italy as soon as this could
be done without endangering order; (3) The internal
organization of Venetia to be separately considered ;
and (4) Sardinia to take no further steps towards
annexations in Central Italy until the matter had been
submitted to a new plebiscite.
Towards the end of February, France proposed the
following, in a spirit of conciliation: (i) Complete
annexation of Parma and Modena to Sardinia; (2)
Temporal administration of the Romagna by Sardinia
as representative of the Holy See; and (3) Complete
reestablishment of Tuscany.
The French policy of compromises was a flat failure.
It was satisfactory neither to the Pope, nor to the
King. Cavour, who had returned to power in January,
felt himself master of the situation, and no longer
hesitated to act. He sent to Paris, as charge d'affaires,
Monsieur Nigra, his disciple, a young man full of
tact and cleverness. At the sam.e time he intrusted a
confidential mission to Arese, one of the oldest friends
of Napoleon, who had great influence with him.
It was evident that Sardinia proposed to go ahead
with the annexations, which were to modify pro-
foundly the relations between the two countries. As
Napoleon had not fully redeemed his promise to
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
"free Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic," he had
felt that he was not in a position to demand Nice and
Savoy, and had acquiesced in the annexation of
Lombardy with three million inhabitants to the old
Kingdom of Piedmont with its five million souls.
But now that it was proposed to increase Sardinia
further by the addition of another three million
inhabitants, comprised in the four states of Tuscany,
Modena, Parma and the Romagna, the Emperor
felt that he should have Nice and Savoy as a guar-
anty against the powerful Kingdom in Northern Italy.
It was only a question of elementary precaution that
Italy should no longer possess both slopes of the Alps.
To the Emperor Napoleon and his Minister Thou-
venel is due the credit for the annexation of Nice and
Savoy to France. England did everything in her
power to defeat the plan, and it required all of the
energy and ability of Thouvenel to bring the matter
to a happy conclusion. He remained undisturbed by
the objections raised, not only abroad, but also in
France. He gave Sardinia distinctly to understand
that she could not annex the duches and the Romagna
without giving France the frontier of the Alps. Find-
ing that there was no hope of interference from the
Great Powers, and that England would not act un-
aided, Cavour and the King made a merit of neces-
sity and yielded.
The annexations were accomplished without fur-
ther delay. On the 24 March i860, the Treaty of
Turin was formally signed, by which Sardinia ceded
to France the territory of Nice and Savoy. The
treaty stipulated that the inhabitants of all the
ni96 3
FRANCE AND ITALY
regions annexed to France should be consulted. The
votes were taken at two special elections in April,
and in both cases were practically unanimous in favor
of union with France. No popular vote had ever re-
corded such a majority. It was a brilliant triumph for
the Second Empire.
The Emperor wanted to make Thouvenel a duke,
but the Minister refused any reward except the Grand
Cross of the Legion d'honneur.
In his work on "Napoleon the Third," Saint-
Amand is authority for the following interesting anec-
dote regarding the relations of Napoleon and Pius
Ninth: "In 1831, Louis Napoleon had just come to
grief in the insurrection of the Romagna. Hunted by
the Austrian troops, he wandered about, vainly seek-
ing a place to lay his head. Arriving before Spoleto, of
which city the future Pius Ninth was then Archbishop,
he remembered that when this prelate was a simple
canon at Rome, he and his brother had often served
his Mass, and it occurred to the fugitive to ask him
for shelter. Monseigneur received the son of Queen
Hortense very kindly, and borrowed five thousand
francs and gave them to the former altar boy. Then
putting the Prince in his own carriage, he took the
reins and drove him to a place of safety. The Pope,
hearing of this incident, summoned the Archbishop
to Rome, where he remained for some time in dis-
grace. He did not, in fact, receive his cardinal's hat
until 1840. Could a grateful heart like that of Napo-
leon the Third forget such a service?"
When Louis Napoleon was candidate for President
of the Republic, he had no warmer supporter than the
C 1973
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
former Archbishop of Spoleto, who by that time
was Pope, and the harmony between the Empire and
the Papacy was not disturbed until the War of 1859.
When that broke out, the most positive assurances
were given to the Pope that all necessary measures
would be taken to insure his safety and independence.
Towards the end of January i860, a very difficult
situation was suddenly created by the application
of the deputies of the Romagna for admission to the
Sardinian parliament. It was reported that England
and France would immediately recognize the new
state of things; and the relations between the Vatican
and the Tuileries at once became tense. No longer
relying upon the protection of the strong arm of the
''Eldest Son of the Church," Pius Ninth decided to
organize a pontifical army to defend by force, if neces-
sary, the States of the Church.
In i860, a militant prelate, Monseigneur de Merode,
belonging to the highest aristocracy of Belgium, a
chamberlain of the Pope, was appointed Minister of
War by Pius Ninth. It was the new Minister who
conceived the idea of inducing General de Lamo-
riciere to enter the Pope's service.
Lamoriciere was probably the most illustrious of
the few soldiers of France who had refused to take
service under the Second Empire. On the first of
April i860, he arrived in Rome, and immediately
accepted the appointment of Generalissimo of the
Pope's Army, with the sole proviso that he should
not be called upon to serve against France. He re-
ceived from the Emperor the authorization required
to preserve his French citizenship.
1:1983
FRANCE AND ITALY
On his arrival in Rome, the pontifical army com-
prised about 16,000 men, and Lamoriciere occupied
himself with completing its organization. Volunteers
poured in, particularly from the Catholic provinces
of western France, and from Belgium, and the army
was soon increased to nearly 25,000 men.
It is difficult now to understand why the Emperor
should have chosen this most critical period of the
relations between France and Italy and the Holy See,
to start on the longest of the many Imperial journeys
undertaken during his reign.
Judged solely by the acclamations with which the
sovereigns were everywhere greeted, the trip made
by the Emperor and Empress to southeastern France,
Corsica and Algeria, was the most successful ever
undertaken. Leaving Saint-Cloud on the 23 August,
after a stop at Dijon, the Imperial party reached
Lyon the following evening. Here they visited the
Palace of Arts and then the Palace of Commerce,
which they inaugurated. After several days spent
in Savoy, the party went to Grenoble and Avignon,
and then proceeded to Marseille, where they ar-
rived on the eighth of September.
Here a despatch was received by the Emperor from
the Minister of Foreign Afi^airs, stating that the
Cabinet of Turin was sending a note to Cardinal
Antonelli, to declare that if the Holy See did not dis-
band the foreign troops, the Sardinian army would
enter the Marches and Umbria, to occupy these prov-
inces. Thouvenel then went on to say that this resolu-
tion of the Sardinian Government was extremely
grave, as it attacked the very principle of the French
C 199 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
occupation of Rome, and furthermore would seriously
affect French relations with all the Great Powers, who
could not understand how such a step could be taken
without the consent of the French Government.
In his reply the Emperor instructed Thouvenel to
write that, if the Sardinian troops entered the Papal
States after an insurrection, for the purpose of re-
storing order, he had nothing to say, but if the States
of the Church were attacked, he should withdraw his
minister from Turin and intervene as antagonist.
From Marseille the sovereigns sailed for Nice via
Toulon, and on that very day, the eleventh of Sep-
tember, the Piedmontese troops Invaded the States
of the Church and occupied Umbria and the Marches.
Nevertheless the Emperor protested for form's sake
only, and made no serious opposition.
Leaving matters in this precarious condition, on
the 13 September the Emperor left Nice for Corsica.
It was long before the days of wireless telegraphy
and he was for the time being entirely out of touch
with the grave events which were occurring daily.
The Emperor, however, knew perfectly well that
he could prevent the occupation of the Papal territory
by a single word. Abandoning himself to fatality, he
left Italy to work out its own destiny. Thouvenel,
having failed to induce him to oppose Piedmont
effectively, made no further efforts to stem the tor-
rent.
The Imperial yacht arrived at Algiers on the morn-
ing of the 17 September. Here on the following day,
the Emperor received news of the death of the
Duchess of Alba, the elder sister of the Empress. She
C2003
FRANCE AND ITALY
had married a descendant of the famous Duke of Ber-
wick, the illigitimate son of James the Second of Eng-
land by Arabella Churchill, sister of the great Duke
of Marlborough. In order not to cancel the elaborate
preparations which had been made for their enter-
tainment. Napoleon withheld the news from the
Empress until their return to France four days later.
So ended the long triumphal voyage of a month.
Napoleon, like Nero, had fiddled while Rome
burned!
In the meantime, a Piedmontese army of 33,000
men had invaded the Papal States. The hour was
decisive, and everybody wondered what Napoleon
would do. As we have already seen, he did nothing
but Interpose a purely platonic opposition. The Pope
and his Generalissimo still hoped for French assist-
ance. While the defenders of the Holy See were thus
beguiling themselves with vain hopes, the Piedmon-
tese invasion was going on without difficulty. The
French Ambassador, the Due de Gramont, wrote
Monsieur Thouvenel: "There is no use trying to de-
lude ourselves, we have never been criticized so
severely as we are now. There is nobody who is not
entirely convinced of our complicity with the Pied-
montese."
Lamoriciere had to fight without any assistance
from France, and was obliged to retire in the direc-
tion of Ancona. With hardly 5,000 men, he had to
contend against nearly three times as many Pied-
montese. On the 18 September, at Castelfidardo,
about seven miles south of Ancona, he was over-
whelmed by the veteran troops of Piedmont, and
C 201 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
reached Ancona about six o'clock in the evening with
an escort of only eighty men. Here ten days later,
all means of defence being exhausted, Lamoriciere
was obliged to capitulate. The garrison went out with
the honors of war. The officers were transported by
sea to Genoa, where they were restored to liberty.
Lamoriciere went at once to Rome, where he re-
signed his command to the Pope, who conferred upon
him the Order of Christ. He refused to accept any
other reward for his services.
The Marches and Umbria were definitely lost to
the Holy See. Until the year 1870, which saw the
end of the temporal power of the Pope, all that re-
mained of the former extensive States of the Church
was Rome and its immediate environs, with a popu-
lation of about 700,000 souls.
In the south of Italy, events had taken a course
decidedly opposed to the French program. Gari-
baldi and his "thousand" had sailed from Genoa,
with the connivance of the King and Cavour, and
landed in Sicily, which he speedily overran. Thou-
venel wrote to Persigny at London, proposing that
the two Governments should prevent Garibaldi from
crossing the Strait. England having refused the
proposition, France could not afford to act alone.
Sure of immunity, Garibaldi was free to go on with
his conquests. On the evening of the 6 September,
the King, Francis the Second, left his palace in
Naples, which he never was to see again; and went
aboard a Spanish ship in the harbor, and sailed for
Gaeta.
Garibaldi, who was at Salerno, took an express
C2023
FRANCE AND ITALY
train, and went to Naples, which he entered with
only a dozen officers. In a city of 400,000 inhabitants,
he encountered not the slightest resistance.
On the ninth of October the troops of Piedmont
crossed the Neapolitan frontier, and Victor Em-
manuel addressed a proclam.ation to the people of
southern Italy. He said: "I await with calmness the
judgment of civilized Europe and that of history,
because I am conscious of having accomplished my
duties as a King and as an Italian. I know that in
Italy I am putting an end to the era of revolutions."
A few days later, before any vote had been taken,
Garibaldi in a decree announced the reunion of the
Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy.
Everybody was wondering what action would be
taken by the Great Powers. For a moment it was
thought that they would come to the aid of King
Francis. The Czar not only issued a formal protest,
but also recalled his minister from Turin. The Prus-
sian legation was not recalled, but from Berlin
also there came a severe censure of the invasion
of the States of the Church and of the Kingdom of
Naples.
The dispossessed Italian sovereigns took heart
when they learned that a meeting had been arranged
at Warsaw between the Czar, the Emperor of Austria
and the Prince Regent of Prussia.
After declaring that the objects of the Interview
were not to form a coalition but to bring about a
general understanding between the Great Powers,
the Russian Court asked the French Government to
let it know how far it could go toward accomplishing
C2033
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
this result. Never had French diplomacy been placed
in a more delicate position.
Monsieur Thouvenel drew up a memorandum in
which he stated the four following propositions:
(i) If Italy attacks Venice, the Germanic powers
remaining neutral, France will lend it no support;
(2) The state of things which brought about the last
war will not be restored. Lombardy will not be brought
in question; (3) Everything which concerns the terri-
torial limits of Italy will be submitted to a Congress ;
(4) Nice and Savoy will not be subjects of discussion
at the Congress, even though Italy should lose the
acquisitions it has made since the stipulations of
Villafranca and Zurich.
The Czar adopted the substance of the above
memorandum and made it the theme of the discus-
sions at Warsaw. But all that passed between the
sovereigns was an exchange of courtesies. No decision
of any importance was reached. No one cared to go
to war over the Italian question, and it was evident
that Italy would yield only to force.
The sovereigns separated on the 26 October, and
the following day Lord John Russell, chief of the
Foreign Office, addressed to the English minister at
Turin a sensational dispatch which concluded as
follows: "The Government of the Queen can see no
sufficient motive for the severity with which Austria,
Prussia and Russia have censured the acts of the King
of Sardinia."
This memorable dispatch had an immense success
at Turin. Without spending a pound or risking the
life of a single English soldier, England had substi-
[;204 3
FRANCE AND ITALY
tuted itself for France in the gratitude of Italy. Such
was the result of the hesitating and vacillating policy
of the Emperor Napoleon during the year i860.
Having nothing further to fear from the Great
Powers, sure of immunity, Victor Emmanuel could
now go straight to his object. On the seventh of
November he made a triumphal entry into Naples.
Refusing all rewards for his services, Garabaldi re-
tired to his small estate on the little island of Caprera.
As the Emperor Napoleon reviewed in his mind the
events of the year, he felt well satisfied. He rightly
considered the annexation of Savoy and Nice as the
greatest success of his reign. To his mind, the private
interests of France came second to the general in-
terests of mankind. Apostle of the principle of na-
tionalities, of the right of every people to decide its
own destiny, he was doomed to be a martyr in this
cause.
II2053
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1855-1867
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
Two Great Military Reviews — Death of the Grand Duchess
Stephanie — The Baden Interview — The Visit to Corsica
— The Reconstruction of Paris — Home Life in the Tuile-
ries — The Exhibition of 1867
DURING the reign of Napoleon the Third
there were two grand reviews of his armies
which surpassed all others in splendor. The
first was on Christmas day 1855, when there defiled
before the Emperor the battalions recalled from the
Crimea, and the other was on the 14 August 1859,
when the whole population of Paris united in cheering
the troops returning from Italy.
The first of these demonstrations was impressive,
although on a much smaller scale than the second.
The war in the Crimea was not yet finished, but the
Emperor had decided to recall the Guard, and also
four regiments of the line which had seen the hardest
service. The wintry temperature was mitigated by a
clear, sunny sky, and the streets were crowded with
spectators. The Place Vendome was encircled with
grand-stands.
Napoleon had placed himself at the head of the
troops massed in the Place de la Bastille, and had
led the parade by the Boulevards to the Place Ven-
dome. Here he halted in front of the tribune of the
1:2063
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
Empress, and after saluting her, turned to review the
parade as it passed. The troops, headed by General
Canrobert, showed by their appearance that they had
been through a hard campaign, and made a profound
impression on the popular imagination.
Four years rolled by, and then came the more
striking spectacle of the 14 August 1859, the day of
the return to the capital of the French army, covered
with the glory of the victories of Magenta and Sol-
ferino. The Emperor, who had personally commanded
his troops, had been back at Saint-Cloud for four
weeks, and had arranged all the details of the spec-
tacle.
The day was magnificent, the enthusiasm uni-
versal, and the occasion as grand as the triumphs
of ancient Rome. Again, the Place Vendome was
encircled with tribunes, and decorated with flags
and flowers. As the divisions marched by with their
victorious eagles and the flags captured from the
enemy, they were greeted with a regular shower of
flowers from the windows above. But the enthusiasm
was unbounded when the Emperor himself appeared,
holding on the pommel of his saddle the little Prince
Imperial, only three years old, who was dressed in
the blue and red uniform of a grenadier of the Guard.
The scene was indescribable. Handkerchiefs were
waved, flags dipped, swords raised in salute; the
soldiers, the spectators all applauded the baby Prince,
upon his first public appearance. There was a regular
tempest of enthusiastic cheers, and it was thought
the demonstration would never cease. The associa-
tion of this child, who seemed to represent the hopes
C 207 2
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
of the nation, with the victories of Magenta and
Solferino, at the base of the column crowned with
the statue of the founder of the dynasty, touched the
hearts of the people. At such a moment, who could
fail to believe in the glorious future of the Empire!
The last of January i860 the Court of the Tuileries
was thrown into mourning, and the social whirl was
for a time interrupted by the death of Stephanie,
Grand Duchess of Baden. Few careers have been so
brilliant as that of this princess. The father of Jose-
phine's first husband had a brother Comte Claude
de Beauharnais, whose son, also named Claude, was
the father of Stephanie, who was born at Paris 28
August 1779. Although frequently referred to by
historians as the aunt of Napoleon the Third, it was
only "a la mode de Bretagne." After the death of her
mother, she had been confided to the care of an aunt,
an aged religieuse, with whom she was living in com-
plete obscurity, when her uncle conceived the idea
of taking her to Paris and presenting her to Josephine.
Josephine took a fancy to the young girl, and sent her
to the fashionable school of Madame Campan at
Saint-Germain, where her daughter Hortense and
Napoleon's sister Caroline were also pupils. When she
left school, her beauty, grace and wit made a sensa-
tion at the Court of the Tuileries. Napoleon liked her
so much, that in March 1806, to the surprise of every-
body, he adopted her as his daughter, thereby giving
her precedence as an Imperial Highness over his own
sisters. A month later, 8 April 1806, she was married
in the Chapel of the Tuileries to Charles, Grand Duke
1:2083
LE DUC DE MORNY
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
of Baden, a prince belonging to one of the oldest and
most illustrious families in Europe, whose sisters had
married respectively the Czar of Russia, the King
of Sweden and the King of Bavaria. From this mar-
riage there were born three daughters. The eldest,
Louise, by her marriage with Prince Gustavus Vasa,
had a daughter who was at one time thought of as a
wife for Napoleon. She subsequently married the
Prince Royal of Saxony, and became a Queen on his
ascending the throne of his father. The second, Jose-
phine, married Prince Anthony of Hohenzollern, and
was the mother of the first King of Roumania, and
of that Prince Leopold, who in 1870 was a candidate
for the throne of Spain, and the indirect cause of the
Franco-German war. The youngest daughter, Marie,
who was also thought of as a wife by Louis Napoleon,
married in 1848 the eldest son of the Duke of Hamil-
ton, and was prominent at the Court of the Tuileries
during the Second Empire.
The Court of Berlin had been greatly disturbed by
the annexation of Savoy and Nice to France, and it
was generally assumed that the next move of Napo-
leon would be to rectify the borders of France on the
northeast by claiming the old frontier of the Rhine.
In order to reassure the public mind, and put a stop
to these rumors which were greatly irritating the
South German States, Napoleon suddenly proposed
to the Prince Regent of Prussia an informal inter-
view at Baden, to which all the German sovereigns
except the Emperor of Austria might be invited.
During the reign of Louis Philippe, Baden had
C2093
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
become a favorite summer resort for Parisian society,
and its popularity had much increased since the es-
tabHshment of the Second Empire. The season of
i860 opened with this impromptu congress, at which
nearly all the German sovereigns were present.
The Emperor left Paris at seven in the m.orning
on the 15 June, and arrived at Strasbourg at four-
thirt}^, where he was greeted by a tremendous crowd.
At Baden, he took up his residence in the Villa Ste-
phanie, the former home of his cousin the Grand
Duchess. He had often visited there as a young man
while living at the Chateau of Arenenberg nearby.
It gratified him to reappear as the Emperor of the
French in the city which he had not seen since the
eve of the Strasbourg attempt nearly a quarter of a
century before. His only regret was that the amiable
Stephanie was no longer there to receive him, but he
was greeted by her daughter Marie, the Duchess of
Hamilton.
He arrived at half-past seven in the evening, and
received the visit of the Prince Regent an hour later.
The next day the Kings of Saxony, Bavaria, and
Wiirtemberg, and the minor German sovereigns also
called. It reminded the world of the days when the
Great Emperor held his court at Erfurt, and all the
European princes danced attendance.
Napoleon produced a very favorable impression
on all by his cordiality and simplicity of manner.
He returned to Fontainebleau, where he had left the
Empress, on the 18 June. The Baden interview greatly
increased the prestige of the Emperor, and had a
very favorable effect on public opinion everywhere.
C2103
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
The Bourse greeted his return by a great rise in
prices.
During the long and successful journey of the
Emperor in the early fall of i860, he spent a day at
Ajaccio, the cradle of the Imperial race. Leaving Nice
in the Imperial yacht, "L'Aigle," on the evening of
the 13 September, the next morning they discovered
on the horizon the picturesque isle of Corsica. A little
later, Ajaccio appeared, in its magnificent site, lying
in an amphitheatre of mountains at the extremity of
the azure gulf. In the prison of Ham, Napoleon had
often dreamed of a triumphal voyage to Corsica, and
at last his dream had come true.
At noon, the party landed at Ajaccio, and, after
listening to an address of welcome, drove to the Place
Letizia, in which is situated the Bonaparte house,
a large four-story dwelling. Burned during the
Revolution, it had been rebuilt later by the family
of Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon. It contains
much authentic furniture of the period of the First
Empire, and among other curios, a harpsichord which
belonged to Madame Mere. Then they visited the
Fesch palace, and its chapel, in which are the tombs
of Madame Mere and the Cardinal, both of whom
died at Rome.
After a stormy voyage the yacht reached Algiers
on the morning of the 17 September, and here the
Emperor received a telegram announcing the death
of the Duchess of Alba, which had occurred the pre-
vious night at Paris, in her hotel on the Champs-
Elysees. The sad news was withheld from the Empress
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
until she landed in France a few days later, when
she was overwhelmed with grief. She went into re-
tirement for several months, and suppressed for that
year the customary fetes at Compiegne, and did not
resume her social duties as sovereign until the fol-
lowing season.
The most important Internal work of the reign of
Napoleon was the reconstruction of Paris, under the
direction of the Prefect of the Seine, Baron Hauss-
mann. No obstacle was put in the way of his plans.
He had the assistance of the ablest engineers of the
time, the authority of the Emperor, which ordered
and directed, the funds which made the execution
possible. His task was to change from top to bottom
the physical aspect of a great city.
Vistas were opened through masses of unsanitary
dwellings. In his cabinet at the Tuileries, the Em-
peror placed a ruler on the map of Paris and drew a
straight line from the Opera to the Palais Royal, and
gave orders for the creation of the magnificent Avenue
de rOpera. The outlying quarters were connected by
straight boulevards to the heart of the city. The Rue
de Rivoli was extended from the Tuileries to the Bas-
tille, through one of the most tortuous, ill-built and
over-populated quarters of Paris. The gigantic plan
of the completion of the Louvre, which had appalled
several preceding dynasties, was carried out. The
magnificent Place du Carrousel was levelled and laid
out. The Grands Boulevards were completed to the
Madeleine. To the west, the Champs-Elysees were
decorated with flowers and shrubs, and enlivened
C2123
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
with fountains, and the Bois de Boulogne was finished
like a gentleman's park, and embellished with broad
expanses of ornamental water. The Tour du Lac
became the fashionable drive of Paris.
A stately Palace of Justice rose on the banks of the
Seine. The Hotel Dieu and the Opera were completed.
The beautiful Pare Monceaux and the magnificent
avenues radiating from the Arc de Triomphe were
laid out on what at the time of the Revolution of
February were waste lands or slums.
The dirty alleys and tumble-down houses around
Notre Dame were cleared away. The Tour Saint-
Jacques became the centre of a garden, and the Place
du Chatelet a quarter of new and handsome theatres.
The Place des Vosges, the ancient Place Royale, the
meeting place of the Mousquetaires in the celebrated
romance of Dumas, became once more a fashionable
quarter of the city, where Victor Hugo made his
residence after his return from exile.
If by the wave of a fairy's wand we could bring
back for a moment the Paris of Louis Philippe, a cry
of horror would fill the air. People would wonder how
the fastidious Parisians ever lived in such pestilent
dens. The horrible maze of loathsome by-ways in the
Quartier Saint-Marceau, the cut-throat alleys of the
Cite, the dark and muddy streets which lay between
the Palais Royal and the unfinished Louvre, the miser-
able huts and sheds upon the broken ground between
the Tuileries and the Louvre, the ugly slums about
the Arc de Triomphe, the dusty, neglected Bois
— these were only a few of the plague-spots trans-
formed by the plans of the Emperor into the broad
C2133
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
and beautiful boulevards, public squares and parks,
which will be an enduring monument of his reign.
The general plans for these improvements had been
formed and studied under preceding administrations,
but the work had never been commenced. Under
Napoleon the enormous work was begun and car-
ried to a successful conclusion. On every side there
were changes of perspective and new aspects. Blocks
of old houses disappeared as by enchantment. Friends
of the past lamented to see disappear so many edi-
fices where generations had lived and died. Lovers of
art denounced the vandalism of the destruction of so
many historical monuments. Amateurs of original
construction revolted against the uniformity and
monotony of the new facades. But all objections were
swept aside, and the work went on. f^
The opening of new quarters kept pace with the
destruction of old. Socialists cried out against the
abuse of authority which chased the artists from
the centre, and wiped out the Paris artistic and his-
toric for the unique triumph of a luxurious mate-
rialism.
But the Emperor did not confine his attention to
the embellishment of his capital. Lyon, Bordeaux
and other great centres felt the benefits of his initia-
tive. One of the first acts of his government had been
to unite to Lyon the three suburbs of La Guillotiere,
Vaise and Croix-Rousse, thus placing under one mu-
nicipal administration the districts so closely united
by a community of interests. At Rouen, handsome
new streets appeared between the railway station and
the old town. Everywhere in France the same far-
C2143
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
seeing policy was carried out. The cities were em-
bellished with monuments. Industry received a new
impetus. France attracted to its markets the funds
of all Europe.
Now that the Tuileries have been destroyed for
fifty years, and plans of the building are very difficult
to obtain, it is not easy to give an idea of the arrange-
ment of the palace. The main front was on the former
Cour des Tuileries, now transformed into a garden,
with the entrance by the Place du Carrousel. There
were two main stories, with a lower third story above.
At the centre was the Pavilion de I'Horloge, with the
Pavilion de Flore at the left, or side of the Seine, and
of Marsan at the right, on the Rue de Rivoli. The rear
of the place looked out on the Gardens, with the Place
de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees beyond.
To get an idea of the internal arrangement of the
rooms, so difficult to describe, and of which a plan
would hardly clear up the intricacy, the best way
to-day is to visit the "petits appartements" at Ver-
sailles. There, in those dark corridors, where there is
hardly room for two persons to pass; in those steep,
turning staircases, which have to be lighted night
and day; in those little rooms, with ceilings so low
you almost touch them with your head, you are able
to visualize what the Tuileries were like, during both
the First and the Second Empire.
The principal room was the Hall of the Marshals,
which with the grand vestibule and staircase of honor
occupied all of the central pavilion, and formed the
communication between the two wings of the palace.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The left wing contained on the first two floors the
apartments of the Emperor and Empress, while in
the right wing were situated the rooms of the Conseil
d'£tat, the Chapel, the Salle de Spectacle, and at the
end, on the Rue de Rivoli, the rooms for distinguished
visitors.
The Emperor selected for his private rooms in the
Tuileries a few low chambers on the ground floor
between the Pavilion de THorloge, at the centre, and
the Pavilion de Flore abutting on the Seine embank-
ment. A dark corridor, always lighted by a lamp,
connected the rooms. From the Emperor's study a
flight of steps led down from one of the windows to
the Gardens, where he took his daily walks.
The Emperor's cabinet, where he did all of his
work, was a low, gilded chamber, the walls of which
were covered with miniatures of the family and arms
of every kind. The furniture was of the First Empire.
Queen Victoria recorded in her Diary that the Em-
peror had in his bedroom busts of his father and
uncle, and in other rooms, portraits of Napoleon,
Josephine and Hortense.
From the cabinet of the Emperor, a spiral staircase
led to the library of the Empress above. Adjoining
the cabinet were the rooms of his secretaries, and be-
yond was the Council Chamber where the meetings
of the Ministers were held. Nearby were the quarters
of his former valet Charles Thelin, now Privy Purse,
and of his two servants, Goutellard and Miiller, who
were with the Emperor at his death. These, with
Felix, composed the entourage of the Emperor in his
private apartment. Felix had charge of a perfect mu-
C216:
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
seum of models and curiosities of all kinds, sent the
Emperor from every part of the world.
The Emperor was always an early riser, and by
eight o'clock he had shaved himself, and was dressed
with English care and neatness, and was joined by
the Empress for early tea. At nine, the Emperor
went over his correspondence with his secretary, and
then gave audiences to his Ministers. After this he
passed to the Council Chamber and took his hat,
which was always of the d'Orsay pattern, his gloves,
and the familiar gold-headed eagle-cane, and went
for his morning walk in the Gardens. Leaning on the
arm of an aide de camp, he paced slowly back and
forth, seldom speaking.
At eleven-thirty, a simple dejeuner was served,
with a little light wine; and after this, the formal
reception of distinguished strangers took place.
About four o'clock the Emperor and Empress went
for their afternoon drive, generally to the Bois.
Seven o'clock was the fixed hour for dinner at the
Tuileries, and before that time the invited guests
assembled in the salon adjoining the dining-room on
the first floor. As the Emperor approached with the
Empress on his arm, the usher announced their Im-
perial Majesties, and the doors were thrown open.
The Emperor always sat in the middle of the table,
with the Empress on his left. The dining-room was
known as the Salon Louis Quatorze from a large pic-
ture of the "Roi Soleil" in ceremonial attire.
The Imperial dinner parties varied in numbers
from twelve to eighteen on ordinary occasions. Jer-
rold says: "It was a pleasant, intimate circle, and the
C217]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Emperor was the gayest of the diners, when his
health was fairly good; talking easily and cheerily
round the table of the news of the day — but never
of people. This was the rule in the dining-room as
well as the drawing-room. He had the happy art of
saying something to please every guest ; of being one
of the party and remaining the Emperor always.
After dinner the Emperor and Empress led the way
back to the drawing-room, where coffee was served
while the company chatted. Then he retired to his
cabinet downstairs for his cigarette, and very often
for some hours of state or literary work. He would
sometimes reappear later, at the tea-table, and listen
to, rather than engage in, the conversation."
The Emperor as a rule retired very early, generally
by ten o'clock. It had always been his habit to lie
down, not to sleep, but to think and dream at his
ease.
Such was the ordinary home life of the Tuileries
under the Second Empire.
Between the years of splendor of the Second Em-
pire and the period of decline, there was one glorious
hour when the setting sun of Imperialism shone in
all its brilliancy before disappearing forever. This
was the year of the Universal Exhibition of 1867.
In the importance of the visitors to Paris, in the
number and the brilliancy of the official fetes, in the
diversity of the amusements offered to the crowd,
Europe had seen no similar occasion since the great
Vienna Congress of 181 5. From the first days of
February, Paris had begun its preparations to receive
1:218 3
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
the visitors. Finally the opening day arrived. There
was a magnificent assembly of notables in the Palace
of Industry. The Emperor presided at the ceremony,
in evening dress, with the grand cordon of the Legion
d'honneur upon his breast. By his side was the Em-
press in the full maturity of her charms, and as usual
exquisitely gowned and sparkling with jewels.
No one had been overlooked in the official invita-
tions addressed to the European sovereigns, who,
however, showed no haste to arrive. Victor Emmanuel
had sent word that he was kept at Turin by a serious
illness, which however did not prevent him from
hunting in the mountains. The Czar was the first to
announce his early arrival. As soon as this news was
received at the other capitals, every one of the sov-
ereigns hastened his preparations for departure. The
King of Prussia set out, bringing with him the two
men of his choice. Otto von Bismarck and Count
von Moltke.
The most distinguished monarchs were the first to
arrive. After them came the Kings of Wiirtemberg,
Bavaria, Belgium, and a multitude of princelings,
and last, but not least, in point of interest, the Sultan
of Turkey.
To receive the new Czar of Russia, and the new
King of Prussia, there had been arranged superb
parades of troops and other military spectacles, special
performances at the Opera, and many brilliant cere-
monies. The principal figures attracted primarily the
public attention. First of all was the Czar, a man of
imposing stature, of agreeable, though severe ex-
pression, with a great reputation for generosity. It
C2193
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
was reported that he spent the sum of three milHon
francs during his visit. In spite of the popular sym-
pathy for unhappy Poland, he was a great favorite
with the Parisians. But if the city received the Czar
with warmth, it only extended to William of Prussia
a cold courtesy. There was a marked difference in
the welcome given to the two sovereigns from the
North. The flags of England and of Russia floated
from all the windows, but the German colors were
rarely seen. With his military carriage, his severe
countenance, the King of Prussia won few hearts. It
was frequently remarked that William had done well
in bringing his aides de camp, as otherwise he would
have been rather lonely In the crowd. On the other
hand, Bismarck attracted much attention wherever
he appeared. It was said afterwards that the Prus-
sians did not lose their time while in Paris, and that,
beneath the brilliant surface, they clearly saw the lack
of internal organization and the defective state of
military preparedness, and that they well used their
information three years later.
Paris had never been so animated as during the
summer of 1867. Not a day passed without some
special entertainment for the visitors. Every night
there was a state dinner or a ball. No one thought of
anything but pleasure. But everything must have
its end, and the time came, only too soon, for the
sovereigns to return to their capitals, and^ resume
once more the conduct of affairs.
The fireworks were over. The military bands no
longer played the different national airs. All the
monarchs had gone home charmed with their visit.
n22o3
GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE
The Emperor was delighted with the success of his
entertainment, and flattered himself that another
glorious page had been written in the annals of the
Imperial dynasty.
Both the Czar and the King of Prussia had brought
their Ministers with the idea of discussing some serious
political problems, but Napoleon had given them no
opportunity. He thought of nothing but pleasure
and amusement, and a chance to strengthen inter-
national ties was carelessly thrown away.
C2213
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1860-1870
HOME AFFAIRS
Effect of the Italian War — Damage to the Emperor's Prestige
— The English Treaty of Commerce — Opposition of the
Protectionists — Religious Agitation — Foundation of the
Liberal Empire — Change in the French Navigation Laws
— Further Concessions to the Liberals — Growing Strength
of the Opposition — Death of Morny — Rise of the Third
Party — Wavering Policy of the Emperor — Final Adop-
tion of the Liberal Plan — The Ollivier Ministry — The
Nation Approves the Liberal Reforms — Satisfaction of the
Emperor
THE history of the Empire, from Its founda-
tion In 1852, to i860, was one of great and
uninterrupted success. It was a period of
despotic government, more absolute than that of the
Czar. The whole government of France was centered
in the hands of the Emperor.
The following ten years were to witness the trans-
formation of the Empire from autocracy to liberalism,
the rise of a small but vigorous opposition party, a
growing demoralization within the State, and a dis-
astrous foreign policy, leading to a final, tragic col-
lapse.
"The turning point In the history of the Empire,"
says Hazen, "was the Italian war. However beneficial
to Italy, that war raised up for Napoleon a host of
enemies In France. One of its features had been the
attack upon the temporal power of the Papacy. That
C222]
HOME AFFAIRS
power was not overthrown in fact, but it was in prin-
ciple. The Pope had lost most of his states, the rest
were in danger. CathoHcs were bitter in their de-
nunciation of Napoleon. This was most damaging
for him, as his strongest supporters had hitherto been
the clergy, the clerical press, and the faithful. But
other groups also were offended: monarchists, because
of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Naples and the
duchies; patriots of various affiliations and members
of the liberal constitutional party in Parliament, be-
cause they believed the erection of a strong state to
the southeast of France prejudicial to her best in-
terests, it being better to have several weak states
as neighbors than a single strong one.'*
The only party in France favorable to the Em-
peror's Italian policy was the small democratic op-
position, and this fact alone should have caused him
to hesitate. Even before the commencement of the
war a prominent government official had reported to
the Emperor that partisans of the Italian war could
be found only in those circles which were plotting
for the overthrow of the Empire.
By the outcome of the war, the Emperor's prestige
both at home and abroad was seriously dam^aged.
After undertaking to "free Italy from the Alps to the
Adriatic," he had stopped short, in the full tide of
victory, and concluded the Treaty of Villafranca,
which left Venetia in the hands of Austria. He had
then stood supinely by, while the unification of
Italy was accomplished. By a policy, alternately so
rash and so pusillanimous, his reputation as a ruler
of intelligent views and decision of character had
C2233
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
been seriously impaired. By allowing long-established
legitimate governments to be overthrown, and by
taking Savoy and Nice in payment for his services,
he created everywhere in Europe a sentiment of sus-
picion and hostility, which alienated England, as well
as other states, and gave the impression that he was
desirous of repeating his uncle's policy of conquest.
During the following ten years he was to experience
the results of his ill-advised Italian policy.
It was at this time that he offended another power-
ful interest at home. On the fifth of January i860 the
Emperor addressed to the Minister of State a letter
which was intended to prepare the public mind for
the commercial treaty which he was secretly prepar-
ing, and which he was well aware would meet with
the strongest opposition from the French protec-
tionists.
Napoleon dearly loved dramatic strokes. He was
getting ready to demand the annexation of Nice and
Savoy, which he knew would arouse the jealousy and
suspicion of Europe, 'and like an adroit prestidigita-
teur he chose this moment to distract the public at-
tention by a clever and timely diversion. In this
letter he attempted to reassure people by speaking
only of the victories of agriculture, commerce and
industry.
The letter of the Emperor was received with en-
thusiasm by the semi-official press. It broke with
routine and opened up new paths for national pros-
perity, but at the same time it dealt a hard blow to
the great French manufacturing interests, who were
not at all disposed to accept foreign competition.
C2243
HOME AFFAIRS
Just eighteen days later, 23 January, the Treaty
of Commerce between France and England was
signed at Paris, by Baroche and Rouher, on the part
of France, and Lord Cowley and Richard Cobden
for England.
No negotiations had ever been carried on more
mysteriously. It was a regular commercial coup
d'etat, a rude break with the traditions of French
policy. Since the time of Colbert, France had lived
under a protective pohcy. Napoleon the First had
endeavored to close not only the ports of France, but
of all Europe, to English goods. To attain his end, he
had deposed his brother from the throne of Holland,
and annexed the Low Countries to the Empire, and
had undertaken the disastrous Russian campaign.
While a prisoner at Ham, Louis Napoleon had de-
clared himself in favor of free trade. A first attempt,
made in 1856, to introduce his ideas in France had
been unsuccessful. The bill presented to the Corps
Legislatif had to be withdrawn. But the Emperor,
whose strongest characteristic was tenacity, still
clung to his idea, and awaited a more favorable
moment.
The chief exponent in France of the principles of
free trade was Michel Chevalier. In England, Richard
Cobden occupied a like prominence. These two men
met at an economic congress at Bradford in 1859, and
later Cobden came to Paris where he had several
important interviews with the Emperor.
Napoleon, who was convinced that no favorable
action could be expected from the Chambers, re-
solved to take advantage of the powers conferred
n 225 ]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
upon him by the Constitution and conclude the
treaty of his own initiative.
The treaty, which settled for ten years the com-
mercial relations between France and England, was
a real revolution in economic matters. The French
market for the first time opened wide its doors to
English products. Articles formerly prohibited were
to be subject to a tax not exceeding thirty per cent
on their value. In return, France secured a reduc-
tion of duties on wines and spirits and complete ex-
emption from duties on silks and all articles of fancy
or fashion.
The treaty was not made public until the tenth of
February. It was well received by the classes which
it benefited, and was probably advantageous to
France as a whole, but it aroused a storm of protest
from the manufacturers of iron and textiles. The vio-
lent struggle which was thus precipitated between
the protectionists and the free-trade party continued
through the entire reign, and created many bitter
enemies for the Imperial regime.
At the same time that much unrest had been
created in material matters by the English Treaty,
the Government of the Emperor had to contend with
a strong opposition from religious interests. Sir
Charles Greville wrote in his Journal, 22 January
i860: "The Emperor must have extraordinary con-
fidence in his personal prestige to defy both the cleri-
cal and the protectionist parties at the same time;
it will be interesting to see whether events will justify
this audacity."
Except for the Roman question, the most complete
1:2263
HOME AFFAIRS
harmony would always have existed between the
Emperor and the Papacy. From the day that he was
a candidate for President of the Republic, Napoleon
had had no warmer or more efficient supporters than
the clergy of France. Nothing had contributed more
to secure him the cooperation of the conservative
classes and the approbation of Catholics in all coun-
tries. It was no small thing for him to alienate this
support, and this was the direct result of his inter-
ference in Italian affairs. Since the publication of the
pamphlet on *'The Pope and the Congress," which
had so deeply moved the Holy Father, the religious
agitation had been increasing daily.
The effect of the pamphlet was most unfortunate.
The Bishops of Orleans and of Poitiers prepared in-
dignant refutations of the brochure. The Pope ex-
horted the faithful of the entire world to cooperate
in defending the rights of the Holy See. In Paris, the
"Correspondent" published four articles, treatitig the
question in all its aspects, which produced a real
sensation. This journal was warned, and many others
were suppressed for their articles on the question.
Even Guizot, the most celebrated of Protestants,
approved the attitude of the Pope, and for once
found himself In complete accord with Thiers.
The efforts of the Imperial Government to arrest
the movement were powerless. All the adversaries
of the Empire took advantage of the occasion, and
awoke to new life; the old parties took new courage.
For the rest of his reign the Emperor found himself
opposed by a strong coalition of clericals and re-
publicans.
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
In the "Napoleonic Ideas," the Emperor had out-
lined his policy of "crowning the edifice" with the
cap of liberty as soon as the people were prepared
for this change. The first step was taken In the cele-
brated Decree of 24 November i860, which in its
way was a stroke as dramatic and unexpected as the
commercial treaty with England at the beginning of
the year.
The Chambers were called upon for the first time
to vote a reply to the speech from the throne ; minis-
ters without portfolios were instituted to explain and
defend the government projects; debates were to be
published in full ; exercise of the right of amendment
was guaranteed to the Corps Leglslatlf.
It was at once evident to far-seeing minds that
this system would necessarily result later in minis-
terial responsibility, and the formation of cabinets,
as in England, under the lead of a prime minister.
The friends of Imperialism were far from satisfied
with the change, and felt that the Emperor was his
own worst enemy in unnecessarily creating difficulties
and embarrassments which would always go on in-
creasing. In the sovereign's mind it was an honest
and loyal experiment, which would determine him
either to limit the reforms or go on with their devel-
opment. The only result of the concessions was to
put new and powerful weapons into the hands of the
constantly increasing band of his enemies.
By the year i860, the Emperor had thus succeeded
in offending large and influencial classes at home:
the Catholics, by his Italian policy, and the manu-
facturers by his treaty of commerce, which it was
1:228:
HOME AFFAIRS
claimed subordinated French interests to English, as
the war had sacrificed the welfare of France for that
of Italy.
He now negotiated with England a change in the
French navigation law, which while beneficial as a
whole to his country, was violently opposed by French
ship-owners, who were influential enough to obtain a
modification of the decree, which nullified the law
in many respects. In March i860, a motion had been
carried in the House of Commons for an address to
the Queen to enter into negotiations with the Em-
peror with a view of making a treaty "for the recip-
rocal abrogation of all discriminating duties levied
upon the vessels and their cargoes of either of the two
nations in the ports of the other."
Mr. W. L. Lindsay, the author of this motion, nine
months later was sent to Paris by Lord Russell
to urge the French Government to pass such
measures.
Mr. Lindsay, after several interviews with the
Emperor, was successful in impressing him with the
importance of the subject. In May 1862, a report
drawn up by Monsieur Rouher, relative to the state
of the French Mercantile Marine, was published
in the "Moniteur." Radical changes were suggested,
but these were not authorized by the Chambers until
four years later. In 1872, Monsieur Thiers, then
President of the Republic, under a threat of resigna-
tion, persuaded the Assembly to reverse much of
the law of 1866, but, in July 1873, two months after
his resignation, the Assembly retraced its steps. Thus
foreign vessels, as decreed by the Emperor, are now
C2293
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
placed in French ports upon the same footing as those
of France.
In November i860, the Emperor, feehng that he
was losing strength with the Catholic and Conser-
vative elements, had begun to seek the support of the
Liberals, previously his most bitter opponents. By
the decree of the 24 November he had entered upon
the work of "crowning the edifice" which he had
declared to be the ideal of the Napoleonic system.
After the great humiliation of the Mexican war,
and his loss of prestige in Europe through the sudden
rise of Prussia, Napoleon felt the need of new sources
of strength, and, in 1868, he turned again to the
Liberals with still greater concessions. At the begin-
ning of his reign, he had declared that autocratic
power was only provisional, but notwithstanding the
liberal changes which he had already decreed, the
system of 1852 was still practically in full force.
Prematurely old, and suffering acutely from disease,
he no longer felt able to carry alone the responsibility
of the government. In 1867, the right was granted the
Chamber to question the Ministers concerning their
acts and policies. The following year, many of the
restrictions were removed from the press, and the
right of public meetings was granted, subject to cer-
tain restrictions.
The Empire had thus at last entered upon a frankly
liberal policy. The result was greatly to weaken, in-
stead of to strengthen it. It gave increased power to
the growing Republican party, which made use of the
liberal concessions made by the Emperor bitterly
to attack the whole Imperial regime, which, it was
C2303
HOME AFFAIRS
evident, they were determined to annihilate com-
pletely.
It was in the midst of these assaults on the Im-
perial Government that the Due de Morny died.
Since 1854 he had been the President of the Corps
Legislatif. He was liberal in his principles, and the
changes in the government had met with his approval.
The splendor in which he lived at the Palais Bourbon
had aroused the wrath of the Republicans, but his
courtly manners and his impartiality as presiding
officer made him a general favorite, regardless of
parties. His commanding intellectual resources would
have given him a high place among French statesmen
had not his public services been tarnished by his
private vices.
The Emperor spent part of the last night by the
dying man's bedside. Although, of late years, their
relations had frequently been strained by the im-
prudence of the Due's speculations in the Bourse, at
the end, Napoleon could only remember the brilliant
gifts, and the courageous and loyal heart, of his
steadfast associate during the critical days of the
coup d'etat.
Alphonse Daudet In speaking of the death of the
Due de Mora (Morny) in "Le Nabab" says:
"He was the most brilliant Incarnation of the Em-
pire. What one sees of an edifice from afar Is not the
solid base, the architectural mass, it Is the delicate,
golden spire, added for the satisfaction of the coup
d'ceil. What one saw of the Empire In France, and in
all Europe, was Mora (Morny). When he disappeared,
the monument was stripped of all its elegance."
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Between the out-and-out supporters of the Empire,
and the Repubhcans, its bitter opponents, there arose
at this time the so-called Third Party, headed by
OUivier, a former Republican. This Party was willing
to support the Empire, if Napoleon would make it
completely liberal, that is to say, adopt the English
system of parliamentary government with a respon-
sible ministry, in place of personal rule.
For a time, the Emperor wavered between the two
policies which were urged upon him : one, a return to
the earlier dictatorship, advocated by the Imperial-
ists ; the other, the plan of even greater liberality ad-
vocated by the Third Party. The election of 1869, in
which only four votes on the average were cast for
the official candidates as compared with three votes
for the opposition, decided Napoleon to adopt the
plan of the Third Party. By a Senatus Consultum of
September 1869, supplemented by another of April
1870, the political system of the Empire was radically
changed. The Corps Legislatif was given the right to
choose its own officers, make its own rules, initiate
legislation, and demand explanations of the ministers,
who were made responsible. On the second of January
1870, Ollivier was made head of the ministry, and was
supported by a majority in the Chamber. Ollivier
told the Emperor that he could assure him a "happy
old age," and his son a quiet succession to the throne.
Napoleon, in accordance with his custom, now
sought the approval of the nation to the new Con-
stitution, which had been so profoundly altered dur-
ing the past ten years. He believed that the popular
vote would once more consolidate his power, and
C2323
HOME AFFAIRS
put him in a position to dominate easily the hostile
element which had lately become so aggressive. The
people were asked to vote on the proposition: "The
French nation approves the liberal reforms made in
the Constitution since i860, and ratifies the Senatus
Consultum of the 20 April 1870." Following this was
printed the Constitution in full, assuring among
other things the transmission of the Imperial dignity
in the direct line of Napoleon the Third.
The plebiscite took place the 8 May 1870, and
resulted in an overwhelming vote in favor of the
Empire; nearly seven and a half millions voted yes,
only a million and a half voted no. The Emperor could
claim that he had lost no supporters since the day
that the Empire was approved eighteen years before.
The Empire seemed solidly reestablished In the con-
fidence of the country, and the Republican party
absolutely discredited, yet its triumph was near.
In less than three months the Empire entered upon
the Prussian war, in the midst of which it utterly
collapsed, and was succeeded by the Third Republic,
which after fifty years, to-day, seems stronger than
ever.
112333
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1860-1866
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Syrian Massacres — Napoleon's Letter to Palmerston —
Limited Results of the Expedition — The Chinese War —
— The French and English Forces — Battle of Palikao — •
Destruction of the Summer Palace — Treaty of Pekin —
The Mexican War — Ulterior Plans of Napoleon — The
Mexican Empire — Maxmilian and Carlotta — With-
drawal of the French Army — Execution of Maximilian —
Blow to Napoleon's Prestige — Plans for German Unity —
Rise of Bismarck — The Schleswig-Holstein Question —
The Biarritz Conference — The Italian Alliance — The
Seven Weeks' War — Victory of Sadowa — North German
Confederation
AT the time the clergy were condemning the
Emperor's attitude regarding the Church,
it pleased him to renew the Crusades, by
sending his troops to the aid of the Christians in the
Ottoman Empire. This act immediately aroused the
jealous susceptibilities of England. It is not easy now
to understand the change in the feelings of Queen
Victoria regarding her close ally in the Crimea, of
whom she spoke and wrote in such friendly terms only
a few years before. It was probably due to the influ-
ence of her consort. Prince Albert, who was always a
German at heart, and who had undoubtedly been
affected by the German propaganda which was al-
ready working to undermine the immense prestige of
the Emperor. He was regarded as the greatest foe of
C2343
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
German unity, and it was a part of the plan of Bis-
marck to remove this obstacle from his path. Hence
no stone was left unturned to detach Napoleon from
his former allies, and to arouse against him the
enmity of the South German States.
The sending of French troops to Syria was regarded
in London as a mere cover to designs for conquest
in the East, and for a future attack upon England's
Indian Empire.
Napoleon had not the slightest desire of acting
alone in Syria, and had instructed Persigny, his Am-
bassador at London, to secure the cooperation of the
English Government. He wrote: "Tell Lord Palmer-
ston from me that since the Peace of Villafranca I
have had but one thought, one end in view, namely,
to inaugurate a new era of peace, and live on good
terms with my neighbors, and especially with Eng-
land. I had given up Savoy and Nice, and the only
thing that revived my wish to see provinces essen-
tially French restored to France was the extraordinary
growth of Piedmont."
He then referred to the massacres in Syria, which
had filled him with indignation, and continued:
*'A11 the same, my first thought was to act with
England. What interest save that of humanity could
induce me to send troops into that country .r' Could
the possession of it possibly increase my power?"
In conclusion the Emperor expressed his desire to
come to terms with England, not only in Syria, but
in Italy. "It has been difficult for me," he said, "to
agree with England in reference to Central Italy,
because I was bound by the Treaty of Villafranca;
C2353
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
as to southern Italy, I am unpledged, and I ask
nothing better than to act with England on that
point as on others; but for Heaven's sake, let the
eminent men at the head of the English Government
lay aside mean jealousies and unjust suspicions. Let
us come to a loyal understanding like the honest men
we are and not act like thieves who want to cheat
each other. I desire that Italy may be appeased, no
matter how, but without foreign intervention, and
that my troops may leave Rome without endangering
the safety of the Pope."
This remarkably clever letter created a great sen-
sation when published in the English press. Napoleon
attained his ends. The five Great Powers and the
Porte, in conference at Paris, came to an agreement
on all points. It was arranged that a body of 12,000
troops should be sent to Syria, of which number the
French Government undertook to provide at once
the moiety.
The Syrian expeditionary corps, of some six thou-
sand men, embarked at Marseille, and landed at
Beyrout on the 16 August. Owing to lack of coopera-
tion on the part of the Turkish forces, the chief result
aimed at by the expedition was completely missed,
and the Druses, who were responsible for the massa-
cres, were allowed to escape through the Turkish
lines just when they were supposed to be surrounded
on all sides. After this the French resolved to act
alone.
Although the military results of the expedition
were very limited, in a humanitarian way great
good was accomplished. Under the shelter of the
C236D
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
French flag, houses were rebuilt, villages repopulated
and confidence restored. Food and seed-corn were dis-
tributed and building materials furnished. The French
soldiers were acclaimed as liberators and saviours.
In i860, a French corps, under General de Mon-
tauban, successfully carried out in the Farthest East
an enterprise which rivalled the famous exploits of
Cortez and Pizarro in the New World.
The causes of conflict in China dated back for sev-
eral years. In 1855, a French missionary had been
tortured and put to death. The following year a small
vessel carrying the British flag had been captured by
the Chinese. In 1857, the fleets of France and England
bombarded Canton, and, in 1858, forced the defences
of the river Pei-Ho and sailed up the stream to a point
about a hundred miles from Pekin. China decided
to come to terms and a very favorable treaty was
negotiated.
The following year when the ministers of France
and England were on their way to Pekin to exchange
the ratifications of the treaty, their vessel was fired
on at the mouth of the river and many of their escort
were disabled. Such an outrage could not go unpun-
ished, and after active negotiations extending over
two months, it was decided to send a joint French
and English expeditionary force, of some 30,000
men, to wreak a signal vengeance on the Chinese.
Trochu, who had distinguished himself at Sol-
ferino, having declined the chief command, at the
suggestion of Fleury, it was given to Montauban.
This general, born in 1796, retained at the age of
C2373
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
sixty-three all the vigor of youth. He was not only a
brilliant soldier but also a skilled diplomatist.
The French corps embarked at Toulon in Decem-
ber 1859 and sailed for China by the long route around
Cape Good Hope, while the general and his staff
left a month later by way of Egypt, and reached
Hong-Kong early in March, before the arrival of
the troops.
After reducing the forts at the mouth of the river
the first week in August, the Allies resumed their
march on Pekin, overcoming a formidable resistance
all the way. Early in September they reached the large
city of Tung-Chau only four leagues from Pekin, and
connected with that city by a road built by former
dynasties. At the village of Palikao this road crosses
the canal by means of a solid stone bridge with large
arches. Beyond this bridge, on ground long studied
and made ready in advance, was drawn up the Chi-
nese army of over 50,ckdo men. To oppose this large
force the Allies had only 10,000 troops, about half
French and half English. The battle began at seven
o'clock in the morning, and by noon-day resulted
in the complete defeat of the Chinese. For this vic-
tory Montauban received the grand cross of the
Legion d'honneur, a seat in the Senate and the title
of Comte de Palikao.
The results of the battle bordered on the miracu-
lous. Only three French and two English were killed,
and less than fifty were wounded in the two armies.
After a delay of two weeks, to bring up food and
ammunition, the Allies on the fifth of October resumed
their march on Pekin. Learning that the Tartar
1:2383
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
army had withdrawn In the direction of the Summer
Palace, a magnificent imperial residence some kilo-
metres to the northwest of the capital, they decided
to pursue it. Crossing a magnificent bridge thrown
over the canal, they advanced by a road paved with
granite to an esplanade much resembling the Place
d'Armes at Versailles. Just beyond was the fam.ous
Summer Palace, the favorite residence of the Em-
peror, and surpassing in splendor any dreams of the
imagination. In his report, the French commander
said that it was impossible to describe the magnifi-
cence of the numerous buildings of white marble
filled with curiosities of all kinds. In gold, silver and
bronze, the accumulations of centuries.
The park, surrounded by lofty walls nearly nine
miles in length, was not less extraordinary than the
palace.
On the arrival of the English, a division of the
booty was made between the allied chiefs. A selec-
tion of the most remarkable objects, which was sent
to the Emperor, was afterwards exhibited in the palace
of Fontainebleau In a room known as the Chinese
Museum. A similar collection was sent to Queen
Victoria.
On the 9 October the Allies left the Summer Palace
and turned towards Pekin. Having learned of the
horrible manner in which some French and English
captives had been tortured and put to death by the
Chinese, the English Commissioner, Lord Elgin,
ordered the Summer Palace razed to the ground and
burned. This hastened the conclusion of the peace, as
the Chinese feared the destruction of their capital.
C 239 ]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
By the Treaty of Pekin an indemnity of sixty mil-
lion francs was paid to France, and as much to Eng-
land. Important religious and commercial privileges
were granted throughout the Empire.
The Allied Army left Pekin on the first of Novem-
ber, to return to Europe after one of the most mar-
velous expeditions recorded in history.
In October 1861, France, England and Spain signed
a treaty at London agreeing to send a joint expedi-
tion to Mexico for the purpose of obtaining repara-
tion for certain grievances which these three powers
had against Mexico, for the unjust treatment of their
citizens resident there, and to secure the payment of
interest, which the Mexican Government had sus-
pended, on bonds held abroad.
The Liberals, the partisans of Juarez, had confis-
cated the lands and property of the clergy, which
were of very great value, and one of the principal
objects of the Mexican Expedition, on the part of
France, was to recover and restore these to their
rightful owners. This was a factor much more im-
portant than the recovery of the money due from
Mexico to French investors, as it was believed that
it would decidely ease the strained relations between
the Vatican and the Tuileries due to the results of
the war of Italian Independence.
The expedition which was sent out arrived in
Mexico in December and January, and by April
1862 had practically accomplished its purpose. Eng-
land and Spain then withdrew, but it was clear by
this time that France had other objects in view.
I HO 2
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Napoleon's real intentions were apparently to over-
throw the Republic, of which Juarez was President,
and to establish a monarchy under a European prince.
At the instigation of the Empress and the Catholic
party in France, Napoleon had embarked on another
enterprise, the most unnecessary, the most reckless,
and, in the end, the most disastrous of his reign.
He undertook to erect an empire five thousand miles
away, in a country of which he knew but little,
whose political institutions for half a century had
been in a state of flux. This enterprise was to
prove as costly and as disastrous to France as the
equally dishonorable invasion of Spain by the First
Emperor.
While a prisoner at Ham, Napoleon had written
a pamphlet on the subject of a canal at Nicaragua to
connect the Atlantic and the Pacific. The subject had
then taken possession of his imagination and he had
never forgotten it. He had dreamed of a new Con-
stantinople to arise in the Western World, to be the
seat of a great Latin Empire which should hold in
check the Anglo-Saxon element. The theory of
nationalities would thus win another victory. By
the expedition he might also win back the favor of
the Catholic Church which had a grievance against
the Mexican Government for its action in sequester-
ing the property of the Church.
An assembly representing only a small fraction of
the Mexican people was called together by the French
commander, and a decree was passed declaring Mex-
ico an empire, and offering the crown to Archduke
MaiXimilian of Austria, a brother of the Emperor
n24i3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Francis Joseph. Influenced by his own ambition
and that of his spirited wife, Carlotta, daughter of
Leopold the First of Belgium, he accepted the crown,
and arrived in Mexico in May 1864.
The entire project was hopeless from the start,
disastrous alike to the new sovereigns and to Napo-
leon. When the Civil War was ended in April 1865,
the United States, which considered the whole affair
as a flagrant violation of the Monroe Doctrine, threat-
ened intervention. General Webb, of New York,
who was in Paris at the time, took the matter up with
the Emperor, and Napoleon agreed to withdraw his
troops. Carlotta went to Europe to beg the Emperor
to reconsider his decision, and, on his refusal, became
insane. The Empire of Mexico could not long endure
without the support of French bayonets. Maximilian
was taken prisoner, and shot by the Mexicans 19
June 1867. So vanished Napoleon's phantom empire
across the seas.
It was a most expensive enterprise for the French
Emperor. It had prevented his playing a part in the
decisive events in Europe during the years 1864 to
1866, which saw the rise of the powerful and aggres-
sive military organization of Prussia. The French
military reverses in 1862, the first of his reign, and
the tragic end of Maximilian, whom he had left to
his fate, had seriously damaged his prestige in Europe.
Without any benefit to France, he had recklessly
squandered his military and financial resources.
The war of 1859 and the establishment of Italian
unity exerted a remarkable influence outside of the
C2423
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Peninsula, and nowhere more than in Germany.
Here was a successful appHcation of the principle of
nationalities. What had been accomplished in Italy
was also possible in Germany. A new patriotic society
was formed in Hungary, called the National Union,
whose object was to "achieve the unity of the father-
land and the development of its liberties.'* This
society soon spread throughout Germany. Its purpose
was to secure a thorough military reorganization of
Germany as a safeguard against external aggression.
If Napoleon could invade Italy, he might just as
easily turn his arms against Germany. William of
Prussia and Bismarck ought to do for Germany what
Victor Emmanuel of Piedmont and Cavour had done
for Italy. Through the war of 1870, German unity
was brought about, but it was along autocratic lines,
and not, as in the case of Italy, by a liberal move-
ment. Bismarck was a very different character from
Cavour.
In January 1861, Frederick William the Fourth of
Prussia died, and was succeeded by his brother
William, who had been acting as Regent for four
years. He was a son of the famous Queen Louisa,
was born in 1797, and had seen his first military serv-
ice in the campaign of 18 14 against Napoleon. In
character, he was slow, solid, persistent and firm,
rather than brilliant or intellectual. His entire life
had been spent in the army, to which he was devoted,
and his first act was to strengthen the military or-
ganization of Prussia.
Prussia, in 18 14, had been the first state, and was
thus far the only one, to adopt the principle of uni-
C2433
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
versal military service. But the system had not been
thoroughly carried out, and the size of the army
had not kept pace with the growth of the population.
William had appointed Roon Minister of War in 1859,
and the following year a plan was submitted to the
Prussian Parliament for a thorough reorganization
of the army, and the rigorous enforcement of uni-
versal military service, which would at once double
the size of the Prussian army. Parliament, however,
refused to make the necessary appropriations, and a
deadlock ensued. The King would not abandon his
plans, and even thought of abdicating. As a last re-
sort he decided to call to the ministry a man noted
for his force, and his devotion to the monarchy. Otto
von Bismarck. He was made President of the Minis-
try 23 September 1862, and on that day began a new
era for Prussia and the world.
Bismarck told the King that he would carry out
his policy whether the Deputies agreed to it or not.
The King tore up his abdication and the struggle
went on. For four years the Lower House refused to
pass the budget, and the King continued to collect
the taxes, and carry out his reorganization of the
army. The period was one of virtual dictatorship.
But in Bismarck's eyes, the army was only a means
to an end, and that end was German unity, which he
believed could only be secured by war. There was to
be no absorption of Prussia by Germany, as Piedmont
had been merged in the Kingdom of Italy, entirely
disappearing as a separate state. Unity was to be
created by Prussia, and for the advantage of Prussia.
In the most famous speech of his life, in 1863, Bis-
C2443
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
marck declared that the great questions of the day-
would be decided not by speeches and majority
votes but "by blood and iron.'*
Ignoring the criticisms of the Liberals, Bismarck
went on his way, and proceeded to reshape Europe
in accordance with his plans. Like the Great Napo-
leon he was favored in this by the jealousies of the
Great Powers and the general incompetence of their
ministers. His own ability, great as it was, would
not alone have sufficed to accomplish the work of the
next few years.
"The German Empire," says Hazen, "was the re-
sult of the policy of blood and iron as carried out by
Prussia in three wars which were crowded into the
brief period of six years, the war with Denmark in
1864, with Austria in 1866, and with France in 1870,
the last two of which were largely the result of his will,
and his diplomatic ingenuity and unscrupulousness,
and the first of which he exploited consummately for
the advantage of Prussia."
It does not fall within the scope of this narrative
to describe the first of these wars, which grew out of
one of the most complicated questions that ever
perplexed statesmen, the "affair of the duchies,"
Schleswig and Holstein. As one of the results of the
Great War, the wrong done to Denmark by Prussia
in the forcible annexation of the two duchies has in
1920 been at least in part rectified by the plebiscite
under which the northern part of Schleswig returns
to Denmark, while the southern part, and Holstein,
remain German. The action of Prussia was in direct
contravention to Napoleon's famous doctrine of na-
il 245 ]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
tionalities, but he failed to intervene. A conference
was held at London, for the purpose of arranging
a settlement by diplomacy, but nothing was accom-
pUshed. Russia was grateful for Prussian aid in the
recent Polish insurrection, and France and England
were unable to agree upon any policy.
Out of the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein
affair, as arranged between Prussia and Austria by
the Treaty of Gastein, there was created a situation
which Bismarck hoped would result in a war between
the two countries. He had desired this war for ten
years, as being the only means by which Prussia
could assume the dominating position in German
affairs — the first step towards German unity. In this
he was successful within a year.
There was not room in Germany for two first-class
powers, and either Austria or Prussia must bend the
knee. Bismarck's first care was to assure the isolation
of Austria in the coming conflict. The attitude of
France he considered most important. He therefore,
in October 1865, sought an interview with the Em-
peror at Biarritz in southern France. This meeting
has sometimes been described, although incorrectly,
as bearing the same relation to German unity as the
conference at Plombieres to Italian independence.
What actually occurred is not known even to-day.
There seems to have been no formal agreement, but
Bismarck apparently held out the hope to Napoleon
that, in case of a Prussian victory, and any increase
of territory, France would receive compensation for
its neutrality by the annexation of Luxembourg and
some of the Catholic German states along the Rhine.
1:2463
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Napoleon was too honest to deal with such an adroit
trickster as Bismarck, and seems to have been com-
pletely duped. Whatever the understanding may have
been, Bismarck returned to Berlin with the conviction
that France would remain neutral in case of war be-
tween Prussia and Austria.
Bismarck's next step was to negotiate a treaty of
alliance with Italy. After several months of diplo-
m.atic maneuvers a treaty was finally signed in April
1866 which provided that in case Prussia went to
war with Austria during the next three months, Italy
should also declare war, and that if the Allies were
successful Italy should receive Venetia, and Prussia
an equivalent amount of Austrian territory.
As soon as this treaty was signed, Bismarck de-
voted all his energies to bringing about the war with
Austria. This was not difficult, but there was a delay
of several weeks before hostilities actually began, as
he was waiting for some act of provocation to come
from Austria so that he could throw upon her the
odium of beginning this conflict between two German
nations. At last the moment came and the German
civil war began. It proved to be one of the shortest
and most decisive in history. It began on the 16 June
1866, and was virtually decided by the brilliant vic-
tory of Sadowa on the 3 July, although hostilities
continued until the signing of the preliminary Peace
of Nikolsburg on 26 July. It is therefore called the
Seven Weeks' War.
The rapidity of the campaign and the overwhelm-
ing superiority of Prussia struck Europe with amaze-
ment. No one was more surprised than the Emperor
C2473
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Napoleon. He had expected a long war, exhausting
to both parties, with a final victory for Austria, and
was laying his plans to step in at the decisive moment
and secure the reward of his friendly services in bring-
ing the conflict to an end.
Bismarck, who feared the intervention of France,
which might rob the victory of its fruits, wished to
make peace at once, and preclude any chance of in-
tervention. He therefore proposed terms very lenient
to Austria. His moderation, according to the account
which he gives in his memoirs, was very bitterly op-
posed by the military party, but he finally carried
the day. Austria ceded Venetia to Italy, but lost no
other territory. She paid a small Indemnity, and
withdrew from the German Confederation, which
ceased to exist. A new confederation was formed of
the states north of the river Main.
Prussia took her compensation from those German
states which had fought on the side of Austria in the
war. Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Cassel, the free city of
Frankfort, as well as Schleswig and Holstein, were
incorporated In the Prussian Kingdom, which was
thereby Increased about one-quarter In area and in
population. No opportunity was given the people
of these states to vote on the question of annexa-
tion as had been done in Italy, and In Savoy and
Nice. They were annexed by right of military con-
quest. By orders from Berlin, reigning houses ceased
to rule. The balance of power and the map of Europe
were changed without a single protest being made.
Napoleon was not In a position to Intervene, even
if he had had the time. With many of his best troops
1:2483
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
involved In the Mexican expedition, he was unable
to mobilize even two army corps on the Rhine. The
Czar proposed a congress to settle the terms of peace,
but Bismarck assumed so hostile an attitude that the
matter was dropped.
The new North German Confederation, which was
now formed, included two Kingdoms, Prussia and
Saxony, and twenty smaller states. The armies of the
several states were reorganized on the Prussian model.
King William, as President of the Confederation,
now commanded a force of 800,000 men. The South
German states, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg and Baden,
were induced by Bismarck, through playing on their
fears of France, to enter into a defensive military
alliance with the Confederation. This increased the
army to over a million men. Against this powerful
organization France could only put 350,000 men in
line of battle. The European nations were to repent
most bitterly at a later day the fatuity with which they
allowed the swift consummation of these changes.
I! 249 3
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
1860-1870
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
Incapacity of the Government in External Affairs — The Peace
of Villafranca — The Mexican War — The Rise of Prussia
— Alienation of the Church of Rome — Meddling of the
Empress — The Affair of Schleswig-Holstein — The Seven
Weeks' War — Army Reorganization — Napoleon's Las-
situde — His Poor Health — Reasons for the Constitutional
Changes — The Popular Approval — Negative Votes of
the Army — The Hohenzollern Candidature — The Fa-
mous Ems Dispatch — Bismarck's Duplicity — France
Declares War
IN i860 Napoleon had made France rich beyond
any nation in Europe, and Paris was without
rival among the capitals of the world. But all
the benefits which he had conferred upon his country
were destined to be neutraHzed, during the last ten
years of his reign, by the notorious incapacity of his
Government in external affairs.
There was a period of modern history when France,
under Napoleon, occupied without question the fore-
most position in Europe. She was envied, respected
and feared by every other nation. In the years im-
mediately following the Crimean War this preemi-
nence was acknowledged, or tacitly accepted, by all
the other Powers. At this time Bismarck, and his mas-
ter the King of Prussia, so far from attempting to over-
awe Europe, meekly solicited from the Emperor of
C2S03
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
the French the privilege of sending a representative
to the Congress of Paris. At the same time, Austria,
the rival of Prussia for supremacy in Germany,
was anxiously seeking for an expression of his good-
will.
The first grave blow to the prestige of the French
Empire was inflicted by the Truce of Villafranca,
when Napoleon, in the full tide of success, suddenly
paused, upon a threat of Prussian intervention, and con-
cluded a peace which was visibly imposed upon him.
The withdrawal of his troops from Mexico, when
the victorious American army was mobilized upon
the Rio Grande at the close of the Civil War, and the
ruin of the ambitious project which he had formed
of founding a great Catholic Empire across the seas,
also sensibly contributed to lessen the popular im-
pression of his power. Deeply involved in this un-
fortunate Mexican affair, with many of his best
generals and soldiers thousands of miles from home,
he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity
afforded by the Seven Weeks' War to recover his lost
prestige; and the sudden and unexpected collapse of
Austria, after the Prussian victory of Sadowa, ended
his last chance of curbing the rising power of the
Hohenzollern monarchy.
Another blow to his supremacy was given by his
fruitless efforts to secure from the wily Bismarck,
by diplomacy, the advantages which he had failed
to demand by force. By his requests for compensa-
tion on the side of Luxembourg, or along the left
bank of the Rhine, he simply played into the hands of
the great Prussian Minister, who at the decisive
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
moment published the details of these negotiations
and assured the support of the South German States
in the war of 1870, while at the same time alienating
the sympathy, and securing the neutrality, of Eng-
land and the other Great Powers.
For the satisfaction of intervening in the affairs
of Europe, even where he was not directly interested,
he engaged in many unnecessary undertakings in
which he dissipated his resources without any com-
pensating advantages. Such was the unfortunate
Roman affair. By his participation in the war of
Italian Independence he lost the suffrage of a million
or two of his Catholic subjects, who had previously
been his strongest supporters, and then by attempting
to preserve the remnant of the temporal power of the
Papacy, he alienated the great majority of the Italian
people, and forfeited the feeling of gratitude for what
he had done, without, on the other hand, regaining
the support of the Church. To the end of his reign,
he was destined to feel the unfortunate effect of this
double-faced policy. There is much evidence that
Napoleon fully realized the mistake he had made,
and that on several occasions he had practically de-
cided to recall his troops from Rome, but was dis-
suaded from his purpose by the vehement protests
of the Empress, who warmly pleaded the cause of the
Holy Father. So Napoleon, partly from dislike of with-
drawing from an undertaking which he had begun,
more perhaps from the desire of keeping peace in his
family, sufficiently troubled already by his notorious
infidelities, yielded to the ardent wishes of his spouse.
At this point it becomes necessary to speak frankly
1:2523
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
of a subject which many writers ignore, for in no
other way is it possible to understand clearly the
external policies of Napoleon during the last ten years
of his reign.
All his life, he had been particularly susceptible to
the charms of women, and the Empress Eugenie had
much cause for complaint on this score. For his wife ^
he displayed at all times a very warm attachment
and a very sincere admiration. This is shown in the
familiar letters which he wrote her during the few
periods of their separation, and in his wish to asso-
ciate her with himself on every occasion of parade
or of ceremony.
With the First Napoleon, acts of gallantry were
rare and distant, and never in any way or at any time
interfered with affairs of state or war. With the
nephew, on .the other hand, such acts were continual.
Over and over again he promised to trouble no longer
the tranquillity of the Empress, only to yield again to
temptation.
Inconstancy was a tradition in the family, and
unfortunately for Napoleon the Third, to the tenden-
cies of the Bonapartes was joined the warm Creole
blood which Hortense had inherited from her mother
Josephine.
An interesting incident is told as illustrating this
family trait: the history of a certain medaillon. It
was a superb ornament which had belonged to the
First Emperor, and which bore on one of its faces the
portrait of Marie-Louise. In some manner which is
not explained, this medaillon had come into the
possession of Prince Demidoff at Florence. One day a
C 253 2
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
servant in dusting the precious article moved the glass
covering, which became detached, reveaHng the fact
that beneath the miniature of the Empress there
/ was another, of Madame Walewska, and below that,
/ still a third, of Mademoiselle Georges. A very nest
{ of Imperial loves was enclosed in the same medaillon.
The Third Napoleon would certainly have found
/ much difficulty in enclosing in a single case even a
' small selection of his numerous charmers.
There is every reason to believe that up to the
last moment Napoleon had no idea of placing Made-
moiselle de Montijo by his side on the Imperial
throne. There is a French proverb which bids men
to beware of the young girl who has had a travelling
trunk for a cradle, and a table d'hote for a finishing
school. For ten years, Madame de Montijo and her
daughter had travelled from one European resort to
another in search of the ever elusive husband. The
fame of Eugenie's beauty had spread through many
lands, but, though many sought the pleasure of her
society, none aspired to the honor of her hand. The
Countess and her daughter had persistently disre-
garded the last of the three precepts laid down by
Beaumarchais for woman's guidance: "Sois belle si
tu peux, sage si tu veux, mais sois consideree, il le
faut." They had failed to inspire respect, and if Napo-
leon considered Mademoiselle de Montijo in the light
of a consort it was "de la main gauche." But the
Countess and her daughter were playing for higher
stakes, and the infatuated monarch was soon given
to understand that the way to Eugenie's heart lay
"through the Chapel."
C 254 1
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
Fascinated by the mature charms of the lovely
Spaniard, who had long since "coiffee Sainte-Cathe-
rine," charmed with the grace and spirit of her letters,
which were composed for her by Prosper Merimee,
disappointed at the failure of all his matrimonial
overtures to the European Courts, Napoleon suddenly I
decided to startle the world by one of those dramatic ;
strokes so dear to his heart, and announced his ap-
proaching marriage to Eugenie. A week later, the
ceremony was performed.
In its disastrous effects upon the future of the
Imperial dynasty, this was the worst of the many
steps taken by the Emperor without stopping to con-
sider fully the consequences. Eugenie was a woman of
small natural intelligence, of very limited and super-
ficial education, not only a devout but a bigoted
Catholic, and her constant meddling in the external
affairs of France, especially where the Interests of the
Papacy were even remotely concerned, led to the most
deplorable results.
In the Interests of conjugal peace, and to satisfy
the insistent demands of the Empress, during the
latter part of his reign Napoleon gave Eugenie a
greater and greater part In public affairs. Matters
came to such a point that she attended, at first only
occasionally, but towards the end, regularly, the
Council of Ministers at the Tullerles, and took an
active part In the discussions. She had urged the
first war of the Empire, against Russia, because she
desired to secure In Queen Victoria a social sponsor
whom she badly needed. To the war of Italian Inde-
pendence she was violently opposed, as she feared
C 255 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the result on the temporal power of the Papacy.
Later, she insisted on keeping the French troops in
Rome, and thereby alienated from France her warm-
est Triend and ally. She heartily approved of the un-
fortunate Mexican Expedition; and after England
and Spain had withdrawn from the enterprise, she
advocated the policy of keeping the French troops
in Mexico, for the purpose of founding a Catholic
Empire across the seas. The final disastrous war
against Prussia, which she called "ma guerre a moi,"
she precipitated for the purpose of saving the totter-
ing throne of her husband for her son the Prince Im-
perial.
It has been claimed in defence of the Empress that
she was ignorant of the dangerous state of the Em-
peror's health and did not know of the consultation
held at Saint-Cloud the first day of July 1870; but if
she had any powers of observation at all, she must
have been struck, like every one else, with the hag-
gard appearance of the Emperor as he walked by her
side along the platform of the private station in the
park to take his seat in the train, the day he left for
the front. The disastrous results of her interference
in the operations of the campaign will be spoken of
later.
Napoleon, all his life, was a firm believer in the
principle of nationalities, or the right of every people
to determine its own destiny, which has received such
general recognition as one of the results of the Great
War, which has just convulsed the world. In this
respect he was in advance of public opinion in every
country of Europe, and his attempts in this direction
1:256]
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
in the end were turned fatally against him. Such was
the Itahan war, undertaken to free the Peninsula
from the yoke of Austria, in which he was compelled
to stop short before the undisguised menace of the
Prussian corps upon the Rhine.
Later, in 1863, in obedience to the samiC sentiment,
he gave his moral, if not his material support, to the
Poles who had risen against the oppression of Russia.
The insurrection failed, and he only succeeded in
offending the Czar, without helping the rebels. Once
more he had been moved by sentiment, while Bis-
marck seized the occasion to take the side of force,
and thereby won the gratitude of the Czar, and alien-
ated his sympathy from France. The result was to
appear a few years later, when France looked in vain
for support against the German menace.
In 1864, without protest, he allowed Prussia and
Austria to take possession of Schleswig-Holstein, and
two years later he stood by impotently while Prussia
crushed her former ally in the short Seven Weeks*
War.
At the same time that the Imperial Government
was losing prestige abroad, it was having great diffi-
culties at home. The opposition, still small in num-
bers, but strong in ability, had taken full advantage
of the new freedom granted the Chambers and the
press, and was making its voice heard. In the vain
hope of regaining at least in part the popularity
which he had lost by his weak foreign policy, the
Emperor had abandoned to the Corps Legislatif a
part of his authority, and had laid the foundations
of the "Liberal Empire."
C2573
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Even before the Italian war the Emperor had
fully realized the necessity of a complete reorgani-
zation of the French army and the adoption of the
principle of universal military service. On several
occasions the project was submitted to the Chambers,
but no action was taken. France, like England before
the Great War, was absorbed in the pursuit of wealth,
and blind to the danger of aggression from the great
military power of Germany. That Napoleon had
ample warning of his danger is shown by reports
found later among the archives of the Tuileries, re-
ports from French agents in all the capitals of Europe,
as well as repeated letters of advice from Queen
Sophie of Holland, an able woman, who was better
informed regarding European affairs than most of
the diplomats.
In 1866 General Ducrot wrote to General Trochu
that on the other side of the Rhine there was not a
German who did not believe in an approaching war
with France.
The debate on the army bill of 1869 lasted two
days: the first and second of July. The reduction
of the army was justified by the Prime Minister,
Monsieur OUivier, who said, "The Government has
no uneasiness whatever; at no epoch was the peace
of Europe more assured. Irritating questions there
are none." In the House of Lords, Lord Granville
about the same time described foreign affairs as in a
"dead calm." In the course of the debate in the
French Chamber, Thiers remarked with singular
fatuity: "Prussia requires to be pacific in order to
win over Southern Germany. We need to be pacific
1:2583
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
in order to prevent her." At the moment these words
were spoken, the man of "blood and iron," in the
quiet of his cabinet, was preparing to spring upon an
unsuspecting Europe the candidacy of the Prince
of Hohenzollern, and to accomplish the unity of
Germany, not by pacific measures, but by one of the
most unnecessary wars in the history of Europe.
And yet the Emperor had shown only pacific and
friendly intentions towards Prussia from the begin-
ning of his reign. Faithful to his idea of nationalities,
he had rather favored than opposed German unifi-
cation. His sympathies had always rather inclined
towards the race which was destined to overthrow
him. Prussia, however, had always been secretly jeal-
ous of France and her preeminence in Europe, and cov-
ertly hostile towards the Emperor. While Napo-
leon was credulous, Bismarck was unscrupulous; he
lost no opportunity of arousing the Prussian spirit
of antagonism to France.
Several times the Emperor appealed to the coun-
try and, by the voice of his Minister of War, Marshal
Niel, tried to arouse the patriotism of the Chambers
and persuade them to take the necessary steps to
provide for the national defence. But he only met
with a blind opposition, which refused to see any
danger in the political situation, and called for a
reduction rather than an increase in the army. Napo-
leon, who had abandoned much of his former auto-
cratic power, was no longer in a position to insist,
and, worn out mentally and physically, he abandoned
the struggle and allowed the Ship of State to drift
slowly upon the rocks. The day had passed, when,
C 259 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
full of strength and courage, he acted without await-
ing the counsel of ministers and inspired respect and
fear on all sides. He was overcome by lassitude both
physical and moral. His former vigor, and tenacity
of purpose, had been weakened by the ravages of a
most painful disease, and he no longer possessed the
capacity of decision and command, which in the past
had brushed aside all obstacles. He had allowed the
Empress to take a greater and greater part in the
councils of the Government and to commit him to
actions and policies directly opposed to the true
interests of his country and his dynasty. It was only
too evident to ail observers that he was no longer
the master in his own house. The situation was
further aggravated by the divergent opinions of the
Empress, of Rouher and of Prince Napoleon, and
personal rivalries added to the difficulties of contra-
dictory views. The government no longer had a single
guiding force, and, under such conditions, disaster
was inevitable. A firm and experienced hand at the
helm was never so necessary as during this critical
period of modern European history.
Very few people knew of the state of the Emperor's
health, and realized the condition of moral apathy
which it had caused. He concealed his pain and never
made any complaints, but he had almost entirely lost
the combative faculty and the power of resistance
which had carried him trium.phantly through the
trying days of the coup d'etat. It is impossible to
understand clearly the decline of the French Empire
in the ten years immediately preceding the Franco-
Prussian war without taking into consideration the
1:2603
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
state of Napoleon's health, of which the world was
generally ignorant at the time, and which even since
then has been generally ignored by his historians.
Many reasons had combined to lead him to give to
France a constitutional regime: the sincere desire of
"crowning the edifice," of which he had written in
the ''Napoleonic Ideas"; the thought that he was
thereby conferring a real benefit upon his country;
a desire to regain his lost popularity, which deeply
afi^ected him, and the moral and physical lassitude
which rendered him powerless longer to bear alone
the cares of government.
At first he had no reason to regret his action. As
often occurs immediately preceding the violence of a
tropical storm, the Second Empire enjoyed a brief
period of calm, when the sun seemed to shine brighter
and clearer than ever before, and the future of his
dynasty seemed to be assured. The Liberal Empire
appeared to have entered upon a long course of pros-
perity, which seemed to be confirmed by the striking
success of the Exhibition of 1867.
In May 1870 the question of the adoption of the
changes in the Constitution was submitted to the
French people, and received a triumphant approval.
All the clouds which obscured the horizon seemed
swept away by the strong breeze of liberal opinion.
Yet, only two months later, like a clap of thunder
from a clear sky, came the disastrous German war,
which in the short period of six weeks was to sweep
his dynasty from the throne of France.
To the first feeling of exultation over the result of
the popular vote had succeeded a vague inquietude —
1:2613
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
What was the significance of the fifty thousand nega-
tive votes of the Army ? This detail had given the Em-
peror a rude shock. At a state dinner given at the Tui-
leries on the evening of the 19 May 1870, in honor of
the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Due de Gra-
mont, Napoleon spoke of this vote to his old friend
Lord Malmesbury, and in so doing let drop a remark
which much astonished the English diplomatist. "At
least," he said, "three hundred thousand soldiers
have kept faithful to me in their suffrage." This
then was the total strength of the French army,
the only barrier against the hosts of Germany —
350,000 men, when all the world supposed that France
could put in line of battle nearly double that number.
Malmesbury ventured to make this observation to
the Emperor, and to point out to him that this force
was much inferior to that on the other side of the
Rhine. A shade passed over Napoleon's face, but he
made no reply. A few minutes later, with his usual
optimism he spoke of the tranquillity of Europe;
there was no cause for alarm, Bismarck would not
venture to disturb the peace; King William was
still his "bon frere"; no one desired war. Napoleon
appeared to have no presentiment of the approaching
tempest, which was apparent to the eyes of every
trained observer. The candidature of a Hohenzollern
prince for the throne of Spain, quietly arranged by
Bismarck in his cabinet, was far from his thoughts.
How did the fatal crisis develop ?
All the Great Powers, except Prussia, desired to
conserve the tranquillity of the continent. But ever
since the Schleswig-Holstein question, "the affair of
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
the duchies," had come to the front in December
1863, when Napoleon and his Ministers, in spite of
the prophetic advice of Thiers, had let pass this oc-
casion to nip the hopes of Prussia in the bud, Bis-
marck and Moltke had been carefully laying their
plans for the war against France, which alone could
bring about the much desired unity of Germany.
France was the only obstacle, and, at whatever cost,
it was necessary to sweep it away. And the Imperial
Government, on its side, committed every possible
fault which could aid the plans of Prussia and make
the path easy.
The Due de Gramont, who by his temerity was one
of the persons the most responsible for the outbreak
of the war, has told us in detail of how the grave de-
cision of the 14 July 1870 was reached.
In 1868 a revolution had occurred In Spain which
resulted in the overthrow and exile of the Queen,
Isabella the Second. The Provisional Government
set about the task of finding a new ruler, and the
choice fell upon Prince Leopold of HohenzoUern, a
distant kinsman of the King of Prussia. There is no
doubt as to the fact that his candidature had been
promoted by the wily Bismarck, who pretended to
think that, as the grandson of Stephanie de Beau-
harnais. Grand Duchess of Baden, and therefore a
cousin of Napoleon, he would be satisfactory to the
Emperor, notwithstanding his HohenzoUern blood.
The offer of the Spanish crown was made to Leopold
three times during the course of 1869 and 1870 and
as many times refused. Bismarck had been formally
notified by Benedetti, French Ambassador at Berlin,
L2632
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
that Leopold was not acceptable to the Imperial Gov-
ernment, but he persisted in urging the matter, and
secured a fourth offer which was accepted by Leopold.
The news that a Prussian Prince had accepted
the throne of Spain reached Paris via Madrid on the
second of July 1870. Great indignation was expressed
by the Paris papers, and the excitement in the city
was intense. In the Chamber, Gramont declared that
the election of the Prince was inadmissible as "up-
setting to our disadvantage the present equilibrium
of forces in Europe," and imperilling "the interests
and honor of France."
Benedetti was ordered b}^ the French Government
to proceed to Em.s, a watering-place near the Rhine,
where King William was then taking the cure, and
demand the withdrawal of Leopold's candidature.
Now, neither Napoleon nor William desired war, and
the Governments of the other Great Powers were
laboring earnestly to preserve peace. Therefore, when
on the 12 July the father of Prince Leopold announced
that his candidature was withdrawn, the tension was
over, and the war scare seemed at an end. In the es-
timation of the veteran Guizot, then living in retire-
ment. Napoleon had gained the greatest diplomatic
victory of his career. The Emperor was much pleased
to learn that the difficulty was settled, and that he
had maintained the prestige of his Government. Un-
fortunately two men were not satisfied with the out-
come, Gramont and Bismarck. The former had talked
too loudly of the flagrant injury to the honor of
France. The latter considered the reverse so great
and so humiliating that he thought he must in self-
1:2643
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
respect resign and retire into private life. In the words
of one of his biographers this was "tlie severest check
which Bismarck's poHcy had yet received; he had per-
suaded the Prince to accept against his will; he had
persuaded the King reluctantly to keep the nego-
tiations secret from Napoleon ; however others might
disguise the truth he knew that they had had to re-
treat from an untenable position, and retreat before
the noisy insults of the French press and the open
menace of the French Government."
This great diplomatic victory was thrown away,
and Bismarck was saved by the folly of Gramont, and
his own duplicity.
A hasty meeting of the French Ministers was called
at Saint-Cloud, at which Ollivier, the President of
the Council, was not even present. The Empress was
surrounded by the most hot-headed members of the
Imperial Government. Very much exited, she de-
clared that the shock of arms alone could restore the
honor of France. The Minister of War, the incompe-
tent Leboeuf, threw his portfolio on the floor and said
that he would never pick it up, and, moreover, would
give up his baton of Marshal of France, if the Gov-
ernment failed in this supreme test.
Like a weak man, Gramont did not know where
to stop. On his own responsibility, without the knowl-
edge of Ollivier the Prime Minister, or of Napoleon
himself, he telegraphed BenedettI to demand of King
William a guarantee that the candidature would not
be renewed. The King naturally resented this new
demand, as a reflection upon his good faith, and a
deliberate attempt to pick a quarrel with Prussia.
n 265 ;]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
His reply, that he had nothing further to say, was
not insulting, and was not meant to be an insult.
This new demand was presented to the King at
Ems on the 13 July, and, as above stated, was refused,
but with entire courtesy on the part of William.
At the meeting of the French Ministers held that
evening, it was not felt that this refusal made war
inevitable.
In the meantime. King William had caused an
account of his final interview with Benedetti to be
telegraphed to Bismarck at Berlin, leaving to him
the decision as to whether the facts should be pub-
lished or not.
The game that Bismarck had Intended to play
had broken down completely, and on the 12 July he
was much depressed. For the first time he had been
worsted before Europe In a grave affair of diplomacy.
He had now neither his candidature nor his defensive
war, and he did not know what to do next. From this
impasse he was now to be saved by the criminal folly
of Gramont.
When the Ems dispatch was received at Berlin the^
evening of the 13 July, Bismarck was dining with
Moltke and Roon, and all were in the depths of despair
over the failure of their well-laid plans. After care-
fully rereading the King's message, Bismarck began
to see a new light. Taking his big pencil, he quickly
drafted a version for publication. "It Is very easy,"
he afterwards remarked, "without falsification, but
simply by omissions and corrections, completely to
alter the tone of a communication. I have myself
once had experience of the task, as editor of the Ems
1:2663
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
dispatch. When I had edited it, Moltke exclaimed:
'The original was an order to retreat {chamade)^ now
it is a summons to charge {fanfare).'''
Bismarck's version was immediately published in
an extra edition of the official evening paper, which
was distributed free on the streets of Berlin, and was
wired to all the Prussian diplomatic representatives,
as well as to the foreign press. The exact character
of the "editing" is shown below where the two texts
are given in parallel columns.
THE EMS DISPATCH
Abeken to Bismarck Bismarck's Version
FOR Publication
Ems, 13 July 1870, 3:40 p.m.
His Majesty writes to me: After the news of the re-
* Count Benedetti spoke to nunciation of the hereditary
me on the promenade, in Prince of Hohenzollern had
order to demand from me, been officially communicated
finally in a very importunate to the Imperial Government
manner, that I should author- of France by the Royal Gov-
ize him to telegraph at once ernment of Spain, the French
that I bound myself for all Ambassador further demanded
future time never again to of his Majesty, the King, at
give my consent if the Ho- Ems, that he would authorize
henzollerns should renew their him to telegraph to Paris that
candidature. I refused, at his Majesty, the King, bound
last somewhat sternly, as it himself for all time never
is neither right nor possible again to give his consent,
to undertake engagements of should the Hohenzollerns re-
th\sV\r\A a tout jamais. I told new their candidature. His
him that I had as yet received Majesty, the King, thereupon
no news, and as he was earlier decided not to receive the
informed from Paris and Ma- French Ambassador again, and
1:2673
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
drid than myself, he could see sent the aide de camp on duty
clearly that my Government to tell him that his Majesty
had no more interest in the had nothing further to com-
matter.' municate to the Ambassador.
His Majesty has since re-
ceived a letter from Prince
Charles Anthony. His Ma-
jesty, having told Count
Benedetti that he was await-
ing news from the Prince, has
decided, with reference to the
above demand, on the sug-
gestion of Count Eulenberg
and myself, not to receive
Count Benedetti again, but
only to let him be informed
through an aide de camp:
'That his Majesty has now
received from the Prince con-
firmation of the news which
Benedetti had already received
from Paris, and had nothing
further to say to the Ambassa-
dor/ His Majesty leaves it
to your Excellency to decide
whether Benedetti's fresh de-
mand and its rejection should
be at once communicated to
both our Ambassadors, to
foreign nations, and to the
Press.
It will be seen that the edited version of the King's-
narrative, which Bismarck issued for pubHcation,
was a brutal and insulting message, true in the bare
facts, but so worded as to convey a totally different
1:2683
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE
construction. As he said himself, it was dehberately
intended to be "a red flag for the GalUc Bull." The
Bismarck version gladdened the gloomy hearts of
Roon and Moltke at that memorable dinner on the
night of the thirteenth of July. This meant the war
for which they had worked and prayed. Six days later
France declared war; Bismarck had won.
1:2693
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1870
THE GERMAN WAR
Effect of the Ems Dispatch ■ — Declaration of War — Enthu-
siasm of the Parisians — Isolation of France — Disorgani-
zation of the Army ■ — Perfect Preparation of Prussia —
Advance of the Three German Armies — MacMahon De-
feated at Worth — Despair of the Emperor — Bazaine in
Command — Attempt to Retreat on Verdun Checked at
Borny — Night Visit to Napoleon — The Emperor Goes to
Gravelotte — Final Interview with Bazaine — Battles of
Vionville and Gravelotte — Siege of Metz Begun — Napo-
leon at Chalons — A Council of War — Veto of the Em-
press — MacMahon Decides to March on Metz — Further
Indecision — The March Resumed — Position of the
Germans — They Follow the French Army — Further
Defeats of the French — Retreat to Sedan — The French
Position — MacMahon Wounded — WimpfFen in Com-
mand — Misery of the Emperor — Desperate Position of
the Army — The White Flag Hoisted — Napoleon's
Letter
THE effect of the publication on the 14 July
of Bismarck's brutalized version of the Ems
dispatch was instantaneous and malign. It
roused the indignation both of Prussia and France
to fever heat. Napoleon, who was ill both in mind and
body, did not desire war, but he was unable to resist
the popular clamor. The Empress urged it, out of
hatred of Protestant Prussia, and because she be-
lieved it would strengthen the Imperial throne. The
Ministry went with the current. Amid great excite-
C2703
THE GERMAN WAR
ment, credits were voted 15 July, and war was for-
mally declared on the nineteenth. Only ten members
of the Chambers, among whom were Thiers and
Gambetta, voted against it.
At Paris, the certainty of victory had taken posses-
sion of the popular imagination. The boulevards were
filled with crowds shouting "A Berlin!" The chiefs
of the army had loudly affirmed that the troops were
well armed, equipped and disciplined, and no one
doubted their valor. The war was accepted with
enthusiasm. It was really popular at the beginning.
When the Emperor left for the front, he was obliged
to take the circular route around Paris, to avoid the
ovation of the people.
The war began under very inauspicious circum-
stances for France. She had declared war on Prussia
alone, but Bismarck had played his game so well
that the South German States, on whose support
France had counted, immediately sided with Prussia.
France, with only 350,000 soldiers, therefore con-
fronted a united Germany which could put a million
men in line of battle. The contest was hopeless from
the start.
Moreover, Bismarck had been successful in iso-
lating France from the rest of Europe. He immedi-
ately published the draft of a treaty drawn up several
years before, between Prussia and France, but never
signed, providing for the annexation of Belgium to
France. In vain France protested that Bismarck him-
self had drafted the treaty, it immediately resulted
in alienating the sympathy of England, which de-
clared its neutrality. France had counted upon the
C2713
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
ultimate aid of Austria, but Russia, out of gratitude
for Bismarck's support at the time of the Polish in-
surrection, at once threatened to mobilize against
Austria if she went to the assistance of France. Italy,
which was luke-warm on account of the continued
occupation of Rome by French troops, could not safely
act alone, even if so inclined.
By the beginning of August, therefore, it was clear
that France could expect no ally. The military
authorities had also made the great mistake of un-
derestimating the task before them. The lack of prep-
aration was apparent from the first day. From every
quarter came telegrams saying that practically every-
thing was lacking: food, medicine, blankets, tents,
means of transport. There were cannons without
ammunition, horses without harnesses, machine guns
without men who knew how to fire them. There were
plenty of maps of Germany, but hardly any of France !
The German Army, on the other hand, was per-
fectly prepared. For years the rulers of Prussia had
been getting ready for this war, and everything had
been anticipated and arranged for with scientific
thoroughness. Moreover, the army was directed by
General von Moltke, the greatest military genius
Europe had seen since Napoleon. A thorough master
of the principles of war, a careful student of Napo-
leon's methods, Moltke was particularly remark-
able as an organizer. He had carefully worked out
the problems of modern warfare as modified since the
time of the Great Emperor by the railway and the
telegraph. Endless time and thought had been given
to preparation down to the minutest detail. Orders
1:2723
THE GERMAN WAR
for the movements of the army corps were all ready;
it was only necessary to date, sign and transmit them.
No army in history had ever got under way so quickly.
Moltke had also the assistance of the great Prussian
General Staff, men of intelligence and judgment,
trained both in theory and in actual experience in
handling troops, the veterans of the Danish and
Austrian wars.
Therefore, while the German armies mobilized and
advanced towards the frontier with amazing order,
swiftness and ease, in the French army, as already
stated, everything was in confusion and disorder.
Not only were the French inferior in numbers at the
beginning, but they had practically no reserves upon
which to count, while the Germans had very large
reserves to call on. The French commanders were also
men much inferior in ability and experience. The
Emperor, who at the outset was the nominal com-
mxander-in-chief, was soon compelled by the state of
his health to make other arrangements, and in the
short period of two weeks he made three changes in
the command of the Army of the Rhine. This of
course was extremely demoralizing.
The French, from the outset, were disappointed in
all their calculations. They expected swiftly to pass
the Rhine, call to their assistance the South German
States, defeat the Prussians in a second battle of
Jena, and advance upon Berlin. Nothing of the kind
occurred. The Germans crossed into Alsace and Lor-
raine, and in the four weeks from the sixth of August
to the second of September, the French suffered one
reverse after another.
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THE GERMAN WAR
The war had begun so suddenly that during the
first ten days the German frontier was hardly de-
fended, and, if the French had been ready to advance,
their dreams might have come true. But by the first
week in August, the danger for Germany and the
opportunity for France had passed away.
As in the Austrian campaign, the huge German
host was divided into three armies. Steinmetz with the
first army crossed the Rhine at Bingen and followed
the Moselle towards Thionville. The second army,
under the command of Prince Frederick Charles of
Prussia, known as the ''Red Prince," passed the Rhine
at Mayence, and formed the centre. The third army,
commanded by the popular Crown Prince of Prussia,
afterwards the Emperor Frederick, concentrated in
the angle formed by the Rhine and the Lauter. The
King of Prussia was the nominal commander-in-chief,
but the operations were all planned and directed by
Moltke, the Chief of Staff .
The French army, in line between Metz and
Strasbourg, numbered less than 175,000 men. The
corps about Metz were badly posted, and MacMahon
near Strasbourg was completely isolated. At the same
time, the German hosts, concentrated in the angle
between the Moselle and the Rhine, aggregated more
than 400,000 men.
The sixth of August, at Worth, north of Stras-
bourg, was fought the first great battle of the war.
MacMahon was decisively defeated, and retreated
rapidly to the great camp at Chalons, east of Paris.
The French had fought bravely, and the Germans
paid dearly for their success. Not a regiment was now
112753
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
left to confront the Germans between Metz and
Strasbourg. In the former city, the news was received,
first with increduhty, and then with consternation.
The sense of discouragement pervaded all ranks from
the Emperor down to the common soldiers.
At the opening of the second week in August,
Napoleon, at Metz, had under his command only
125,000 men, and with this force he had to face
300,000 Germans, flushed with victory. Only a leader
of the genius and energy of the Great Emperor could
have maintained the contest against such odds. Un-
fortunately, Napoleon the Third even in his prime
was never a commander of the first order, and now
he was sufi^ering from bodily pain and mental weari-
ness. In this crisis he turned to two men to aid him;
the first was General Changarnier, the other Marshal
Bazaine. Prior to the coup d'etat. Napoleon had de-
posed Changarnier from his position as commander
of the army at Paris, and later had sent him to Ham,
because the General was not in sympathy with his
plans. Forgetting the past, the political prisoner of
1 85 1 left his retirement and became the trusted Im-
perial adviser of 1870.
As for Bazaine, he owed his marshal's baton to
valiant services on many fields of battle. Changarnier
agreed with the Emperor in thinking Bazaine the best
man available at the moment. He was therefore
assigned to the command of three army corps and
ordered to fall back under the guns of Metz.
In the meantime the Emperor was seriously con-
sidering his resignation of the supreme command.
Both the army and the capital had lost confidence
1:276:
THE GERMAN WAR
in him, and he never had much confidence in himself.
On the 13 August he formally appointed Bazaine
commander of the Army of the Rhine. This change
was well received by the army, and Paris was satisfied.
There has always been some doubt as to the exact
reasons for this change of command. Napoleon
probably yielded to popular demand, and because
he considered this course for the best interests of
France. But there is reason to think that his Minis-
ters, who advised it, saw the necessity, in case of
disaster, of having some one to take the responsibility,
other than the Emperor.
The controlling reason, however, was probably the
state of Napoleon's health. In a consultation held
at Saint-Cloud on the first day of July 1870 between
six of the most eminent medical men of France, it
was considered necessary to perform an immediate
operation on the Emperor. But Nelaton shirked the
responsibility on account of the fatal result of a similar
operation which he had performed on Marshal Niel
the year before.
On the day of the Emperor's departure for the
front, every one was struck by his haggard appear-
ance, as he walked between his wife and son along
the platform of the private station in the park of
Saint-Cloud, to take his seat in the train. It was
afterwards revealed by Doctor Germain See, the only
physician who signed the report of the consultation,
that a young but exceedingly skilful surgeon accom-
panied the Emperor during the campaign, with all
the appliances necessary for performing an immediate
operation, should occasion arise.
C2773
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
MacMahon was Bazaine's senior, but he had no
wish to contest the dangerous honor of the supreme
command, and Bazaine himself only accepted upon
the entreaty of the Emperor. The first move of the
new commander was to order a retreat on Verdun,
which was begun at dawn on the 14 August, when
the army began to cross the Moselle.
In the midst of this movement the French were
furiously attacked at Borny to the east of Metz by
the first German army under Steinmetz. The retreat
came to a standstill; the Guard was called up to sup-
port the troops in action, and the army was forced
to re-cross the river. The French fought well, and
claimed a victory. The German purpose, however,
had been accomplished. They had checked the French
retreat towards a point of safety, and given the Red
Prince time to come up on the west.
Bazaine, who seems to have realized the purpose
of this action, felt that he was in danger of being out-
flanked. At midnight, from the battlefield, he made
his way across the Moselle through the crowded
streets of Metz, and sought the Emperor in his
quarters at the Chateau de Longueville. Here he ex-
plained the situation, but the distracted monarch
had no advice to offer except to urge caution and the
avoidance of any fresh defeats.
The 15 August, his fete-day, the Emperor cele-
brated by a hasty withdrawal from the scene of
danger. Accompanied by the Prince Imperial and a
small escort he proceeded to Gravelotte, a short
distance to the west of Metz. That afternoon he re-
ceived Bazaine there at the village inn.
1:2783
THE GERMAN WAR
On the following morning, the sixteenth, Bazaine
and the Emperor met for the last time. The Marshal,
summoned by an aide, found the Emperor seated
in his carriage and evidently suffering great pain.
He told Bazaine that the Germans were in possession
of Briey, only a few miles to the north of Gravelotte,
and that he was leaving for Verdun and Chalons, and
ordered the Marshal to follow him with the army.
The Emperor had hardly left, before the roar of
cannon announced that another battle had begun.
The action fought that day was the most desperate
of the entire war. The French were endeavoring to
retreat on Verdun, two of the corps by the northern
route via Etain, and the other two corps and the
Guard by the southern road via Mars-la-Tour. The
object of the Germans was to intercept the French
retreat on Verdun, and they maintained the attack
throughout the day with greatly inferior forces, the
mass of the German second army being still far
away. Bazaine, who did not realize the slenderness
of the forces opposing him, used unnecessary cau-
tion. The position of the Germans was critical through-
out the day; and they concealed the paucity of the
force of infantry on the ground by repeated and costly
charges of cavalry. The battle on their part was a
marvel of military audacity. Realizing the importance
of holding Bazaine in Metz, they risked everything
for its accomplishment.
The battle of Vionville, or Mars-la-Tour, settled
the fate of Bazaine's army. Although he claimed a
victory, he abandoned the attempt to reach Verdun,
and the following day led his army back to a strong
C2793
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
position under the guns of Metz. The next day was
fought the battle of Gravelotte which resulted in
shutting up Bazaine's army in Metz.
The battle of Borny had been fought by the Ger-
mans to give time for their second army to come up
on the west; Mars-la-Tour, to check the French re-
treat on Verdun, and Gravelotte, the last of the trio,
to bottle Bazaine up in Metz. In all three the Germans
had accomplished their object.
One French army was now practically eliminated,
and the German problem was much simplified. There
only remained to deal with the army which Mac-
Mahon was assembling at Chalons, and against which
the Crown Prince was already moving. A fourth
German army of 100,000 men was now formed, and
put under the command of the Prince Royal of
Saxony. This was Joined to the third army of about
120,000 men under the Crown Prince of Prussia. On
the 20 August these two armies began a movement to
the west in search of MacMahon. To the first and
second armies, 225,000 strong, was left the siege of
Metz. King William and Moltke made their head-
quarters with the third army.
The Emperor arrived at Chalons from Gravelotte
on the evening of 16 August, and found the military
situation there very discouraging, full of confusion
and indecision. He held anxious conferences with
Marshal MacMahon, Prince Napoleon and General
Trochu, the commander of the newly formed 12th
corps. Prince Napoleon declared that the time had
now come for the Emperor to disregard the wishes
of the Empress, and recall his troops from Rome and
[2803
THE GERMAN WAR
secure the support of Italy. He carried his point, and
left at once for Florence, where he was authorized
to say to his royal father-in-law that he might do as
he pleased with Rome provided he came to the aid
of France. This move of Napoleon at the eleventh
hour was to be too late; the time for assuring the
friendship of Italy had passed.
It was further decided that the Emperor should
■return to Paris, where Trochu was to precede him
and assume the military governorship, and that
MacMahon should bring his army back to the vi-
cinity of the capital, and there give battle for its
defence. This was the plan adopted with success by
General Joffre in 1914, and might have proved equally
successful in 1870. But once more the pernicious in-
fluence of the Empress prevailed. She protested
strongly against the return of the Emperor, and
wired him that the worst was to be feared at Paris
unless he marched to the assistance of Bazaine. Thus
was thrown away, through her baleful meddling, the
last chance of saving France and the Imperial throne.
In the meantime the army had been directed
upon Reims, reaching the environs of that city the
evening of 21 August. A hopeful telegram had been
received from Bazaine in which he spoke confidently of
his ability to break through the German lines of in-
vestment on the north. This telegram, received from
Metz on the twenty-second, and the Paris dispatches
of the same day, convinced MacMahon that he had
no alternative except to march to Bazaine's assist-
ance. Consequently, the following day, he issued
orders for an advance of his whole army upon Mont-
n 281:1
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
medy, a city near the frontier, about sixty miles
northeast of Reims, and constituting the apex of a
triangle, of which the base is formed by a line drawn
from Reims through Verdun to Metz.
The strength of the army under MacMahon was
about 140,000 men, but one of his corps had been
shattered in battle, another was made up largely of
new recruits, and the other two were dispirited by
forced retreats. The success of the whole movement
depended on celerity, and of this MacMahon's army
was incapable.
On the 27 August, the army had reached the defile
of Le Chene-Populeux in the Argonne, about half
way to Montmedy. Here MacMahon was alarmed by
the reports that the Crown Prince was coming up on
his right flank and rear. He therefore telegraphed
Paris that he had abandoned the attempt to reach
Bazaine, and issued orders for his army to march to
Mezieres directly to the north. After giving up the
attempt to join hands with Bazaine, it is diflficult
to understand his object in going further north, in-
stead of retreating on Reims, where he could cover
the capital.
During the evening the Marshal received dispatch
after dispatch from Paris ordering him to continue
his march to the relief of Bazaine, and saying that all
was lost unless he acceded to the wishes of the in-
habitants of Paris. Throughout this unfortunate cam-
paign there was a conflict of authority between the
Headquarters in the field, which tried to maneuver
with reference to the German armies, and the Gov-
ernment at Paris, which was actuated mainly by the
1:282]
THE GERMAN WAR
fear of the city mob. This all goes to show what a
tertrible mistake had been made by the Empress and
her advisers in preventing the return of Napoleon to
the capital, for he alone could have kept the popu-
lace of Paris under control. Headquarters again
yielded to orders from Paris and the Emperor and his
army marched on to their doom.
At this same time the main German army, 200,000
strong, was at Bar-le-Duc, one hundred and sixty
miles directly east of Paris, and prepared to march
on the city. Moltke could hardly credit the reports
that the French army was advancing on the Meuse.
Orders were at once given to the third and fourth
armies to wheel to the right and start in pursuit of the
French whom "Gott " had delivered into their hands.
So slow and painful were the movements of the
French army that MacMahon could not issue orders
for crossing the Meuse until the 29 August, and at
nightfall on that day only one corps had passed the
river and was in bivouac about Mouzon. The next
day the Germans came up in force and defeated the
French corps at Beaumont, south of the river, and
drove it in disorder on Mouzon, where the French
artillery, well posted on the heights east of that
place, checked the German pursuit.
This day's work threw the French army into terri-
ble confusion. One corps and part of another had
been defeated, and a third hotly pursued. Only one
corps remained intact. The Emperor met MacMahon
on the hills above Mouzon late in the afternoon. After
an anxious conference, it was decided to retreat to
the northwest in the hope of finding an open road to
[2833
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Paris. A curt telegram was sent to the capital, read-
ing: "MacMahon informs the Minister of War that
he is compelled to direct his march on Sedan."
Through the dense darkness of the night, Napoleon
made his way miserably on foot through the crowded
streets of Sedan, where all was confusion and dis-
order. Even now, MacMahon seems to have failed
to recognize the gravity of the situation, although he
hurriea the Prince Imperial off to Mezieres, where he
had decided to retreat the following day.
On the 31 August the Germans advanced with
unabated energy, and were successful in partly cut-
ting off the French line of retreat to Mezieres on the
northwest of Sedan.
The French Army was now crowded into that
narrow tract between the Meuse and the tangled
forest of the Ardennes, which extends beyond the
Belgian frontier. Early on the morning of the first
of September the Germans attacked in force. Hasten-
ing to the front, MacMahon was hit by a fragment of
a shell and painfully wounded. This was most un-
fortunate for the French, as there ensued a conflict
of authority attended by the most disastrous results.
Ducrot, who assumed the command, at once issued
orders for a retreat on Mezieres. No sooner had this
been done than General de Wimpffen appeared on
the scene and produced an order from the Minister
of War, directing him to assume the command in
case of the disability of MacMahon. He angrily coun-
termanded the orders of Ducrot, and so destroyed the
last faint chance of the French army to escape the
net which the Germans were fast spreading around
1:2843
THE GERMAN WAR
them. Wimpffeh, who was a vain, blustering man,
had only been with the army for two days and was
entirely ignorant of the extreme gravity of the situ-
ation. He declared with bombast that he was going
to throw the Germans into the Meuse and cut his
way through to the east to the relief of Bazaine.
Since divesting himself of the supreme command,
and yielding to the injunction of the Empress not to
return to Paris, Napoleon had trailed along with the
army in the march to the north, treated with scant
courtesy and less respect. In this supreme crisis, he
failed to assert his authority, and allowed the new
Minister of War, Comte Palikao, of Chinese fame,
to decide the question of the high command. By
taking this responsibility, Palikao ruined the small
chance which was left for the escape of the army. It
was a sad ending for the brilliant Second Empire,
which had commenced with so much eclat eighteen
years before, and for the Emperor, who for so many
years had been the most prominent personality not
only in France but in all Europe.
While these events were occurring on the morning
of the first of September, the Emperor wandered
aimlessly about, an object of no consideration in the
general confusion. The troops had already begun their
retreat on Mezieres in obedience to Ducrot's order,
and it was now necessary to retrace their steps.
By ten o'clock in the morning, it was evident that
the position of the French army was absolutely un-
tenable. Crowded Into an area of hardly eight square
miles, subject to the fire of over four hundred cannon
admirably served, there was no escape from annihi-
1:2853
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
lation except by surrender. By order of the Emperor
the white flag was hoisted on the citadel. The German
batteries ceased their fire, and a Prussian officer was
admitted to the presence of the Emperor with a
summons to surrender Sedan. When he rode back to
the German lines it became known for the first time
that Napoleon was with the ill-fated army.
About six o'clock the King of Prussia, the Crown
Prince, Bismarck, Moltke and the General Staff
rode forward to the heights of Frenois, overlooking
Sedan. Here the King received the well-known letter
from the Emperor:
*' Monsieur mon Frere, — N'ayant pas pu mourir
au milieu de mes troupes, il ne me reste plus qu'a
remettre mon epee entre les mains de votre Majeste."
Then the brilliant assemblage on the heights broke
up, and the officers separated to go to their several
headquarters. Darkness descended on the field that
had witnessed the downfall of the Second Empire.
France had experienced a catastrophe worse than
Waterloo.
1:2863
CHAPTER NINETEEN
1871-1873
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
The Surrender at Sedan — The Emperor's Last Meeting with
Bismarck — His Interview with King WilHam — Prisoner
in Germany — The Chateau of Wilhelmshohe — Visit of
the Empress — End of the War — Final Exile in England
— Life at Camden Place — Failing Health of the Em-
peror — Operation of the Second January — Death on the
Ninth — Funeral at Chislehurst
ON the afternoon of the second of September,
there was an interview at the Chateau de
Bellevue, near Donchery, between Wimpffen
and Moltke and Bismarck to arrange the terms of the
surrender. Moltke at once pointed out the desperate
situation of the French army: no food, no ammuni-
tion, demoralization and disorder, the absolute impos-
sibility of breaking the iron ring which encircled them ;
that the German army occupied the commanding
heights, and could destroy the city in two hours.
Coldly, he dictated the conditions: the French army
to surrender, arms and equipment. Wimpffen in vain
essayed to modify these hard terms. He spoke of hard
luck, of the bravery of the soldiers, of the danger of
pushing a valiant foe too far. The only concession he
was able to obtain was that the officers who gave their
written parole d'honneur not to serve again during
the war, might return to their homes. It was agreed
n287 3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
that the armistice should be prolonged until ten o'clock
the following morning, when, if the terms of surrender
had not been accepted, the German batteries would
recommence their fire.
At eight o'clock the next morning, WimpflFen called
a new council of war, at which thirty general officers
were present. He explained the results of his inter-
view with Moltke and Bismarck, his useless efforts
to obtain a mitigation of the severe terms. As no other
course seemed possible, the General was authorized
to go at once to Bellevue, and accept the terms.
At this same hour, Napoleon was in the miserable
house of a weaver on the route to Donchery. He had
wished to see the King of Prussia, with the hope of
obtaining better conditions for his army. Entering
a hired caleche he followed the broad highway, bor-
dered with poplars, and shortly met Bismarck, who
had set out to intercept him, for the purpose of pre-
venting an interview with the King, until the capitu-
lation was signed. King William was still at Venderesse
nine miles away.
Here are the events of that last meeting between
the fallen monarch and the Iron Chancellor, in the
words of Bismarck himself:
"I met him on the high road near Frenois, a mile
and three quarters from Donchery. He sat with three
officers in a two-horse carriage, and three others were
on horseback beside him. I gave the military salute.
He took his cap off, and the officers did the same:
whereupon I took mine off, although it is contrary
to rule. He said: * Couvrez-vous done' I behaved to
him just as if in Saint-Cloud, and asked his commands.
n288 3
*■'
p
H
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
He inquired whether he could speak to the King. I
said that would be impossible as the King was quar-
tered nine miles away. I did not wish them to come
together till we had settled the matter of the capitu-
lation. Then he inquired where he himself could stay,
which signified that he could not go back to Sedan.
I offered him my quarters in Donchery, which I
would immediately vacate. He accepted this; but
he stopped at a place a couple of hundred paces from
the village, and asked whether he could not remain
in a house which was there. I sent my cousin, who had
ridden out as my adjutant, to look at it. When he
returned, he reported it to be a miserable place. The
Emperor said that did not matter. I went up with
him to the first floor, where we entered a little room
with one window. It was the best in the house, but
had only one deal table and two rush-bottomed chairs.
Here I had a conversation with him which lasted
nearly three quarters of an hour."
Says Napoleon, in his own account: "The conver-
sation first entered upon the position of the French
army, a question of vital urgency. Count von Bis-
marck stated that General Moltke alone was compe-
tent to deal with this question. When General von
Moltke arrived. Napoleon requested of him that
nothing should be settled before the interview which
was to take place, for he hoped to obtain from the
King some favorable concessions for the army.
Monsieur von Moltke promised nothing; he confined
himself to announcing that he was about to proceed
to Venderesse, where the King of Prussia then was,
and Count von Bismarck urged the Emperor to go
1:2893
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
on to the Chateau de Bellevue, which had been se-
lected as the place of the interview. It became evi-
dent that the latter would be delayed until after the
signature of the capitulation."
For a short time the Emperor and his staff were
left alone in front of the little yellow cottage while
Bismarck proceeded to Donchery to see about their
quarters. An hour later, Napoleon drove on to the
Chateau, escorted by a guard of Prussian cavalry.
Here he awaited the arrival of the King of Prussia,
who came on horseback, accompanied by the Crown
Prince, and attended by a few officers. " It was now
three years" says Napoleon, "since the sovereigns
of France and Prussia had met, under very different
circumstances. Now, betrayed by fortune, Napoleon
had lost everything, and had surrendered into the
hands of the conqueror the only thing left him — his
liberty." .
The evening of the fourth of September 1870, the
authorities of the city of Cassel received from the
headquarters of the King of Prussia at Varennes a
telegram announcing the capitulation of the French
army, the surrender of the Emperor, and the designa-
tion of Wilhelmshohe as his residence as prisoner of
war.
Wilhelmshohe was one of the finest chateaux in
Germany, the former residence of Jerome when King
of Westphalia, and was still filled with Napoleonic
souvenirs. King William had not forgotten the splen-
did reception given him only three years before when
he was a guest in the palaces of the Emperor, and he
C290]
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
wished to soften so far as possible the chagrin of
defeat. Queen Augusta, who was a great admirer of
the French, had also urged her husband not to take
an unkind advantage of the superiority given him by
the fate of war.
Napoleon and his suite arrived the following day
in two special trains. In the party, there were five
generals, two physicians, his private secretary,
Pietri, and many servants. The Governor of Cassel,
Comte de Monts, was appalled at the thought of
entertaining at the expense of the King this large
party of illustrious captives. A postal and telegraphic
bureau was installed at the Chateau, of which the
prisoners had free use. The apartments were large
and magnificently furnished. The table was abundant
and well served. The total expenses amounted to
about 40,000 francs a month.
The Chateau is splendidly situated, in a large
park, and has an extended view over the Thuringian
mountains and forests. The season was marked by
continual rains, and the Emperor passed most of his
time in his private rooms. There was a fine library
in the Chateau, well stocked with French books, for
those who cared to read, and billiard tables and other
amusements for any whose tastes were not literary.
It was no new experience for Napoleon to be a
prisoner, and as at Ham he passed his time in study
and in writing. He began an article upon the Prussian
military system and composed some addresses to the
French people.
If he did not give way to despair, he exaggerated,
on the other hand, his air of calm indifference, and
n29i3
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
talked with a freedom which was very unusual in his
case. His conversation frequently turned upon the
defective organization of the French army, of which
he spoke with the complete detachment of a dis-
interested third party. He said that he knew of the
defects before the war, and had been prevented by
the Chambers from introducing in France the system
of universal military service. Strangers who listened
to his remarks could not understand how a man, who
at the peril of his life had carried through such an
audacious undertaking as the coup d'etat, should
have shown towards the end of his reign such a com-
plete lack of force of character. They did not realize
to what an extent his moral had been impaired by
disease and the long-continued strain of domestic
infelicities.
The only thing that seemed to affect him was the
unpopularity of the Empress. The attacks upon him-
self he read with apparent indifference. Only a few
short weeks before, the day of his departure for the
front, he had had difficulty in avoiding the popular
ovation. To-day he was held responsible for all the mis-
fortunes of the war, which he was accused of insti-
gating.
The 30 October, after the surrender of Metz, when
the Emperor was looking for the arrival of Marshals
Bazaine, Canrobert and LebcEuf, the Empress sud-
denly put in an appearance. She had come directly
from Chislehurst, travelling night and day. She came
to talk over with Napoleon a plan for restoring peace
and order in France. Metz had fallen, Paris was
completely invested ; all the marshals, forty generals,
C2923
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
and the two principal French armies were interned
in Germany, and there was no hope in continuing the
struggle. At this time, every one remarked the air of
superiority which she assumed in addressing the
Emperor, and her complete assurance, which gave
the impression that she was not only accustomed to
being listened to, but also of having the last word.
She remained for three days, leaving for England the
night of the first of November.
In France, all hope had not yet been abandoned,
and a double attempt, diplomatic and military, was
being made to save the situation. Thiers was visiting
London, Vienna and Saint Petersburg in the fruitless
effort to persuade the Great Powers to intervene,
while Gambetta, who had escaped from Paris in a
balloon, was endeavoring to re-organize the national
defences. But it was only a vain hope. Paris was
forced to capitulate, after one of the most remarkable
sieges in history, and the war was over.
The 13 March 1871, the Governor informed Napo-
leon of his approaching liberation. On the nineteenth,
while his officers returned to France, he took a special
train which was arranged for him, and travelled via
Cologne to the Belgian frontier, whence he continued
his journey by way of Verviers and Malines. The
following day he landed at Dover, where he was re-
ceived by the Empress and the Prince Imperial, and
then continued his route to Chislehurst. On arriving
in England, and at every point during his journey to
Camden Place, he was greeted by enormous and
sympathetic crowds of spectators, who had gathered
to show that they had not forgotten the twenty years
112933
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
of close alliance between his former government and
that of the Queen. The exile once more found on
British soil a welcome haven of repose.
The day after his arrival at Camden Place, the
Emperor received a visit from his old friend Lord
Malmesbury, who passed an hour with him in talking
over old times. They had first met as young men in
Rome in 1829, and had always kept up their friend-
ship. Later, Malmesbury had visited the Prince at
Ham, and the Emperor at the Tuileries, and he was
now the first to pay his respects to the exile of Chisle-
hurst. Two weeks later, on the third of April, Napo-
leon received a friendly call from Queen Victoria.
In September, he went with the Prince Imperial to
Torquay, while the Empress made a visit to her
mother in Spain.
The days at Camden Place passed without any
striking incidents to vary their monotony. When the
Emperor was not writing or reading, he occupied his
time between the instruction of his son, and strolls
around the neighborhood, sometimes accompanied
by the Prince and sometimes by the Empress. He
was occupied with a work upon the military forces
of France at the time of the outbreak of the war,
which he proposed to send to Paris for publication.
From time to time, he received calls from old
friends like the Due and Duchesse de Mouchy, or
the Due de Bassano, who came only with the idea of
cheering him up. At other times, there were visitors
like Rouher, who came to revive his energy, stir up
his hopes, and incite him for the fourth time to at-
tempt the "Great Adventure."
C2943
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
Around the table, during the two years, the conver-
sation frequently turned to the plans for the future.
While Thiers was giving presidential receptions in
the historic palace of the Elysee, the dethroned
Emperor at Chislehurst talked of rebuilding the
Tuileries, or of re-forming the Imperial Court, as the
Empress desired, in the old state apartments of
the Louvre. Plans were seriously formed in view of
an Imperial restoration. The Prince Imperial was
very much interested in the idea of reconquering the
paternal throne, and the Empress seemed full of
hope. Napoleon listened, but took little part in the
conversation. When he was urged to decision, he
yielded a quiet consent to the zealous plans of his
partisans who were eager for action.
Without ever formally making a statement to that
effect, Napoleon undoubtedly thought that he too
would one day make his "Return from Elba." To the
last moment of his life, he was never free from this
illusion. The preparations for the re-entry of the
Emperor on the scene had been worked out to the
last detail, although the plans were a secret ex-
cept to a very small number of persons. A historian
of the Third Republic has written: "For several
months the irons were in the fire. Men of importance
in public life, generals, prefects, prelates were in the
conspiracy. Rouher crossed the Channel several
times to see if the Emperor was in a condition to
mount a horse."
Unfortunately, the disease which Doctor Germain
See had diagnosed the first of July 1870, and which,
if it had been known before the declaration of war,
C2953
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
might have inspired very different measures — this
disease had taken an alarming turn. The physical
exhaustion of the campaign, and especially the trying
hours spent in the saddle at Sedan, had aggravated
the trouble to such an extent that, since his arrival
at Camden Place, Napoleon had only rarely gone
outside the limits of the private park. During the
second summer he made a short trip to the Isle of
Wight, but the change did him no good.
At the close of the year 1872, a consultation of the
Emperor's medical advisers decided that he must
undergo the operation of lithotrity, which, in the
state of aggravation that his malady had reached,
gave very little hope of recovery. Nevertheless, this
operation, performed the second of January by Sir
Henry Thompson, was an apparent success, and the
most favorable hopes were entertained. The bulle-
tins announced that the condition of the Emperor
was satisfactory; he had no fever, and good results
were expected from a third and final operation which
was to take place the 18 January.
To calm his suffering and assure his sleeping
quietly. Doctor Gall had prescribed a dose of chloral
to be given him during the evening of the eighth of
January. From a feeling of presentiment, and because
for the moment he was suffering no pain. Napoleon
refused to take the draught. But the Empress insisted,
and he finally consented to take the fatal dose, which
gave him, not a night of repose, but eternal rest. He
fell asleep at nine o'clock in the evening, and never
recovered consciousness except for a few seconds, at
ten o'clock the next morning, after which he drew
1:2963
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR
his last breath at a quarter past eleven. It was the
ninth of January 1873, and he had nearly reached
the end of his sixty-fifth year. So ended one of the
most striking careers in the annals of history.
The funeral of the Emperor took place in Saint
Mary's Church, Chislehurst, on the 15 January, in
the presence of an imposing gathering of former dig-
nitaries of the Empire and of representatives of the
Queen and of foreign countries.
1^971
CHAPTER TWENTY
1856-1879
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
His First Public Appearance — The Baptism of Fire — His
Wanderings During the War — Chislehurst and Woolwich
— Service in South Africa — Killed by the Zulus — Prince
Victor Head of the Family — His Marriage with Clemen-
tine — Birth of Louis Napoleon — The American Bona-
partes — The Empress at Farnborough Hill — Her Visits
to Paris and Cap Martin — Her Death — The Fate of the
Tuileries
AFTER the death of the Emperor, the hopes
of the Imperial party were centered upon the
young Prince Imperial, then a youth of
seventeen years.
On two historical occasions during the Second
Empire the Prince had appeared prominently before
the public eye. The first was the day of the return
of the victorious troops from the Italian war, in
August 1859, when he was a baby three years old.
Dressed in the blue and red uniform of a grenadier of
the Guard, and mounted upon the pommel of his
father's saddle, he had received a tremendous ova-
tion from the people.
The second time was at Sarrebruck in August
1870 at the opening of the disastrous campaign, when
he recieved the "baptism of fire." On the forenoon
of the 28 July, the Emperor and his son had entered
the special train that was to take them to Metz,
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
and which had come to pick them up in the private
park at Saint-Cloud, near what was called the Orleans
Gate. The young Prince was in the uniform of a sub-
lieutenant of infantry, and was gay, and full of en-
thusiasm. A few days later occurred the skirmish at
Sarrebruck, which was acclaimed as the dawn of a
victorious campaign. It was the only day of exulta-
tion for the Imperial family during this disastrous
war. Shortly afterwards, Napoleon yielded to the
necessity of abandoning his functions of generalis-
simo. He took the Prince with him to Verdun and
then to Chalons. When the march to the north to
meet Bazaine was decided upon, the Emperor, with
the Prince, accompanied MacMahon's army. They
left Chalons the 21 August; two days later they were
still at Reims, where there were fresh deliberations.
The Emperor then separated from his son for the
first time, sending him to Rethel, where he rejoined
him the twenty-fifth. Two days later the Emperor
bade adieu to his son as he thought "for a few days."
He was not to see him again until six months later in
exile.
It is unnecessary to follow the poor young Prince
in his painful wanderings along the northern frontier.
On the fourth of September, the day of the revolution
in Paris, he arrived at Mauberge. That afternoon a
dispatch was received from the Empress reading:
"Start at once for Belgium." A few minutes later the
Prince had left French soil, upon which he was never
again to set foot. He proceeded to Ostende, where he
embarked for England, landing at Dover the sixth
of September.
C2993
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The Empress on her arrival in England decided
to take a house at Chislehurst called Camden Place.
The house without being very large was sufficiently
comfortable. Here the Prince continued his studies
with his former tutor Augustin Filon. Later he went
to King's College in London, and finally, in 1872, to
the Woolwich Royal Academy, where the officers of
the engineers and artillery are trained. He was there at
the time of his father's death in January 1873.
In February the Prince once more donned his
cadet's uniform and returned to Woolwich.
In January 1875 he passed his final examinations,
ranking seventh in his class. He was far from regard-
ing his military education as finished when he left
Woolwich, and had himself attached to a permanent
battery at Aldershot, where he took up his duties in
the spring. His summer vacation was spent with his
mother at Arenenberg. The next year was spent in the
same manner.
In the autumn of 1876 the Empress and her son
went to Italy for the winter. After a short excursion
to Venice, and a visit to the battlefields of 1859, he
rejoined his mother at Florence. In April 1877 he was
back at Camden Place.
In July 1878 he visited Denmark and Sweden,
where he was everywhere cordially received, as he
expressed it in a letter to his mother, "As if my father
was still on the throne." From this visit, the Prince
returned to Arenenberg, which this year was livelier
than ever. Madame Octave Feuillet wrote of him at
that time: "He is a fine fellow of three and twenty,
with the grace of a perfect gentleman. Every one
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
speaks of his charm, his heart, the sincerity and
rectitude of his sentiments."
In February 1879, the Prince sent a request to the
Duke of Cambridge that he might be allowed to serve
with the English army in South Africa. The Empress
fought the Prince's resolution with all the arguments
she could think of, but in vain. Rouher came to
Chislehurst and also did his utmost to get him to
change his mind. The last of the month he embarked
at Southampton.
The English Government had thought it impos-
sible to grant his request to be enrolled in the army,
but had given instructions that he should be allowed
to follow the operations with the columns of the ex-
pedition. The letter of instructions to the General-in-
Chief ended with the words: "My one fear is that he
may be too courageous." Lord Chelmsford had a hard
problem to solve : to reconcile the Prince's wishes with
the instructions he had received from the War Office.
On the 26 March 1879, in a long letter to his mother
from Cape Town, the Prince gave her a full account
of his voyage. In frequent letters to the Empress he
recounted the progress of the campaign, stage by
stage. The morning of the first of June 1879, the
English forces, in two columns, were to cross Blood
River, and, effecting a junction at a point agreed upon,
to march on Ulundi. The Prince was ordered to choose
the site for the second camp where the army was to
halt after its march on the second of June.
On the first of June, In a last hurried letter to his
mother, he announced that he was off in a few minutes
to select the camping ground on the left bank of Blood
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
River. That afternoon his small party, while dis-
mounted, was attacked by a band of about fifty
Zulus. The Prince, abandoned by his escort, who had
fled in disorder, attempted to mount, but his horse,
a high-spirited thoroughbred, was restless, from the
war cries and shots of the enemy, and went off at a
gallop. The Prince ran with him, clinging to the
stirrup leather and the saddle, and continuing to make
desperate efforts to mount. Finally the girth of the
saddle broke and he fell to the ground. Here he was
surrounded by the Zulus and slain with repeated
thrusts of their assegais. After stripping his body
bare, except for a gold chain with medallions around
his neck, the savages fled. The following day his body
was recovered by a detachment of English cavalry.
On the morning of the second of June, General
Chelmsford sent the English Government a dispatch
to inform it of the catastrophe, but, owing to neces-
sary delays in transmission, the telegram did not
reach London until the nineteenth.
The news was not published in London and Paris
until the twentieth, when it created a great sensation.
The body of the Prince was embalmed and sent to Eng-
land, where it arrived at Plymouth the lo July 1879.
With the death of the young Prince Imperial
practically expired the last hope of the Napoleonic
dynasty. The Bonaparte family, which had played
such a predominating part in the history of the past
century, seemed doomed to early extinction. Al-
though Charles Bonaparte of Corsica had had five
sons and ten grandsons, there were only three male
descendants then living, In the fourth generation.
1:3023
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
At the present writing, the head of the family is
Prince Victor Napoleon, the elder son of Prince Napo-
leon, who was the son of the Great Emperor's young-
est brother Jerome by his second marriage with the
Princess Catherine of Wiirtemberg. He was born in
1862 and is now fifty-eight years of age. For many
years he had a liaison with an actress named Marie
Biot, by whom he had a number of illegitimate chil-
dren. For a time she occupied a house adjoining his
own in the Avenue Louise at Brussels.
At a later date, in deference to the urgent en-
treaties of his family and of the leaders of the Bona-
parte cause, he became a suitor for the hand of the
Princess Clementine, the youngest daughter of Leo-
pold the Second, and therefore first cousin of the pres-
ent King Albert. The Princess, who was born in 1872,
was then nearly forty years of age. But while she
was apparently willing to overlook the actress and
her family. King Leopold forbade the marriage, as
he did not care to incur the ill-will of the Third Re-
public by allying his daughter with a claimant to
the throne of France. After the death of Leopold,
however, the marriage took place, in November
1910, and an heir to the Bonaparte claims was
born at Brussels 23 January, 1914, and named Louis
Napoleon. .
The only brother of Victor, Prince Louis, was a
General of Cavalry in the Russian Army, and, in
1906, Governor of the Caucasus. He was at one
time deeply infatuated with the Grand Duchess
Helena of Russia, and after her refusal to marry him
he became a confirmed bachelor.
C303II
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
The only other adult member of the Bonaparte
family in Europe is Roland, son of that Prince Pierre
who shot Victor Noir in 1870, and caused a terrible
scandal during the closing days of the Second Empire.
Roland was the son of a plumber's daughter by the
name of Ruffin, and was in his teens before his parents
were united by any legal ceremony. In 1880, Roland
married Marie Blanc, daughter of the proprietor of
the famous gambling establishment at Monte-Carlo.
She died two years later, leaving him one daughter,
and an enormous fortune. Some years later he aspired
to the hand of Marie, the widowed Duchess of Aosta,
a sister of Victor and Louis Bonaparte. But the late
King Humbert of Italy, who was her uncle and her
brother-in-law, intervened, and used his authority
as chief of the house of Savoy, to which she belonged
both by birth and marriage, to forbid such a mesal-
liance as her marriage to a man of doubtful birth and
of tainted fortune.
The only other Bonapartes in existence are those
in America, the descendants of Napoleon's youngest
brother Jerome by his first marriage In 1803 with
Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore. It Is unnecessary
to recall here the base desertion by Jerome of his
wife and little boy, on the refusal of the Emperor to
recognize the validity of this marriage, because it had
been contracted without his consent. This son of
Jerome, named Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, had a
son of the same name who entered the French army
in 1854, and served with distinction in the Crimea
and Italy. During the Second Empire he was success-
ful in securing from the French Council of State a
113043
^ ^^^?^
*-^^-r-e-*
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
'^i'/3
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
decision acknowledging the validity of his grand-
father's marriage, and his father's legitimacy, but it
was expressly stated that this decree did not invest
the Patterson-Bonapartes with any claims to the
Imperial succession. It is possible, nevertheless, that
the Bonapartes may yet have to look to the United
States for a representative of the dynasty.
When one recalls the astounding history of this
family, in connection with which everything that
seemed Improbable and even Impossible came to pass, -
who can say that an American Emperor of the French,
a descendant of Betty Patterson of Baltimore, may •
not some day revive the glories of the First and the
Second Empire? ■
For seven years the remains of the Emperor re-
posed at Chislehurst in a sarcophagus presented by
Queen Victoria, above which floated the banner which
had hung at Windsor over his stall as Knight of the
Garter. .
After the death of the Prince Imperial in South /
Africa In 1879, the Empress Eugenie made her
home at Farnborough Hill, about half way from
London to Winchester on the route to Southampton,
and Camden Place, where the Emperor died, is now
a golf-club house.
On a hill that rises before the house, the Empress
erected the Abbey Chapel, a magnificent monu-
ment to the Emperor and the Prince. On the ninth
of January 1888 the crypt received the remains of
Napoleon and his son. The underground chapel lies
beneath the choir of the church. To the right and
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
left are the tombs of the father and son. A third place
is now occupied by the tomb of the Empress.
The Empress for many years spent her winters
in her villa at Cap Martin, near Nice. When she
passed through Paris, in going and coming, she al-
ways occupied the same suite at the Hotel Continental,
looking out on the Gardens of the Tuileries, the scene
of her former grandeur. As she took her daily walk in
the Gardens, leaning upon a cane and supported by
the arm of a faithful companion, bowed with the
weight of her ninety-four years, but few passers-by
recognized in the heavily-veiled lady dressed in quiet
black the once beautiful and graceful Empress of
the French.
The tragedy of the life of Eugenie ended with her
death on Sunday, ii July 1920, at Madrid, in the
Palacio de Liria, the home' of her nephew, the Duke
of Alba, at the advanced age of ninety-four years,
two months and six days. """^
Nearly half a century had elapsed since her escape
from the Tuileries on the fourth of September 1870
when the Third Republic was proclaimed. During
all these years she had lived in complete retirement.
Perhaps no one has expressed the feeling of the younger
generation for her so eloquently as Lord Rosebery.
In a copy he sent her of his "Napoleon: The Last
Phase," he addressed her as, "The surviving sovereign
of Napoleon's dynasty: the Empress who has lived
on the summits of splendor, sorrow and catastrophe
with supreme dignity and courage."
To the end of her life Eugenie retained much of the
charm that had held France at her feet in the early
t:3o6:
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
days of her marriage with the Emperor. She never
lost her interest in public affairs, with which she
kept fully posted by her reading. During the Great
War she worked for the victory of the Allies. Early
in the conflict she gave up her home at Farnborough
Hill, which was transformed into a hospital for
wounded British officers. Despite her advanced age
she assumed entire direction of the place and devoted
herself to aiding the wounded men.
Eugenie suffered much from rheumatism, but she
refused to follow the advice of her doctors and aban-
don the damp climate of England for the warm dry
air of the Riviera where she owned an estate. Re-
cently she had completely lost the sight of one eye,
and it was feared that she would become totally
blind, as all the oculists who had attended her gave
no hope of saving her sight.
When the Duke of Alba visited her during the
spring of 1920 at her villa at Cap Martin, where she
had passed the winter as usual, she expressed a long-
ing to return once more to her native land before she
became blind. The Duke, having ascertained from
the doctors that her health would permit the journey,
arranged the trip, and they sailed from Marseille for
Algeciras.
Eugenie expressed great delight at being once more
in Spain, and at seeing again the places which were,
after all, the dearest to her, and above all Andalusia,
the province in which she was born. After spending
a short time at her nephew's home in Seville, she was
induced to visit his palace at Madrid, and it was while
there that the Duke heard of the wonderful cures
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
effected by an oculist of Barcelona. He decided to
see if something could be done to save his aunt's
failing eyesight. Doctor Barraquen was summoned,
and, after several examinations, decided to operate
upon both eyes. No surgical instrument was used,
but a new cupping process. The operation was a
complete success. After a few days the Empress was
able to see distinctly.
During her visit to Spain, Eugenie seemed to be in
good health for a woman of her age, and on the day
before her death was exceptionally well. At midday
she lunched heartily. A short time later she became
ill, and Doctor Grenda, physician to King Alfonso,
was called. Finding her condition serious, he sum-
moned a specialist and also two other physicians.
They were unable, however, to relieve the patient,
and the Empress passed away quietly on Sunday
morning ii July, shortly before eight o'clock, never
having regained consciousness. Her illness was so
sudden that her nephew was absent in France, and
no member of her family was present at the time of
her death.
On the 20 July the body of the Empress was placed
in a sarcophagus between the tombs of the Emperor
and the Prince Imperial in the crypt of the Chapel
of St. Michael's Abbey at Farnborough. Thousands
of British soldiers escorted the coffin from the station
to the abbey with impressive ceremony. Cavalry with
drawn swords lined the route and the path through
the abbey grounds was guarded by infantry with
reversed rifles.
With the death of the Empress Eugenie, there
C 308 3
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
closes a chapter in history almost unparalleled for
the heights of its glory and the depths of its tragedy.
No heroine of romantic fiction ever had a career so
fantastic as was her life. The story of Cinderella is
pale and commonplace in comparison. Born in a
modest house in a small street in Granada, the daugh-
ter of a Spanish adventuress, she led for years a Bo-
hemian life in Paris and other European capitals,
attracting many admirers by her beauty, but finding
no one willing to marry her. Finally she met Napo-
leon and easily won his susceptible heart. Having met
with refusals everywhere in his quest for a bride
among the daughters of the royal houses of Europe,
the Emperor suddenly startled the world by the an-
nouncement of his intention to marry the lovely
Spaniard. The beauty of the future Empress was un-
doubted. "The Emperor has only to show his bride,"
said Morny, "and Paris will award her the golden
apple."
It is too soon to pass a final judgment on Eugenie.
The sorrow of the lonely woman in exile, bereft of
her husband and son, uttering no word in her de-
fence, has been generally respected during the many
long years of her later life. For this reason much of
the history of France during the closing years of the
Second Empire has remained untold until the pres-
ent day. The role played by the Empress in such
decisive events as the Italian imbroglio, the Mexi-
can adventure and the war with Prussia, has never
been definitely settled. Memoirs withheld from pub-
lication until after her death may now be expected
to shed new light on these problems.
t:309]
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
" I have lived — I have been. I do not desire to be
anything more, not even a memory. I live, but I
am no more — a shadow, a phantom, a grief which
walks."
No words more pathetic than these were ever
uttered by one who had gained the highest prizes
this world can offer. "A sorrow's crown of sorrow is
remembering happier things."
Those who visit Paris to-day, and from the Arc de
Triomphe look down the Champs-Elysees, across
the Place de la Concorde, and the Gardens beyond,
to the unmeaning desolation of the space once occu-
pied by the central facade of the Tuileries, can scarcely
realize the scene as it was before the insurrection of
the Commune in 1871. "Then," says Hare, "between
the beautiful chestnut avenues, across the brilliant
flowers and quaint orange trees of the Gardens, be-
yond the sparkling glory of the fountains, rose the
majestic facade of a palace, infinitely harmonious in
color, indescribably picturesque and noble in form,
interesting beyond description from its associa-
tions, appealing to the noblest and most touching
recollections, which all its surroundings led up to
and were glorified by, which was the centre and soul
of Paris, the first spot to be visited by strangers, the
one point in the capital which attracted the sympa-
thies of the world. It is all gone now. Malignant folly
ruined it; apathetic and narrow-minded policy de-
clined to restore and preserve it."
The site of the Palace, then outside the city walls,
was occupied originally by a manufactory of tiles,
II3103
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL
hence the name of Tuileries. Catherine de Medicis,
the widow of Henry the Second, acquired the prop-
erty, and, in 1564 employed Philibert Delorme to
build a magnificent palace there. He erected the
facade towards the gardens, and his work was con-
tinued by Jean Bullant, who built the pavilions at
either end of his facade. Under Henri Quatre the
south wing was continued to the Pavilion de Flore on
the Seine. The space on the north continued to be
unoccupied except by detached buildings until Louis
Quatorze completed it to the Pavilion de Marsan on
the Rue de Rivoli.
The Tuileries were seldom occupied by royalty
until the last century. Napoleon came there as First
Consul in 1800, and from that time the palace was
the principal residence of the rulers of France until
its destruction by the Commune.
In the Chapel of the Tuileries, Napoleon was mar-
ried by Cardinal Fesch to Josephine, who had long
been his wife by the civil bond. Pius Seventh, when he
came to Paris for the coronation, resided in the
Pavilion de Flore. In the Tuileries, the divorce of
Josephine was pronounced. Here Napoleon came on
his return from Elba, and was borne up the Staircase
of Honor in the arms of his Old Guard, by the light
of their torches.
After the fall of Napoleon, the Tuileries continued
to be the habitual seat of the executive power until
1870. During the Second Empire it was the city resi-
dence of Napoleon the Third. Here he was affianced
to Eugenie, and here the Prince Imperial was born.
At the palace, the Empress heard of the surrender at
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Sedan, and thence she fled from the fury of the mob
on the fourth of September 1870, passing through
the connecting wings of the galleries of the Louvre,
and escaping at the further end.
The Tuileries, which had already been four times
attacked and pillaged by the populace of Paris, twice
in 1792, and again during the revolutions of July
1830 and February 1848, were wilfully burnt by the
Commune, 23 May 1871, after the Versailles troops
had entered the city. Internally, the palace was
completely destroyed, but the walls remained stand-
ing, and the beautiful central Pavilion de I'Horloge
was almost entirely uninjured. After allowing these
ruins, by far the most interesting in France, to stand
for twelve years, the Government of the Third Re-
public in 1883 ordered them razed to the ground,
and thus was lost forever to Paris its most interesting
historical monument. The two pavilions of Flore and
Marsan, which terminate the wings of the Louvre,
in spite of the modifications which they have experi-
enced, alone recall the former building. These were
completely rebuilt in 1875, and are now occupied by
government offices.
The ancient site of the Tuileries is now covered
with flower beds. This leaves the former quadrangle
of the Louvre incomplete, and, from the picturesque
point of view, decidedly mars the general effect.
Another generation, less jealous of the past, and more
mindful of the glories of France, may decide to restore
this historical monument.
C3123
CHAPTER TWENTY- ONE
1808-1873
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD
His Mission — His Heredity — His Youth and Education —
His Mother's Influence — His Personal Attraction — His
Excellence in Sports — His Powers as a Linguist — His
Efforts to Improve France — His Personality — His
Entourage — His Dignity — His Affability — His Tenac-
ity — His Lack of Decision — His Love of Startling Effects
— His Impassibility — His Personal Appearance — His
Place in History
FOR many years the life of Napoleon the Third
was an enigma; it escaped analysis, and, by
the violence of its contrasts, provoked the
most divergent opinions. Time, however, has served
to dispel much of the mystery of his personality and
of his politics, to which a chain of remarkable cir-
cumstances gave so exceptional a character. Romantic
by inheritance from his mother; self-restrained and
taciturn like his father; very unequal in his work,
surprising the world by measures taken too hastily,
or disappointing it by his delay in reaching a decision,
he had at all times only one fixed idea: the belief
that he was the legitimate successor of his uncle, and
foreordained to carry out his Imperial policies. Like
the Great Emperor, he believed that he had a "mis-
sion" to fulfill, and to this he devoted all his thoughts
and all his energies. As the result of his ruminations
he had evolved an ideal of Imperialism, of a sovereign
C313 J
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
who should be at once the elect of God and of the peo-
ple.
Either from sincere admiration, or through an
adroit calculation, Louis Napoleon wished not only
to carry to completion the unfinished task of his
uncle, but to imitate and copy him in every detail of
his career. In spite of his humane impulses, and his
natural aversion to war, he felt that his heredity im-
posed the obligation of military glory. Hence the
numerous wars during his reign. He had made a
profound study of military affairs, and possessed
much academic knowledge of the subject, but on the
field of battle he failed to inspire confidence. In 1855,
when he was determined to go to the Crimea and take
command of the Allied armies, his old friend Persigny,
the French Ambassador at London, said to the Eng-
lish Minister, Lord Malmesbury: "At whatever cost,
we must prevent this; better even make peace if
necessary. If he goes, the army is lost, and we shall
have a revolution at home."
As a boy, Louis Napoleon was bright, high-spirited,
and affectionate, delicate and sensitive. His grand-
mother, Josephine, called him a doux-entete, and her
favorite name for him was "Oui-oui."
As a youth, in the college at Augsburg, his profes-
sors spoke of him with esteem as well as affection.
He went through the discipline of the gymnasium
with credit. During his vacations he travelled with
his mother over every part of Switzerland. He
visited his uncle Eugene at Munich and his father
at Florence, and spent many winter months with
his mother at Rome and Geneva. In the course of
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
these travels he became acquainted through the
fascination of his mother and her love of society with
many of the leading intelligences of his time. This
companionship, and his mother's conversation, as
well as that of his father, helped to develop his mind
rapidly. Hortense took great pains to form his tastes
and character, by giving him the society of the great
and gifted.
"Yet it cannot be denied," says Jerrold, "that the
effect exercised by Queen Hortense on the character
of her son Louis was enervating. She was a lover and
seeker of pleasure to the end. All her friends were
delightful and cultured companions. But she was
no strict mistress of morals. There was much of the
Bohemian in her nature. Louis could not but become
kindly and charitable under the guidance and with
the example of his mother, but he could hardly fail
also to feel the influence of the very thin moral at-
mosphere of her little court. The pleasures, the con-
versation, the southern brio, that threw a rosy tint
about slips in morals, were enervating surroundings
to the young man whose single hand was to "hold sway
and mastery over an empire. In after-life, he showed
deep traces of both the good and the evil of his moth-
er's teaching and the society in which she brought
him up. The good blossomed in a thousand acts of
kindness, and the evil appeared in many weaknesses
— all those of a tender heart — for which a bitter
penalty was paid in the end."
Like Hortense, Napoleon had the faculty of attract-
ing people to him through the genuine interest he was
able to take in their pursuits and hopes, and through
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the natural kindliness of his heart. He possessed the
same qualities which made people cling to his mother,
strangely mixed with the reserve and taciturnity of
his father. It was a glory peculiar to both of the
Napoleons that they were heroes to their valets.
Charles Thelin, the valet of Louis Napoleon, remained
devoted to him all his life, through good fortune and
bad. He shared his imprisonment at Ham, helped his
escape, and became under the Second Empire the
Treasurer of his Privy Purse and an officer of the
Legion d'honneur.
When enrolled among the Swiss federal troops in
the camp at Thun, Louis Napoleon was one of Colonel
Dufour's best pupils in mathematics and artillery,
and different works which he published show that
his studies were neither superficial nor circumscribed.
A fellow officer wrote of him at this time : "He is calm
and thoughtful without ever ceasing to be affable.
His vast military learning, especially in his own
arm of the service, artillery, excited general sur-
prise." In youth, as in mature years, he seems to have
been studious, reflective and taciturn.
As a young boy, Louis Napoleon was very delicate,
but through the care of his mother he later became
strong and vigorous, and so remained until his health
was permanently impaired by the years of imprison-
ment in the damp and malarious Chateau of Ham.
He excelled in every branch of athletic sports. He was
very fond of shooting and went frequently to the iir
cantonal where he carried off many prizes as a marks-
man. He was an excellent fencer, and practiced every
week with a fencing-master who came from Constance.
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
He was one of the best swimmers in the lake. He was
a superb rider, and was known as one of the most
daring horsemen in the canton.
At the time he became Emperor, Napoleon the
Third was more extensively and more thoroughly-
educated than any other prince who ever ascended a
throne. He spoke French, English, German, Italian
and Spanish like a native. He was a good classical
scholar, profound in mathematics and physics. Dur-
ing his youth and manhood, he had been a diligent
and systematic student, and his years at the "Univer-
sity of Ham" had made him one of the best read and
best informed men of his time.
As soon as he arrived at sovereign power he began
in earnest the series of efforts for the improvement
of the conditions of the working classes upon which he
had meditated much when in prison and in exile. In
the course of his reign he made many errors, but he
showed at all times a great desire for the improve-
ment of mankind, and a knowledge of the wants
and desires of the humbler classes far deeper than that
of any contemporary ruler. The good which he was
able to accomplish was only a small part of what he
had in mind, but the improvement in the actual con-
ditions of France during his reign was immense, and
for this he deserves full credit.
As Prince-President, as soon as the supreme power
was in his hands, he had lost no time in beginning his
work. He decreed the immediate laying down of the
railway round Paris, ordered the vigorous renewal of
public works in the capital, and the immediate demo-
lition of the unsightly buildings that stood between
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
the Tuileries and the Louvre, thereby beginning the
great work of the completion of the Louvre and its
junction with the Tuileries, which will always be
associated with his name. Nor were his activities
confined to Paris. Local improvements were begun
in all the principal provincial cities; both the canal and
railway systems received a vigorous impetus ; and tele-
graph lines were built to connect the principal cities.
In his celebrated speech at Bordeaux, on the eve
of the proclamation of the Empire, he had said :
"Like the Emperor, I have many conquests to
make. We have vast waste territories to drain and
cultivate, roads to open, ports to be deepened, rivers
to be made navigable, railways to be connected. Op-
posite Marseille we have a great kingdom to assim-
ilate to France. We have to connect our great west-
ern ports with the American continent by lines of
steamers. These are the conquests which I meditate."
Says Jerrold: "In the hands of a bad, self-seeking
man, such power as that which was embodied in
Napoleon the Third on his accession to the throne
might have led France to moral and material ruin;
but the prince to whom she had confided her destinies
was liberal, wise and humane, and he used the mighty
force he held as a sacred trust, of which France might
ask him an account at any moment. According to his
light, he sought the happiness of his country, with a
passionate longing to see it great and prosperous.
Hence the all but absolute power he held, at the open-
ing of his reign, conferred substantial and lasting
benefits on his subjects."
As Emperor he set on foot that mighty series of
C318]
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
public works in the capital which was destined to
make Paris the Ville lumiere of the world and to be
an immortal monument to his memory. The com-
mercial and building actitivity in Paris was simply
prodigious. Guizot said at the time that, "The city
of Paris looks like a town that has been bombarded/'
and added, " but if the Emperor destroys like an
Attila, he builds like an Aladdin."
No finer tribute to Napoleon the man was ever
paid than that of Queen Victoria, who, after her
return to Osborne from a ten days' visit to the Em-
peror and Empress at Saint-Cloud during the Ex-
position of 1855, wrote in her Diary: "His society is
particularly agreeable and pleasant; there is some-
thing fascinating, melancholy and engaging, which
draws you to him; he undoubtedly has a most ex-
traordinary power of attracting people to him!"
Baron von Moltke, who visited Paris a year later,
and who certainly cannot be accused of partiality
towards his host, in private letters which were first
published in 1878, said: "Napoleon has nothing of
the sombre sternness of his uncle, neither his im-
perial demeanor nor his deliberate attitude. 'II ne se
fache jamais,' say the people who are in most frequent
intercourse with him. *Il est toujours poli et bon
envers nous; ce n'est que la bonte de son coeur et sa
confiance qui pourront lui devenir dangereux.' Napo-
leon has shown wisdom, firmness, self-confidence,
but also moderation and clemency; and though simple
in his dress, he does not forget that the French like
to see their Sovereigns surrounded by a brilliant
Court."
[3193
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
Monsieur Ollivier has thus described his first im-
pressions of the Emperor at the time he became
connected with the Government in January 1867:
" People have formed an erroneous idea of the person
of the Emperor. He is represented as taciturn, impas-
sible ; and in truth he appears so on public occasions.
In his cabinet he is otherwise. His face is smiling. Al-
though he does not break through a certain reserve,
which looks almost like timidity, his address is cordial,
of touching simplicity, and of seductive politeness.
He listens like one who wishes to remember. When
he has nothing decisive to answer, he lets the conver-
sation flow. He interrupts, only to present, and this
in excellent terms, a serious objection. His mind is
not fettered by any mastering prejudice. You may
say everything to him, even that which is contrary
to his opinion, even the truth, provided you speak
quietly and in personal sympathy with him. His
changes, which have looked like dissimulation to
many, are the natural movements of an impression-
able nature. He forms his resolutions slowly, and he
is not displeased when they are forced upon him by
the weight of circumstances. If he were left alone,
he would adapt himself to liberty."
No one had fewer illusions than the Emperor re-
garding the moral charcter of many of those in his
entourage. He kept people in his service less from
esteem and attachment than from custom and reluc-
tance to make a change. For the most part he had a
very poor opinion of his counsellors, his servants and
his courtiers. On the other hand, he never forgot a
good service rendered him. Like his mother, he prac-
C3203
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
ticed tolerance to an excessive degree, not only in
politics but also in morals. All who came in contact
with him yielded to the charm of his personality.
Partisans or antagonists, once they knew him, united
in saying: "It is impossible not to like him." He had
inherited his attractive personality from his mother,
and this also was the compelling charm of Josephine.
He received from all who met him the title of a "per-
fect gentleman." This the First Napoleon never was.
With all his genius, he never displayed a true grandeur
of soul, nor a real generosity of heart. If his nephew
nad less claim to the admiration of men, he had
better rights to their affections. Louis Napoleon never
forgot the least service rendered him and, when he
was in a position to do so, recompensed it in the most
thoughtful and generous manner.
The Great Emperor was always lacking In true
dignity; as some one once said of him, he seemed to
have been created to live in a tent. Lie did not know
how to enter or leave a room, how to receive people
either as a sovereign or a man of the world. Llis re-
ceptions were like a review of his troops. His Grand
Chamberlain, Talleyrand, used to circulate around
the rooms, saying to every one, "Amuse yourselves,
gentlemen, it is the wish of the Emperor." On the
other hand, all who visited the Tuileries during the
reign of the Third Napoleon were a unit in describing
the charm of the Imperial fetes.
In Napoleon the Third, the spirit of repartee was
entirely lacking. Very fluent with his pen, he was
very quiet and taciturn In general conversation.
His uncle, on the other hand, was as brilliant in speech
C3213
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
as he was in action. Every one listened to him with
interest, curiosity and pleasure.
Hortense often cautioned her son against the too
great effusion in speech which was one of the faults
of the Great Emperor. She said: "Un prince doit
savoir se taire, ou parler pour ne rien dire."
Napoleon the Third had periods of gaiety, when,
contrary to his habitude, he was expansive. Free from
etiquette, he could be gracious and smiling. In the
intimacy of his family he dropped the sovereign, and
talked and laughed, like any good bourgeois. But
even during the happiest days of the Empire he al-
ways was prone to melancholy. Gravity was the basis
of his character.
Tenacity was his strongest characteristic. An Idea
once fixed in his head, he never abandoned it, al-
though he was often very slow in carrying it out, as,
for example, his delay of a year in assuming the Im-
perial crown, when it was at all times within his
grasp.
It was one of his weaknesses to meditate too long
before acting. Naturally inclined to temporize, he
carried out slowly the plans upon which he had long
decided. Towards the end of his reign, when matters
of the highest importance called for immediate action,
this defect in his character became a positive fault.
As Bismarck once said, "II y a des moments, dans la
politique exterieure, qui ne reviennent pas." Such a
moment was the short period of six weeks prior to
Sadowa in 1866, when he lost forever the last chance
of curbing the rising power of Prussia, which four
years later was to overwhelm France and destroy his
C3223
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
dynasty. By taking too much time to prepare the
ground and await the hour, he let pass the decisive
moment for action. His fixed habit of procrastination
caused him to lose an opportunity which never re-
turned.
By an unfortunate contradiction in his character,
he often embarked rashly and hastily in enterprises
which should have had long and careful examination.
Such was the unfortunate Mexican expedition, which
did so much to ruin his prestige in Europe. When he
was in a mood to act, he went ahead blindly with-
out taking counsel with any one, without even the
knowledge of his Ministers. He did not stop to reflect,
he formed his resolution and acted with a precipi-
tancy which gave no opportunity for drawing back.
It seemed to give him particular satisfaction, by some
unexpected move, to take everybody by surprise.
Several times these exploits turned out well, but he
tempted his fate too often.
It was the boast of the First Napoleon that he
never held a Council of War, and he never did until
the disastrous days of 1812 and 18 13, when for the
first time he began to lose confidence in his "star."
But his nephew acted with more deference for his
counsellors. In conference his opposition was always
dissembled, and his real plans concealed. He only
revealed his decisions when they had been finally
reached, and often in part executed.
People have often spoken of the phlegm of Napoleon
the Third, but It was an acquired, not a natural
gift. Like Talleyrand, he was very quick-tempered
in his youth, and he had gradually disciplined his
C323 1
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
nerves and acquired the art of concealing his feehngs
under a veil of impassivity. "When I met him again
in 1848," related his old childhood friend Hortense
Cornu, "I asked him what was the matter with
his eyes. He replied: 'Nothing.' A few days later
when I saw him again, his eyes seemed even more
peculiar. Finally I discovered that he had formed
the habit of keeping his eye-lids lowered, half-
closed, which gave him a dreamy and vacant ex-
pression."
In his personal appearance, Louis Napoleon resem-
bled his mother more than the Bonapartes. He was
of medium height, a little taller than the First Napo-
leon, who was about five feet six. He had the long
body and short legs of his uncle, and therefore made
a better appearance on horseback than at any other
time. He had the high, broad, straight forehead, the
light brown hair, and the well-shaped head, as well
as the blue-gray eyes of the Great Emperor, but did
not possess his cameo-like profile, with his round and
firm chin. To conceal his defect in this latter respect,
he wore all his life the chin-whisker, slight in youth,
but full and flowing in later life, which became known
as an "imperial." His nose was large and aquiline,
and not Roman like that of his uncle. Distinction was
not a striking trait in his appearance, although as
Emperor he had a certain dignity of bearing.
"The character of Napoleon the Third," says
Hassall, " is one of the most complex in modern French
history. Kindness, generosity, gratitude, were all
found In him; he was aware of the needs of the world
and of the national aspirations of France. He had
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON
long been a private citizen, and he alone of French
politicians had a practical knowledge of foreign coun-
tries. Much that he did was beneficial to Europe
and to France. His wish for the overthrow of the Aus-
trians in Italy, his liberal commercial ideas, his op-
position to the Jesuits, all were parts of a policy to
be expected from a man who had seen much of the
world. At the same time it is undoubted that he was
a dreamer and idealist, with much of the fatalist in
his composition. He showed infinite patience and
perseverance in carrying out his ideas, and throughout
his reign he endeavored to shape the course of history
and to direct the course of the European powers."
Having had the good fortune to arrive at supreme
power through an appeal to the Napoleonic legend,
it was his misfortune for the rest of his career to be
expected by the world to live up to the Napoleonic
tradition. His uncle was not only the greatest mili- I
tary genius of all time, but also one of the greatest
administrators and statesmen known to history. But i
through the growth of the Napoleonic legend, in song |
and story, during the quarter of a century following |
his downfall and tragic exile and death at Saint
Helena, he had been exalted from a super-man to a
very demi-god. No mortal man could ever have
measured up to such a standard. That his nephew
failed to do so was his misfortune and not his fault.
Napoleon the Third was beyond question one of the
leading men of public affairs during the latter part
of the 19th century. During the two decades that
followed the Revolution of 1848 he played the
1:3253
NAPOLEON THE THIRD
most important role not only in France but in all
Europe.
In conclusion we can only repeat:
The story of his life reads like the pages of a great
historical novel, and may well be called The Romance
of an Emperor.
n326 3
THE BONAPARTES
GENEALOGICAL TABLE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
CHRONOLOGY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE BONAPARTES
GENEALOGICAL TABLE
I II III
2 Joseph
3 Napoleon I 7 Napoleon II
IV
I Charles \ 4 Lucien
Bonaparte
5 Louis
8 Charles
9 Louis Lucien
i
15 Joseph
16 Lucien
17 Charles
<
10 Pierre iS Roland
11 Napoleon Charles
12 Napoleon Louis
13 Napoleon III 19 Prince Imperial
20 Victor 22 Louis
21 Louis
Compiled by the Author
6 Jerome 14 Prince Napoleon
C3293
THE BONAPARTE FAMILY
First Generation
1. Charles Bonaparte, born at Ajaccio, Corsica, 29 March,
1746; died at Montpellier, France, 24 February, 1785; in
1765, married Letitia Ramolino, born at Ajaccio, 24
August, 1750; died at Rome, 2 February, 1836. Children:
(2) Joseph, (3) Napoleon, (4) Lucien, (5) Louis, (6)
Jerome, Elise, Pauline, Caroline.
Second Generation
2. Joseph, King of Spain, born at Corte, Corsica, 7 January,
1768; died at Florence, 28 July, 1844; in 1794 married
Julie Clary. No sons.
3. Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, born at Ajaccio, Cor-
sica, 15 August, 1769; died at Longwood, Saint Helena,
5 May, 1821; married, ist, 9 March, 1796, Josephine de
Beauharnais, born at Trois-Ilets, Martinique, 23 June,
1763; died at Malmaison, 29 May, 1814; divorced 1809;
married, 2nd, 11 March, 1810, Marie-Louise, born at
Vienna, 12 December, 1791; died at Vienna, December,
1847. Son: (7) Napoleon II.
4. Lucien, Prince of Canino (in Italy), born at Ajaccio, 21
May, 177s; died at Viterbo, Italy, 30 June, 1840; married,
1st, 4 May, 1794, Christine Boyer, by whom he had two
daughters; married, 2nd, 23 October, 1803, Alexandrine
de Bleschamp (Madame Jouberthou). Children: (8)
Charles, (9) Louis Lucien, (10) Pierre and two other
sons and four daughters.
5. Louis, King of Holland, born at Ajaccio, 2 September, 1778;
died at Leghorn, Italy, 25 July, 1846; married 4 January,
1802, Hortense de Beauharnais, born at Paris 10 April, 1783;
died at Arenenberg, Switzerland, 5 October, 1837. Chil-
li 330]]
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
dren: (ii) Napoleon Charles, (12) Napoleon Louis,
and (13) Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III).
6. Jerome, King of Westphalia, born at Ajaccio, 15 November,
1784; died near Paris, 24 June, i860; married, ist, 24
December, 1803, Elizabeth Patterson, of Baltimore, born
6 February, 1785; died 4 April, 1879; one son, Jerome
Napoleon, born at Camberwell, England, 7 July, 1805;
died at Pride's Crossing, Massachusetts, 4 September, 1893;
he had two sons, Jerome Napoleon and Charles Joseph.
The former has a son of the same name, born 1878. Charles
Joseph has no children. King Jerome married, 2nd, 22
August, 1807, after annulment of the Patterson marriage,
the Princess Catherine of Wiirtemberg. Children: (14)
Napoleon Joseph, and Mathilde, born at Trieste, 20 May,
1820I died~at Paris, 2 January 1904; married Prince
Demidov. ""^
Elise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, born at Ajaccio, 3
January, 1777; died near Trieste, 6 August, 1820; married
in 1797, FeHx Bacciochi.
Pauline, Princesse Borghese, born at Ajaccio, 20 October,
1780; died at Florence, 9 June, 1825; married 28 August
1803, Prince Borghese.
Caroline, Queen of Naples, born at Ajaccio, 25 March,
1782; died at Florence, 18 May, 1839; married in 1800
Joachim Murat, who became King of Naples in 1808. He
was born 25 March, 1771; executed in Italy, 13 October,
1815. Two sons.:
{a) Napoleon Achille Murat, born 1801, died 1847,
who emigrated to America in 1821, and was postmaster
at Tallahassee, Florida, from 1826 to 1838. He married a
great-niece of Washington.
{b) Napoleon Lucien Charles Murat, born 1803, died
1878; married Georgiana Frazer. He also lived in America
from 1825 to 1848; was given title of Prince Murat by Napo-
leon HL Children: Joachim, Prince Murat (i 834-1901),
Achille (1847-1895), Louis (185 1- ).
C3313
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Third Generation
7. Napoleon II, King of Rome, Duke of Reichstadt, born at
Paris, 20 March, 1811; died at Vienna, 22 July, 1832.
Never married.
8. Charles, born at Paris, 24 May, 1803, died at Paris, 29
July, 1857, married at Brussels, 29 June, 1822, his cousin
Zenaide, born 8 July, 1804, died 8 August, 1854, daughter
of King Joseph, by whom he had three sons and five
daughters. The branch is now extinct.
9. Lucien Louis, born at Thorngrove, England, 4 January,
1813; died 3 November, 1891; married; left no children.
10. Pierre, born at Rome, 12 September, 181 5; died at Ver-
sailles, 7 April, 1881; married 3 November, 1867, Justine
Eleonore Ruffin, by whom he had, before his marriage, two
children: (18) Roland and Jeanne. In January, 1870, he
killed Victor Noir.
11. Napoleon Charles, born at Paris, 10 October, 1802; died
at The Hague, 5 May, 1807.
12. Napoleon Louis, born at Paris, 11 October, 1804; died at
Forli, Italy 27 March, 183 1 ; married his cousin, Charlotte,
(1802-1839) daughter of King Joseph. No children.
13. Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, born at Paris, 20
April, 1808; died at Chislehurst, near London, 9 January,
1873; married 30 January, 1853, Eugenie de Montijo, born
at Granada, Spain, 5 May, 1826; died at Madrid, 11
July, 1920. One son: (19) Napoleon Louis, the Prince
Imperial.
14. Napoleon Joseph, called Prince Napoleon, born at Trieste,
9 September, 1822; died at Rome, 17 March 1891; married
in January, 1859, Princess Clotilde, daughter of King Victor
Emmanuel. Children: (20) Victor, (21) Louis, and
Marie Laetitia born 20 December, 1866, who married in
September, 1888, her maternal uncle Amadeus, Duke of
Aosta, ex-King of Spain, and brother of King Humbert of
Italy, by whom she had one son, Humbert, born in 1889.
113323
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Fourth Generation
15. Joseph, Prince of Canino, born at Philadelphia, 13 Feb-
ruary, 1824; died 1865; left no heirs.
16. LuciEN, Cardinal Bonaparte, born at Rome, 15 November,
1828; died in 1895.
17. Charles, born 5 February, 1839, died in 1899; married 26
November, 1859, the Princess Ruspoli, by whom he had two
daughters, born in 1870 and 1872.
18. Roland, born 19 May, 1858; married 7 November, 1880,
Marie Blanc, the daughter of the proprietor of the gambling
establishment at Monte Carlo. She died i August, 1882,
leaving him one daughter and an enormous fortune. His
daughter, Marie, in 1907, married Prince George, second
son of King George of Greece.
19. Napoleon Louis, the Prince Imperial, born at Paris 16
March, 1856; killed in Zululand, South Africa, i June,
1879. Never married.
20. Napoleon Victor, Prince Napoleon, present head of the
Bonaparte family, born at Paris, 18 July, 1862; married
14 November, 1910, the Princess Clementine, born 1872,
daughter of Leopold II, King of the Belgians, She is a
cousin of the present King Albert; two children: Clotilde,
born at Brussels, 20 March, 191 2, and (22) Louis Napo-
leon, born at Brussels, 23 January, 1914.
21. Louis Napoleon, born at Paris, 16 July, 1864. He was a
General of Cavalry in the Russian Army, and, in 1906,
Governor of the Caucasus. Never married.
Fifth Generation
22. Louis Napoleon, son and heir of Prince Napoleon, born at
Brussels, 23 January, 1914.
t333l
^
CHRONOLOGY
1778 Birth of Louis Bonaparte, at Ajaccio, 2 September
1783 Birth of Hortense de Beauharnais, at Paris, 10 April
1802 Marriage of Louis and Hortense, at Paris, 4 January
Birth of Napoleon Charles, at Paris, 10 October
1804 Birth of Napoleon Louis, at Paris, 11 October
1806 Louis, King of Holland, 5 June .
1807 Death of Napoleon Charles, at The Hague, 5 May
1808 Birth of Louis Napoleon, at Paris, 20 April
1 8 10 Abdication of King Louis, i July
1814 Abdication of Napoleon, 11 April
18 1 5 Napoleon Returns from Elba, 2 March
Battle of Waterloo, 18 June
Hortense Leaves Paris, 19 July
1816 Hortense at Constance, Switzerland
1817 Purchase of Arenenberg, 17 February
1 83 1 Italian Insurrection, March
Death of Napoleon Louis, at Forli, 27 March
1832 Death of Napoleon the Second, at Vienna, 22 July
1836 The Strasbourg Attempt, 30 October
Louis Exiled to America, 21 November
1837 Louis Arrives in London, 10 July
Death of Hortense, at Arenenberg, 5 October
1838 Louis Leaves Switzerland for London, 14 October
1840 The Boulogne Attempt, 6 August
Prisoner at Ham, 7 October
1846 Escape from Ham, 25 May
1848 Revolution at Paris, 24 February
Louis Napoleon Elected Deputy, 17 September
President of the Republic, 20 December
1 85 1 Coup d'fitat, 2 December
1852 Second Empire Proclaimed, 2 December
1853 Marriage with Eugenie, 30 January
[3343
CHRONOLOGY
1854 Crimean War Begins, March
Alma, 20 September; Balaklava, 25 October; Inkerman
5 November
1855 Exposition — Visit of Queen Victoria, in June
Surrender of Sebastopol, 8 September
1856 Birth of Prince Imperial, 16 March
Treaty of Paris, 30 March
1858 Attempt of Orsini, 14 January
^' Cavour at Plombieres, July
1859 The Italian War
/ Magenta, 4 June; Solferino, 24 June
Treaty of Villafranca, 11 July
i860 Annexation of Savoy and Nice, March
Visit to Corsica, September
1862 Mexican Expedition, January
1864 Maximilian Lands at Vera Cruz, 28 May
1865 Death of Morny, 10 March
1866 Battle of Sadowa, 3 July
1867 Second Paris Exposition
Maximilian Shot in Mexico, 19 July
1870 Hohenzollern Candidature, July
Ems Dispatch, 13 July
War with Prussia, 19 July
Worth, 6 August; Gravelotte, 18 August
Surrender at Sedan, 2 September
Third French Republic, 4 September
1871 Occupation of Paris, i March
Napoleon at Chislehurst, 20 March
Peace of Frankfort, 10 May
1873 Death of Napoleon, 9 January
/" 1879 Death of Prince Imperial, I June ^^ r^ hj f^^Vf
1920 Death of Eugenie, II July f ^^ ^^-^ *> f f^ /^/6
Csss]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is no adequate biography of Napoleon the Third ex-
cept the masterly work of Blanchard Jerrold in four large
volumes of over two thousand pages, published in London be-
tween the years 1874 and 1882. The book is now out of print,
and difficult to find except in a few large public libraries. In
making his researches the author had the active assistance of the
Imperial family, who placed at his disposal a mass of valuable
papers which supplied him with the materials for many import-
tant passages of his history. His spirit is sympathetic, but in
the main impartial. It is the best English biography, and is the
authoritative work on the subject.
The "Memoirs of the Empress Eugenie" (1920) contain but
little fresh matter, and throw no new light on the history of
the Second Empire.
Of less importance, but not without interest, are the following
books:
W. A. Eraser, "Napoleon III" (1895)
A. Forbes, "Life of Napoleon III" (1898)
F. A. Simpson, "The Rise of Louis Napoleon" (1909)
AuGUSTiN FiLON, "The Prince Imperial" (Translation)
Among the many French works may be mentioned:
P. DeLano, three volumes under different titles.
F. LoLiEE, several volumes on the Second Empire, under differ-
ent titles.
F. Masson, "Napoleon et sa Famille," in ten volumes, and six
volumes on Napoleon I, under different titles, which are
the best authority on the Bonaparte family during the
period of the First Empire.
Syl vain-Blot, "Napoleon III" (1899)
H. Thirria, "Napoleon III avant I'Empire" (1895)
1:336:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are also many general histories of conspicuous ability,
both in English and French, which cover the period of the Second
Empire. Among these may be mentioned:
English
C. K. Adams, "Democracy and Monarchy in France." The
author tries to show that the political weakness of the
Second Empire was the legitimate result of the doctrines of
the previous century.
C. B. Cavour, "Biography" in Foreign Statesmen Series
C. A. Fyffe, "Modern Europe"
A. Hassall, "The French People" (1917). Half of the volume is
given to the period from the French Revolution to the close
of 19th century. Well written.
C. D. Hazen, "Europe Since 181 5." Very interesting.
H. MuRDOCK, "The Reconstruction of Europe," (1889)
H. Van Laun, "The French Revolutionary Epoch." A descrip-
tion of events, rather than a discussion of causes and con-
sequences.
French
P. De La Gorge, "Histoire du Second Empire" (1868-1905)
Taxile-Delord, "Histoire du Second Empire" (1868-1875)
A masterly work in six volumes. Begun several years be-
fore the fall of the Second Empire, it was completed in 1874.
It shows thorough research, and great literary art. A pow-
erful arraignment of the Imperial regime.
A. Thomas, "Le Second Empire" (1907)
C3373
INDEX
INDEX
/
Alba, Duchess of, 200, 211
Alexander I, Czar, 20
Alexander II, Czar, 163, 219
"Ambes, Baron d'," 9, 17
Anglo-French alliance of 1854. IS9
Anglo-French commercial treaty, 224
Aosta, Duchess of, 304
Arenenberg, chateau of, 28, 29, 48
Arese, Count, 71, 179. I95 y
Army, French, 99, 258, 259, 262 X
Aumale, Due d', 46, 134
Austria, precipitates the Italian war,
184; her defeats in Italy, 185; war y
with Prussia, 247 y"
Baden, Grand Duchess Stephanie of,
see Stephanie
Baden, meeting of Sovereigns at, 209
Balaclava, battle of, see Crimean War
Bazaine, Marshal, 276, 281
j/' Beauharnais, Vicomte de, 3
Beauharnais, Prince Eugene, 24, 28,
35, 36, -jS, ISO
Beauregard, Comtesse de, IIO, 143
^' Benedetti, M., 264
Bertrand, Abbe, 32
'*'" Biarritz, Napoleon III and Count
Bismarck at, 246
Bismarck, Count, in Paris during the
Exhibition of 1867, 219; Prussian
Minister, 244; speech to the Prus-
sian chamber, 245; repairs to Bi-'
arritz, 246; efforts to secure the
neutrality of France in the war with
Austria, 247; the Hohenzollern can-
didature, 263; the Ems dispatch,
266; conversations with the Em-
peror at Sedan, 288
Bonaparte, Caroline, 7, 74
Bonaparte, King Jerome, 10, 52, 123,
137
Bonaparte, King Joseph, 52, 69, 71
Bonaparte, King Louis, his youth, 3;
his character, 4; his marriage, 7;
first years of married life, 8; gov-
ernor of Paris, 12; King of Holland,
13; quarrels with his wife, 13; ob-
jects to becoming King of Spain, 18;
abdicates, 19; obtains his eldest
son after a lawsuit, 26; death of, 112
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon, 167, 179,
183
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon Charles,
9. H .
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon Louis, 12,
38, 40, 41
Bonaparte, Prince Pierre, 304
Bonaparte, Prince Roland, 304
Bonaparte, Prince Victor Napoleon,
303
Bordeaux, Duke of, see Chambord
Bordeaux, speech of the Prince Presi-
dent at, 160
Borny, battle of, 278
Boulogne, Prince Louis Napoleon's
expedition against, 89-91
Brault, Eleonore, 62
Brunswick, Duke of, 105, 106
Bulwer, Sir E. L., his estimate of
Prince Louis Napoleon, 86
Carlotta, Empress, 242
Castiglione, Comtesse de, 177
Cauterets, 14
Cavaignac, General, 96, 118, 123, 124
Cavour, Count, 175-187
Chambord, Comte de, 127
Changarnier, General, 127, 131, 276
Chantilly, chateau of, 45
Charlemagne, 84, 102, 103
Chateaubriand, M. de, 53
Chevalier, M. Michel, 225
Chinese War, 237-240
Chislehurst, Napoleon at, 293-297
1:3413
INDEX
Clementine, Princess, 303
Clotilde, Princess, 179
Cobden, Richard, 225
Conneau, Dr., 72, 108, 115, 179
Constance, residence of Queen Hor-
tense at, 26-27
Constantine, Grand Duke, 170
Constitution of 1852, 141
Cornu, Mme., 98
Corps Legislatif, 155-156
Corvisart, Dr., 16
Coup d'etat, 131-141 *»"'
Cowley, Lord, 141, 149 ^
Crimean War, 160-164
Denmark, Austro-Prussian invasion
of, 245
Ducrot, General, 258; at Sedan, 284
Dumas, Alexandre, 55
Duncombe, Sir Thomas, 105, 106
Elysee Palace, 21, 126
Ems, M. Benedetti's interviews with
the King of Prussia at, 265-268
England, excitement in, on subject of
national defences, 148; recognizes
Napoleon, 149; alliance with
France, i6i; visit of the French
Emperor and Empress to, 165;
attitude on the Italian question,
188; commercial treaty with
France, 224; reception of Emperor
in, after Sedan, 293
Eugenie, Empress, early sympathy for
the prisoner of Ham, 104; her
beauty and education, 152; pre-
sented at the Elysee, 152; her en-
gagement to Napoleon III an-
nounced m a speech from the throne,
152; her marriage ceremonial, 153;
visit to Windsor, 164; birth of
Prince Imperial, 167; her char-
acter, 254; liberation of Italy, 255;
influence on public affairs, 255, 260;
advocates the war against Prussia,
256; opposes return of Napoleon to
Paris, 281; visit to the Emperor at
Wilhclmshohe, 292; at his death-
bed, 296; residence at Farnborough
and Cap Martin, 305-306; death
at Madrid, 306-308; interred at
Farnborough, 308; her career, 309
Exhibition, Paris, of 1855, 170
Exhibition, Paris, of 1867, 218
Farnborough Hill, residence of Em-
press, 305
February, 1848, revolution of, 118
Fesch, Cardinal, 43
Flahaut, M. de, 19, 20
■Flahaut, Mme. de, 134
Fleury, Colonel (General), 132
Fontainebleau, baptismal ceremony
in the Palace chapel, 18
France, under Louis-Philippe, 60, 83,
87; under the Provisional Govern-
ment of 1848, 118; election of Presi-
dent in 1848, 124; conflict between
the President and the Assembly,
130; approves the coup d'etat,
141; the Constitution of 1852, 141;
alliance with England, 159; pros-
perity of, under Napoleon III, 166;
alliance with Sardinia, 184; the
Italian campaign, 185; commercial
treaty with England, 224; repeal
of the navigation laws, 229; war
with Prussia, 270; popularity of the
war, 271; negotiations with Italy
and their failure, 281
Francis Joseph, Emperor, 150, 186
Franco-German war, political calm
preceding, 261; the Hohenzollern
candidature for the throne of Spain,
263; Due de Gramont's instruc-
tions to M. Benedetti, 264; council
at Saint-Cloud, 265; Count Bis-
marck's machinations, 266; Prus-
sian preparations, 272; the French
unprepared for war, 272; position
of the French and German forces,
275; first disasters of the French,
275; Marshal Bazaine in command,
276; movements of the armies, 285;
French retreat and further disasters,
285; Sedan, 285.
Frederick Charles of Prussia, Prince,
275
Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia,
275
C3423
INDEX
Gambetta, M. Leon, 293
Garibaldi, General, 202, 203, 205
Gordon, Mme., see Brault, Eleonore
Gottlieben Castle, 81
^ramont. Due de, 190, 201, 264
Gravelotte, battle of, 280
Greville, Sir Charles, 226
Guizot, M., 116, 117, 227
Ham, Chateau, Prince Louis Na-
poleon's imprisonment in, 95; es-
cape from, 107; destruction of, 95
Hamilton, Duke of, 112, 141
Hamilton, Duchess of, 85, iii, 151
Haussmann, Baron, 212
HohenzoUern, Prince Leopold of, can-
didate for the throne of Spain, 263
*^ Holland, Prince Louis Bonaparte,
King of, 13, 18
"Holy Places," 161
Hortense (de Beauharnais), Queen of
^^' Holland, 3; description and char-
acter of, 5; a pupil of Mme.
Campan, 5; her accomplishments,
5; her marriage, 7; first year of her
marriage, 8; at Saint-Leu, 12; her
court at The Hague, 13; grief at
the loss of her son, 14; birth of
Napoleon HI, 16; her separation
from her husband, 19; her residence
at Saint-Leu, 20; her interview
with the Emperor, 21; the Hundred
Days, 21; exiled from France, 25;
her journey to Switzerland, 25;
lawsuit with her husband, 26;
settles at Aix, 26; her journey to
Constance, 26; and residence there,
27; her life at Arenenberg, 30-32;
her affection for her children, 31; at
Rome in 1830, 39; her stay at
Florence, 41; her son's illness at
Ancona, 42; escapes through the
Austrian lines, 42; journey through
France; 43; interview with Louis-
Philippe, 43; arrives with her son
in London, 44; returns to France,
4S; journey through France, 47; to
Arenenberg, 47; described by Cha-
teaubriand and Alexandre Dumas
at Arenenberg, 53-56; intercedes
for Louis, dT, her ill health, 72; her
farewell letter, 72; her death, 74;
her maxims, 79; her last wishes, 80;
her memoirs, 80
Howard, Miss, see Beauregard
Hugo, Victor, 146
Idees Napoleoniennes, 86, 154
Inkermann, battle of, see Crimean
War
Irving, Washington, 71
Italy, revolution of 1830, 40; Aus-
trian intervention and defeat of
the revolutionaries, 41; the war
of liberation, 175; Count Cavour's
plans, 176; conference of Cavour
and the Emperor at Plombieres,
182; proposed cession of Savoy
and Nice, 183; commencement of
the war, 185; French victories, 185;
the treaty of Zurich, 191; cession
of Savoy and Nice, 193; establish-
ment of the kingdom of, 203 ; al-
liance with Prussia, 247; obtains
Venetia, 248; negotiations with
France in 1870, 281
Joinville, Prince de, 93, 94, 134
Josephine (Empress), character of,
5-6; procures the marriage of Louis
Bonaparte and Hortense, 7; her
death and estate, 24; her appeal to
the Emperor before the battle of
Wagram, 55
La Fayette, M. de, 58
Lamoriciere, General, 198, 201, 202
Le Bas, M., 33
Leboeuf, Marshal, 280
Legislative Assembly, composition of,
129
Lesseps, M. de, loi
Leu, Saint-, home of Queen Hortense,
12; church at, 25
Leuchtenberg, Duke of, see Beau-
harnais, Prince Eugene
Lindsay, Mr. W. L., 229
Louis-Philippe, King, his interviews
with Queen Hortense, 42, 43;
blunders of his government, 60,
1:3433
INDEX
y
83. 87; presents money to Prince
Louis, 68; his relations with Swit-
zerland, 81; demands the expul-
sion of Prince Louis from Switzer-
land, 81; imminence of war with
Switzerland, 81; determines to
convey the remains of Napoleon I
to France, 93; his foreign policy,
116; fall of his dynasty, 118; per-
mits King Jerome to reside in
France, 1 23 ; his letter to Charles X,
128
Louvre, completion of, 212 •
Luxembourg, question of, 251
MacMahon, Marshal, 280, 282, 284
Magenta, battle of, 185
Magnan, General (Marshal), 134
Malmaison, Chateau of, 21, 22, 24
Malmesbury, Earl of, 37, 104, 262, 294
Marie-Louise, Empress, 18, 51
Marrast, M., 124
Mars-la-Tour, battle of, 279
Masson, F., 7, 15
Mathilde, Princess, 151
Maupas, M. de (Prefect of Police),
134. 136
Maximilian, Emperor, 242
Mehemet Ali, 87, 117
Melbourne, Lord, 83
Menotti, General, 40
Merimee, M. Prosper, 255
y^ Mexico, French expedition to, 240
Mocquard, M., 80, 134, 135
^/' Moltke, Count von, 169, 272, 283
j/'' Montholon, General, 96
-' Montebello, Due de, 81
*" Morny, Due de, his birth, 19; joins
the councils of Prince Louis Na-
poleon, 133; character and ante-
cedents, 133; appointed Minister
of the Interior, 139; death of, 231
Murat, General (King of Naples), 7,
126
Napoleon I, Emperor, his treatment of
Louis Bonaparte, 4; question of
the Imperial succession, 11; makes
Louis King of Holland, 13; pro-
poses to make Louis King of Spain,
18; his joy at the birth of Prince
^
Louis, 18; returns from Elba, 21;
interview with Hortense, 21; on
Josephine's death, 21; visits Mal-
maison for the last time, 21; on
the "hope of his race," 22; his
death, 35; Josephine's appeal to,
56; his return from Elba, 63, 64;
his political institutions adopted
by his nephew, 86, 154; the design
of conveying his remains to France,
92; his remains brought to Paris,
93; interment of his remains in
the Invalides, 94; his proposed
monument to Charlemagne, 103;
his tomb visited by Queen Victoria,
172
Napoleon II, see Reichstadt, Due de
Napoleon, Prince Louis, his birth and
early childhood, 16; baptism of, 18;
with his uncle, 22; with his mother
at Constance, 26; his childhood
days at Arenenberg, 31; his early
education, 33; his way of life at
Arenenberg, 34; his military edu-
cation, 37; sketch of, 38; his af-
fection for his brother, 38; his
sympathy with the Italian in-
surgents, 39; at Rome In 1830, 39;
conducted to the frontier, 40; joins
the Italian insurgents, 41; quits the
revolutionary army, 41; severe ill-
ness of, 41; escapes from Ancona,
42; adventures by the way, 42;
journey through France, 42; at
Fontainebleau, 43; in Paris, 43;
arrives in London, 44; journey
through France with his mother, 45;
at Arenenberg, 48; his horseman-
ship, 49; correspondence with his
father, 50; belief in his destiny, 51;
becomes head of the family, 51;
becomes captain of artillery, 57;
his interest in the affairs of France,
58; his political aspirations, 58;
the Napoleonic legend, 59; pre-
liminaries of the Strasbourg ex-
pedition, 62; chances of success,
63; sets out for Strasbourg, 65; his
arrival and plan of operations, 65;
his reception by the 4th Artillery,
C3443
INDEX
65; made prisoner, 66; sent to the
United States, 68; leaves Lorient,
68; furnished with money by the
King, 68; his arrival in America, 69;
at New York, 70; his stay in
America, 71; receives intelligence
of his mother's illness, 71; his visit
to Washington Irving, 71; leaves
America, 74; arrives in Europe, 74;
refused passports, 74; reaches Ar-
enenberg, 74; at his mother's bed-
side, 74; demand for his expulsion
from Swiss territory, 81; residence
at Gottlieben, 81; decision of the
Swiss diet respecting demand for
his expulsion from Switzerland, 82;
hostile attitude of France and
Switzerland, 82; leaves Arenen-
berg for England, 82; reasons for
going to England, 83; note from
French Government concerning, 83;
his life in England, 84; publishes
the "Idees Napoleoniennes," 86;
decides on the attempt on Boulogne,
87; leaves London, 88; his landing
at Boulogne and reception, 89;
failure of the expedition, 90; taken
prisoner with his companions in
arms, 90; before the Chamber of
Peers, 91; imprisoned at Ham, 91;
disposition of his affairs, 92; his
quarters in the fortress, 96; re-
sumes his studies in prison, 97;
his prison life, 97, 98; his corre-
spondents, 98; retrospect of his
literary work, 98; his intellectual
activity, 99; proposed history of
Charlemagne, 102; condition of
his prison, 102; letter from Sis-
mondi, 103; prison romance, 104;
alleged treaty with the Duke of
Brunswick, 105; refuses to sue for
pardon, 107; escapes from Ham,
108; narrative of his escape, 109;
relations with Miss Howard, no;
fails to obtain passports, 112; his
house in King Street, 113; his
money transactions, 114; reported
poverty of, 114; departure from
London, 119; arrival in Paris, 119;
returns to England, 120; elected
deputy, 120; final departure from
England for France, 120; his elec-
tion for five departments, 120; at
the Hotel du Rhin, 120; his first
speech in the Assembly, 121; the
only representative of the Napole-
onic legend, 122; prospects of his
election as President, 122; popu-
larity of his candidature, 123; pro-
claimed President of the Republic,
124; takes the oath of fidelity, 124;
, majority for his election, 124; in-
stalled in the Elysee, 125; consents
to restriction of universal suffrage,
130; breach with the Assembly,
130; hostility of the Assembly, 131;
removal of General Changarnier,
131; resolves on the coup d'etat,
131; his demeanor on the day of
the coup d'etat, 135; high spirits
of, 135; reception at the Elysee, 135;
the "Rubicon," 135; council of the
coup d'etat, 135; the next morning,
137; his triumphant progress
through the streets of Paris, 137;
on the night of the coup d'etat, 138;
new ministry, 139; insurrectionary
movements against, 140; sudden ap-
pearance among the insurgents, 140;
suppression of the insurrection, 140;
at the Duchess of Hamilton's ball,
141; the coup d'etat approved by
vote of the nation, 141; urged to
assume the Imperial dignity, 143;
the plebiscite, 144; letter to M.
Vieillard, 145; assumes the title of
Napoleon III, 149; see Napoleon
III, Boulogne, Strasbourg, etc.
Napoleon III (Emperor), proclama-
tion of the Empire, 146; English
hostility, 148; Lord Cowley's anec-
dote, 149; recognized by England,
149; and by other Powers, 150;
approaching marriage of, 151; mat-
rimonial ventures, 151; announce-
ment of his engagement to Eugenie
de Montijo, 152; her origin, 152;
his Court, 153; simple habits, 153;
his work during the first year of the
1:3453
INDEX
Empire, 155; the English alliance,
159; the Crimean War, 160; the
Treaty of Paris, 163; visit of him-
self and the Empress to Queen Vic-
toria, 164; reception in London and
at Windsor, 165; invested with the
Garter, 165; birth of an heir, 167;
the Exhibition of 1855, 170; re-
ceives Queen Victoria at Boulogne,
170; conducts her to the tomb of
Napoleon, 172; conversation on
the Orleans family, 173; impres-
sions of the Queen, 173; Congress
of Paris, 177; Madame de Castig-
lione, 178; Orsini's attempt on,
180; compact with Count Cavour,
182; his Italian projects, 183;
treaty with Sardinia, 184; the Aus-
trian ultimatum, 184; his victories
in Italy, 185; proposes an armistice,
186; reasons for his action, 186;
peace of Villafranca, 186; relations
with the Vatican, 189; Thouvenel,
Foreign Minister, 191; on the an-
nexation of Savoy and Nice, 196;
first meeting with Pius Ninth, 197;
visits to Corsica and Algeria, 199,
211; grand reviews of 1855 and
1859, 206; meeting with German
sovereigns, 209; reconstruction of
Paris, 212; his private life at the
Tuileries, 215; rooms in the Tuil-
eries, 216; exposition of 1867, 218;
constitutional reforms, 222; loss
of prestige, 223; commercial treaty
with England, 224; opposition of
the Church, 226; accords free
speech to Legislative Bodies, 228;
change in navigation laws, 229;
visit to M. de Morny's death-bed,
231; confides government to 01-
livier, 232; rise of the Third Party,
232; plebiscite of 1870, 233; the
Syrian expedition, 235; Chinese
war, 237; Mexican expedition, 240;
interviews with Count Bismarck,
246; duped by the German states-
man, 247; attitude on the Schles-
wig-Holstein question, 25 1 ; Mexican
expedition and the American Civil
War, 251; defied by Count Bis-
marck, 252; his love affairs, 253;
effect on the State, 255; growing
influence of the Empress, 255; pro-
posed increase of the army, 258;
illness of, 260, 277; "crowning the
edifice," 261; perplexity of his
position, 261; the HohenzoUern
candidature, 263; precipitancy of
his ministers, 264; the Ems dis-
patch, 266; war determined on,
270; on his reverses in the war, 271;
the condition of his army, 272;
disposition of his forces, 275;
transfers command to Marshal
Bazaine, 276; joined by General
Changarnier at Metz, 276; re-
turns to Chalons, 280; pernicious
influence of the Empress, 281; ne-
gotiations with Italy, 281; follows
the army, 285; at Sedan, 285;
hoists the flag of truce, 286; letter
to King of Prussia, 286; meeting
with Bismarck and the King, 288;
conducted to Wilhelmshohe, 290;
life at Wilhelmshohe, 291; reception
in England, 293; at Chislehurst,
294; his last illness and death, 296;
his obsequies, 297; his remains and
those of his son, 305; his mission,
313; his heredity, 314; his youth
and education, 314; his mother's
influence, 315; his personal at-
tractiveness, 315; his excellence in
sports, 316; his powers as a linguist,
317; his efforts to improve France,
317-318; his personality, 319; his
entourage, 320; his dignity, 321;
his affability, 322; his tenacity, 322;
his lack of decision, 322; his love of
startling effects, 323; his impas-
sibility, 324; his personal appear-
ance, 324; his place in history, 325
Napoleon, Eugene Louis (Prince Im-
perial), his birth, 167; at review of
1859, 207; at Saarbruck, 298;
brought to England after Sedan,
299; at his father's death-bed, 300;
graduates at Woolwich, 300; vol-
1:3463
INDEX
unteers for service in South Africa,
301; killed by Zulus, 302
Napoleon Charles (Prince Royal of
Holand), see Bonaparte
Napoleon Louis (second son of Hor-
tense), see Bonaparte
Napoleon, Prince (cousin of Napoleon
III), see Bonaparte
Navigation laws, French, repeal of,
229
Nicaragua, proposed canal of, loi, 241
Nicholas, Czar, 149, 160, 163
Niel, Marshal, 259
Nigra, Chevalier, 195
North German Confederation, 249
Ollivier, M. Emile, 133, 232, 258
Orsini, Felice, 180
^ Orsi, Joseph, 87, 88, 105
Palikao, Count, 237, 238
Palmerston, Lord, 235
Paris, the grand avenues of, 75;
during the coup d'etat, I39»
"massacre of the boulevards," 140;
during Congress of 1856, 164; the
Universal Exhibition of 1855, 170;
reconstruction of, 212; review of
the troops returned from the
Italian campaign, 206; during the
Exhibition of 1867, 218
Patterson-Bonapartes, 304
Persigny, M. de, career and character
of, 60; his activity in the cause of
Prince Louis, 61; takes part in the
Boulojine expedition, 89; at the
coup d'etat, 135
Pianori, attempt on the life of Na-
poleon, 180
Pius IX, Pope, 189, 197
Plebiscite for the Second Empire, 144;
on the Constitution of May, 1870,
233 .^
Plombieres, compact of, 182
Prince Imperial, see Napoleon, Prince
Eugene Louis
Provisional Government of 1848, 118
Prussia, reorganization of her army,
243; jealousy of Austria, 246; ne-
gotiations with France, 246; pre-
y
paring for war with Austria, 247;
alliance with Italy, 247; war with
Austria, 247; victories of, 247; ad-
mitted to the Paris Congress, 250;
conduct of during Italian war, 251;
the Emperor's sympathy with, 259
Recamier, Mme., 54
Reichstadt, Due de, 50, 51
Reviews of 1855 and 1859, 206, 207
Revolution of 1848, 118
Rome, King of. See Reichstadt, Due
de (Napoleon II)
Rouher, M., 140
Rueil, tombs of the Empress Josephine
and Queen Hortense in the church
of, 25, 47
Russell, Lord John, 204
Russia. See Nicholas, Alexander II,
Crimean War
Saint-Arnaud, General (Marshal), 132,
140
Saint-Cloud, Queen Victoria at, 171
Saint Helena, 35, 93
Saint-Leu, Duchess of. See Hortense,
Queen, Leu, Saint-
Saint-Pol, Count de, and the fortress
of Ham, 95
Sardinia, joins the Anglo-French al-
liance, 161, 176; alliance with
France, 184; the question of dis-
armament, 184; invaded by Aus-
tria, 185; campaign in Lombardy,
185; annexes Tuscany and Mo-
dena, 187. See Italy
Savoy and Nice, cession of, 193, 196
Schleswig-Holstein question. See
Denmark
Schwarzenberg, Prince, 25
Scott, General, 70
Sebastopol. See Crimean War
Sedan, capitulation of, 286
Sismondi, M., letter to Prince Louis
Napoleon, 103
Solferino, battle of. See Italy
Sophie, Queen of Holland, letters to
Napoleon III, 258
Soult, Marshal, 22, 12?
C347II
INDEX
Spain, the Hohenzollern candidature
for the throne of, 262
Steinmetz, General, 275
Stephanie, Grand Duchess, 28, 208
Strasbourg, Prince Louis Napoleon's
expedition against, 65, 68
Talisman of Charlemagne, 84
Talleyrand, M. de, 19, 44
Thelin, C, 71, 216
Thiers, M., 116, 144, 227, 229, 258,
293
Thouvenel, M., 191, 194, 199, 200
Thun, Prince Louis Napoleon at the
camp of, 37
Trochu, General, 280
Tuileries, 215, 310-312
Turgot, Marquis de, 139
United States, Prince Louis Napole-
on's visit to, 69-74 - -'
Vaudrey, Colonel (one of the Stras-
bourg conspirators), 62, 65, 66
Vendome Column, the, 43, 103
Venetia, ceded to Italy, 248
Verhuel calumny, 14-15
Veron, Dr., 133
Victor Emmanuel, 176, 203, 205, 219
Victoria, Queen, visit of the Emperor
and Empress to, 164; invests the
Emperor with the Garter, 165; re-
turn visit to the Emperor, 170; her
description of Paris, 171; enthusi-
asm of her reception, 171; state ball
at Versailles, 172; conversations with
the Emperor, 173; return to Eng-
land and reflections on the visit, 173 ;
on the Emperor's private rooms in
the Tuileries, 216; her suspicions
of the Emperor, 234
Vieillard, M., 37,98, 114, 145
Villafranca, peace of, 186
Voirol, General (commandant of
Strasbourg), 62
Walewski, Comte, 190
Warsaw interview, 203
Webb, General J. W., 70; his ac-
count of Prince Napoleon in
America, 71; negotiates withdrawal
of French troops from Mexico, 242
Wellington, Duke of, 85
Wilhelmshohe, prison of Napoleon III,
290; his life at, 291
William, Prince Regent (King) of
Prussia, visit to Saint-Leu, 23;
meeting with the French Emperor,
210; at Paris during the Exhibition
of 1867, 219; announces the re-
organization of the army, 244; in-
terviews with M. Benedetti, 264;
refuses guarantees demanded by
France, 265; his last words to
Benedetti, 266; meeting with the
French Emperor at Sedan, 290
WimpfFen, General, 284; in capacity
of, 285; summons a council of war,
288; capitulates, 288
Windsor, the Emperor and Empress
of the French at, 165
Zurich, treaty of, 191
C3483
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