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.MEMOIRS
OF
MADAME DE REMUSAT.
1802—1808.
PUBLISHED BY HER GRANDSON,
M. PAUL DE REMUSAT.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY
MRQ. CASHEL HOEY AND MR. JOHN LILLIE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL, I.
LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MABSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1880.
(All rights reserved.)
LONDOK :
I'KINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preface ... ... ... ... ... ... vii
INTRODUCTION.
Portraits and Anecdotes ... ... ... ... l
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
1802-1803.
Family affairs— My first evening at Saint Cloud — General
Moieau — M. de Remusat is made Prefect, and I, Lady of
the Palace — Habits of the First Consul and of Madame
Bonaparte — M. de Talleyrand— The family of the First
Consul — Mesdemoiselles Georges and Duchesnois —
Madame Bonaparte's jealousy ... ... ... 55
CHAPTER II.
1803.
A return to the customs of the Monarchy — M. de Fontanes
— Madame d'Houdetot— Rumours of war — Meeting of
the Corps Legislatif — Departure of the English am-
bassador — M. Maret — Marshal Berthier — Journey of the
First Consul to Belgium — A carriage accident — The
Amiens fetes ... ... ... ... ... 98
iv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
1803. page
Continuation of the journey to Belgium — Opinions of the
First Consul on gratitude, on glory, and on the French
— Ghent, Malines, and Brussels — The clergy— M. de
Roquelaure — Return to Saint Cloud — Preparations for
an invasion of England — Marriage of Madame Leclero —
Journey of the First Consul to Boulogne — Illness of M.
de Remusat — I rejoin him — Conversations with the First
Consul ... ... ... ... ... - 120
CHAPTER IV.
1803-1804.
Continuation of the First Consul's conversations at Bou-
logne — Reading of the tragedy of " Philippe Auguste "
— My new impressions — Return to Paris — Madame Bona-
parte's Jealousy —Winter fetes of 1804 — M. de Fontanes
— M. Fouche — Savary — Pichegru — Arrest of General
Moreau ... ... ... ... ... ... 151
CHAPTER V.
The arrest of Georges Cadoudal — The mission of M. de
Caulaincourt to Ettenheim — The arrest of the Due
d'Enghien — My distress and my urgency with Madame
Bonaparte — An evening at Malmaison — The death of
the Due d'Enghien — Remarkable word.s of the First
Consul ... ... ... ... ... 180
CHAPTER VI.
1804.
The impression produced in Paris by the death of the Due
d'Enghien — The First Consul's efforts to dispel it — Per-
formance at the Opera Horue — Death of Pichegru —
Breach between Bonaparte and his brother Lucien — Pro-
ject of adopting the young Napoleon — Institution of the
Empire ... ... ... ... ... 209
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
TAGE
Effects and causes of the accession of Bonaparte to the Im-
perial throne — The Emperor converses — The grievances
of Madame Murat— The character of M. de Remusat—
The new Court ... ... ... ... ... 236
CHAPTER VIII.
1801.
The trial of General Moreau — Condemnation of MM. de
Polignac, de Riviere, etc. — Pardon of M. de Polignac — A
letter from Louis XVIII. ... ... ... ... 267
CHAPTER IX.
1804.
Plans of invasion — An article in the Moniteur — The great
officers of State — The Ladies-in-Waiting — The anniver-
sary of July 14th — Beauty of the Empress — Projects of
Divorce — Preparations for the Coronation ... ... 286
CHAPTER X.
The Pope's arrival in Paris — The Plebiscitum — The mar-
riage of the Empress Josephine — The coronation fetes
in the Champ de Mars, at the Opera, etc. — The Court
of the Empress ... ... ... ... ... 319
CHAPTER XL
1807.
The Emperor in love — Madame de X . Madame de
Damas — The Empress confides in me — Palace intrigues
— Murat is raised to the rank of Prince ... ... 342
vi CONTENTS.
BOOK II.
1804-1808.
CHAPTER XII.
1805. PAGE
Opening of the Session of the Senate — M. de Talleyrand's
Report — Letter from the Emperor to the King of
England — Union of the Crown of Italy to the Empire
— Madame Bacciochi becomes Princess of Piombino- —
Performance of " Athalie " — The Emperor goes to Italy
— His dissatisfaction — M. de Talleyrand — Prospect of
war with Austria ... ... ... ... 373
CHAPTER XIII.
1805.
Fetes at Verona and Genoa — Cardinal Mauiy— My retired
life in the country — Madame Louis Bonaparte — " Les
t Templiers " — The Emperor's return — His amusements
— The marriage of M. de Talleyrand — War is declared 399
CHAPTER XIV.
1805.
M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouche — The Emperor's speech
to the Senate — The departure of the Emperor — The
bulletins of the Grand Army— Poverty in Paris during
the war — The Emperor and the Marshals — The Faubourg
St. Germain — Trafalgar — Journey of M. de Remusat to
Vienna ... ... ... ... ... 425
PREFACE.
My father's bequest to me of the manuscript of the
Memoirs of my grandmother, who was Lady-in- Wait-
ing to the Empress Josephine, was accompanied by
an injunction that I should publish them. He re-
garded those Memoirs as extremely important to the
history of the first portion of the present century ;
and had frequently contemplated publishing them
himself, but he was always hindered from doing so,
either by his other duties, by his many labours, or
by certain scruples. He deferred the moment at
which the public was to be made acquainted with.
these valuable reminiscences of an epoch — recent,
indeed, but respecting which the present generation
is so ill-informed— precisely because that epoch was
recent, and many persons who had been involved
in its important events were still living. Although
the author of these Memoirs cannot be accused
of intentional malice, she passes judgment upon
persons and things very freely. A certain con-
sideration, which is not always consonant with the
viii PREFACE.
verity of history, is due, not only to the living, but
to the children of the dead. Years passed on, how-
ever, and the reasons for silence diminished with
the lapse of time.
About 1848, my father would perhaps have allowed
this manuscript to see the light ; but the Empire and
the Emperor returned, and then the book might have
been regarded either as a piece of flattery tendered
to the son of Queen Hortense, who is very gently
handled by the writer, or as a direct insult, on other
points, to his dynasty. Circumstances had thus
given a polemical character — an aspect of actuality,
as the phrase goes — to a work which should be
regarded as a candid and impartial history, the
narrative of a remarkable woman, who relates with
simple sincerity that which she witnessed at the
Court and during the reign of the Emperor, and who
records her estimate of him as an individual. In
any case, it is probable that the book would have
been prosecuted, and its publication interdicted. I
may add, lest any should consider these reasons
insufficient, that my father, who lived in the full glare
of publicity, was always willing that his politics, his
opinions, and his personal conduct should be dis-
cussed by the critics and the press, although he
shrank with great reluctance from placing names
which were dear to him before the public. That
they should incur the slightest censure, that they
P BE FACE. ix
should be mentioned with any severity, he dreaded
extremely. He was timid when either his mother or
his son was in question. His love for his mother
had been the " grand passion " of his life. To her he
ascribed all the happiness of his youth, every merit
which he possessed, and all the success of every kind
that had come to him throughout his whole existence.
He derived from her his qualities alike of heart and
mind ; he was bound to her by the tie of close
similarity of mind, as well as by that of filial affec-
tion. Her memory, her letters, her thoughts occu-
pied a place in his life which few suspected, for he
seldom spoke of her, precisely because he was always
thinking of her, and he would have feared imper-
fect sympathy from others in his admiration of
her who was incomparable in his eyes. Who
among us does not know what it is to be united
by a passionate, almost fierce, affection to one who
is no more ; ceaselessly to think of that beloved
one, to question, to dream, to be always under the
impression of the vanished presence — of the silent
counsels ; to feel that the life gone from us is mixed
up with our own life, every day, not only on great
occasions, and in all our actions, whether public or
private ; and yet, that we cannot bear to speak to
others, no, not to our dearest friends, of the ever-
present occupant of our thoughts, that we cannot even
hear the dear name uttered without secret pain and
PREFACE.
disquiet ? Rarely, indeed, can the very sweetness
of praise lavished upon that name by a friend or
a stranger, avail to soothe our deep, mysterious
trouble, or render it endurable.
While, however, a proper and natural sentiment
dictates that Memoirs should not appear until a
considerable time has elapsed, it is equally de-
sirable that their publication should not be delayed
until all trace of the facts related, of the impres-
sions made, or of the eye-witnesses of events, has
passed away. In order that the accuracy, or at
least the sincerity, of Memoirs may not be disputed,
each family should be in a position to substantiate
them by its own recollections ; and it is well that
the generation which reads them should follow that
which they depict. The records they contain are
all the more useful because the times which they
chronicle have not yet become altogether historic.
This is our case at the present moment, and the
great name of Napoleon is still a party battle-cry.
It is interesting to introduce a new element into the
strife which rages around that majestic shade. Al-
though the epoch of the First Empire has been much
discussed by the writers of Memoirs, the inner life
of the Imperial palace has never been handled
freely, and in detail ; and for this good reasons have
existed. The officials or the frequenters of the Court
of Napoleon I. did not care to reveal with entire
PREFACE. xi
unreserve the story of the time they had passed in
his service. The majority, having joined the Legiti-
mist ranks after the Restoration, were humiliated by
the remembrance that they had served the usurper,
especially in offices which are generally held to be
ennobled only by the hereditary greatness of him
who confers them ; and their descendants would
have been disconcerted had such manuscripts been
left to them, by their authors, with the obligation
of giving them to the world. It would, perhaps,
be difficult to find another editor, also a grandson,
who could publish such a work so willingly as I.
The talent of the writer, and the utility of her book,
affect me much more than the difference between
the opinions of my grandmother and those of her
descendants. My father's life, his renown, the poli-
tical creed which is his most precious bequest to me,
absolve me from any necessity for explaining how
and why it is that I do not necessarily adopt all
the views of the author of these Memoirs. On the
contrary, it would be easy to find in this book the
first traces of that liberal spirit which animated my
grandparents in the first days of the Revolution,
and was transmitted to and largely developed in
their son. It was almost being liberal already not to
regard the principles of political liberty with hatred
at the end of the last century, when so many people
were ready to lay crimes which tarnished the Revo-
xii P EFFACE.
lution to the charge of that liberty, and to pass
judgment, notwithstanding the true admiration and
the deep gratitude with which they regarded the
Emperor, on the defects of his character, and the
evils of despotism.
This impartiality was rare indeed among the
contemporaries of the great Emperor, nor have we
met with it in our own time among the servants
of a sovereign far less likely to dazzle those who
approached him. Such a sentiment is, however,
easy at the present day. Events have brought
France into a state in which she is ready to re-
ceive everything with equanimity, to judge every
one with equity. We have observed many changes
of opinion concerning the early years of the present
century. One need not have reached a very ad-
vanced stage of life to recall a time when the legend
of the Empire was accepted even by the enemies
of the Empire ; when it might be admired with
impunity ; when children believed in an Emperor,
who was at once a great personage and a good
fellow, somewhat like the notion of God entertained
by Be'ranger, who indeed turned both God and
Napoleon into heroes for his odes. The most de-
termined adversaries of despotism, those who were
themselves destined to persecution under a Second
Empire, brought back to France the mortal remains
of Napoleon the Great — his " ashes," as, lending an
PREFACE. xiii
antique colouring to a modern ceremony, it was the
fashion to say just then. At a later date, experience
of the Second Empire opened the eyes, even of those
who do not admit passion into politics, to the truth
respecting the First. The disasters brought upon
France in 1870, by Napoleon III., have reminded
us that it was the other Emperor who commenced
that fatal work ; and an almost general malediction
rises to the lips of the nation at that name — Bona-
parte — which was once uttered with respectful en-
thusiasm. So fluctuating is the justice of nations !
It is, however, allowable to say that the justice of
France to-day comes nearer to true justice than
at the time when, swayed by the longing for rest and
the dread of liberty, she surrendered herself to the
passion for military glory. Between these two ex-
tremes how many modes of opinion have arisen,
and gone through their several phases of triumph
and decline ! It will be evident to all readers, I
hope, that the author of the following Memoirs, who
came to the Court in her youth, regarded those
problems which were then and still are in debate,
although General Bonaparte thought he had solved
them, with an entire absence of prejudice. Her
opinions were formed by degrees, like the opinions
of France itself, which was also very young in
those days. She was at first dazzled and aroused
to enthusiasm by the great genius of the age, but
xiv PREFACE.
she afterwards recovered the balance of her judg-
ment by the aid of events, and of contact with
other minds. More than one of our contemporaries
may find in these Memoirs an explanation of the
conduct or the state of mind of some persons of
their kin whose Bonapartism or Liberalism at
different epochs has hitherto appeared inexplicable
to them. And also— not their least merit in my
eyes — these Memoirs will reveal to the reader the
first germs of a remarkable talent, which was de-
veloped in the writer's son to a supreme degree.
A brief summary of the life of my grandmother,
or at least of the period which preceded her arrival
at Court, is indispensable to the reader's comprehen-
sion of the impressions and the remembrances which
she brought thither. My father had frequently pro-
jected a complete biography of his parents, and had,
indeed, sketched out some portions of the work.
He did not leave any of it in a finished condition ;
but a great number of notes and fragments written
by his own hand, concerning the members of his
family, his own youthful opinions, and persons whom
he had known, render it easy to narrate the inci-
dents of my grandmother's early years, the feelings
with which she entered upon her life at Court, and
the circumstances that led her to write her Memoirs.
It is also in my power to add some comments upon
her by her son, which will lead the reader to know
PBEFACi:. xv
and esteem her. It was my father's strong desire
that her readers should be inspired with kindly
sentiments towards the object ot his own devoted
love and admiration ; and I believe that the perusal
of her reminiscences, and especially of her corres-
pondence, which is also to be given to the public
in due time, cannot fail to secure the realization of
his wish.
II.
Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Vergennes
was born on the 5th of January, 1780. Her father
was Charles Gravier de Vergennes, Counsellor to
the Parliament of Burgundy, Master of Requests,*
afterwards Intendant of Auch, and finally Director
of the Vingtiemes.f My great-grandfather was not,
therefore, as it has been frequently but erroneously
stated, the minister who was so well-known as the
Comte de Vergennes. That minister had an elder
brother who was called " the Marquis," the first of
the family, I believe, who bore such a title. This
marquis had quitted the magistracy to enter upon
a diplomatic career. He was acting as minister in
* An official in Fiance, whose duty it was to report petitions
to the Council of State.
The Vingtieme was a tax imposed, under the ancien regime,
on land and house property, and which amounted to a twentieth
of the revenue.
xvi PREFACE.
Switzerland in 1777, when the French treaties with
the Helvetian Republic were renewed. Afterwards
he was given the title of ambassador. His son,
Charles Gravier ae v ergennes, who was born at
Dijon in 1751, married Adelaide Francoise de
Bastard, born about 1760. This lady's family came
originally from Gascony, and a branch of it, whose
members distinguished themselves at the bar and
in the magistracy, was settled at Toulouse. Her
father, Dominique de Bastard, born at Lafitte (Haute
Garonne), had been one of the counsellors to the
parliament, and was the senior counsellor at the
time of his death. His bust is in the Salle des
Illustres in the Capitol. He took an active part in
the measures of Chancellor Maupeou. His daughter's
husband, M. de Yergennes, being a member of the
legal profession, bore, as was the custom under the
old regime, no title. It is said that he was a man
of only ordinary ability, who took his pleasure in
life without much discrimination, but also that he
had good sense and was a useful official. He be-
longed to that administrative school, of which MM.
de Trudaine were the leaders.
Madame de Vergennes, of whom my father con-
stantly spoke, was a person of more individuality of
character ; she was both clever and good. When
he was quite a child, my father was on most con-
fidential terms with her, as grandsons frequently
PREFACE. xvii
are with their grandmothers. In his bright and
kindly nature, his pleasant raillery, which was
never malicious, he resembled her ; and from her he
also inherited his musical gifts, a good voice for
singing, and a quick memory for the airs and
couplets of the vaudevilles of the day. He never
lost his habit of humming the popular songs of the
old regime. Madame de Yergennes had the ideas
of her time — a touch of philosophy, stopping short
of incredulity, and a certain repugnance to the Court,
although she regarded Louis XVI. with affection and
respect. Her intellect, which was bright, practical,
and independent, was highly cultivated ; her con-
versation was brilliant and sometimes very free,
after the manner of the period. Nevertheless, she
gave her two daughters, Claire and Alix,* a strict,
and indeed rather solitary education, for it was the
fashion of that day that parents should see but little
of their children. The two sisters studied in a large,
fireless room, apart from the rest of the house,
under the inspection of a governess, and were in-
structed in what may be called the frivolous arts —
music, drawing, and dancing. They were seldom
taken to see a play, but they were occasionally
indulged with a visit to the opera, and now and
then with a ball.
* Some years later, Mademoiselle Alix de Vergennes married
General de Nansouty.
VOL. I.
.Will
P BE FACE.
M. do Yera;ennes had not desired or foreseen the
Revolution ; but he was neither displeased nor
alarmed bv it. He and his friends belonged to
that citizen class, ennobled by holding public
offices, which passed as the nation itself, and he can-
not have found himself much out of his place
among those who were called " the electors of '89."
He was elected a member of the Council of the
Commune, and made a major in the National
Guard. M. de Lafayette, whose granddaughter
was to become the wife of M. de Vergennes'
grandson, forty years after, and M. Roger Collard,
whom that grandson was to succeed at the French
Academy, treated him like one of themselves.
His opinions were more in accordance with those
of M. Collard than with those of M. de Lafayette,
and the French Revolution soon shot far ahead
of him. He did not, however, feel any inclina-
tion to emigrate. His patriotism, as well as his
attachment to Louis XVI., led him to remain in
France ; and thus he was unable to elude that
fate which, in 1793, threatened all who were in
positions similar to his, and of the same way of
thinking. He was falsely accused by the Admin-
istration of the Department of Saone et Loire,
of intending to emigrate ; his property was placed
under sequestration ; and he was arrested in Paris,
at the house in the Rue Saint Eustache which he
PEE FACE. xix
had inhabited since 1788. The man who arrested
him had no warrant from the Committee of Public
Safety except for the arrest of M. de Yergennes'
father. He took the son because he lived with the
father, and both died on the same scaffold on the
6th Thermidor (24th of July, 1794), three days
before the fall of Robespierre.*
M. de Yergennes' death left his unhappy wife
and daughters unprotected, and in straitened cir-
cumstances, as he had sold his estate in Burgundy
a short time previously, and its price had been con-
fiscated by the nation. There remained to them,
however, one friend, not powerful, indeed, but full
of zeal and good will. This was a young man
with whom M. de Yergennes had become ac-
quainted in the early days of the Revolution,
whose family had formerly been of some import-
ance in the commercial world, and also in the civic
administration of Marseilles, so that the younger
members were taking their places in the magistracy
and in the army, in short, among " the privileged,"
as the phrase then went. This young man, Augustin
Laurent de Re'musat, was born at Yalensoles, in
Provence, on the 28th of August, 17G2. After
having studied, with great credit, at Juilly, the
former seat of that Oratorian College which still
* For the text of the accusation against M. de Yergennes,
see Appendix.
xx . PBEFAOE.
exists near Paris, he was nominated, at twenty years
of age, advocate-general to the Cour des Aides and
the Chambre des Comptes Bennies * of Provence. My
father has sketched the portrait of that young man,
his arrival in Paris, and his life in the midst of the
new society. The following note tells, better than
I could, how M. de Be'musat loved and married
Mademoiselle Claire de Yer^ennes : — -
" The society of Aix, a city in which nobles
dwelt and a parliament assembled, was of the
brilliant order. My father lived a great deal in
society. He was of an agreeable presence, had a
great deal of pleasant humour, fine and polished
manners, high spirits, and a reputation for gallantry.
He sought and obtained all the social success that a
young man could desire. Nevertheless, he attended
sedulously to his profession, which he liked, and
he married, in 1783, Mademoiselle de Sannes, the
daughter of 'the Procureur- General of his Compagnie.
This marriage was dissolved by the death of Madame
de Pe'musat, who died shortly after the birth of a
daughter.
" The Revolution broke out ; the Supreme Courts
were suppressed ; and the settling of their busi-
ness was a serious and important affair. In order
* These obsolete institutions have no English equivalents.
They are, respectively, the auxiliary and superior courts estab-
lished for the examination of the accounts of the receivers of the
money of the State.
PREFACE. xxi
to cany it through, the Cour des Aides sent a
deputation to Paris. My father was one of the
delegates. He has often told me that he had occa-
sion to see M. de Mirabeau, then deputy for Aix, on
the business of his mission ; and notwithstanding
his prejudices as an adherent of the old parliaments,
he was charmed with Mirabeau's pompous politeness.
My father never told me details of his manner of
living, so that I do not know what were the circum-
stances under which he went to the house of my
grandfather Yergennes. He passed through the
terrible years of the Revolution alone and unknown
in Paris, and without any personal mishaps.
Society no longer existed. His company was there-
fore all the more agreeable, and even the more
useful to my grandmother (Madame de Yergennes),
who was involved in great anxieties and misfortunes.
My father used to tell me that my grandfather was
a commonplace sort of man, but he soon learned to
appreciate my grandmother very highly, and she
conceived a liking for him. She was a wise,
moderate-minded woman, who entertained no fancies,
cherished no prejudices, and gave way to no im-
pulses. She distrusted everything in which there
was any exaggeration, and detested affectation of
every kind, but she was readily touched by solid
worth and by genuine feeling ; while her clear-
headedness, and her practical, somewhat sarcastic,
xxii PREFACE.
turn of mind preserved her from everything that
lacked prudence or morality. Her head was never
betra} T ed by her heart ; but as she had suffered from
the neglect of a husband to whom she was superior,
she was disposed to make inclination and choice the
ruling motives of marriage.
" Immediately after the death of my grandfather,
a decree was issued by which all nobles were ordered
to quit Paris. Madame cle Yergennes retired to
Saint Gratien, in the valley of Montmorency, with
her two daughters, Claire and Alix ; and she gave
my father permission to follow her thither. His
society was valuable to them. His bright and
cheerful nature, his amiability, and careful attentions
to those he loved, made him a charming companion.
His taste for a quiet life, the country, and seclu-
sion, and his cultivated mind, exactly fitted him for
a family circle composed of intelligent persons, and
in which education was always going on. I cannot
believe that my grandmother did not early foresee,
and acquiesce in that which was destined to happen,
even supposing there was not at that time any-
thing to read in the heart of her daughter. It is
certain, for my mother says so in several of her
letters, that although she was then only a child, her
prematurely serious turn of mind, her sensitive and
emotional nature, her vivid imagination, and finally,
the combined influences of intimacy, solitude, and
PREFACE. xxiii
misfortune, all united to inspire her with an interest
in my father, which from the first had the charac-
teristics of a lofty and abiding sentiment. I do
not think I have ever met a woman in whom so
much moral strictness was so closely combined with
romantic sensibility as my mother. Her youth, her
extreme youth, was, as it were, steadied by those
fortunate circumstances which bound her to duty by
ties of passion, and procured for her that rare com-
bination, peace of soul and the delightful agitation
of the heart.
" She was not tall, but her figure was elegant and
well-proportioned. She was fair and plump ; indeed,
it used to be feared that she would grow too fat.
Her eyes were fine and expressive, black, like her
hair ; her features were regular, but rather too
large. Her countenance was grave, almost im-
posing ; but the intelligent kindliness of her glance
tempered the gravity of her face very pleasantly.
Her strong, well-trained, fertile intellect had certain
virile qualities, with which the extreme vividness of
her imagination frequently clashed. She possessed
sound judgment and keen powers of observation,
and she was entirely unaffected in her manners and
in her modes of expression, although she was not
without a certain subtlety of ideas. In reality, she
was profoundly reasonable, but she was headstrong ;
her intellect was more reasonable than herself. In
xxiv PEE FACE.
her youth she lacked gaiety, and probably may
have appeared to be pedantic because she was
serious, and affected because she was silent, absent-
minded, and indifferent to almost all the small things
of every-day life. But, with her mother, whose
cheerful moods she sometimes crossed ; with her
husband, whose simple tastes and easy temper she.
never crossed, she was not wanting in archness and
freedom. She had even a kind of gaiety of her own,
which developed as she grew older, when, having*
been very absent and absorbed in her own thoughts
while she was very young, she became more like her
mother. I have often thought that if she had lived
long enough to have shared the home in which I am
writing to-day, she would have been the merriest of
us all."
My father wrote these lines in 1857, at Lahtte
(Haute Garonne), where all those whom he loved
were assembled, and we were gay and happy. In
quoting them I am somewhat outrunning my nar-
rative, for he speaks here of his mother as of a
woman and not. as of a young girl, and Claire de
Yergennes, when she married, early in the year
1796, was hardly sixteen years old.
M. and Mine, de Re'musat— for thus I shall desig-
nate them henceforth, for the sake of clearness in
my story — lived sometimes in Paris, and sometimes
in a modest country house at Saint Gratien, a
P BE FACE. xxv
residence which had two strong recommendations —
the beauty of the landscape and the attraction of
the neighbourhood.
Nearest and pleasantest of neighbours were the
owners of Sannois, with whom Madame de Yer-
gennes was very intimate. Jean Jacques Rousseau's
" Confessions/" Madame d'Bpinay's " Memoires," and
numerous works of the last century as well, have
made the place and the persons known to the world.
Madame d'Houdetot (Sophie de Lalive) had lived
peacefully, in her old age, throughout the troublous
time of the Revolution in that country house, in
the society of her husband and of M. de Saint
Lambert.* Between the famous trio and the young
couple at Saint Gratien so close an intimacy was
formed, that when the house at Saint Gratien was
sold, my grandparents hired one within a shorter
distance of the residence of their friends, and a way
of communication was made between the gardens
of their respective abodes. By degrees, however,
M. de Re'musat got into the habit of going to Paris
more and more frequently ; and as the times became
quieter, he began to think of emerging from ob-
scuritv, and from the narrow circumstances to which
he was reduced by the confiscation of the property
of his wife's father, and the loss of his own place
in the magistracy. As is always the case in
* See Appendix.
xxvi PREFACE.
France, it was of employment in some public func-
tion that he thought. He had no relations with the
Government, or even with M. de Talleyrand, who
was then Foreign Minister, but he directed his efforts
towards that department, and obtained, if not exactly
a place, at least an occupation, which was likely to
lead to a place, in the office of the solicitors to the
Ministry.
Besides the agreeable and intellectual relations
which they maintained with Sannois, M. and Mme.
de Remusat had formed an intimacy no less close,
but which was destined to exercise a much greater
influence over their fortunes, with Madame de Beau-
harnais, who, in 1796, became the wife of Bonaparte.
When her friend had acquired power through her
all-powerful husband, Madame de Yergennes applied
to her on behalf of her son-in-law, who wished to
enter the Council of State or the Administration.
The First Consul, however, or his wife, had a dif-
ferent idea of what ought to be done. The consider-
ation and respect in which Madame de Yergennes
was held, her social station, her name — allied both
to the old regime and to the new ideas — gave a
certain value to the relations of her family with
the consular palace, which at that time had but
little intercourse with Parisian society. Quite un-
expectedly, M. de Remusat was appointed Prefect of
the Palace, in 1802 ; and shortly afterwards Madame
PREFACE. xxvii
de Remusat became Lady-in- Waiting' (Dame pour
Accompagner) to Madame Bonaparte, a title which
was soon changed into the better sounding one of
Lady of the Palace (Dame du Palais).
III.
Persons of the way of thinking of M. and Mme.
de Remusat had no sacrifice to make in casting in
their lot with the new regime. They had neither
the extravagant sentiments of the Royalists nor the
austerity of the Republicans. No doubt their atti-
tude of mind approached more nearly to that of the
Royalists than to that of the Republicans, but their
royalism reduced itself to pious veneration for Louis
XVI. The misfortunes of that unhappy prince
rendered his memory sacred, and his person had
always been regarded in the family of M. de Ver-
gennes with peculiar respect ; but " Legitimacy ''
had not yet been invented, and those persons who
most deeply deplored the fall of the old regime, or
rather that of the ancient dynasty, did not hold
themselves under any obligation to believe that
everything done in France in the absence of the
Bourbons was null and void. Pure and unalloyed
admiration was inspired by the young general who
was re-establishing material, if not moral, order,
with such brilliant success, in a society which was
xxviii PREFACE.
disturbed after a fashion very different from that
of those successive later times, in which so many
worthless " saviours " have turned up.
Public functionaries in those days adhered to the
opinion, which was very natural under the old regime,
that an official is responsible only for what he does,
and not for either the acts or the origin of the Go-
vernment. The sense of " solidarity " does not exist
in absolute monarchies. The parliamentary regime
has happily rendered us more sensitive, and all
honest people now admit the collective responsibility
of all the agents of a Power. One could not now-
adays serve a Government whose tendency and
general policy one did not approve ; but it was
otherwise in former times. My father — who had
more right than any one else to be strict in these
matters, and who, perhaps, owed somewhat of his
extreme political scrupulousness to the difficult
position in which he had seen his parents placed
during his own childhood, between their private
impressions and their official duties — explains these
shades of difference in an unpublished letter to
M. Sainte Beuve, to whom he had communicated
certain biographical details for an article in the
Revue des Deux Mondes.
" It was not as a pis alter, from necessity, weak-
ness, or as a temporary expedient, that my parents
attached themselves to the new regime. Of their free
PREFACE. xxix
will and with entire confidence they united them-
selves with its fortunes. If you add to this, all the
pleasures of an easy and prominent position, to be
stepped into from one of poverty and obscurity, the
curiosity which a Court of so novel a kind inspired,
the incomparable interest of the spectacle of a man
like the Emperor at an epoch when he was irreproach-
able, young, and still amiable, you can easily conceive
the attraction which induced my parents to overlook
all that was in reality opposed to their tastes, their
reason, and even their true interests in this new
position. At the end of two or three years, they
had learned too well that a Court is always a Court,
and that all is not pleasure in the personal service
of an absolute master, even though he may charm
and dazzle. But this did not prevent their being
for a long time well enough satisfied with their lot.
My mother especially was much amused with all
that passed before her eyes, and she was on very
good terms with the Empress, who was extremely
kind and generous, while she enthusiastically ad-
mired the Emperor. He treated my mother with
flattering distinction. She was almost the only
woman with whom he ever talked. My mother
would sometimes say, after the Empire had ceased
to exist,
' Va, je t'ai trop aime pour ne pas te hair ! '
Of the impressions made by the new Court upon
xxx PREFACE.
the new Lady of the Palace we have no record.
The security of the Post-office was very doubtful.
Madame de Yergennes burned all her daughter's
letters, and the correspondence of the latter with
her husband does not commence until some years
later, during the Emperor's journeys in Italy and
Germany. Nevertheless, we can perceive from her
Memoirs, although they do not abound in personal
details, how strange and novel everything seemed
to so very young a woman, transplanted all of a
sudden into this palace, and an eye-witness of the
private life of the glorious chief of an unknown
government. She was very serious, as, when they
are not very frivolous, the young are apt to be, and
much disposed to observation and reflection. She
seems to have had no taste for display, no great
solicitude about external things, no turn for
gossip or the running-down of other people, no
love of talking or display. What was thought
of her at that time ? We cannot tell. We only
know, from certain passages in sundry letters and
Memoirs, that she was considered clever, and that
people were a little afraid of her. Probably,
however, her companions thought her pedantic
rather than dangerous. She had a considerable
" success," especially at first ; for in its early days
the Court was not numerous — there were few dis-
tinctions or favours to be schemed for, rivalry was
P EFFACE. xxxi
not very brisk or ardent. Little by little, however,
this little society became a real Court. Now, courtiers
are always afraid of intellect, and especially of that
disposition, unintelligible to them, which clever
people have to interest themselves in a disin-
terested manner, so to speak, in knowing things
and judging characters, without even thinking of
turning their knowledge to their own advantage.
Courtiers always suspect that every opinion has
a hidden aim. Persons of quick intellect are very
strongly impressed by the spectacle of human affairs,
even when they are merely looking on at them. And
that faculty is the most incomprehensible to those
who do not possess it, and who attribute its effects
to some personal motive, or interested calculation.
They suspect intrigue or resentment every time that
they observe a movement in any direction, but they
have no idea of the spontaneous and gratuitous
action of the mind. Every one has been exposed
to suspicion of this kind, which is more to be
dreaded when a woman, endowed with excessive
activity of imagination, and drawn on by her
intelligence to form opinions on matters out of her
sphere, is in question. Many persons, especially in
that somewhat coarse society, would detect egotism
and pretension in her life and conversation, and
unduly accuse her of ambition.
That her husband was entirely devoid of ambition
xxxii PREFACE.
and free from any disposition to intrigue was evident
to all. The position in which the favour of the
First Consul had placed him did not suit him ; he
would, no doubt, have preferred some laborious
administrative function to one which demanded
nothing of him but suavity and a graceful demeanour.
From the Memoirs, from his own letters, and from
my father's account of him, we gather that M. de
lle'musat was a man of discreet conduct, with keen
wits, and a cheerful and even temper — not at all
a person calculated to make enemies. Indeed, he
would never have had any, but for a certain shyness,
which, little as it seems to harmonize with conversa-
tional powers and an agreeable manner, is never-
theless occasionally allied with them. His taste for
quiet life, and some indolence and timidity of cha-
racter, had impelled him more and more towards
retirement and isolation. Modesty and self-esteem
mingled in his nature ; and without rendering
him insensible to the honours of the post which
he had obtained, they sometimes made him
ashamed of the solemn trifles to which that very
post forced him to devote his life. He believed
himself to be made for better things, but he did
not care for toiling in search of that which did
not come to him of itself. He took but little
pleasure in exercising the art of managing men,
but he was probably not deficient in it. He did
PREFACE. xxxiii
not care to put himself forward, and his indolent
temperament induced him to let things take their
chance. He afterwards became a hard-working
prefect, but he was a negligent and inactive
courtier. He employed his skill simply to avoid dis-
putes, and he discharged his official functions with
quiet good taste. After having had many friends
and entered into numerous relations, he let them
drop through, or at least he never seemed to do
anything to retain them. Unless great care be
taken, ties are loosened, recollections are effaced,
rivalries are formed, and all the chances of ambition
escape one's grasp. M. de Re'musat had no skill
in playing a part, forming connections, bringing
people together, or contriving the opportunities
of fortune or success. He seems never to have
regretted this. It would be easy for me to trace
his motives — to depict his character in detail, and
to narrate his errors, his grievances, and even his
sufferings ; for was he not my grandfather ?
The first severe trial which M. and Mme. de
Re'musat had to endure in their new position was
the murder of the Due d'Engliien. How profound
was the grief which they felt when the man whom
they ardently admired, as the express image of
power and genius, and whom they strove to love,
stained his hands with innocent blood, and they
were forced to recognize that such a deed was
vol. r. c
xxxiv PREFACE.
simply the result of a cold and inhuman calcula-
tion, the following narrative will prove. It will,
indeed, be seen that the impression made by the
crime upon all honest persons at the Court was
even deeper than that which it produced outside
among the general public, who had become almost
indifferent, through custom, to deeds of this kind.
Even among the Royalists, who were absolutely
inimical to the Government, the event caused more
sorrow than indignation, so perverted had the public
mind become in political matters and respecting
State expedients ! Where could the men of that
day have acquired principles ? Was it the old regime
or the Terror which could have instructed them ? A
short time afterwards, the Sovereign Pontiff came
to Paris, and, among the reasons which made him
hesitate to crown the new Charlemagne, it is very
doubtful whether this one was ever even weighed
for a moment. The press was dumb, and men must
be possessed of information before they are aroused
to anger. Let us hope that civilization has now
made so much progress that a repetition of similar
incidents would be impossible. We should, however,
be restrained from optimism on this point by the
remembrance of what we have witnessed in our
own time.
The following Memoirs are an exact record of
the life of the author, and the history of the early
PREFACE.
XXXV
years of the present century. They show us what
changes the establishment of the Empire effected
at the Court, and how life there and its relations
became more difficult and embarrassing ; how by
degrees the prestige of the Emperor declined, in pro-
portion as he misused his great gifts, his power,
and his chances. Mistakes, reverses, and failures
were multiplied ; and at the same time the adhesion
of the earliest admirers of the Emperor became less
fervent, and the manner of serving reflected the
mode of thinking. Two parties, the Beauharnais
and the Bonapartes, disputed the favour of the
sovereign master with each other ; and M. and
Mme. de Remusat were regarded as belonging
to the former, by reason of their natural feelings
and their family relations. Their position was
consequently affected in no small degree by the
downfall and departure of the Empress Josephine.
Everything was, however, much changed, and when
her Lady of the Palace followed her into retire-
ment, the Emperor seems to have made but little
effort to detain Madame de Remusat. Perhaps he
was glad that there was a person of good sense and
quick intelligence to watch over his forsaken and
somewhat imprudent wife ; but it must also be taken
into account that my grandmother's delicate health,
her love of quiet, and her distaste for festivities, had
of late isolated her almost entirely from Court life.
xxx vi PREFACE.
Her husband, wearied and disgusted, gave way
every day more and more to his discontent, and to
his inability to lay himself out to please the great
personages who were either cold or hostile to him.
He neglected his functions as Chamberlain in order to
concentrate himself on his duties as "Administrator
of Theatres," but the latter he fulfilled admirably.
A great part of the actual organization of the
Theatre Francais is due to him. My father, born in
1797, and very young when his father was Chamber-
lain to the Emperor, was remarkable as a child for
his intelligence and his observation, and he retained
a very distinct recollection of that period of dis-
couragement and ennui. He has told me that he
frequently knew his father to return from Saint Cloud
utterly worn out, and tried beyond his patience
by the burthen which the arbitrariness and the ill
temper of the Emperor laid upon all who approached
him. That the child was an eye and ear witness
of his complaints at those moments in which
restraints are cast off, is evident, for, when he had
recovered, he was fain to represent himself as
satisfied with his master and his position, and he
endeavoured to conceal his vexations from his
son. Perhaps he was better calculated to serve
the simple, tranquil, sober, intellectual Bonaparte,
while still a novice in the pleasures of sovereignty,
than the blase and intoxicated Napoleon, who ex-
PREFACE. xxxvii
hibited the Worst taste possible on all State occasions,
and became more exacting every day in the matter
of ceremonial and adulatory observance.
An apparently trifling circumstance, whose
gravity was not at first perceived by those
whom it concerned, increased the difficulties of
the situation, and hurried on the inevitable cata-
strophe. Although the history of the affair is
insignificant, it will not be read without interest, and
it sheds a light upon times now happily far removed
from us, and which Frenchmen, if the lessons of the
past are to avail, will not suffer to return.
The celebrated Lavoisier was very intimate with
M. de Yergennes. He died, as every one knows,
on the scaffold, on the 19th Floreal, year 2 (9th of
May, 1794). His widow, who contracted a second
marriage with M. Eumforcl, a German savant, or
at least a commercial man who affected science-
for he was the inventor of the Prussian stoves, and
of the thermometer that bears his name — remained
on terms of close friendship with Madame de Yer-
gennes and her family. This second marriage had
not been happy, and compassion was, very justly,
excited on behalf of the ill-treated wife, who was
compelled to invoke the protection of the law against
unendurable tyranny and exaction. As M. Eumford
was a foreigner, it was in the power of the police
to procure information respecting him from his own
xxxviii PREFACE.
country, to reprimand him severely, and even to
oblige him to leave France. This, I believe, was
eventually done, and it was at the request of my
grandmother that M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouche
took up the matter. Madame llumford was anxious
to evince her gratitude to those personages, and the
following is my father's account of the results of
her wish : —
" My mother consented to invite Madame Rum-
ford to dinner, to meet M. de Talleyrand and M.
Fouche. Surely, it was not an act of opposition
to entertain the High Chamberlain and the Minister
of Police at her table ! Nevertheless, that meet-
ing — so naturally brought about, the motive of
which was as insignificant as it was harmless, but
which was, I acknowledge, unusual, and never
occurred again — was represented to the Emperor, in
the reports that were sent out to him in Spain,
as a political conference, and the proof of an im-
portant coalition. Although I do not contend that
it was impossible for M. de Talleyrand and M.
Fouche to have taken advantage of the opportunity
of talking together ; or deny that my mother, per-
ceiving the respective inclinations of the two, or put
upon the scent by something that was said by M. de
Talleyrand, might have regarded the occasion as a
favourable one for bringing about an interview
which amused herself at the same time that it was
PREFACE. xxxix
useful to one of her friends, I have not the slightest
reason for supposing that such was the case. I am,
on the contrary, perfectly certain of having heard
my father and mother quote this incident, when
reverting to it some years afterwards, as an instance
of the unexpected importance which may be assumed
by a fortuitous and insignificant matter, and say,
smilingly, that Madame Rumford little knew what
she had cost them.
"They added that the word 'triumvirate' had
been uttered on that occasion, and my mother
had said, laughingly, ' My dear, I am sorry for it ;
but your lot could only be that of Lepidus.'
My father also said that certain persons of the
Court, not enemies of his, had spoken of ' the
Conference' to him as a fact, and said, though
without any hostile intention, ' Now that is all over,
tell us what it was about, and what it was you
really meant to do ? ' "
This narrative gives us an insight into the
life of Courts, and also testifies to the intimacy
of my grandparents with M. de Talleyrand.
Although the former Bishop of Autun does not
seem to have been actuated in this particular in-
stance by that kind of feeling which he habitually
carried into his relations with women, he both
liked and admired Madame de Re'musat. I have
found amusing evidence of his sentiments in a
xl PREFACE.
sketch of her which he wrote, on the official paper
of the Senate, during the leisure time of a sitting
at which he presided as " Vice-Grand Elector,"
probably in 1811.
" Conservative Senate,
" Luxembourg, 29th April.
" I have a fancy for commencing the portrait
of Clari. She is not what the world calls a beauty,
but every one agrees in proclaiming her an agreeable
woman. She is twenty-eight or twenty-nine years
old, and she is neither more nor less blooming than
she ought to be at twenty-eight. Her figure is
good, her carriage is graceful and unaffected. Clari
is not thin ; she is only slight and refined. Her
complexion is not brilliant, but she has the special
charm of looking fairer in proportion as she is in
a stronger light. To describe Clari in a sentence,
let me say that the better she is known the more
amiable she appears.
" Clari has large, black eyes ; their long lids give
her an expression of mingled tenderness and vivacity
which is striking, even when her mind is inactive
and she does not want to express anything. Those
occasions are, however, very rare. Lively ideas,
quick perception, a vivid imagination, exquisite sen-
sibility, and constant kindness are expressed in her
glance. To give an idea of that, it would be necessary
J* UK FACE. xli
to paint the soul which depicts itself in it, and then
Olari would he the most beautiful of "beings. I am
not sufficiently well versed in the rules of drawing
to know whether Clari's features are quite regular.
I believe her nose is too thick ; but I know that she
has beautiful eyes, lips, and teeth. A great part of
her forehead is generally hidden by her hair, and
that is a pity. Her smile is rendered as arch as
it is sweet by her two dimples. Her dress is often
careless, but never in bad taste, and she is scru-
pulously neat. That neatness forms part of the
system of order and decorum from which Clari never
deviates. Clari is not rich, but, as she is moderate
in her tastes and above caprice and fancy, she
despises extravagance, and has never perceived that
her fortune is limited, except when she has been
obliged to restrain her benevolence. But, besides
the art of giving, she has a thousand other ways
of conferring kindnesses. Always ready to com-
mend good deeds, and to pardon faults, her mind
is ever bent on beneficent purposes. Clari affords
us a striking proof of how much superior a kindly
wit is to talent which produces only severity,
criticism, and satire. She is more ingenious in her
manner of passing favourable judgments than ever
was malignity in the art of suggesting the false and
suppressing the true.
" Clari alwavs vindicates those whose part she
xlii PREFACE.
takes, but without offending those whom she con-
futes. Clari has a large and cultivated mind. I
know no one who can talk better than she ; but
she exhibits her superior information only when she
is giving one a proof of her confidence and friend-
ship. Clan's husband knows that he possesses a
treasure, and has the good sense to appreciate it.
Clari is a good mother ; that is her reward. . . ."
The Emperor was displeased at the intimacy be-
tween the Grand Chamberlain and the First Chamber-
lain, and these Memoirs will show that he tried
more than once to set the two at variance. He
even succeeded for a time in alienating them. But
their intimacy was unbroken when M. Talleyrand
fell into disgrace.
It is well known that honourable motives on his
part led to a violent altercation between himself
and his Imperial master in January, 1809, at the
period of the Spanish war, which was the beginning
of the misfortunes of the Empire, and the result
of the Emperor's errors. Both M. de Talleyrand
and M. Fouche predicted, or at least foreboded,
that public disapprobation and suspicion would be
aroused. " Throughout the whole Empire," writes
M. Thiers,'" " hate was beginning to take the place
of love." This change was taking place among
officials as well as citizens. Moreover, M. de Mon-
* "Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire," vol. xi. p. 312.
PREFACE. xliii
tesquiou, a member of the Legislature, who suc-
ceeded M. de Talleyrand in his place at Court, was
a less important personage than the latter, who had
relegated to the First Chamberlain not only the
troublesome portions of the duties of his post, but
also those which were agreeable, and which conferred
distinction. It was a "come-down" to lose a chief
whose own importance enhanced that of the position
next below him. Truly this was a strange time !
Talleyrand, though in disgrace as a Minister, and
as the holder of one of the highest posts at Court,
had not forfeited the Emperor's confidence. The
latter would send for him every now and then, and
freely disclose the secret of the question or the cir-
cumstance on which he desired his advice. These
consultations went on to the end, even at those
times when the Emperor was talking of sending
M. de Talleyrand to Yincennes. In return, M. de
Talleyrand would enter into his views, and advise
him with perfect frankness ; and so this strange
intercourse was carried on as if nothing had hap-
pened between them.
State policy and the greatness of his own position
afforded certain privileges and consolations to M.
de Talleyrand which were beyond the reach of a
Chamberlain or a Lady-in- Waiting. Those who are
in close contact with absolute power do not foresee
that the day must come when their feelings will
xliv PREFACE.
clash with their interests, and some of their duties
with others. They forget that there are principles
of government which must be guarded by constitu-
tional guarantees. They yield to the natural desire
to be " somebodies" in the State, to serve the estab-
lished authority ; they do not study the nature and
conditions of that authority. So long as it exacts
nothing against their conscience, they serve it in
the sphere to which it has appointed them. But the
hour comes when, without exacting anything new
from them, it carries extravagance, violence, and
injustice to such a height that it becomes hard to
obey it, even in things of no moment ; they remain
nevertheless bound to obedience,- while in their
inmost soul they are full of indignation and of pain.
Then comes actual desire for its fall. It may be
said that their course is simple ; let them resign.
But they are afraid of giving rise to rumour and
scandal, of being neither understood nor approved
by public opinion. Moreover, no contract binds the
servants of the State .to the conduct of the chief of
the State. Having no rights they would seem to
have no duties. They are powerless for prevention,
and are therefore not afraid of having to expiate
errors. Thus people thought in the reign of Louis
XIY., and thus they still think in a great part of
Europe; it was thus they thought under Napoleon >
and perhaps they will be of the same opinion again.
PREFACE. xlv
So shameful and wretched a tiling is absolute power !
It paralyzes both the honest scruples and the real
duties of honest men.
IT.
Traces of these convictions, or at least of their
germ, may be discerned in the correspondence of
M. and Mine, de Remusat, and all things contri-
buted to confirm them. Direct communication with
the Emperor became more and more infrequent,
and his charm of manner, though still powerful,
failed to weaken the impression made by his
policy. The divorce of the Empress restored to
Madame de Remusat, in great part, her freedom of
judgment and the disposal of her time. She attached
herself to the Empress Josephine in her disgrace,
a proceeding not calculated to raise her in the
estimation of the Court. Her husband soon after
retired from the post of Keeper of the Wardrobe,
under circumstances which are detailed in these
Memoirs, and the coolness increased. I use the word
" coolness " advisedly, because in certain pamphlets
written against my father it was alleged that his
family had been guilty of grave offences, at which
the Emperor was much incensed. That this was
quite untrue is amply proved by the fact that
although M. de Remusat resigned the post of Keeper
xlvi PREFACE.
of the Wardrobe, he continued to he Chamherlain and
Supervisor of Theatres. He merely gave up the
most troublesome and most onerous of his offices.
No doubt those habits of intimacy and confidence
which arise in common every-day life were weakened
by his relinquishment of that post ; but, on the
other hand, he gained greater freedom and more
frequent intercourse, both with his family and with
society, and, as they were no longer restricted to
the drawing-rooms of the Tuileries and St. Cloud,
both husband and wife were enabled to bring more
clear-sightedness and independence of judgment to
bear upon the policy of their sovereign. Before the
final disasters, aided by the advice and predictions
of M. de Talleyrand, they foresaw the fall of the
Empire, and were enabled to choose between the
possible solutions of the problem then in course of
working out. There was no hope that the Emperor
would be satisfied with a peace more humiliating
to himself than to France, and indeed Europe was
no longer in the humour to gratify him even to
that extent.
The public mind turned naturally towards the
return of the Bourbons, notwithstanding certain
drawbacks which were but dimly apprehended.
The salons of Paris, without being actually Royalist,
were anti-revolutionary. At this epoch the plan of
making the Bonapartes heads of the Conservative
P BE FACE. xlvii
and Catholic party had not yet been invented. To
bring back the Bourbons was a very momentous
resolution, and it was not adopted without struggles,
anxieties, and apprehensions of all sorts. My father
regarded the painful recollection which he always
retained of the attitude of his family in 1814 — a
family so simple, so honourable, and so unpretending
— as a useful political lesson : one which contributed,
as much as his own reflections, to lead him to believe
that simplicity and straightforwardness are the
truest policy. He records in the following words
his own observations on the state of feeling that
prevailed at the fall of the Empire : —
" Policy alone reconciled my family to the Restora-
tion. My father never for a moment regarded his
own acquiescence otherwise than as an absolute
necessity, of which he voluntarily accepted the con-
sequences. It would have been foolish to conceal
the nature of those consequences, or to have en-
deavoured to avoid them altogether ; but they
might have been more firmly resisted, or at least
some effort might have been made to reduce their
proportions. My mother, as a woman, was influenced
by the sentimental aspect of Bourbonism, and allowed
herself to be carried away by the enthusiasm of the
moment. In every great political movement there
is a fascination, unless one is preserved from it by
party spirit ; and this sympathy, combined with the
xlviii PREFACE.
national taste for declamation, lias a large share in
the absurdities which accompany every change of
government. My mother was, however, disgusted
from the first by the exaggeration of sentiment, of
opinion, and of ridiculous language, that prevailed.
The humiliating and insolent side of the Restoration,
as indeed of every restoration, is what shocks me
the most ; but if the Royalists had not gone too far,
a great deal would have been overlooked. The
things of this kind which sensible folk will endure
a,re surprising. I still feel grateful to my father
because, in the very first days of the Monarchy,
he somewhat sharply rebuked a person who was
advocating in our salon the extreme doctrines of
Legitimacy. Nevertheless, we had to accept this
Legitimacy under a more politic form. The word
itself was, I believe, sanctioned by M. de Talleyrand,
and thence ensued an inevitable train of consequences
which speedily developed themselves/'
This is not merely an historical judgment of my
father's ; at that time he was beginning, notwith-
standing his youth, to think for himself, and to
guide, or at least to influence, the political opinions
of his parents. As I shall soon be in a position to
publish the reminiscences of his youth, I will not
dwell upon them here. I must, however, mention
him in connection with the Memoirs of his mother,
as he had more to do with them than might be
supposed.
PBEFACE. xlix
I have not hitherto alluded to one of the most
characteristic traits of her whose life I have under-
taken to narrate. She was a tender, careful, and
admirable mother. Her son Charles, born on the
24th Ventose, year 5 (14th of March, 1797), cheered
her from his childhood with the hopes which he
afterwards realized, and, as he grew in years and
intelligence, aroused in her aspirations similar to his
own. Her second son, Albert, was born five years
later than Charles, and died in 1830. His faculties
were never completely developed ; he remained a
child until the end. She had tender compassion for
him, and lavished upon him care so unceasing and
devoted, that it was admirable even in a mother.
But her great love was for her first-born, and
never was filial or maternal affection founded on
more striking resemblance in mind and character.
Her letters are full of her maternal tenderness. The
following is addressed to her beloved son, when he
was just sixteen. I think it will convey a favour-
able impression of both, and throw a light on the
history of their after lives : —
" Vichy, 25th July, 1813.
" I have been suffering from a severe sore throat
for the last few days, and time has hung heavily,
my child ; to-day I feel a little better, and I am
going to amuse myself by writing to you. Besides,
vol. i. d
PREFACE.
you have been scolding me for my silence, and re-
proaching- me too often with your four letters. I
will no longer be behindhand with you, and this
letter, I think, will entitle me to scold you in my
turn, if an opportunity offers. My dear boy, I follow
you step by step in all your studies, and I see you
are full of work during this month of July, which I
am passing so monotonously. I know pretty w T ell,
too, all you say and do on Thursdays and Sundays.
Madame de Grasse * tells me of your little talks,
and amuses me with it all. For instance, she told
me that the other day you had praised me to her,
and said that when you and I talk together, you
are sometimes tempted to think me too clever.
But you need not be checked by any fear of that,
for you, my dear child, have at least as much wit as
I. I tell you so frankly, because that gift, although
an advantage, needs many other things to support
it, and therefore you may take my words rather as
warning than as praise. If my conversation with
you often takes a serious turn, you must impute
it to the fact that I am your mother, and have not
relinquished that role ; to my discovery of some wise
* Madame de Grasse was the widow of an emigre, who lived
in my grandmother's house and was very intimate with her.
Her son, Count Gustave de Grasse, was a lieutenant-colonel in
the Royal Guard, and lived on terms of the closest friendship
with my father until his death in 1859, notwithstanding the
wide dissimilarity of their opinions arid habits.
P BE FACE. li
thoughts in my own head, and wanting to put them
into yours ; and to my desire to make good use of
the quickly passing time that will soon bear you far
from me. When I need no longer advise and warn
you, we shall talk together quite at our ease,
interchanging our reflections, our remarks, and our
opinions on everything and everybody quite frankly,
wuthout fear of vexing one another ; in fact, with all
that sincere and intimate friendship which, I believe,
may perfectly well exist between a mother and a son.
There are not so many years between us as to prevent
me from sympathizing with your youth, or sharing
some of your feelings. Women's shoulders wear
young heads for a long time, and in the head of a
mother one side is always just the same age as her
child's.
" Madame de G-rasse told me also that you want
to amuse yourself during these holidays by writing
some of your notions on various subjects. I think
you are right. It will be interesting for you to
read them again in a few years. Your father would
say I want to make you a scribbler like myself —
for he does not stand on ceremony with me — but I
do not care. There can be no harm in setting down
one's thoughts in writing for one's self alone, and
I think both taste and style may be formed in this
way. It is just because your father is lazy, and only
writes one letter a week ; true, it is a very pleasant
lii PREFACE.
one, but still that is not much. . . . But there ! I
must not run on about him.
" During my retirement I thought I should like
to draw your portrait, and if I had not had a sore
throat, I would have tried to do so. While I was
thinking it over, I found that in order not to be
insipid, and, indeed, to be correct, I should have to
point out a few faults, and I do believe the hard
words have stuck in my throat and given me quinsy.
While planning this portrait, I assure you I took
you to pieces very carefully, and I found many good
qualities well developed, a few just beginning to
bud, and then some slight congestions which hinder
certain others from exhibiting themselves. I beg
your pardon for using a medical expression ; it is
because I am in a place where nothing but con-
gestions and the way to get rid of them is talked
about. I will explain all this some day when I am
in the vein, but to-day I will touch only on one point ;
your behaviour to others. You are polite — more so,
indeed, than is customary at your age ; you have a
pleasant manner in addressing people ; and you are
a good listener. Do not let this last quality slip.
Madame de Se'vigne says that an appreciative silence
is a mark of superior sense in young people. ' But
mother, what are you driving at? You promised
to point out a fault, and hitherto I see nothing like
one. A father's blow turns aside. Let us come to
PREFACE. liii
the fact, my dear mother.' So I will, my son, in one
moment ; you forget that I have a sore throat, and
can only speak slowly. Well, then, you are polite.
When you are asked to do something which will
gratify those you love, you consent willingly ; but
when an opportunity of so doing is merely pointed
out to you, natural indolence and a certain love of
self makes you hesitate ; and, when left to yourself,
you do not seek such opportunities, for fear of the
trouble they might entail. Can you understand
these subtle distinctions ? While you are still partly
under my authority, I can influence and guide you ;
but you will soon have to answer for yourself, and I
should wish you to think a little about other people,
notwithstanding the claims of your own youth, which
are naturally engrossing. I am not sure that I have
expressed myself clearly. As my ideas have to find
their way through a headache and all my bandages,
and for the last four days I have not sharpened
my wits by contact with those of Albert, the quinsy
may possibly have got into my discourse.
" You must make the best of it. At any rate, it
is a fact that you have polished manners, in other
words, you are kind. Kindness is the politeness of
the heart. But enough. . . .
$£ 3f£ ^K *F ^W
" Your little brother makes a good figure at the
village dances. He has become quite a rustic. In
liv PREFACE.
the morning he fishes and takes long walks about
the country. He understands more about trees and
agriculture than you do. In the evening he shines
among our big Auvergne shepherdesses, to whom he
shows off all those little airs and graces which you
know so well.
" Adieu, my dear son ; I leave off because I have
come to the end of my paper. Writing all this to
you relieves me a little of my ennui, but I must not
quite overwhelm you by pouring out too much at a
time. My respects to Griffon, and best compli-
ments to M. Leclerc."*
In this confidential strain the mother and the son
carried on their correspondence. One year later, in
1814, the son left school, destined to fulfil all the
promise of his childhood, and to hold thenceforth a
more important place in the life and occupations of
his parents. His influence soon began to tell on
theirs, the more so that there existed no absolute
divergence in their opinions. But he was more
positive and bolder than his parents, because he was
not fettered by the ties of old memories and old
affection. He felt no regret for the Emperor, and
although deeply moved by the sufferings of the
* Griffon was a little dog. M. Leclerc was a member of the
Institute and Dean of the Faculty of Letters. He died a few
years ago. At that time he was a professor at the Lycee
Napoleon, and gave lessons to my father.
PREFACE. lv
French army, he witnessed the fall of the Empire,
if not with joy, at least with indifference. To him,
as to most talented young men of his time, it came
as an emancipation. He eagerly embraced the first
notions of constitutional order, which made their
reappearance with the Bourbons. But he was struck
by the ridiculous side of Royalist society. Many
of the revived fashions and phrases * seemed to
him to be mere foolery ; he was disgusted by the
abuse lavished upon the Emperor and the men of
the Empire, but neither his parents nor he, although
still a little suspicious of the new order of things,
were seriously opposed to it. Neither the personal
vexations, which resulted from it, such as the de-
privation of employment, the necessity of selling to
great disadvantage a library which was the delight
of my grandfather, and which lives in the recollection
of lovers of books, nor a thousand other annoyances
could prevent their experiencing a sense of relief.
They almost verified a celebrated saying of the
Emperor, who, when at the zenith of his power, once
asked those surrounding him what would be said after
his death. They all hastened to answer in phrases
of compliment or of flattery. But he interrupted
them by exclaiming, " What ! you are at a loss
to know what people will say ? They will say
y nature inclined to everything
good. His mind is cultivated, and if diplomacy had not drawn
him away from the profession of letters, he would have made
a respectable, if not a distinguished, figure in literature. His
talent chiefly lies in a singular facility for reproducing the ideas
of others, and he has exercised it so largely in editing the flloni-
teur. and in other work of the same nature, that his whole mind
is, as it were, absorbed by it. It was the Abbe Sieyes who
originally procured the post of Secretary to the Consulate for
him. At first he failed to please the First Consul, precisely on
account of those qualities which since then have endeared him
to Bonaparte — his obsequiousness, his eagerness, his propensity
to merge his own mind in that of another ; but by degrees, as
the First Consul absorbed authority, and became accustomed
to rule alone, he grew reconciled to the Secretary of the Con-
sulate. The despotism of the one and the favour of the other
grew in the same proportion." (" Memoires du Comte Beugnot,"
vol. ii. p. 316.) Baron Ernouf has recently published an apology
for the Due de Bassano, under the title " Maret, Due e'e Bassano."
These several estimates, which are different without being con-
tradictory, show tliat the influence of the Due de Bassano in the
Imperial councils was not beneficial to the common weal. He
was apparently one of those who think that a disagreeable dis-
closure or unwelcome advice is more hurtful to the adviser than
useful to the recipient. Such people are careful rather to foster
the weaknesses than to consider the actual situation of their
masters, and to serve their passions at the expense of their in-
terests. These flatterers are, doubtless, detestable, but the source
of their crimes is absolute power. It is because the monarch is
112 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
A treaty of peace between England and France
was being arranged at Amiens, in the spring of
1810. Certain difficulties which had arisen between
the plenipotentiaries had given rise to some dis-
quiet, and Bonaparte was anxiously expecting
despatches. The courier arrived, and brought the
much-desired signature to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs. M. de Talleyrand put it in his pocket
and went to the First Consul. He appeared before
him with that immovable countenance which he
wears on every occasion. For a whole hour he
remained with Bonaparte, transacting a number of
important matters of business, and when all was
done, " Now," said he, smiling, " I am going to give
you a great pleasure ; the treaty is signed, and here
it is." Bonaparte was astounded at this fashion of
announcing the matter. " Why did you not tell
me at once ? " he demanded. " Ah," replied M. de
Talleyrand, " because then you would not have
listened to me on any other subject. When you are
pleased, you are not always pleasant." The self-
control displayed in this reticence struck the
Consul, " and," added M. de Talleyrand, " did not
make him angry, because he saw immediately how
far it might be made useful to himself."
Another person, who was really more attached to
all-powerful that it is dangerous to displease him. All mean-
ness, as well as all justice, emanates from the king. — P. E.
MARSHAL BERT HI EB. 113
Bonaparte, and quite as demonstrative in his admira-
tion for him as M. Maret, was Marshal Berthier,
Prince of Wagram. He had served in the campaign
in Egypt, and had become strongly attached to
his General. Berthier's friendship for him was so
great that, little as Bonaparte valued anything
coming from the heart, he could not but respond
to it, in some degree. The sentiment was, how-
ever, very unequally divided between them, and
was used by the powerful one of the two as a
means of exaction. One day, Bonaparte said to M.
de Talleyrand, " I really cannot understand how a
relation that bears some appearance of friendship has
established itself between Berthier and me. I don't
indulge in useless sentiments, and Berthier is so un-
interesting that I do not know why I should care at
all about him, and yet, when I think of it, I believe
I really have some liking for him." "If you do care
about him," replied M. de Talleyrand, " do you know
the reason why ? It is because he believes in you."
These anecdotes, which I set down as they recur
to my memory, did not come to my knowledge till
a much later period, when my greater intimacy with
M. de Talleyrand revealed to me the chief traits in
Bonaparte's character. At first I was completely
deceived by him, and was very happy to be deceived.
I knew he had genius, I saw that he was disposed to
make amends for the passing wrongs he did his wife,
VOL. I. i
114 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
and I remarked his friendship for Berthier with
pleasure ; he caressed little Napoleon in my presence,
and seemed to love him. I regarded him as acces-
sible to kindly natural feelings, and my youthful
imagination arrayed him in all those qualities which
I desired to find in him. It is also only just to
admit that excess of power intoxicated him ; that
his passions were increased in violence by the facility
with which he was enabled to gratify them ; but
that while he was young and as yet uncertain of
the future, he frequently hesitated between the open
exhibition of vice and, at least, the appearance of
virtue.
After the declaration of war with England, some-
body (I do not know who) suggested to Bonaparte
the idea of an invasion by means of flat-bottomed
boats. I cannot say with certainty whether he
really believed in this plan, or whether he only used
it as a pretext for collecting and increasing his
army, which he assembled at the camp at Boulogne.
So many people maintained that a descent upon
the shores of England in this way was practicable,
that it is quite possible he may have thought fate
had a success of the kind in store for him. Enormous
works were begun in our ports, and in some of the
Belgian towns ; the army was marched to the coast,
and Generals Soult and Ney were sent to command it
at different points. The idea of a conquest of England
THE PROPOSED INVASION OF ENGLAND. 115
fired the general imagination ; and even the English
themselves began to feel uneasy, and thought it
necessary to make some preparations for defence.
Attempts were made to excite the public mind
against the English by dramatic representations ;
scenes from the life of William the Conqueror
were represented at the theatres. The conquest of
Hanover was easily effected, but then came the
blockade of our ports that did us so much harm.
During the summer of this year (1803) a journey
to Belgium was arranged, and Bonaparte resolved
that it should be made with great magnificence. He
had little trouble in persuading Madame Bonaparte
to take with her everything that could make an
impression on the people to whom she was about to
exhibit herself. Madame Talhouet and I were selected
to accompany her, and the Consul gave me 30,000
francs for those expenses which he prescribed.
He left Paris on the 24th June, with a cortege of
several carriages, two generals of his guard, his
aides-de-camp, Duroc, two Prefects of the Palace
(M. de Remusat and a Piedmontese named Salma-
toris), and commenced the journey in great pomp.
Before we set out, we went for one day to Morte-
fontaine, an estate which had been purchased by
Joseph Bonaparte. All the family were assembled
there, and a strange scene occurred.
We passed the morning in walking about the
116 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
gardens, which are beautiful. When dinner hour
approached, a question arose about the placing of
the guests. The elder Madame Bonaparte was at
Mortefontaine, and Joseph told his brother that he
intended to take his mother in to dinner, and to place
her on his right hand, while Madame Bonaparte was
to sit on his left. The First Consul took offence at
this arrangement, which placed his wife in the
second rank, and insisted that his brother should
transfer their mother to that position. Joseph
refused, and no argument could induce him to give
way. When dinner was announced, Joseph took his
mother's hand, and Lucien escorted Madame Bona-
parte. The First Consul, incensed at this opposition
to his will, hurriedly crossed the room, took the arm
of his wife, passed out before every one, seated her
beside himself, and then, turning to me, he ordered
me to place myself near him. The company were all
greatly embarrassed, I even more so than the others ;
and Madame Joseph Bonaparte,* to whom some
politeness was due, found herself at the bottom of
the table, as if she were not one of the family.
The stiffness and gloom of that dinner-party
may be easily imagined. The brothers were angry,
Madame Bonaparte was wretched, and I was ex-
cessively distressed by my prominent position.
* Joseph Bonaparte had married Mademoiselle Julia Clary,
the daughter of a merchant at Marseilles. — P. E.
A FAMILY DINNER. 117
During the dinner Bonaparte did not address a
single member of his family ; he occupied himself
with his wife, talked to me, and chose this opportune
occasion to inform me that he had that morning
restored to my cousin, the Vicomte de Vergennes,
certain forests which had long been sequestrated on
account of his emigration, but which had not been
sold. I was touched by this mark of his kindness,
but it was very vexatious to me that he selected
such a moment to tell me of it, because the grati-
tude which I would otherwise have gladly ex-
pressed, and the joy which I really felt, made
me appear to the observers of the little scene to
be talking freely to him, while I was really in a
state of painful constraint. The remainder of the
day passed drearily, as may be supposed, and we left
Mortefontaine on the morrow.
An incident happened at the beginning of our
journey which increased the regard I then enter-
tained for Bonaparte and his wife. He travelled
with her and one of the generals of his guard,
and his carriage was preceded by one containing
Duroc and three aides-de-camp. A third carriage
was occupied by Madame Talhouet, M. de Re'musat,
and myself; two others followed. Shortly after
we had left Compiegne, where we visited a
military school on our way to Amiens, our carriage
was suddenly upset. Madame Talhouet's head was
118 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
badly cut ; M. de Remusat and I were only bruised.
With some trouble we were extricated from the
carriage. Bonaparte, who was on in front, was told
of this accident ; he at once alighted from his car-
riage, and with Madame Bonaparte, who was much
frightened about me, hastened to join us at a cottage,
whither we had been taken. I was so terrified, that,
as soon as I saw Bonaparte, I begged him with tears
to send me back to Paris ; I already disliked travel-
ling as much as did the pigeon of La Fontaine, and
in my distress I cried out that I must return to my
mother and my children.
Bonajjarte said a few words intended to quiet
me, but finding that he could not succeed, he took
my arm in his, gave orders that Madame Talhouet
should be placed in one of the other vehicles,
and after satisfying himself that M. de Re'musat
was none the worse for the accident, he led me,
frightened as I was, to his own carriage, and made me
get in with him. We set off again, and he took
pains to cheer up his wife and me, telling us, laugh-
ingly, to kiss each other and cry, " because," he said,
" that always does women good." After a while his
animated conversation distracted my thoughts, and
my fear of the further journey subsided. Madame
Bonaparte having referred to the grief my mother
would feel if any harm happened to me, Bonaparte
questioned me about her, and appeared to be well
THE AMIENS FETES. 119
aware of the high esteem in which she was held
in society. Indeed, it was largely to this that
his attention to me was due. At that period,
when so many people still held back from the
advances he made to them, he was greatly gratified
that my mother had consented to my holding a
place in his household. I was, indeed, in his eyes
almost a great personage, whose example would,
he hoped, be largely followed.
On the evening of the same day we arrived at
Amiens, where we were received with enthusiasm
impossible to describe. The horses were taken from
the carriage by the inhabitants, who insisted on
drawing it themselves. I was the more affected by
this spectacle, as it was absolutely novel to me.
Since I had been of an age to observe what was
passing around me, I had witnessed only scenes of
terror and woe, I had heard only sounds of hate and
menace ; and the joy of the inhabitants of Amiens,
the garlands that decorated our route, the triumphal
arches erected in honour of him who was represented
on all these devices as the saviour of France, the
crowds who fought for a sight of him, the universal
blessings which could not have been uttered to order
— the whole spectacle, in fact, so affected me that I
could not restrain my tears. Madame Bonaparte
wept ; I even saw Bonaparte's own eyes glisten for a
moment.
120 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
CHAPTER III.
1803.
Continuation of the journey to Belgium — Opinions of the First
Consul on gratitude, on glory, and on the French — Ghent,
Malines, and Brussels — The clergy — M. de Boquelaure —
Eeturn to Saint Cloud — Preparations for an invasion of
England — Marriage of Madame Leclerc — Journey of the First
Consul to Boulogne — Illness of M. de Bemusat — I rejoin him
— Conversations with the First Consul.
On Bonaparte's arrival in a town, the Prefect of
the Palace was directed to summon the various
persons in authority, that they might he presented
to him. The Prefect, the Mayor, the Bishop, the
Presidents of the Tribunals, then read an address
to him, and, turning to Madame Bonaparte, made
her a little speech also. According to the mood
he happened to he in, Bonaparte would listen to
these discourses to the end, or interrupt them by
questioning the deputation on the nature of their
respective functions, or on the district in which they
exercised them. He rarely put questions with an
appearance of interest, but rather with the air of
a man who desires to show his knowledge, and
wants to see whether he can be answered. These
" THE SHADOW OF A KINGLY CROWN:' 121
speeches were addressed to the Republic ; but any
one who reads them may see that in almost every
respect they might have been addressed to a
sovereign. Indeed, the Mayors of some of the
Flemish towns went so far as to urge the Consul
to " complete the happiness of the world by
exchanging his precarious title for one better
suited to the lofty destiny to which he was called."
I was present the first time that happened, and I kept
my eyes fixed upon Bonaparte. When these very
words were uttered, he had some difficulty in check-
ing the smile that hovered about his lips, but, put-
ting strong control upon himself, he interrupted the
orator, and replied, in a tone of feigned anger, that
it would be unworthy of him to usurp an authority
which must affect the existence of the Republic.
Thus, like Csesar, he repudiated the crown, though
perhaps he was not ill pleased that they were
beginning to offer it to him. The good people of
the provinces we visited were not very far wrong ;
for the splendour that surrounded us, the sumptu-
ousness of that military yet brilliant Court, the
strict ceremonial, the imperious tone of the master,
the submission of all about him, and, finally, the
expectation that homage should be paid the wife
of the first magistrate, to whom the Republic cer-
tainly owed none — all this strongly resembled the
progress of a king.
122 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
After these audiences, Bonaparte generally rode
out on horseback ; he showed himself to the people,
who followed him with acclamations ; he visited the
public monuments and the manufactures, but always
in a hurried way, for he could never get over that
precipitation which gave him an ill-bred air. After-
wards he would give a dinner, or attend a fete which
had been prepared for him, and this was always the
most wearisome part of the business to him. " I am
not made for pleasure," he would say, in a melancholy
tone. Then he would leave the town, after having
received petitions, attended to complaints, and
distributed alms and presents. He was ac-
customed, when on a journey of this sort, to
ascertain at each town what public establishments
were wanting there ; then he would order them
to be founded, in commemoration of his visit,
and the inhabitants would load him with bless-
ings for this munificence. But shortly afterwards
a mandate from the Minister of the Interior would
arrive, drawn up in this form : "In conformity
with the gracious permission of the First Consul "
(later it was "the Emperor"), "you are directed,
citizen Mayors, to have such and such a building
constructed, taking care that the expenses shall be
defrayed by the funds of your Commune." Thus these
towns would suddenly find themselves obliged to
alter the disposition of their funds, very often at
A SPLENDID "PROGRESS." 123
a moment when they were not sufficient for necessary
expenses. The Prefect took care, however, that the
orders were executed, or at least the most useful
portion of them ; and it must be admitted that, from
one end of France to the other, everything was being-
embellished, and that the general prosperity was
such that new works, even of the most important
nature, might safely be undertaken everywhere.
At Arras, at Lille, and at Dunkirk, we had
similar receptions ; but it seemed to me that the
enthusiasm cooled down when we got beyond
the former boundaries of France. At Ghent espe-
cially, we detected some coldness in the popular
greeting. In vain did the authorities endeavour to
stir up the zeal of the inhabitants ; they were curious,
but not enthusiastic. Bonaparte was a little annoyed,
and inclined to proceed without delay ; he thought
better of this, however, and said to his wife, in the
evening, " These people are bigoted and under the
influence of the priests ; we must remain a long time
at church to-morrow, and propitiate the clergy by
some favour. In this way we shall regain lost
ground." Next day he attended at High Mass with
every appearance of devoutness ; he talked to the
Bishop, whom he completely captivated, and by
degrees he obtained the popular acclamations he
desired. At Ghent he met the daughters of the
Due de Villequier, formerly one of the four Gentle-
124 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
men of the Chamber to the King. These ladies were
nieces of the Bishop, and Bonaparte restored to them
the beautiful estate of Yillequier, with its large
revenues. I had the happiness of contributing to
that restitution, by urging it with all my might, both
upon Bonaparte and upon his wife. The two amiable
young ladies have never forgotten this to me.
When I assured Bonaparte of their gratitude,
" Ah," said he, " gratitude ! That is a poetic
word which has no meaning in times of revolution,
and what I have just done would not prevent your
friends from rejoicing, if some Royalist emissary
should succeed in assassinating me during this
journey." My face betrayed the surprise with which
I heard him, and he continued, " You are young ;
you do not know what political hatred is. It is
like a pair of spectacles, one sees everybody, every
opinion, or every sentiment only through the glass
of one's passions. Hence, nothing is bad or good
of itself, but simply according to the party to which
one belongs. In reality, this mode of seeing is con-
venient, and we profit by it ; for we also have our
spectacles, and if we do not see things through
our passions, we see them through our interests."
" But," I replied, " where, in such a system, do
you place the applause which you do care to win ?
For what class of men do you spend your life in
great and often perilous enterprises ? "
BONAPARTE'S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. 125
" Ah," he answered, " one cannot avoid one's
destiny ; he who is called cannot resist. Besides,
human pride finds the public it desires in that ideal
world which is called posterity. He who believes
that, a hundred years hence, a fine poem, or even a
line in one, will recall a great action of his own,
or that a painting will commemorate it, has his
imagination fired by that idea. The battle-field has
no dangers, the cannon roars in vain ; to him it is
only a sound which, a thousand years hence, will
carry a brave man's name to the ears of our distant
descendants."
" I shall never be able to understand," I continued,
" how a man can expose himself to every sort of
danger for fame's sake, if his own inward sentiment
be only contempt for the men of his own time."
Here Bonaparte interrupted me quickly. " I do
not despise men, madame — that is a thing you must
never say ; and I particularly esteem the French."
I smiled at this abrupt declaration, and as he
guessed why, he smiled also ; and approaching me
and pinching my ear, which was, as I have already
said, a trick of his when he was in a good humour,
he repeated, " Do you hear, madame ? you must
never say that I despise the French."
From Ghent we went to Antwerp, where we were
received with a special ceremony. On occasions
of visits from kings and princes, the people of Ant-
126 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
werp are in the habit of parading through their
streets a giant, who never makes his appearance
except on such solemn festivals. Although we
were neither king nor prince, we were obliged to
yield to the people's wish in this matter, and it
put Bonaparte in good humour with the town of
Antwerp. He occupied himself much while there
with the important extension which he designed to
give its harbour, and gave orders for the commence-
ment of the great works which have since been
executed there.
On the way from Antwerp to Brussels we stopped
at Malines for a few hours, and there we saw the
new Archbishop, M. de Roquelaure.* He was
Bishop of Senlis under Louis XVI., and had been
the intimate friend of my great-uncle, the Count
de Vergennes. I had seen a great deal of him in
my childhood, and I was glad to meet him again.
Bonaparte talked to him in a very insinuating
manner. At this period he affected great esteem
for the priests, and care for their interests. He
knew how steadily religion supports royalty, and
he hoped that, through the priests, he might get the
people taught that catechism which we have since
* M. de Eoquelaure had been Bishop of Senlis and Almoner
to the King. He became Archbishop of Malines in 1802. The
Emperor replaced him in 1808 by the Abbe de Pradt. He was
a member of the Academie Francaise, and died in 1818. He
did not belong to the family of the Due de Roquelaure. — P. E.
BRUSSELS EN FETE. 127
seen, in which all who did not love and obey, the
Emperor were threatened with eternal condemnation.
For the first time since the Revolution, the clergy
found the Government occupying itself with their
welfare, and giving them rank and consideration.
They showed themselves grateful, and were useful
to Bonaparte until the moment came when he en-
deavoured to impose his ever-growing despotism on
their consciences, and the priests had to choose
between him and their duty. At this time, how-
ever, the words, " He has re-established religion," *
were in every pious mouth, and told immensely in
his favour.
Our entry into Brussels was magnificent. Several
fine regiments awaited the First Consul at the gate,
where he mounted his horse. Madame Bonaparte
found a superb carriage, presented to her by the
city, awaiting her ; the streets were lavishly de-
corated, cannon were fired, the bells were rung ; the
numerous clergy were assembled in great pomp on
the steps of all the churches ; there was an immense
crowd of the population, and also many foreigners,
and the weather was beautiful. I was enchanted.
Our stay in Brussels was a succession of brilliant
fetes. The French Ministers, Consul Lebrun, the
* Bonaparte, knowing that in Belgium he would have to
deal with religious people, took Cardinal Caprara with him.
The Cardinal was extremely useful.
128 ME MO IBS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
Envoys from the foreign Courts who had business to
arrange, came to meet us there. At Brussels I heard
M. de Talleyrand reply in an adroit and nattering
manner to a question suddenly put to him by
Bonaparte ; who asked him how he had so rapidly
made his great fortune ? " Nothing could be more
simple," replied M. de Talleyrand ; " I bought stock
on the 17th Brumaire, and I sold it again on the
19th."
One Sunday we were to visit the cathedral in
great state. M. de Remusat went early in the
morning to the church, to arrange the ceremony.
He had been directed not to object to any honour
which the clergy might propose to pay to the
First Consul on this occasion. As, however, it was
arranged that the priests should go to the great
doors with the canopy and the cross to receive
the First Consul, a question arose whether Madame
Bonaparte was to share that distinction with him.
and Bonaparte did not venture to bring her so pro-
minently forward. She was, therefore, placed in a
tribune with the Second Consul. At twelve
o'clock, the clergy left the altar, and proceeded
to the grand entrance of the magnificent Church
of Sainte Gudule. They awaited the arrival
of the First Consul, but he did not appear. At
first they were astonished, then alarmed ; but
they presently perceived that he had slipped into
THE DOOR OF CHARLES V. 129
the church, and seated himself on the throne which
was prepared for him. The priests, surprised and
disconcerted, returned to the sanctuary, and com-
menced divine service. The fact was, just as
he was setting out, Bonaparte was told that, on a
similar occasion, Charles V. had preferred to enter
the Church of Sainte Gudule by a little side-door
which had ever after been called by his name ; and
it seemed he had taken a fancy to use the same
entrance, hoping, perhaps, that henceforth it would
be called the door of Charles V. and of Bonaparte.
One morning, the numerous and magnificent
regiments which had been brought to Brussels were
reviewed by the Consul, or, as on this occasion
I ought to call him, the General. His reception by
the troops was nothing short of rapturous. It was
well worth seeing bow he talked to the soldiers —
how he questioned them one after the other respect-
ing their campaigns or their wounds ; taking par-
ticular interest in the men who had accompanied
bim to Egypt. I have heard Madame Bonaparte
say that her husband was in the constant habit
of poring over the list of what are called the
cadres of the army, at night, before he slept. He
would go to sleep repeating the names of the corps,
and even those of some of the individuals who
composed them; he kept those names in a corner
of his memory, and this habit came to his aid
VOL. I. K
130 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
when he wanted to recognize a soldier, and to
give him the pleasure of a cheering word from
his general. He spoke to the subalterns in a tone
of good fellowship, which delighted them all, as
he reminded them of their common feats of arms.
Afterwards, when his armies became so numerous,
when his battles became so deadly, he disdained
to exercise this kind of fascination. Besides, death
had extinguished so many remembrances, that
in a few years it became difficult for him to find
any great number of the companions of his early
exploits ; and when he addressed his soldiers before
leading them into battle, it was as a perpetually-
renewed posterity, to which the preceding and
destroyed army had bequeathed its glory. But even
this sombre style of encouragement availed for a
long time, with a nation which believed itself to be
fulfilling its destiny, while sending its sons year
after year to die for Bonaparte.
I have said that Bonaparte took great pleasure in
recalling his campaign in Egypt ; it was, indeed, his
favourite theme of discourse. He had taken with
him, on the journey I am describing, M. Monge the
savant, whom he had made a senator, and whom he
liked particularly, for the sole reason that he was
among the number of the members of the Institute
who had gone with him to Egypt. Bonaparte often
talked to him of that expedition — " that land of
BONAPARTE'S MEMORIES OF EGYPT. 131
poetry," he would say, " which was trodden by
Caesar and Pompey." He would speak with en-
thusiasm of the time when he appeared before the
amazed Orientals like a new Prophet ; for he prized
the sway he exercised over imagination more
highly than any other, for it was the most complete
of all. " In France," he said, " one must conquer
everything at the point of demonstration. In
Egypt we did not require our mathematics ; did we,
Monge ? "
It was at Brussels that I began to get accustomed
to M. de Talleyrand, and to shake off the earlier
impression made by his disdainful manner and
sarcastic disposition. The idleness of a Court life
makes the day seem a hundred hours long, and
it happened that we often passed many of those
hours together, waiting until it should please
Bonaparte to come in or to go out. During
one of these weary waits I heard M. de Talley-
rand complain that his family had not realized
any of the plans he had formed for them. His
brother, Archambault de Pe'rigord, had just been
sent into exile for having indulged in the sarcastic
language common to the family. He had, how-
ever, applied it to persons of rank too high to be
ridiculed with impunity, and he had also given
offence by refusing his daughter in marriage to
Eugene de Beauharnais, to whom he had preferred
132 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
Count Just de Noailles. M. de Talleyrand, who was
quite as anxious as Madame Bonaparte that his
niece should marry Beauharnais, blamed his brother
severely, and I could perfectly understand that such
an alliance would have been advantageous to his
personal policy. One of the first things that struck
me, when I had talked for a little while with M. de
Talleyrand, was the entire absence of any kind of
illusion or enthusiasm on his part, with regard to all
that was passing around us. Every one else was
more or less under the influence of excited feelings.
The implicit obedience of the military officers might
easily pass for zeal, and, in the case of some of
them, it really was devotion. The Ministers aifected
or felt profound admiration ; M. Maret paraded his
worship of the First Consul on every occasion ;
Berthier was happy in the sincerity of his attach-
ment ; in short, every one seemed to feel something.
M. de Be'musat tried to like his post, and to esteem
the man who had conferred it on him. As for myself,
I cultivated every opportunity of emotion and of self-
deception ; and the calm indifference of M. de Talley-
rand amazed me. " Good heavens ! " I said to him
on one occasion, " how is it possible that you can
live and work without experiencing any emotion
either from what passes around us, or from your own
actions ? " "Ah ! what a true woman you are, and
how young ! ' he replied ; and then he began to ridi-
M. DE TALLEYRAND'S SARCASM. 133
cule me, as he did every one else. His jests wounded
my feelings, yet they made me laugh. I was angry
with myself for being amused, and yet, because my
vanity was pleased at my own comprehension of his
wit, less shocked than I ought to have been at the
hardness of his heart. However, I did not vet know
him, and it was not till much later, when I had got
over the restraint he imposed on every one at first,
that I observed the curious mixture of qualities in his
character.
On leaving Brussels we went to Liege and Maes-
tricht, and re-entered the former boundaries of
France by way of Me'zieres and Sedan. Madame
Bonaparte was charming during this journey, and
left an impression on my mind of her kindness and
graciousness which, as I found fifteen years after-
wards, time could not efface.
I was delighted to return to Paris, and to find
myself once more among my family, and free from
the restraint of Court life. M. de Remusat, like my-
self, was tired of the idle, yet restless, pomp of the
last six weeks ; and we rejoiced in the quiet of our
happy home.
On his return to Saint Cloud, Bonaparte and
Madame Bonaparte received complimentary addresses
from the Corps Le'gislatif, the Tribunals, etc. ; the First
Consul also received a visit from the Corps Diplo-
matique. Shortly after this, he added a new dignity
134 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMTJSAT.
to the Legion of Honour by appointing M. de Lace-
pede its Chancellor. Since the fall of Bonaparte,
certain liberal writers, and among others Madame de
Stael, have endeavoured to stigmatize that institu-
tion by reviving the recollection of an English
caricature which represented Bonaparte cutting up
the bonnet rouge of the Eevolution to make the
crosses of the Legion. But if he had not misused
that institution as he misused everything, there would
have been nothing to blame in the invention of a
recompense which was an inducement to every kind
of merit, without being a great expense to the
State. What splendid deeds on the battle-field has
that little bit of ribbon inspired ! If it had been
accorded to merit only in every walk of life, if it had
never been given from motives of caprice or in-
dividual favour, the idea of assimilating all services
rendered to the country, no matter of what nature,
and bestowing a similar decoration upon them all,
would have been noble. The institutions of Bona-
parte in France, ought not to be indiscriminately
condemned. Most of them have a commendable
purpose, and might have been made of advantage
to the nation. But his insatiable greed of power
perverted them. So intolerant was he of any
obstacles, that he could not even endure those which
nrose from his own institutions, and he instantly set
them aside by an arbitrary decision.
ANNIVERSARY OF THE BE PUBLIC. 135
Having in the course of this year (1803) created
the different senatorships, he gave a Chancellor, a
Treasurer, and Prastors to the Senate. M. de Laplace
was the Chancellor. Bonaparte honoured him
because he was a savant, and liked him because
he was a skilful flatterer. The two Prastors were
General Lefebvre and General Se'rrurier. M. de
Fargues * was the Treasurer.
The Republican year ended as usual in the middle
of September, and the anniversary of the Republic
was celebrated by popular fetes, and kept with
royal pomp at the palace of the Tuileries. We heard
at the same time that the Hanoverians, who had been
conquered by General Mortier, had celebrated the
First Consul's birthday with great rejoicings. Thus,
by degrees, by appearing at first at the head of all,
and then quite alone, he accustomed Europe to see
France in his person only, and presented himself
everywhere as the sole representative of the nation.
Bonaparte, who well knew that he would meet
with resistance from those who held by the old ways
of thinking, applied himself early and skilfully to
gain the young, to whom he opened all the doors of
advancement in life. He attached auditors to the
different ministries, and gave free scope to ambition,
whether in the military or in the civil careers. He
* M. de Fargues Lad been useful to Bonaparte on the
18th Lirmnaire.
136 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
often said that he preferred to every other advan-
tage that of governing a new people, and the
youthful generation afforded him that novelty.
The institution of the jury was also discussed in
that year. I have heard that Bonaparte himself
had no liking for it ; but as he intended later on to
govern rather by himself than with the assistance
of Assemblies which he feared, he was obliged to
make some concessions to their most distinguished
members. By degrees, all the laws were presented
to the Council by the Ministers, and were either
changed into decrees, which, without any other
sanction, were put in force from one end of France
to the other ; or else, having been received with the
silent approbation of the Corps Le'gislatif, they were
passed with no more trouble than that imposed upon
reporters of the Council, who had to preface them
by a discourse, so that they might have some show
of necessity.
Lyce'es were also established in all the important
towns, and the study of ancient languages, which
had been abolished during the Revolution, was
again made obligatory in public education.
It was at this time that the flotilla of flat-bottomed
boats, which was to be used for the invasion of
England, was being constructed. Day by day it was
more confidently asserted that in fine weather it
would be possible for the flotilla to reach the
NATIONAL CONFIDENCE IN BONAPARTE. 137
shores of England without being impeded by ships
of war. It was said that Bonaparte himself would
command the expedition, and such an enterprise did
not seem to be beyond the bounds of his daring or
of his good fortune. Our newspapers represented
England as agitated and alarmed, and in reality
the English Government was not quite exempt
from apprehension. The Moniteur still complained
bitterly of the English liberal journals, and the
gauntlet of wordy war was taken up on both sides.
In France the law of conscription was put in action,
and large bodies of troops were raised. Sometimes
people asked what was the meaning of this great
armament, and of such paragraphs as the following,
which appeared in the Moniteur : — " The English
journalists suspect that the great preparations for
war, which the First Consul has just commenced in
Italy, are intended for an Egyptian expedition."
No explanation was given. The French nation
placed confidence in Bonaparte of a kind like that
which some credulous minds feel in magic • and as
his success was believed to be infallible, it was not
difficult to obtain a tacit consent to all his opera-
tions from a people naturally prone to worship
success. At that time a few wise heads began to
perceive that he would not be useful to us ; but as
the general dread of the revolutionary government
still proclaimed him to be necessary, no opposition
138 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE HEMES AT.
could be made to his authority without the risk of
facilitating the revolt of that party, which it was
believed he alone could control.
In the mean time he was always active and ener-
getic, and as it did not suit him that the public mind
should be left to repose, which leads to reflection, he
aroused apprehension and disturbance in every way
that might be useful to himself. A letter from the
Count d'Artois, taken from the Morning Chronicle,
was printed about this time ; it offered the services
of the emigres to the King of England, in case of a
descent upon his coasts. Rumours were spread of
certain attempts made in the eastern departments ;
and since the war in La Vendee had been followed
by the inglorious proceedings of the Chouans, people
had become accustomed to the idea that any political
movement set on foot in that part of France had
pillage and incendiarism for its objects. In fact, there
seemed no chance of quietness, except in the duration
of the established Government ; and when certain
friends of liberty deplored its loss — for the new
liberal institutions were of little value in their eyes
because they were the work of absolute power — they
were met with the following argument, which was
perhaps justified by circumstances : — " After the
storm through which we have passed, and amid the
strife of so many parties, superior force only can
;ive us liberty, and so long as that force tends to
LIFE AT SAINT CLOUD. 139
promote principles of order and morality, we ought
not to regard ourselves as straying from the right
road ; for the creator will disappear, but that which
he has created will remain with us."
While more or less disturbance was thus kept
up by his orders, Bonaparte himself maintained a
peaceful attitude. He had returned to his usual
orderly and busy life at Saint Cloud, and we passed
our days as I have already described. His brothers
were all employed* — Joseph, at the camp at Boulogne;
Louis, at the Council of State ; Je'rome, the youngest,
in America, whither he had been sent, and where
he was well received by the Anglo-Americans.
Bonaparte's sisters, who were now in the enjoyment
of wealth, vied with each other in the decoration of
the houses which the First Consul had given them,
and in the luxury of their furniture and equipment.
Eugene de Beauharnais occupied himself exclusively
in his military duties ; his sister lived a dull and
quiet life.
Madame Leclerc had inspired Prince Borghese
(who had not long arrived in France from Rome)
with an ardent attachment, and she returned it.
The prince asked her hand of Bonaparte, but his
demand was at first refused. I do not know what
* It was at the end of the autumn or the beginning of winter,
in 1803, that Lucien married Madame Jouberthon and quarrelled
with his brother.
140 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
the motive of his refusal was, but think it may
perhaps have been dictated by his vanity, which
would have been hurt by the supposition that he
desired to be relieved of any family claims ; and prob-
ably, also, he did not wish to appear to accept a first
proposal with alacrity. But as the liaison between
his sister and the prince became publicly known,
the Consul consented at last to legitimize it by a
marriage, which took place at Mortefontaine while
he was at Boulogne.
He set out to visit the camp and the flotilla on
the 3rd of November, 1803. This time his journey
was of an entirely military character. He was accom-
panied only by the generals of his guard, by his
aides-de-camp, and by M. de Remusat.
When they arrived at Pont de Briques, a little
village about a league from Boulogne, where
Bonaparte had fixed his head-quarters, my husband
fell dangerously ill. On hearing of his illness
I set out to join him, and arrived at Pont de
Briques in the middle of the night. Entirely
occcupied by my anxiety, I had thought of nothing
but the state in which I should find the invalid ;
and when 1 got out of the carriage, I was rather
disconcerted by finding myself alone in the midst of
a camp, and not knowing what the First Consul
would think of my arrival. I was reassured, how-
ever, by the servants, who told me I was expected,
BONAPARTE AT BOULOGNE. 141
and that a room had been set apart for me two days
before. I passed the remainder of the night there,
waiting until daylight before I saw my husband,
as I did not like to risk disturbing him. I found
him greatly pulled down by illness, but he was so
rejoiced to see me that I congratulated myself on
having come without asking permission.
In the morning Bonaparte sent for me. I was
so agitated that I could hardly speak. He saw this
the moment I entered the room, and he kissed me,
made me sit down, and restored me to composure by
his first words. " I was expecting you," he said.
" Your presence will cure your husband." At these
words I burst into tears. He appeared touched,
and endeavoured to console me. Then he directed
me to come every day to dine and breakfast with
him, as he said, laughing " I must look after
a woman of your age among so many soldiers."
He asked me how I had left his wife. A little
while before his departure, some more secret visits
from Mademoiselle Georges had given rise to fresh
domestic disagreements. " She troubles herself,"
he said, " a great deal more than is necessary.
Josephine is always afraid that I shall fall seriously
in love. Does she not know, then, that I am not
made for love ? For what is love ? A passion
which sets all the universe on one side, and on the
other the beloved object. I certainly am not of a
142 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
nature to give myself up to any such exclusive
feeling-. What, then, do these fancies, into which
my affections do not enter, matter to her ? This,"
he continued, looking at me seriously, " is what
her friends ought to dwell upon ; and, above all,
they ought not to try to increase their influence
over her by fostering her jealousy." There was
in his last words a tone of suspicion and severity
which I did not deserve, and I think he knew
that very well ; but he never missed an opportunity
of carrying" out his favourite system, which was to
keep one's mind what be called " breathless ; " that
is to say, constantly anxious.
He remained at Pont de Briques for ten days
after I arrived there. My husband's malady was
a painful one, but the doctors were not alarmed.
With, the exception of one quarter of an hour during
which the First Consul's breakfast lasted, I spent the
morning with my dear invalid. Bonaparte went
to the camp every day, reviewed the troops, visited
the flotilla, and looked on at some slight skirmishes.
or rather at an exchange of cannon balls, between us
and the English, who constantly cruised in front of
the harbour and tried to molest our workmen.
At six o'clock Bonaparte returned, and then I was
summoned. Occasionally some of the officers of his
household, the Minister of Marine or the Minister
of Public Works, who had accompanied him, were
BONAPARTE DISCOURSES OF HIS YOUTH. 143
invited to dinner. At other times we dined tete-a-
tete, and then he would talk on a multitude of subjects.
He spoke of his own character, and described himself
as having always been of a melancholy temperament
■ — far more so than any of his comrades. My memory
has faithfully preserved all he said to me. The
following is a correct summary of it : —
" I was educated," he said, " at a military school,
and I showed no aptitude for anything but the exact
sciences. Every one said of me, ' That child will
never be good for anything but geometry.' I kept
aloof from my schoolfellows. I had chosen a little
corner in the school-grounds, where I would sit and
dream at my ease ; for I have always liked reverie.
When my companions tried to usurp possession of
this corner, I defended it with all my might.
I already knew by instinct that my will was to
override that of others, and that what pleased me
was to belong to me. I was not liked at school.
It takes time to make one's self liked ; and even
when I had nothing to do, I always felt vaguely that
I had no time to lose.
" I entered the service, and soon grew tired of
garrison work. I began to read novels, and they
interested me deeply. I even tried to write some.
This occupation brought out something in my
imagination which mingled itself with the positive
knowledge I had acquired ; and I often let my-
144 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
self dream, in order that I might afterwards
measure my dreams by the compass of my reason.
I threw myself into an ideal world, and I endea-
voured to find out in what precise points it differed
from the actual world in which I lived. I have
always liked analysis ; and if I were to he seriously
in love, I should analyze my love hit by bit. Why f
and How? are questions so useful that they cannot
be too often asked. I conquered, rather than
studied, history ; that is to say, I did not care
to retain, and did not retain, anything that could
not give me a new idea ; I disdained all that was
useless, but took possession of certain results which
pleased me.
" I did not understand much about the Revolu-
tion, but I approved of it. Equality, which was to
elevate myself, attracted me. On the 20th of June
I was in Paris, and I saw the populace marching
upon the Tuileries. I have never liked popular
movements, and I was indignant at the violent deeds
of that day. I thought the ringleaders in the attack
very imprudent, for I said to myself, ' It is not they
who will profit by this Revolution.' But when I
was told that Louis had put the red cap on his head,
I came to the conclusion that he had ceased to reign ;
for in politics there is no resurrection.
" On the 10th of August I felt, that, had I been
called upon, I would have defended the King. I
THE 12 TH VENDEMIAIRE. 145
set myself against those who founded the Republic
by the people. Besides, I saw men in plain clothes
attacking men in uniform, and I could not stand
that.
" One evening I was at the theatre ; it was the
12th Vende'miaire. I heard it said about me that
next day du train might be looked for. You
know that was the slang phrase of the Parisians,
who regarded the various changes of government
with indifference, as those changes did not disturb
their business, their pleasures, or even their dinners.
After the Terror, people were satisfied with any-
thing, so that they were allowed to live quietly.
" I heard it said that the Assembly was sitting in
permanence ; I went there, and found all confusion
and hesitation. Suddenly I heard a voice say from
the middle of the hall, ' If any one here knows the
address of General Bonaparte, he is requested to go
and tell him that he is expected at the committee
of the Assembly.' I have always observed with
interest how chance interferes in certain events,
and this chance decided me. I went to the com-
mittee.
" There I found several terrified deputies, Camba-
ceres amongst others. They expected to be attacked
the next day, and they could not come to any reso-
lution. They asked my advice; I answered by
asking for guns. This proposition so alarmed them,
VOL. I. L
146 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
that the entire night passed without their coming to
any decision. In the morning there was very bad
news. Then they put the whole business into my
hands, and afterwards began to discuss whether they
had the right to repel force by force. ' Are you
going to wait,' I asked them, ' until the people give
you permission to fire upon them ? I am committed
to this matter ; you have appointed me to defend
you ; it is right that you should leave me to act.'
Thereupon I left these lawyers to stultify themselves
with words. I put the troops in motion, pointed
two cannons with terrible effect from Saint Roch ;
the army of citizens and the conspirators were
swept away in an instant.
" But I had shed Parisian blood ! What sacrilege !
It was necessary to obliterate the effect of such a
deed. I felt myself more and more urgently called
upon to do something. I asked for the command of
the army of Italy. Everything had to be put in
order in that army, both men and things. Only
youth can have patience, because it has the future
before it. I set out for Italy with ill-trained soldiers,
who were, however, full of zeal and daring. In
the midst of the troops I had waggons placed, and
escorted on the march, although they were empty.
These I called the treasure-chests of the army. I
put it in the order of the day that shoes should be
distributed to the recruits : no one would wear
BONAPARTE'S CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 147
them. I promised my soldiers that fortune and
glory should await us behind the Alps ; I kept my
word, and ever since then the army would follow
me to the end of the world.
" I made a splendid campaign ; I became a person
of importance in Europe. On the one hand, with
the assistance of my orders of the day, I maintained
the revolutionary system ; on the other hand, I
secretly conciliated the emigres, by allowing them
to form certain hopes. It is easy to deceive that
party, because it starts always not from what exists,
but from what it wishes to believe. I received
magnificent offers of recompense if I would follow
the example of General Monk ; the Pretender even
wrote to me in his vague and florid style ; I con-
quered the Pope more effectually by not going to
Rome, than if I had burnt his capital. In short,
I became important and formidable ; and the Direc-
tory, although I made them very uneasy, could not
bring any formal accusation against me. I have
been reproached with having favoured the 18th
Fructidor ; they might as well reproach me with
having supported the Revolution. It was necessary
to take advantage of the Revolution, and to derive
some profit from the blood that had been shed.
What ! were we to give ourselves up uncondi-
tionally to the princes of the House of Bourbon, who
would have thrown in our teeth all the misfortunes
148 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
we had suffered since their departure, and would
have imposed silence upon us, because we had
solicited their return ? Were we to exchange our
victorious flag for that white banner which had
mingled with the standards of our enemies ? Was
I to content myself with a few millions and a petty
dukedom ? The part of Monk is not a difficult
one to play, — it would have given me less trouble
than the Egyptian campaign, or even than the 18th
Brumaire ; but can anything teach princes who have
never seen a battle-field ? To what did the return
of Charles II. lead the English, except to the de-
thronement of James ? Had it been necessary, I
should have dethroned the Bourbons a second time,
so that the best thing they could have done would
have been to get rid of me.
" When I returned to France, I found public
opinion in a lethargic condition. In Paris, and
Paris is France, people can never interest themselves
in things if they do not care about persons. The
customs of an old monarchy had taught them to per-
sonify everything. This habit of mind is bad for
a people who seriously desire liberty ; but French-
men can no longer desire anything seriously, except
perhaps it be equality ; and even that they would
renounce willingly, if every one could flatter him-
self that he was the first. To be equals, with
everybody uppermost, is the secret of the vanity
CAMPAIGN IN EGYPT. 149
of all of you ; every man among you must, therefore
be given the hope of rising. The great difficulty
of the Directory was that no one cared about them,
and that people began to care a good deal about me.
I do not know what would have happened to me
had I not conceived the happy thought of going to
Egypt.
" When I embarked I did not know but that I
might be bidding an eternal farewell to France ;
but I had no doubt that she would recall me.
" The charm of Oriental conquest drew my
thoughts away from Europe more than I should have
believed possible. My imagination interfered this
time also with my actions ; but I think it died out
at Saint Jean d'Acre. However that may be, I
shall never allow it to interfere with me again.
" In Egypt I found myself free from the weari-
some restraints of civilization. I dreamed all sorts
of things, and I saw how all that I dreamed
might be realized. I created a religion ; I pictured
myself on the road to Asia, mounted on an elephant,
with a turban on my head, and in my hand a new
Koran, which I should compose according to my
own ideas. I would have the combined experience of
two worlds with which to set about my enterprise ;
I was to have ransacked, for my own advantage, the
whole domain of history ; I was to have attacked the
English power in India, and renewed my relations
150 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
with old Europe by my conquest. The time I
passed in Egypt was the most delightful part of
my life, for it was the most ideal. Fate decided
against my dreams ; I received letters from France ;
I saw that there was not a moment to lose. I
reverted to the realities of life, and I returned to
Paris — to Paris, where the gravest interests of the
country are discussed in the entr'acte of an opera.
" The Directory trembled at my return. I was
very cautious ; that is one of the epochs of my life
in which I have acted with the soundest judgment.
I saw the Abbe Sieyes, and promised him that his
verbose constitution should be put into effect ; I
received the chiefs of the Jacobins and the agents
of the Bourbons ; I listened to advice from every-
body, but I only gave it in the interest of my own
plans. I hid myself from the people, because I
knew that when the time came, curiosity to see me
would make them run after me. Every one was
taken in my toils ; and when I became the head of
the State, there was not a party in France which
did not build some special hope upon my success."
THE FIBST CONSUL'S LITERARY TASTES. 151
CHAPTER IV.
1803-1804.
Continuation of the First Consul's conversations at Boulogne —
Reading of the tragedy of " Philippe Auguste " — My new im-
pressions — -Return to Paris — Madame Bonaparte's jealousy
— Winter fetes of 1804— M. de Fontanes— M. Fouche— Savary
— Pichegru — Arrest of General Moreau.
One evening, while we were at Boulogne, Bonaparte
turned the conversation upon literature. Lemercier,
the poet, whom Bonaparte liked, had just finished a
tragedy, called Philippe Auguste, which contained
allusions to the First Consul, and had brought the
manuscript to him. Bonaparte took it into his
head to read this production aloud to me. It was
amusing to hear a man who was always in a hurry
when he had nothing to do, trying to read Alex-
andrine verses, of which he did not know the metre,
and pronouncing them so badly, that he did not seem
to understand what he read. Besides, he no sooner
opened any book than he wanted to criticise it. I
asked him to give me the manuscript, and I read it
out myself. Then he began to talk ; he took the play
152 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
out of my hand, struck out whole passages, made
several marginal notes, and found fault with the
plot and the characters. He did not run much risk
of spoiling the piece, for it was very bad.* Singularly
enough, when he had done reading, he told me he
did not wish the author to know that all these
erasures and corrections were made by so important
a hand, and he directed me to take them upon
myself. I objected to this, as may be supposed.
I had great difficulty in convincing him that, as
it might be thought strange that even he should
thus have meddled with an author's manuscript,
it would be contrary to all the convenances for me
to have taken such a liberty. " Well, well," said
he, " perhaps you are right ; but on this, as on every
other occasion, I own I do not like that vague
and levelling phrase, the convenances, which you
women are always using. It is a device of fools
to raise themselves to the level of people of in-
tellect ; a sort of social gag, which hinders the
strong mind and only serves the weak. It may be
all very well for women ; they have not much to do
in this life, but you must be aware that I, for
example, cannot be bound by the convenances."
" But," I replied, " is not the application of these
laws to the conduct of life like that of the dramatic
unities to the drama ? They give order and regu-
* This piece was never acted, nor, I believe, printed. — P. R.
BONAPARTE ON COBNEILLE. 153
larity, and they do not really trammel genius, except
when it would, without their control, err against
good taste."
" Ah, good taste ! That is another of those classical
words which I do not adopt.* It is perhaps my
own fault, but there are certain rules which mean
nothing to me. For example, what is called ' style,'
good or bad, does not affect me. I care only for
the force of the thought. I used to like Ossian, but
it was for the same reason which made me delight
in the murmur of the winds and waves. In Egypt
I tried to read the ' Iliad ; ' but I got tired of it. As
for French poets, I understand none of them except
Corneille. That man understood politics, and if he
had been trained to public affairs, he would have
been a statesman. I think I appreciate him more
truly than any one else does, because I exclude all
the dramatic sentiments from my view of him. For
example, it is only lately I have come to understand
the denouement of ' Cinna.' At first I regarded it
as merely a contrivance for a pathetic fifth act ; for
really, clemency, properly speaking, is such a poor
little virtue, when it is not founded on policy, that
to turn Augustus suddenly into a kind-hearted prince
appeared to me an unworthy climax. However,
* M. de Talleyrand once said to the Emperor, " Good taste
is your personal enemy; if you could have got rid of it by
cannon bally, it would long ago have ceased to exist."
154 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
I saw Monvel act in the tragedy one night, and the
mystery of the great conception was revealed to me.
He pronounced' the ' Soyons amis, Cinna,' in so
cunning and subtle a tone, that I saw at once the
action was only a feint of the tyrant, and I approved
as a calculation what had appeared to me silly as a
sentiment. The line should always be so delivered,
that, of all those who hear it, only Cinna is deceived.
"As for Racine, he pleases me in fyhigenie.
That piece, whilst it lasts, makes one breathe the
poetic air of Greece. In Brittanicus he has been
trammelled by Tacitus, against whom I am pre-
judiced, because he does not sufficiently explain his
meaning. The tragedies of Yoltaire are passionate,
but they do not go deeply into human nature. For
instance, his Mahomet is neither a prophet nor an
Arab. He is an impostor, who might have been
educated at the Ecole Polytechnique, for he uses
power as I might use it in an age like the present.
And then, the murder of the father by the son is
a useless crime. Great men are never cruel except
from necessity.
" As for comedy, it interests me about as much as
the gossip of your drawing-rooms. I understand
your admiration of Moliere, but I do not share it ;
he has placed his personages in situations which
have no attractions for me."
From these observations it is plain that Bona-
COURT GOSSIP. 155
parte cared only to observe human nature when it
was struggling with the great chances of life, and
that man in the abstract interested 'him little. In
conversations of this kind the time I spent at
Boulogne with the First Consul was passed, and
at the close of my sojourn there I underwent the
first bitter experience that inspired me with a
mistrust of the persons among whom I was obliged
to live at Court. The officers of the household would
not believe that a woman could remain for hours
together with their master, simply talking with
him on matters of general interest, and they
drew conclusions which were injurious to my cha-
racter. I may now venture to say that the purity of
my mind, and my life-long attachment to my
husband, prevented my even conceiving the possi-
bility of such a suspicion as that which was formed
in the Consul's ante-chamber, whilst I was con-
versing with him in his salon. When Bonaparte
returned to Paris, his aides-de-camp talked about my
long interviews with him, and Madame Bonaparte
took fright at their stories, so that when, after a
month's stay at Pont de Briques, my husband was
sufficiently recovered to bear the journey, and we
returned to Paris, my jealous patroness received me
coldly,
I returned full of gratitude towards the First Con-
sul. He had received me so kindly ; he had shown
156 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
such interest in the state of my husband's health;
his attention to me had so much soothed my troubled
and anxious mind, and had been so great a resource
in that solitary place ; and I was'*so much flattered
by the pleasure he seemed to take in my society,
that on my return I told every one, with the eager
gratitude of my twenty-one years, of the extreme
kindness he had shown me. One friend, who was
really attached to me, advised me to be careful of
my words, and apprised me of the impression they
had made. I remember to this hour that her hint
struck like a dagger to my heart. It was the first
time I had suffered injustice ; my youth and all my
feelings revolted against such an accusation. Stern
experience only can steel us against the unjust
judgments of the world, and perhaps we ought
to regret the time when they had the power to
wound us deeply. My friend's warning, however,
explained Madame Bonaparte's conduct towards me.
One da}^, when I was more hurt by this than usual,
I could not refrain from saying to her, with tears
in my eyes, " What, madame ! do you suspect me ? "
As she was very kind, and always easily touched
by passing emotions, she embraced me, and thence-
forth treated me with her former cordiality. But
she did not understand my feelings. There was
nothing in her mind which corresponded to my just
indignation ; and, without endeavouring to ascertain
MADAME BONAPARTE'S JEALOUSY. 157
whether my relations with her husband at Boulogne
had been such as they were represented to her, she
was content to conclude that in any case the affair
had been merely temporary, since I did not, when
under her own eyes, depart from my usual reserve
towards Bonaparte. In order to justify herself, she
told me that the Bonaparte family had spread in-
jurious reports against me during my absence. " Do
you not perceive," I asked her, " that, rightly or
wrongly, it is believed here that my tender attach-
ment to you, madame, makes me clear-sighted to
what is going on, and that, feeble as my counsels
are, they may help you to act with prudence ?
Political jealousy spreads suspicion broadcast every-
where, and, insignificant as I am, I do believe they
want to make you quarrel with me." Madame
Bonaparte perceived the justice of my observation ;
but she had not the least idea that I could feel
aggrieved because it had not occurred to herself in
the first instance. She acknowledged that she had
reproached her husband about me, and he had evi-
dently amused himself by leaving her in doubt.
These occurrences opened my eyes to the character of
the people among whom I lived to an extent which
alarmed me and upset all my former feelings towards
them. I began to feel that the ground which I had
trodden, until then, with all the confidence of ignor-
ance, was not firm ; I knew that from the kind of
158 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
annoyance I had just experienced I should never
again be free.
The First Consul, on leaving Boulogne, had de-
clared, in the order of the day, that he was pleased
with the army, and in the Moniteur of the 12th
November, 1803, we read the following: — "It was
remarked as an omen that, in the course of the
excavations for the First Consul's camp, a war hatchet
was found, which probably belonged to the Roman
army that invaded Britain. There were also
medals of William the Conqueror found at Amble-
teuse, where the First Consul's tent was pitched.
It must be admitted that these circumstances are
singular, and they appear still more strange when
it is borne in mind that when General Bonaparte
visited the ruins of Pelasium, in Egypt, he found
there a medallion of Julius Csesar."
The allusion was not a very fortunate one, for
notwithstanding the medallion of Julius Csesar,
Bonaparte was obliged to leave Egypt ; but these
little parallels, dictated by the ingenious flattery of
M. Maret, pleased his master immensely, and Bona-
parte was confident that they were not without effect
upon the country.
Every effort was made at that time by the press
to excite the popular imagination on the subject of
the invasion of England. I do not know whether
Bonaparte really believed that such an adventure
A WAR OF WORDS. 159
was possible, but he appeared to do so, and the
expense incurred in the construction of flat-bottomed
boats was considerable. The war of words between
the English newspapers and the Moniteur continued.
We read in the Times : " It is said that the French
have made Hanover a desert, and they are now
about to abandon it ; " to which a note in the
Moniteur immediately replied : " Yes, when you
abandon Malta." The Bishops issued pastorals, in
which they exhorted the nation to arm itself for
a just war. " Choose men of good courage," said
the Bishop of Arras, " and go forth to fight Amalek.
Bossuet has said, ' To submit to the public orders
is to submit to the orders of God, who establishes
empires.' "
This quotation from Bossuet reminds me of a
story which M. Bourlier, the Bishop of Evreux,
used to tell. It related to the time when the
Council was assembled at Paris with a view to in-
ducing the Bishops to oppose the decrees of the
Pope. " Sometimes," said the Bishop of Evreux,
" the Emperor would have us all summoned, and
would begin a theological discussion with us. He
would address himself to the most recalcitrant among
us, and say, ' My religion is that of Bossuet ; he is my
Father of the Church ; he defended our liberties. I
want to commence his work and to maintain your
dignity. Do you understand me ? ' Speaking thus,
lfiO MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
and pale with anger, he would clap his hand on
the hilt of his sword. The ardour with which he
was ready to defend us made me tremble, and this
singular amalgamation of the name of Bossuet, and
the word Liberty, with his own threatening gestures,
would have made me smile, if I had not been.
too heavy-hearted at the prospect of the hard times
which I foresaw for the Church."
I now return to the winter of 1804. This winter
passed as the preceding one had done, in balls and
fetes at Court and in Paris, and in the organiza-
tion of the new laws, which were presented to
the Corps Le'gislatif. Madame Bacciochi, who had a
very decided liking for M. de Fontanes, spoke of him
so often to her brother at that time, that her in-
fluence, added to Bonaparte's own high opinion of
the Academician, determined him to make M. de
Fontanes President of the Corps Le'gislatif. This
selection appeared strange to some people ; but a
man of letters would do as well as any other
President for what Bonaparte intended the Corps
Le'gislatif to be henceforth. M. de Fontanes had
to deliver harangues to the Emperor under most
difficult circumstances, and he always acquitted
himself with grace and distinction. He had little
strength of character, but his ability told when
he had to speak in public; and his good taste
lent him dignity and impressiveness. Perhaps
INDICATIONS IN THE " MONITEUB." 161
that was no advantage to Bonaparte. Nothing
is so dangerous for sovereigns as to have their abuses
of power clothed in the glowing colours of elo-
quence, when they figure before nations ; and this is
especially dangerous in France, where externals are
held in such esteem. How often have the Parisians,
although in the secret of the farce the Government
was acting, lent themselves to the deception with
a good grace, simply because the actors did homage
to their delicacy of taste, which demands that each
shall do his best with the role assigned to him ?
In the course of the month of January, the
Moniteur published a selection of articles from the
English journals, in which the differences between
Bavaria and Austria, and the probabilities of a
continental war, were discussed. Paragraphs of this
kind were from time to time inserted in the news-
papers, without any comment, as if to prepare us
for what might happen. These intimations were
like the clouds over mountain summits, which fall
apart for a moment now and then, and afford a
glimpse of what is passing behind ; they allowed us to
have momentary peeps at the important discussions
which were taking place in Europe, so that we should
not be much surprised when the result proved to be a
rupture. After each glimpse the clouds would close
again, and we would remain in darkness until the
storm burst.
VOL. I. M
162 MEMOIRS OE MADAME DE REMUS AT.
I am about to speak of an important epoch,
concerning which my memory is full and faithful.
It is that of the conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal, and
the crime to which it led. Eespecting General
Moreau, I shall repeat what I have heard said, but
shall be careful to affirm nothing. I think it well to
preface this narrative by a brief explanation of the
state of affairs at that time. Certain persons, some-
what closely connected with politics, were beginning
to assert that France felt the necessity of hereditary
right in the governing power. Political courtiers,
and honest, sincere revolutionists, seeing that the
tranquillity of the country depended on one life, were
discussing the instability of the Consulate. By de-
grees the thoughts of all were once more turned to
monarchy, and this would have had its advantages,
if they could have agreed to establish a monarchy
tempered by the laws. Eevolutions have this great
disadvantage, that they divide public opinion into
an infinite number of varieties, which are all modi-
fied by circumstances. Thus arises the opportunity
of despotism after revolutions. To restrain the
power of Bonaparte, it would have been necessary
to venture on uttering the word "Liberty;" but
as, only a few years before, that word had been used
from one end of France to the other as a disguise for
the worst kind of slavery, it inspired an unreasonable
but fatal repugnance.
THE GUARANTEE OF CRIME. 163
The Royalists, finding that day by day Bonaparte
was departing more widely from the path they had
expected he would take, were greatly disturbed.
The Jacobins, whose opposition the First Consul
feared mucli more, were secretly preparing for
action, for they perceived that it was to their an-
tagonists the Government was giving guarantees.
The Concordat, the advances made to the old
nobility, the destruction of revolutionary equality,
all these things constituted an encroachment upon
them. How bappy would France have been had
Bonaparte contended only against the factions !
But to have done that, he must have been animated
solely by the love of justice, and guided by the
counsels of a generous mind.
When a sovereign, no matter what his title may
be, sides with one or other of the violent parties
which stir up civil strife, it is certain that he has
hostile intentions against the rights of the citizens
who have confided those rights to his keeping. Bona-
parte, in order to fix his despotic yoke upon France,
found himself obliged to come to terms with the
Jacobins, and, unfortunately, there are persons whom
no guarantee but that of crime will satisfy. Their
ally must involve himself in some of their iniquities.
This motive had a great deal to do with the death
of the Due d'Enghien, and I am convinced that all
which happened at that time was the result of no
KU MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
violent feeling, of no blind revenge, but simply of
a Machiavelian policy, resolved to smooth its own
path at any cost. Neither was it for the gratification
of vanity that Bonaparte wanted to change his title
of Consul for that of Emperor. We must not believe
that he was always ruled by insatiable passions ; no,
he was capable of controlling them by calculation,
and if in the end he allowed himself to be led away,
it was because he became intoxicated by success
and flattery. The comedy of republican equality,
which he was obliged to play so long as he re-
mained Consul, annoyed him, and in reality only
deceived those who were willing to be deceived.
It resembled the political pretences of ancient Rome,
when the Emperors from time to time had them-
selves re-elected by the Senate. I have heard persons,
who, having put on the love of liberty like a
garment, and yet paid assiduous court to Bonaparte
whilst he was First Consul, declare they entirely
withdrew their esteem from him so soon as he
conferred the title of Emperor upon himself. I
never could understand their argument. How was it
possible that the authority which he exercised almost
from the moment of his entrance into the govern-
ment did not enlighten them as to his actual
position? Might it not rather be said, that he
gave a proof of sincerity in his assumption of a title
whose real powers lie was exercising ?
ENGLAND'S POLICY IN FRANCE. 165
At the epoch of which I am treating, it became
necessary that the First Consul should strengthen
his position by some new measure. The English, who
had been threatened, were secretly exciting disturb-
ances to act as diversions from the projects formed
against themselves ; their relations with the Chouans
were resumed ; and the Royalists regarded the Con-
sular Government as a mere transition state from the
Directory to the Monarchy. One man only stood
in the way ; it became easy to conclude that he must
be got rid of.
I remember to have heard Bonaparte say in the
summer of that year (1804), that for once events had
hurried him, and that he had not intended to estab-
lish royalty until two years later. He had placed
the police in the hands of the Minister of Justice.
This was a sound and moral proceeding, but it was
contradicted by his intention that the magistracy
should use that police as it had been used when it
was a revolutionary institution. I have already
said that Bonaparte's first ideas were generally good
and great. To conceive and carry them out was to
exercise his power ; but to submit to them after-
wards savoured of abdication. He was unable to
endure the dominion of even one of his own institu-
tions. Restrained by the slow and regular forms
of justice, and also by the feebleness and mediocrity
of his Chief J udge, lie surrounded himself with in-
166 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
numerable police agents, and by degrees regained
confidence in Fouche', who was an adept in the art of
making himself necessary. Fouche', a man of keen
and far-seeing intellect, a Jacobin grown rich, and
consequently disgusted with some of the principles of
that party — with which, however, he still remained
connected, so that he might be secure should
trouble arise — had no objection to invest Bonaparte
with royalty. His natural flexibility made him
always ready to accept any form of government in
which he saw a post for himself. His habits were
more revolutionary than his principles ; and the only
state of things, I believe, which he could not have
endured, would be one which should make an abso-
lute nonentity of him. To make use of him one
should have thoroughly understood his disposition,
and been very cautious in dealing with him, remem-
bering that he needed troublous times for the full
display of his capacity ; for, as he had no passions
and no aversions, he rose at such times superior to
the generality of those about him, who were all more
or less actuated by either fear or resentment.
Fouche' has denied that he advised the murder
of the Due d'Enghien. Unless there be complete
certainty of the fact, I see no reason for bringing
the accusation of a crime against a man who posi-
tively denies it. Besides, Fouche', who was very far-
sighted, must have foreseen that such a deed would
BONAPARTE'S RESPONSIBILITY. 167
give only a temporary guarantee to the party which
Bonaparte wanted to win. He knew the First Consul
too well to fear that he would think of replacing
the King on a throne which he might occupy him-
self, and there is little doubt that, with the informa-
tion he possessed, he would have pronounced the
murder of the Due d'Enghien to he a mistake.
M. de Talleyrand's own plans were also served by
his advice that Bonaparte should invest himself with
royalty. That proceeding would suit M. de Talley-
rand to a nicety. His enemies, and even Bonaparte
himself, have accused him of having advised the
murder of the unhappy prince. But Bonaparte and
his enemies are not credible on this point ; the
well-known character of M. de Talleyrand is against
the truth of the statement. He has said to me more
than once that Bonaparte informed him and the
two Consuls of the arrest of the Due d'Enghien, and
of his own unalterable determination at the same time.
He added that they all three knew remonstrance
was vain, and therefore kept silence. That was
indeed a deplorable weakness, but one very common
to M. de Talleyrand, who would not think of remon-
strating for the sake of conscience only, when he
knew that a line of action had been decided upon.
Opposition and bold resistance may take effect upon
any nature, however resolute. • A. sovereign of a cruel
and sanguinary disposition will sometimes sacrifice
1(38 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
his inclination to the force of reason arrayed against
it. Bonaparte was not cruel either by inclination
or on system ; he merely wanted to carry his point
by the quickest and surest method. He has himself
said that at that time he was obliged to get rid of
both Jacobins and Royalists. The imprudence of the
latter furnished him with this fatal opportunity. He
seized it ; and what I shall hereafter have to relate
will show that it was with the coolest of calculation,
or rather of sophistry, that he shed illustrious and
innocent blood.
A few days after the first return of the King,
the Due de Rovigo presented himself at my house
one morning.* He tried to clear himself from
the accusations that were brought against him.
He spoke to me of the death of the Due d'Enghien.
" The Emperor and I," he said, " were deceived on
that occasion. One of the inferior agents in Georges
Cadoudal's conspiracy had been suborned by my
police. He came to us, and stated that one night,
when all the conspirators were assembled, the secret
arrival of an important chief who could not yet
be named, had been announced to them. A few
nights later, a person appeared among them, to
whom the others paid great respect. The spy de-
* The Due de Rovigo knew how intimate my husband and I
were with M. de Talleyrand, and he was anxious to induce us
to further his interests with that personage.
FOUCRKS VERSION OF THE CRIME. 169
scribed the unknown so as to give us the impression
that he was a prince of the House of Bourbon.
About the same time the Due d'Enghein had esta-
blished himself at Ettenheim, with the intention, no
doubt, of awaiting the result of the conspiracy. The
police agents wrote that he sometimes disappeared
for several days together. We concluded that at
these times he came to Paris, and his arrest was
resolved upon. Since then, when the spy was con-
fronted with the persons who had been arrested,
he recognized Pichegru as the important personage
of whom he had spoken ; and when I told this to
Bonaparte, he exclaimed, with a stamp of his foot,
' Ah, the wretch ! what has he made me do ? '
To return to the facts. Pichegru arrived in
France on the 15th of January, 1804, and from the
25th of January was concealed in Paris. It was
known that, in the year 5 of the Republic, General
Moreau had denounced him to the Government for
keeping up relations with the House of Bourbon.
Moreau was supposed to hold Republican opinions ;
but he had probably then exchanged them for the
idea of a constitutional monarchy. I do not know
whether his family would defend him now as ear-
nestly as they did then from the accusation of having
aided the plans of the Royalists, nor do I know
whether implicit confidence is to be placed on con-
fessions made in the reign of Louis XYIII. The
170 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REM US AT.
conduct of Moreau in 1813, and the honour paid to
his memory by our princes, might, however, fairly
lead us to believe that they had reason to count on
him beforehand. At the period of which I am
now speaking, Moreau was deeply irritated against
Bonaparte. It has never been doubted that he
visited Pichegru in secret ; he certainly kept silence
about the conspiracy. Some of the Royalists who
were arrested at this time declared that he had
merely displayed that prudent hesitation which
waits for the success of a party to declare itself.
Moreau, it was said, was a feeble and insignificant
man, except on the field of battle, and overweighted
by his reputation. " There are persons," said Bona-
parte, " who do not know how to wear their fame.
The part of Monk suited Moreau perfectly. In
his place I should have acted as he did, only more
cleverly."
It is not, however, in order to justify Bonaparte
that I mention my doubts. Whatever was Moreaus
character, his fame was genuine; it ought to have
been respected, and an old comrade in arms, grown
discontented and embittered, ought to have been
excused. A reconciliation with him, even if it had
been merely a result of that political calculation
which Bonaparte discerned in Corneille's Augustus,
would still have been the wisest proceeding. But I
do not doubt that Bonaparte was sincerely convinced
THE CASE OF MO BEAU. 171
of what he called Moreau's moral treason, and he
held that to be sufficient for the law and for justice,
because he always refused to look at the true aspect
of anything which was displeasing to himself. He
was assured that proofs to justify the condemna-
tion of Moreau were not wanting. He found himself
committed to a line of action, and he afterwards
refused to recognize anything but party spirit in the
equity of the tribunals ; and, besides, he knew
the most injurious thing which could happen to him
would be that this interesting prisoner should be
declared innocent. When he found himself on the
point of being compromised, he would stop at
nothing. From this cause arose the deplorable inci-
dents of the famous trial. The conspiracy had been
a subject of conversation for several days. On
the 17th of February, 1804, I went to the Tuileries
in the morning. The Consul was in the room with
his wife ; I was announced and shown in. Madame
Bonaparte was in great distress ; her eyes were red
with crying. Bonaparte was sitting near the fire-
place, with little Napoleon * on his knees. He
looked grave, but not agitated, and was playing
mechanically with the child.
" Do you know what I have done ? " said he. I
* The eldest child of Madame Louis Bonaparte, afterwards
Queen Hortense. He was born on the 10th of October, 1802,
and died of croup on the 5th of May, 1807. — P. R.
172 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
answered in the negative. " I have just given an
order for Moreau's arrest." I could not repress a
start. " Ah, you are astonished," said he. " There
will be a great fuss about this, will there not? Of
course, it will be said that I am jealous of Moreau,
that this is revenge, and other petty nonsense of the
same kind. I jealous of Moreau ! Why, he owes
the best part of his reputation to me. It was I who
left a fine army with him, and kept only recruits
with myself in Italy. I wanted nothing more than
to get on well with him. I certainly was not afraid
of him ; I am not afraid of anybody, and less of
Moreau than of other people. I have hindered him
from committing himself twenty times over. I
warned him that there would be mischief made be-
tween us ; he knew that as well as I did. But he
is weak and conceited ; he allows women to lead him,
and the various parties have urged him."
While he was speaking Bonaparte rose, approached
bis wife, and taking her by the chin, made her hold
up her head. " Ha ! '' he said, " every one has not
got a good wife, like me. You are crying, Jose-
phine. What for, eh ? Are you frightened ? "
" Xo ; but I don't like to think of what will be said."
"What! How can that be helped?" Then, turn-
ing to me, he added, " I am not actuated by any
enmity or any desire of vengeance ; I have reflected
deeply before arresting Moreau. I might have shut
THE CASE OF MOBEAU. 173
my eyes, ' and given him time to fly, but it would
have been said that I did not dare to bring him
to trial. I have the means of convicting -him. He
is guilty, I am the Government ; the whole thing
is quite simple."
I cannot tell whether the power of my old re-
collections is still upon me, but I confess that even
at this moment I can hardly believe that when
Bonaparte spoke thus he was not sincere. I have
seen each stage of his progress in the art of dissimu-
latioii, and I know that at that particular epoch he
still retained certain accents of truthfulness, which
afterwards were no longer to be detected in his voice.
Perhaps, however, it was only because I still
believed in him.
With the above words he left us, and Madame
Bonaparte told me that he remained up almost the
whole of the night, debating whether or not he
should have Moreau arrested, weighing the pros
and cons of the measure, without any symptom of
personal feeling in the matter ; that then, towards
daybreak, he sent for General Berthier, and after a
long interview with him he determined on sending
to Grosbois, whither Moreau had retired.
This event gave rise to a great deal of discussion,
and opinion was much divided. General Moreau's
brother, a tribune, spoke with great vehemence
at the Tribunate, and produced considerable effect.
174 ME MO IBS OF MADAME BE BEMTJSAT.
A deputation was sent up by the three represen-
tative bodies with an address of congratulation to
the First Consul. In Paris, all who represented
the Liberal portion of the population, a section
of the bourgeoisie, lawyers, and men of letters, were
warmly in favour of Moreau. It was, of course,
plain enough that political opposition formed an
element in the interest exhibited on his behalf;
his partisans agreed that they would throng
the court at which he was to be brought up, and
there was even a threatening whisper about what
should be done if he were condemned. Bonaparte's
police informed him that there was a plot to break
into Moreau's prison. This irritated him, and his
temper began to give way. Murat, his brother-
in-law, who was then Governor of Paris, hated
Moreau, and took care to add to Bonaparte's ex-
asperation by his daily reports to him ; he and
Dubois, the Prefect of Police, combining together
to pursue him with alarming rumours. Events,
unhappily, came to the aid of their design. Each
day a fresh ramification of the conspiracy was
discovered, and each day Parisian society refused
more obstinately than on the preceding to believe
that there was any conspiracy at all. A war
of opinion was being waged between Bonaparte and
the Parisians.
On the 29th of February, Pichegru's hiding-place
THE CASE OF MORE AIT. 175
was discovered, and be was arrested, after a gallant
struggle with the gendarmes. This event some-
what shook the general incredulity, but public inte-
rest still centred in Moreau. His wife's grief assumed
a rather theatrical aspect, and this also had its effect.
In the mean time Bonaparte, who was ignorant of
the formalities of law, found them much more tedious
than he had expected. At the commencement of the
affair, the Chief Judge had too readily undertaken to
simplify and shorten the procedure, and now only
one charge was distinctly made : that Moreau had
held secret conference with Pichegru, and had re-
ceived his confidence, but without pledging himself
positively to anything. This was not sufficient to
secure a condemnation which was becoming a neces-
sity ; in short, notwithstanding that great name
which is mixed up in the affair, Georges Cadoudal
has always been believed to have been, as he ap-
peared at the trial, the real leader of the con-
spiracy.
It would be impossible to describe the excitement
that pervaded the palace. Everybody was consulted ;
the most trifling conversations were repeated. One
day Savary took M. de Remusat aside, and said,
" You have been a magistrate, you know the
laws ; do you think the details we are in pos-
session of are sufficient for the information of the
judges ? " " No man," replied my husband, " has ever
176 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
been condemned merely because he did not reveal
projects with which he was made acquainted. No
doubt, that is a political wrong towards the
Government, but it is not a crime which ought to
involve the penalty of death ; and if that is your sole
plea, you will only have furnished Moreau with
evidence damaging to yourselves." " In that case,"
said Savary, " the Chief Judge has led us into
making a great blunder. It would have been better
to have had a military commission."
From the day of Pichegru's arrest, the gates of
Paris were shut, while search was made for Georges
Cadoudal, but he eluded pursuit with extraordinary
success. Fouche, who laid the foundations of his
new reputation on this occasion, mercilessly ridi-
culed the unskilfulness of the police, and his com-
ments enraged Bonaparte, who was already angry
enough, so that, when he had incurred a real danger,
and saw that the Parisians were disinclined to believe
the statement of the facts, he began to wish for
revenge. " Judge," said he, " whether the French
can ever be governed by legal and moderate institu-
tions ? I have put down a revolutionary but useful
department of the Ministry, and conspiracies are im-
mediately formed. I have foregone my own personal
feelings ; I have handed over the punishment of ;i
man who intended to kill me to an authority in-
dependent of myself; and, far from giving me any
BONAPARTE'S GROWING ANGER. 177
thanks for all this, people laugh at my moderation,
and assign corrupt motives for my conduct. I will
teach them to belie my intentions. I will lay hold
of all my powers again, and prove to them that
I alone am made to govern, to decide, and to
punish."
Bonaparte grew more and more angry as he
became aware, from moment to moment, that some-
thing was amiss with himself. He had thought to
rule public opinion, but here was public opinion
escaping from his hold. He had been ruled by it
himself in the outset of his career, I am certain, and
he had gained no credit by that ; so he resolved
never again to make a similar mistake. It will seem
strange to those who do not know how utterly the
wearing of a uniform destroys the habit of thinking,
that, not the slightest uneasiness was felt on this
occasion with respect to the army. Military men do
everything by word of command, and they abstain
from opinions which are not prescribed to them.
Very few officers remembered that they had once
fought and conquered under Moreau, and the bour-
geoisie was much more excited about the affair than
any other class.
The Polignacs, M. de Riviere, and some others were
arrested. Then the public began to think there
really was some truth in the story of the conspiracy,
and that the plot was a Royalist one. Nevertheless,
vol. i. N
178 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
the Eepublican party still demanded Moreau. The
nobility were alarmed, and kept very quiet; they
condemned the imprudence of the Polignacs, who
have since acknowledged that they were not seconded
with so much zeal as they had been led to expect.
The error into which they fell, and to which the
Royalist party was always prone, was that they
believed in the existence of what they desired, and
acted upon their illusions. This is a mistake com-
mon to men who are led by their passions or by
their vanity.
I suffered a great deal at this time. At the Tuile-
ries, the First Consul was moody and silent, his wife
was frequently in tears, his family were angry ; his
sister exasperated him by her violent way of talking.
In society opinions were divided : on the one hand
were distrust, suspicion, indignation, mingled with
satisfaction ; on the other, regret that the attempt had
failed, and passionate condemnation. All these con-
tentions distracted and upset me. I shut myself up
with my mother and my husband ; we questioned one
another about all that we heard, and everything that
we respectively thought. M. de Re'musat's steady
rectitude of mind was grieved by the grave errors
which he recognised, and as his judgment was
uninfluenced by passion, he began to dread the
future, and imparted to me his sagacious and melan-
choly prevision of a character which he studied
M. BE REMUS ATS MISGIVINGS. 170
closely and silently. His apprehensions distressed
me ; the doubts which were springing up in my own
mind rendered me very unhappy. Alas ! the moment
was drawing near when I was to be far more pain-
fully enlightened.
180 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE B EMUS AT.
CHAPTER V.
The arrest of Georges Cadoudal — The mission of M. de Cau-
laincourt to Ettenheim — The arrest of the Due d'Enghien — My
distress and my urgency with Madame Bonaparte — An even-
ing at Malmaison — The death of the Due d'Enghien — Re-
markable words of the First Consiil.
After the arrests which I have already recorded,
there appeared in the Moniteur certain articles
from the Morning CJwonicle, in which it was stated
that the death of Bonaparte and the restora-
tion of Louis XVIII. were imminent. It was
added that persons newly arrived from London
affirmed that speculation upon these eventualities
was rife on the Stock Exchange, and that Georges
Cadoudal, Pichegru, and Moreau were named openly
there. In the same Moniteur appeared a letter from
an Englishman to Bonaparte, whom he addressed as
" Monsieur Consul." The purport of this letter was
to recommend, as specially applicable to Bonaparte, a
pamphlet written in Cromwell's time, which tended
to prove that persons such as Cromwell and himself
could not be assassinated, because there was no crime
ARREST OF GEORGES CADOUDAL. 181
in killing a dangerous animal or a tyrant. " To kill
is not to assassinate in such cases," said the pamphlet ;
" the difference is great."
In France, however, addresses from all the towns
and from all the regiments, and pastorals by all the
Bishops, complimenting the First Consul and con-
gratulating France on the danger which had been
escaped, were forwarded to Paris, and these docu-
ments were punctually inserted in the Moniteur.
At length, on the 29th of March, Georges Cadoudal
was arrested in the Place de l'Ode'on. He was in a
cabriolet, and perceiving that he was followed, he
urged on his horse. A gendarme bravely caught
the animal by the head, and was shot dead by
Cadoudal ; the cabriolet was, however, stopped,
owing to the crowd which instantly collected at the
report of the pistol, and Cadoudal was arrested.
Between sixty and eighty thousand francs in notes
were found on him, and given to the widow of the
man whom he had killed. The newspapers stated
that he acknowledged he had come to France for
no other purpose than to assassinate Bonaparte ; but
I remember to have heard at the time that the
prisoner, whose courage and firmness during the
whole of the proceedings were unshaken, and who
evinced great devotion to the House of Bourbon,
steadily denied that there had ever been any purpose
of assassination, while admitting that his intention
182 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
had been to attack the carriage of the First Consul,
and to carry him off without harming him.
At this time, ihe King of England (George
III.) was taken seriously ill, and our Government
reckoned upon his death to ensure the retirement of
Mr. Pitt from the Ministry.
On the 21st of March the following appeared in
the Moniteur : — " Prince de Conde' has addressed a
circular to the emigres, with a view to collecting
them on the Ehine. A prince of the House of
Bourbon is now on the frontier for that purpose."
Immediately afterwards, the secret correspondence
that had been taken from Mr. Drake, the accredited
English Minister in Bavaria, was published. These
documents proved that the English Government was
leaving no means untried of creating disturbance in
France. M. de Talleyrand was directed to send copies
of the correspondence to all the members of the Corps
Diplomatique, and they expressed their indignation
in letters which were inserted in the Moniteur.
Holy Week was approaching. On Passion Sunday,
the 18th of March, my week of attendance on
Madame Bonaparte began. I went to the Tuileries
in the morning, in time for Mass, which was again
celebrated with all the former pomp. After Mass,
Madame Bonaparte received company in the great
drawing-room, and remained for some time, talking
to several persons. When we went down to her
THE FIRST INTIMATION OF THE CRIME. 183
private apartments, she informed me that we were
to pass that week at Malmaison. " I am very
glad," she added ; " Paris frightens me just now."
Shortly afterwards, we set out ; Bonaparte was in
his own carriage, Madame Bonaparte and myself
were in hers. I observed that she was silent and
sad for a part of the way, and I let her see that
I was uneasy about her. At first she seemed re-
luctant to give me any explanation, but at length
she said, " I am going to trust you with a great
secret. This morning Bonaparte told me that he
had sent M. de Caulaincourt to the frontier to seize
the Due d'Enghien. He is to be brought back here."
" Ah, Madame," I exclaimed, " what are they going
to do with him ? " "I believe," she answered, " he
will have him tried." I do not think I have ever in
my life experienced such a thrill of terror as that
which her words sent through me. Madame Bona-
parte thought I was going to faint, and let down
all the glasses. " I have done what I could," she
went on, " to induce him to promise me that the
prince's life shall not be taken, but I am greatly
afraid his mind is made up." " What, do you really
think he will have him put to death ? " "I fear so."
At these words I burst into tears, and then, so soon
as I could master my emotion sufficiently to be able
to speak, I urged upon her the fatal consequences
of such a deed, the indelible stain of such vain
184 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
bloodshed, which would satisfy the Jacobin party
only, the strong interest with which the prince
inspired all the other parties, the great name
of Conde', the general horror, the bitter animosity
which would be aroused, and many other considera-
tions. I argued every side of the question, of which
.Madame Bonaparte contemplated one only. The
idea of a murder was that which had struck her
most strongly ; but I succeeded in seriously alarming
her, and she promised me that she would endeavour
by every means in her power to induce Bonaparte
to relinquish his fatal purpose.
We both arrived at Malmaison in the deepest
dejection. I took refuge at once in my own room,
where I wept bitterly. 1 was completely over-
whelmed by this terrible discovery. I liked and
admired Bonaparte ; I believed him to be called by an
invincible power to the highest of human destinies ;
I allowed my youthful imagination to run riot con-
cerning him. All in a moment, the veil which
hid the truth from my eyes was torn away, and
by my own feelings at that instant I could only
too accurately divine what would be the general
opinion of such an act.
There was no one at Malmaison to whom I could
speak freely. My husband was not in waiting, and
had remained in Paris. I was obliged to control
my agitation, and to make my appearance with an
A GAME OF CHESS. 185
unmoved countenance, for Madame Bonaparte had
earnestly entreated me not to let Bonaparte divine
that she had spoken to me of this matter.
On going down to the drawing-room at six o'clock,
I found the First Consul playing a game of chess.
He appeared quite serene and calm ; it made me ill
to look at his face. So completely had my mind
been upset by all that had passed through it during
the last two hours, that I could not regard him with
the feelings which his presence usually inspired ;
it seemed to me that I must see some extraordinary
alteration in him. A few officers dined with him.
Nothing whatever of any significance occurred ; after
dinner he withdrew to his cabinet, where he trans-
acted business with his police. That night, when I
was leaving Madame Bonaparte, she again promised
me that she would renew her entreaties.
I joined her as early as I could on the following
morning, and found her quite in despair. Bona-
parte had repelled her at every point. He had told
her that women had no concern with such matters ;
that his policy required this coup d'etat; that by
it he should acquire the right to exercise clemency
hereafter; that, in fact, he was forced to choose
between a decisive act and a long series of con-
spiracies which he would have to punish in detail,
as impunity would have encouraged the various
parties. He should have to go on prosecuting, exiling,
186 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
condemning, without end ; to revoke his measures of
mercy towards the emigres ; to place himself in the
hands of the Jacobins. The Royalists had more than
once compromised him with the revolutionists. The
contemplated action would set him free from all
parties alike. Besides, after all, the Due d'Enghien
had joined in the conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal ;
he was a cause of disturbance to France, and a tool
in the hands of England for effecting her purposes of
vengeance ; the prince's military reputation might in
the future prove a source of trouble in the army ;
whereas by his death the last link between our
soldiers and the Bourbons would be broken. In
politics, a death which tranquillizes a nation is not
a crime. Finally, he had given his orders — he
would not withdraw them ; there was an end of the
matter.
During their interview, Madame Bonaparte in-
formed her husband that he was about to aggravate
the heinousness of the deed by the selection of
M. de Caulaincourt, whose parents had formerly
been in the household of the Prince de Conde, as the
person who was to arrest the Due d'Enghien. " I
did not know that," replied Bonaparte ; " but what
does it matter ? If Caulaincourt is compromised,
there is no great harm in that ; indeed, it will only
make him serve me all the better, and the opposite
party will henceforth forgive him for being a gentle-
THE VIGIL OF THE CRIME. 187
man." He then added that M. de Caulaincourt, who
had been informed of only a portion of his plan, be-
lieved that the Due d'Enghien was to be imprisoned
in France.
My heart failed me at these words. M. de Cau-
laincourt was a friend of mine. It seemed to me
that he ought to have refused to undertake such a
task.
The day passed drearily. I remember that Madame
Bonaparte, who was very fond of trees and flowers,
was busy during the morning, superintending the
transplanting of a cypress to a newly laid-out
portion of her garden. She threw a few handfuls
of earth on the roots of the tree, so that she might
say she had planted it with her own hands. " Ah,
madame," said I to her, as I observed her doing
so, " a cypress is just the tree that suits such a day
as this." I have never passed by that cypress since
without a thrill of pain.
My profound emotion distressed Madame Bona-
parte. She had great faith in all Bonaparte's views,
and, owing to her natural levity and fickleness, she
excessively disliked painful or lasting impressions.
Her feelings were quick, but extraordinarily eva-
nescent. Being convinced that the death of the
Due d'Enghien was inevitable, she wanted to get rid
of an unavailing regret ; but I would not allow her
to do so. I importuned her all day long, without
188 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
ceasing. She listened to me with extreme gentle-
ness and kindness, but in utter dejection ; she knew
Bonaparte better than I. I wept while talking to
her ; I implored her not to allow herself to be put
down, and, as I was not without influence over her,
I succeeded in inducing her to make a last attempt.
" Mention me to the First Consul, if necessary,"
said I. " I am of very little importance, but at
least he will be able to judge, by the effect upon me,
of the impression he is about to make, and I am
more attached to him than other people are. I, who
would ask nothing better than to find excuses for
him, cannot see even one for what he intends to do."
We saw very little of Bonaparte during the whole
of that second day. The Chief Judge, the Prefect of
Police, and Murat, all came to Malmaison, and had
prolonged audience of the First Consul ; I augured
ill from their countenances. I remained up a great
part of the night, and when at length I fell asleep,
my dreams were frightful. I fancied that I heard
constant movements in the chateau, and that a
fresh attempt was about to be made upon our
lives. I was possessed with a strong desire to go
and throw myself at Bonaparte's feet, and implore
him to take pity upon his own fame, which I then
believed to be very pure and bright, and I grieved
heartily over the tarnishing of it. The hours of
that night can never be effaced from my memory.
THE VIGIL OF THE CRIME. 189
On the Tuesday morning, Madame Bonaparte said
to me, " All is useless ; the Due d'Enghien arrives
this evening. He will be taken to Vincennes and
tried to-night. Murat has undertaken the whole.
He is odious in this matter ; it is he who is urging
Bonaparte on, by telling him that his clemency
will be taken for weakness, that the Jacobins will
be furious, and one party is now displeased because
the former fame of Moreau has not been taken into
consideration, and will ask why a Bourbon should
be differently treated. Bonaparte has forbidden me
to speak to him again on the subject. He asked me
about you,*' she added, " and I acknowledged that
I had told you everything. He had perceived your
distress. Pray try to control yourself."
At this I lost all self-restraint, and exclaimed,
" Let him think what he likes of me. It matters
very little to me, madame, I assure you ; and if he
asks me why I am weeping, I will tell him that 1
weep for him." And, in fact, I again burst into
tears.
Madame Bonaparte was thrown into consterna-
tion by the state I was in — she was almost in-
capable of any strong mental emotion — and when
she tried to calm me by reassuring words I could
only say to her, " Ah, madame, you do not under-
stand me ! '' After this event, she said, Bonaparte
would go on just as he had done before. Alas !
190 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
it was not the future which was troubling me. I
did not doubt his power over himself and others ;
the anguish that filled my whole being was interior
and personal.
Dinner-hour came, and she had to go down with
a composed face. Mine was quite beyond my
control. Again Bonaparte was playing chess : he
had taken a fancy to that game. Immediately on
perceiving me he called me to him, saying that
he wanted to consult me. I was not able to
speak. He addressed me in a tone of kindness
and interest, which increased my confusion and
distress. When dinner was served, he placed me
near himself, and asked me a number of ques-
tions about the affairs of my family. He seemed
bent on bewildering me, and hindering me from
thinking. Little Napoleon (the son of Louis and
Hortense) had been brought down from Paris ; and
his uncle placed the child in the middle of the
table, and seemed much amused when he pulled
the dishes about, and upset everything within his
reach.
After dinner, he sat on the floor, playing with the
boy, and apparently in very high spirits, which it
seemed to me were assumed. Madame Bonaparte,
who had feared that he would be angry at what she
had told him about me, looked from one to the other
of us, smiling sweetly, as if she would have said,
TEE VIGIL OF TEE CRIME. 191
" You see, he is not so bad after all ; we may make
our minds easy."
I hardlv knew where I was. I felt as though
I were dreaming a bad dream ; no doubt I looked
bewildered. Suddenly, fixing a piercing gaze upon
me, Bonaparte said, " Why have you no rouge on ?
You are too pale." I answered that I had forgotten
to put on any. " What ! " said he, " a woman forget ^
to put on her rouge ? " And then, with a loud
laugh, he turned to his wife, and added, " That
would never happen to you, Josephine." I was
greatly disconcerted, and lie completed my discom-
fiture by remarking, " Two things are very becoming
to women — rouge and tears."
When General Bonaparte was in high spirits, he
was equally devoid of taste and moderation, and on
such occasions his manners smacked of the barrack-
room. He went on for some time jesting with his
wife with more freedom than delicacy, and then
challenged me to a game of chess. He did not play
well, and never would observe the correct moves.
I allowed him to do as he liked ; every one in the
room kept silence. Presently he began to mutter
some lines of poetry, and then repeated, a little
louder, " Soyons ami, Cinna," and Guzman's lines
in Act v. scene vii. of Alzire : —
" Des dieux que nous servons connais la difference :
Les tiens font comtnande le meuitre et la vengeance :
192 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
Et le mien, quand ton bras vient de rn'assassiner,
M'ordonne de te plaindre et de te pardonner."
As he half-whispered the line —
" Et le mien, quand ton bras vient de rn'assassiner,"
I could not refrain from raising my eyes and looking"
at him. He smiled, and went on repeating the
verses. In truth, at that moment I did believe that
he had deceived his wife and everybody else, and
was planning a grand scene of magnanimous pardon.
I caught eagerly at this idea, and it restored me to
composure. My imagination was very juvenile in
those days, and I wanted so much to be able to hope !
" You like poetry ? " Bonaparte asked me. How
I longed to answer, " Especially when the lines are
applicable ; ' but I did not dare to utter the words.
I may as well mention in this place that the very
day after I had set down the above reminiscence, a
friend lent me a book entitled " Me'moires Secretes
sur la Vie de Lucien Bonaparte." This work, which
is probably written by a secretary of Lucien's, is
inaccurate in several instances. Some notes added
at the end, are said to be written by a person
worthy of belief. I found among them the fol-
lowing, which struck me as curious : — " Lucien
was informed of the death of the Due d'Enghien by
General Hullin, a relative of Madame Jouberthon,
who came to her house some hours after that event,
looking the image of grief and consternation. The
A SECOND GAME OF CHESS. 193
Military Council had been assured that the First
Consul only purposed to assert his authority, hut
fully intended to pardon the prince, and certain
lines from Alzire, commencing —
' Des dieux que nous servons connais la difference,'
were quoted to them."
But to resume. We went on with our game, and
his gaiety gave me more and more confidence. We
were still playing, when the sound of carriage-wheels
was heard, and presently General Hullin was
announced. Bonaparte pushed away the chess-table
roughly, rose, and went into the adjoining gallery.
There he remained all the rest of the evening,
with Murat, Hullin, and Savary. We saw no
more of him, and yet I went to my room feel-
ing more easy. I could not belie v r e but that
Bonaparte must be moved by the fact of having
such a victim in his hands. I hoped the prince
would ask to see him ; and in fact he did so,
adding, " If the First Consul would consent to see
me, he would do me justice, for he would know
that I have done my duty." My idea was that
Bonaparte would go to Yincennes, and publicly
grant the prince pardon in person. If he were
not going to act thus, why should he have quoted
those lines from Alzire ?
That night, that terrible night, passed. Early in
the morning I went down to the drawingrroom, and
vol. i. o
194 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
there I found Savary. He was deadly pale, and I
must do him the justice to say that his face betrayed
great agitation. He spoke to me with trembling
lips, but his words were quite insignificant. I did
not question him ; for persons of his kind will always
say what they want to say without being asked,
although they never give answers.
Madame Bonaparte came in, looked at me very
sadly, and, as she took her seat, said to Savary,
"Well— so it is done?" "Yes, Madame," he
answered. " He died this morning, and, I am bound
to acknowledge, with great courage." I was struck
dumb with horror.
Madame Bonaparte asked for details. They have
all been made known since. The prince was taken
to one of the trenches of the chateau. Being offered
a handkerchief to bind his eyes, he rejected it
with dignity ; and, addressing the gendarmes, said.
" You are Frenchmen : at least you will do me the
service not to miss your aim." He placed in
Savary's hands a ring, a lock of hair, and a letter
for Madame de Rohan ; and all these Savary showed
to Madame Bonaparte. The letter was open ; it was
brief and tender. I do not know whether these last
wishes of the unfortunate prince were carried out.
" After his death," said Savary, " the gendarmes
were told that they might take his clothes, his
watch, and the money he had in his pocket ; but not
THE CRIME. 195
one of them would touch anything. People may say
what they like, but one cannot see a man like that
die, as coolly as one can see others. I feel it hard
to get over it."
Presently Eugene de Beauharnais made his ap-
pearance. He was too young to have recollections
of the past, and in his eyes the Due d'Enghien was
simply a conspirator against the life of his master.
Then came certain generals, whose names I will not
set down here ; and they applauded the deed so
loudly that Madame Bonaparte thought it necessary
to apologize for her own dejection, by repeating over
and over again the unmeaning sentence, " I am a
woman, you know, and I confess I could cry."
In the course of the morning a number of visitors
came to the Tuileries. Among them were the
Consuls, the Ministers, and Louis Bonaparte and
his wife. Louis preserved a sullen silence, which
seemed to imply disapprobation. Madame Louis
was so frightened that she did not dare to feel,
and seemed to be asking what she ought to think.
Women, even more than men, were subjugated by the
magic of that sacramental phrase of Bonaparte's —
" My policy." With those words he crushed one's
thoughts, feelings, and even impressions ; and when
he uttered them, no one in the palace, especially
no woman, would have dared to ask him what he
meant.
196 MEMOIRS OF 3IADAME DE REMUS AT.
My husband also came during the morning, and
his presence relieved me from the terrible oppression
from which I was suffering. He, like myself, was
grieved and downcast. How grateful I was to him
for not lecturing me upon the absolute necessity of
our appearing perfectly composed under the circum-
stances ! We sympathized in every feeling. He
told me that the general sentiment in Paris was
one of disgust, and that the heads of the Jacobin
party said, " He belongs to us now." He added
the following words, which I have frequently
recalled to mind since : — " The Consul has taken
a line which will force him into laying aside the
useful, in order to efface this recollection, and
into dazzling us by the extraordinary and the
unexpected." He also said to Madame Bonaparte,
" There is one important piece of advice which you
ought to give the First Consul. It is that he should
not lose a moment in restoring public confidence.
Opinion is apt to be precipitate in Paris. He
ought at least to prove to the people that the
event which has just occurred is not due to the
development of a cruel disposition, but to reasons
whose force I am not called upon to determine, and
which ought to make him very circumspect."
Madame Bonaparte fully appreciated the advice of
M. de Remusat, and immediately repeated his words
to her husband. He seemed well disposed to listen
M. DE CAULAINCOURT. 197
to her, and answered briefly, " That is quite
true." On rejoining Madame Bonaparte before
dinner, I found her in the gallery, with her daughter
and M. de Caulaincourt, who had just arrived. He
had superintended the arrest of the Due d'Enghien,
but had not accompanied him to Paris. I recoiled at
the sight of him. "And you, too," said he, addressing
me, so that all could hear him, " you are going to
detest me ! And yet I am only unfortunate ; but
that I am in no small degree, for the Consul has dis-
graced me by this act. Such is the reward of my
devotion to him. I have been shamefully deceived,
and I am now ruined." He shed tears while
speaking, and I could not but pity him.
Madame Bonaparte assured me afterwards that
he had spoken in the same way to the First
Consul, and I was myself a witness to his severe
and angry bearing towards Bonaparte, who made
many advances to him, but for a long time in
vain. The First Consul laid out his plans before
him, but found him cold and uninterested ; then he
made him brilliant offers, by way of amends, which
were at first rejected. Perhaps they ought to have
been always refused.
In the mean time public opinion declared itself
strongly against M. de Caulaincourt. Certain
persons condemned the aide-de-camp mercilessly,
while they made excuses for the master ; and such
198 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
injustice exasperated M. de Caulaincourt, who might
have bowed his head before frank and candid
censure, fairly distributed between them. When,
however, he saw that every sort of affront was to be
heaped on him, in order that the real culprit might
go quite free, he conceived an utter disdain for
these people, and consented to force them into silence
by placing himself in a position of such authority as
would enable him to overrule them. He was urged
to take this course by Bonaparte and also by his
own ambition. " Do not act like a fool," said
the former. " If you retreat before all this abuse
you will be done for ; no one will give you any
thanks or credit for your tardy opposition to my
wishes, and you will be all the more heavily
censured because you are not formidable." By
dint of similar reasoning frequently reiterated, and
by the employment of every sort of device for
consoling and coaxing M. de Caulaincourt, Bona-
parte succeeded in appeasing his resentment, and
by degrees he raised him to posts of great dignity
about his own person. The weakness that in-
duced M. de Caulaincourt to pardon the indelible
injury which the First Consul had done him, may
be more or less blamed ; but, at least, it should be
admitted that he was never a blind or servile
courtier, and that he remained to the last among
the small number of Bonaparte's servants who
M. DE CAULAINCOUBT. 199
never neglected an opportunity of telling him the
truth."""
Before dinner, both Madame Bonaparte and her
daughter entreated me to command my countenance
as much as possible. The former told me that her
husband had asked her that morning what effect the
deplorable news had produced upon me, and on her
replying that I had wept, he said, " That is a matter
of course ; she merely did what was to be expected
of her as a woman. You don't understand anything
about our business ; but it will all subside, and
everybody will see that I have not made a blunder."
At length, dinner was announced. In addition to
the household officers on duty for that week, the
* M. de Caulaincourt retained the same feelings all his life,
and very severely condemned the policy and the personal
character of Bonaparte, whose fatal projects he frequently
endeavoured to avert. M. Monnier, the son of the celebrated
member of the Assemblies of the Ee volution, with whom my
father was very intimate in his youth, told him that in the
campaign of 1813, M. de Caulaincourt, then Due de Vienne,
while accompanying the Emperor with several members of his
staff and of his household, saw a shell strike the ground close by
Napoleon. He rode up, putting his horse between the Emperor
and the missile, and covered him as much as possible from the
fragments of the shell, which happily exploded without hitting
anybody. In the evening, M. Monnier, who was supping at
head-quarters, spoke to him of this deed of bravery, by which
he had risked his own life to save that of his master. " That
is true," replied the Due de Vienne, " and yet I could not
believe that there is a God in heaven if that man were to die
on the throne."
200 MEMOIRS OF MADAME I)E BEMUSAT.
dinner-party included M. and Mme. Louis Bona-
parte, Eugene Beauharnais, M. de Caulaincourt, and
General Hullin, who was then Commandant of Paris.
The sight of this man affected me painfully. His
expression of face, perfectly unmoved, was just the
same on that day as it had been on the preceding." 5 '
I quite believe that he did not think he had done an
ill deed, or that he had performed an act of zeal in
presiding over the military commission which con-
demned the prince. Bonaparte rewarded the fatal
service which he had rendered him with money and
promotion, but he said more than once, when he noted
Hullin's presence, " The sight of him annoys me ;
he reminds me of things which I do not like."
Bonaparte did not come into the drawing-room at
all ; he went from his cabinet to the dinner-table. He
affected no high spirits that day; on the contrary,
he remained during the whole time of dinner in a
profound reverie. We were all very silent. Just as
we were about to rise from table, the First Consul
said, in a harsh, abrupt tone, as if in reply to his
own thoughts, " At least they will see what we are
capable of, and henceforth, I hope, they will leave
us alone." He then passed on into the drawing-
room, where he talked for a long time in a low voice
with his wife, looking at me now and then, but
without any anger in his glance. I sat apart from
* I have since been assured that he was deeply grieved.
A MONOLOGUE BY BONAPARTE. 201
all, downcast and ill, without either the power or
the wish to utter a word.
Presently Joseph Bonaparte and M. and Mme.
Bacciochi * arrived, accompanied by M. de Fontanes.f
Lucien was on bad terms with his brother, who had
objected to his marriage with Madame Jouberthon,
and came no more to the palace ; indeed, he was then
making ready to leave France. During the evening,
Murat, Dubois, who was Prefect of Police, the mem-
bers of the Council of State, and others arrived, all
with composed faces. The conversation was at first
trifling and awkward ; the women sitting silent, the
men standing in a semicircle, Bonaparte walking
about from one side of the room to the other.
Presently he began a discussion, half literary, half
historical, with M. de Fontanes. The mention of
certain historical names gave him an opportunity of
bringing out his opinion of some of our kings and
great military commanders. I remarked on this
evening that he dwelt on dethronements of every
kind, both actual, and such as are effected by a change
of public opinion. He lauded Charlemagne, but
maintained that France had always been en decadence
* M. Bacciochi was then a colonel of dragoons, and had
nothing whatever to do with politics. He had a passion for the
violin, and played all day.
f M. de Fontanes was appointed President of the Corps Legis-
latif at this time, and afterwards perpetual Piesident.
202 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
under the Valois, He depreciated the greatness of
Henry IV. " He was wanting," said he, " in
gravity. Good nature is an affectation which a
sovereign ought to avoid. What does he want ? Is
it to remind those who surround him that he is a man
like any other ? What nonsense ! So soon as a man
is a king, he is apart from all, and I have always
held that there was the instinct of true policy in
Alexander's idea of making himself out to be
the descendant of a god." He added that Louis
XIV. knew the French better than Henry IV. ;
but he hastened to add that Louis had I allowed
" priests and an old woman " to get the better
of him, and he made some coarse remarks on that
point. Then he held forth on Louis XIV. 's generals,
and on military science in general.
" Military science," said Bonaparte, " consists in
calculating all the chances accurately in the first
place, and then in giving accident exactly, almost
mathematically, its place in one's calculations. It is
upon this point that one must not deceive one's self,
and that a decimal more or less may change all.
Now, this apportioning of accident and science cannot
get into any head except that of a genius, for genius
must exist wherever there is a creation, and assuredly
the grandest improvisation of the human mind is
the gift of existence to that which has it not.
-Accident, hazard, chance, whatever you choose to
A MONOLOGUE BY BONAPABTE. 203
call it, a mystery to ordinary minds, becomes a
reality to superior men. Turenne did not think
about it, and so he had nothing but method. I
think," he added, with a smile, " I should have
beaten him. Conde had a better notion of it than
Turenne, but he gave himself up to it with im-
petuosity. Prince Eugene is one of those who
understood it best. Henry IV. always put bravery
in the place of everything ; he only fought actions
— he would not have come well out of a pitched
battle. Catinat has been cried up chiefly from
the democratic point of view ; I have, for my own
part, carried off a victory on the spot where he
was beaten. The philosophers have worked up his
reputation after their own fancy, and that was all
the easier to do, because one may say anything one
likes about ordinary people who have been lifted into
eminence by circumstances not of their own creating.
A man, to be really great, no matter in what order
of greatness, must have actually improvised a por-
tion of his own glory — must have shown himself
superior to the event which he has brought about.
For instance, Csesar occasionally acted with weakness
which makes me suspect the praises that are lavished
on him in history.
"lam rather doubtful of your friends the histo-
rians, M. de Fontanes. Even your Tacitus himself
explains nothing ; he arrives at certain results with-
204 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
out indicating the routes that have been followed.
He is, I think, able as a writer, but hardly so as a
statesman. He depicts Nero as an execrable tyrant,
and then he tells us, almost in the same page with a
description of the pleasure he felt in burning down
Rome, that the people loved him. All that is not
plain and clear. Believe me, we are sometimes the
dupes of our beliefs — of writers who have fabricated
history for us in accordance with the natural bent of
their own minds. But do you know whose history I
should like to read, if it were well written ? That
of King Frederick II. of Prussia. I hold him to
be one of those who have best understood their
business in every sort of way. These ladies " — here
he turned to us — " will not be of my opinion ;
they will say that he was harsh and selfish. But,
after all, is a great statesman made for feeling ? Is
he not a completely eccentric personage, who stands
always alone, on his own side, with the world on
the other. The glass through which he looks is
that of his policy ; his sole concern ought to be that
it should neither magnify nor diminish. And
while he observes objects with attention, he must
also be careful to hold the reins equally ; for the
chariot which he drives is often drawn by ill-
matched horses. How, then, is he to occupy him-
self with those fine distinctions of feeling which
are important to the generality of mankind ? Can
A MONOLOGUE BY BONAPARTE. 205
he consider the affections, the ties of kinship,
the puerile arrangements of society ? In such a
position as his, how many actions are regarded
separately, and condemned, although they are to
contribute as a whole to that great work which the
public does not understand ? One day, those deeds
will issue in the creation of the Colossus which will
be the wonder of posterity. And you, mistaken
as you are — you will withhold your praises, because
you are afraid lest the movement of that great
machine should crush you, as Grulliver crushed the
Lilliputians when he moved his legs. Be advised ;
go on in advance of the time, enlarge your imagina-
tion, look out afar, and you will see that those great
personages whom you think violent and cruel are
only politic. They know themselves better, they
judge themselves more correctly than you do ; and,
when they are really able men, they can master
their passions, for they calculate the effects even
of them."
From this, which was a kind of manifesto, the
opinions of Bonaparte may be gathered, and also
a notion of the rapid succession in which his ideas
followed each other when he allowed himself to
talk. It sometimes happened that his discourse
would be less consecutive, for he put up well enough
with interruptions ; but on the day in question every
one seemed to be benumbed in his presence ; no
206 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
one ventured to apply his words in the sense
which it was evident he intended. He had never
ceased walking to and fro while he was talking,
and this for more than an hour. Many other
things which he said have escaped my memory.
At length, abruptly breaking off the chain of his
ideas, he directed M. de Fontanes to read aloud
certain extracts from Drake's correspondence, which
I have already mentioned, all relating to the con-
spiracy. When the reading of the extracts was
concluded, " There are proofs here," said he, " that
cannot be disputed. These people wanted to throw
France into confusion, and to destroy the Revolution
by destroying me ; it was my duty both to defend and
to avenge the Revolution. I have proved of what it
is capable. The Due d'Enghien was a conspirator
like any other, and he had to be treated as such.
The whole affair, moreover, was arranged without
caution or accurate knowledge of facts, on the faith
of some obscure correspondence — a few credulous
old women wrote letters, and were believed. The
Bourbons will never see anything except through the
(Eil-de-Bceuf, and they are fated to be perpetually
deluded. The Polignacs made sure that every house
in Paris would be open to them, and when they
arrived here, not a single noble would receive them.
If all these fools were to kill me, they would not get
their own way ; they would only put angry Jacobins
A MONOLOGUE BY BONAPARTE. 207
in my place. The day of etiquette is over — but the
Bourbons cannot give it up. If ever you see them
return, mark my words, etiquette will be the first sub-
ject that will occupy their minds. Ah ! it would
have been another story could they have been seen,
like Henry Y., covered with dust and blood on
a battle-field. A kingdom is not got back by dating
a letter from London, and signing it ' Louis.' Never-
theless, such a letter compromises imprudent people,
and I am obliged to punish them, although I feel a
sort of pity for them. I have shed blood ; it was
necessary to do so. I may have to shed more, but
not out of anger — simply because blood-letting is
one of the remedies in political medicine. I am the
man of the State ; I am the French Revolution.
I say it, and I will uphold it."
After this last declaration, Bonaparte dismissed
us all. We dispersed without daring to interchange
our ideas, and thus ended this fatal dav.*
* The murder of the Due d'Enghien is an inexhaustible
subject of controversy between the opponents of the Empire and
the supporters of Napoleon. In the most recent and import-
ant works of historians and memoir-writers, there is nothing to
contradict the above narrative, which possesses, moreover, every
mark of sincerity and truthfulness. The First Consul originated
and ordered the crime; Savary and the military commission
executed it ; M. de Caulaincourt was the unconscious medium. A
full account of the trial may be found in a work entitled
"Le Due d'Enghien d'apres les Documents Historiques," par
L. Constant. In-8. Paris, 1869. The following extract from
208 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
Chateaubriand's " Memoires d'Outre-tombe " will, I think, he of
interest at this point, although the work does not rank among
the best productions of its author, and cannot be absolutely-
relied on. Nevertheless, M. de Chateaubriand's resignation of
his post on the day following the crime is justly held honour-
able to him. "A council was held on the proposed arrest of
the Due d'Enghien. Cambaceres, in his unpublished Memoirs,
asserts — and I believe him — that he opposed the arrest; but
although he records his own words, he does not say what
replies they elicited. The ' Memorial de Ste. Helene ' denies,
however, that Bonaparte had to refuse any entreaties for cle-
mency. The imaginary scene in which Josephine begs on her
knees for the life of the Due d'Enghien, and, clinging to the
coat of Napoleon, is dragged along the ground by her inexorable
husband, is one of those melodramatic inventions with which
the fiction- writers of the present day compose their veracious
histories. On the evening of March 19th, Josephine was in
ignorance that the Due d'Enghien was to be tried; she only
knew that he had been arrested. She had promised Madame de
Eemusat to interest herself in his fate. ... On the 21st of
March, Bonaparte said to his wife, ' The Due d'Enghien has been
shot.' The Memoirs of Madame de Eemusat, with whom I was
acquainted, were full of exceedingly curious details of the
private life of the Imperial Court. Their author burned them
during the Hundred Days, but afterwards rewrote them.
They are now but recollections of former recollections ; the
colours are faded ; but Bonaparte is always clearly depicted and
impartially judged." — P. E.
PUBLIC OPINION ON TEE CRIME. 209
CHAPTER VI.
1804.
The impression produced in Paris by the death of the Due
d'Enghien — The First Consul's efforts to dispel it — Perform-
ance at the Opera House — Death of Pichegru — Breach
between Bonaparte and his brother Lucien — Project of adopt-
ing the young Napoleon — Institution of the Empire.
The First Consul spared no pains to allay the
excitement which was caused by this event. He
perceived that his conduct had raised the question of
his real character, and he set himself to prove, both
by his speeches in the Council of State, and also to
all of us, that political considerations only, and not
passion of any kind, had led to the death of the Due
d'Enghien. As I said before, he made no attempt
to check the genuine indignation evinced by M. de
Caulaincourt, and towards me he was so indulgent
that he once more unsettled my opinions. How
strong a power of persuasion do sovereigns, whatever
their character, exercise over us ! Our feelings, and,
to be frank, our vanity also, run to meet their
slightest advances half-way. I grieved, but I felt
VOL. i. p
210 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
myself being slowly won over by the adroitness
of Bonaparte, and I cried—
" Plut a Dieu que ce fut le dernier de tes crimes ! "
Meanwhile we returned to Paris, and my feel-
ings were again painfully excited by the state of
opinion there. I could make no reply to what was
said. I could only try to persuade those who be-
lieved that this fatal act was but the beginning of
a blood-stained reign, that they were mistaken ;
and while it would be difficult to exaggerate the
impression that such a crime must produce, still
party spirit ran so high that, although my own
feelings revolted against it, I sometimes found
myself endeavouring to offer some sort of excuse
for it — uselessly enough, since I was addressing
people whose convictions were unalterable.
I had a warm discussion with Madame de ,
a cousin of Madame Bonaparte's. She was one
of those persons who did not attend the evening
receptions at the Tuileries, but who, having divided
the palace into two separate regions, considered
that they might appear in Madame Bonaparte's
apartment on the ground floor in the morning,
without departing from their principles, or sullying
their reminiscences, by recognition of the actual
Government on the first floor.
She was a clever, animated woman, with rather
high-flown notions, and she frightened Madame
A TIMELY WARNING. 211
Bonaparte by her vehement indignation. Finding
me with her one day, she attacked me with equal
vigour, and compassionated both of us for being,
as she said, bound in chains to a tyrant. She went
so far that I tried to make her understand the
distress she was inflicting on her cousin. Then
she turned violently upon me, and accused me
of not sufficiently appreciating the horror of the
event that had just taken place. " As for me,"
she said, " every sense and every feeling is so out-
raged, that if your Consul were to come into this
room, you would see me fly on the instant, as one
flies from a venomous beast." " Ah, Madame," I
answered (little thinking that my words would prove
prophetic), " refrain from expressions which at some
future day may prove embarrassing to you. Weep
with us, but bear in mind that words uttered in
a moment of excitement often complicate one's
subsequent actions. To-day you are angry with
me for my apparent moderation; yet, perhaps, my
feelings will last longer than yours."
And, in fact, a few months later, Madame de
became Lady-in- Waiting to her cousin, the newly-
made Empress.
Hume says that Cromwell, having established a
sort of phantom royalty, very soon found himself
surrounded by that particular class of nobles, who
conceive themselves called on to live in palaces so
212 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
soon as their doors are reopened. The First Consul,
on assuming the insignia of the power he already-
wielded, offered a salve to the conscience of the
old nobility which their vanity eagerly applied —
for who can resist the temptation of recovering the
rank he feels himself made to adorn ? I am about
to draw a very homely comparison, but I believe
a true one. In the nature of the grand seigneur
there is something of the character of the cat, which
remains faithful to the same house, no matter who
may come to live in it.
Bonaparte, stained with the blood of the Due
d'Enghien, but having become an Emperor, suc-
ceeded in obtaining from the French nobles that for
which he would have vainly sought so long as he
was only First Consul ; and when, in later days,
he maintained to one of his Ministers that this
murder was indeed a crime, but not a blunder —
" for," he added, " the consequences that I foresaw
have all exactly happened" — he was, in one sense,
right.
And yet, if we look at things from a higher
standpoint, the consequences of this act of his
reached farther than he thought. He succeeded,
doubtless, in moderating certain opinions, for
there are numbers of people who give up feeling
when there is nothing to hope ; but, as M. de
Re'musat said, the odium which the crime cast upon
THE RETUBN TO PARIS. 213
him obliged him to divert our thoughts from it
by a succession of extraordinary feats, which would
impose silence respecting the past. Moreover, he
bound himself, as it were, to be always successful,
for by success alone could he be justified. If we
contemplate the tortuous and difficult path he was
henceforth obliged to tread, we shall conclude that a
noble and pure policy, based upon the prosperity of
the human race and the free exercise of its rights,
would have been then, as it is always, the best on
which a sovereign can act.
By the death of the Due d'Engmien, Bonaparte
succeeded in compromising, first ourselves, then the
French nobility, finally the whole nation and all
Europe. Our fate was united with his, it is true —
this was a great point for him ; but when he dis-
honoured us, he lost the right to devotion and ad-
herence, and he claimed them in vain when the hour
of his ill fortune came. How could he reckon on
a link, forged, it must be owned, at the cost of the
noblest feelings of the soul ? Alas ! I judge by my
own case. From that time forward I began to
blush in secret at the chain I wore ; and this
feeling, which I suppressed with more or less
success at different times, afterwards became the
general sentiment.
On his return to Paris, the First Consul was
struck by the effect he had produced. He perceived
214 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
that feelings move more slowly than opinions, and
that men's countenances wore a new expression in
his presence. Weary of a remembrance that he would
have liked to have rendered a bygone from the very
first, he thought the best plan was to let the people
wear out their emotions as quickly as possible, and so
he determined to appear in public, although certain
persons advised him to defer doing so for a while.
" But we must, at any cost," he answered, " throw
that event into the past ; and it will remain new so
long as anything fresh is to be felt about it. If
we change nothing in our habits, the public will
soon regard the occurrence as an old affair." It
was therefore arranged that he should go to the
opera.
On that evening I was in attendance on Madame
Bonaparte ; her carriage followed her husband's.
His usual custom was not to wait for her, but to
pass rapidly up the staircase and show himself in his
box ; on this occasion, however, he waited in the
little ante-room adjoining it, until Madame Bona-
parte arrived. She was trembling very much, and
he was excessively pale ; he looked round at us
all, as if mutely asking us how we thought he
would be received ; and then he went forward at
last like a man marching up to a battery. He
was greeted in the usual way, either because the
sight of him produced its customary effect — for the
PROJECTS OF EMPIRE. 215
multitude do not change their habits in a moment —
or because the police had taken measures of precau-
tion beforehand. I had greatly feared he would not
be applauded, and yet, when I saw that he was, my
heart sank within me.
He remained only a few days in Paris ; thence
he removed to Saint Cloud, and I believe that from
that time forth he began to carry his projects of
sovereignty into execution. He felt the necessity of
imposing upon Europe an authority which could
no longer be contested, and at the very moment
when he had just broken with all parties by deeds
which he himself regarded as merely acts of vigour,
he thought it well to reveal the goal towards which
he had been advancing with more or less precau-
tion. He began by obtaining from the legislative
body, now assembled, a levy of sixty thousand
men ; not that he wanted them for the war with
England, which could only be carried on by sea,
but because he required to assume an imposing
attitude when about to astonish Europe by an alto-
gether novel incident. The Code of Civil Laws had
just been completed ; this was an important work,
and was said to be worthy of general approval. The
halls wherein the three great bodies of the State
assembled rung on that occasion with the praises of
Bonaparte. M. Marcorelle, a deputy of the Corps
Le'gislatif, moved, amid loud acclamations, on the
216 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
24th of March, three days after the death of the Due
d'Enghien, that a bust of the First Consul should be
placed in the Chamber of Deputies. " Let us," he
said, " by a striking mark of our affection, proclaim
to Europe that he who has been threatened by the
daggers of vile assassins is the object of our attach-
ment and admiration."
A few days later, Fourcroy, a member of the
Council of State, closed the session in the name of
the Government. He alluded to the princes of the
House of Bourbon as " members of that unnatural
family which would have drowned France in her
own blood, so that they might reign over her," and
he added that they must be threatened with death if
they ventured to pollute French territory by their
presence.
Meanwhile, preparations for the great trial were
going on ; Chouans, who were concerned in the con-
spiracy, were arrested every day, either in Brittany
or in Paris, and Georges Cadoudal, Pichegru, and
Moreau had already been examined several times.
The two first, it was said, answered with firm-
ness ; Moreau appeared to be much dejected. No
clear information was obtained by these interroga-
tories.
One morning, General Pichegru was found
strangled in his prison. This event, which was un-
hesitatingly attributed to the need of getting rid of
TEE BEATS OF PICHEGRU. 217
a formidable enemy, made a great sensation. Piche-
gru's determination of character would, it was said,
have led him, when the proceedings became public,
to utter strong language, which would have had an
undesirable effect. He would, perhaps, have created
a party in his favour ; he would have cleared Moreau,
whose guilt it was already so difficult to prove. On
the other hand, the partisans of Bonaparte said : —
" Nobody can doubt that Pichegru came to Paris in
order to get up an insurrection. He himself does
not deny it. His own avowals would have con-
vinced the most incredulous ; his absence will
prevent that full light, which is so desirable, from
being thrown on the proceedings."
Many years afterwards, I asked M. de Talley-
rand what he thought of the death of Piche-
gru. " I think," said he, " that it happened very
suddenly and in the nick of time ! " But just
then M. de Talleyrand had fallen out with Bona-
parte, and took every opportunity of bringing
accusations against him ; I therefore by no means
commit myself to any statement respecting that
event. The subject was not spoken of at Saint
Cloud, and every one refrained from the slightest
reflection on it.
About this time Lucien Bonaparte left France,
having quarrelled irrevocably with his brother.
His marriage with Madame Jouberthon, which
218 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
Bonaparte had been unable to prevent, was the
cause of the rupture. The Consul, full of his great
projects, made a last attempt to induce him to re-
nounce this marriage ; but it was in vain that
Lucien was apprised of the approaching grandeur
of his family, in vain that a marriage with the
Queen of Etruria * was proposed to him. " Love
was the strongest," and he refused everything. A
violent quarrel ensued, and Lucien was exiled from
France.
On this occasion I happened to see the First
Consul give way to one of those rare bursts of
emotion to which I have alluded. It was at
Saint Cloud, rather late one evening. Madame
Bouaparte was anxiously waiting the result of
the final conference between the two brothers ;
M. de Re'musat and I were the only persons with
her. She did not care for Lucien, but she deprecated
any family scandal. It was near midnight when
Bonaparte came into the room ; he was deeply
dejected, and throwing himself into an armchair, he
* After the treaty of Luneville, in 1801, Tuscany had been
erected into the kingdom of Etruria and given to the son of the
Duke of Parma. The king having died in 1803, his widow,
Marie Louise, a daughter of Charles IV., King of Spain, suc-
ceeded him and reigned until 1807, at which period the little
kingdom was incorporated with the Empire, to he again dis-
membered in 1809 in favour of Madame Bacciochi, who took
the title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany.
THE QUARREL WITH LUCIEN. 219
exclaimed, in a troubled voice, " It is all over ! I
have broken with Lucien, and ordered him from my
presence." Madame Bonaparte began to expostulate.
" You are a good woman," he said, " to plead for
him." Then he rose from his chair, took his wife
in his arms, and laid her head softly on his shoulder,
and with his hand still resting on the beautiful bright
head which formed a contrast to the sad, set counte-
nance so near it, he told us that Lucien had resisted
all his entreaties, and that he had resorted equally
in vain to both threats and persuasion. " It is hard,
though," he added, " to find in one's own family
such stubborn opposition to interests of such mag-
nitude. Must I, then, isolate myself from every
one ? Must I rely on myself alone ? Well ! I will
suffice to myself, and you, Josephine — you will be
my comfort always."
I retain a pleasurable recollection of this little
scene. Tears were in Bonaparte's eyes as he spoke.
I felt inclined to thank him when he betrayed
feelings like those of other men. Shortly after
this, his brother Louis crossed his wishes in another
way, and one which largely affected the fate of
Madame Bonaparte.
The Consul, being quite resolved to raise himself
to the throne of France and to found a dynasty,
had already occasionally entertained the idea of a
divorce ; but, either because of his attachment to his
220 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
wife being still too strong, or because his existing
relations with Europe did not permit him to hope
for an alliance which would strengthen his political
position, he seemed just then disinclined to break
with Josephine, and disposed to adopt the young
Louis Napoleon, who was his own nephew, and also
Josephine's grandson.
He no sooner allowed this project to be discerned,
than his family rebelled. Joseph Bonaparte ventured
to represent to him that he had done nothing to
forfeit the right to the prospective crown, which, as
the eldest brother, would be his, and he defended that
right as if it had really existed of old.
Bonaparte, always irritated by opposition, grew
very angry, and only the more determined. He
confided his intentions to his wife, who was over-
joyed, and spoke to me as though the realization of
this project would bring her own anxieties to an
end. Madame Louis assented, but without display-
ing any gratification. She was not at all ambitious,
and, in fact, could not help fearing that such an
elevation would bring down misfortune on the head
of her son.
One day, when Bonaparte was surrounded by his
family, he placed the little Napoleon between his
knees, and said, while playing with him, " Do you
know, my little fellow, that you run the risk of being
a king some day ? " " And Achille ? " * immediately
' Achille was ilic eldest .son of Murat.
FEELINGS OF MURAT AND HIS WIFE. 221
asked Murat, who was present. " Oh, Achille,"
answered Bonaparte, " will he a great soldier." This
reply incensed Madame Murat ; hut Bonaparte, pre-
tending not to notice her, and stung by his brother's
opposition, which he believed with reason to have
been prompted by Madame Murat, went on to say to
his little step-grandson, " A.nd mind, my poor child,
I advise you, if you value your life, not to accept
invitations to dine with your cousins."
We may imagine to what feelings such a
speech would give rise. From that moment Louis
Bonaparte was beset by his family, who adroitly
reminded him of the rumours respecting his wife,
and that he ought not to sacrifice the interests of
his own kinsfolk to those of a child who was at least
half a Beauharnais ; and, as Louis Bonaparte was
not quite so destitute of ambition as people have
since made him out, he, like Joseph, went to the
First Consul to ask why the sacrifice of his own
rights should be demanded of him. " Why," said
he, " should I yield my share of inheritance to my
son ? How have I deserved to be cut off ? What
will my position be when my child, taking that of
yours, finds himself very much higher placed than I,
and quite independent of me, standing next to your-
self, and regarding me with suspicion, if not with
contempt ? No ; I will never consent to this ; and,
rather than renounce the proper course of succession
222 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
to the royalty which is to be yours, rather than
consent to humble myself before my own son, I will
leave France, taking Napoleon with me, and we
shall see whether you will venture openly to take a
child from his father ! "
The First Consul, powerful as he was, found it
impossible to overcome his brother's opposition. His
wrath availed nothing, and he was obliged to yield, for
fear of a vexatious and even ridiculous scandal ; for
such it certainly would have been, that this whole
family should quarrel beforehand over the . crown
which France had not yet actually conferred.
The strife was hushed up, and Napoleon was
obliged to draw up the scheme of succession, and the
possible case of adoption which he reserved to him-
self the power of making, in the terms of the exist-
ing decree for the elevation of the First Consul to
the Empire.
These quarrels embittered the enmity already
existing between the Bonapartes and the Beauhar-
nais. The former regarded the plan of adoption as
the result of Madame Bonaparte's scheming. Louis
gave stricter orders than before to his wife that she
should hold no familiar intercourse with her mother.
" If you consult her interests at the cost of mine,"
he told her, " I swear to you that I will make
you repent of it. I will separate you from your
son ; I will shut you up in some out-of-the-way
LOUIS BONAPABTE AND HIS WIFE. 223
place, and no power on earth shall deliver you.
You shall pay for your concessions to your own
family by the wretchedness of the rest of your life.
And take care, above all, that none of my threats
reach the ears of my brother. Even his power
should not save you from my anger."
Madame Louis bowed her head, a patient victim to
his violence. She was then expecting the birth of
her second child. Grief and anxiety told upon her
health, which was permanently injured ; the fresh
complexion, her only beauty, disappeared. She had
naturally, high spirits, but they now died away
for ever ; and she became silent and timid. She
refrained from confiding her troubles to her mother,
whose indiscretion and hasty temper she dreaded ;
and neither would she further irritate the First
Consul. He, knowing well his brother's character,
felt grateful to her for her reticence, but suspected
what she had to endure. From that time forth
he never let an opportunity pass without exhibit-
ing the interest — I may even say the respect — with
which the mild and prudent demeanour of his
stepdaughter inspired him.
What I have just said is quite opposed to
the general opinion which has unfortunately been
entertained of this unhappy woman ; but her
vindictive sisters-in-law never missed an oppor-
tunity of injuring her reputation by the most
224 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
odious calumnies, and as she bore the name ot
Bonaparte, the public, who, when they came to hate
the Imperial despotism, included every one belonging
to the family in their impartial contempt, readily
believed every calumny against Madame Louis.
Her husband (whose ill-treatment of her irritated
him all the more against her), obliged to own
that she could not love him after the tyranny he
had exercised, jealous with the jealousy of pride,
and naturally suspicious, soured by ill health,
and utterly selfish, made her feel the full weight
of conjugal despotism. She was surrounded by
spies ; her letters were opened before they reached
her hands ; her conversations even with female
friends were resented ; and if she complained of this
insulting severity, he would say to her, " You
cannot love me. You are a woman ; consequently a
being all made up of evil and deceit. You are
the daughter of an unprincipled mother ; you belong
to a family that I loathe ; are not these reasons
enough for me to suspect you ? "
Madame Louis, from whom I heard all these
details long afterwards, found her only comfort
in the affection of her brother, whose conduct,
though jealously watched by the Bonapartes, was
unassailable. Eugene, who was simple and frank,
light-hearted, and open in all his dealings, display-
ing no ambition, holding himself aloof from every
EUGENE DE BEAUHABNAIS.
intrigue, and doing his duty wherever he was
placed, disarmed calumny before it could reach
him, and knew nothing of what took place in the
palace. His sister loved him passionately, and con-
fided her sorrows to him only, during the few
moments that the suspicious jealousy of Louis
allowed them to pass together.
Meanwhile, the First Consul, having complained
to the Elector of Bavaria of the correspondence
which Mr. Drake kept up in France, and that
English gentleman entertaining some apprehensions
as to his own safety, as did also Sir Spencer
Smith, the British Envoy at the Court of Wur-
temburg, they both disappeared suddenly. Lord
Morpeth asked the Government, in the House of
Commons, for an explanation of Drake's conduct.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that the
Envoy had been given authority for his pro-
ceedings, and that a fuller explanation should be
afforded when the ambassador had furnished the
information that had been demanded from him.
At this time Bonaparte held long and frequent
consultations with M. de Talleyrand. The latter,
whose opinions were essentially monarchical, urged
the Consul to change his title to that of King.
He has since told me that the word " Emperor "
alarmed him ; it conveyed a sense of vagueness and ,
immensity, but it charmed the imagination of Bona-
vol. i. Q
226 MEMOIBS OF 3IADA3IE BE BEMUSAT.
parte precisely for that reason. He added, " A com-
bination of the Koman Republic and of Charlemagne
in the title turned his head. I amused myself one
day by mystifying Berthier ; I took him aside, and
said to him, ' You know of the great scheme that is
occupying us. Glo to the Consul, and urge him to take
the title of King ; it will please him.' Accordingly
Berthier, who was delighted to have an opportunity of
speaking to Bonaparte on an agreeable subject, went
up to him at the other end of the room in which
we were all assembled, and I drew back a little, fore-
seeing the storm. Berthier began his little speech,
but at the word ' King' Bonaparte's eyes flashed fire ;
he seized Berthier by the throat, and pushed him
back against the wall. ' You idiot ! ' he said ; ' who
has been advising you to come here and excite my
anger ? Another time, don't take such a task on
yourself.' Poor Berthier, in dire confusion, looked
piteously at me, and it was a long time before he
forgave my sorry jest."
At last, on the 30th of April, 1804, Cure'e, the
tribune, who had no doubt learnt his part, and who,
later on, was rewarded for his complaisance by being
created a senator, made what was then called " a
motion of order " in the Tribunate, demanding that
the government of the Republic should be confided
to an Emperor, and that the Empire should be
made hereditary in the family of Napoleon Bona-
THE EMPIRE IS PROPOSED. 227
parte. His speech was effective. He regarded
an hereditary succession, he said, as a guarantee
against plots from without, and in reality the
title of Emperor only meant " Victorious Consul."
Nearly all the tribunes put down their names to
speak. A commission of thirteen members was
appointed. Carnot alone had the courage to protest
against this proposal. He declared that he would
vote against an Empire, for the same reason that
he had voted against a life-Consulship, but without
any personal animosity, and that he was quite pre-
pared to render obedience to the Emperor, should
he be elected. He spoke in high praise of the
American form of government, and added that
Bonaparte might have adopted it at the time of
the treaty of Amiens ; that the abuses of despotism
led to worse results than the abuses of liberty ; and
that, before smoothing the way to this despotism,
which would be all the more dangerous because it
was built on military success, it would have been
advisable to create institutions for its due repression.
Notwithstanding Carnot's opposition, the motion was
put to the vote and adopted.
On the 4th of May, a deputation from the Tribuuate
carried it to the Senate, who were already prepared
for it. The Yice-President, Francois de Neufchateau,
replied that the Senate had expected the vote, and
would take it into consideration. At the same
228 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
sitting, it was decided that the motion of the
Tribunate and the answer of the Yice- President
should be laid before the First Consul.
On the 5th, the Senate sent an address to
Bonaparte, asking him, without further explanation,
for a final act which would ensure the future peace of
France. His answer to this address may be read in
the Moniteur : — ■" I beg you," he said, " to let me
know your entire purpose. I desire that we may
be able to say to the French nation on the 14th
of next July, ' The possessions you acquired fifteen
years ago, liberty, equality, and glory, are now
beyond the reach of every storm.' : In reply,
the Senate voted unanimously for Imperial govern-
ment, adding that, in the interests of the French
people, it was important that it should be entrusted
to Napoleon Bonaparte.
After the 8th, addresses from the towns poured
in at Saint Cloud. An address from Lyons came first ;
a little later came those from Paris and other places.
At the same time came the vote from Klein's
division,* and then that from the troops in camp at
Montreuil under the orders of General Ney ; f and the
other divisions promptly followed these examples.
1 General Klein afterwards married the daughter of the
Countess d'Arherg, a Lady-in- Waiting. He was created senator
and remained a peer under the King.
f Afterwards Marshal Ney.
BONAPARTE'S SISTERS. 229
M. de Fontanes addressed the First Consul in the
name of the Corps Legislatif, which at this moment
was not sitting ; but those among its members who
were then in Paris, met, and voted as the Senate
had done. The excitement caused at Saint Cloud
by these events may readily be imagined.
I have already recorded the disappointment which
Louis Bonaparte's rejection of the project of adoption
had inflicted on his mother-in-law. She still hoped,
however, that the First Consul would contrive, if he
himself remained in the same mind, to overcome the
opposition of his brother, and she expressed her
relief that her husband's new prospects had not
induced him to reconsider the terrible question of the
divorce. Whenever Bonaparte was displeased with
his brothers, Madame Bonaparte always rose in
his estimation, because he found consolation in the
unfailing sweetness of her disposition. She never
tried to extract from him any promise either for
herself or for her children, and the confidence she
showed in his affection, together with the disin-
terestedness of Eugene, when contrasted with the
exactions of the Bonaparte family, could not fail to
please him. Mesdames Bacciochi and Murat, who
were in great anxiety about coining events, en-
deavoured to worm out of M. de Talleyrand, or out of
Fouche', the secret projects of the First Consul, so
that they might know what to expect. Their per-
230 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
turbation was beyond their power to conceal ; and it
was with some amusement that I detected it in their
troubled glances, and in every word they let fall.
At last we were told, one evening, that on the
following clay the Senate was to come in great state
and lay before Bonaparte the decree which should
give him a crown. When I recall that evening,
the emotions I experienced return to me. The
First Consul, when informing his wife of the
coming event, had told her he intended to surround
himself with a more numerous Court, but that he
would fitly distinguish between the new-comers
and those old servants who had first devoted them-
selves to his service. He particularly desired her to
assure M. de Re'musat and me of his good-will to-
wards us. I have already related how patiently he
bore with the dismay which I was unable to hide
on the occasion of the death of the Due d'Enghien.
I lis indulgence on this point did not diminish;
perhaps it amused him to pry into my secret feel-
ings, and gradually to appease them, by kindness so
marked that it revived my flagging attachment
to him.
I could not as yet overcome my feelings towards
him. I grieved over his great fault; but when I
saw that he was, so to speak, a better man than
formerly, although I still believed he had made a
fatal mistake, I felt grateful to him for keeping
BONAPABTE AND M. DE BEMUSAT. 231
his word and being gentle and kind afterwards,
as he had promised. The fact is that at this period
he could not afford to dispense with anybody, and
he therefore neglected no means of success. By
dexterous behaviour towards M. de Caulaincourt he
had won him over so that he had gradually recovered
his former serenity of mind, and was at this
time one of the confidants of the First Consul's
schemes. Bonaparte, having questioned his wife as
to what each person at Court had said at the time
of the prince's death, learned from her that M.
de Remusat, who was habitually reticent both from
inclination and from prudence, but who always spoke
the truth when asked, had not hesitated to express his
indignation. Being apparently resolved that nothing
should irritate him, he broached the subject to M.
de Remusat, and, having revealed to him as much
of his policy as he thought proper, succeeded in con-
vincing my husband that he had really believed the
duke's death indispensable to the safety of France.
My husband, when repeating this conversation to me,
said, " I am far from agreeing with him that this
deed of blood was needed to establish his authority,
and I did not hesitate to tell him so ; but I own that
it is a relief to me to think he did not commit
the crime out of revenge. He is evidently dis-
tressed, no matter what he may say, by the effect
it has produced, and I believe he will never again
232 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
seek to strengthen bis authority by such terrible
means. I did not fail to point out to him that
in an age like ours, and in a nation like ours, it
is playing a dangerous game to rule by terror and
bloodshed, and I think that the earnest attention
with which he listened to me augurs well for the
future."
This sincere avowal of what we both felt shows
how much need we had of hope. Severe judges
might blame us, no doubt, for the facility with
which we again deceived ourselves, and impute
our credulity, with apparent justice, to our own po-
sition in the Court. Ah ! it is so hard to have to
blush in secret for the calling one has chosen ; it is so
pleasant to like one's self-imposed duties ; it is so
natural to paint in bright colours one's own and
one's country's future, that it is only after a long
struggle the conviction of a truth which must shatter
one's whole life is admitted. Such a truth did come
home to us, slowly, but with a force that could
not be gainsaid, and we paid dearly for an error
to which all well-disposed persons clung as long
as possible.
On the 18th of May, 1804, the Second Consul, Cam-
bace'res, President of the Senate, came to Saint Cloud,
accompanied by all the senators and escorted by a
large body of troops. He made a set speech, and
gave to Bonaparte for the first time the title of
" TOUR MAJESTY." 233
" Your Majesty." Bonaparte took it coolly, just as
though he had borne it all his life. The Senate then
proceeded to the apartment of Madame Bonaparte,
who in her turn was proclaimed Empress. She replied
with that natural grace which always raised her to
the level of any position, however lofty, in which
she might be placed.
At the same time, the Grand Dignitaries, as they
were called, were created — Grand Elector, Joseph
Bonaparte ; High Constable, Louis Bonaparte ; Arch-
Chancellor of the Empire, Cambace'res ; Arch-Trea-
surer, Lebrun. The Ministers, Maret (the Secretary
of State, who ranked with the Ministers), the Colonels-
general of the Guards, Duroc (the Governor of
the Palace), and the Aides-de-camp took the oaths;
and the next day the officers of the army, among
whom was Colonel Eugene Beauharnais, were pre-
sented to the Emperor by the new Constable.
The opposition that Bonaparte had encountered in
his own family, to his intended adoption of the little
Louis, induced him to postpone the project. The
succession was therefore declared to belong to the
heirs male of Napoleon Bonaparte, and failing
these, to the sons of Joseph, and of Louis, re-
spectively. The organic senatus consultum declared
that the Emperor might adopt as his successor
any one of his nephews whom he chose, but not
until the selected individual had attained the age
234 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
of eighteen, and that no further act of adoption could
take place in the family.
The civil list was to be the same as that granted
to the King in 1791, and the princes were to be
endowed in accordance with the law of the 20th
December, 1791. The great dignitaries were to have
one-third of the sum settled on the princes. They
were to preside over the electoral colleges of the six
largest towns in the Empire, and the princes, from
the eighteenth year of their age, were to be per-
manent members of the Senate and the Council of
State.
Fourteen Marshals of France were created at this
date, and the title of Marshal was conferred on four
of the Senators. The new Marshals were Berthier,
Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, Augereau, Berna-
dotte, Soult, Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, Davoust,
Bessieres; the four Senators were Kellerman,
Lefebvre, Pe'rignon, and Serrurier.
An article in the Moniteur apprised the public
that the title of Imperial Highness was to be given
to the princes, that of Serene Highness and Mon-
seigneur to the great dignitaries ; that the Ministers
were to be addressed as "Monsigneur" by public
officials and all petitioners, and the Marshals as
" Monsieur le Marechal."
Thus disappeared the title of " Citizen," long
since disused in society, where "Monsieur" had
"MONSIEUR" ONCE MORE. 235
resumed its former place, but which Bonaparte was
always most careful to employ. On the same day,
the 18th of May, his brothers, with Cambace'res
and Lebrun and the officers of his household, were
invited to dine with him, and we heard him use the
old word " Monsieur " for the first time, without
being betrayed by habit into saying " Citizen " even
once.
Titles were also accorded to the great officers of
the Empire, eight inspectors and colonels-general of
artillery, engineers, cavalry, and the navy, and the
great civil officers of the Crown, to whom I shall
refer hereafter.
236 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
CHAPTER VII.
Effects and causes of the accession of Bonaparte to the Imperial
throne — The Emperor converses — The grievances of Madame
Murat — The character of M. de Keinusat — The new Court.
The accession of Bonaparte to the Imperial throne
was very variously regarded in Europe, and even in
France opinions were divided. It is, however, quite
certain that it did not displease the great majority
of the nation. The Jacobins were not astonished
by it, for they themselves were in the habit of push-
ing success as far as it would go, whenever luck
favoured them. Among the Royalists it spread
disheartenment, and that was just what Bonaparte
wanted. The exchange of the Consulate for Imperial
authority was, however, regarded with dislike by all
true friends of liberty. These true friends were,
unfortunately, divided into two classes, so that their
influence was diminished — an evil which still exists.
One class regarded the change of the reigning
dynasty with indifference, and would have accepted
Bonaparte as readily as another, provided that he
had received his royal authority in right of a
constitution which would have restrained as well
THE STATE OF PARTIES. 237
as founded it. They regarded the seizure of power
by an enterprising and warlike man with serious
apprehension ; for it was plain enough that the so-
called " bodies of the State," which were already
reduced to insignificance, would be unable to check
his encroachments. The Senate seemed to be given
over to mere passive obedience, the Tribunate was
shaken to its foundations, and what was to be
expected from a silent Corps Legislatif? The
Ministers, deprived of all responsibility, were no
more than head clerks, and it was evident before-
hand that the Council of State would henceforth
be merely a storehouse, whence such laws as
circumstances might demand could be taken, as
occasion for them arose.
If this section of the friends of liberty had been
more numerous and better led, it might have
set itself to demand the settled and legitimate
exercise of its rights, which is never demanded in
vain by a nation in the long run. There existed,
however, a second party, which agreed with the first
on fundamental principles only, and, abiding by
theories of its own, which it had already attempted
to practise in a dangerous and sanguinary manner,
lost the opportunity of producing an effective
opposition. To this section belonged the proselytes
of the Anglo-American Government, who had dis-
gusted the nation with the notion of liberty.
238 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
They had witnessed the creation of the Consulate
without any protest, for it was a tolerably fair
imitation of the Presidentship of the United States ;
they believed, or wished to believe, that Bonaparte
would maintain that equality of rights to which
they attached so much importance, and some among
them were really deceived. I say " some," because
I think the greater number fell into a trap, baited
with flattery and consultations on all sorts of
matters, which Bonaparte dexterously set for them.
If they had not had some private interest to serve
by deceiving themselves, how could they have de-
clared afterwards that they had approved of Bona-
parte as Consul only, but that as Emperor he was
odious to them ? In what respect was he, while
Consul, different from his ordinary self? What
was his Consular authority but dictatorship under
another name ? Did he not, as Consul, make peace
and declare war without consulting the nation ?
Did not the right of levying the conscription devolve
upon him? Did he permit freedom in the dis-
cussion of affairs ? Could any journal publish a
single article without his approval ? Did he not
make it perfectly clear that he held his power by
the right of his victorious arms ? How, then, could
stern Republicans have allowed him to take them
by surprise ?
I can understand how it was that men, worn out
THE STATE OF PARTIES. 239
by the turmoil of the Revolution, and afraid of that
liberty which had been so long associated with death,
looked for repose under the dominion of an able
ruler, on whom fortune was seemingly resolved to
smile. I can conceive that they regarded his eleva-
tion as a decree of destiny, and fondly believed that
in the irrevocable they should find peace. I may
confidently assert that those persons believed quite
sincerely that Bonaparte, whether as Consul or as
Emperor, would exert his authority to oppose the
attempts of faction, and would save us from the
perils of anarchy.
None dared to utter the word Republic, so deeply
had the Terror stained that name, and the Directorial
Government had perished in the contempt with which
its chiefs were regarded. The return of the Bourbons
could only be brought about by the aid of a revolu-
tion ; and the slightest disturbance terrified the
French people, in whom enthusiasm of every kind
was apparently dead. Besides, the men in whom
they had trusted had, one after the other, deceived
them ; and as, this time, they were yielding to force,
they were at least certain that they were not de-
ceiving themselves.
The belief, or rather the error, that only despot-
ism could, at that epoch, maintain order in France,
was very widespread. It became the mainstay of
Bonaparte ; and it is due to him to say that he also
240 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
held it. The factions played into his hands by-
imprudent attempts which he turned to his own
advantage ; he had some grounds for his belief that
he was necessary ; France shared that belief ; and he
even succeeded in persuading foreign sovereigns that
he formed a barrier against Republican influences,
which, but for him, might spread widely. At the
moment when Bonaparte placed the Imperial crown
upon his head, there was not a king in Europe
who did not believe that he wore his own crown
more securely because of that event. Had the new
Emperor added to that decisive act the gift of a
liberal constitution, the peace of nations and of
kings might, in sober seriousness, have been for
ever secured.
Sincere defenders of Bonaparte's original system —
and some of these still exist— advance, in justification
of it, that we could not have exacted from him that
which it belongs only to a legitimate sovereign to
bestow ; that freedom to discuss our interests might
have been followed by the discussion of our rights ;
that England, jealous of our reviving prosperity,
would have fomented fresh disturbances among us ;
that our princes had not abandoned their designs,
and that the slow methods of constitutional govern-
ment would not have availed to restrain the con-
tending factions. Hume says, when speaking of
Cromwell, that the great difficulty of a usurping
BONAPARTE AND CROMWELL. 241
Government is that its personal policy is generally
opposed to the interest of the country. This gives
a superiority to hereditary authority, of which it
would be well that all nations should be aware.
But, after all, Bonaparte was not an ordinary
usurper ; his elevation offered no point of comparison
with that of Cromwell. " I found the crown of
France lying on the ground," said he, " and I took
it up on the point of my sword." He was the
product of an inevitable revolution ; but he had no
share in its disasters, and I sincerely believe that,
until the death of the Due d'Enghien, it would have
been possible for him to legitimize his power by con-
ferring upon France benefits of a kind which would
have pledged the nation to him and his for ever.
His despotic ambition misled him ; but, I say it
again, he was not the only one who went astray.
He was beguiled by appearances which he did not
take the trouble to investigate ; the word " liberty "
did indeed resound in the air about him, but those
who uttered it were not held in sufficient esteem by
the nation to be made its representatives to him.
Well-meaning, honest folk asked nothing of him
but repose, and did not trouble themselves about the
form under which it was to be granted. And then,
he knew well that the secret weakness of the French
nation was vanity, and he saw a means of gratifying
it easily by the pomp and display that attend on
VOL. I. R
242 MEMOIRS OF MADA3IE DE REMUS AT.
monarchical power. He revived distinctions which
were now, in reality, democratic, because they were
placed within the reach of all, and they entailed no
privileges. The eagerness displayed in the pursuit
of these titles, and of crosses, which were objects of
derision while they hung on the coats of one's neigh-
bours, was not likely to undeceive him, if indeed
he was on the wrong road. Was it not natural,
on the contrary, that he should applaud and con-
gratulate himself, when he had succeeded in bring-
ing feudal and republican pretensions to the same
level, by the assistance of a few bits of ribbons, and
some words added to men's names ? Had not we
ourselves much to do with the belief which became
so firmly fixed in his mind — that, for his own safety
and for ours, he ought to use the power which he
possessed to suspend the Revolution without de-
stroying it ? " My successor," said he, " whoever
he may be, will be forced to march with his own
times, and to find his support in liberal opin-
ions. I will bequeath them to him, but without
their primitive crudeness." France imprudently ap-
plauded this idea.
Nevertheless, a warning voice — that of conscience
for him, that of our interests for us — spoke to him
and to us alike. He could silence that impor-
tunate whisper only by dazzling us with a series
of surprising feats. Hence those interminable wars,
THE MILITARY ARDOUR OF FRANCE. 243
whose duration was so all-important to him that
he always called each peace which he signed " a
halt," and hence the fact that he was forced into
every one of his treaties by M. de Talleyrand's skill
in negotiation. When he returned to Paris, and
resumed the administration of the affairs of France,
in addition to the fact that he did not know what
to do with an army, whose demands grew with its
victories, he had to encounter the dumb, but steady,
and inevitable resistance which the spirit of the
age, in spite of individual proclivities, opposes to
despotism ; so that despotism has happily become
an impracticable mode of government. It died with
the good fortune of Bonaparte, when, as Madame
de Stael said, " The terrible mace which he alone
could wield fell at last upon his own head."
Happy, thrice happy, are the days in which we are
now living, since we have exhausted every experi-
ment, and only madmen can dispute the road which
leads to safety.
Bonaparte was seconded for a long time by the
military ardour of the youth of France. That
insensate passion for conquest which has been im-
planted by an evil spirit in men collected into
societies, to retard the progress of each genera-
tion in every kind of prosperity, urged us forward
in the track of Bonaparte's devastating career.
France can rarely resist glory, which was especially
244 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
tempting when it covered and disguised the hu-
miliation to which we were submitting. When
Bonaparte was quiet, he let us perceive the reality
of our servitude ; when our sons marched away
to plant our standards on the ramparts of all the
great cities of Europe, that servitude disappeared.
It was a long time before we recognized in
each one of our conquests a link in the chain
that fettered our liberties, and when we became
fully aware of what our delirium had led us into,
it was too late for resistance. The army had become
the accomplice of tyranny, had broken with France,
and would have treated a cry for deliverance as a
revolt.
The greatest of Bonaparte's errors, — one very
characteristic of him, — was that he never took any-
thing but success into account in the calculations
on which he acted. Perhaps he was more excusable
than another would have been in doubting whether
any reverse could come to him. His natural pride
shrank from the idea of a defeat of any kind ;
there was the weak point in his strong mind.
Such a man as he, ought to have contemplated every
contingency. But as he lacked nobility of soul, and
had not that instinctive elevation of mind which
rises above evil fortune, he turned his thoughts away
from this weakness in himself, and considered
only his wonderful faculty of growing greater with
"I SHALL WIN." 245
success. " / shall win," was the basis of all his
calculations, and his obstinate repetition of the
phrase helped him to realize the prediction. At
length his own good fortune grew into a super-
stition with him, and his worship of it made every
sacrifice which was to be imposed upon us fair and
lawful in his eyes.
And we ourselves — let us once more own it — did
we not at first share this baleful superstition ?
At the time of which I write it had great mastery
over our wonder-loving imaginations. The trial
of General Moreau and the death of the Due
d'Enghien had shocked everybody, but had not
changed public opinion. Bonaparte scarcely tried
to conceal that both events had furthered the
project which for a long time past he had been
maturing. It is to the credit of human nature
that repugnance to crime is innate among us, that
we willingly believe, when a guilty act is acknow-
ledged by its perpetrator, that he has been abso-
lutely forced to commit it ; and when he succeeded
in raising himself by such deeds, we too readily
accepted the bargain he offered us — absolution on
our part, as the guerdon of success on his.
Thenceforth he was no longer beloved ; but the
days in which monarchs reign through the love
of nations are gone by ; and Bonaparte, letting us
see that he could punish even our thoughts, was
246 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
well pleased to exchange the affection we had
striven to retain for him, for the very real fear he
inspired. We admired, or at least we wondered
at, the holdness of the game which he was openly
playing ; and when at last he sprang, with imposing
audacity, from the Hood-stained grave at Vincennes
to the steps of the Imperial throne, exclaiming,
" I have won ! '' France, in her amazement, could
but re-echo his words. And that was all he wanted
her to do.
A few days after Bonaparte had assumed the title
of Emperor (by which I shall not scruple to
designate him, for, after all, he bore it longer than
that of Consul *), on one of those occasions when,
as I have said before, he was disposed to talk freely
to us, he was discussing his new position with the
Empress, my husband, and myself. I think I see
him now, in the window-recess of a drawing-room
at Saint Cloud, astride on a chair, resting his chin
on the back of it. Madame Bonaparte reclined on a
sofa near him; I was sitting opposite him, and M. de
Re'musat stood behind my chair. For a long time
the Emperor had been silent ; then he suddenly
addressed me ; " You have borne me a grudge for
the death of the Due d'Enghien ? " " It is true,
* This remark would appear a strange one, if the reader did
not recollect that these Memoirs were written under the Restora-
tion, when the words Emperor, Empire, and Bonaparte were
no longer uttered in good society. — 1\ JR.
BONAPARTE'S "APOLOGY:' 247
Sire," I answered, " and I still bear it you. I be-
lieve you did yourself much harm by that act."
" But are you aware that he was waiting at
the frontier for me to be assassinated ? " " Pos-
sibly, Sire ; but he was not in France." " Ah !
there is no harm in showing other countries, now
and then, that one is the master." " There, Sire,
do not let us speak of it, or you will make
me cry." " Ah ! tears ! Woman's only weapon.
That is like Josephine. She thinks she has carried
her point when she begins to cry. Are not tears,
M. de Re'musat, the strongest argument of women ? "
" Sire," replied my husband, " there are tears which
cannot be censured."
" Ah ! I perceive that you also take a serious
view of the matter. But that is quite natural ;
you have seen other days, all of you, and you re-
member them. I date only from the day when I
began to be somebody. What is a Due d'Enghien
to me? Only an emigre, somewhat more import-
ant than the others. But there was enough to
make me strike hard. Those crack-brained Royal-
ists had actually spread a report that I was to
replace the Bourbons on the throne. The Jaco-
bins became alarmed, and they sent Fouche to me
to inquire into my intentions. Power has for the
last two years fallen so naturally into my hands,
that people may well have doubted sometimes
248 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
whether I had any serious intention of investing
myself with it officially. I came to the conclusion
that it was my duty to profit by this, in order to
put a lawful end to the Revolution. The reason
why I chose Empire rather than DictatorshijD is
because one becomes legitimate by taking up well-
known ground. I began by trying to reconcile
the two contending factions at the time of my
accession to the CoDsulship. I thought that, in
establishing order by means of permanent institu-
tions, I should put an end to their enterprises ;
but factions are not to be put down so long as
any fear of them is shown, and every attempt
to conciliate them looks like fear. Besides, it may
sometimes be possible to get the better of a senti-
ment ; but of an opinion, never. I saw clearly that
I could make no alliance between the two, but that
I might make an alliance with both of them on my
own account. The Concordat and the permissions to
return have conciliated the emigres, and 1 shall soon
be completely reconciled with them ; for you will see
how the attractions of a Court will allure them. The
mere phrases that recall former habits will win over
the nobility, but the Jacobins are not men to be won
by fair words. They require deeds. They were
satisfied with my necessary severity when, after the
3rd Nivose,* at the very moment of a purely
* The epoch of the " infernal machine."
BONAPARTE'S "APOLOGY." 249
Royalist conspiracy, I transported a number of
Jacobins. They might justly have complained if
1 had struck a weaker blow. You all thought I was
becoming cruel and bloodthirsty, but you were
wrong. I have no feelings of hatred — I am not
capable of acting from revenge ; I only sweep
obstacles from my path, and, if it were expedient,
you should see me pardon Georges Cadoudal
to-morrow, although he came simply and solely to
assassinate me.
" When people find that public tranquillity is the
result of the event in question, they will no longer
reproach me with it, and in a year's time this execu-
tion will be regarded as a great act of policy. It is
true, however, that it has driven me to abridge the
crisis. What I have just done I did not intend to
do for two years yet. 1 meant to retain the Con-
sulate, although words and things clash with one
another under that form of government, and the
signature I affixed to all the acts of my authority
was the sign-manual of a continual falsehood. We
should have got on nevertheless, France and I, because
she has confidence in me, and what I will she wills.
" As, however, this particular conspiracy was
meant to shake the whole of Europe, the Royalists
and also Europe had to be undeceived. I had to
choose between continuous persecution or one decisive
blow; and my decision was not doubtful. I have for
250 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
ever silenced both Royalists and Jacobins. Only the
Republicans remain — mere dreamers, who think a
Republic can be made out of an old Monarchy, and
that Europe would stand quietly by and let us found
a federative government of twenty million men.
The Republicans I shall not win, but they are few
in number and not important. The rest of you
Frenchmen like a Monarchy ; it is the only Govern-
ment that pleases you. I will wager that you,
M. de Re'musat, are a hundred times more at your
ease, now that you call me Sire and that I address
you as Monsieur ? "
As there was some truth in this remark, my
husband laughed, and answered that certainly the
sovereign power became his Majesty very well.
" The fact is," resumed the Emperor, good
humouredly, " I believe I should not know how to
obey. I recollect, at the time of the Treaty of
Campo Formio, M. de Cobentzel and I met, in order
to conclude it, in a room where, according to an
Austrian custom, a dais had been erected and the
throne of the Emperor of Austria was represented.
On entering the room, I asked what that meant,
and afterwards I said to the Austrian Minister,
' Now, before we begin, have that arm-chair removed,
for I can never see one seat higher than the others
without instantly wanting to place myself in it.'
You see, I had an instinct of what was to happen
to me some day.
BONAPARTE'S "APOLOGY." 251
" I have now acquired one great advantage for
my government of France : neither she nor I
deceive ourselves any longer. Talleyrand wanted
me to make myself King — that is the word of his
dictionary ; but I will have no grands seigneurs,
except those I make myself. Besides which, the
title of King is worn out. Certain preconceived
ideas are attached to it ; it would make me a kind
of heir, and I will be the heir of no one. The
title that I bear is a grander one ; it is still somewhat
vague, and leaves room for the imagination. Here
is a revolution brought to an end, and, I flatter my-
self, not harshly. Would you know why ? Because
no interests have been displaced, and many have
been revived. That vanity of yours must always
have breathing room ; you would have been wearied
to death with the dull sternness of a Republican
Government. What caused the Revolution ? Yanity.
What will end it ? Yanity again. Liberty is a pre-
text ; equality is your hobby, and here are the
people quite pleased with a king taken from the
ranks of the soldiery. Men like the Abbe Sieyes,"
he added, laughing, " may inveigh against despotism,
but my authority will always be popular. To-day
I have the people and the army on my side ; and
with these a man would be a great fool who could
not reign."
With these concluding words, Bonaparte rose.
252 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
Hitherto he had heen very agreeable ; his tone of
voice, his countenance, his gestures, all were familiar
and encouraging. He had been smiling, he had
marked our answering smiles, and had even been
amused by the remarks we made on his discourse ; in
fact, he had put us perfectly at our ease. But now,
in a moment, his manner changed. He looked at
us sternly, in a way that always seemed to increase
his short stature, and gave M. de Re'musat some
insignificant order in the curt tone of a despotic
master, who takes care that every request shall be
a command.
His tone of voice, so different from that to which
I had been listening for the last hour, made me
start, and when we withdrew, my husband, who
had noticed my involuntary movement, told me
that he had felt the same sensation. " You per-
ceive," he said, " he was afraid that this momentary
unbending and confidence might lessen the fear
he is always anxious to inspire. He therefore
thought proper to dismiss us with a reminder
that he is the master." I never forgot this just
observation, and more than once I have felt on how
sound an appreciation of Bonaparte's character it
was founded.
I have allowed myself to digress in relating
this conversation and the reflections that pre-
ceded it, and must now return to the day on which
THE EMPIBE IS ANNOUNCED. 253
Bonaparte was made Emperor, and continue to
depict the curious scenes of which I was an eye-
witness.
I have already enumerated the guests whom Bona-
parte invited to dine with him on that day. Just
before dinner was announced, Duroc, the Governor
of the Palace, informed each of us, severally, that the
title of Prince was to be given to Joseph and also to
Louis Bonaparte, and that of Princess to their wives.
Mesdames Bacciochi and Murat were highly dis-
pleased at the distinction made between themselves
and their sisters-in-law ; and Madame Murat could
hardly conceal her anger. At six o'clock the new
Emperor made his appearance, and, with perfect ease
and readiness, saluted each one present by his or
her new title. Throughout the whole scene, which
made a deep impression on me, I felt a presenti-
ment. The early part of the day had been fine, and
very hot ; but about the time of the arrival of the
Senate at Saint Cloud, the weather suddenly changed,
the sky became overcast, thunder was heard, and
for several hours a storm seemed impending. The
dark and heavy atmosphere which enclosed the
palace of Saint Cloud, struck me as an evil omen,
and I could hardly conceal the depression I felt.
The Emperor was in good spirits, and, I think,
secretly enjoyed the slight confusion into which
the new ceremonial threw us all. The Empress
254 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
was, as usual, gracious, unaffected, and easy ;
Joseph and Louis looked pleased ; Madame Joseph
appeared resigned to anything that might be
required of her, Madame Louis was equally sub-
missive ; and Eugene Beauharnais, whom T cannot
praise too highly in comparison with the others, was
simple and natural, evidently free from any secret
ambition or repining. This was not the case with
Murat, the new-made Marshal ; but his fear of his
brother-in-law forced him to restrain himself, and he
maintained a sullen silence. Madame Murat was
excessively angry, and during the dinner had so little
control over herself, that on hearing the Emperor
address Madame Louis several times as " Princess,"
she could not restrain her tears. She drank several
glasses of water in order to recover herself, and to
appear to be taking something at the table, but her
tears were not to be checked. Every one was embar-
rassed, and her brother smiled maliciously. For my
own part, I was surprised, and even shocked, to see
her pretty young face disfigured by emotion arising
from so mean a passion as envy.
Madame Murat was then between twenty-two and
twenty-three years of age ; her dazzlingly white skin,
her beautiful fair hair, the flowery wreath which
decked it, the rose-coloured dress she wore, all
contributed to give her a youthful and childlike
appearance. The feelings she displayed contrasted
A FA3IILY QUARREL. 255
rudely with such charms. No one could pity her
tears, and I think they impressed every one else
as disagreeably as they impressed me.
Madame Bacciochi, who was older and had more
command over herself, shed no tears ; but her
manner was abrupt and sarcastic, and she treated
us all with marked haughtiness.
The Emperor became annoyed at last by his
sisters' behaviour, and he aggravated their ill
humour by indirect taunts, which wounded them
very deeply. All that I witnessed during that
eventful day gave me new notions of the effect
which ambition produces on minds of a certain
order ; it was a spectacle of which I could have
formed no previous conception.
On the following day, after a family dinner, a
violent quarrel took place. I was not present ; but
we could hear something of it through the wall
which divided the Empress's boudoir from our
salon. Madame Murat burst into complaints, tears,
and reproaches ; she asked why she and her sisters
were to be condemned to obscurity and contempt,
while strangers were to be loaded with honours
and dignity ? Bonaparte answered her angrily,
asserting several times that he was master, and
would distribute honours as he pleased. It was
on this occasion that he uttered the memorable
remark, " Really, mesdames, to hear your preten-
256 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUSAT.
sions, one would think we hold the crown from our
father, the late King."
The Empress afterwards retailed the whole of this
angry dispute to me. With all her kind-hearted-
ness, she could not but enjoy the vexation of a
person who so thoroughly disliked her. The dis-
cussion ended by Madame Murat's falling on the
floor in a dead faint, overcome by her excessive
anger, and by the acrimony of her brother's re-
proaches. At this, Bonaparte's wrath vanished,
and when his sister recovered consciousness, he gave
her some little encouragement. A few days later,
after a consultation with M. de Talleyrand, Camba-
ce'res, and others, it was arranged that titles of
courtesy should be given to the sisters of the Emperor,
and we learned from the Moniteur that they were to
be addressed as " Imperial Highness."
Another vexation was, however, in store for Madame
Murat and her husband. The private regulations
of the palace of Saint Cloud divided the Imperial
apartment into several reception-rooms, which could
only be entered according to the newly-acquired
rank of each person. The room nearest the
Emperor's cabinet became the Throne-room, or
Princes' room, and Marshal Murat, although the
husband of a princess, was excluded from it. M. de
Re'musat had the unpleasant task of refusing him
admittance when he was about to pass in. Although
WURAT AND EIS WIFE. 257
my husband was not responsible for the orders he
had received, and executed them with scrupulous
politeness, Murat was deeply offended by this public
affront, and he and his wife, already prejudiced
against us on account of our attachment to the
Empress, henceforth honoured us both, if I may
use the word, with a secret enmity, of which we
have more than once experienced the effects.
Madame Murat, however, who had tested her in-
fluence over her brother, was far from considering
the case hopeless on this occasion, and, in fact, she
eventually succeeded in raising her husband to the i
position she so eagerly desired for him.
The new code of precedence caused much dis-
turbance in a Court which had hitherto been
tolerably quiet. The struggles of contending vanity
in the Imperial family were parodied in Madame
Bonaparte's circle.
In addition to her four Ladies-in- Waiting,
Madame Bonaparte was in the habit of receiving
the wives of the various officers attached to
the service of the First Consul. Besides these,
Madame Maret was frequently invited — she lived
permanently at Saint Cloud on account of her
husband's position there — also Madame de la
Valette, the Marquis de Beauharnais' daughter,
whose misfortunes and conjugal devotion at the
time of the sentence passed on her husband and
vol. i. s
258 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
his escape, in 1815, are so well known. Her
husband was of humble origin, but an able man,
and of an amiable disposition. After having served
some time in the army, he abandoned a mode of life
unsuited to his tastes, and the First Consul, who had
employed him on some diplomatic missions, had just
then appointed him Counsellor of State. He evinced
extreme devotion to all the Beauharnais, whose
kinsman he had become. His wife was amiable
and unpretending by nature, but it seemed as though
vanity were henceforth to be the ruling passion in
every one belonging to the Court, of both sexes and
all ages.
An order from the Emperor which gave the
Ladies -in -Waiting precedence, produced an out-
break of feminine jealousy. Madame Maret, a cold,
proud personage, was annoyed that we should
take precedence of her, and made common cause
with Madame Murat, who fully shared her feelings.
Besides this, M. de Talleyrand was no friend to
Maret, and mercilessly ridiculed his absurdities, and
as he was also on bad terms with Murat, he had
become an object of dislike to both, and, consequently,
a bond of union between the two. The Empress did
not like anybody who was a friend of Madame Murat,
and treated Madame Maret with some coldness ; and
although I never shared any of these feelings, and,
for my own part, disliked nobody, I was included
in the general enmity towards the Beauharnais.
MADAME DE LA VALETTE. 259
One Sunday morning, the new Empress received
orders to appear at Mass, attended only by her four
Ladies -in- Waiting. Madame de la Valette, who
had hitherto accompanied her aunt on all occasions,
finding herself suddenly deprived of this privi-
lege, burst into tears, and so we had to set about
consoling the ambitious young lady. I observed
all this with much amusement, preserving my
serenity in these somewhat absurd dissensions,
which were, nevertheless, natural enough. So much
was it a matter of course for the inmates of the
palace to live in a state of excitement, and to be
in high or low spirits, according as their newborn
projects of ambition were fulfilled or disappointed,
that one day, when I was laughing heartily at
some jest or other, one of Bonaparte's aides-de-camp
asked me, in a low voice, whether I had been
promised any new dignity ? I could not help
asking him, in return, whether he fancied that at
Saint Cloud one must always be in tears, unless one
was a princess ?
Yet I had my own little ambition too, but it was
moderate and easy to satisfy. The Emperor had
made known to me through the Empress, and M. de
Caulaincourt had repeated it to my husband, that, on
the consolidation of his own fortunes, he would not
forget those who had, from the first, devoted them-
selves to his service. Eelying on this assurance, we
260 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
felt easy with regard to our future, and took no
steps to render it secure. We were wrong, for every
one else was actively at work. M. de Remusat had
always kept aloof from any kind of scheming ; a
defect in any man who lives at Court. Certain
good qualities are absolutely a bar to advance-
ment in the favour of sovereigns. They do not like
to find generous feelings and philosophical opinions
which are a mark of independence of mind, among
their surroundings ; and they think it still less
pardonable that those who serve them should have
any means of escaping from their power. Bonaparte,
who was exacting in the kind of service he required,
quickly perceived that M. de Remusat would, serve
him faithfully, and yet would not bend to all his
caprices. This discovery, together with some addi-
tional circumstances which I shall relate in their
proper place, induced him to discard his obligations
to him. He retained my husband near him ; he
made use of him to suit his own convenience ; but
he did not confer the same honours upon him
which he bestowed on many others, because he knew
that no favours would procure the compliance of
a man who was incapable of sacrificing self-respect
to ambition. The arts of a courtier were, besides,
incompatible with M. de Re'sumat's tastes. He
liked solitude, serious occupations, family life ; every
feeling of his heart was tender and pure ; the use, or
M. BE REMUS ATS POSITION. 261
rather the waste of his time, which was exclusively
occupied in a continual and minute attention to the
details of Court etiquette, was a source of constant
regret to him. The Revolution having deprived him
of his chosen calling, by removing him from the
ranks of the magistracy, he thought it his duty to
his children to accept the position which had offered
itself, but the constant attention to important trifles to
which he was condemned was wearisome, and he was
only punctual when he ought to have been assiduous.
Afterwards, when the veil fell from his eyes, and
he saw Bonaparte as he really was, his generous
spirit was roused to indignation, and close personal
attendance on him became very irksome to my
husband. Nothing is so fatal to the promotion of
a courtier as his being actuated by conscientious
scruples which he does not conceal. But, at the
period of which I am speaking, these feelings of
ours were still only vague, and I must repeat what
I have already said — we believed the Emperor was
in some measure indebted to us, and we relied on
him.
The time soon came, however, when we lost
some of our importance. People of rank equal to
our own, and, soon afterwards, several of our
superiors both in rank and fortune, begged to be
allowed to form part of the Imperial Court ; and
thenceforth the services of those who were the first
2G2 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
to lead the way thither decreased in value. Bona-
parte was highly delighted at his gradual conquest
of the French nohility, and even Madame Bonaparte,
who had far more feeling than he, had her head
turned for a time by finding real grandes dames
among her Ladies-in- Waiting. Wiser and more
far-sighted persons than ourselves would have been
more than ever attentive and assiduous in order
to keep their footing, which was disputed in every
direction by numbers full of their own importance ;
but, far from acting thus, we gave way to others.
We regarded all this as an opportunity of partially
regaining our freedom, and imprudently availed our-
selves of it ; and when, from any cause whatever,
one loses ground at Court, it is rarely to be recovered.
M. de Talleyrand, who was urging Bonaparte to
surround himself with all the prestige of royalty,
advised him to gratify the vanity and pretension of
those whom he wished to allure ; and in France the
nobility can be satisfied only by being placed in the
front.
Those distinctions to which they thought them-
selves entitled had to be dangled before their eyes ;
the Montmorencys, the Montesquious, etc., were
allured by the promise that from the day they
cast in their lot with Bonaparte, they should resume
all their former importance. In fact, it could not be
otherwise, when the Emperor had once resolved on
forming a regular Court.
APPOINTMENTS AT COVET. 263
Some persons have thought that Bonaparte would
have done more wisely had he retained, when he
adopted the new title of Emperor, some of the sim-
plicity and austerity in externals which disappeared
with the Consulate. A constitutional Government and
a limited Court, displaying no luxury, and significant
of the change which successive revolutions had
wrought in people's ideas, might perhaps have been
less pleasing to the national vanity, but it would have
commanded more real respect. At the time of which
I am speaking, the dignities to be conferred on those
persons who were about the new sovereign were much
discussed. Duroc requested M. de Remusat to put
his ideas on the subject in writing. He drew up a
wise and moderate plan, but which was too simple
for those secret projects which no one had then
divined. " There is not sufficient display in it," said
Bonaparte, as he read it ; " all that would not throw
dust in people's eyes." His object was to decoy, in
order to deceive more effectually.
As he refused to give a free constitution to
the French, he had to conciliate and fascinate
them by every possible means ; and there being
always some littleness in pride, supreme power was
not enough for him — he must have the appearance
of it too ; he must have etiquette, chamberlains,
and so forth, which he believed would disguise
the parvenu. He liked display ; he leaned towards
264 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
a feudal system quite alien to the age in which
he lived, but which nevertheless he intended to
establish. It would, however, in all probability,
have ouly lasted for the duration of his own reign.
It would be impossible to record all his notions
on this subject. The following were some of them.
" The French Empire," he would say, " will become
the mother country of the other sovereignties of
Europe. I intend that each of the kings shall be
obliged to build a large palace for his own use in
Paris ; and that, on the coronation of the Emperor
of the French, these kings shall come to Paris, and
grace by their presence that imposing ceremony to
which they will render homage." What did this
project mean, except that he hoped to revive the
feudal system, and to resuscitate a Charlemagne
who, for his own advantage only, and to strengthen
his own power, should avail himself of the despotic
notions of a former era, and also of the experience of
modern times ?
Bonaparte frequently declared that he alone was
the whole Revolution, and he at length persuaded
himself that in his own person he preserved all of it
which it would not be well to destroy.
A fever of etiquette seemed to have seized on the
inhabitants of the Imperial palace of Saint Cloud.
The ponderous regulations of Louis XIV. were
taken down from the shelves in the library, and
COUBT ETIQUETTE. 265
extracts were commenced from them, in order that a
code might be drawn up for the use of the new Court.
Madame Bonaparte sent for Madame Campan, who
had been First Bedchamber Woman to Marie Antoi-
nette. She was a clever woman, and kept a school,
where, as I have already mentioned, nearly all the
young girls who appeared at Bonaparte's Court had
been educated. She was questioned in detail as to
the manners and customs of the last Queen of France,
and I was appointed to write everything that she
related from her dictation. Bonaparte added these
very voluminous memoranda to those which were
brought to him from all sides. M. de Talleyrand
was consulted about everything. There was a con-
tinual coming and going; people were living in a
kind of uncertainty which had its pleasing side,
because every one hoped to rise higher. I must
candidly confess that we all felt ourselves more or
less elevated. Vanity is ingenious in its expecta-
tions, and our expectations were unlimited.
Sometimes it was disenchanting to observe the
almost ridiculous effect that this agitation produced
upon certain classes of society. Those who had
nothing to do with our brand-new dignities said
with Montaigne, " Vengeons-nous par en medire."
Jests more or less witty, and calembours more
or less ingenious, were lavished on these new-
made princes, and somewhat disturbed our brilliant
•266 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
visions ; but the number of those who dare to
censure success is small, and flattery was much more
common than criticism, at any rate in the circle
under our observation.
Such, then, was the position of affairs at the close
of the era which terminates here. The narrative
of the second epoch will show what progress we all
made (when I say " we all," I mean France and
Europe) in this course of brilliant errors, which
was destined to lead to the loss of our liberties and
the obscuration of our true greatness for a long
period.
In the April of that year, Bonaparte made his
brother Louis a member of the Council of State,
and Joseph colonel of the 4th Regiment of Infantry.
" You must both belong to the civil and military
service by turns," he told them. " You must not be
strangers to anything that concerns the interests of
the country."
THE TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 2(37
CHAPTER VIII.
1801.
The trial of General Moreau — Condemnation of MM. de Polignac,
de Kiviere, etc. — Pardon of M. de Polignac— A letter from
Louis XVIII.
The creation of the Empire had turned public at-
tention away from the proceedings against Moreau,
which were, however, going on. The accused had
been brought before the Tribunal several times ;
but the more the case was investigated, the less
hope there was of the condemnation of Moreau,
which became day by day an object of greater
importance. I am perfectly convinced that the
Emperor would not have allowed Moreau's life to
be taken. That the general should be condemned
and pardoned would have been sufficient for his
purpose, which was to refute, by the sentence of
the court, those who accused him of having acted
with undue haste and personal animosity.
All who have brought cool observation to bear
upon this important event are agreed in thinking
that Moreau exhibited weakness and want of judg-
ment. When he was brought up for examination,
208 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
lie showed none of the dignity that was expected
from him. He did not, like Georges Cadoudal,
assume the attitude of a determined man, who
openly avowed the lofty designs that had actuated
him ; neither did he assume that of an innocent
man, full of righteous indignation at an unjust
charge. He prevaricated in some of his answers,
and the interest which he inspired was diminished
by that fact ; but even then Bonaparte gained
nothing by this lessening enthusiasm, and not only
party spirit, but reason itself, censured no less
strongly than before a proceeding which was still
attributed to personal enmity.
At length, on the 30th of May, the formal
indictment (acte oV accusation) appeared in the Moni-
teur. It was accompanied by certain letters written
bv Moreau in 1795, before the 18th Fructidor,
which proved that the general, being then con-
vinced that Pichegru was corresponding with the
princes, had denounced him to the Directory. A
general and natural question then arose : why had
Moreau acted so differently in the case of this
second conspiracy, justifying himself by the state-
ment that he had not thought it proper to the
First Consul to reveal the secret of a plot in which
he had refused to join ?
On the 6th of June the examinations of all the
accused persons were published. Among these there
GENERAL MOBEAU. 2G9
were some who declared positively that the princes,
in England, were quite confident that they might
count upon Moreau ; that it was with this hope
Pichegru had gone to France, and that the two
generals had subsequently on several occasions had
interviews with Georges Cadoudal. They even as-
serted that Pichegru had evinced great dissatis-
faction after these interviews, had complained that
Moreau gave him only half-hearted support, and
seemed anxious to profit on his own account by
the blow which was to strike Bonaparte. A person
named Bolland declared that Moreau had said, " The
first thing to be done is to get rid of the First
Consul."
Moreau, on being questioned in his turn, answered
that Pichegru, when he was in England, had con-
veyed an inquiry to him as to whether he would
assist him in case he should wish to return to
France, and that he had promised to help him
to carry out that project. It naturally occasioned
no little astonishment that Pichegru, who had been
denounced some years before by Moreau himself,
should have applied to him to obtain the necessary
permission ; and Pichegru, in his examination, had
denied that he ever did so. At the same time,
however, he also denied that he had seen Moreau,
although Moreau acknowledged that they had met,
and he persisted in declaring that in coming to
270 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
France he had been actuated solely by his aversion
to a foreign country, and his desire to return to
his own. Shortly afterwards, Pichegru was found
strangled in his prison, an d the circumstances of his
death have never been explained, nor have any
comprehensible motives which could have rendered
it necessary to himself been assigned.*
Moreau admitted that he had received Pichegru
(who took him, he said, by surprise) at his house,
but he declared at the same time that he had
positively refused to enter into a scheme for the
* Here, as in the preceding chapter, the author is not suf-
ficiently precise in relating the cause of the death of General
Pichegru. The statement that he had committed suicide was
received at the time with widespread incredulity, and the first
result of the death of the Due d'Enghien was that the Emperor
was made to expiate that crime, by having others imputed to
him which his most determined enemies would not previously
have attributed to him. It is only common justice to Napoleon
to record that his accusers have never been able to prove that it
was for his interest in any way that the accused should not appear
before his judges. M. Thiers has demonstrated that Pichegru's
presence at the trial was necessary. The depositions of the
accused of all parties were all equally condemnatory of him.
His legal criminality was certain, and he could not fail to be con-
demned, and to deserve his condemnation. The man who was
really to be feared was Moreau. It has, indeed, been said that
a report made by experts established the impossibility of suicide
under the circumstances, i.e. the use of a silk handkerchief, from,
which the body was found hanging. We must, however, bear
in mind that legal medicine seventy years ago was a merely
conjectural science, and that recent experience has proved
suicide by strangulation to be easily and rapidly effected.
GENERAL C ABOUT) AL. 271
restoration of the House of Bourbon to the throne,
because such a resolution would disturb the settle-
ment of the national property ; and he added, so far
as his own personal pretensions were concerned, the
notion was absurd, as it would have been necessary
to their success that not only the First Consul, but
the two other Consuls, the Governors of Paris, and
the Guard, should be got rid of. He declared that he
had seen Pichegru but once, although others of the
accused asserted that several interviews had taken
place between them ; and he maintained this line of
defence unshaken. He was, however, obliged to
admit that he had discovered, at an advanced stage
of the affair, that Frasnieres, his private secretary,
was deeply involved with the conspirators. Fras-
nieres had fled on the first alarm.
Georges Cadoudal answered that his plan was
to attack the First Consul, and remove him by
force ; that he had never entertained a doubt of
finding, in Paris itself, a number of enemies of the
actual regime who would aid him in his enterprise ;
and that he would have endeavoured by every means
in his power to replace Louis XVIII. upon his throne.
He steadily denied, however, that he knew either
Pichegru or Moreau ; and he terminated his replies
with these words : " You have victims enough ; I do
not wish to augment their number."
Bonaparte seemed to be impressed by this firmness
272 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
of resolution, and said on that occasion, " If it were
possible that I could spare any of these assassins, I
should pardon Georges."
The Due de Polignac replied that he had come
to France secretly, with the sole purpose of ascer-
taining positively the state of public opinion, and
what were the chances it afforded; but that when
he perceived that an assassination was in question,
he had thought only of getting away again, and
would have left France if he had not been arrested.
M. de Riviere made a similar answer, and M. Jules
de Polignac declared that he had merely followed
his brother.
On the 10th of June, twenty of the accused persons
were convicted and sentenced to death. At the head
of the list were Georges Cadoudal and the Marquis
de Riviere. The judgment went on to state that
Jules de Polignac, Louis Meridan, Moreau, and
Bolland were guilty of having taken part in the said
conspiracy, but that it appeared from the " instruc-
tion " and the investigation that there were cir-
cumstances which rendered them excusable, and
that the court therefore commuted the punishment
which they had incurred to fine and imprison-
ment.
I was at Saint Cloud when the news of this finding
of the court arrived. Every one was dumfounded.
The Chief Judge had pledged himself to the First
BONAPABTES DISCOMFITUBE. 273
Consul that Moreau should be condemned to death,
and Bonaparte's discomfiture was so great that he
was incapable of concealing it. It was widely
known that, at his first public audience on the
Sunday following, he displayed unmeasured anger
towards Lecourbe (brother to the general of that
name), the judge who had spoken strongly in
favour of Moreau's innocence at the trial. He
ordered Lecourbe out of his presence, calling him a
" prevaricating judge " — an epithet whose significa-
tion nobody could guess ; and shortly afterwards he
deprived him of his judgeship.
I returned to Paris, much troubled by the state
of things at Saint Cloud, and I found that among a
certain party in the city the result of the trial was
regarded with exultation which was nothing short
of an insult to the Emperor. The nobility were
much grieved by the condemnation of the Due de
Polignac.
I was with my mother and my husband, and we
were deploring the melancholy results of these pro-
ceedings, and the numerous executions which were
about to take place, when I was informed that the
Duchesse de Polignac, and her aunt, Madame
Daudlau, the daughter of Helvetius, whom I had
often met in society, had come to visit me. They
were ushered into the room, both in tears. The
duchess, who was in an interesting situation,
VOL. I. T
274 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
enlisted my sympathies at once ; she came to entreat
me to procure an audience of the Emperor for
her, that she might implore him to pardon her
husband. She had no means of gaining admission
to the palace of Saint Cloud, and she hoped I would
assist her. M. de Remusat and my mother were,
like myself, fully alive to the difficulty of the
enterprise, but we all three felt that I ought not to
allow that difficulty to hinder me from making the
attempt ; and as we still had some days before us,
because of the appeal against their sentence, which
the condemned men had made, I arranged with the
two ladies that they should go to Saint Cloud on the
following day, while I was to precede them by
a few hours, and induce Madame Bonaparte to
receive them.
Accordingly, the next day I returned to Saint
Cloud, and I had no difficulty in obtaining a promise
from my good Empress that she would receive
a person in so unhappy a position. But she did
not conceal from me that she felt considerable
dread of approaching the Emperor at a moment
when he was so much displeased. " If," said she,
" Moreau had been condemned, I should feel more
hopeful of our success ; but he is in such a rage that
I am afraid he will turn us away, and be angry
with you for what you are going to make me do."
I was too much moved by the tears and the
THE DUCHESSE DE POLIGNAC. 275
condition of Madame de Polignac to be influenced
by such a consideration, and I did my best to make
the Empress realize the impression which these
sentences had produced in Paris. I reminded her
of the death of the Due d'Enghien, of Bonaparte's
elevation to the Imperial throne in the midst of
sanguinary punishments, and pointed out to her that
the general alarm would be allayed by one act of
clemency which might, at least, be quoted side by
side with so many acts of severity.
While I was speaking to the Empress with all the
warmth and earnestness of which I was capable, and
with streaming tears, the Emperor suddenly entered
the room from the terrace outside ; this he frequently
did of a morning, when he would leave his work,
and come through the glass door into his wife's
room for a little talk with her. He instantly per-
ceived our agitation, and, although at another
moment I should have been taken aback at his un-
looked-for presence, the profound emotion which I
felt overcame all other considerations, and I replied
to his questions with a frank avowal of what I had
ventured to do. The Empress, who was closely
observing his countenance, seeing the severe look
that overcast it, did not hesitate to come to my aid
by telling him that she had already consented to
receive Madame de Polignac.
The Emperor began by refusing to listen to us,
276 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
and complaining that we were putting him in for
all the difficulty of a position which would give him
the appearance of cruelty. " I will not see this
woman," he said to me. " I cannot grant a pardon.
You do not see that this Eoyalist party is full of
young fools, who will begin again with this kind of
thing, and go on with it, if they are not kept within
bounds by a severe lesson. The Bourbons are
credulous ; they believe the assurances which they
get from schemers who deceive them respecting the
real state of the public mind of France, and they
will send a lot of victims over here."
This answer did not stop me ; I was extremely
excited, partly by the event itself, and perhaps
also by the risk of displeasing my formidable
master. I would not be so cowardly in my own
eyes as to retreat before any personal consideration,
and that feeling made me bold and tenacious. I
insisted so strongly, and entreated with such earnest-
ness, that the Emperor, who was walking hurriedly
about the room while I was speaking, suddenly
paused opposite to me, and fixing a piercing gaze
on me, said, " What personal interest do you take in
these people ? You are not excusable except they
are your relatives."
" Sire," I answered, with all the firmness I could
summon up ; "I do not know them, and until
yesterday I had never seen Madame de Polignac."
TEE DUCEESSE DE POLIGNAC. 277
" What ! And you thus plead the cause of people
who came here to assassinate me ? " " No, Sire ; I
plead the cause of an unfortunate woman who is in
despair, and — I must say it — I plead your own cause
too." And then, quite carried away by my feelings,
I repeated all that I had said to the Empress. She
was as much affected as myself, and warmly
seconded me. But we could obtain nothing from
the Emperor at that moment ; he went angrily away,
telling us not to " worry " him any more.
A few minutes afterwards I was informed that
Madame de Polignac had arrived. The Empress
received her in a private room, and promised that
she would do everything in her power to obtain a
pardon for the Due de Polignac. During the course
of that morning, certainly one of the most agitating
I have ever lived through, the Empress went twice
into her husband's cabinet, and twice had to leave it,
repulsed. Each time she returned to me, quite dis-
heartened, and I was losing hope and beginning to
tremble at the prospect of having to take a refusal
to Madame de Polignac as the final answer. At
length we learned that M. de Talleyrand was with
the Emperor, and I besought the Empress to make
one last attempt, thinking that if M. de Talleyrand
were a witness to it, he would endeavour to persuade
Bonaparte. And, in fact, he did second the Empress
at once and strongly, and at length Bonaparte,
278 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
vanquished by their supplications, consented to allow
Madame de Polignac to appear before him. This
was promising everything ; it would have been im-
possible to utter a cruel " No ! " in such a presence.
Madame de Polignac was ushered into the cabinet,
and fell fainting at the Emperor's feet. The Empress
was in tears ; the pardon of the Due de Polignac
was granted, and on the following day an article
written by M. de Talleyrand gave a charming
account of the scene, in what was then called the
Journal de V Empire.
M. de Talleyrand, on leaving the Emperor's
cabinet, found me in the Empress' boudoir and
related to me all that had occurred. He made me
cry afresh, and he was far from being unmoved
himself; but, nevertheless, he also made me laugh
by his recital of an absurd little circumstance which
had not escaped his keen perception of the ridiculous.
Poor Madame Daudlau, who had accompanied her
niece, and wanted to produce her own particular
little effect, kept on repeating, in the midst of her
efforts to revive Madame de Polignac — who was
restored to consciousness with great difficulty —
" Sire, I am the daughter of Helvetius ! '
The Due de Polignac's sentence was commuted to
four years' imprisonment, to be followed by banish-
ment. He was sent to join his brother, and after
having been confined in a fortress, they were re-
THE DUCHESSE BE POLIGNAC. 279
moved to a civil prison, from whence they escaped
during the campaign of 1814. The Due de Eovigo
(Fonche), who was then Minister of Police, was
suspected of having connived at their escape, in
order to curry favour with the party whose ap-
proaching triumph he foresaw.
I have no desire to make more of myself on this
occasion than I strictly deserve, but I think it will
he admitted that circumstances so fell out as to
enable me to render a very substantial service to the
Polignac family, one of which it would seem natural
that they should have preserved some recollection.
Since the return of the King to France, I have,
however, been taught by experience, how effectually
party spirit, especially among courtiers, effaces all
sentiments of which it disapproves, no matter how
just they may be.
After the incident which I have just related, I.
received a few visits from Madame de Polignac,
who doubtless held herself bound to so much re-
cognition of me ; but, by degrees, as we lived in
different circles, we lost sight of each other for some
years, until the Restoration. At that epoch, the
Due de Polignac, having been sent by the King
to Malmaison, to thank the Empress Josephine in
his Majesty's name for her zealous efforts to save
the life of the Due cVEnghien, took advantage of
the opportunity to express his own gratitude to
280 3IEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
her at the same time. The Empress informed me
of this visit, and said that no doubt the duke would
also call on me ; and I confess that I expected some
polite recognition from him. I did not receive any ;
and, as it was not according to my notions to en-
deavour to arouse, by any words of mine, gratitude
which could only be valuable by being voluntary, I
remained quietly at home, and made no reference
to an event which the persons concerned in it seemed
to wish to forget, or at least to ignore.
One evening, chance brought me in contact
with Madame de Polignac. It was at a reception
at the house of the Due d'Orleans, and in the midst
of a great crowd. The Palais Royal was splendidly
decorated, all the French nobility were assembled
there, and the grands seigneurs and high-born
gentlemen to whom the Restoration at first seemed
to mean the restoration of their former rights,
accosted each other with the easy, secure, and
satisfied manner so readily resumed with success.
Amid this brilliant crowd, I perceived the Duchesse
de Polignac. After long years I found her again,
restored to her rank, receiving all those congratula-
tions which were due to her, surrounded by an
adulatory crowd. I recalled the day on which
I first saw her, the state she was then in, her tears,
her terror, the way in which she came towards
me when she entered my room, and almost fell at
THE DUCHESSE BE POLIGNAC. 281
my feet. I was deeply moved by this contrast, and
being only a few paces from her, the interest with
which she inspired me led me to approach her.
I addressed her in a tone of voice which, no doubt,
fully conveyed the really tender feeling of the
moment, and congratulated her on the very different
circumstances under which we met again. All I
would have asked of her was a word of remembrance,
in response to the emotion I felt on this impressive
occasion.
This feeling was speedily chilled by the indiffer-
ence and constraint with which she listened to what
I said. She either did not recognize me, or she
affected not to do so ; I had to give my name. Her
embarrassment increased. On perceiving this I
immediately turned away, and with very painful
feelings, for those which her presence had caused,
and which I had thought, at first, she would share,
were rudely dispelled.
The Empress' goodness in obtaining a remission
of the capital sentence for M. de Polignac made a
great sensation in Paris, and gave rise to renewed
praise of her kindness of heart, which had obtained
almost universal recognition. The wives, or mothers,
or sisters of the other political offenders immediately
besieged the palace of Saint Cloud, and endeavoured
to obtain audience of the Empress, hoping to enlist
her sympathy. Applications were also made to her
282 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
daughter, and they both obtained further pardons or
commutations of sentence. The Emperor felt that
a dark shadow would be cast on his accession to the
throne by so many executions, and showed himself
accessible to the petitions addressed to him.
His sisters, who were by no means included in the
popularity of the Empress, and were anxious to
obtain, if possible, some public favour for them-
selves, gave the wives of the condemned men to
understand that they might apply to them also.
They then took the petitioners in their own carriages
to Saint Cloud, in a sort of semi-state, to entreat
pardon for their husbands. These proceedings, as to
which the Emperor, I believe, had been consulted
beforehand, seemed less spontaneous than those of
the Empress, indeed, bore signs of pre-arrangement ;
but at any rate they served to save the lives of several
persons. Murat, who had excited universal indig-
nation by his violent behaviour and by his hostility
to Moreau, also tried to regain popularity by similar
devices, and did in fact obtain a pardon for the
Marquis de Riviere. On the same occasion he
brought a letter from Georges Cadoudal to Bona-
parte, which I heard read. It was a manly and
outspoken letter, such as might be penned by a man
who, being convinced that the deeds he has done,
and which have proved his destruction, were dictated
by a generous sense of duty and an unchangeable
GEORGES CADOUDAL. 283
resolution, is resigned to his fate. Bonaparte was
deeply impressed by this letter, and again expressed
his regret that he could not extend clemency to
Georges Cadoudal.
This man, the real head of the conspiracy, died
with unshaken courage. Twenty had been con-
demned to death ; the capital sentence was, in the
cases of seven, commuted to a more or less pro-
longed imprisonment. Their names are as follows :
— The Due cle Polignae, the Marquis de Riviere,
Russillon, Rochelle, D'Hozier, Lajollais, Guillard.
The others were executed. General Moreau was
taken to Bordeaux, and put on board a ship for the
United States. His family sold their property by
Imperial command ; the Emperor bought a portion
of it, and bestowed the estate of Grosbois on Marshal
Berthier.
A few days later, the Moniteur published a protest
from Louis XVIII. against the accession of Napoleon.
It appeared on July 1st, 1804, but produced little
effect. The Cadoudal conspiracy had weakened the
faint sentiment of barely surviving allegiance to
the old dynasty. The plot had, in fact, been so badly
conceived ; it seemed to be based on such total
ignorance of the internal state of France, and of
the opinions of the various parties in the country ;
the names and the characters of the conspirators in-
spired so little confidence ; and, above all, the further
284 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
disturbances which must have resulted from any
great change were so universally dreaded — that, with
the exception of a small number of gentlemen whose
interests would be served by the renewal of an
abolished state of things, there was in France no
regret for a result which served to strengthen the
newly inaugurated system. Whether from conviction,
or from a longing for repose, or from yielding to the
sway of the great fortunes of the new Head of the
State, many gave in their adhesion to his sovereignty,
and from this time forth France assumed a peaceful
and orderly attitude. The opposing factions became
disheartened, and, as commonly happens when this
is the case, each individual belonging to them made
secret attempts to link his lot to the chances offered
by a totally new system. Gentle and simple,
Royalists and Liberals, all began to scheme for
advancement. New ambitions and vanities were
aroused, and favours solicited in every direction.
Bonaparte beheld those on whom he could least have
counted suing for the honour of serving him.
Meanwhile he was not in haste to choose from
among them ; he delayed a long time in order to
feed their hopes, and to increase the number of
aspirants. During this respite I left the Court, for
a little breathing time in the country. I stayed
for a month in the Valley of Montmorency, with
Madame dTIoudetot, of whom I have already spoken.
A QUIET INTERVAL. 285
The quiet life I led in her house was refreshing after
the anxieties and annoyances which I had recently
had to endure almost uninterruptedly. I needed this
interval of rest ; my health, which since that time has
always been more or less delicate, was beginning to
fail, and my spirits were depressed by the new aspect
of events, and by discoveries I was slowly making
about things in general, and certain great per-
sonages in particular. The gilded veil which, as
Bonaparte used to say, hangs before the eyes of
youth was beginning to lose its brightness, and I
became aware of the fact with astonishment, which
always causes more or less suffering, until time
and experience have made us wiser and taught us to
take things more easily.
286 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
CHAPTER IX.
1804.
Plans of invasion — An article in the Moniteur — The great
officers of State — The Ladies-in- Waiting — The anniversary of
July 14th — Beauty of the Empress — Projects of Divorce —
Preparations for the Coronation.
By degrees, the flotillas, built in our other harbours,
came round to join those of Boulogne. They some-
times met with obstacles on the way, for English
vessels were always cruising about the coast to
prevent their junction. The camps at Boulogne, at
Montreuil, and at Compiegne presented an imposing
appearance, and the army became daily more
numerous and more formidable.
There is no doubt that these preparations for war,
and the comments which were made upon them in
Paris, created anxiety in Europe, for an article
appeared in the newspapers which produced no great
impression at the time, but which I consider worth
recording, because it was an exact forecast of all
that has since occurred.
It appeared in the Moniteur of July 10th, 1804,
A FORECAST. 287
on the same day with an account of the audience
given by the Emperor to all the ambassadors who
had just received fresh credentials to his Court-
Some of the latter contained flattering expressions
from foreign sovereigns on his accession to the
throne.
This is the article : —
" From time immemorial, the metropolis has been
the home of hearsay (les on dit). A new rumour
springs up every day, to be contradicted on the next.
Although there has been of late more activity, and
a certain persistence in these reports which gratify
idle curiosity, we think it more desirable to leave
them to time, and that wisest of all possible replies,
silence ! Besides, what sensible Frenchman, really
interested in discovering the truth, will fail to re-
cognize in the current rumours the offspring of
malignity more or less interested in their circulation ?
" In a country where so large a number of men are
well aware of existing facts, and are able to judge
of those which do not exist, if any one imagines that
current rumours ought to cause him real anxiety,
if a credulous confidence in them influences his
commercial enterprises or his personal interests,
either his error is not a lasting one, or he must lay
the blame on his own want of reflection.
" But foreigners, persons attached to diplomatic
missions, not having the same means of judging, nor
288 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
the same knowledge of the country, are often de-
ceived, and although for a long time past they
have had opportunities of observing how invariably
every event gives the lie to current gossip, they
nevertheless repeat it in foreign countries, and thus
give rise to most erroneous notions about France.
We therefore think it advisable to say a few words
in this journal on the subject of political gossip.
" It is said that the Emperor is about to unite the
Italian Republic, the Ligurian Republic, the Republic
of Lucca, the Kingdom of Etruria, the Papal States,
and, by a necessary consequence, Naples and Sicily,
under his own rule. It is said that the same fate is
reserved for Switzerland and Holland ; it is said
that by annexing Hanover, the Emperor will be
enabled to become a member of the Germanic Con-
federation.
" Many deductions are drawn from these supposi-
tions ; and the first we remark is that the Pope will
abdicate, and that Cardinal Fesch or Cardinal Ruffo
will be raised to the Pontifical Throne.
" We have already said, and we repeat it, that if the
influence of France were to be exerted in any changes
affecting the Sovereign Pontiff, it would be exerted
for the welfare of the Holy Father, and to increase
the respect due to the Holy See and its possessions,
rather than to diminish it.
" As to the kingdom of Naples, Mr. Acton's
THE CASE STATED. 289
aggressive action and his constantly hostile policy
might in former times have afforded France a
legitimate cause of war, which she would never have
undertaken with the intention of uniting the Two
Sicilies to the French Empire.
" The Italian and Ligurian Kepublics and the
kingdom of Etruria will not cease to exist as inde-
pendent States, and it is surely very unlikely that
the Emperor would disown the duties attached to
the authority which he derives from the comitia of
Lyons, and also the personal glory he has acquired
by twice restoring to independence the States which
twice he has conquered.
" We may ask, as regards Switzerland, who pre-
vented its annexation to France, before the Act of
Mediation ? This Act, the immediate result of care
and thought on the part of the Emperor, has restored
tranquillity to its people, and is also a guarantee of
their independence and security, so long as they
themselves do not destroy this guarantee by substi-
tuting the will of one of their constituent corpora-
tions, or that of a party, for the elements of which
it is composed.
" Had France desired to annex Holland, Holland
would now be French, like Belgium. That she is
an independent Power is because France felt, with
regard to that country, as she felt in the case of
Switzerland, that the localities required an indi-
vol. i. u
290 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
vidua! existence and a special kind of organi-
zation.
" A still more absurd supposition is entertained re-
specting Hanover. The annexation of that province
would be the most fatal gift that could be made to
France, and no lengthened consideration of the
matter is needed in order to perceive this. Hanover
would become a cause of rivalry between the French
nation and that prince who was the ally and friend
of France, at a time when all Europe was in coalition
n gainst her.
" In order to retain Hanover, it would be neces-
sary to keep up a military force, at a cost out of all
proportion to the few millions which constitute the
whole of the revenues of that country. Will that
Government which has made sacrifices in order to
maintain the principle that only a simple and con-
tinuous frontier-line, so far as the fortifications of
Strasbourg and of Mayence on the right bank, is
necessary, be so shortsighted as to wish for the
incorporation of Hanover ? But, it is said, the
advantage of belonging to the Germanic Confedera-
tion depends on the possession of Hanover.
" The mere title of Emperor of the French is
sufficient answer to this singular idea. The Ger-
manic Confederation is composed of kings, electors^
and princes, and it recognizes, in relation to itself,
but one Imperial dignity. It would be to mis-
TEE CASE STATED. 291
judge the noble pride of our country to suppose she
would ever consent to become an element in any
other confederation, even had such a thing been
compatible with national dignity. What could have
prevented France from maintaining her rights in the
circle of Burgundy, or those which conferred on her
the possession of the Palatinate ?
" We may even ask, with pardonable pride, who
was it that prevented France from keeping part of
the States of Baden and of the Swabian territory ?
" No, France will never cross the Rhine ! Nor will
her armies pass over it, unless it become necessary
for her to protect the German Empire and its
princes, who inspire an interest in her because of
their attachment to her, and their value in the
balance of power in Europe.
" If these are simply idle rumours, we have
answered them sufficiently. If they owe their origin
to the anxious jealousy of foreign Powers, who are
always crying out that France is ambitious in order
to cloak their own ambition, there is another answer
to be made. Owing to the two coalitions succes-
sively entered into against us, and to the treaties
of Campo Formio and Luneville, France has no
province for her neighbour which she could wish
to annex ; and if in the past she has displayed an
example of moderation unexampled in modern history,
the result is an advantage for her, inasmuch as she
need not henceforth take up arms.
292 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
u Her capital is in the centre of her Empire ;
her frontiers are bounded by small States which
complete her political constitution ; geographically
she can desire nothing belonging to her neighbours
— she is therefore naturally inimical to none ; and as
there exists in her respect neither another Finland,
nor another River Inn, she is in a position which
no other Power enjoys.
"As it is with those rumours which try to prove
that France is inordinately ambitious, so it is with
others of a different nature.
" Not long ago, rebellion was in our camps. Two
days back, thirty thousand Frenchmen had refused
to embark at Boulogne ; yesterday our legions were
at war with each other, ten against ten, thirty
against thirty, flag against flag. Our four Rhenish
departments were informed that we were about to
restore them to their former ruler. To-day, perhaps,
it is said that the Public Treasury is empty, that
the public works have been discontinued, that dis-
cord prevails everywhere, and that the taxes are
unpaid. If the Emperor starts for the camps it
will be said, perhaps, that he is hurrying thither
to restore peace. In fact, whether he remains at
St. Cloud, or goes to the Tuileries, or lives at Mal-
maison, there will be opportunities for absurd
reports.
" And if these rumours, simultaneously spread
APPOINTMENTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 293
about in foreign countries, were intended to cause
alarm on account of the ambition of the Emperor,
and at the same time to encourage any unbecoming
and mistaken acts, by leading people to hope that his
Government is weak, we can but repeat those words
which a Minister was instructed to utter on leaving
a certain Court : ' The Emperor of the French desires
war with no one, whomsoever he may be ; he dreads
war with no one. He does not meddle with his
neighbours' business, and he has a right to similar
treatment. He has always manifested a wish for a
durable peace, but the history of his life does not
justify us in thinking that he will suffer himself to
be insulted or despised.'
After a refreshing sojourn in the country, I came
back once more to the whirl of Court life, where the
fever of vanity seemed every day to lay stronger
hold of us.
The Emperor now appointed the great officers of
the Household. General Duroc was made Grand
Marshal of the Palace ; Berthier, Master of the Hunt
(Grand Veneur) ; M. de Talleyrand, Grand Chamber-
lain; Cardinal Fesch, Grand Almoner ; M. de Caulain-
court, Grand Equerry; and M. de Se'gur, Grand
Master of the Ceremonies. M. de Re'musat received
the title of First Chamberlain. He ranked immedi-
ately next to M. de Talleyrand, who would be chiefly
occupied by foreign affairs, and was to depute my
294 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
husband to do the greater part of his duties. The
matter was thus arranged at first ; but soon after,
the Emperor appointed Chamberlains in Ordinary.
Among these were the Baron de Talleyrand (a
nephew of the Grand Chamberlain), some senators,
some Belgian gentlemen of high birth, and, a little
later, some French gentlemen also.
"With these appointments began contests as to pre-
cedence, and discontent on account of distinctions
which were coveted and withheld. M. de Remusat
found himself exposed to continual envy, and as it
were at war with these personages. I am now
ashamed when I recall the annoyance which all this
caused me ; but in whatever Court one lives — and
ours had become a very real one — it is impossible
not to attach importance to the trifles of which life is
composed. An honourable and sensible man is often
ashamed in his own eyes of the pleasure or annoy-
ance which he experiences in the profession of a
courtier, and yet he can scarcely avoid either the one
or the other. A ribbon, a slight difference in dress,
permission to pass through a particular door, the
entree to such or such a salon — these are the pitiful
causes of a constantly recurring vexation. In vain
do we try to harden ourselves against them. The
importance in which they are held by a great
number of persons, obliges us, in spite of ourselves,
to prize them. In vain do sense and reason rebel
MADAME DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. 295
against such a use of human faculties ; however
dissatisfied we may feel with ourselves, we must
needs become as small-minded as everybody else,
and either fly the Court altogether, or consent to
take the follies, that fill the very air we breathe,
seriously.
The Emperor added to the difficulties inseparable
from the regulations of a palace those of his own
temper. He enforced etiquette with the strictness of
martial law. Ceremonies were gone through as
though by beat of drum ; everything was done at
double-quick time ; and the perpetual hurry, the
•constant fear that Bonaparte inspired, added to the
unfamiliarity of a good half of his courtiers with
formalities of the kind, rendered the Court dull
rather than dignified. Every countenance wore an
expression of uneasiness and solicitude in the midst
•of all the magnificence with which his ostentatious
tastes led the Emperor to surround himself.
Madame de la Rochefoucauld, who was the Em-
press's cousin, was appointed her Lady of Honour,
and Madame de la Fayette Lady of the Bedchamber.
Twelve Ladies-in- Waiting were nominated, and by
degrees the number of these was augmented. Many
great ladies from different parts of the country were
included in the list, persons who were much surprised
at finding themselves in each other's society. With-
out entering into any details here, which would
206 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE REMTJSAT.
now serve no good purpose, I may mention that
applications were made by many persons who now
affect ardent royalism, hardly compatible with
the opinions they then professed. It ought to be
frankly admitted that all classes wanted to have
their share of these new creations, and I could point
to several persons who, after having blamed me
because I came to the First Consul's Court in conse-
quence of an old friendship, spared no efforts on their
own parts to obtain places at that of the Emperor,
from ambitious motives.
As for the Empress, she was delighted to find
herself surrounded by a numerous suite, and one
so gratifying to her vanity. The victory she had
won over Madame de la Rochefoucauld by attaching
her to her person, the pleasure of reckoning M.
D'Aubusson de la Feuillade among her Chamberlains,
Madame d'Arberg de Se'gur and the Mare'chales
among her Ladies-in-Waiting, intoxicated her a little ;
but I must admit that this essentially feminine feeling
deprived her of none of her accustomed grace and
kindliness. The Empress always knew perfectly
well how to preserve the supremacy of her own rank,
while showing polite deference towards those men
or women who enhanced the splendour of her Court
by their personal distinction.
At this time, the " Ministry of General Police "
was reconstructed, and Fouche was once more
placed at its head.
THE FETE AT THE INVALIDES. 297
The 18th Brumaire was the date at first fixed for
the coronation ; and in the mean time, to show
that the revolutionary epochs were not to be disre-
garded, the Emperor repaired in great pomp to
the Invalides on the 14th of July, and, after having
heard Mass, distributed the Cross of the Legion of
Honour to a number of persons selected from all
classes comprised in the Government, the army, and
the Court. I must not omit to record that on this
occasion the Empress looked young and lovely,
among all the youthful and handsome women by
whom she was surrounded for the first time in
public. Her costume was admirably selected, and
in perfect taste. The ceremony took place under
burning sunshine. She appeared in broad daylight,
attired in a robe of rose-coloured tulle, spangled with
silver stars, and cut very low, according to the
fashion of the day. Her head-dress consisted of a
great number of diamond wheat-ears, and this
brilliant attire, the elegance of her bearing, the
charm of her smile, the sweetness of her countenance,
produced such an effect, that I heard many persons
who were present at the ceremony say that the
Empress outshone all the ladies of her suite.
A few days afterwards the Emperor set out for
the camp at Boulogne, and if public rumour was
to be believed, the English began to feel really
alarmed at the prospect of an invasion.
298 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
He passed more than a mouth in inspecting the
coasts and reviewing the troops in the various camps.
The army was at that time numerous, nourishing,
and animated by the best spirit. He was present
at several engagements between the vessels which
were blockading us and our flotillas, which by this
time had assumed a formidable aspect.
While engaged in these military occupations, he
fixed, by several decrees, the precedence and the
rank of the various authorities which he had created ;
for his mind embraced every topic at once. He
had already formed a private intention of asking
the Pope to crown him, and, with a view to this,
he neglected neither that address by which he might
amicably carry his point, nor certain measures by
which he might be able to render a refusal exceed-
ingly difficult. He sent the Cross of the Legion of
Honour to Cardinal Caprara, the Pope's legate, and
accompanied the distinction by words equally flatter-
ing to the Sovereign Pontiff and promising for the
re-establishment of religion. These fine phrases ap-
peared in the Moniteur. Nevertheless, when he com-
municated to the Council of State his project of con-
firming his elevation by so solemn a religious cere-
mony, he had to encounter determined opposition from
certain of his councillors. Treilhard, among others,
resisted the proposal strongly. The Emperor allowed
him to speak, and then replied, " You do not know
THE EMPEBOB AT AIX. 299
the ground we are standing- on so well as I know it.
Let me tell you that religion has lost much less of
its power than you think. You do not know all that
I effect by means of the priests whom I have gained
over. There are thirty departments in France
sufficiently religious to make me very glad that I
am not obliged to dispute with the Pope for power
in them. It is only by committing every other
authority in succession, that I shall secure my own,
that is to say, the authority of the Revolution,
which we all wish to consolidate."
While the Emperor was inspecting the ports,
the Empress went to Aix-la-Chapelle to drink the
waters. She was accompanied by some of her
new household, and M. de Remusat was ordered
to follow her, and to await the Emperor, who
was to rejoin her at Aix. I was glad of this
respite. I could not disguise from myself that so
many new-comers were effacing by degrees her
first estimate of my value to her, which had owed
much to the non-existence of comparisons ; and
although I was yet young in experience of the
world, I felt that a short absence would be useful,
and that I should afterwards take, if not the first
place, that of my choice, and hold it throughout
securely.
Madame de la Rochefoucauld, who attended the
Empress, was then a woman of between thirty-six
300 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
and forty years old, short and ill-made, with a
striking countenance, but only ordinary abilities.
She had a great deal of assurance, like most plain
women who have had some success notwithstanding
their defects. She was very lively, and not at all
ill natured. She proclaimed her adherence to all the
opinions of those who were called " aristocrats" by the
Revolution, and as she would have been puzzled to
reconcile those views with her present position, she
made up her mind to laugh at them, and would jest
about herself with the utmost good humour. The
Emperor liked her because she was quick, frivolous,
and incapable of scheming. Indeed, no Court in
which women were so numerous ever offered less
opportunity for any kind of intrigue. Affairs of
State were absolutely confined to the cabinet of the
Emperor only ; we were ignorant of them, and
we knew that nobody could meddle with them.
The few persons in whom the Emperor con-
fided were wholly devoted to the execution of
his will, and absolutely unapproachable. Duroc,
Savary, and Maret never allowed an unnecessary
word to escape them, confining themselves strictly to
communicating to us without delay such orders as they
received. We were in their sight and in our own mere
machines, simply and solely doing those things which
we were ordered to do, and of about as much import-
ance as the elegant articles of new furniture with
THE GRANDS SEIGNEUES AT COVET. 301
which the palaces of the Tuileries and Saint Cloud
were now profusely adorned.
I remarked at this time with some amusement,
that as by degrees the grands seigneurs of former
days came to Court, they all experienced, no matter
how widely their characters differed, a certain sense
of disappointment curious to observe. At first —
when they breathed once more the air of palaces ;
found themselves again among their former associates,
and in the atmosphere of their youth ; beheld
anew decorations, throne-rooms, and Court costumes,
and heard the forms of speech habitual in royal
dwellings — they yielded to the delightful illusion.
They fondly believed that they might conduct them-
selves as they had been accustomed to do in those
same palaces, where all but the master remained
unchanged. But a harsh word, a peremptory
order, the pressure of an arbitrary will, soon re-
minded them roughly that everything was new in
this unique Court. Then it was strange to see
how, despite all their efforts, they lost their pre-
sence of mind, feeling the ground uncertain under
their feet, and became constrained and uneasy in
all their futile little ways. They were too vain
or too weak to substitute a grave bearing, unlike the
manners of their past, for their former customs,
and they did not know what course to adopt.
The arts of the courtier availed nothing with
302 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
Bonaparte, and so profited them not at all. It was
not safe to remain a man in his presence — that is
to say, to preserve the use of one's intellectual
faculties ; it was easier and quicker for every-
body, or nearly everybody, to assume the attitude
of servility. If I chose I could tell exactly the
individuals to whom such a course came most
readily; but if I were to go more at length into
this subject, I should give my Memoirs the colour
of a satire, which is neither according to my taste
nor my intention.
While the Emperor was at Boulogne, he sent his
brother Joseph to Paris, where all the governing
bodies presented addresses to him and his wife.
Thus, he assigned each person his own place, and
dictated supremacy to some and servitude to others.
On the 3rd of September, he rejoined his wife at
Aix-la-Chapelle, and remained there some days,
holding a brilliant Court and receiving the German
Princes. During this sojourn, M. de Remusat was
directed to send to Paris for the company of the
second theatre, then managed by Picard, and several
fetes were given to the Electors, which, although
they did not approach the magnificence of later
occasions, were very splendid. The Elector Arch-
Chancellor of the Grermanic Empire, and the Elector
of Baden, paid assiduous court to our sovereigns.
The Emperor and Empress visited Cologne, and
BIRTH OF A PRINCE. 303
ascended the Ehine as far as Mayence, where they
were met by a crowd of Princes and distinguished
foreigners. This excursion lasted until the month of
October.
On the 14th, Madame Louis Bonaparte gave birth
to a second son.* This event was a great source of
happiness to the Empress. She believed that it would
have a most favourable effect upon her future ; and
yet at that very moment a new plot was being formed
against her, which she only succeeded in defeating
after much effort and mental suffering. Bonaparte
arrived in Paris a few days later.
Ever since we had learned that the Pope would
come to Paris for the coronation of the Emperor, the
Bonaparte family had been exceedingly anxious to
prevent Madame Bonaparte from having a personal
share in the ceremony. The jealousy of our Princesses
was strongly excited on this point. It seemed to
them that such an honour would place too great a
distance between themselves and their sister-in-law,
and, besides, dislike needs no motive of interest
personal to itself to make anything which is a
gratification to its object distasteful. The Empress
ardently longed for her coronation, which she believed
* The second son of Queen Hortense was Napoleon Louis.
This Prince died suddenly during the insurrection of the
Pontifical States against the Pope, in which he took part. The
third son of the Queen, Napoleon III., was born on the 20th of
April, 1808.
304: ME3I0IRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
would establish her rank and her security, and the
silence of her husband alarmed her. He appeared
to be hesitating, and Joseph spared no argument to
induce him to make his wife merely a witness
of the ceremony. He even went so far as to revive
the question of the divorce, advising Bonaparte
to profit by the approaching event to decide upon
it. He pointed out the advantage of an alliance
with some foreign Princess, or at least with the
heiress of a great name in France, and dwelt upon
the chance that such a marriage would give him
of a direct heir. Joseph spoke with the more
likelihood of being listened to, because he in-
sisted strongly on the personal disinterestedness of
advice which, if taken, might remove himself from
all chance of the succession. The Emperor, in-
cessantly harassed by his family, appeared to be
"impressed by his brother's arguments, and a few
words which escaped him threw his wife into
extreme distress. Her former habit of confiding all
her troubles to me now led her to restore me to her
confidence. I was exceedingly puzzled how to ad-
vise her, and not a little afraid of committing myself
in so serious a matter. An unexpected incident was
near bringing about the very thing which we dreaded.
For some time Madame Bonaparte had perceived
an increase of intimacy between her husband and
Madame de . In vain did I entreat her not to
A CONJUGAL QUARREL. 305
furnish the Emperor with a pretext for a quarrel,
which would be made use of against her. She was
too full of her grievance to be prudent, and, in spite
of my warning, she watched for an opportunity of
confirming her suspicions. At Saint Cloud the Em-
peror occupied the apartment which opens «ipon the
garden, and is on the same level. Above this apart-
ment was a small suite of rooms communicating
with his own by a back staircase ; these he had
recently had furnished, and the Empress strongly
suspected the purpose of this mysterious retreat. One
morning, when there were several persons in her
drawing-room, the Empress, seeing Madame de ■
(who was then resident at Saint Cloud) leave the
room, suddenly rose a few minutes afterwards, and
taking me apart into a window, said, " I am goino-
to clear up my doubts this very moment ; stay here
with all these people, and if you are asked where
I have gone, say that the Emperor sent for me." I
tried to restrain her, but she was quite ungovernable,
and would not listen to me. She went out at the
same moment, and I remained, excessively apprehen-
sive of what might be going to happen. In about
half an hour the Empress re-entered the room
by the opposite door. She seemed exceedingly
agitated, and almost unable to control herself, but
took her seat before an embroidery frame. I re-
mained at a distance from her, apparently occupied
vol. I. x
306 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
by my needlework, and avoiding her eye, but I
could easily perceive her agitation by the abrupt-
ness of all her movements, which were generally
slow and soft. At last, as she was incapable of
keeping silence under strong emotion of any kind,
she could no longer endure this constraint, and
calling to me in a loud voice, she bade me follow
her. When we had reached her bedroom, she said,
" All is lost. It is but too true. I went to look
for the Emperor in his cabinet, and he was not there ;
then I went up the back stairs into the upper room.
I found the door shut, but I could hear Bonaparte's
voice, and also that of Madame de . I knocked
loudly at the door, and called out that I was there.
You may imagine the start I gave them. It was
some time before the door was opened ; and when at
last I was admitted, though I know I ought to
have been able to control myself, it was impossible,
and I reproached them bitterly. Madame de
began to cry, and Bonaparte flew into so violent a
passion, that I had hardly time to fly before him and
escape his rage. I am still trembling at the thought
of it ; I did not know to what excess his anger
might have gone. No doubt, he will soon come here,
and I may expect a terrible scene." The emotion of
the Empress moved me deeply. " Do not," said I,
" commit a second fault, for the Emperor will never
forgive you for having admitted any one, no matter
A CONJUGAL QUABBEL. 307
whom, to your confidence. Let me leave you, Madame.
You must wait for him ; let him find you alone."
I returned at once to the drawing-room, when I found
Madame de . She glanced at me nervously ;
she was extremely pale, talked almost incoherently,
and tried hard to find out whether I knew what
had passed. I resumed my work as tranquilly as
I could, but I think Madame de , having seen
me leave the room, must have known that the
Empress had told me. Every one was looking at
every one else, and nobody could make out what
was happening.
A few minutes afterwards, we heard a great noise
in the apartment of the Empress, and of course I
knew that the Emperor was there, and that a violent
quarrel was taking place. Madame de called
for her carriage, and at once left for Paris. This
sudden departure was not likely to mend matters. I
was to go to Paris in the evening; and before I
left Saint Cloud the Empress sent for me, and told
me, with tears, that Bonaparte, after having insulted
her in every possible way, and smashed some of the
furniture in his rage, had signified to her that she
was at once to quit Saint Cloud. He declared that,
weary of her jealous spying, he was determined to
shake off such a yoke, and to listen henceforth only
to the counsels of his policy, which demanded that
he should take a wife capable of giving him children.
308 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
She added that he had sent orders to Eugene de
Beauharnais to come to Saint Cloud in order to make
arrangements for the departure of his mother, and
she added that she was now lost beyond redemption.
She then directed me to go and see her daughter in
Paris on the following day, and to inform her
exactly of all that had occurred.
Accordingly, I went to Madame Louis Bonaparte.
She had just seen her brother, who had come from
Saint Cloud. The Emperor had signified to him
his resolution to divorce his wife, and Eugene had
received the communication with his accustomed sub-
mission, but refused all the personal favours which
were offered to him as a consolation, declaring
that from the moment such a misfortune should
fall upon his mother, he would accept nothing, but
that he would follow her to any retreat which
might be assigned to her, were it even at Martinique,
as he was resolved to sacrifice all to her great need
of comfort. Bonaparte had appeared to be deeply
impressed by this generous resolution ; he had
listened to all that Eugene said in unbroken silence.
I found Madame Louis less affected by this event
than I expected. " I cannot interfere in any way,"
she said. " My husband has positively forbidden
me to do so. My mother has been very imprudent.
She is about to forfeit a crown, but, at any rate, she
will have peace. Ah ! believe me, there are women
A BECONCILIATION. 309
more unhappy than she." She spoke with such
j:>rofound sadness that I could not fail to read her
thoughts ; but, as she never allowed a word to be
said about her own personal position, I did not
venture to reply in such a way as would make
it evident that I had understood her. " And,
besides," said she in conclusion, " if there be any
chance at all of setting 1 this matter right, it is the
influence over Bonaparte of my mother's tears and
her gentleness. Believe me, it is better to leave
them to themselves — not to interfere at all between
them — and I strongly advise you not to return to
Saint Cloud, especially as Madame N has men-
tioned you, and believes that you would give hostile
advice."
I remained away from Saint Cloud for two days,
in accordance with the advice of Madame Louis
Bonaparte, but on the third I rejoined my Empress,
concerning whom I felt the deepest solicitude.
I found her relieved from one pressing trouble.
Her submission and her tears had, in fact, dis-
armed Bonaparte ; his anger and its cause were
no longer in question. A tender reconciliation had
taken place between them ; but, immediately after-
wards, the Emperor threw his wife into fresh agita-
tion by letting her see that he was now seriously
entertaining the idea of a divorce. " I have not
the courage," he said to her, " to come to a final
310 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
resolution ; and if you let me see that you are too
deeply afflicted — if you can render me obedience only
— I feel that I shall never have the strength to
oblige you to leave me. I tell you plainly, however,
that it is my earnest desire that you should resign
yourself to the interests of my policy, and yourself
spare me all the difficulties of this painful separa-
tion." The Empress told me that he wept bitterly
while uttering these terrible words. I remember
well how, as I listened to her, I conceived in my
mind the plan of a great and generous sacrifice
which she might make to France.
Believing, as I then believed, that the fate of the
nation was irrevocably united with that of Napoleon,
I thought there would be true greatness of soul in
devoting one's self to all that might secure and
confirm that destiny. I thought, had I been the
woman to whom such a representation had been
made, that I should have had courage to abandon
the brilliant position which, after all, was grudged
to me, and retire into a peaceful solitude, satisfied
with the sacrifice that I had made. But when I
saw in Madame Bonaparte's face what suffering the
Emperor's words, had caused her, I remembered a
saying of my mother's, that advice to be useful
must be adapted to the character of the person to
whom it is offered, and I refrained from uttering
the lofty sentiments of which my mind was full. I
RELIEF. 31 1
bethought me in time of the dread with which the
Empress would contemplate retirement, of her taste
for luxury and display, and of the devouring ennui
to which she would inevitably fall a prey when she
had broken with the world ; and I confined myself
to saying that I saw only two alternatives for her.
The first of these was to sacrifice herself bravely
and with dignity ; in which case she ought to go to
Malmaison on the following morning, and from
thence to write to the Emperor, declaring that she
restored his freedom to him ; or to remain where
she was, acknowledging herself to be unable to
decide upon her own fate, and, though always ready
to obey, positively determined to await his direct
orders before she should descend from the throne
on which he had placed her.
She adopted the second alternative. Assuming
the attitude of a resigned and submissive victim, she
excited the jealous anger of all the Bonapartes by
her gentle demeanour. Yielding, sad, considerate of
everybody, entirely obedient, but also skilful in
availing herself of her ascendancy over her husband,
she reduced him to a condition of agitation and
indecision from which he could not escape.
At length, one memorable evening, after long
hesitation, during which the Empress suffered
mortal anguish and suspense, the Emperor told her
that the Pope was about to arrive in Paris, that
312 3IEM0IRS OF MADAME DE REMUSAT.
he would crown them both, and that she had better
at once begin to prepare for the great ceremony.
It is easy to picture to one's fancy the joy with
which such a termination to all her misery filled
the heart of the Empress, and also the discomfiture
of the Bonapartes, especially Joseph ; for the
Emperor had not failed to acquaint his wife,
according to his usual custom, with the attempts
that had been made to induce him to decide on a
divorce, and it is only reasonable to suppose that
these revelations increased the ill feeling already
existing on both sides.
On this occasion the Empress confided to me
the ardent desire she had long felt to have her
marriage, which had been civilly contracted, con-
firmed by a religious ceremony. She said that she
had sometimes spoken of this to the Emperor, and,
although he had not evinced any repugnance, he
had objected that, even if a priest were brought
into the palace to perform the religious rite, it could
not be done with sufficient secrecy to conceal the fact
that until then they had not been married according
to the Church. Either that was his real reason, or
he wanted to hold this means of breaking his
marriage in reserve for future use, should he con-
sider it really advisable to do so ; at any rate, he
had rejected his wife's pleading firmly, but mildly.
She therefore determined to await the arrival of
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CORONATION. 313
the Pope, being persuaded, very reasonably, that his
Holiness would espouse her cause on such a point
as this.
The entire Court was now occupied in preparations
for the ceremony of the coronation. The Empress
was continually surrounded by all the best artists
in millinery in Paris, and the vendors of the most
fashionable wares. With their assistance she de-
cided on the new form of Court dress, and on her
own costume. As may be supposed, there was no
thought of resuming the hoop worn under the old
regime ; it was merely proposed that to our ordinary
garments the long mantle (which, after the return
of the King, was still worn) should be added, and
also a very becoming run of blonde, which was
attached to the shoulders and came high up at
the back of the head, as we see it in portraits
of Catherine de Medicis. The use of this ruff
was afterwards discontinued, although it was, in
my opinion, very pretty, and lent dignity and grace
to the whole costume. The Empress already pos-
sessed diamonds of considerable value, but the
Emperor not only made costly additions to her jewel-
case, but also placed the diamonds belonging to the
National Treasury in her hands, and desired that
she should wear them on the great day. A diadem
of brilliants, above which the Emperor was with his
own hands to place the closed crown upon her head.
314 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
was made for her, and the ceremony was privately
rehearsed. David, who afterwards painted the great
picture of the coronation of the Emperor and
Empress, attended these rehearsals, and arranged the
positions of each. The coronation of the Emperor
had been eagerly discussed. The first idea was that
the Pope should place the diadem upon the head
of the Emperor ; but Bonaparte refused to receive
the crown from any hand but his own, and uttered,
on that occasion, the sentence which Madame de
Stael has quoted in her work : "I found the crown
of France upon the ground, and took it up."
At length, after a great deal of discussion, it was
arranged that the Emperor was to crown himself,
and that the Pope should only give his benediction.
Everything was done to make the fetes brilliant and
popular, and people began to flock into Paris. Con-
siderable bodies of troops were ordered up to the
capital ; all the chief authorities of the provinces
were invited ; the Arch-Chancellor of the Germanic
Empire and a great number of foreigners arrived.
Party spirit slumbered for the time being, and
the whole city gave itself up to the excitement and
curiosity of so novel an incident, and a spectacle
which would doubtless be magnificent. The shop-
keepers drove a thriving trade ; workmen of all
kinds were employed, and rejoiced in the occasion
that procured them such a stroke of luck ; the popu-
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CORONATION. 315
lation of the city seemed to be doubled ; commerce,
public establishments, and theatres profited by the
occasion, and all was bustle and activity.
The poets were requested to celebrate this great
event. Chenier was ordered to compose a tragedy,
for the perpetual commemoration of it, and he
took Cyrus for his hero. The Opera was to give
splendid ballets. To us dwellers in the palace,
money was given for our expenses, and the
Empress presented each of her Ladies-in- Waiting
with handsome diamond ornaments. The Court
dress of the gentlemen about the Emperor was also
regulated. This becoming costume consisted of
the French coat, in different colours for those who
belonged to the department of the Grand Marshal,
the Grand Chamberlain, and the Grand Equerry
respectively ; silver embroidery for all ; a cloak of
velvet lined with satin, worn over one shoulder ; a
sash, a lace cravat, and a hat turned up in front,
with a white plume. The Princes were to wear
white coats embroidered in gold ; the Emperor was
to wear a long robe somewhat resembling that worn
by our kings, a mantle of purple velvet sewn with
golden bees, and his crown — a golden wreath of
laurels like that of the Caesars.
It seems like a dream, or a story from the
" Arabian Nights," when I recall the luxury that
was displayed at that period, the perpetual disputes
316 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMTJSAT.
about precedence, the claims of rank, and all the
demands made by everybody. The Emperor directed
that the Princesses should carry the Empress's
mantle ; there was the greatest difficulty in inducing
them to consent to do this ; and I remember well
that when at last they did consent, they performed
their office with so ill a grace that the Empress,
overpowered by the weight of her magnificent
robe, could hardly walk, for they would scarcely lift
the folds off the ground. They obtained permission
to have their own trains borne by their respective
chamberlains, and this distinction somewhat consoled
them for the obligation that was imposed upon
them.*
In the mean time we learned that the Pope had
* The Memoirs of Count Miot de Melito contain some curious
particulars of Court life, during the Consulate and the Empire ;
the quarrels of Bonaparte with his brothers on account of the
succession to the throne, and the adoption of the son of Louis
Bonaparte. He also narrates in detail the disputes about pre-
cedence, and the vexed question of the Empress's mantle. It
was after a long discussion between the Arch-Chancellor, the
Arch-Treasurer, the Minister of the Interior, the Grand
Equerry, and the Grand Marshal of the Court, the Princes
Louis and Joseph, and the Emperor himself, that a decision
was arrived at which denied to those princes the large
mantle of ermine— "an attribute," as it was called, "of sove-
reignty ; " and that it was resolved the words " to hold up
the mantle " should be used in the proces-verbal instead of " to
carry the train" (" Memoires du Comte Miot de Melito," vol. ii.
p. 323, et seq.).—V. E.
THE POPE'S JOURNEY. 317
left Rome on the 2nd of November. The slowness
of his journey and the vast scale of the preparations
rendered it necessary to put off the coronation
until the 2nd of December ; and on the 24th of
November the Court went to Fontainebleau to
receive his Holiness, who arrived there on the
following' day.
Before I close this Chapter, I wish to mention
a circumstance which ought, it seems to me, to be
recorded. The Emperor had, for the moment, re-
linquished the idea of a divorce, but, being still
extremely anxious to have an heir, he asked his wife
whether she would consent to acknowledge a child
of his as her own, and to feign pregnancy, so that
every one should be deceived. She consented to
accede to any wish of his on this point. Then
Bonaparte sent for Corvisart, his chief physician,
in whom he had well-merited confidence, and con-
fided his plan to him. " If I succeed," said he,
" in making sure of the birth of a boy who shall
be my own son, I want you, as a witness of the pre-
tended confinement of the Empress, to do all that
would be necessary to give the device every appear-
ance of reality." Corvisart, who felt that his honour
and probity were injured by the mere proposition,
refused to do what the Emperor required of him, but
promised inviolable secrecy. It was not until long
afterwards, and since Bonaparte's second marriage,
318 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
that he confided this fact to me, while at the
same time he affirmed in the strongest terms the
legitimate birth of the King of Rome, concerning
which some entirely unfounded doubts had been
raised.
THE POPE'S ABBIVAL. 319
CHAPTER X.
The Pope's arrival in Paris — The Plebiscitum — The marriage
of the Empress Josephine — The coronation fetes in the Champ
de Mars, at the Opera, etc. — The Court of the Empress.
The Pope was probably induced to come to France
solely by the representations which were made to
him of advantages and concessions to be gained by
such a gracious act. He arrived at Fontainebleau
with the intention of lending himself to all that
might be required of him, within legitimate bounds ;
and, notwithstanding the superiority on which the
conqueror who had forced him to take this unheard-
of step plumed himself, and the small respect in
which the Court held a sovereign who did not
reckon the sword among the insignia of his royalty,
he impressed everybody by his dignity, and the
gravity of his bearing.
The Emperor went to meet him at a few leagues'
distance from the chateau, and when the carriages
met, he alighted, as did his Holiness also. The
Pope and the Emperor embraced, and then got into
the same carriage, the Emperor entering first, in
320 MEMOIRS OF MADAME I)E REMUS AT.
order, as the Moniteur of the day explained, to give
the Pope the right-hand seat, and so they came to
the palace.
The Pope arrived on Sunday,* at noon ; and
having rested for a while in his own apartment, to
which he was conducted by the Grand Chamberlain
(i.e. M. de Talleyrand), the Grand Marshal, and
the Grand Master of Ceremonies, he visited the
Emperor, who met him outside the door of his
cabinet, and after an interview of half an hour's
duration, reconducted him to the great hall, which
was then called " The Hall of the Grreat Officers."
The Empress had received instructions to place the
Pope at her right hand.
After these visits, Prince Louis, the Ministers,
the Arch-Chancellor, the Arch-Treasurer, Cardinal
Fesch, and the great officers then at Fontainebleau,
were presented to the Pope, who received them all
most graciously. He afterwards dined with the
Emperor and retired early.
The Pope was at this time sixty-two years of
age ; tall, and upright of figure, and with a hand-
some, grave, benevolent face. He was attended
by a numerous suite of Italian priests ; anything
but impressive personages, whose rough, noisy,
and vulgar manners contrasted strangely with the
grave good-breeding of the French clergy. The
* 25th November, 1804, or 4th Frimaire, year 13.— P. K.
THE POPE AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 321
Palace of Fontainebleau presented a strange spec-
tacle just then, inhabited as it was by so extra-
ordinary a medley of persons : sovereigns, princes,
military officers, priests, women, all gathered together
in the different salons at the prescribed hours. On
the day after his arrival, his Holiness received in
his own apartment all those persons belonging to
the Court who desired that honour. We had the
privilege of kissing his hand and receiving his
blessing. His presence in such a place, and on so
great an occasion, affected me very deeply.
After these receptions, visits were again inter-
changed between the sovereigns. On the occasion
of her second interview with the Pope, the Empress
carried out the intention she had secretly formed,
and confided to him that her marriage had been a
civil ceremony only. His Holiness, after having
commended her for the good use she made of her
power, and addressing her as " My daughter," pro-
mised her that he would require of the Emperor
that his coronation should be preceded by the cere-
mony necessary to legitimize his marriage with her ;
and, in fact, the Emperor was obliged to consent
to this. On their return to Paris, Cardinal Fesch
married Bonaparte to Josephine, as I shall presently
relate.
On the Monday evening a concert was to take
place in the apartment of the Empress. The Pope,
VOL. I. Y
322 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
however, declined to be present, and retired just as
the entertainment was about to begin.
At this time the Emperor took a fancy to Madame
de X , and, whether it was that his budding
passion had inspired him with a wish to please, or
that his satisfaction at the success of his plans kept
him in good humour, I cannot say ; certain it is,
however, that while we were at Fontainebleau he
was more affable and approachable than usual.
After the Pope had retired, the Emperor remained
in the Empress's drawing-room, and talked, not with
the men, but, by preference, with the women who
were there. His wife, keen of perception where
anything which aroused her jealousy was in ques-
tion, was struck by this departure from his ordinary
habits, and suspected that some new fancy was the
cause of it. She could not, however, discover the
real object of his thoughts, because he very adroitly
paid marked attention to each of us in succession ;
and Madame de X , who as yet conducted her-
self with great reserve, did not seem to perceive
that she was the particular object of the general
gallantries that the Emperor affected to distribute
among us. Some of those present believed that the
Mare'chale Ney was about to receive his homage.
The Mare'chale is the daughter of M. Augue', for-
merly Receiver-General of Finance, and her mother
was one of the Bedchamber Women to Queen Marie
THE POPE IN PARIS. 323
Antoinette. She was educated by her aunt, Madame
Campan, and when in her establishment became
the friend and companion of Hortense de Beau-
harnais, now the Princess Louis. She was at this
time about twenty-two or twenty -three years old,
and rather pretty, but too thin. She knew very
little of the world, was excessively shy, and had
not the slightest desire to attract the Emperor,
whom she regarded with extreme dread.
During our sojourn at Fontainebleau, a decree of
the Senate was published in the Moniteur. It was
to the effect that, according to the verification of
the registers of the votes given upon the question
of the Empire, made by a commission of the Senate,
Bonaparte and his family were declared to be called
to the throne of France. The general total of voters
amounted to 3,574,898. Of these, 3,572,329 were
Ayes, 2569 Noes.
The Court returned to Paris on Thursday, the
29th of November. The Emperor and the Pope
travelled in the same carriage, and his Holiness was
lodged in the Pavilion of Flora. Certain members
of the Household were appointed to attend on him.
During the first few days of his residence in Paris,
the Pope was not treated by the inhabitants with
all the respect which might have been anticipated.
A crowd, attracted by curiosity, thronged his path
when he visited the churches, and assembled under
324 ME310IRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
his balcony when he appeared there to give his
blessing. By degrees, however, the description of
the dignity of his manners, given by those who had
access to him, several noble and affecting sayings
of his on different occasions, and the self-possession
which he maintained in a position so new and
strange to the Chief of Christendom, produced a
marked change even among the lower classes of the
people.
Every morning the terrace of the Tuileries was
covered with a great multitude, calling loudly for
him, and kneeling to receive his blessing. The
people were admitted to the gallery of the Louvre
at certain specified times during the day, and then
the Pope would walk from end to end of it and
bless the multitude. Mothers flocked thither with
their children, and were received with special kind-
ness. One day, an individual who was a well-
known enemy of religion was in the gallery when
the Pope arrived, and as his curiosity urged him
to stay, he held himself aloof, as though to avoid
the benediction. The Pope drew near him, divined
his secret hostility, and said to him, in the gentlest
tone, " Why do you avoid me, sir ? Is there any
danger in an old man's blessing ? "
Yery soon all Paris resounded with praise of the
Pope, and the Emperor's jealousy was excited. He
made certain arrangements which obliged his Holi-
THE MARRIAGE OF THE EMPRESS. 325
ness to deny himself to the too eager entreaties
of the faithful ; and the Pope, who detected the
Emperor's uneasiness, adopted extreme reserve, but
without allowing the slightest sign of human pride
to appear in his manner or conduct.
Two days before the coronation, M. de Remusat,
who, in addition to being Grand Chamberlain, was
also Keeper of the Wardrobe, and therefore charged
with all the details of the Imperial costumes, sub-
mitted to the Empress the superb diadem which had
just been made for her. He found her in a state
of delight and satisfaction, which she could hardly
conceal from general notice. Presently she took my
husband apart, and confided to him that, on the
morning of that same day, an altar had been
erected in the Emperor's cabinet, and that Cardinal
Fesch had performed the marriage ceremony between
herself and Bonaparte, in the presence of two aides-
de-camp. After the ceremony she had procured a
written certificate of the marriage from the Cardinal.
She carefully preserved this document, and, notwith-
standing all the Emperor's efforts to obtain it from
her, she never could be induced to part with it.
It has since been said that any religious marriage
not witnessed by the cure of the parish in which
it is celebrated is de facto null and void, and that
a means of breaking the marriage was purposely
reserved by this expedient. In that case, Car
326 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
dinal Fesch must have been a consenting party
to the fraud ; and yet his subsequent conduct for-
bids any such supposition. When violent quarrels
arose on the subject of the divorce, and the Empress
went so far as to threaten her husband with
the publication of the certificate in her posses-
sion, Cardinal Fesch was consulted upon the point.
He repeatedly affirmed that the document was
in good form, and that his conscience obliged him
to declare the marriage so validly solemnized that
it could not be broken otherwise than by an act
of arbitrary authority.
After the divorce the Emperor wanted to get
possession of the document in question ; but the
Cardinal advised the Empress not to part with it.
It is a remarkable proof of the extent to which
suspicion and distrust prevailed among all the mem-
bers of the Bonaparte family, that the Empress,
while availing herself of advice that coincided
with her own feelings, told me she sometimes
thought the Cardinal gave her that advice in con-
nivance with the Emperor, who wanted to drive
her to some outbreak which would give him an
excuse for banishing her from France. And yet,
the uncle and nephew had quarrelled, at that very
time, about the Pope's aifairs.
On the 2nd of December, the coronation took
place. It would be difficult to describe its splendour
THE CORONATION. 327
or to enter into the details of that day. The
weather was cold, but dry and bright ; the streets of
Paris were crowded with people more curious than
enthusiastic ; the Guard under arms presented a fine
spectacle.
The Pope preceded the Emperor by several hours,
and waited with admirable patience for the long-
delayed arrival of the procession. He sat upon the
throne erected for him in the church, and made
no complaint either of cold or weariness. The
Cathedral of Notre Dame was decorated with taste
and magnificence. At the far end was a splendid
throne for the Emperor, on which he was to appear
surrounded by his entire Court. Before setting out
for Notre Dame, we were admitted to the apart-
ment of the Empress. Our attire was very brilliant,
but it paled before the magnificence of the costumes
of the Imperial family. The Empress especially,
sparkling with diamonds, and wearing her hair in
countless curls, a style of the time of Louis XVI.,
did not look more than twenty-five.* She wore a
white satin gown, and a Court mantle of the same
material, both profusely embroidered in mingled gold
and silver. Her ornaments consisted of a diadem,
a necklace, earrings, and a girdle of diamonds of
immense value, and all this gorgeous attire was worn
* She was forty-one, having been born at Martinique on the
23rd of June, 1763.
328 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
with her customary easy grace. Her sisters-in-law
were also adorned with a vast quantity of jewels.
The Emperor inspected each of us in her turn,
smiling at this luxury, which was, like all the rest,
a sudden creation of his sovereign will.
His own costume was brilliant. He was to
assume the Imperial robes at Notre Dame, but for
the present he wore a French coat of red velvet,
embroidered in gold, a white sash, a short cloak
sewn with bees, a plumed hat turned up in front with
a diamond buckle, and the collar of the Legion of
Honour in diamonds. This superb dress became
him well. The whole Court wore velvet cloaks em-
broidered in gold. It must be acknowledged that
we paraded ourselves a little for our common amuse-
ment ; but the spectacle was really beautiful.
The Emperor got into his carriage — it had seven
glasses, and was gorgeously gilded — with his wife
and his two brothers, Joseph and Louis. Then we
all took our appointed places in the carriages which
were to follow, and the splendid cortege proceeded
at a foot pace to Notre Dame. There was no lack
of shouting on our way ; and although the acclama-
tions of the people had not that ring of enthusiasm
which a sovereign jealous of his people's love longs
to recognize, they sufficed to gratify the vanity of a
haughty master, but one who was not sensitive.
On his arrival at Notre Dame, the Emperor
THE CORONATION. 329
entered the archiepiscopal palace, and there assumed
his robes of State. They seemed almost to crush
him ; his slight frame collapsed under the enormous
mantle of ermine. A simple laurel wreath encircled
his head ; he looked like an antique medallion, but
he was extremely pale, and genuinely affected. The
expression of his countenance was stern, and some-
what distressed.
The ceremony was grand and impressive. A
general movement of admiration was noticeable at
the moment when the Empress was crowned. She
was so unaffected, so graceful, as she advanced
towards the altar ; she knelt down with such simple
elegance, that all eyes were delighted with the
picture she presented. When she had to walk
from the altar to the throne, there was a slight
altercation with her sisters-in-law, who carried her
mantle with such an ill grace, that I observed at one
moment the new-made Empress could not advance
a step. The Emperor perceived this, and spoke a
few sharp short words to his sisters, which speedily
brought them to reason.
During the ceremony, the Pope wore an air of
resignation of a noble sort, the result of his own will,
and for a purpose of great utility. It was between
two and three o'clock when the cortege left Notre
Dame, and we did not reach the Tuileries until the
short December day had closed in. We were lighted
330 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
by the general illuminations, and a number of
torches were carried along the line of vehicles. We
dined at the chateau, with the Grand Marshal,
and after dinner the Emperor received all the
members of the Court who had not yet retired.
He was in high spirits, and delighted with the
ceremony ; he admired us all, jested about the effect
of finery on women, and said to us, laughingly,
" You owe it to me, mesdames, that you are so
charming ! ' : He had not allowed the Empress to
take off her crown, although she had dined tete-a-tete
with him, and he complimented her on the grace with
which she wore it. At length he dismissed us.
Innumerable fetes and rejoicings took place during
the ensuing month. On the 5th of December, the
Emperor went to the Champ de Mars with the same
state as on the coronation day, and distributed Eagles
to a number of regiments. The enthusiasm of the
soldiers far surpassed that of the people ; but the bad
weather spoiled the effect of this second great day.
It rained in torrents, but nevertheless an immense
multitude thronged the Champ de Mars. M. Maret
devoted the following flowery passage in the Moniteur
to the rain of the 5th of December : — " Although the
situation of the spectators was distressing, there
was not one among them who did not find ample
compensation in the sentiment which induced him
to remain in his place, and in the utterance of
FETE AT THE CHAMP BE MARS. 331
aspirations (voeux), to which his acclamations bore
testimony."
A common and absurd form of flattery, and one
which has been resorted to in every age, is the
making believe that because a king has need of
sunshine, he can secure its presence. I remember
when it was a current saying at the Tuileries that
the Emperor had only to fix a certain day for a
review or a hunting-party, and the sky could not
fail to be cloudless. Whenever it was so, the fact
was eagerly remarked, but nothing was said about
the days that were dull or rainy. A similar device
was adopted in the time of Louis XIV. It was
not, indeed, possible to say that it did not rain
during the distribution of the Eagles at the Champ
de Mars, but I met many people who gravely assured
me that the rain did not wet them.
A spacious platform had been constructed for the
accommodation of the Imperial family and the Court ;
on this the throne, protected as much as possible
from the rain, was placed. The canvas and hang-
ings were speedily wet through ; the Empress was
obliged to withdraw, with her daughter — who was
out for the first time after the birth of her second
child — and her sisters-in-law, excepting Madame
Murat, who continued to brave the weather although
she was lightly dressed. She was training herself,
as she said, laughingly, " to endure the inevitable
constraints of royalty."
332 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
On that day a sumptuous banquet was given at
the Tuileries. A table was laid in the Gallery of
Diana, beneath a magnificent canopy, for the Pope,
the Emperor, the Empress, and the first Arch-
Chancellor of the Germanic Empire. The Pope
sat on the left of the Empress, and the Emperor on
her right. They were waited on by the great officers
of the Household. Lower down, there was a table
for the Princes, among whom was the Hereditary
Prince of Baden ; a table for the Ministers ; one for
the ladies and gentlemen of the Imperial Household —
all served with the utmost luxury. Some fine music
was performed during the repast. Then came a
largely-attended reception, at which the Pope was
present ; and a ballet, performed by dancers from
the Opera, in the great drawing-room. The Pope
withdrew before the ballet. The evening concluded
with cards, and the Emperor gave the signal for
departure by retiring.
At the Emperor's Court, cards formed merely a
portion of the ceremonial. He never allowed money
to be staked, and the games were whist and loto.
We used to make up the tables just for some-
thing to do, and generally talked, while we held our
cards without looking at them. The Empress was
fond of playing cards, even without money, and
played whist in real earnest. Her card-table, and
that of the Princesses, were placed in the room
EVENINGS AT THE TUILEBIES. 33°>
called the Emperor's cabinet, at the entrance of the
Gallery of Diana. She played with the greatest
personages present, foreigners, ambassadors, or
Frenchmen. The two Ladies-in- Waiting for the
week occupied seats behind her ; a Chamberlain
stood near her chair. While she was playing, all
who were in the rooms came, one after the other,
to make their bows and curtsies to her. Bonaparte's
brothers and sisters also played, and sent invitations
by their respective Chamberlains to various persons
to join their tables. His mother, who had been
given a house and the title of Princess, but who
was always called Madame Mere, did the same. The
Emperor walked about everywhere, preceded by
Chamberlains who announced his presence. On
his approach every voice was hushed ; no one moved
from his place ; the ladies stood up, waiting for the
insignificant, and frequently ungracious, remarks
which he would address to them. He never remem-
bered a name, and his first question almost invari-
ably was, " And what do you call yourself? " There
was not a woman present on those occasions who
did not rejoice when he moved away from her
vicinity.
This reminds me of an anecdote about Gre'try.
As a member of the Institute he frequently attended
the Sunday receptions, and it happened several
times that the Emperor, who had come to recognize
334 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
his face, approached him almost mechanically, and
asked him his name. One day, Gre'try, who was
tired of this perpetual question, and perhaps a
little annoyed at not having produced a more lasting
impression, answered to the Emperor's rudely uttered
" And you ! who are you ? " in a sharp, impatient
tone, " Sire, I am still Gre'try." Ever afterwards
the Emperor recognized him perfectly.
The Empress, on the contrary, had an accurate
memory for names, and also for the smallest particu-
lars concerning each individual. For a long time the
routine of the Court receptions continued to be what
I have described. Afterwards, concerts, ballets,
and even plays, were added to the list of amuse-
ments ; but I shall refer to this subject in due order
of time. The Emperor desired that special places
should be assigned to the Ladies-in- Waiting, and
these small privileges excited small jealousies which
engendered great animosities, after the invariable
law of Courts. At this period the Emperor indulged
in ceremonies of every kind ; he liked them, especially
because they were of his own creation. He always
spoiled their effect to some extent by the habitual pre-
cipitation from which he could rarely refrain, and by
the apprehension lest all should not be exactly as he
wished, with which he inspired everybody. On one
occasion, he gave audience, seated on his throne and •
surrounded by the great officers of the Household, the
CHENIERS TRAGEDY. 335
Marshals, and the Senate, to all the Prefects, and to
the Presidents of the electoral colleges. He then
granted a second audience to the former, and
strongly urged them to carry out the conscription.
" Without that," said the Emperor (and these words
were inserted in the Moniteur), " there can be
neither national power nor national independence."
No doubt, he was then cherishing a project for
placing the crown of Italy upon his head, and felt
that his designs must lead to war ; and, besides, as
the impossibility of an invasion of England had been
made clear to him, although the preparations were
still carried on, the necessity for employing an army
which was becoming a burthen to France was
pre3sed upon his attention. In the midst of these
graver subjects of anxiety, he had reason to be pro-
voked with the Parisians. He had bespoken from
Chenier a tragedy to be acted on the occasion of the
coronation. The poet had selected Cyrus for his
theme, and the fifth act of the tragedy (the corona-
tion of the hero of ancient story) represented the
ceremony of Notre Dame accurately enough. The
piece was a poor production, and the allusions
in it were too palpable, too evidently written to
order. The Parisian audience hissed the tragedy
from first to last, and laughed aloud at the scene
of the enthronement. The Emperor was much dis-
pleased ; he was as angry with my husband as if
336 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
M. de Re'musat had been responsible to him for the
approbation of the public, and by the revelation of this
weak point the public learned to avenge themselves
at the theatre for the silence so rigorously imposed
upon them elsewhere.
The Senate gave a magnificent fete, and the Corps
Le'gislatif followed their example. On the 16th of
December an entertainment took place, by which
the city of Paris incurred a debt, unpaid for many
years, for a grand public banquet, fireworks, a ball,
and the silver-gilt toilet-services presented to the
Emperor and Empress. Addresses and laudatory
inscriptions abounded in all directions. The flatteries
lavished upon Louis XIV. during his reign have
been much commented upon ; I am sure, if they
were all put together, they would not amount to one-
tenth of those which were bestowed upon Bonaparte.
Some years later, at another fete given by the city
of Paris to the Emperor, the repertory of inscriptions
being exhausted, a brilliant device was resorted to :
over the throne which he was to occupy were
placed in letters of gold the following words from
the Holy Scriptures : " I am that I am." And no
one seemed to be scandalized !
France was given up at this time to fetes and
merry-making. Medals were struck and distributed
profusely. The Marshals gave a great ball in the
Opera House, at a cost of ten thousand francs to
THE MARSHALS' FETE. 337
each. The pit was boarded over, on a level with
the stage ; the boxes were festooned with silver
gauze, brilliantly lighted, and filled with ladies in
full dress. The Imperial family were seated apart
on an estrade, and the company danced in the vast
enclosure. Flowers and diamonds in profusion,
splendid dresses, and the magnificence of the Court
made this a most brilliant entertainment. We were
all put to great expense on these occasions. A sum
of ten thousand francs was allowed to the Ladies-
in-Waiting as compensation for their expenditure,
but it was not nearly sufficient. The cost of the
coronation amounted to four millions of francs
(£160,000).
The Princes and distinguished foreigners staying
in Paris paid an assiduous court to our sovereign,
and the Emperor did the honours of Paris with a
good grace. Prince Louis of Baden was then
very young, and rather shy ; he kept himself in
the background. The Prince Primate, who was
over sixty, was amiable, lively, and garrulous.
He was well acquainted with France, and with
Paris, where he had lived in his youth ; he was fond
of literature, and friendly with the former Acade-
micians, who were admitted, with a few other
persons, to the smaller receptions held by the
Empress. During this winter, about fifty ladies
and a number of gentleman used to be invited,
vol. i. z
338 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
once or twice a week, to sup at the Tuileries. Eight
o'clock was the hour named, and full dress, but
not Court dress, was worn. We played at cards
in the drawing-room on the ground-floor, which
is now Madame's drawing-room. On Bonaparte's
appearance we used to pass into a music-room,
where a musical performance by Italian singers
occupied half an hour ; then we returned to the
drawing-room, and resumed our cards. The
Emperor would move about, either playing or
talking. A sumptuous and elegant supper was
served at eleven o'clock, the ladies only being
seated. Bonaparte's armchair would remain unoccu-
pied ; he would saunter round the table, but he ate
nothing. When supper was over, he would take his
departure. The Princes and Princesses, the great
officers of the Empire, two or three Ministers, a few
Marshals, some Generals, Senators, State Councillors,
and their wives were always invited to these small
parties. There was great rivalry in dress. The
Empress, as well as her sisters-in-law, always ap-
peared in something new, with quantities of pearls
and precious stones. She was the possessor of pearls
worth a million of francs. At that time stuffs shot
with gold or silver began to be worn. During the
winter, turbans became the fashion at Court ; they
were made either of white or coloured muslin, spotted
with gold, or of a brilliant Turkish material. By
THE POPE AT NOTRE DAME. 339
degrees our garments assumed an Eastern shape :
over our richly embroidered muslin gowns we used
to wear short dresses of some coloured fabric, open
in front : our arms, shoulders, and bosoms were
uncovered.
The Emperor, who, as I shall presently relate,
was becoming more and more deeply in love,
sought to disguise the fact by paying attentions
to all the ladies, and seemed at his ease only when
surrounded by them. The gentlemen would then
become aware that their presence embarrassed him,
and they would retire to an adjoining room. The
scene was then not unlike a harem, as I remarked
one evening to Bonaparte. He was in a good
humour, and laughed ; but my jest was far from
pleasing to the Empress.
The Pope, who passed his evenings in retirement,
visited the churches, hospitals, and public institu-
tions in the morning. He officiated on one occasion
at Notre Dame, and a great crowd was admitted to
kiss his feet. He visited Versailles, and the
suburbs of Paris, and was received with such pro-
found respect at the Invalides, that the Emperor
grew uneasy. And yet I heard that while his
Holiness was most anxious to return to Rome, the
Emperor still detained him. I have never been
able to discover his motive.
The Pope was always dressed in white : having
340 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
been a monk, he wore a woollen habit, and over it
a sort of surplice of cambric trimmed with lace,
which had a curious effect. His " calotte," or skull-
cap, was of white woollen stuff.
At the end of December, the Corps Le'gislatif was
opened in state ; laboured speeches upon the im-
portance and the happiness of the great event which
had just taken place were delivered, and a report,
not only flourishing but also true, on the pros-
perous condition of France was presented.
Meanwhile, applications for places at the new
Court were numerous, and the Emperor acceded
to some of them. He also named senators from
among the presidents of the electoral colleges.
Marmont was made colonel-general of the Mounted
Chasseurs ; and the Grand Cordon of the Legion of
Honour was bestowed on Cainbaceres, Lebrun, the
Marshals, Cardinal Fesch, MM. Duroc, De Caulain-
court, De Talleyrand, De Segur, and also on several
Ministers, the Chief Judge, and on MM. G-audin
and Portalis, Ministers of Public Worship. These
appointments and favours kept every one in a state
of expectation.
Thenceforth the impulse was given ; people be-
came accustomed to wishing, to waiting, to seeing
daily some new thing. Each day would bring forth
some little circumstance, unexpected in itself, but
anticipated— for we had acquired a habit of always
EXCITEMENT AND EXPECTATION. 341
being on the look-out for something. Since then
the Emperor extended the system of continually ex-
citing ambition, curiosity, and hope to the entire
nation, to the whole of Europe : this was not the
least ingenious secret of his government.
342 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
CHAPTER XL
1807.
The Emperor in love — Madame de X . Madame de Darnas
— The Empress confides in me — Palace intrigues — Murat is
raised to the rank of Prince.
The Empress could not forbear from occasionally
complaining, in private, that her son had no share
in the promotions which were made daily ; but she
had the good sense to conceal her dissatisfaction,
and Eugene himself maintained an attitude which
was highly honourable to him, and in marked con-
trast with the jealous impatience of Murat. Madame
Murat was continually importuning the Emperor to
raise her husband to a rank which would place
him above the Marshals, among whom it annoyed
him to be included. During the winter, both
the husband and wife contrived to profit by the
weakness of the Emperor, and earned a claim to his
favour by making themselves useful in his new love
affair, as we shall presently see.
I have already said that Eugene was captivated
by Madame de X- -. This lady, who was then
MADAME BE X . 343
twenty-four or twenty-five years of age, was of fair
hair and complexion ; her blue eyes could wear any
expression she chose, except indeed that of frank-
ness ; her disposition was habitually deceitful. Her
nose was aquiline and rather long, her mouth was
lovely, and her teeth, which she frequently dis-
played, were beautiful. She was of middle height,
with an elegant but too slender figure ; she
had small feet, and danced to perfection. She
had no remarkable ability, but was not wanting
in quickness ; her manners were quiet and cold.
It was difficult to excite her feelings, still more dif-
ficult to hurt them.
The Empress had at first treated her with marked
distinction. She praised her beauty, approved of her
style of dress, and made more of her than of others,
for the sake of her son, Prince Eugene. This, per-
haps, led, in the first instance, to the Emperor's
taking notice of her. He began to pay her attention
during the sojourn of the Court at Fontainebleau.
Madame Murat, who was the first to discern her
brother's admiration, tried to insinuate herself into
the confidence of the lady, and succeeded so far
as to set her on her guard against the keen eyes
of the Empress. Murat, in accordance, I believe,
with some private arrangement, pretended to be an
admirer of Madame de X , and thus for a time
threw the Court off the scent.
344 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
The Empress, who was well aware of the new
fancy of the Emperor, but could not discover
its object, at first suspected the Marechale Ney,
to whom he was in the habit of talking a good
deal ; and for a few days that poor lady was closely
watched. As usual, the Empress confided her
jealous suspicions to me, but I saw nothing as yet
to justify them.
The Empress complained to Madame Louis of what
she called the perfidy of Madame Ney. The latter
was questioned, and after having declared that her
own feeling towards the Emperor was simply fear,
she admitted that he had sometimes appeared to
pay her attention, and that Madame de X had
congratulated her on the grand conquest she was
about to make. This was a flash of light to the
Empress. She at once discovered the truth, and
saw that Murat was feigning love for the lady only
that he might be the bearer of declarations from the
Emperor.
In Duroc's deference towards Madame de X ,
she also discerned a proof of his master's senti-
ments, and in the conduct of Madame Murat a
deeply-laid scheme against her own peace of mind.
The Emperor began to pass more time in his wife's
apartments. Nearly every evening he would come
down, and his looks and words betrayed the object
of his preference. If Josephine went privately to the
MADAME DE X— . 345
theatre — for the Emperor did not like her to appear in
public without him — he would join her party unex-
pectedly ; and day by day he became more engrossed
and less capable of self-control. Madame de X
maintained an appearance of indifference, but she
made use of every art of feminine coquetry. Her
dress became more and more elegant, her smile more
subtle, her looks more full of meaning, and it was
soon easy enough to guess what was going on. The
Empress suspected that Madame Murat connived at
secret interviews in her own house, and she after-
wards became certain of the fact. Then, according to
her custom, she burst into tears and reproaches, and
once more I found mvself obliged to listen to con-
v CD
fidences which were dangerous to receive, and to
give advice which was never heeded.
The Empress attempted expostulations, but they
were very badly taken. Her husband lost his
temper, and having reproached her with opposing
him, he ordered her to be silent; and while she,
abandoned to her grief, was sad and downcast in
public, he, more gay, free, and animated than we had
yet seen him, paid attention to us all, and lavished
rough compliments on us. On the occasions of the
Empress's receptions, of which I have already spoken,
he looked really like a Sultan. He would sit down
to a card-table, often selecting his sister Caroline,
Madame de X , and myself to make up his game ;
346 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMVSAT.
and, scarcely noticing his cards, he would start some
sentimental discussion in his own style, with more
wit than sentiment, occasionally with doubtful taste,
but with a great deal of animation. On these
occasions Madame de X— — was very reserved, and,
being probably afraid lest I might -make some
discoveries, would answer in monosyllables only.
Madame Murat took but slight interest in these
conversations ; she always went straight to her point,
and cared little for detail. As for me, I was amused,
and I could take my part in them with a liberty of
spirit not possessed by the other three, who were
all more or less preoccupied. Sometimes, without
naming any one, Bonaparte would commence a
dissertation on jealousy, and then it was easy to see
that he applied it to his wife. I understood him,
and defended her gaily, as well as I could, without
plainly indicating her ; and I could see that
Madame de X and Madame Murat gave me no
thanks for that.
During these conversations, which always made
her uneasy, Madame Bonaparte would keep a watch
on us from the other end of the room, where
si ie was playing at cards. Although she had
reason to know she might depend on me, yet, as
she was naturally suspicious, she sometimes feared
that I would sacrifice her to the desire of pleasing
the Emperor, and she was also vexed with me because
I would not tax him with his conduct.
MADAME BE X . 347
She would sometimes ask me to go to him anil
tell him of the harm which, as she said, this new
entanglement was doing him in the eyes of the
world ; again, she wanted me to contrive that
Madame de X — — should be watched in her own
house, whither she knew Bonaparte sometimes went
of an evening ; or else she would make me write, in
her presence, anonymous letters full of reproaches.
These I wrote in order to satisfy her, and to prevent
her from getting other persons to write them ; but I
carefully burned them afterwards, although I assured
her that I had sent them.
Servants whom she could trust were employed to
discover the proofs she sought for. The employes
of her favourite tradespeople were taken into her
confidence, and I suffered the more from her im-
prudent conduct, when I learned, shortly afterwards,
that Madame Murat put down all the discoveries
made by the Empress to my account, and accused
me of mean spying, of which I was incapable.
The Empress was the more distressed because her
son was profoundly grieved by this affair. Madame
de X , who, either from coquetry, inclination, or
vanity, had at first listened favourably to him, avoided
even the slightest appearance of friendship with him
since her new and more brilliant conquest. She
probably boasted to the Emperor of the passion
with which she had inspired Eugene ; certain it is
348 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
that the latter was treated with coldness by his
stepfather. The Empress showed her anger at this ;
the Princess Louis was also distressed, but she con-
cealed her feelings; Eugene was sore at heart, but
his outward composure laid him little open to attack.
In all this, the undying hatred between the Bona-
partes and the Beauharnais was displayed, and it
was my fate to find myself entangled in it, notwith-
standing all my moderation. I have discovered by
experience that at Court everything, or nearly
everything, depends on chance. Human prudence is
not a sufficient safeguard, and I know no means of
escaping from misconstruction, unless the sovereign
himself be incapable of suspicion. Far from this,
however, the Emperor welcomed all gossip, and
believed everything that was ill-natured, on any
subject. The surest way to please him was to
carry every rumour to him, and to denounce
everybody's conduct ; and, therefore, M. de Remusat,
who was placed so near him, never obtained his
favour. He declined to tread such a path to success,
although it was frequently pointed out to him by
Duroc.
One evening the Emperor, who was quite out of
patience, owing to a scene with his wife, in which,
driven to desperation, she had declared she would
forbid the entry of her apartments to Madame de
X , addressed himself to M. de Remusat. and
AN AUDIENCE OF THE EMPEROR. 349
complained that I did not use my influence over
her, to dissuade her from acts of imprudence. He
concluded by telling him that he wished to speak to
me in private, and that I was to ask for an audience.
M. de Renrusat conveyed this order to me, and
accordingly on the following day I asked for an
audience, which was fixed for the next morning.
A hunting-party had been arranged for that day.
The Empress started first with the foreign Princes ;
she was to wait for the Emperor in the Bois de
Boulogne. I arrived just as the Emperor was
entering his carriage ; his suite was assembled
round him. He returned to his cabinet, in order to
receive me, to the great astonishment of the Court,
to whom the merest trifle was an event.
He began by complaining bitterly of the dis-
cussions in his household ; and launched out into
invectives against women in general, and his own
wife in particular. He reproached me with assisting
her spies, and accused me of many actions, of which
I knew nothing whatever, but which had been
reported to him. I recognized in all he said the ill
offices of Madame Murat, and, which hurt me more, I
perceived that in several instances the Empress had
used my name, and attributed to me her own words
or thoughts, in order to strengthen her case. This,
together with the Emperor's angry words, distressed
me, and tears rose to my eyes. The Emperor
350 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
noticed them, and rudely rebuked my emotion with
a saying which he frequently used, and which I
have already quoted : " Women have always two
ways of producing an effect — paint and tears." Just
then, these words, uttered in an ironical tone and
with the intention of disconcerting me, had the
opposite effect ; they angered me, and gave me
courage to answer, " No, Sire, but when I am
unjustly accused, I cannot but weep tears of indig-
nation."
I must render this testimony to the Emperor — he
was seldom hard upon any one who displayed firm-
ness ; either because, meeting with it seldom, he was
unprepared for it, or because his natural sense of
justice responded to a feeling justly entertained.
He was not displeased with me. " Since you do
not approve," he said, " of the watch set over me by
the Empress, how is it your influence is not sufficient
to deter her ? She humiliates both herself and me
by surrounding me with spies ; she only furnishes
weapons to her enemies. Since you are in her confi-
dence, you must answer for her, and I shall hold you
responsible for all her faults." He smiled slightly
as he spoke these words. Then I represented to him
that I was tenderly attached to the Empress ; that
I was incapable of advising her to an improper
course of action ; but that no one could gain much
influence over a person of so passionate a nature.
AN AUDIENCE OF THE EMPEROR. 351
I told him that he showed no tact in dealing
with her, and that, whether he was rightly or
wrongly suspected, he was harsh and treated her
too roughly. I dared not hlame the Empress for that
which was really blameworthy in her conduct, for
I knew he would not fail to repeat my words to
his wife. I ended by telling him that I should
keep away from the palace for some time, and that
he would see whether things went on any better
in consequence.
He then said that he was not, and could not be,
in love ; that he thought no more of Madame de
X than of anybody else ; that love was for
men of a different disposition from his own ; that
he was altogether absorbed in politics ; that he
would have no women ruling in his Court ; that
they had injured Henry IV. and Louis XIV. ; that
his own business was a much more serious one
than that of those kings, and that Frenchmen had
become too grave to pardon their sovereign for
recognized liaisons and official mistresses.
He spoke of his wife's past conduct, adding that
she had not the right to be severe. I ventured
to check him on this subject, and he was not
angry with me. Finally, he questioned me as to
the individuals who were employed as spies by
the Empress. I could only answer that I knew
none of them. Then he reproached me with want
352 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
of attachment to himself. I maintained that I was
more sincerely devoted than those who carried
worthless gossip to him. This conversation ended
better than it had begun ; I could perceive that I
had made a favourable impression.
This interview lasted a long time ; and the
Empress, who had grown tired of waiting in the
Bois de Boulogne, sent a mounted servant to discover
what was detaining her husband. She was in-
formed that he was alone with me. Her uneasiness
became very great ; she returned to the Tuileries,
and finding I was no longer there, she sent Madame
de Talhouet to my house to learn all that had taken
place. In obedience to the Emperor's commands, I
replied that the conversation had been restricted
to certain matters relative to M. de Re'musat.
In the evening there was a dance at General
Savary's, at which the Emperor had promised to
be present. During the winter he took every
opportunity of appearing in society ; he was in good
spirits, and would even dance, rather awkwardly.
I arrived at Madame Savary's before the Court
party. The Grand Marshal (Duroc) came forward
to meet me, and offered his arm to conduct me
to my place ; and our host was full of attentions.
My long audience of that morning had given rise to
conjectures ; I was treated with respect, as though
I were in high favour, or had received confidential
DISPLEASUBE OF TEE EMPRESS. 353
communications. I could not help smiling at the
simple cunning of these courtiers.
Presently the Emperor and Empress arrived. In
making his progress round the room, Bonaparte
stopped and spoke to me in a friendly manner. The
Empress was watching us, full of anxiety. Madame
Murat looked astonished and Madame de X
nervous. All this amused me ; I did not foresee the
consequences. The next day the Empress pressed
me with questions which I took care not to answer ;
she became offended, and declared that I was sacri-
ficing her to the Emperor, that I chose the safe side,
and that I no more than others cared for her. Her
reproaches grieved me deeply.
I confided all my troubles to my dear mother.
I was acquiring a bitter experience, and was still
young enough to shed tears over it. My mother
comforted me, and advised me to hold myself a
little aloof, which I did ; but this did not help
me. The Emperor obliged me to speak to him,
and, when he reproached his wife for her indis-
creet behaviour, pretended he was repeating my
opinions. The Empress treated me with coldness ;
I saw that she avoided speaking to me, and, for my
part, I did not consider myself bound to seek her
confidence.
The Emperor, who enjoyed sowing dissension
between us, perceived this coolness, and paid me,
vol. i. 2 a
354 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
in consequence, all the more attention ; but Madame
de X , who had been taught to dislike me,
and was uneasy at the favour in which I was held,
and who also perhaps did me the honour of feeling
a little jealous, tried in every way to injure me.
As everything works together for evil in this world
only too readily, she found an occasion on which
she was perfectly successful.
On the other hand, Eugene Beauharnais and the
Princess Louis were convinced that I had betrayed
their mother, in order to further the ambition of
M. de Remusat, who preferred the favour of the
master to that of the mistress. M. de Re'musat
held himself entirely aloof from all these matters,
but where ambition is concerned, the probable is
always the true in the belief of dwellers in a Court.
Eugene, who had been friendly to my husband, now
kept aloof from him. As courtiers, our position
was not an unfavourable one ; but as we were merely
honourable people, and would not reap any dis-
graceful advantage from it, we were both greatly
distressed.
I have still to relate how Madame de X
contrived to strike the final blow. Among my
mother's friends and mine, was Madame Charles
de Damas, whose daughter, the wife of the Count de
Vogue, was the intimate friend of my sister, and was
also intimate, though in a less degree, with myself.
MADAME DE DAMAS. 355
Madame de Dauias was an ardent Royalist, and in
the habit of expressing her opinions with some im-
prudence. She had even been accused, after the affair
of the 3rd Nivose (the infernal machine), of having
concealed certain Chouans who were implicated.
In the autumn of 1804, Madame de Damas was
exiled to a distance of forty leagues from Paris, on
account of some foolish speeches. This act of severity
sorely distressed both the mother and the daughter ;
the latter was near her confinement, and I, having
witnessed their tears and shared their grief, went
for consolation to the Empress. She spoke to her
husband, and he was good enough to listen to my
petition, and to grant me the revocation of the
sentence.
Madame de Damas, in her impulsive and affec-
tionate way, published abroad the service I had
rendered her, and, bound by feelings of gratitude to
the Empress, as well as alarmed at the risk she had
run, she became thenceforth more careful of her
words. She never mentioned politics to me, but
respected my position as I respected her feelings.
It happened, however, that in the Marquise de
C , a lady who had formerly been celebrated
at Court and in society for her brilliancy of repartee,
Madame de Damas had an enemy. Madame de
C was on friendly terms with Madame de X ,
and having: discovered her liaison with the Emperor,
356 MEMOIRS OF MADAME T)E REMUS AT.
she extorted an avowal of the facts from Madame
de X . Then, being of an active and scheming
disposition, she undertook to advise her friend in
her capacity of mistress to the sovereign. They had
some conversation about me, and Madame de C ,
who always imagined the intrigues of Versailles in
the incidents of the Emperor's Court, concluded, with
some show of probability, that it was my intention
to supplant the new favourite. As I was reputed
to possess some talent — my reputation on this
point owed a great deal to my mother's — it was
supposed that I must be fond of intrigue. Madame
d e , intending to do a bad turn to Madame
de Damas, and at the same time to injure me, men-
tioned her to Madame de X , as a woman more
devoted than ever to her Eoyalist opinions, ready
to enter into any secret correspondence, and to abuse
the indulgence with which she had been treated,
by acting against the Emperor whenever she could.
My friendship with her was described as more
intimate than it really was ; and this, being reported
to the Emperor, served to prejudice him against
me. He no longer summoned me to join him at
the card-table, nor conversed with me; I was not
invited to Malmaison, or to the hunting-parties ; in
short, I found myself in disgrace without being able
to guess at the cause, for, on account o£ my failing
health, I was living in comparative solitude and
OUT OF FAVOUR. 357
retirement. My husband and I were too closely
united for disgrace to fall on one without including
the other, and neither of us could understand why
we were thus treated.
As the Emperor's friendship for me cooled, I
regained the confidence of his wife, who took me
back into favour as lightly as she had given me up,
and without a word of explanation. By this time I
knew her sufficiently to understand that explanations
would be useless. She enlightened me respecting
the Emperor's displeasure. She had learned from
him that Madame de C and Madame de X
had informed against me. He had gone so far as to
acknowledge to his wife that he was in love, and
gave her to understand that he must not be thwarted ;
adding, in order to console her, that it was a passing
fancy, which would only be increased by opposition,
but would soon pass away, if it were not baulked.
The Empress made up her mind to endurance ; but
she never addressed Madame de X — • — . The latter
cared little for that, however, and regarded the con-
jugal broils of which she was the cause with im-
pudent indifference. Besides, under the direction of
Madame Murat, she ministered to the Emperor's
tastes, by retailing to him a great deal of evil of a
great number of people. Many persons were ruined
during her epell of favour, and she fostered the
worst qualities of the Emperor's suspicious nature.
358 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
When I learnt this new accusation against me,
I again requested an audience of him ; but this time
his manner was stern. He reproached me with
being friendly only with his enemies, with having
defended the Polignacs, with being an agent of the
" aristocrats." " I intended to make a great lady of
you," he said — " to raise your fortunes to a great
height ; but all that can only be the reward of entire
devotion. You must break with your former friends,
and the next time Madame de Damas comes to your
house, you must refuse her admittance, and have
her told that you cannot associate with my enemies.
Then I shall believe in your attachment." I made
no attempt to point out to him how contrary such a
mode of action would be to all my habits ; but I
consented to refrain from seeing Madame de Damas,
whose conduct, at least since the pardon had been
granted her, I defended. He spoke to me very
severely ; he was deeply prejudiced, and I saw that
I must only trust to time to open his eyes.
A few days later, Madame de Damas was again
ordered into exile. She was ill in bed; and the
Emperor sent Corvisart to her, to certify whether, in
fact, she could not be removed. Corvisart was a
friend of mine, and gave his opinion according to
my wishes; but at length Madame de Damas re-
covered and left Paris. It was long before she
returned. I no longer visited her, nor did she come
EUGENE DE BEAUHABNAIS. 359
to me, but she retained her former affection for
me, and perfectly understood the motives which
constrained me to act as I did. Count Charles de
Damas, who was straightforward, simple, and less
indiscreet than his wife, was never annoyed by
the police, while they kept constant watch on
Madame de Damas. Some years later, the Emperor
gave Madame de Vogue to understand that he wished
her to be presented at Court : this was during the
reign of the Archduchess.*
Meanwhile the Bonapartes triumphed. Eugene,
the constant object of their jealousy, was positively
badly treated, and was a source of secret trouble to
the Emperor. Suddenly, towards the end of January,
in very severe weather, Eugene received orders to
proceed with his regiment to Italy within four and
twenty hours. Eugene felt convinced that he was
in complete disgrace. The Empress, believing this
to be the doing of Madame de X , wept
bitterly, but her son strictly forbade her to make
any appeal. He took leave of the Emperor, who
received him with coldness, and we heard the follow-
ing day that the Guards' Regiment of Guides had
departed, its colonel marching at its head, not-
withstanding the inclemency of the season.
* On the death of M. de Vogue, his widow married the Count
de Chastellux, now a colonel, and brother-in-law to the imprudent
La Bedoyere.
360 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
The Princess Louis, in speaking to me of this,
expressed her pride in her brother's obedience.
" If the Emperor," she said, " had exacted such
a thing from a member of his own family, you
would have seen what a noise would have been
made ; but not one word has been uttered in this
case, and I think Bonaparte must be impressed by
such an act of submission." And in fact he was,
but still more by the ill-natured satisfaction of his
brothers and sisters. He liked to disappoint them ;
and although, in a fit of jealousy, he had sent away
his stepson, he immediately rewarded him for his
good behaviour. On the 1st of February, 1805, the
Senate received two letters * from the Emperor. In
* The following are the two messages addressed by the Emperor
on the same day, 12th Pluviose, year 13 (1st February, 1805),
to the Senate : — " Senators, we have appointed our brother-in-
law, Marshal Murat, to be Grand Admiral of the Empire. We
desire to recognize not only his services to the country, and the
particular attachment he has shown to our person throughout
his whole life, but also what is due to the lustre and dignity of
the Crown, by raising to the rank of Prince an individual so
closely allied to us by the ties of blood. Senators, we have ap-
pointed our stepson, Eugene Beauharnais, Vice- Arch-Chancellor
of State to the Empire. Among all the acts of our sovereignty,
there is not one more gratifying to our heart. Brought up by
our care, and from his childhood, under our own people, he has
proved himself worthy of imitating, and, with the help of God,
of some day surpassing, the examples and the lessons we have
given him. Although he is still young, we shall, from this day
forward, consider him, on account of the experience we have
had of his conduct in the most momentous circumstances, as
EUGENE DE BEAUHARNAIS. 361
one he announced the elevation of Marshal Murat to
the rank of Prince and Grand Admiral of the Empire.
This was the reward of his recent acts of com-
plaisance, and the result of Madame Murat's im-
portunities. In the other letter, which was couched
in flattering and affectionate terms towards Eugene,
he was created Yice- Arch-Chancellor of State. This
was one of the great posts of the Empire. Eugene
heard of his promotion when he was a few miles
from Lyons, where the courier found him on horse-
back at the head of his regiment, covered with
thickly-falling snow.
Before I deal with the union of the crown of Italy
with that of France, a great event which afforded
us a new spectacle, and was the cause of the war
that broke out in the autumn of this year, I
will relate all that remains to be told concerning
Madame de X .
She seemed to engross the Emperor's thoughts
more and more, and as she became assured of her
one of the pillars of our throne, and one of the most able de-
fenders of his country. In the midst of the cares and trials of
the high rank to which we have been called, our heart has
sought for affection in the tenderness and consoling friendship
of this child of our adoption ; a consolation which is, no doubt,
necessary to all men, but pre-eminently so to us, whose every
moment is devoted to the affairs of nations. Our paternal
blessing will follow this young Prince throughout his whole
career, and, with the help of Providence, he will one day be
worthy of the approbation of posterity." — P. K.
362 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
power, so she became less circumspect in her conduct
towards the Empress, and seemed to delight in her
misery. During a short stay which we made at Mal-
maison, appearances were more than ever outraged.
To the surprise of every one, the Emperor would
walk about the grounds with Madame de X
and young Madame Savary— whose eyes and tongue
were not at all formidable— and he devoted less
time than usual to business. The Empress remained
in her room, weeping, tortured with apprehen-
sion, brooding upon recognized liaisons, disgrace
and oblivion for herself, and possibly divorce,
the continually recurring object of her apprehen-
sions.
She no longer had courage for useless alter-
cations ; but her sadness bore witness to her grief,
and at last touched her husband's heart. Perhaps
his love for her revived, or he became ashamed
of the sway which her rival exercised over him ;
but, be that as it may, what he had predicted of
himself came to pass. One day, when he was alone
with his wife and saw her weeping at something
he had said, he suddenly resumed the affectionate
manner of former times, and, admitting her to the
most intimate confidence, he owned to her once
more that he had been infatuated, but added
that it was all over. He told her he had de-
tected an attempt to govern him — that Madame de
ANOTHER RECONCILIATION. 363
X had told him a number of very ill-natured
stories ; and he actually concluded by asking the
Empress to assist him to put an end to an affair
which he no longer cared about.
The Empress was not in the least vindictive; it
is but just to say that for her. So soon as she found
that she no longer had anything to fear, her anger
vanished. Delighted to be rid pf her trouble, she
showed no severity towards the Emperor, but once
more became the gentle and indulgent wife, always
ready to forgive him. She objected to any publicity
on this occasion, and even promised her husband
that if he would alter his behaviour to Madame
de X , she, on her part, would alter hers also,
and would shield the lady from any annoyance
which might result from the change. She only
claimed the right to an interview with Madame
de X . Accordingly, she sent for her, and spoke
to her plainly and frankly, pointing out the risk
she had run, excusing her apparent levity on the
plea of her youth and imprudence, recommending
greater discretion for the future, and promising that
the past should be forgotten.
During this conversation, Madame de X re-
mained perfectly self-possessed, calmly denying that
she deserved any such admonitions, evincing no emo-
tion, not a trace of gratitude. In sight of the whole
Court, which for some time continued to observe her,
364 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
l
she maintained a cool and self-contained demeanour,
which proved that her heart was not much concerned
in the intimacy now broken off, and also that she
could keep her private feelings well in check — for it
is difficult to believe that her vanity, at any rate, was
not deeply mortified. The Emperor, who, as I have
already said, dreaded the least appearance of being
ruled by anybody, ostentatiously exhibited his free-
dom. He was not even commonly civil to Madame
de X ; he never looked at her ; and he spoke
slightingly of her, either to Madame Bonaparte, who
could not deny herself the pleasure of repeating his
words, or to men with whom he was on familiar
terms. He was careful to explain that this had
only been a passing fancy, and would tell how
he had thrown it off, with candour most insulting
towards her who had been its object. He was
ashamed of his infatuation, for it was a proof
that he had submitted to a power stronger than
his own.
This behaviour confirmed me in a belief which
I had often expounded to the Empress in order
to console her. To be the wife of such a man
might be a grand and enviable position, gratifying
to one's pride at least ; but to be his mistress could
never be otherwise than unsatisfactory, for his was
not a nature to compensate a weak and loving
woman for the sacrifices she would have to make for
A RENEWAL OF CONFIDENCE. 365
him, nor to afford an ambitious one the means
of exercising power.
With the short reign of Madame de X the
influence of Murat and the Bonapartes came, for the
time being, to an end ; for, on the reconciliation of
the Emperor with his wife, his former confidence in
her revived, and he heard from her lips of all the
petty schemes of which she had been the victim, and
himself the object. I profited in a measure by the
change ; yet the impression which had been made
could not be altogether effaced, and the Emperor re-
tained his conviction that M. de Remusat and I were
incapable of the sort of devotion that he required,
a devotion claiming the sacrifice both of personal in-
clinations and of those " convenances " which he
despised. He had a right, perhaps, to expect the
former : one ought to renounce a Court life, unless
one can make it the only sphere of one's thoughts
and actions ; and neither my husband nor I were
capable of doing so. I have always longed to attach
myself with all my heart to the duties of my state,
and at this period I was too heart-sore not to feel
some constraint in performing those which devolved
on me. I began to see that the Emperor was not the
man I had taken him for. Already he inspired me
with fear rather than with affection ; and in propor-
tion as my assiduity in obeying him increased, I felt
the sharp pain of vanishing illusions, and I suffered
366 3IEM0IBS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
beforehand from all that I foresaw. The quaking
of the earth on which we stood, alarmed both M. de
Remusat and myself, and he especially resigned him-
self with difficulty to a life which was extremely
impleading to him.
When I recall these troubles now, how happy I
am to see him, quiet and contented, at the head
of affairs in an important province, honourably
fulfilling the duty of a good citizen, and serving his
country usefully.* Can there be a worthier employ-
ment of the faculties of an enlightened and high-
hearted man, or a greater contrast with the rest-
less, troublesome, not to say ridiculous life which
has to be led, without one moment's intermission, in
the courts of Kings ? I say courts, because they
are all alike. No doubt the difference of character
in sovereigns has some influence over the lives of
those who surround them ; there are shades of differ-
ence in the homage exacted by Louis XIV., our
own King Louis XVIII. , the Emperor Alexander, or
Bonaparte. But though masters may differ, cour-
tiers are everywhere the same ; the same passions
are in play, for vanity is invariably their secret
spring. Jealousy, the longing to supplant others,
the fear of being stopped on the road, or finding
others preferred to one's self — these do, and always
* At the time I write, September, 1818, my husband is
Prefect of the Departement du Nord.
AUGMENTATION OF THE COURT. 367
will, cause similar perturbations ; and I am pro-
foundly persuaded that any one who, dwelling in a
palace, wishes to exercise his faculties of thinking
and of feeling, must be unhappy.
Towards the end of this winter the Imperial
Court was again augmented. A number of persons,
among whom I could name some who are now in-
exorable to all who ever were in the Emperor's
service, were eagerly bidding for place. The
Empress, M. de Talleyrand, and M. de Remusat
received their requests, and handed long lists to
Bonaparte, who would smile when he saw, in the
same column, the names of ci-devant Liberals, of
soldiers who had been jealous of his promotion,
and of gentlemen who, after having jeered at
what they called our farce of royalty, were now
all begging to be allowed to play parts in it.
Some of these petitions were granted. Mesdames de
Turenne, De Montalivet, De Bouille, Devaux, and
Marescot were appointed Ladies-in- Waiting ; MM.
Hedouville, De Croy, De Mercy d'Argenteau, De
Tournon, and De Bondy were made Chamberlains
to the Emperor ; MM. De Beam, De Courtomer,
and the Prince de Gavre, Chamberlains to the
Empress ; M. de Canisy, Equerry ; and M. de Bausset,
Prefect of the Palace, etc.
This numerous Court consisted of various ele-
ments foreign to each other, but all were brought to
368 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMVSAT.
one level by fear of the all-powerful master. There
was little rivalry among the ladies ; they were
strangers to each other, and did not become inti-
mate. The Empress treated them all alike. Madame
de la Rochefoucauld, light-hearted and easy-tem-
pered, showed no jealousy towards any one. The
Mistress of the Robes was amiable, silent, and no-
thing more. Day by day I drew back from the
somewhat dangerous friendship of the Empress, but
I must own that such was her evenness of temper,
so gracious was her bearing, that the Court circle
by which she was surrounded was free from dis-
i
turbance or jealousy.
It was not so in the case of the Emperor — but
then he himself designedly kept up a state of dis-
quiet. For instance, M. de Talleyrand, who had
slightly diminished the importance of M. de Re'mu-
sat's position, not with the intention of injuring
him, but in order to satisfy some new-comers who
were jealous of my husband, was brought into
closer contact with him afterwards, and began to
appreciate his* worth and to show some interest
in him. Bonaparte perceived this. The slightest
appearance of private friendship alarmed him, and
he took the minutest precautions to prevent any-
thing of the kind ; so he spoke to my husband one
day in a tone of unusual cordiality. " Take care,"
said he, " M. de Talleyrand seems to be making
MISCHIEF-MAKING. 369
advances to you ; but I know to a certainty that he
bears you no good will."
" And why should M. de Talleyrand bear me ill
will ? " said my husband to me, on repeating these
words. We could not tell why, but this speech
gave us a feeling of distrust, which was all that the
Emperor wanted.
Such was the state of things at the Emperor's
Court in the spring of 1805. I will now retrace
my steps and give an account of the momentous
resolution that was come to concerning the crown
of Italy.
VOL I. 2 B
BOOK II.
1805-1808.
THE KING OF ENGLAND'S SPEECH. 373
CHAPTER XII.
1805.
Opening of the Session of the Senate — M. de Talleyrand's Report
— Letter from the Emperor to the King of England — Union of
the Crown of Italy to the Empire — Madame Bacciochi becomes
Princess of Piombino —Performance of " Athalie " — The Em-
peror goes to Italy — His dissatisfaction — M. de Talleyrand —
Prospect of war with Austria.
Oisr the 4th of February, 1805, we were informed
by the Moniteur that the King of England had
intimated, in his speech on the opening of parliament
on the 16th of January, that the Emperor had made
fresh propositions of reconciliation. The Govern-
ment had replied that nothing could be agreed upon,
without previously conferring with the Foreign
Powers of the Continent, and especially with the
Emperor Alexander.
According to custom, some sharp comments were
made upon this speech, which, while they put
forward the friendly relations that existed — at least,
outwardly — between ourselves and the sovereigns
of Europe, yet admitted a certain coolness be-
tween the Emperors of Russia and of France,
374 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
and attributed this coolness to the intrigues of
MM. de Marcoff and De Woronzow, who were both
partisans of the English policy. The King's speech
also announced war between England and Spain.
On the same day, the 4th of February, the Senate
having been assembled, M. de Talleyrand presented
a report, very ably drawn up, in which he expounded
the system of conduct adopted by Bonaparte towards
the English. He described it as a constant effort
for peace, while entertaining no fear of war. He
drew attention to the state of our preparations which
threatened the English coasts, many flotillas being
equipped and ready in the harbours ; and to the
army, large in numbers and high in heart. He
gave an account of the means of defence which the
enemy had gathered together on the coasts, and
which proved that the landing of the French was
not looked upon as impossible ; and after bestowing
the highest praise on the conduct of the Emperor,
he read to the assembled Senate the following letter,
addressed to the King of England : —
" Sir and Brother,
"Having been called by Providence, and
by the voice of the Senate, the people, and the army,
to the throne of France, my chief desire is for
peace.
" France and England are wasting their pros-
BONAPABTE'S LETTEB. 375
perity. They may contend for centuries ; but are
their Governments rightly fulfilling their most
sacred duty, and does not their conscience reproach
them with so much blood shed in vain, for no
definite end? I am not ashamed to take the
initiative. I have, I think, sufficiently proved to
the whole world that I do not fear the chances of
war. Indeed, war can bring me nothing to fear.
Peace is my heart-felt wish, but war has never been
adverse to my renown. I implore your Majesty not
to deprive yourself of the happiness of bestowing
peace on the world. Do not delegate so consolatory
an action to your children. Never was there a
better occasion, nor a more favourable moment for
imposing silence on passion, and for listening only
to the voice of humanity and reason. If this op-
portunity be lost, what term can be assigned to a
war which all my endeavours might fail to termi-
nate ? In the last ten years your Majesty's kingdom
has increased in magnitude and wealth by more than
the whole extent of Europe ; your nation has reached
the highest point of prosperity. What do you hope
to gain by war ? The coalition of some Continental
Powers ? The Continent will remain tranquil. A
coalition would but increase the preponderance and
the Continental greatness of France. To renew
internal difficulties? The times are no longer the
same. To destroy our revenues ? Eevenues founded
376 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
on good husbandry are not to be destroyed. To
snatch her colonies from France ? Colonies are
objects of but secondary importance to France ; and
does not your Majesty already possess more than
you can keep ? If your Majesty will reflect on it,
you will see that war will be without an object,
without any probable result for yourself. Ah ! how
sad a prospect is it to engage nations in war, for
war's sake !
" The world is large enough for our two nations
to live in it, and the power of reason is sufficient
to enable us to overcome all difficulties, if on both
sides there is the will to do so. In any case, I have
fulfilled a duty which I hold to be righteous, and
which is dear to my heart. I trust your Majesty
will believe in the sincerity of the sentiments I
have just expressed, and in my earnest desire to
give you a proof of them. On this, etc.
(Signed) " Napoleon.
_ . { 12 th Nivose, year 13.
" Paris \
(2nd January, 1805."
After having eulogized this letter (surely a re-
markable one !) as a striking proof of Bonaparte's
love for the French, of his desire for peace, and
of his generous moderation, M. de Talleyrand com-
municated the reply of Lord Mulgrave, the Foreign
Secretary. It was as follows : —
KING GEORGE'S REPLY. 377
" His Majesty has received the letter addressed
to him by the Chief of the French Government, dated
the 2nd inst.
" His Majesty has no dearer wish than to embrace
the first opportunity of once more procuring for his
subjects the advantages of a peace, which shall be
founded on bases not incompatible with the per-
manent security and the essential interests of his
States. His Majesty is convinced that this end can
only be attained by an arrangement which will
provide alike for the future security and tranquillity
of Europe, and prevent a renewal of the dangers and
misfortunes which have beset the Continent.
" His Majesty, therefore, feels it to be impossible
to reply more decisively to the question which has
been put to him, until he has had time to communi-
with those Continental Powers with whom he is
allied, and particularly with the Emperor of Russia,
who has given the strongest proofs of his wisdom
and good feeling, and of the deep interest which
he takes in the security and independence of Europe.
" 14th January, 1805."
The vague and indefinite character of this
thoroughly diplomatic reply exhibited the Emperor's
letter to great advantage. That letter was firm in
tone, and bore every appearance of magnanimous
sincerity. It had, therefore, a good effect, and the
378 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
various reports of those whose task it was to present
it to the three great bodies of the State, put it in
the most favourable light.
The report of Eegnault de Saint Jean d'Angely,
Counsellor of State, is remarkable and interesting even
now. The praises accorded to the Emperor, though
carried to excess, are finely phrased ; the picture of
Europe is ably drawn ; that of the evil which war
must entail on England is at least specious ; and,
finally, the description of our prosperity at that
period is impressive, and very little, if at all,
exaggerated.
" France," he said, " has nothing to ask from
Heaven, but that the sun may continue to shine,
the rain to fall on our fields, and the earth to render
the seed fruitful."
All this was true then, and had a wise ad-
ministration, a moderate government, and a liberal
constitution been given to France, that prosperity
would have been consolidated. But constitu-
tional ideas formed no part of Bonaparte's plan.
Perhaps he really believed, as he often said, that
the French character and the geographical position
of France were opposed to representative govern-
ment. Perhaps, conscious of his own strength and
ability, he could not make up his mind to sacrifice
to the future well-being of France those advantages
which he believed he could give us by the mere
a " people-king:' 379
strength of his will. Whatever was the case, he
seldom lost an opportunity of disparaging our neigh-
bour's form of government.
" The unfortunate position in which you have
placed your nation," he wrote in the Moniteur, ad-
dressing himself to the English Cabinet, " can only
be explained by the ill fortune of a State whose
home policy is insecure, and whose Government is
the wretched tool of Parliamentary factions and of
a powerful oligarchy."
Although he felt at times that he was opposing
the spirit of the age, he believed himself strong
enough to resist it. At a later period he said,
" During my lifetime I shall reign as I please ; but
my son must perforce be a Liberal." And mean-
while, he pictured to himself the creation of feudal
states, believing that he could make them acceptable,
and preserve them from the criticism which was be-
ginning to assail ancient institutions, by establishing
them on a scale so grand that as our pride would
be enlisted, our reason might be silenced. He
believed that once again he could exhibit what
history has already witnessed, the world subject to
a " People-King," but that royalty was to be repre-
sented in his own person. A combination of Eastern
and Roman institutions, bearing also some resem-
blance to the times of Charlemagne, was to transform
the sovereigns of Europe into great feudatories of
380 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
the French Empire ; and perhaps, if the sea had not
effectually preserved England from invasion, this
gigantic project might have been carried out.
Shortly after, the Emperor laid the foundation-
stone of this brain-built edifice. I allude to the
union of the Iron Crown with that of France.
On the 17th of March, Signor de Melzi, Vice-
President of the Italian Republic, accompanied by
the principal members of the Council of State and a
numerous deputation of presidents of the electoral
colleges, deputies from the Corps Legislatif, and
other important persons, were received by the
Emperor on his throne, and submitted to him the
ardent desire of the Council that he would graciously
consent to reign over the ultramontane Republic also.
" Our present Government," said the Yice-President,
" cannot continue, because it throws us behind the
age in which we live. Constitutional Monarchy is
everywhere indicated by the finger of progress.
" The Italian Republic claims a King, and her
interests demand that this King should be Napoleon,
on the condition that the two crowns shall be united
on his head only, and that so soon as the Mediter-
ranean is once more free, he will himself nominate
a successor of his own blood."
Bonaparte replied that he had always laboured
for the welfare of Italy ; that for this end he would
accept the crown, because he believed that any other
THE IBON CROWN. 381
course would just now be fatal to her independence ;
and that, afterwards, when the time came for so
doing, he would gladly place the Iron Crown on
some younger head, as he should always be ready
to sacrifice himself for the interests of the States
over which he was called to reign.
On the following day, the 18th of March, he pro-
ceeded to the Senate in state, and announced both the
request of the Council and his own consent. Signor
de Melzi and all the Italians took the oaths, and
the Senate approved and applauded as usual. The
Emperor concluded his speech by declaring that the
genius of evil would seek in vain to rekindle the
fire of war on the Continent ; that which had been
united to the Empire would remain united.
He doubtless foresaw that this event would be
the occasion of an early war, at least with the Emperor
of Austria, which, however, he was far from dread-
ing. The army was becoming weary of inaction ;
the invasion of England was too perilous. It might
be that favourable circumstances would render the
landing possible, but how could the army maintain
its footing afterwards, in a country where reinforce-
ment would be well-nigh impossible ? And in case
of failure, what would be the chances of retreat ? It
may be observed, in the history of Bonaparte, that
he always contrived to avoid a positively hopeless
position as far as possible, and especially for himself
382 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
personally. A war, therefore, would serve his pur-
pose, by relieving him from this project of invasion,
which, from the moment he renounced it, became
ridiculous.
During the same session, the State of Piombino
was given to the Princess Elisa. On announcing
this to the Senate, Bonaparte stated that the princi-
pality had been badly governed for several years ;
that the interests of France were concerned, on
account of the facilities which it offered for commu-
nication with the Island of Elba and with Corsica ;
and that the gift was not a token of special affection,
but an act in accordance with a wise policy, with
the splendour of the crown, and with the interests
of nations.
As a proof that these gifts of the Emperor were
in the nature of fiefs, the Imperial decree was to
the effect that the children of Madame Bacciochi,
on succeeding to their mother, should receive
investiture from the Emperor of the French; that
they should not marry without his consent ; and
that the Princess's husband, who was to assume the
title of Prince of Piombino, should take the follow-
ing oath : —
" I swear fidelity to the Emperor ; I promise to
aid with my whole power the garrison of the
Island of Elba ; and I declare that I will not cease,
under any circumstances, to fulfil the duties of a
"ATHALIE" PERFORMED AT SAINT CLOUD. 383
good and faithful subject towards his Majesty, the
Emperor of the French."
A few days after this, the Pope solemnly baptized
the second son of Louis Bonaparte, who was held at the
font by his father and mother. This great ceremony
took place at Saint Cloud. The park was illuminated
on the occasion, and public games were provided for
the people. In the evening there was a numerous
reception, and a first performance of " Athalie " at
the theatre at Saint Cloud.
Racine's great tragedy had not been performed
since the Revolution. The Emperor, who admitted
he had never been impressed by reading the play,
was much struck by its representation, and repeated,
on that occasion, that he greatly wished such a
tragedy might be written during his own reign.
He gave leave that it should be performed in Paris ;
and thenceforth most of our great plays resumed
their place on the stage, whence they had been pru-
dently banished by the Revolution.
Some few lines, nevertheless, were cut out, lest
application might be made of them to present
circumstances. Luc de Lancival, the author of
" Hector," and shortly afterwards, Esmenard, author
of " Le Poeme de la Navigation," were entrusted
with the task of revising Corneille, Racine, and
Yoltaire. But, with all due respect to these pre-
cautionary measures of a too careful police, the
384 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
missing lines, like the statues of Brutus and Cassius,
were all the more conspicuous by their absence.
In consequence of the momentous decision he
had arrived at, the Emperor announced that he
would speedily proceed to Italy, and fixed the epoch
of his coronation for the month of May. He con-
vened the Italian Legislature for the same date,
and issued several decrees and ordinances relating
to the new customs to be established in Italy.
He also appointed Ladies-in-Waiting and Cham-
berlains to attend on his mother ; and among others
M. de Cosse-Brissac, who had solicited that favour.
At the same time Prince Borghese was declared a
French citizen, and the Ladies-in-Waiting received
an accession to their number in Madame de Canisy,
one of the most beautiful women of her time.
Madame Murat gave birth to a child just at this
time ; she was then residing at the Hotel The'lusson,
at the end of the Rue d'Artois. It was observed
on this occasion that the luxuriousness of the new
Princesses was continually on the increase, and yet
it had not then reached the height which it has since
attained. Madame Murat's bedchamber was hung
with pink satin, the bed and window curtains were
of the same material, and all these hangings were
trimmed with broad and very fine lace, instead of
fringe.
The preparations for the Emperor's departure
M. DE REMUS ATS DEPARTURE. 385
soon occupied us exclusively. This event was fixed
for the 2nd of April, when the Pope was also to
leave Paris ; and a few days previously M. de
Bemusat started for Milan, in charge of the regalia
and the Crown diamonds, which were to be used at
the coronation. This was for me the beginning of
troubles, and they were destined to recur for some
) ; ears. I had never before been separated from my
husband, and I was so much accustomed to the
enjoyments of my home, that I found it hard
to be deprived of them. It made the Court life
to which I was condemned more irksome, and
was very painful to my husband also, who, like
myself, fell into the error of letting his feelings be
perceived. I have already said that a courtier is
a failure, if he suffer any feelings to divert his
attention from the minutiae which constitute his
duties.
My distress at my husband's departure on a
journey which seemed to me distant, and even
dangerous — for my imagination exaggerated every-
thing regarding him — made me desirous that he
should be accompanied by a friend of ours, named
Salembemi, who had formerly been an officer in the
navy. He was badly off — had only the salary of
some small appointment to live on, with what
M. de Bemusat, who employed him as his secretary,
paid him. To him I confided the care of my
vol. i. 2 c
386 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE IiEMUSAT.
husband's health. He was a clever man, but difficult
to deal with, somewhat malicious, and of a peevish
temper. He was the cause of more than one of our
troubles, and this is why I now make mention of
him.*
My delicate health made it impossible to include
me in the suite. The Empress seemed to regret this.
As for myself, I was, on the whole, glad of a rest
after the busy life I had been leading, and happy
to remain with my mother and my children. - )"
* M. Salenibemi, who had a ready pen, wrote freely from
Italy, and dwelt rather on the scandals of the Court than on
politics. His letters were opened and shown to the Emperor,
who ordered him to leave within twenty-four hours. His dis-
grace caused some vexation to my grandfather. Although a cer-
tain constraint may be observed in the correspondence of the
author of these Memoirs, and many phrases are inserted for the
purpose of contenting a jealous master, it is probable that the
letters of the husband and wife were also regarded as too free in
expression for courtiers. We know that the hateful custom of
opening letters was transmitted from the First to the Second
Empire, and it is a curious coincidence that, on the 4th of
September, 1870, a letter addressed to my father by my mother
was discovered in a drawer of the writing-table of the Emperor
Napoleon III. That letter was, however, evidently written
without any fear of the post-office. — P. E.
t My grandmother, whose health had always been delicate,
now began to be seriously indisposed, and unable for any
exertion. Her disposition became influenced by this. She lost
none of her goodness, but her composure, serenity, and gaiety
failed her. She suffered frequently from nervous attacks,
which, together wiih her naturally vivid imagination, rendered
her more liable to disquiet and melancholy. The journey
DEPARTURE OF THE POPE. 387
Mesdames de la Rochefoucauld, D'Arberg, De
Serrant, and Savary, a considerable number of
Chamberlains, the great officers, and, in short, a
numerous and youthful Court, accompanied the
Empress. The Emperor started on the 2nd, and
the Pope on the 4th of April. At every stage of
his journey to Rome his Holiness received tokens
of great respect ; and he then, no doubt, believed
he was bidding adieu to France for ever.
Murat remained as Governor of Paris, and with
a charge of superintendence which he extended
over everything, but his reports, I think, were
not always impartial. Fouche', who was more
liberal, if I may use the expression, in the exercise
of his police functions, and who was well entitled
to consider himself necessary, carried things with
a high hand, but was conciliatory to all parties,
according to his system of making himself useful
to everybody.
The Arch-Chancellor Cambace'res also remained as
Director of the Council of State — an office of which
he acquitted himself well — and to do the honours
undertaken by her husband, although differing so much from
the dangerous exploits of the time, and, in fact, little more
than a pleasure-trip, troubled ber to a degree which can hardly
be believed nowadays, and astonished even the most romantic
women of a period so far removed from ours. A worldly life,
and especially a Court life, became more and more distasteful to
her.
388 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
of Paris. He received a good deal of company,
welcoming them with a gloomy civility which gave
him an almost ridiculous air.
Paris and France were at that time in repose ;
all things seemed to work together for order, and
the general state of subjection to be complete. The
Emperor went first to Champagne. He passed
a day at the line old chateau of Brienne, in
order that he might visit the scenes of his
childhood. Madame de Brienne professed extreme
enthusiasm for him, and, as worship was not
displeasing to him, he behaved to her with great
amiability.
It was amusing, just then, to see some of her.
kinsfolk at Paris receiving the lively letters she
wrote to them on this Imperial visit. However, as she
described events, these letters produced a good effect
in what we call here " good society." Success is
easy to the powerful ; they must needs be very
ill natured or very blundering when they fail to
please.
A few days after all these departures, the follow-
ing paragraph appeared in the Moniteur : " Monsieur
Jerome Bonaparte has arrived at Lisbon, on board
an American vessel. Among the passengers are
Mr. and Miss Patterson. M. Jerome immediately
took the post for Madrid. Mr. and Miss Patterson
have re-embarked. It is understood that they have
JEROME BONAPARTE'S MARRIAGE. 389
returned to America." * I believe that they crossed
to England.f
This Mr. Patterson was no other than the father-
in-law of Jerome, who, having fallen in love while
in America with the daughter of an American
merchant, had made her his wife, persuading himself
that, after some displeasure on his brother's part, he
should obtain his forgiveness. But Bonaparte, who
was already forming other projects for his family,
was highly incensed, annulled the marriage, and
forced his brother to an immediate separation.
Je'rome travelled to Italy, and joined him at Turin,
but was very badly received. He was ordered to join
one of our fleets then cruising in the Mediterranean ;
remained at sea for a considerable time, and was not
restored to favour until several months afterwards.
Throughout all France the Emperor was welcomed
with genuine enthusiasm. He stayed at Lyons, where
he secured the good will of the traders by issuing
* The Emperor announced the return of his brother to the
Minister of the Admiralty, Vice-Admiral Decres, in the fol-
lowing terms : —
"Milan, 23rd Florial, year 13 (13th May, 1805).
" Monsieur Decres,
" M. Jerome has arrived. Mademoiselle Patterson has
returned to America. He has owned his fault, and does not
recognize this person as his wife. He promises miracles of
o-ood behaviour. Meanwhile I have sent him to Genoa for
some time." — I'. K.
f See Appendix.
390 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
decrees favourable to their interests. He crossed Mont
Cenis and remained a few days at Turin.
Meanwhile M. de Re'musat had reached Milan,
where he met Prince Eugene, who received him
with his characteristic cordiality. The Prince
questioned my husband as to what had taken place
in Paris since he had left that city, and suc-
ceeded in eliciting some details concerning Madame
de X , which were very grievous to his feelings.
M. de Re'musat wrote to me that, pending the arrival
of the Court, he was leading a tolerably quiet life.
He explored Milan, which seemed to him a dull
town, and its palace was dull also. The inhabitants
showed little affection for the French. The nobles
shut themselves up in their houses, under the pretext
that they were not rich enough to do the honours of
the place in a fitting style. Prince Eugene en-
deavoured to collect them about him, but succeeded
imperfectly. The Italians, still- in a state of suspense,
did not know whether to rejoice or repine at the
novel destiny that we had forced upon them.
M. de Re'musat sent me at this period some rather
curious details of the life of the Milanese. Their
ignorance of all that constitutes agreeable society ;
the absolute non-existence among them of family
life, the husbands, strangers to their wives, leaving
them to the care of a cavaliere servente ; the dullness
of the theatres ; the darkness of the house, whither
MILAN AND ITS MANNERS. 391
people go in morning-dress, to occupy themselves in
the half-closed boxes with anything rather than
listening to the opera ; the want of variety in the
performances ; the difference between the costumes
and those of France — all these things gave M. de
Remusat matter for remarks, all to the advantage
of our beloved country, while they also increased
his desire to return to France and to me.
During this time the Emperor was revisiting the
scenes of his former victories. He held a grand
review on the battle-field of Marengo, and distributed
crosses on that occasion. The troops who had been
massed together on the pretext of this review,
and remained afterwards in the neighbourhood of
the Adige, furnished a reason or pretext on whicli
the Austrian Government strengthened their already
very powerful line of defence behind this river ;
and French policy took offence at these precautions.
On the 9th of May the Emperor reached Milan.
His presence caused great excitement in the town,
and the circumstances attending the coronation
aroused the same ambition as they had caused in Paris.
1 he highest nobles of Milan began to long for the
new distinctions and the advantages appertaining to
them ; independence and unity of government were
held out to the Italians, and they eagerly indulged
in the hopes extended to them.
Immediately on the arrival of the Court at Milan,
892 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
1 was struck by the dismal tone of M. de Be'musat's
letters, and soon afterwards I learned that he was
suffering from his master's displeasure. The naval
officer of whom I have spoken, a satirical spectator
of what was going on at Milan, having taken it into
his head to write to Paris some lively and rather
sarcastic accounts of what was passing before his
eyes, his letters had been opened, and M. de
Re'musat was ordered to send him back to Paris. He
was not at first told the reason for this order, and it
was only at a later period that he learned its cause.
The displeasure of the Emperor was not confined to
the secretary ; it fell also on him who had brought
him to Italy.
Besides this, Prince Eugene let fall some of the
details he had obtained in confidence from my hus-
band ; and, finally, it was discovered from our
letters, as I have said before, that our thoughts and
aspirations were not entirely centred in the interests
of our places at Court. These causes were suf-
ficient to anger a master who was by nature iras-
cible ; and so, according to his custom of using men
for his own advantage, when they could be useful to
him, whatever might be his feelings towards them, he
exacted from my husband a service of the most rigid
punctuality, because the length of time M. de
Remusal had passed ai Court had given him ex-
perience in a ceremonial whicb daily became more
31. BE TALLEYRAND. 393
minute, and to which the Emperor attached greater
importance. At the same time he treated him
with harshness and severity, repeating continually
to those who, with good reason, would praise the
high and estimable qualities of my husband : " All
that you say may be true, but he does not belong to
me as I wish him to belong to me." This reproach
was always on his lips during the years we passed
in his service, and perhaps there is some merit in
our never having ceased to deserve it.
This Court life, so busy and yet so idle, gave
M. de Talleyrand and M. de Remusat an opportunity
of becoming better acquainted, and was the be-
ginning of an intimacy which at a later period
caused me many and various emotions.
The fine tact of M. de Tallevrand discerned the
right-mindedness and the keenness of observation
of my husband ; they agreed on a multitude of
subjects, and the difference of their dispositions did
not prevent them from enjoying an interchange of
ideas. One day, M. de Talleyrand said to M. de
Remusat, " I can see that you distrust me, and I
know from whence your caution proceeds. We serve
a master who does not like intimacies. When he
appointed us both to the same service, he foresaw
there might be friendship between us. You are a
clever man, and that is enough to make him wish
that you and I should remain apart. He therefore
304 3IEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
prejudiced you in some way against me, and he also
tried, by I know not what reports, to put me on my
guard. It will not be his fault if we do not remain
strangers to one another. This is one of his weak-
nesses, and we must recognize, indulge, and excuse,
without however submitting to it." This straight-
forward way of speaking, enhanced by the graceful
manner which M. de Talleyrand knows so well how
to assume when he likes, pleased my husband, who,
moreover, found in this friendship some alleviation
of the weariness of his life.*
At this period M. de Remusat perceived that
M. de Talleyrand, who had influence over Bona-
* This mutual distrust between his Great Chamberlain and
his First Chamberlain, originated and kept up by the Emperor,
was slow in dying out; and, notwithstanding the good
will of both, no real intimacy existed between them until the
following year, during the tour in Germany. After the first
advances had been made by M. de Talleyrand, my grandfather
wrote to his wife in the following terms, in a letter dated
Milan, 17th Floreal, year 13 (7th May, 1805):— "M. de Talley-
rand has been here for the last week. It only depends on
myself to believe him my best friend. In words he seems friend-
ship itself. I often go to see him. He takes my arm whenever
he happens to meet me, and talks with me in a low voice
for two or three hours at a time; he tells me various things
which have every appearance of being confidential, interests
himself in my career, talks to me about it, and wants me to
be distinguished among all the other Chamberlains. Tell me,
my dear one, am I really held in esteem, or does he want to
play me a trick?" Shortly after this, his language completely
changed, and the friendship became intimate and affectionate
on both sides. —"P. K.
FOUCHE AND TALLEYRAND. 395
parte because he was of use to him, was jealous
of Fouche, whom he disliked. He entertained a
positive contempt for M. Maret, and gratified it by
the biting sarcasm in which he habitually indulged,
and which few could escape. Although under no
delusion regarding Bonaparte, he nevertheless
served him well ; for he tried to restrain his passions
by the position in which he placed him, both with
respect to foreign affairs and in France ; and he
also advised him to create certain institutions which
would control him. The Emperor, who, as I have
said, liked to create, and who seized rapidly upon
anything novel and impressive, would follow the
advice of M. de Talleyrand, and, in concert with him,
would lay the foundation of some useful enterprise.
But afterwards, his domineering temper, his suspi-
cion, his dread of finding himself restrained, made
him afraid of the action of that which he had himself
created, and, with sudden caprice, he would abruptly
suspend or relinquish the work he had begun.
M. de Talleyrand was provoked by this ; but, as he
was naturally indolent and careless, and did not.
possess in himself those qualities of strength and
perseverance which enable a man to carry his points
in detail, he usually ended by neglecting and aban-
doning the fatiguing task of solicitude and super-
intendence. The seq lence of events will, however,
explain all this better than I can in this place.
396 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
Meantime, war broke out between England and
Spain, and we were frequently, sometimes success-
fully, engaged at sea. A fleet which sailed out
from Toulon found means to join the Spanish
squadron, and the press exulted loudly over this
feat.*
On the 30th of May, Bonaparte was crowned
King of Italy, with great pomp. The ceremony was
similar to that which had taken place in Paris. The
Empress sat in a gallery and beheld the spectacle.
M. de Re'musat told me that a thrill of emotion passed
over the crowd in the church, at the moment when
Bonaparte, taking hold of the Iron Crown, and placing
it on his head, uttered in a threatening voice the
antique formula, " II cielo me la diede, guai a chi la
toechera ! ' The remainder of the Emperor's stay
at Milan was divided between attending fetes and
issuing decrees for the regulation and administration
of his new kingdom. Rejoicings took place all over
France in honour of the event ; and yet it caused
great apprehension among many people, who fore-
saw that war with Austria would result from it.
On the 4th of June the Doge of Genoa arrived at
Milan. He came to beg that his Republic might be
This passage refers to the achievement of Admiral Ville-
neuve, who, having set sail on the 30th of March, contrived to
get clear of the port of Toulon without encountering the English
Beet.— P. K.
THE NEW ITALIAN KINGDOM. 397
united to the Empire ; and tins action, which had
been concerted or commanded beforehand, was made
the occasion of a grand reception and state ceremony.
That portion of Italy was at once divided into new
departments, and shortly afterwards the new consti-
tution was sent to the Italian Legislature, and Prince
Eugene was made Viceroy of the kingdom. The
order of the Iron Crown was created ; and, the dis-
tributions being made, the Emperor left Milan and
set out on a journey which, under the appearance of
a pleasure-trip, was in reality undertaken for the
purpose of reconnoitring the Austrian forces on the
line of the Adige.
By the treaty of Campo Formio Bonaparte had
abandoned the Venetian States to the Emperor of
Austria, and the latter thus became a formidable
neighbour to the kingdom of Italy. On his arrival
at Verona,, he received a visit from Baron Vincent,
who commanded the Austrian garrison in that por-
tion of the town which belonged to his sovereign.
The Baron was commissioned to inform himself of
the state of our forces in Italy ; the Emperor, on
his part, observing those of the foreigner. On
inspecting the banks of the Adige, he perceived
that forts would have to be constructed for the
defence of the river ; but, on calculating the neces-
sary time and expense, he said that it would be
better and quicker to push the Austrians back
398 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUSAT.
from that frontier altogether. From that moment
Ave may believe that he had resolved upon the war
which, a few months later, was declared.
It was impossible that the Emperor of Austria
should regard the acquisition by France of so
much power in Italy with indifference ; and the
English Government, which was making great
efforts to stir up a continental war against us,
availed itself of the uneasiness of the Emperor
of Austria, and the dissatisfaction which was by
degrees impairing the cordiality of our relations
with Russia. The English newspapers hastened to
assert that the Emperor had held a review of his
troops in Italy for the sole purpose of putting them
on the footing of a formidable enemy ; and thence-
forth movements began in the Austrian army. Those
appearances of peace which were still observed up to
the time of the rupture were in reality preparations
by both Emperors, who at that period had become
almost declared enemies.
FETES. 399
CHAPTER XIII.
1805.
Fetes at Verona and Genoa — Cardinal Maury — My retired life
in the country — Madame Louis Bonaparte — "Les Templiers"
— The Emperor's return — His amusements — The marriage of
M. de Talleyrand — War is declared.
The Emperor visited Cremona, Verona, Mantua,
Bologna, Modena, Parma, and Piacenza, and then
went to Genoa, where he was received with enthu-
siasm. He sent for Le Brun, the Arch-Treasurer,
and entrusted to him the task of superintending the
new administration to be established in that city.
At Genoa also he parted with his sister Elisa, who
had accompanied him on his journey, and to whom
he gave the little Republic of Lucca, adding to it
the States of Piombino. At this period the French
began once more to wear foreign decorations.
Prussian, Bavarian, and Spanish orders were sent
to the Emperor, to be distributed by him at his
pleasure. He divided them among his great
officers, some of his Ministers, and a few of his
Marshals.
At Verona a fight between dogs and bulls was
400 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
given, for the entertainment of the Emperor, in the
ancient amphitheatre, which contained forty thousand
spectators. Loud applause greeted his arrival, and
he was really affected by this reception, rendered
impressive by the place, and by the magnitude
of the crowd. The fetes at Genoa were very mag-
nificent. Floating gardens were constructed on
huge flat barges ; these gardens led to a floating
temple, which, approaching the land, received Bona-
parte and his Court. Then the barges, which were
all fastened together, were set in motion, and the
Emperor found himself on a beautiful island in the
middle of the harbour, from whence he had a com-
plete view of Genoa, and of the simultaneous dis-
plays of fireworks from various parts of the splen-
didly illuminated city.
M. de Talleyrand found amusement entirely to his
taste during his stay at Genoa ; for he was always
pleased to detect an absurdity and to point it out to
others. Cardinal Maury, who had retired to Rome
since his emigration, had gained a great reputation
there, by the firmness of his attitude in our famous
Constituent Assembly. Nevertheless, he was desirous
of returning to France, and M. de Talleyrand wrote
to him from Genoa, advising him to come at once
and present himself to the Emperor. The Cardinal
acted upon this, and immediately assuming that
obsequious attitude which he has ever since scrupu-
CARDINAL MAURY. 401
lously retained, he entered Genoa, loudly proclaim-
ing that he had come to see " the great man."
He obtained an audience. " The great man " took
his measure very quickly, and, while esteeming him
at his proper value, resolved to make him give a
complete contradiction to his past conduct. He
gained him over easily by nattering him a little,
and induced him to return to France, where we
have since seen him play a somewhat ridiculous
part. M. de Talleyrand, whose recollections of the
Constituent Assembly w T ere not effaced, took many
opportunities of wreaking a petty revenge upon the
Cardinal, by bringing out his silly sycophancy with
great skill and effect.
While the Emperor was thus travelling through
Italy and consolidating his power, and everybody
around, him was getting tired of the continual full-
dress parade at which he kept his Court ; while the
Empress, happy in the elevation of her son, and yet
grieved by her separation from him, amused herself
and distracted her mind by the perpetual fetes given
in her honour, and took pleasure in exhibiting
her magnificent jewels and her elegant costumes,
I was leading a quiet and pleasant life in the
Valley of Montmorency, at the house of Madame
d'Houdetot. I have already mentioned this amiable
and accomplished woman. Her recollections enabled
me to reconstruct in my imagination those days of
VOL. T. 2 I)
402 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE BE3WSAT.
which she loved to talk. It gave me great pleasure
to hear her speak of the famous philosophers whom
she had known, and whose ways and sayings she
remembered so clearly. I was so full of the " Confes-
sions " of Jean Jacques Rousseau, that I was not a
little surprised to find her somewhat cold in her
appreciation of him ; and I may say, in passing, that
the opinion of Madame d'Houdetot, who would, I
should think, have regarded Rousseau with excep-
tional indulgence, contributed not a little to make
me distrust his character, and believe that he was
only great in point of talent.*
During the absence of the Court, Paris was quiet
and dull. The Imperial family were living in the
country. I sometimes saw Madame Louis Bonaparte
at Saint Leu, a place which her husband had just
bought. Louis appeared to occupy himself exclu-
sively with his garden. His wife was lonely, ill,
and always afraid of letting some word at which
he might be offended escape her. She had not
ventured either to rejoice at the elevation of Prince
Eugene, nor to weep for his absence, which was,
of course, indefinite. She wrote to him seldom and
briefly, because she knew that the privacy of
her letters was not respected. On one occasion,
when I was visiting her, she told me a rumour had
* For a note on this passage by M. Paul de Eemueat, see
Appendix.
THE POLIGNACS. 403
arisen that the Due de Polignac and his brother,
who were imprisoned in the Chateau of Ham, had
attempted to escape ; that they had been transferred
to the Temple ; and that Madame Bonaparte and
myself were accused of being concerned in the
affair. This accusation, of which Madame Louis
suspected Murat to be the author, was utterly un-
founded. Madame Bonaparte never gave a thought
to the two prisoners, and I had entirely lost sight
of the Duchesse de Polignac.
I lived in the strictest retirement, so that my
solitude might supply a sufficient answer to any
gossip concerning my conduct ; but I was more
and more distressed by the necessity for taking
such precautions, and especially at being unable
to use the position in which I was placed for any
purposes of utility to the Emperor, to myself, or to
those persons who wished to obtain certain favours
from him through me. There was no want of
kindness in my natural disposition ; and, besides
that, I felt a degree of pride, which I do not
think was misplaced, in serving those who had
formerly blamed me, and in silencing their criti-
cisms of iny conduct by favours which could not
be said to lack o*enerositv. I also believed that the
Emperor might win many persons who now held
aloof, by the permission which he had granted me
to bring their solicitations and their necessities
404 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
under his attention, and as I was still attached to
him, although he inspired me with more fear than
formerly, I would have gained all hearts for him,
had it been possible. But as it became evident that
my plan was not always approved by him, I found
I had to think of defending myself, rather than
assisting others.
My reflections were occasionally sad ; but at
other times I could make up my mind to the
difficulties of my position, and resolve that I would
only look at the agreeable side of it. I enjoyed a
certain consideration in society, and I liked that ;
and W T e were fairly prosperous, though not free
from the difficulties which always beset persons
whose fortunes have no secure basis, and whose ex-
penses are obligatory. But I was young, and I
thought little of the future. I was surrounded by
j)leasant society ; my mother was perfection to me,
my husband most kind and good, my eldest son
all I could wish. I lived on the pleasantest terms
with my kind and charming sister. All this turned
away my thoughts from the Court, and enabled me
to bear the drawbacks of my position patiently.
My health was a perpetual trial to me ; it was
always delicate, and an unquiet life was evidently
injurious. I must not, however, dwell upon myself;
I do not know how I have been tempted into doing
so ; if ever this narrative should be read by others,
THE COMEDIE FBANCAISE. 40;
as well as by my son, all this ought to be suppressed
without hesitation.*
During the Emperor's sojourn in Italy, two plays
were acted with success by the Come'die Francaise.
The first was " Le Tartuffe des Moeurs," translated, or
rather adapted, from Sheridan's " School for
Scandal," by M. Cheron ; the second was " Les Tem-
pliers." M. Cheron had been a deputy to the Legis-
lative Assembly. He married a niece of the Abbe
Morellet ; his wife and himself were intimate friends
of mine. The Abbe' had written to the Emperor
to solicit a place for M. Cheron ; and, on Bonaparte's
return, " Le Tartuffe des Moeurs " was acted before
him. He was so much amused by the play, that,
having ascertained the name of its author from
M. de Remusat, and also learned that M. Cheron was
well deserving of employment, he, in a moment of
easy good nature, sent him to Poitiers as Prefect.
Unfortunately, he died there, three years afterwards.
His widow is a most estimable and talented person.
M. de Fontanes had read " Les Templiers " to
Bonaparte, who approved of some portion of the
piece, but objected to others. He wished to have
certain corrections made, but the author refused,
and the Emperor was annoyed. He was by no
* Notwithstanding the above injunction, my readers will not
he surprised that I have retained these personal details, which
lend a particular interest to the narrative. — P. K.
406 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
means pleased that " Les Templiers '' had a brilliant
success, and set himself against both the play and
the author, with a petty despotism which was cha-
racteristic of him when either persons or things
incurred his displeasure. All this happened when
he came back.*
Bonaparte expected that his wishes and his
opinions should be accepted as rules. He had taken
a fancy to the music of " Les Bardes," an opera by
Lesueur, and he was angry because the Parisian
public did not think as highly of it as he did.
The Emperor came direct from Genoa to Paris.
This was to be his last siffht of fair Italy, that land
* It was not until his return to Paris that the Emperor dis-
played the ill humour which the Memoirs record. On the
1st of June, 1805, he wrote from Milan to M. Foucke, as follows :
— " It seems to me that the success of ' Les Templiers ' leads the
people to dwell upon this point of French history. That is
well, but I do not think it would he wise to allow pieces taken
from historical subjects of a period too close to our own times,
to be acted. I read in a newspaper that it is proposed to act
a tragedy on the subject of Henry IV. That epoch is near
enough to ours to arouse popular passions. The stage requires
antiquity, and, without restricting the theatre too much, I think
you ought to prevent this, but not to allow your interference
to appear. You might speak of it to M. Baynouard, who seems
to be a man of ability. "Why should you not induce him to
write a tragedy upon the transition from the first to the second
line ? Instead of being a tyrant, he who should succeed to that
would be the saviour of the nation. The oratorio of ' Saul ' is
no other than this; it is a great man succeeding a degenerate
king."
THE EMPEROR'S RETURN FROM ITALY. 407
iii which lie seemed to have exhausted every mode
of impressing the minds of men, as a general, as a
pacificator, and as a sovereign. He returned by
Mont Cenis, and gave orders for great works which,
like those of the Simplon Pass, were to facilitate
communication between the two nations. The Court
was increased in number ; several Italian noblemen
and ladies were attached to it. The Emperor had
already appointed some Belgians as additional Cham-
berlains, and the obsequious forms in which he was
addressed were now uttered in widely varying accents.
He arrived at Fontainebleau on the 11th of July,
and went from thence to reside at Saint Cloud.
Shortly after, the Moniteur began to bristle with
notes, announcing in almost threatening language
the storm so soon to burst over Europe. Certain
expressions which occurred from time to time in
these notes revealed the author who had dictated
them. One of these in particular made an impres-
sion on my memory.
It had been stated in the English newspapers that
a supposed genealogy of the Bonaparte family, which
traced its nobility to an ancient origin, had been
printed in London.
"Researches of this kind are purposeless," said
the note. " To all those who may ask from what
period dates the House of Bonaparte, there is a ready
answer : ' It dates from the 18th Brumaire.' '
408 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
I met the Emperor after his return with mingled
feelings. It was difficult not to be affected by
his presence, but it was painful to me to feel that
my gladness was tempered by the distrust with
which he was beginning to inspire me.* The
Empress received me in a most friendly manner, and
I avowed to her quite frankly the trouble that was
on my mind. I expressed my surprise that no past
proof of devotedness or disinterested service could
avail with her husband against a sudden prejudice.
She repeated my words to him, and he well under-
stood what they meant ; but he persisted in his own
definition of what he called devotedness, which was
an entire surrender of one's being, of one's senti-
ments and one's opinions, and repeated that we
ought to give up all our former habits, in order
to have only one thought, that of his interest and
his will. He promised, in recompense for this exac-
tion, that we should be raised to a great height of
rank and fortune, and have everything that could
gratify our pride. " I will give them," said he,
speaking of us, " enough to enable them to laugh
at those who find fault with them now, and if they
will break with my enemies, I will put their enemies
under their feet." Apart from this, I had but little
annoyance in the household, and my position was
easy enough, as Bonaparte's mind was fixed on
* For a fuller explanation of this passage, see Appendix.
A STMANGE SCENE. 409
important affairs during his stay in France before
the campaign of Ansterlitz. A circumstance recurs
to my memory at this moment, which is only im-
portant because it serves to depict this strange man.
I therefore give it a place here. The despotism of
his will grew in proportion to the enlargement
of the circle with which he surrounded himself;
he wanted to be the sole arbiter of reputations, to
make them and to unmake them at his pleasure.
He branded a man, or blighted a woman, with a
word, without any kind of hesitation, but he was
much displeased that the public should venture to
observe and to comment on the conduct of either
the one or the other, if he had placed them within
the rays of the aureole with which he surrounded
himself.
During his journey in Italy, the idleness of life
in palaces and its opportunities had given rise to
several gallant adventures on his part, which were
more or less serious, and these had been duly reported
in France, where they fed the general appetite for
gossip. One day, when several ladies of the Court —
among them those who had been in Italy — were
breakfasting with the Empress, Bonaparte came
suddenly into the room, and leaning on the back of
his wife's chair, addressed to one or another of us
a few words, at first insignificant enough. Then he
began to question us about what we were all doing
&?
410 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
and let us know, but only by hints, that some
among us were very lightly spoken of by the public.
The Empress, who knew her husband's ways, and
was aware that, when talking in this manner, he
was apt to go very far, tried to interrupt him ; but
the Emperor, persisting in the conversation, pre-
sently gave it an exceedingly embarrassing turn.
" Yes, ladies, you occupy the attention of the worthy
inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Germain. They
say, for instance, that you, Madame , have a
liaison with M. ; that you, Madame
and so he went on, addressing himself to three or
four ladies in succession. The effect upon us all
of such an attack may easily be imagined. The
Emperor was amused by the confusion into which
he threw us. " But," added he, " you need not sup-
pose that I approve of talk of this kind. To attack
my Court is to attack myself, and I do not choose
that a word shall be said, either of me, or of my
family, or of my Court." While thus speaking,
his countenance, which had previously been smiling,
darkened, and his voice became extremely harsh.
He then declaimed violently against that section
of Parisian society which was still rebellious, declar-
ing that he would exile every woman who should
.say a word against any Lady-in- Waiting ; and
he proceeded to work himself into a furious passion
upon this text, which he had entirely to himself,
A STRANGE SCENE. 411
for not a single one of us attempted to make him
an answer. The Empress at length rose from the
table in order to terminate this unpleasant scene,
and the general movement put an end to it. The
Emperor left the room as suddenly as he had come
in. One of our ladies, a sworn admirer of every-
thing that Bonaparte said and did, began to expatiate
upon the kindness of such a master, who desired
that our reputation should be held a sacred thing.
But Madame de , a very clever woman, answered
her impatiently, " Yes, madame, let the Emperor
only defend us once again in that fashion, and we
are lost."
Bonaparte was greatly surprised when the Empress
represented to him the absurdity of this scene, and
he always insisted that we ought to have been
grateful for the readiness with which he took offence
when we were attacked.
During his stay at Saint Cloud, he worked inces-
santly, and issued a great number of decrees relative
to the administration of the new departments he had
acquired in Italy. He also augmented his Council
of State, to which he gave more influence from
day to day, because he was quite sure of having it
completely under his authority. He showed himseli
at the Opera, and was well received by the Parisians,
whom, however, he still thought cold, in comparison
with the people of the provinces. He led a busy
412 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
and laborious life, sometimes allowing himself the
recreation of hunting ; but he walked out for one
hour a day only, and received company on but one day
in each week. On that day the Comedie Francaise
came to Saint Cloud, and acted tragedies or comedies
in a very pretty theatre which had been recently
built. Then began the difficulties of M. de Remusat
in providing amusement for him whom Talleyrand
called " the Unamusable." In vain were the master-
pieces of our theatrical repertoire performed ; in
vain did our best actors strive their very best to
please him : he generally appeared at these repre-
sentations preoccupied and weighed down by the
gravity of his thoughts. He laid the blame of his
own want of attention to the play on his First
Chamberlain, on Corneille, or Racine, or on the
actors. He liked Talma's acting, or rather Talma
himself — there had been some sort of acquaintance
between them during his obscure youth — he gave
him a great deal of money, and received him
familiarly ; but even Talma could not succeed in
interesting him. Just like an invalid, who blames
others for the state of his own health, he was angry
with those who could enjoy those pleasures which
passed him by ; and he always thought that by
scolding and worrying he should get something
invented which would succeed in amusing him.
The man who w 7 as entrusted with Bonaparte's plea-
THE UNAMTTSABLE." 413
sures was very seriously to be pitied ; unfortunately
for us, M. de Remusat was the man, and I could
not describe what he bad to bear.
At this time the Emperor was still flattering
himself that he would be able to gain some naval
triumphs over the English. The united French and
Spanish fleets made several efforts, and an attempt
was made to defend the colonies. Admiral Nelson,
pursuing us everywhere, no doubt upset the greater
part of our plans, but this was carefully concealed,
and our newspapers taught us to believe that we
were beating the English every day. It is likely
that the project of the invasion was abandoned.
The English Government was raising up formidable
enemies for us upon the Continent. The Emperor
of Russia, who was young and naturally inclined
to independence, was perhaps already tempted to
resent the preponderance that our Emperor desired
to exercise, and some of his Ministers were suspected
of favouring the English policy, which aimed at
making him our enemy. The peace with Austria
held only by a thread. The King of Prussia alone
seemed resolved to maintain his alliance with us.
" Why," said a note in the Moniteur, " while the
Emperor of Russia exercises his influence upon the
Porte, should he object to that of France being-
exercised upon certain portions of Italy ? When
with Herschel's telescope he observes from the
414 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
terrace of his palace that which passes between the
Emperor of the French and a few Apennine popula-
tions, why should he exact that the Emperor of
the French shall not see what is passing in the
ancient empire of Solyman, and in Persia ? It is
the fashion to accuse France of ambition, and yet
how great has been her past moderation," etc., etc.
In the month of August the Emperor set out for
Boulogne. It was no longer his purpose to inspect
the flotillas, but lie intended to review that numerous
army encamped in the north, which before Ions' he
was destined to set in motion. During his absence
the Empress made an excursion to the baths of
Plombieres. I think I shall usefully employ this
interval of leisure by retracing my steps, in order
to mention certain particulars concerning M. de
Talleyrand which I have hitherto omitted.
Talleyrand, who had come back to France some
time before, was appointed " Minister of External
Relations," through the influence of Madame de Stael,
who induced Barras, the Director, to select him for
that post.""" It was under the Directory that he first
made the accpiaintance of Madame Grand. Although
she was no longer very young, this lady, who was
born in the East Indies, was still remarkable for her
beauty. She wished to go to England, where her
* On the 15th oF July, 1707. He had returned to Fiance in
September, 1795. — P. R.
MADAME GRAND. 415
husband resided, and she applied to M. de Talleyrand
for a passport. Her beauty and her visit produced,
apparently, such an effect upon him that either
the passport was not given, or it remained unused.
Madame Grand remained in Paris ; and shortly after-
wards she was observed to frequent the " Hotel of
External Relations ; " after a short time she took up
her abode there. Meanwhile, Bonaparte was First
Consul ; his victories and his treaties had brought
the ambassadors of the first Powers in Europe and a
crowd of other foreigners to Paris. Persons who
were obliged by their position to frequent M. de
Talleyrand's society, accepted the presence of Madame
Grand, who did the honours of his table and his
salon with a good grace ; but they were somewhat
surprised at the weakness which had consented to
put so prominently forward a woman who was indeed
handsome, but so deficient in education and so faulty
in temper, that she w T as continually annoying Talley-
rand by her foolish conduct, and disturbing* him
by her uncertain humour. M. de Talleyrand has
a very good temper, and was easy-going in every-
day life. The way to rule him was by frightening"
him, because he hates a disturbance, and so Madame
Grand ruled him alike by her charms and her
exactions. When, however, the ambassadresses
were in question, difficulties arose, as some of them
would not consent to be received at the Hotel of
416 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
External Relations by Madame Grand. She com-
plained, and these protests on both sides came to
the ears of the First Consul.
He immediately had a decisive interview on the
subject with Talleyrand, and informed his Minister
that he must banish Madame Grand from his house.
No sooner had that lady been apprised of this
decision, than she went to the Empress, whom
she induced, by dint of tears and supplications, to
procure for her an interview with Bonaparte. She
was admitted to his presence, fell on her knees, and
intreated him to revoke a decree which reduced her
to despair. Bonaparte allowed himself to be moved
by the tears and sobs of this fair personage, and after
having quieted her, he said, " I see only one way of
managing this. Let Talleyrand marry you, and all
will be arranged ; but you must bear his name, or you
cannot appear in his house." Madame Grand was
highly delighted with this decision ; the Consul re-
peated it to Talleyrand, and gave him twenty-four
hours to make up his mind. It is said that Bonaparte
took a malign pleasure in making Talleyrand marry,
and was secretly delighted to have this opportunity
of branding his character, and thus, according to
his favourite system, getting a guarantee of his
fidelity. It is very possible that he may have enter-
tained such an idea ; it is also certain that the
Empress, over whom tears always exercised a great
TALLEYRAND'S MARRIAGE. 417
influence, used all her power with her husband to
induce him to favour Madame Grand's petition.
Talleyrand went back to his hotel, gravely troubled
by the prompt decision required of him. There he
had to encounter tumultuous scenes. He was at-
tacked by all the devices likely to exhaust his
patience. He was pressed, pursued, urged against
his inclination. Some remains of love, the power
of habit, perhaps also the fear of irritating a woman
whom it is impossible to suppose he had not
admitted to his confidence, combined to influence
him. He yielded, set out for the country, and
found, in a village in the Valley of Montmorency,
a cure who consented to perform the marriage cere-
mony. Two days afterwards we were informed
that Madame Grand had become Madame de Talley-
rand, and the difficulty of the Corps Diplomatique
was at an end. It appears that M. Grand, who
lived in England, although little desirous of re-
covering a wife from whom he had long been
parted, contrived to get himself largely paid for
withholding the protest against this marriage with
which he repeatedly menaced the newly wedded
couple. M. de Talleyrand, wanting something to
amuse him in his own house, brought over from
London the daughter of one of his friends, who on
her deathbed had confided the child to him. This
child was that little Charlotte who was, as we all
VOL. I. 2 E
418 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
know, brought up in his house, and who has been
very erroneously believed to be his daughter. He
attached himself strongly to his young ward, educated
her carefully, and, having adopted her and bestowed
his name upon her, married her in her seventeenth
year to his cousin, Baron de Talleyrand. The
Talley rands were at first justly annoyed by this
marriage, but she ultimately succeeded in gaining
their friendship.
Those persons who are acquainted with Talley-
rand, and with his delicacy of taste, wit, and grace
in conversation, and also know how much he
needs repose, are astonished that he should have
united himself with a person so uncongenial to
him. It is, therefore, most likely that imperative
circumstances compelled him to do so, and that
Bonaparte's command, and the short time allowed
him in which to come to a decision, prevented a
rupture, which, in fact, would have suited him much
better. What a difference it would have made for
Talleyrand if he had then dissolved this illicit
union, and set himself to merit and effect a future
reconciliation with the Church he had abandoned!
Apart from desiring for him that that reconciliation
had been made then, in good faith, how much con-
sideration would he have gained, if afterwards, when
all things were reordered and replaced, he had
resumed the Roman purple in the autumn of his
TALLEYBAND'S MABBIAGE. 419
days, and at least repaired in the eyes of the world
the scandal of his life. As a Cardinal, a noble, and
a truly distinguished man, he would have had a
right to respect and regard, and his course would
not have been beset with difficulty and perplexity.
In the situation in which he was placed by his
marriage, he had to take constant precaution to escape,
as far as possible, from the ridicule which was always
suspended over him. No doubt, he managed better
than others might have clone in such a position.
Profound silence respecting his private troubles, an
appearance of complete indifference to the foolish
things which his wife was always saying and the
blunders which she was always making, a haughty
demeanour to those who ventured to smile at him
or at her, extreme politeness, which was called
benevolence, great social influence and political
weight, a large fortune, unalterable patience under
insult, and much dexterity in taking his revenge,
were the weapons with which he met the general
condemnation; and, notwithstanding his great faults,
the public have never dared to despise him. Never-
theless, it is not to be supposed that he has not paid
the private penalty of his imprudent conduct.
Deprived of domestic happiness, and almost at vari-
ance with his family, who could not associate with
Madame de Talleyrand, he was obliged to resort to
an entirely factitious existence, in order to escape
420 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BE'MUSAT.
from the dreariness of his home, and, perhaps, from
the bitterness of his secret thoughts. Public affairs
occupied him, and such leisure as they left him
he gave to play. He was always attended by a
crowd of followers, and by giving his mornings
to business, his evenings to society, and his
nights to cards, he never exposed himself to a
tiresome tete-a-tete with his wife, or to the clangers
of solitude, which would have brought serious
reflection. Bent on getting away from himself, he
never sought sleep until he was quite sure that
extreme fatigue would enable him to procure it.
The Emperor did not make up by his conduct
to Madame de Talleyrand for the obligation which
he had imposed on him. He treated her coldly,
even rudely ; never admitted her to the distinctions
of the rank to which she was raised, without
making a difficulty about it; and did not disguise
the repugnance with which she inspired him, even
while Talleyrand still possessed his entire confidence.
Talleyrand bore all this, never allowed the slightest
complaint to escape him, and arranged so that his
wife should appear but seldom at Court. She received
all distinguished foreigners on certain days, and on
certain other days the Government officials. She
made no visits, none were exacted from her ; in fact,
she counted for nothing. Provided each person
bowed to her on entering and leaving his salon,
TALLEYRAND'S MARRIAGE. 421
Talleyrand asked no more. Let me say, in con-
clusion, that he always seemed to bear with perfectly
resigned courage the fatal " tu Vas voulu " of Moliere's
comedy.
In the course of these Memoirs I shall have to
speak of M. de Talleyrand again, when I shall have
reached the period of our intimacy with him.*
I did not know Madame Grand in the prime of
her life and beauty, but I have heard it said that she
was one of the most charming women of her time,
She was tall, and her figure had all the suppleness
and grace so common to women born in the East.
* My grandparents' friendship with M. de Talleyrand, which
commenced during the sojourn of my grandfather at Milan,
became more intimate in the course of the same year. My
grandmother wrote to her husband on the 28th of September,
1805: "I have been really pleased with the Minister. In a
brief audience which he gave me he showed me much friendship,
after his fashion. You may tell him that he has been very
amiable, and that I have told you so; that never does any
harm. I said to him, laughing, 'You must like my husband
very much ; that will not give you much trouble, and will give
me a great deal of pleasure.' He told me that he did like you,
and I believe him. He insists that we suffer too much from
ennui at the Court not to be, all of us, a little gallant. I said, ' J
shall be longer about becoming so than the others, because I am not
altogether stupid, and intellect is the surest safeguard.'' I was
inclined to say to him that he icas not a proof of that, and that I felt
in myself a much better defence, the dear and constant sentiment
with ivhich you have inspired me, and which constitutes the happi-
ness of my life, even at this moment, when it also causes a keen
sorrow." That sorrow was absence. — P. R.
422 MEMOIRS OF 3IADAME DE REMUS AT.
Her complexion was dazzling, her eyes of the
brightest blue, and her slightly turned-up nose gave
her, singularly enough, a look of Talleyrand him-
self. Her fair golden hair was of proverbial
beauty. I think she was about thirty-six when
she married M. de Talleyrand. The elegance of
her figure was already slightly injured by her
becoming stout. This afterwards increased, and by
degrees her features lost their delicacy and her
complexion became very red. The tone of her voice
was disagreeable, her manners were abrupt ; she was
of an unamiable disposition, and so intolerably stupid
that she never by any chance said the right thing.
Talleyrand's intimate friends were the objects of her
particular dislike, and they cordially detested her.
Her elevation gave her little happiness, and what
she had to suffer never excited anybody's interest.'"
* The papal brief which relieved M. de Talleyrand from the
excommunications he had incurred was considered by him as a
permission to become a layman, and even to marry, although
nothing of the kind was expressed in it. The reader may con-
vince himself on this point by reading the very interesting-
work of Sir Henry Lytton Bnlwer, which appears to me to be
the most just and the most kindly view that has yet been taken
of M. de Talleyrand, as regards his character, his talent, and
the influence which ho exercised in Europe, so often with great
utility to France. The author speaks thus of Talleyrand's
marriage :—" The lady whom he married, born in the East
Indies, and separated from Grand, was remarkable for her
beauty and for her lack of sense. Every one has heard the
anecdote of her asking Sir George Kobinson after his 'man
BONAPARTE AT BOULOGNE. 423
While the Emperor was reviewing the whole of
his army, Madame Murat went to Boulogne to pay
him a visit, and he desired that Madame Louis
Bonaparte, who had accompanied her husband to
the baths of Saint Amand, should also attend him
there, and bring her son. On several occasions he
went through the ranks of his soldiers, carrying
this child in his arms. The army was then remark-
ably fine, strictly disciplined, full of the best spirit,
well provided, and impatient for war. This desire
was destined to be gratified before long.
Notwithstanding the reports in our newspapers,
we were almost always stopped in everything that
we attempted to do for the protection of our colonies.
The proposed invasion appeared day by day more
perilous. It became necessary to astonish Europe
by a less doubtful novelty. " We are no longer,"
said the notes of the Moniteur, addressed to the
English Government, " those Frenchmen who were
sold and betrayed by perfidious ministers, covetous
mistresses, and indolent kings. You march towards
an inevitable destiny."
The two nations, English and French, each claimed
the victory in the naval combat off Cape Finisterre,
where no doubt our national bravery opposed a
Friday.' Talleyrand, however, defended his choice by saying,
' A clever woman often compromises her husband ; a stupid
woman only compromises herself.' : ' — P. R.
424 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
strong resistance to the science of the enemy, but
which had no other result than to oblige our fleet
to re-enter the port. Shortly afterwards our journals
were full of complaints of the insults which the flag
of Venice had sustained since it had become a de-
pendency of Austria. We soon learned that the
Austrian troops were moving — that an alliance
between the two Emperors of Austria and Russia
was formed against us ; and the English journals
triumphantly announced a Continental war. This
year the birthday of Napoleon was celebrated with
great pomp from one end of France to the other.
He returned from Boulogne on the 3rd of September,
and at that time the Senate issued a decree, by
which the Gregorian calendar was to be resumed on
the 1st of January, 180G. Thus disappeared, little
by little, the last traces of the Republic, which had
lasted, or appeared to last, for thirteen years.
TWO MEN OF MARK. 425
CHAPTER XIV.
1805.
M. cle Talleyrand and M. Fouche — The Emperor's speech to the
Senate— The departure of the Emperor — The bulletins of the
Grand Army — Poverty in Taris during the war — The Emperor
and the Marshals— The Faubourg St. Germain — Trafalgar-
Journey of M. tie Eemusat to Vienna.
At the period of which I am writing, M. cle Talley-
rand was still on bad terms with M. Fouche, and,
strange to say, I remember that the latter charged
him with being deficient in conscientiousness and
sincerity. He always remembered that on the occa-
sion of the attempt of the 3rd Nivose (the Infernal
Machine), Talleyrand had accused him to Bonaparte
of neglect, and had contributed not a little to his
dismissal. On his return to the Ministry he secretly
nursed his resentment, and let slip no opportunity
of gratifying it, by that bitter and cynical mockery
which was the habitual tone of his conversation.
Talleyrand and Fouche' were two very remarkable
men, and both were exceedingly useful to Bonaparte.
But it would be difficult to find less resemblance, and
fewer points of contact, between any two persons
426 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
placed in such close and continuous relations. The
former had studiously preserved the carelessly
resolute manner, if I may use that expression,
of the nobles of the old regime. Acute, taciturn,
measured in his speech, cold in his hearing, pleasing
in conversation, deriving all his power from himself
alone — for he held no party in his hand — his
very faults, and even the stigma of his abandon-
ment of his former sacred state of life, were sufficient
guarantee to the Eevolutionists, who knew him to
be so adroit and so supple that they believed him
to be always keeping the means of escaping them
in reserve. Besides, he opened his mind to no
one. He was quite impenetrable upon the affairs
with which he was charged, and upon his own
opinion of the master whom he served ; and, as
a final touch to this picture, he neglected nothing
for his own comfort, was careful in his dress, used
perfumes, and was a lover of good cheer and all the
pleasures of the senses. He was never subservient
to Bonaparte, but he knew how to make himself
necessary to him, and never flattered him in public.
Fouche', on the contrary, was a genuine product
of the Revolution. Careless of his appearance, he
wore the gold lace and the ribbons which were the
insignia of his dignities as if he disdained to arrange
them. He could laugh at himself on occasion :
he was active, animated, always restless ; talkative,
FOUCHE. 427
affecting' a sort of frankness which was merely
the last degree of deceit ; boasting ; disposed to seek
the opinion of others upon his conduct by talking
about it, and sought no justification except in his
contempt of a certain class of morality, or his care-
lessness of a certain order of approbation. But he
carefully maintained, to Bonaparte's occasional dis-
quiet, relations with a party whom the Emperor felt
himself obliged to conciliate in his person. With
all this, Fouche was not deficient in a sort of good
fellowship ; he had even some estimable qualities.
He was a good husband to an ugly and stupid
wife, and a very good, even a too-indulgent, father.
He looked at revolution as a whole ; he hated small
schemes and constantly recurring suspicions, and
it was because this was his way of thinking that
his police did not suffice for the Emperor. Where
Fouche recognized merit, he did it justice. It
is not recorded of him that he was guilty of any
personal revenge, nor did he show himself capable
of persistent jealousy. It is even likely that,
although he remained for several years an enemy of
Talleyrand's, it was less because he had reason to
complain of him, than because the Emperor took
pains to keep up a division between two men whose
friendship he thought dangerous to himself; and,
indeed, it was when they were reconciled that
he began to distrust them both, and to exclude
them from affairs.
428 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
Iii 1805 Talleyrand stood much higher in favour
than Foudie. The business in hand was to found a
monarchy, to impose it upon Europe and upon
France by skilful diplomacy, and the pomp of a
Court, and the ci-devant noble was much fitter to
advise upon all these points. He had an immense
reputation in Europe. He was known to hold Con-
servative opinions, and that was all the morality
demanded by the foreign sovereigns. The Emperor,
in order to inspire confidence in his enterprise,
needed to have his signature supported by that of
his Minister for Foreign Affairs. So necessary to
his projects did he consider this, that he did not
grudge the distinction. The agitation which reigned
in Europe at the moment when the rupture with
Austria and Eussia took place, called for very fre-
quent consultations between the Emperor and M.
de Talleyrand ; and when Bonaparte left Paris to
commence the campaign, the Minister established
himself at Strasburg, so that he might be able to
reach the Emperor when the French cannon should
announce that the hour of negotiations had arrived.
About the middle of September, rumours of an
approaching departure were spread at Saint Cloud.
M. cle Ee'musat received orders to repair to Stras-
bourg, and there to prepare the Imperial lodgings,
and the Empress declared so decidedly her intention
of following her husband, that it was settled she
PARTING AGAIN. 429
should go to Strasburg* with. him. A numerous
Court was to accompany them. As my husband was
going, I should have been very glad to accompany
him, but I was becoming more and more of an
invalid, and was not in a state to travel. I was
therefore obliged to submit to this new separation,
a more sorrowful one than the former. This was
the first time since I had been at the Court that I
had seen the Emperor setting out for the army.
The dangers to which he was about to be exposed
revived all my former attachment to him. I had
not courage to reproach him with anything, when
I saw him depart on so serious a mission, and
the thought that of many persons who were going,
there would no doubt be some whom I should never
see again, brought tears to my eyes, and made my
heart sink. In the glittering halls of Saint Cloud
I saw wives and mothers in terror and anguish,
who did not dare to let their grief be seen, so great
was the fear of displeasing the Emperor. The
officers affected carelessness, but that was the neces-
sary bravado of their profession. At that time,
however, there were a great many of them who,
having attained a sufficient fortune, and being unable
to foresee the almost gigantic height to which the
continuity of war was afterwards to raise them, were
very sorry to relinquish the pleasant and quiet life
which thev had now led for some years.
430 ME310IRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
Throughout France the law of the conscription
was strictly carried out, and this caused some disturb-
ance in the provinces. The fresh laurels which our
army was about to acquire were regarded with in-
difference. But the soldiers and subalterns were full
of hope and ardour, and rushed to the frontiers with
eagerness, a presage of success.
On the 20th of September, the following appeared
in the Moniteur : —
" The Emperor of Germany, without previous
negotiation or explanation, and without any declara-
tion of war, has invaded Bavaria. The Elector has
retreated to Warzburg, where the whole Bavarian
army is assembled."
On the 2 3rd, the Emperor repaired to the Senate,
and issued a decree calling out the reserves of the
conscripts of five years' standing. Berthier, the
Minister of War, read a report on the impending
war, and the Minister of the Interior demonstrated
the necessity of employing the National Guard to
protect the coasts.
The Emperor's speech was simple and impressive ;
it was generally approved. Our causes of complaint
against Austria were fully set forth in the Moniteur.
There is little doubt that England, if not afraid, was
at least weary of the stay of our troops on the coast,
and that it was her policy to raise up enemies for us
on the Continent, while the division of the kingdom
NAPOLEON'S JUDGMENT OF ALEXANDER. 431
of Italy, and still more its union with the French
Empire, was sufficiently disquieting to the Austrian
Cabinet. Without a knowledge of the diplomatic
secrets of the period, which I do not possess,
it is hard to understand why the Emperor of Russia
broke with us. It is probable that commercial
difficulties were making him anxious about his
relations with England.
It may be well to quote some words of Napoleon's
on this subject. " The Emperor Alexander," he said,
" is a young man ; he longs for a taste of glory,
and, like all children, he wants to go a different way
from that which his father followed." Neither can I
explain the neutrality of the King of Prussia, which
was so advantageous to us, and to himself so fatal,
since it did but delay his overthrow for one year.
It seems to me that Europe blundered. The Emperor's
character should have been better appreciated ;
and there should have been either a clear under-
standing that he must be always yielded to, or he
should have been put clown by general consent at
the outset of his career.
But I must return to my narrative, from which I
have digressed in order to treat of a subject beyond
my powers.
I passed the last few days preceding the
Emperor's departure at Saint Cloud. The Emperor
worked unremittingly ; when over-fatigued, he would
432 MEMOIBS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
lie down for a few hours in the daytime, but would
rise in the middle of the night, and go on with his
labours. He was, however, more serene and gracious
than at other times ; he received company as usual,
went occasionally to the theatres, and did not forget,
when he was at Strasburg, to send a present to
Fleury, the actor, who, two clays before his de-
parture, had performed Corneille's " Menteur," by
which he had succeeded in amusing the Emperor.
The Empress was as full of confidence as the
wife of Bonaparte would naturally be. Happy to
be allowed to accompany him and to escape from
the talk of Paris, which alarmed her, from the
spying of her brothers-in-law, and the monotony of
Saint Cloud, delighted with the fresh opportunity for
display, she looked on a campaign as on a journey,
and maintained composure which, as it could
not, by reason of her position, proceed from in-
difference, was a genuine compliment to him whom
she firmly believed fortune would not dare to forsake.
Louis Bonaparte, who was in bad health, was to
remain in Paris, and had received orders, as had
also his wife, to entertain liberally in the absence of
the Emperor. Joseph presided over the Administra-
tive Council of the Senate. He resided at the
Luxembourg, where he was also to hold a Court.
Princess Borghese was recovering her health at
Trianon. Madame Murat withdrew to Neuilly,
RUMOURS OF INVASION. 433
where she occupied herself in beautifying her charm-
ing" dwelling ; Murat accompanied the Emperor to
head-quarters. M. de Talleyrand was to remain at
Strasburg until further orders. M. Maret attended
the Emperor ; he was the author-in-chief of the
bulletins.
On the 24th the Emperor set out, and he reached
Strasburg without stopping on the way.
I returned in low spirits to Paris, where I rejoined
my children, my mother, and my sister. I found her
much distressed by her separation from M. de Nan-
souty, who was in command of a division of cavalry.
Immediately on the departure of the Emperor,
rumours of an intended invasion of the coast became
rife iu Paris, and, in fact, such an expedition might
have been attempted ; but, fortunately, our enemies
were not quite so audacious and enterprising as our-
selves, and at that time the English had no such
confidence in their army as, since then, it has
justly inspired.
The tightening of the money market began
almost immediately to be felt : in a short time pay-
ment at the Bank was suspended ; money fetched
a very high price. I heard it said that our export
trade did not suffice for our wants — that war had
stopped it, and was raising the price of all our
imports. This, I was told, was the cause of the
sudden embarrassment which had come upon us.
vol. i. 2 ¥
434 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE REMUS AT.
Special and personal anxieties were added to the
general depression. Many families of distinction
had sons in the army, and trembled for their fate.
In what suspense did not parents await the arrival of
bulletins which might suddenly apprise them of the
loss of those most dear to them ! What agonies did
not Bonaparte inflict on women, on mothers, during
many years ! He has sometimes expressed astonish-
ment at the hatred he at last inspired, but could he
expect to be forgiven such agonized and prolonged
suspense, so much weeping, so many sleepless
nights, and days of agonizing dread ? If he had but
admitted the truth, he must have known there is not
one natural feeling on which he had not trampled.
Before his departure, and in order to gratify the
nobles, he created what was called the Guard of
Honour. He gave the command to his Grand
Master of Ceremonies. It was almost funny to see
poor M. de Segur's zeal in forming his Guard, the
eagerness displayed by certain great personages to
obtain admittance into it, and the anxiety of some of
the Chamberlains, who imagined the Emperor would
much admire the change of their red coats for a
military uniform. I shall never forget the surprise,
nay, the fright, which M. de Lucay, Prefect of the
Palace, a mild and timid person, gave me, when he
asked me whether M. de Remusat, the father of a
family, a former magistrate, and at that time more
M. BE REMUS AT AT STRASBURG. 435
than forty years of age, did not also intend to
embrace the military career thus suddenly opened
to everybody.
We were beginning- to be accustomed to so many
strange things, that, in spite of sense and reason, I
felt some solicitude on this subject, and I wrote to
my husband, who replied that he had not been
seized with martial ardour, and that he hoped the
Emperor might still reckon among his servants some
who did not wear swords.
At this time the Emperor had partly restored us
to favour. On his departure from Strasburg he
confided the entire charge of the Court and the
Empress's household to my husband. These were
sufficiently easy duties, with no greater drawback
than a certain amount of tedium. M. de Talleyrand,
who also remained behind at Strasburg, gave
some zest to the daily routine of M. de Re'musat's
life. They now became really intimate, and were
frequently together. M. de Remusat, who was
by nature simple, modest, and retiring, showed to
advantage as he became better known, and M. de
Talleyrand recognized his intellectual qualities, his
excellent judgment, and his uprightness. He began
to trust him, to appreciate the safety of intercourse
with him, and to treat him as a friend ; while my
husband, who was gratified by receiving such over-
tures from a quarter whence he had not expected
436 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
them, conceived for him, from that moment, an affec-
tion which no subsequent vicissitude has lessened.
Meanwhile the Emperor had left Strasburg. On
the 1st of October he commenced the campaign, and
the entire army, transported as if by magic from
Boulogne, was crossing the frontier. The Elector
of Bavaria, on being called upon by the Emperor
of Austria to afford free passage to his troops, re-
fused to do so, and was being invaded on every side ;
but Bonaparte marched to his aid without delay.
We then received the first bulletin from the Grand
Army. It announced a first success at Donauworth,
and gave us the proclamations of the Emperor,
and that of the Viceroy of Italy. Massena was
ordered to reinforce the latter, and to push into the
Tyrol with the united French and Italian armies.
To phrases well calculated to inflame the zeal of
our soldiers, were added others of biting sarcasm
against our enemy. A circular addressed to the
inhabitants of Austria, asking for contributions of
lint, was published, accompanied b}^ the following
note : — " We hope the Emperor of Austria will not
require any, as he has gone back to Vienna."
Insults to the Ministers were not spared, nor to
some of the great Austrian nobles, among whom
was the Count de Colloredo, who was accused of
being governed by his wife, herself entirely devoted
to English policy. These unworthy attacks occurred
THE BULLETINS. 437
promiscuously in the bulletins, among really elevated
sentiments, which although put forth with Roman,
rather than with French, eloquence, were very
effective.
Bonaparte's activity in this campaign was posi-
tively marvellous. From the beginning he foresaw
the advantages that would accrue to him from the
first blunders of the Austrians, and also his ultimate
success. Towards the middle of October he wrote
to his wife : " Rest easy ; I promise you the
shortest and most brilliant of campaigns."
At Wertingen our cavalry obtained some advan-
tage over the enemy, and M. de Nansouty dis-
tinguished himself. A brilliant skirmish also took
place at Griinzburg, and the Austrians were soon
retreating from every point.
The army became more and more enthusiastic,
and seemed to take no heed of the approach of
winter. Just before going into action, the Emperor
harangued his soldiers on Lech Bridge, in the midst
of thickly falling snow. " But," continued the
bulletin, " his words were of fire, and the soldiers
forgot their privations." The bulletin ended with
these prophetic words : " The destinies of the
campaign are fixed." *
* The actual text of the fifth bulletin from the Grand Army
is as follows: — "Augsburg, 20th Vendemiaire, year 14 (12th
October, 1805). The Emperor was on the Lech Bridge when
the divisiou under General Marmont defiled past him. He
4.".s MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE BEMUSAT.
The taking of Ulm, and the capitulation of its
immense garrison, completed the surprise and terror
of Austria, and served to silence the factious spirit
in Paris, which had been with difficulty repressed
by the police. It is hard to prevent Frenchmen
from ranging themselves on the side of glory, and
we began to share in that which our army was
gaining. But the monetary difficulty was still pain-
fully felt ; trade suffered, the theatres were empty,
an increase of poverty was perceptible, and the only
hope that sustained us was that a campaign so
brilliant must be followed by an immediate peace.
After the capitulation of Ulm, the Emperor him-
self dictated the following phrase in the bulletin : —
" The panegyric of the army may be pronounced in
two words : it is worthy of its leader." * He
wrote to the Senate, sending the colours taken
ordered each regiment to form in circle, and spoke to them of
the enemy's position, of the imminence of a great battle, and
of his confidence in them. He made this speech in the most
severe weather. Snow was falling thick, the troops stood in
mud up to their knees, and the cold was intense ; hut the
Emperor's words were of fire, and while listening to him, the
soldiers forgot their fatigue and their privations, and were
impatient for the moment of battle. Never can great events
have been decided in a shorter time. In less than a fortnight the
destinies of the campaign, and of the Austrian and Russian
armies, will be fixed." — P. R.
* These words are, in fact, to be found in the sixth bulletin
from the Grand Army, dated Ehhingen, 2tith Vendemiaire,
war 14 (18th October, 1805).— P. R.
A LETTER TO THE SENATE. 439
from the enemy, and announcing that the Elector
had returned to his capital. Letters from him to the
Bishops, requesting them to offer thanksgiving for
our victories, were also published.
From the very beginning of the campaign,
pastoral letters had been read in every metropolitan
church, justifying the war, and encouraging the
new recruits to march promptly whithersoever they
should be called. The Bishops now began the task
once more, and exhausted the Scriptures for texts
to prove that the Emperor was protected by the
God of armies.*
Joseph Bonaparte was the bearer of his brother's
letter to the Senate. That body decreed that, in
reply, an address of congratulation should be carried
to head-quarters by a certain number of its members.
At Strasburg the Empress received several German
Princes, who came to join her Court, and to offer
* The extreme subservience shown by the clergy towards
the Emperor was not sufficient in his eyes, if we may judge
by the following letter, which he addressed to Fouche duiing
the campaign: — "4th Nivose, year 14 (25th December, 1805)
I perceive some difficulty on the subject of reading out the
bulletins in churches ; I do not consider this advisable. It
would only give more importance to priests than is their due ;
for it gives them a right of comment, and should the news
be bad, they would not fail to remark on it. It is thus, because
there are no fixed principles : now there are to be no priests at
all, again there are to be too many ; all this must come to an
end. M. Portalis was wrong to write his letter without
knowing my intentions on the subject." — P. R.
440 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
her their homage and congratulations. With a
natural pride she showed them the Emperor's letters,
in which long beforehand he announced to her the
victories he was about to gain ; and either his
skilful foresight must needs be admired, or else the
power of a destiny which never for a moment belied
itself must be recognized.
Marshal Ney distinguished himself at Elchingen,
and the Emperor consented so fully to leave the
honours of the occasion to him, that afterwards,
when he created dukes, he desired that the Marshal's
title should be Due d'Elchingen.
I use the word consented, because it is admitted that
Bonaparte was not always perfectly just in appor-
tioning the fame which he accorded to his generals.
In one of his occasional fits of frankness, I heard
him say that he liked to bestow glory only on
those who knew not how to sustain it. According
to his policy with respect to the military chiefs
under his orders, or the degree of confidence which
he placed in them,' he would either preserve silence
concerning certain victories of theirs, or change
the blunder of a particular Marshal into a success.
A general would hear through some bulletin
of an action which had never taken place, or of
a speech which he had never made. Another
would find himself famous in the newspapers, and
would wonder how he had deserved to be thus dis-
THE MARSHALS. 441
tinguished. Others would endeavour to protest
against his neglect of them, or against distorted
accounts of events ; but how was it possible to
correct what had once been read, and was already
effaced by more recent news ? For Bonaparte's
rapidity in war gave us daily something fresh to
learn. On these occasions he would either impose
silence on the protest, or if he wished to appease
the offended officer, a sum of money, a prize from
the enemy, or permission to levy a tax, was granted
to him, and thus the affair would end.
This crafty spirit, which was inherent in Bona-
parte's character, and which he employed adroitly in
dealing with his Marshals and superior officers, may
be justified, up to a certain point, by the difficulty
he occasionally met with in managing so large a
number of individuals of widely differing characters
but similar aims. He was perfectly cognizant of the
scope of their various talents ; he knew in what
manner each of them might be useful to him : while
rewarding their services he was perpetually obliged
to repress their pride and jealousy. He was forced
to use every means in his power to secure his own
success ; above all, he could miss no opportunity of
making them feel their entire dependence on himself,
and that their renown as well as their fortune was
in his hands alone.* This point once reached, he
* I find among my father's papers a note which further
44L> MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
might feci certain not to be importuned by them,
and to be at liberty to reward their services at bis
develops what is said here concerning the Marshals of the
Empire : — " The Emperor took the utmost license in composing
his bulletins, seeking especially to eclipse all the others, and to
establish his own infallibility ; then considering the kind of
effect he wished to produce on foreigners and on the public in
France ; and, lastly, having regard to his intentions and his
good or ill will towards his lieutenants. Truth came a long
way behind all these things. Nothing could equal the surprise
of his officers on reading the bulletins which came back to them
from Paris ; but they made few complaints. The Emperor is,
like the Convention and Louis XIV., one of the few powers
able to subdue and to discipline the vanity of subordinates.
" The Emperor praised the great generals of his time but
little. Military men are more jealous of each other than those
of any other profession ; they are the least to be relied on in
their estimation of each other. They are discouraging or
irritating when judging one of another. To this natural
jealousy the Emperor added the calculations of a despot who
will have no one of importance except himself. Desaix is the
only man of whom he spoke with any enthusiasm, and he
knew him only at the opening of his career of power. He
always continued, I believe, to treat him well, but Desaix
died [at Marengo, June 14, 1800]. His comments on his
lieutenants, in the beginning of his narrative of the first
campaign in Italy, are remarkable, and their severity has no
appearance of jealousy. Generally he spoke of the Marshals
with a not very flattering freedom. In his correspondence
■with King Joseph we may read what he said of Massena,
Jourdan, and some others. General Foy told me that he had
heard him say of Soult : ' He can array a battle well, but is
incapable of fighting one.' Then he would dwell on the exac-
tions, the pretensions, the ambition, and the cupidity of his
Marshals. 'No one knows,' he said to M. Pasquier, ' what it is
to have to deal with two such men as Soult and Ney.' His
THE MARSHALS. 443
own price. In general, however, the Marshals have
had no cause to complain that he did not rate
them highly. The rewards obtained by them were
frequently gigantic ; and the long continuance of
war having raised their hopes to the highest pitch,
we have seen them become dukes and princes with-
lieutenants frequently paid him back, in their conversations,
what he had said concerning them. It was not in the army,
especially during the camj^aigns that followed that of Austre-
litz, that he was chiefly held in admiration, esteem, and affec-
tion. He had, as it were, an off-hand way of making war. He
neglected many things, and risked man} 7 . He sacrificed every-
thing to his personal success. Becoming more and more con-
fident in his destiny, and in the terror inspired by his presence,
his only thought was to repair any blunders, checks, or losses,
by decisive blows struck with his own hand. He was always
resolute in denying or in preserving silence concerning anything
which might injure him. This rendered the service unbear-
able to those generals v/ho were at a distance from himself.
They retained all their responsibility, were often without the
necessary means of action and received only orders impossible
to execute, and which were intended to put them in the wrong.
They accused him, consequently, of selfishness, of injustice, of
perfidy, and even of malice towards them, or of envy, liarante
has told me that when the auditors arrived at the army, they
were confounded at what they heard said among the staff, and
sometimes even at head-quarters. He himself, when attached
to the btaff of Marshal Lannes — during the campaign of Poland,
I believe — heard him frequently say, at his own table, that the
Emperor, being jealous of him and eager to ruin him, gave
him orders with this end in view; and once, when suffering
from internal pain, he went so far as to say the Emperor had
tried to have him poisoned." I have quoted the whole of
the above interesting passage ; but it is evident that all this was
in embryo at the time of the campaign of 1805. — 1\ K.
444 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
out being astonished at the fact, and come to
think that royalty alone could worthily crown
their destiny. Enormous sums were divided among
them, and every kind of exaction from the van-
quished was permitted them ; some of them made
immense fortunes, and if most of these disappeared
with the Government under which they were
amassed, it was because they had been acquired
so easily that their upstart possessors naturally spent
them lavishly, feeling confident that the facilities
for making such fortunes would never be exhausted.
In this first campaign of Napoleon's reign,
although the army was as yet subject to a discipline
which was afterwards considerably relaxed, the
vanquished people found themselves a prey to the
rapacity of the conqueror, and the obligation of
receiving some field officer for a single night, or
even for a few hours, cost many a great Austrian
noble or prince the entire destruction and pillage
of his home. The common soldiers were under
discipline, and there was an outward appearance of
order, but there was nothing to hinder a Marshal
from taking away with him, on his departure, any
objects which had caught his fancy. After the
close of the war, I have often heard the wife of
Marshal X relate, with laughter, that her
husband, knowing her taste for music, had sent her
an immense collection of music-books, which he had
MASSENA. 445
found in some German prince's house ; and she
would add, with equal ingenuousness, that he had
despatched so many packing-cases full of lustres
and Venice glass, which he had picked up in every
direction, to their house in Paris, that she was quite
at a loss to know where to put them.
While the Emperor knew so well how to hold
the pretensions of his generals in check, he spared
no pains to encourage and satisfy the soldiers.
After the taking of Ulm, a decree was issued to the
effect that the month of Vendemiaire, which was just
closed, should in itself be reckoned as a campaign.
On the feast of All Saints, a solemn Te Deum was
sung at Notre Dame, and Joseph gave several
entertainments in honour of our victories.
Meanwhile Massena was distinguishing himself
by victories in Italy, and it soon became certain
that the Emperor of Austria would have to pay
dearly for this great campaign. The Russian army
was hastening by forced marches to his aid, but had
not yet joined the Austrians, who meanwhile were
being defeated by our Emperor. It was said, at the
time, that the Emperor Francis made a blunder by
entering upon the war before the Emperor Alexander
was in a position to help him.
During this campaign, Bonaparte induced the
King of Naples to remain neutral, and agreed to rid
him of the French garrison, which he had hitherto
440 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUSAT.
been obliged to maintain. Several decrees relating
to the administration of France were promulgated
from various head-quarters, and the former Doge of
Genoa was created a senator.
The Emperor liked to appear to be engaged in
a number of different affairs at once, and to
show that he could cast what he called " an eagle
glance ' ; in every direction at the same instant.
For this reason, and also on account of his suspi-
cious disposition, he wrote a letter to the Minister
of Police, desiring him to keep a watchful eye on
the Faubourg St. Germain, meaning those members
of the French nobility who remained opposed to
him, and stating that he had been informed of
certain things that had been said against him in his
absence, and would punish them on his return.
It was Fouche's habit, on receiving such orders as
these, to send for the persons, both men and women,
who were more specially accused. Whether he
really thought the Emperor's displeasure was excited
by mere trifles, and that, as he sometimes used to
say, it was foolish to prevent French people from
talking, or whether he desired to win golden opinions
by his own moderation, after advising those persons
for whom he had sent to be more cautious, he would
conclude by admitting that the Emperor made too
much ado about trivialities. Thus, by degrees, he
acquired a reputation for justice and moderation,
TRAFALGAR. 447
which did away with the first impressions of his cha-
racter. The Emperor, who was informed of this con-
duct on his part, resented it, and was secretly on his
guard against one so careful to conciliate all parties.
On the 12th of November, our victorious army
entered the gates of Vienna. The newspapers
gave full details of the circumstances, and these
accounts acquire additional interest from the fact
that they were all dictated by Bonaparte, and that
he frequently took upon himself to invent, as an
after-thought, circumstances or anecdotes likely to
strike the popular imagination.
" The Emperor," says the bulletin, " has taken up
his abode in the Palace of Schonbrunn ; he writes
in a cabinet in which stands a statue of Maria
Theresa. On observing this, he exclaimed, ' Ah ! if
that great queen was still living, she would not
allow herself to be led by such a woman as Madame
de Colloredo ! Surrounded by her nobles, she
would have ascertained the wishes of her people.
She would never have allowed her provinces to be
ravaged by the Muscovites,' " etc.*
Meanwhile, some bad news came to temper Bona-
parte's success. Admiral Nelson had just beaten
our fleet at Trafalgar. The French navy fought
with splendid bravery, but were disastrously defeated.
* The whole of this lengthy effusion may be read in the
Moniteur.
448 MEMOIRS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
This produced a bad effect in Paris, and disgusted
the Emperor for ever with naval enterprises. He
became so deeply prejudiced against the French
navy, that from that time it was scarcely possible to
induce him to take any interest or pay any attention
to the subject. Yainly did the sailors or soldiers
who had distinguished themselves on that fatal day,
endeavour to obtain recognition or sympathy for the
dangers they had encountered : they were practically
forbidden even to revert to the disaster ; and when,
in after years, they wanted to obtain any favour,
they took care not to claim it on the score of
the admirable courage to which the English de-
spatches only rendered justice. Immediately on the
Emperor's return to Vienna, he sent for M. de
Talleyrand, perceiving that the time for negotia-
tions was at hand, and that the Emperor of Austria
was about to treat for peace.
It is probable that our Emperor had already
decided on making the Elector of Bavaria a King,
on enlarging his dominions, and also on the marriage
of Prince Eugene.
M. de Remusat was sent to Paris in order that
be might convey the Imperial insignia and the
Crown diamonds to Vienna. I saw him but for an
instant, and learned with fresh vexation that he was
about to leave for a still more distant country. On
his return to Strasburg he received orders to pro-
M. DE BEMUSAT AT VIENNA. 449
ceed at once to Vienna, and the Empress was
directed to repair to Munich with the whole Court.
Nothing could exceed the honours rendered to her
in Germany ; Princes and Electors crowded to
welcome her, and the Elector of Bavaria, especially,
neglected nothing to make her reception all that
could be desired. She remained at Munich, waiting
for her husband's return.
M. de Remusat, while on his journey, reflected
sadly upon the condition of the countries through
which he passed. The land still reeked of battle.
Devastated villages, roads encumbered with corpses
and ruins, brought before his eyes all the horrors
of war. The distress of the vanquished added an
element of danger to the discomfort of this journey
so late in the season. Everything contributed pain-
fully to impress the imagination of a man who was
a friend to humanity, and who lamented the disasters
which result from the passions of conquerors. My
husband's letters, full of painful reflections, grieved
me deeply, and served to lessen the enthusiasm
which had been beginning to revive as I read
accounts of victories, in which the bright side only
was shown to the public.
When M. de Remusat reached Vienna, the
Emperor was no longer there. The negotiations
had lasted but a short time, and our army was
inarching forward. M. de Talleyrand and M.
vol. i. - G
450 MEMOIBS OF MADAME BE REMUS AT.
Maret remained at Schonbrunn, where they both
lived, but without intimacy.
M. Maret's familiarity with the Emperor gave him
a sort of influence, which he kept up, as I have
already said, by adoration, true or feigned, and
displayed in all his words and aetions. M. de
Talleyrand would make fun of this sometimes, and
quiz the Secretary of State, who resented such con-
duct excessively. He was therefore always on his
guard against M. de Talleyrand, and disliked him
sincerely.
M. de Talleyrand, who was thoroughly weary of
Yienna, greeted M. de Remusat, on his arrival, with
great cordiality, and the intimacy between them
increased during the idle life both were leading. It
is very likely that M. Maret, who wrote regularly to
the Emperor, reported upon this new friendship, and
that it was displeasing to a person always prone to
take offence, and apt to detect ulterior motives in the
most unimportant actions of life.
M. de Talleyrand, finding scarcely any one but
M. de Remusat who could understand him, disclosed
to him the political views with which the victories
of our armies inspired him. He warmly desired to
consolidate the peace of Europe, and his great fear
was that the glamour of victory, and the predilec-
tions of the military men surrounding the Emperor,
all of them having again become accustomed to war,
M. DE TALLEYRAND'S VIEWS. 451
would induce the latter to prolong it. " When the
moment conies for actually concluding peace," he
said, " you will see that the greatest difficulty I
shall have will be in treating with the Emperor
himself, and it will take much talking to sober the
intoxication produced by gunpowder." In these
moments of confidence, M. de Talleyrand would
speak candidly of the Emperor. While he admitted
the great defects of his character, he believed him to
be destined to end the Revolution in France irre-
vocably and to found a lasting Government ; and
he also believed that he himself should be able to
rule the Emperor's conduct with regard to Europe.
" If I fail to persuade him," he said, " I shall, at
any rate, know how to fetter him in spite of himself,
and to force him to take some repose."
M. de Remusat was delighted to find an able
statesman, and one who enjoyed the confidence of
the Emperor, full of projects so wise in themselves,
and he began to regard him with the esteem that
every French citizen owes to a man who endeavours
to control the effects of a boundless ambition. He
often wrote to me that he was delighted with the
discoveries which his intimacy with M. de Talley-
rand enabled him to make, and I began to feel
interest in one who alleviated the wearisome exile of
my husband.
In my hours of solitude and anxiety, my husband's
452 MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE BEMUSAT.
letters were my only pleasure and the sole charm
of my existence. Although he prudently avoided
details, I could see that he was satisfied with his
position. He would describe to me the different
sights he had seen. He would tell me of his drives
or walks in Vienna, which he described as a large
and beautiful city, and of his visits to certain im-
portant personages who had remained there, as
well as to other families. He was struck by their
extreme attachment to the Emperor Francis. These
good people of Vienna, although their city was
conquered, did not hesitate openly to express their
hopes of a speedy return to the paternal rule of
their master, and, while they sympathized with him
in his reverses, they never uttered a single reproach.
Good order was maintained in Vienna ; the
garrison was under strict discipline, and the in-
habitants had no great cause of complaint against
their conquerors. The French entered into some
of the amusements of the place; they frequented
the theatres, and it was at Vienna that M. de
Re'musat first heard the celebrated Italian singer,
Crescentini, and subsequently engaged him for the
Emperor's " Musical Service."
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON: PRINTED HI' WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STR1 I I
AND CHARING ' BOSS.
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