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THE YOUNG AMERICAN'S LIBRARY. 
 
 LIFE 
 
 or 
 
 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 
 
 EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 NUMEROUS ANECDOTES OF HIS COURT AND TIMES. 
 
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 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 LINDSAY & BLAKISTON. 
 
• GIFTOF 
 
 
 • S-v — • . • *■*► 
 
 Entered, acoordmg to the Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by 
 
 LINDSAY & BLAKISTON 
 
 the clerk'? office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 EDUCATION Otn 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Perhaps the wide compass of ancient and 
 modern history does not present to our view 
 a man more eminent than Napoleon Bona- 
 parte. The world has scarcely yet settled 
 down in quietness, from the convulsive agita- 
 tions produced by his vast ambition and 
 military enterprises. It is essential, therefore, 
 that every person who has the least pretension 
 to historical information, should make himself 
 acquainted with all the important facts in the 
 life of so prominent a Captain ; and as it 
 cannot be expected that the youthful reader 
 can have the means or the disposition to 
 study the voluminous works wherein the 
 subject is elaborately treated, the American 
 publisher hopes that he will render an accept- 
 able service in presenting this general outline, 
 with the view of introducing the subject to 
 the attention of juvenile readers. 
 
 Philadelphia, Jan. 1844. 
 
 '3) 
 
 924203 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Birth and Childhood of Napoleon 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Commencement of Napoleon's military career 16 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 Siege and Taking of Toulon i9 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 First Marriage of Bonaparte 24 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Commencement of the first Campaign in Italy 30 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Conclusion of first Campaign in Italy. — Bonaparte sails 
 for Egypt 34 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Anecdotes of the first Campaign in Italy 45 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Conquest of Egypt 53 
 
 15) 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Eighteenth Brumaire 74 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 The Consulate 77 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Anecdotes of the Egyptian and Italian Campaigns, — and 
 of the Consulate 91 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 From the Accession of Napoleon to the Throne to the 
 Battle of Trafalgar 120 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 From the Battle of Trafalgar to the Occupation of Spain. . 125 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Anecdotes 137 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 From the Interview of Erfurt to the Russian War 157 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 From the Commencement of the Russian Campaign to the 
 Abdication of Napoleon at Fontainbleau 167 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The restoration of Louis Eighteenth. — The Hundred Pays 190 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Captivity and Death of Napoleon 219 
 
HISTORY OF NAPOLEON 
 
 » ... , 
 
 CHAPTER I. ' ':-' 
 
 BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF NAPOLEON, 
 
 APOLEON was born at Ajaccio, a 
 town of Corsica, on the 15th of Au- 
 gust, 1769. The name had formerly 
 been written Buonaparte, but during 
 his first campaign in Italy, he dropped 
 the " u." In this change he had no 
 other motives than to assimilate the orthography to 
 the pronunciation, and to abbreviate his signature 
 His father, Charles Marie Buonaparte, had, in the 
 year 1767, quitted the gown for the sword; and 
 under the standard of the celebrated General Paoli 
 (who was godfather to his son Joseph), had fought 
 bravely, though unsuccessfully, for the liberties of 
 his country. 
 
 While the struggle continued, Madame Buona- 
 parte, the wife of Carolo, was constantly flying 
 
 (7^ 
 
BIRTH OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 from town to town, and from village to village, to 
 avoid the French ; dreading nothing so much as 
 falling into their hands. After repeated changes 
 of place, she was, two months after the Corsicans 
 had given up the contest, delivered of her second 
 son, to whom the name of Napoleon was given, 
 after the saint, on K hose festival he was baptized. 
 The 16th of August; the day of his baptism, was 
 the f/svkal of St. Napoleon, a saint then peculiar 
 to Corsica. 
 
 Some writers, during his consulship, and upon 
 the eve of the re-establishment of Monarchy, were 
 willing to furnish him with a genealogy, and found 
 a relationship for him among the ancient kings of 
 the North. But the soldier, aware the success of 
 the revolution depended upon himself, and recollect- 
 ing that, under the reign of equality, he had risen 
 through the inferior grades, to a supreme rank in 
 the army solely by his own merit, replied, that his 
 nobility rested upon the services he had done his 
 country, and those he dated from the battle of 
 Montenotte. 
 
 The father of Napoleon had been educated at 
 Pisa and Rome. He was a man of learning and 
 ability, who displayed much zeal and energy in 
 several very important circumstances, particularly 
 during the debate at Corsica relative to the subjec- 
 tion of that island to the crown of France. Charles 
 Bonaparte appeared shortly afterwards at Versailles, 
 at the head of a deputation from his province, on 
 
NAPOLEON THE HEAD OF HIS FAMILY. 9 
 
 the occasion of the differences which had arisen, 
 between the two French generals who commanded 
 in Corsica, M.de Marbeuf and M.deNarbonnePelez. 
 
 The credit of the latter, so powerful at court, 
 was partly frustrated, by the frank and fearless evi- 
 dence of Charles Bonaparte, who faithfully leaning 
 to truth and justice, pleaded eloquently for M. de 
 Marbeuf. 
 
 This was the origin and sole cause of the pro- 
 tection which this gentleman afterwards afforded 
 the Bonaparte family. 
 
 Though Napoleon was but the second son of 
 Charles Bonaparte, he was always considered as 
 the chief of the family. His grand-uncle the Arch- 
 deacon Lucien, who had been the guide and support 
 of all his relations, gave him this title upon his death- 
 bed, and charged his elder brother Joseph not to 
 forget it; this, as Napoleon afterwards observed, 
 was " a true disinheritage, the scene of Jacob and 
 Esau." 
 
 He acquired this remarkable distinction, from his 
 grave and reflective character, and the right sense 
 of reason which he displayed at a very early age. 
 
 Placed in 1777, at the military school of Brienne, 
 he there applied himself wholly to the study of his- 
 tory, geography, and mathematics. He there had 
 Pichegru for a tutor, and M. de Bourrienne for his 
 comrade. He was totally absorbed in the mathe- 
 matics, and his taste for politics was, even then, 
 verv remarkable. Interested for the independence 
 
10 CHARACTER AT SCHOOL. 
 
 of his country, he showed a kind of worship for 
 Paoli, whom he defended with some energy against 
 the contrary opinion of his father. 
 
 It has been often asserted, though with little truth, 
 that while at college he was solitary and taciturn, 
 and without a friend. Neither is it more true what 
 M. de Bourrienne, a discarded favourite, has said 
 of him, that he was "rough in his manners and pos- 
 sessed of little amiability" It was his precocious 
 gravity, and his severe and brusque manner which 
 caused them to accuse him of misanthropy and se- 
 cretiveness of soul. Napoleon was on the contrary, 
 naturally mild and affectionate. It was not till he 
 arrived at maturity, that he manifested any change 
 in his character : so at least he says, speaking of 
 nimself, in his dictations at St. Helena. 
 
 We are told also, that his love of solitude, and 
 his preference, (as exclusive as precocious) for the 
 military art, caused him in some measure to confine 
 himself to his garden, and there fortify himself against 
 the intrusion of his fellow-students. One of his 
 schoolfellows has undertaken to disprove this story, 
 and relate the fact; it is the famous anecdote of the 
 fortress built of snow, and its siege and defence with 
 snow-balls. 
 
 " In the winter 1783-4," says he, " so memorable 
 by the quantity of snow which fell, and accumulated 
 upon the roads, Napoleon was prevented from work- 
 ing in his little garden ; which afforded him the only 
 amusement he then enjoyed. 
 
SNOW FORTRESS. 11 
 
 In his hours of relaxation, he was therefore forced 
 to mingle with his comrades, in their common pas- 
 times, that of promenading an immense hall. To 
 escape from this monotony, Napoleon bestirred the 
 whole school, and soon made them aware how much 
 better they could amuse themselves, if they would 
 get some shovels and open different passages through 
 the snow, build some towers, dig some trenches, 
 raise some platforms, &c. " When that is done," 
 said he, " we will divide ourselves into companies, 
 and commence an attack upon the fortress, and as 
 inventor of the game, I install myself as director 
 of the attacking party." 
 
 " The joyous troop received this project with en- 
 thusiasm ; it was speedily executed, and this minia- 
 ture warfare was continued for fifteen days, it was 
 then interdicted in consequence of their putting 
 gravel and small flints into their snow-balls, the 
 result was that several scholars, both the besiegers 
 and the besieged, were seriously hurt, I recall this 
 because I was one of the most ill-used by this unfair 
 play." (See Frontispiece.} 
 
 Thus to move the whole school, is some proof 
 that young Bonaparte, in spite of his habits of lonely 
 meditation, had acquired a certain influence over 
 the mass of students, and that he had not shown in 
 his relation with them the character of moroseness, 
 roughness, or spite, which is attributed to him, upon 
 the authority of prejudiced, or ill-informed biogra 
 phies. 
 
12 
 
 SENT TO PARIS. 
 
 Not only did he enjoy the estimation of his com- 
 rades, but he also possessed in a high degree, that 
 of his teachers ; many of whom have since pre- 
 tended to have predicted his future greatness. M. 
 de l'Eguille, his master of history, during Napoleon's 
 emperorship found in the archives of the military 
 school, a note in which he had many years back 
 appended the following words to his scholar's name, 
 "a Corsican by birth and character, he will do much 
 if circumstances favour him." 
 
 His professor of belles-lettres, in which he occupied 
 a distinguished rank among the rhetoricians, Do- 
 mairon, called his acquirements " flaming granites 
 poured from a volcano." 
 
 At the examination of 1785, he was selected by 
 the Chevalier de Keralio for the military school at 
 Paris. In vain the officer who filled the situation 
 of Inspector, complained that the young scholar 
 was not of the requisite age, and that he was only 
 studied in mathematics — " I know what I do," said 
 he, " if I here overstep the rule, it is not to favour 
 his family, I know nothing of this boy ; it is on his 
 own account, I perceive a spark of genius here that 
 cannot be too much cultivated." On entering this 
 new school, Napoleon was not long in expressing 
 his surprise and grief at the education which was 
 there given to young men destined for the camp 
 and the laborious profession of arms. It formed 
 the subject of a note which he addressed to the 
 principal, M. Berton, in which he represented " that 
 
IN SCHOOL AT PARIS. 13 
 
 the king's scholars being all poor gentlemen could 
 not afford the expensive charges of the establish- 
 ment." He proposed to curtail the number of 
 servants, and compel the students to groom their 
 own horses. " Since they are far from being rich,*' 
 said he, " and all destined for the military service, 
 ought they not to be taught this? Accustomed to a 
 sober life, they will become more robust, better able 
 to brave the inclemency of the seasons, support with 
 courage the fatigues of war, and inspire the soldiers 
 under them with respect and devotedness." 
 
 Thus Napoleon, yet a lad, threw into a school 
 address, the foundations of an institution that he 
 one day realized in his power of Emperor. Equally 
 distinguished at Paris as he had been at Brienne, 
 he left the military school in 1787, and passed as a 
 second lieutenant to the artillery regiment of La Fere 
 then in garrison at Grenoble. 
 
It 
 
 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF NAPOLEON'S MILITARY CAREER. 
 
 , HE French Revolution broke out ; all 
 the enlightened youth of France ap- 
 plauded it with transport. The upper 
 classes were infatuated with their titles 
 and privileges, and many of these were 
 to be found in the army, who did not 
 partake of the popular enthusiasm. 
 
 Napoleon strongly entertaining some presenti- 
 ments of his future destiny, followed the necessities 
 of the time, in ardently embracing the popular party. 
 But in this extreme patriotism, he still nourished in 
 his soul an instinctive aversion for any thing that 
 carried with it the shadow of anarchy, and joined 
 with indignation in the turbulent meetings of the 
 multitude to decry that power which one day de- 
 volved upon himself. On the 20th of June, 1792, 
 he became an eye-witness to the insurrection at 
 Paris. Standing upon one of the terraces at the 
 Tuillenes and seeing Louis XVI. crowned with the 
 cap of liberty by one of the mob, he cried, after a 
 short but energetic harangue : " How came thev to 
 
THE BONAPARTES QUIT CORSICA. 15 
 
 suffer this canaille to enter? they should ha\e blown 
 four or five hundred of them into the air, and the 
 rest would have taken to their heels." 
 
 This is to be considered as the violent outbreak 
 of a soldier indignant at the military, who by 
 promptitude might have prevented this coarse and 
 disgusting insult from befalling their sovereign. 
 Shortly afterwards, upon the 10th of August, the 
 Tuilleries was again occupied by the populace, and 
 the disgraceful scene of the 20th of June was again 
 reacted. Napoleon, a zealous partizan of the French 
 Revolution, but at the same time strongly regarding 
 the rules of order, and the considerations of legiti- 
 mate power, left Paris in disgust, and resided again 
 in Corsica. Paoli was at that time intriguing in 
 that island in favour of England. The young 
 French patriot deeply affected at such conduct, from 
 that moment tore from his affections, the idol of his 
 youth. He took a command in the national guards, 
 and continued, until death, his hatred for the old 
 man to whom, up to that time, he had shown so 
 much respect, sympathy, and admiration. 
 
 Corsica yielded to the English flag. Ajaccio was 
 laid in ashes, and the Bonaparte family after see- 
 ing their house pillaged, and converted into a bar- 
 rack for the English troops, took refuge in France, 
 and established themselves at Marseilles. Napoleon 
 did not stop long in that town, but hastened his 
 return to Paris, where the events succeeded with 
 
16 NAPOLEON AT TOULON. 
 
 such violence and rapidity, that each day and every 
 hour gave the signal for a new crisis. 
 
 The south of France had now hoisted the stand- 
 ard of rebellion, and Toulon had been treacherously 
 delivered to the English. The General Cartaux 
 was charged by the convention, to proceed and re- 
 establish the province under the laws of the repub- 
 lic, to secure its defeat, and to punish the traitors 
 and rebels. 
 
 As soon as victory had brought this General to 
 Marseilles, the siege of Toulon was ordered. Napo- 
 leon accompanied him there as the commander of 
 the artillery. It was about this time that he pub- 
 lished under the title of " Souper de BcauQuin" a 
 small composition of which the memorials of St. 
 Helena say nothing, but which M. de Bounienne 
 declares he received from Bonaparte himself on liiii 
 return from Toulon. 
 
GENERAL CARTAUX. 
 
 17 
 
 CHAPTER III, 
 
 SIEGE AND TAKING OF TOULON. 
 
 OOKING at the army encamped under 
 the walls of Toulon, Napoleon was not 
 long in perceiving the band of intrepid 
 volunteers within its ranks, but soon 
 discovered that however enthusiastic 
 its troops may have been, they boasted 
 not one chief worthy to be their commander. Gene- 
 ral Cartaux, who affected a display and magnificence 
 little compatible with republican principles, had yet 
 more ignorance than show. The conquest of Tou- 
 lon was a task much beyond the power of his forces, 
 but he was far from perceiving their disheartening 
 incapacity, on the contrary he gave himself credit 
 for possessing those powers of conception and exe 
 cution, which are particularly in request in any en- 
 terprise. It was this ridiculous confidence in him- 
 self that brought forth the famous plan, that pro- 
 voked his recall, and which was couched in these 
 terms : 
 
 " The General of artillery shall storm Toulon for 
 ♦hree davs, at the end of which, I will attack it 
 
18 INFLUENCE OF BONAPARTE. 
 
 under three columns, and carry it." Happily at the 
 side of this singular and laconic tactician, there 
 was found a subaltern officer, as much his superior 
 by his science and talents, as he was inferior to him 
 in rank. This was a young man twenty-four years 
 of age. Although both simple and modest, he could 
 not conceal the contempt that he felt for the most 
 part of the men that the government and discipline 
 made it a duty for him to regard as his superiors, 
 and whose folly might become so fatal to the re- 
 public. This honourable contempt and the con- 
 sciousness of his superiority above all those who 
 surrounded him, encouraged him to control his 
 chiefs themselves, most of whom permitted him to 
 execute those measures he thought advantageous, 
 without contradiction. During one of his daily 
 quarrels with Cartaux, he once heard the wife of the 
 general-in-chief say to her husband, "Let the young 
 man alone, he knows more about it than you, and 
 as you are the responsible person, the glory he 
 achieves, will still be yours." 
 
 From his arrival at the camp, Napoleon with that 
 prompt and sure foresight, which so invariably ac- 
 companied his talents upon the field of battle, had 
 perceived that for the recapture of Toulon, it was 
 necessary to bring the aid of the boats to the at- 
 tack, " and," said he, pointing to a spot upon the 
 map, " here lies Toulon : two days after the French 
 troops shall have gained possession of this fort, the 
 town itself will belong to the Republic." But a long 
 
BONAPARTE RECONQUERS TOULON. 19 
 
 interval of delay succeeded before his advice was 
 followed. The commander alone was endowed 
 with a military genius, and this support from an 
 enlightened officer, could not overcome the stupid 
 infatuation of the general-in-chief. However there 
 was among the representatives of the people, a man 
 gifted with sufficient penetration and perspicuity to 
 divine and foresee the great captain under the sim- 
 ple garb of a commander of artillery. Napoleon 
 was entrusted with sufficient power to secure the 
 success of his plans ; Cartaux was recalled, the 
 foreigner driven from Toulon, and the conqueror 
 some time afterwards, in recalling the first triumph, 
 for which he was in fact indebted to the confidence 
 of the member of the Convention, said with grati- 
 tude " that it was Gasparin who had opened his 
 career." 
 
 The conquest of Toulon due to young Bonaparte, 
 was gained without having recourse to any of those 
 tricks or expedients which at that time characterized 
 the operations of most of the military chiefs, with 
 the sanction of the commissioners of the Convention. 
 
 The events of the 9th Thermidor, for a time ar- 
 rested Napoleon in the career which he had com- 
 menced with so much glory and success. Either 
 his connection with young Robespierre had made 
 him suspected, or his increasing glory had induced 
 his enemies to seize this pretext for effecting his 
 destruction ; be it as it might, he was placed under 
 arrest, by order of Albitte, Laporte, and Sallicetti, 
 
20 
 
 NINTH THERMIDOR. 
 
 for having made a journey to Genoa, the object of 
 which was unknown to the colleagues. Declared 
 unworthy of the confidence of the army, and dis- 
 missed by the committee of public safety, General 
 Bonaparte did not quietly put up with that dismissal 
 and accusation. He addressed a letter immediately 
 to the representatives who had arrested him, in 
 which we already discover the haughty, concise, 
 and energetic style that is so frequently and easily 
 recognized in all his subsequent conversations and 
 writings. 
 
 This protest, noble and elevated in its simplicity, 
 led the representatives to reflect that they had to do 
 with a man of high capacity, and that it would be, 
 therefore, hopeless to attempt to curb him by arbi- 
 trary persecution, without exposing themselves to a 
 protracted and vigorous resistance. Considering 
 then the exigencies of the moment, and warned by 
 the suggestions of prudence, Albitte and Sallicetti, 
 together with General Dumerbion, revoked provi- 
 sionally their arrest, and pronounced the liberation 
 of General Bonaparte, " whose military and local 
 knowledge," they said, " may be of use to the re- 
 public." 
 
 Meanwhile, the thermidorian reaction having 
 delivered the direction of the military committee 
 to a captain of artillery, named Aubry, Napoleon 
 was suspended from his command, and appointed 
 General of infantry, to serve in La Vendee. In- 
 dignant at a change so injurious, and little disposed 
 
ALTERCATION WITH AUBRY. Z 
 
 to devote the talent he was conscious of possessing 
 in so unworthy a service, he hastened, on arriving 
 in Paris, to tender his resignation to the military 
 committee, where he failed not to express himself 
 with much warmth and vehemence. Aubry was 
 inflexible ; he told Napoleon that he was young, and 
 that he must make way for his seniors, to which 
 Napoleon responded, that one soon became old on 
 the field of battle, and that he was no longer 
 young. The president of the committee had never 
 seen fire. 
 
 But this repartee was more calculated to ruffle 
 the choler of Aubry, than to persuade him. He 
 was inflexible in his determination, and the young 
 officer, no less obstinate, preferred remaining des- 
 titute to giving way to injustice. 
 
 t 
 
22 
 
 BONAPARTE SET ASIDE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FIRST MARRIAGE OF BONAPARTE 
 
 T is curious to observe the future dic- 
 tator of Europe arrested in his career, 
 rendered destitute, and struck out of 
 the list of French generals on active 
 service, by a measure signed by Mer- 
 lin de Douai, Berlier, Boissy-d'Anglas, 
 and Cambaceres, men who one day vied with each 
 other in their zeal to obtain a smile or a gesture 
 of approbation from the young officer whom they 
 now treated with so little consideration and regard. 
 But he found among the actors of the Thermidor 
 a man who wished not to let those military talents 
 that Bonaparte evinced at Toulon lie idle. This 
 was Pontecoulant, Aubry's successor, who without 
 risking the reproaches of the ruling faction, em- 
 ployed Napoleon in laying down plans for others to 
 carry into execution. 
 
 This obscure position, which accorded so ill with 
 the character of a warrior, to whom glory and ex- 
 citement were the necessaries of existence, was, 
 
PROPOSAL OF BONAPARTE. 23 
 
 however, very soon considered too advantageous 
 and too honourable for the young officer whom it 
 had been attempted to ruin. Letourneur de la 
 Manche, who succeeded Pontecoulant in the presi- 
 dency of the military committee, imbibed the old 
 rancour of Aubry, and Napoleon lost all employ 
 ment. 
 
 It was then that, despairing of overcoming the 
 jealousies, the prepossessions, and the powerful 
 hatred of which he was the object, and no less un- 
 willing to throw up those capacities for military and 
 political action, of which he felt himself possessed ; 
 for a moment he turned his eyes from Europe to 
 cast them towards the East. He felt that he was 
 formed for empire. Nature had endowed him with 
 a mind for conceiving and accomplishing it ; and 
 if refused by France, the East still held out hopes. 
 
 Filled with this thought, he indited a note, point- 
 ing out to the French Government that it was to 
 the interest of the republic to increase the means 
 of defence of the Porte, against the ambitious views 
 of the rest of Europe. u General Bonaparte," said 
 he, " who since his youth has served in the artillery 
 who commanded it at Toulon, and during two cam- 
 paigns of the army of Italy, offers to depart for 
 Turkey on a mission from the Government. He 
 will be useful to France in this new career ; if he 
 can render the Turks more formidable, repair the 
 defences of their principal fortresses, and build oth- 
 ers, he will have done good service to his country " 
 
24 AFFAIRS IN PARIS. 
 
 " If a commissioner at war," says M. de Bour- 
 rienne, "had signed, granted, at the bottom of this 
 note, that word might have changed the face of all 
 Europe." But the word was not written. Internal 
 politics and party struggles, prevented the Govern- 
 ment from giving attention to military plans of 
 which the result was as uncertain as the field was 
 distant ; and Napoleon continued to live idly in 
 Paris. The Revolution did not let him wait long. 
 The Royalists, aroused and emboldened by the dis- 
 union prevalent, incited the people to revolt against 
 the convention. The insurgents were at first suc- 
 cessful. General Menou, suspected of treason, and 
 certainly guilty of indecision and incapacity, facili- 
 tated the victory of the sectionaries, whom he had 
 been charged to disperse and reduce to submission ; 
 and he, with the Representatives accompanying 
 him, seeing the determined front of the rebels, were 
 glad to make a hasty retreat. The leaders of the 
 convention, who had compromised themselve*s too 
 much with the Royalists, recollected, when too late, 
 that they had proscribed, disarmed, and imprisoned 
 a crowd of ardent patriots, who might, in the pre- 
 sent perilous conjuncture, have become intrepid 
 auxiliaries. 
 
 The persecuted republicans heard the appeal of 
 their persecutors, and fled to arms to save them- 
 selves from the common danger. But another 
 General was required for that untutored army, after 
 the check and humiliation of Menou ; and Barras, 
 
BONAPARTE ASSISTS THE CONVENTION. 
 
 9^ 
 
 intended for its chief, could exercise little more than 
 a nominal command. He had the good sense to 
 perceive this, and provided himself with an adjutant, 
 who was better acquainted with the art of war. He 
 proposed General Bonaparte, and the Convention 
 confirmed his choice by a decree which Napoleon 
 heard from the public tribunals, to which he often 
 resorted, the better to observe the conduct of the 
 assembly, which held the destinies of the Republic 
 in its hands. 
 
 According to the Memorial de Sainte-Helene, Na- 
 poleon deliberated with himself nearly half an hour, 
 whether he should accept or refuse the important 
 situation to which he was called. He did not wish 
 to fight against Vendee, neither could he decide 
 without hesitation, to take up arms against the Pa- 
 risians. " Should the Convention be defeated," he 
 inwardly reflected, " what will result from our great 
 Revolution ? The numerous victories bought with 
 so much blood, would become shameful instead of 
 glorious deeds ; and the enemy we have so often 
 conquered, will triumph and overwhelm us with 
 contempt. The defeat of the Convention will crown 
 the enemy with glory, and at once seal the shame 
 and slavery of the country." These sentiments, 
 the enthusiasm of youth, being but twenty-five 
 years of age, his destiny, and his confidence in his 
 own powers, prevailed. He decided upon accepting 
 the post, and presented himself to the Committee. 
 
 This resolution was fatal to the insurgents, for 
 
26 NAPOLEON GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 Napoleon conducted his measures so well, that after 
 a few hours' fighting, the Parisian army was driven 
 from all its positions, and the revolt completely 
 quelled. 
 
 The Convention recompensed its deliverer by ap- 
 pointing him General-in-Chief of the Army of the 
 Interior. From this day Napoleon foresaw that he 
 would soon have the military strength of France at 
 his disposal ; in fact, his taking the supreme com- 
 mand of the capital, was the first step to the throne. 
 
 The influence of the insurrectional movement of 
 ihe Vendemiaire, and the almost universal recrimi- 
 nations which arose from men of all parties, 
 against the Convention, caused them to order a 
 general disarming of the sections. While this was 
 going forward, a lad about ten or twelve years of 
 age, came and entreated the General-in-chief to re- 
 store to him the sword of his father, who had com- 
 manded the republican armies. It was Eugene de 
 Beauharnais. Napoleon granted his request, and 
 treated him with much kindness. The youth wept 
 feelingly, and related to his mother the kindness of 
 the general ; gratitude prompted her to thank him 
 in person. Madame Beauharnais, who was still 
 young, did not seek in this visit to conceal the grace 
 and attraction for which she was so remarkable in 
 the most brilliant societies of the capital. Napo- 
 leon was too much charmed with her, not to profit 
 by the advantages which chance had thrown in his 
 way. He spent all his evenings with Josephine, 
 
HE MARRIES JOSEPHINE. 27 
 
 while some wrecks of the ancient aristocracy, which 
 he there met with, were not displeased with the little 
 " mitrailleur." When most of the company had 
 retired, a few intimate friends remained, such as 
 M. de Montesquieu, and the Duke of Nivernais, to 
 converse privately of the old court, and of a tour 
 to Versailles. 
 
 It was not a mere acquaintance, nor the attach- 
 ment of a day, that Napoleon had formed for Ma- 
 dame Beauharnais. Love the most ardent had 
 taken possession of his soul, and his marriage with 
 her took place on the 9th of March, 1796. A ne- 
 gress had foretold Josephine that she would be a 
 queen. This was a circumstance she was fond of 
 relating without appearing too credulous. Her 
 union with Bonaparte was a first step towards the 
 fulfilment of the prophecy. 
 
28 BONAPARTE 3 PLAN, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY© 
 
 CHERER, the General-in-chief of the 
 Army of Italy, had compromised the 
 arms and honour of the Republic by 
 his military incapacity ; by his mis- 
 management, he had suffered his own 
 horses to perish for want of subsist- 
 ence, and the army to become destitute of every 
 necessary ; in consequence of which, they could no 
 longer maintain their position on the coast of Genoa. 
 The Directory were unable to supply them with 
 money or food, and to put an end to their distress, 
 sent them a new General ; happily for the soldiers 
 this was Bonaparte, whose genius speedily supplied 
 the place of everything. 
 
 Bonaparte quitted Paris on the 21st of March, 
 1796, leaving the command of the Army of the In- 
 terior to an old general named Hatri. He had al- 
 ready formed his plan for the campaign, and resolved 
 to penetrate into Italy by the valley which separates 
 the Peaks of the Alps and the Apennines, and by a 
 disunion of the Austro-Sardinian army, compel the 
 
HIS SUCCESSES IN ITALY. 29 
 
 Imperial forces to cover Milan, and the Piedmontese 
 to protect their capital. He arrived at Nice by *he 
 end of March ; the head-quarters, which had been 
 in this town since the commencement of the cam- 
 paign, were fixed at Albenga. 
 
 The enemy's army was commanded by Beaulieu, 
 a distinguished officer, who had acquired some repu- 
 tation in the campaigns of the North ; learning that 
 the French army, which until now, had with diffi- 
 culty defended itself, had suddenly changed its plan 
 to the offensive, and was boldly preparing to force 
 the gates of Italy,, he hastened to quit Milan, and fly 
 to the assistance of Genoa. Posted at Novi, where 
 he had established his head-quarters, he divided his 
 army into three bodies, and published a manifesto, 
 which the French General sent to the Directory, 
 saying he would reply to it "the day after the battle." 
 
 This battle took place on the 11th, at Monte- 
 notte; signalizing at one blow the brilliant com- 
 mencement of the campaign ; it procured for the 
 Republican General his first victory, and that from 
 which he dated the origin of his nobility. 
 
 The result of those brilliant days in which the 
 names of Joubert, Massena and Augereau, were, 
 for the first time, gloriously revealed to France, was 
 the cutting off the van-guard of the enemy, com- 
 manded by Provera, and making him lay down his 
 arms ; to prepare the disjunction of the Austrians 
 and the Piedmontese, and to open to the Republican 
 troops the road to Milan and Turin. 
 
30 SARDINIA SUBJECTED. 
 
 On the 22d, a fresh victory was gained. The 
 Tanaro was passed — the redoubt of Bicoque car- 
 ried, Mondovi and its magazines in the power of 
 the Republican army ; on the 25th, Cherasco was 
 taken, it had several pieces of cannon, and the place 
 was speedily fortified. An armistice was signed 
 there on the 28th. 
 
 The king of Sardinia bestirred himself and opened 
 active negotiations. He despatched the Count de 
 Revel to Paris with instructions to procure the rati- 
 fication of the peace. Napoleon on his side had 
 already sent Murat, chief of a squadron of horse, 
 to the capita], charged with a report of the victories 
 which had signalized the opening of the campaign : 
 "You can," he wrote to the Directory, "make peace 
 on your own terms with the king of Sardinia ; if 
 you intend dethroning him, you must delay about 
 ten days, letting me know, when I will take imme- 
 diate possession of Valencia and march upon Turin. 
 
 " I shall send twelve thousand men to Rome, as 
 soon as I have beaten Beaulieu." 
 
 The representatives of the nation received this; 
 message, decreeing for the fifth time in six days 
 that the army of Italy deserved well of the country. 
 The peace with the king of Sardinia soon added to 
 the public joy. It was signed on the 15th of May, 
 most advantageously for France. 
 
 Bonaparte, having now but the Imperial forces 
 to contend with, determined to move at once for the 
 Adige, with that daring celerity which had, in n few 
 
NAPOLEON ENTERS MILAN. 31 
 
 days, rendered him master of the finest provinces 
 of the Sardinian monarchy; and set out after hav- 
 ing written to the Directory: — "I march to-morrow 
 against Beaulieu; I shall compel him to repass the 
 Po; and crossing immediately after, shall take pos- 
 session of all Lombardy; in less than a month 1 
 hope to be in the Tyrol, to meet with the army of 
 the Rhine, and in concert with it, carry the war 
 into Bavaria." 
 
 The 10th of May the fresh victory from which 
 Bonaparte expected the possession of Italy was 
 added to the page of history, rendering famous the 
 name of Lodi, of which the republicans took pos- 
 session. 
 
 This battle was the prelude to the conquest of 
 Lombardy. In a few days Pizzighitone, Cremona, 
 and all the principal towns of the Milanese^ fell into 
 the hands of the French army. 
 
 Bonaparte made his triumphal entry into Milan 
 on the 15th of May, whilst the peace was being 
 signed at Paris, which he had himself imposed on 
 Sardinia, at Montenotte, at Dego, at Millesimo, and 
 at Mondovia. 
 
32 
 
 FURTHER VICTORIES. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONCLTSION OF FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 
 PARTE SAILS FOR EGYPT. 
 
 BONA- 
 
 ROM the moment the victory of Lodi 
 was gained, Napoleon's army became 
 invincible. Beaulieu effected his re- 
 treat, abandoning behind him Cremo- 
 na, Milan, Pavia, Como, and Cassano, 
 — into which places the French entered. 
 Bonaparte received the submission of the town of 
 Genoa, and that of Hercules d'Este, duke of Mo- 
 dena. That prince paid to the French a large con- 
 tribution in money, and retired to Venice. General 
 Vaubois took possession of Leghorn, where six hun- 
 dred Corsicans had taken refuge. These Bonaparte 
 sent back to their island, to get up an insurrection 
 against the English; who were, in consequence, 
 expelled thence. The conqueror imposed on the 
 pope, as the conditions of peace, a payment of 
 twenty-one millions, and one hundred masterpieces 
 from his museums. The king of Naples was taxed 
 at six millions. Bonaparte then marched upon 
 Vienna ; and the army of the Sambre and Meuse, 
 
JOURDAN AND MOREAU. 33 
 
 under Jourdan, and that of the Rhine, under Moreau, 
 moved in the same direction. The archduke Charles, 
 the emperor's brother, was commander-in-chief of 
 the Austrian army ; and Moreau began by gaining 
 from him four consecutive victories. He was, then, 
 about to join his forces with those of Jourdan, when, 
 inspired by the danger in which he saw himself 
 placed, the archduke detached thirty thousand men, 
 whom he sent against the advanced guard of Jour- 
 dan, overthrew it, cut off the communication be- 
 tween the two armies, and crushed that of the Sam- 
 bre and Meuse, compelling it to fall back, in the 
 greatest disorder, on the point from whence it had 
 set out. He then directed his entire forces against 
 Moreau; who, master of Ulm and encamped at the 
 gates of Munich, covered an immense ground, and 
 reckoned on the army of Jourdan to maintain him- 
 self there. Deprived of this succour, he commanded, 
 and executed, an admirable retreat, traversing more 
 than one hundred leagues of country, in presence 
 of a formidable enemy, and in the midst of a hostile 
 population, — and re-entered Friburg, without having 
 suffered his line of march to be once broken. 
 
 Bonaparte, however, continued to triumph over 
 all obstacles, and approached Mantua. He block- 
 aded that place, and entered the territory of the 
 city of Venice, which was ruined by its neutrality. 
 Old Wurmser raised the blockade of Mantua; Bo- 
 naparte triumphed in the celebrated battles of Cas- 
 tiglione and Lonato; but a skilful march brought 
 
 c 
 
34 DESIGNS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Wurmser with thirty thousand men into Mantua. 
 Bonaparte turned the place, blockaded it anew, and 
 gained the brilliant victory of Areola, where he per- 
 formed prodigies of valour, and exposed himself to 
 great dangers. It was in this battle, that Napoleon, 
 perceiving the grenadiers hesitate for a moment 
 under the terrible fire of the enemy, which occupied 
 some formidable positions, sprung to the ground, 
 seized a flag and rushed upon the bridge of Areola, 
 exclaiming: "Soldiers! are you no longer the brave 
 warriors of Lodi? — follow me !" Augereau did the 
 same. These heroic examples did not fail to in 
 fluence the result of the battle. Alvinzi lost thirty 
 pieces of cannon, five thousand prisoners, and six 
 thousand slain ; Davidowich regained the Tyrol, 
 and Wurmser re-entered Mantua. 
 
 The victory of Rivoli, (1797,) in which Joubert 
 had a great share, followed closely upon that of 
 Areola ; and the pope, who had at length taken up 
 arms at the instigation of Austria, was compelled 
 to give in his submission. Wurmser, pressed by 
 famine in Mantua, determined upon capitulating, 
 and all Europe rang with the name of the conqueror. 
 From that moment Bonaparte foresaw the great 
 destiny that awaited him, and neglected no means 
 of fortune or fame. In the intervals of his battles, 
 he conversed with savans and poets, extolled the 
 republic, and in all things gave evidence of the fu- 
 ture ruler. Affable with his lieutenants and soldiers, 
 to the directors he exhibited a haughty reserve, and 
 
ARMISTICE WITH AUSTRIA. 35 
 
 had, at the same time, the art to make his presence 
 at the head of his triumphal army appear to them 
 indispensable. He availed himself of -the popular 
 sympathies against governments ; and transformed 
 Lombardy into a Cisalpine republic, of which Milan 
 became the capital. Numerous reinforcements hav- 
 ing readied him from France, he marched again 
 upon Vienna, having prince Charles in his front. 
 Massena commanded the advanced guard, and im- 
 mortalized himself by his victories at Tagliamento 
 and elsewhere. Carinthia and Styria were rapidly 
 subdued; terror reigned at Vienna; and Bonaparte 
 awaited the movements of the other armies to pene- 
 trate further. Hoche commanded that of the Sam- 
 bre and Meuse ; and Moreau retained that of the 
 Rhine. Their progress was slow ; and Joubert, 
 whom Bonaparte had left behind, with three divisions 
 for the defence of the Tyrol, was beaten by prince 
 Charles, and compelled to retreat. Informed of this 
 reverse, Bonaparte sent to Vienna to treat for peace; 
 and an armistice was concluded at Lcoben. The 
 French general ceded to Austria Mantua and a por 
 tion of Venetian Lombardy which he had conquered, 
 in exchange for the Cisalpine republic which he had 
 founded. The Directory rejected these prelimina- 
 ries ; and Bonaparte suggested Venice to Austria, 
 as an indemnity for Mantua. The fate of thai 
 republic was, accordingly decided. The French 
 emissaries, everywhere, excited the people against 
 the senate ; but at Verona, a city dependent on Ve- 
 
36 TREATY OF CAMPO FORMIO. 
 
 nice, the French garrison was slaughtered in a popu 
 lar revolt. Bonaparte, who sought but a pretext to 
 justify an act of spoliation, inveighed furiously against 
 the Venetian republic, and demanded vengeance for 
 the massacre of Verona. Nothing could appease 
 him ; and general Baraguay d'Hilliers marched 
 against Venice. Alarmed at his approach, the se- 
 nate voted a constitution, in the hope of conciliating 
 France, and then dissolved itself. The French en- 
 tered the city; and, by the definitive treaty of Campo 
 Formio, delivered it to Austria, in exchange for the 
 Beloric and Lombard states. Mantua was added to 
 the Cisalpine republic ; as were also the Bolognese 
 and Romagna. The congress of Radstadt was 
 opened, at the same time, to treat of peace with 
 the empire. The release of general La Fayette 
 and his three companions in misfortune was one 
 of the articles of the glorious treaty of Campo 
 Formio. All the combined powers, with the excep- 
 tion of England, had laid down their arms; and 
 France had extended her system in Europe, — a 
 great portion of her frontiers, from the North Sea 
 to the gulf of Genoa, being covered by republican 
 states. 
 
 Previously, however, to the signature of this ad- 
 vantageous treaty, the inevitable disagreement be- 
 tween the electoral and executive powers had broken 
 violently out, at the close of the elections for the 
 year 5. Of these elections the greater part had 
 been made under the influence of the reactionary 
 
DISSENSIONS IN PARIS. 37 
 
 party. Picbegru was enthusiastically chosen to the 
 presidency of the council of cinq-cents, and Barbe- 
 Marbois to that of the ancieiis. Le Tourneur had 
 been designated by lot as the retiring member of 
 the Directory for this year; and he was replaced by 
 Barthelemy, ambassador to Switzerland. Scarcely 
 were the councils constituted, ere they entered into 
 conflict with the government. Letters of amnesty, 
 in favour of the proscribed, were precipitately voted. 
 Camille Jordan, the deputy for Lyons, a man of 
 great eloquence and courage, appeared as an ardent 
 panegyrist of the clergy, and demanded the abolition 
 of the civic oath, — which, however, was retained, 
 in spite of his endeavours. The priests and emi- 
 grants returned in crowds ; all the interests born 
 of th? revolution were compromised, and the direc- 
 tors saw themselves powerless for their defence. 
 The constitution not having invested them with the 
 wholesome right of appealing to public opinion, by 
 dissolving the councils, they determined upon break- 
 ing them up by forcible means. The constitution- 
 alists of 1791 made common cause with them; and 
 opposed the republican club of Salm to the club of 
 Clichy, founded by the royalists. The first of these 
 was supported by the army, and the second by the 
 councils. The directors caused several regiments 
 to approach the capital, in contempt of the constitu- 
 tion, which forbade the calling of troops into Paris, 
 or within twelve leagues thereof, without an eApress 
 law to that effect. The councils broke out into 
 
38 EIGHTEENTH FRUCTIDOR. 
 
 furious menaces ; and, in reply, the Directory pro 
 duced threatening addresses from each of the armies 
 to the councils. The struggle increased in violence ; 
 and vainly did Carnot and Barthelemy endeavour 
 to act as pacificators. The majority of the Direc- 
 tory, composed of Barras, Rewbel, and La Reveil- 
 lere, were convinced that their own cause, and that 
 of the revolution, could no longer be maintained by 
 legal means; — they were menaced with a violent 
 and illegal attack, and determined to anticipate 
 their enemies. The 18th Fructidor was fixed as 
 the day on which the blow should be struck. Dur- 
 ing the night, twelve hundred men entered Paris, 
 under the command of Augereau ; and by the first 
 dawn of morning, these troops, with forty pieces 
 of cannon, had surrounded the Tuileries. The 
 grenadiers of the legislative guard joined Augereau; 
 who, with his own hand, arrested generals Pichegru 
 and Willot, and the commandant Ramel, in the hall 
 of session. A great number of members of the 
 councils were turned back, or seized by the armed 
 force, as they were entering the Tuileries. The 
 directors appointed the Odeon and the Ecole de 
 Medecine, as the new places of meeting for the 
 councils. They published, at the same time, a let- 
 ter from Moreau, which disclosed the treason of 
 Pichegru ; and, after having given an account of 
 their own conduct, caused a commission to be ap- 
 pointed, for the purpose of preparing a law of public 
 safety. By that law, forty-two members of the coun- 
 
SEVERITIES OF THE DIRECTORY. 39 
 
 cil of Five Hundred, eleven members of that of the 
 anciens, and two directors, Carnot and Barthelemy, 
 were condemned to be transported to Cayenne. 
 Amongst those against whom this violent measure 
 was directed were Pichegru, Boissy-d'Anglas, Ca- 
 mille Jordan, Pastoret, Simeon, Barbe-Marbois, 
 Lafon-Ladebat, Portalis, and Troncon du Coudray. 
 The directors carried their severities still further, 
 and sacrificed to their resentment the authors of 
 thirty-five journals. They caused the laws in favour 
 of priests and emigrants to be repealed ; and an- 
 nulled the elections for forty-eight departments. 
 The day of the 1 8th Fructidor ruined the royalist 
 party, revived that of the republicans, taught the 
 army the dangerous secret of its strength in the 
 government of the state, and substituted a dictator- 
 ship for the authority of the law. Carnot and Bar- 
 thelemy were replaced by Merlin de Douai, and 
 Francois de Neufchateau. The treaty of Campo 
 Formio, which followed this revolution, had been 
 signed by Bonaparte against the expressed will of 
 the directors ; and they could not see, without 
 alarm, a young general, lifted to the highest rank 
 by a single campaign, deciding arbitrarily on the 
 question of war or peace. Public opinion, however, 
 exalted his triumphs ; and the directors, not daring 
 to disavow him, endeavoured to assume the appear- 
 ance of associating themselves with his glory, by 
 granting such honours to him in Paris as had never 
 before been paid to any general. The Directorial 
 
40 NAPOLEON SAILS FOR EGYPT. 
 
 government, in which Treilhard soon succeeded to 
 Francois de Neufchateau, had now attained the 
 highest degree of power. That power reposed en- 
 tirely upon the army ; and this false and dangerous 
 position imposed on the Directors the- necessity of 
 keeping the troops beneath their colours, and con- 
 tinuing the war. Barras, in haranguing Bonaparte, 
 had pointed out to him England, as a new conquest 
 for his arms; and a plan of descent upon that coast 
 had been in contemplation. This, however, was 
 speedily abandoned ; and an invasion of Egypt de- 
 termined upon, in defiance of the neutrality observed 
 by the Ottoman Porte. Bonaparte had the command 
 of this adventurous expedition ; and the Directory 
 felt reassured at the absence of the man whom it 
 dreaded most, — whilst the course in question was 
 equally agreeable to the youthful conqueror of Italy, 
 by affording a favourable opportunity of extending 
 his renown, and adding to the vast estimate of his 
 talents which France had already conceived. He 
 departed from Toulon, with a fleet of four hundred 
 sail, accompanied by a body of celebrated savaiis, 
 and a portion of the army of Italy. On his way 
 he took possession of the island of Malta, and then 
 made sail for the coast of Egypt. (1798.) 
 
ANECDOTES. 41 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 
 
 The Battle of LodL 
 
 | HE bridge of Lodi gives name to an 
 action that took place there between 
 the French and the Austrians, in 1797, 
 and which decided the fate of the 
 Italian campaign. 
 It was an object with Bonaparte, to 
 force the bridge of Lodi, which crosses the Adda 
 at a place where the river is about two hundred 
 yards broad, and the breadth of the bridge is about 
 ten. A battery of cannon commanded the whole 
 length of it by a raking fire, while other batteries, 
 above and below, threatened destruction to any 
 force that should attempt to cross. 
 
 Without losing a moment, though it was late in 
 the evening when he arrived at Lodi, Napoleon or- 
 dered the passage to be attempted; and a column 
 of the French, headed by their principal general 
 officers, persevering under a deadly fire, this most 
 singular instance of military enthusiasm and daring 
 was crowned with complete success. 
 
42 ANECDOTES OF THE 
 
 Napoleon's presence of mind at the Bridge of Lodi, 
 
 At this memorable passage, it was not less the 
 celerity and promptitude of movement, than in- 
 vincible heroism, that carried the day. The fire 
 of the enemy, who defended the passage with thirty 
 pieces of cannon, was terrible; the head of the 
 charging column of the French appeared to give 
 way ; " a moment of hesitation," says Bonaparte, 
 in his official despatch on the occasion, "would 
 have lost all. Generals Berthier, Massena, Cervoni, 
 D'Allemagne, the chief of brigade, Lannes, and the 
 chief of battalion, Dupat, dashed forwards at its 
 head, and determined the fate of the day, still 
 wavering in the balance." Bonaparte does not 
 include his own name in the list of this heroic band, 
 though well known to have been one of the foremost 
 in the charge ; the modesty which dictated this con- 
 cealment, even his revilers must admire. " This 
 redoubtable column," he continues, "overturned all 
 opposed to it ; Beaulieu's order of battle was broken ; 
 astonishment, flight, and death, were spread on all 
 sides. In the twinkling of an eye, the enemy's 
 army was scattered in confusion." 
 
 "Although," he continues, "since the commence- 
 ment of the campaign we have had some very warm 
 affairs, and although the army has often been under 
 the necessity of acting with great audacity, nothing 
 has occurred which can be compared to the terrible 
 passage of the Bridge of Lodi. 
 
THE BRIDGE OJ ARCOLA. 
 
 > 
 
FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 43 
 
 " Our loss has been small : and this we owe to 
 the promptitude of the execution, and to the sudden 
 effect which the charge of this intrepid column 
 produced on the enemy." 
 
 The Bridge of Areola. 
 
 The passage of the bridge of Areola may be 
 esteemed the height of boldness. Thousands of 
 men and musketry served to defend the approach 
 to this particular spot, which was completely fenced 
 by cannon in every direction ; thrice had General 
 Bonaparte commanded the charge in person, and 
 thrice had his followers, disdaining to retreat, fallen 
 sacrifices to their temerity; the death-dealing bul- 
 lets continued their destructive career, levelling all 
 those who dared to encounter their vengeful flight. 
 Napoleon, at length growing indignant, gave utter- 
 ance to an exclamation of fury, and instantly tearing 
 one of the standards from the grasp of an ensign, 
 sprang upon this bridge, the scene of carnage and 
 slaughter ; when, planting the flag in defiance of 
 destiny itself, which seemed to oppose him, he thus 
 addressed his soldiers — 
 
 "Frenchmen! Grenadiers! will you, then, aban- 
 don your colours ! " 
 
 This appeal seemed to convey a reproach ill- 
 adapted to the spirit of such courageous men ; 
 wherefore, before the General was enabled to re- 
 peat them, all thought of danger had vanished, 
 
44 ANECDOTES OF THE 
 
 death was faced in every direction, the bridge of 
 Areola was forced, and victory once more crowned 
 the republican standard. 
 
 The Pioneer, 
 
 In delivering his orders, the General, with that 
 presence of mind which is uniformly the precursor 
 of victory, presented himself in person at every point 
 where danger appeared to threaten the most, and 
 thus exposed himself like the common soldier. 
 
 Upon one of these occasions a pioneer, perceiving 
 the imminent risk Napoleon ran, thus addressed him 
 in the unsophisticated language of a camp — "Stand 
 aside!" — General Bonaparte, fixing his eyes upon 
 him, hesitated, when the veteran, rudely pushing 
 him, addressed Napoleon in these words, which 
 were expressive of the greatest compliment that 
 could possibly be paid to his talents as a military 
 commander: 
 
 " If thou art killed, who is to rescue us from this 
 jeopardy ? " 
 
 Bonaparte instantly appreciated the sterling value 
 of this exclamation, and consequently remained 
 silent; but, after the termination of the conflict, 
 which proved favourable to the republican flag, he 
 ordered this independent pioneer to be brought into 
 his presence, when, familiarly tapping him upon the 
 shoulder, he thus addressed him : 
 
 " Thy noble boldness claims my esteem ; thy 
 
FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 45 
 
 bravery demands a recompense; from this hour, 
 instead of the hatchet, an epaulette shall grace thy 
 shoulder." 
 
 He was, of course, immediately raised to the 
 rank of an officer. 
 
 Milan. 
 
 On the evening of the day previous to the taking 
 of the city of Milan, General Bonaparte, being then 
 commander-in-chief of the army of Italy, was en- 
 gaged to dine at the mansion of a lady of conse- 
 quence. This personage, considering the distin- 
 guished rank, and above all, the illustrious name 
 of her guest, conducted the honours of her table 
 with the greatest attention and politeness. Napo- 
 leon, however, being fully occupied with the mo- 
 mentous events that were to characterize the suc- 
 ceeding day, replied with coldness and brevity to 
 the repeated marks of deference which the hostess 
 pointedly expressed towards him; who, at length, 
 in order to give animation to the company, requested 
 to know Bonaparte's age, adding, by way of pallia- 
 tion of the apparent rudeness of the inquiiy: 
 
 "That he appeared by far too young to have 
 already gained so many laurels ! " 
 
 "Truly, madam," answered the General with a 
 smile, "I am not indeed very old at the present 
 moment; but in less than twenty-four hours I shall 
 
46 ANECDOTES OF THE 
 
 count much more, for to-day I have to number 
 twenty-five years, whereas to-morrow I shall have 
 attained Mil-an" (mille-ans), a thousand years. 
 
 The Sleeping Sentinel. 
 
 The army of Italy, under General Bonaparte, 
 having been engaged against the Austrians during 
 a whole day, at length terminated the battle, by 
 gaining a complete victory, at the very moment 
 when the declining sun threw a parting gleam upon 
 the western horizon. During the period of this 
 conflict, and the two foregoing days, the troops had 
 not tasted repose, and the complete flight of the 
 enemy, at this particular juncture, was therefore the 
 more fortunate, as the French were thus enabled to 
 enjoy that repose during the night, of which they 
 most gladly took the advantage. 
 
 Notwithstanding this harassed state of the army, 
 it was necessary to establish outposts; when a 
 grenadier, stationed upon this service, which pre- 
 cluded the idea of rest, being quite exhausted with 
 fatigue, fell fast asleep at his post. 
 
 Napoleon, who offered up his own repose as a 
 sacrifice to the more imperious calls of promptitude 
 and glory, proceeded, alone, to visit the outskirts 
 of the camp, and in this survey arrived at the spot 
 where lay extended the sleeping sentinel, who could 
 hardly be deemed guilty of a breach of duty, but 
 
FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. 47 
 
 the unwilling victim of extreme fatigue, that totally 
 overpowered him. 
 
 Bonaparte, unmindful of his dignity, and actuated 
 Dnly by noble motives, took up the soldier's musket, 
 which lay beside him ; when, placing it upon his 
 own shoulder, he continued to mount guard for 
 nearly an hour, in order to insure the safety of the 
 camp. The grenadier at length awoke, and sought 
 for his piece in vain, but, by the light of the moon, 
 perceived the general, who had thus paid respect 
 to his repose. 
 
 " Oh ! I am undone ! " vociferated the soldier, 
 recognising Napoleon, whose lineaments were 
 graven upon the heart of every soldier. 
 
 "No, my friend," replied the general, with ex- 
 treme affability, at the same time surrendering up 
 his musket, " the battle was obstinate and long 
 enough contested to excuse your having thus yielded 
 to the impulse of fatigue ; one moment of inatten- 
 tion, however, might endanger the safety of the 
 camp ; I was awake, and have only to advise, that 
 you w r ould be more upon your guard for the future !" 
 
 Le Petit CaporaL 
 
 A singular custom was established in the army 
 of Italy, in consequence of the youth of the com- 
 mander, or from some other cause. After each 
 battle, the oldest soldiers used to hold a council, 
 
48 
 
 ANECDOTES. 
 
 and confer a new rank on their young general, who, 
 when he made his appearance in the camp, was re- 
 ceived by the veterans, and saluted with his new 
 title. They made him a corporal at Lodi, and a 
 serjeant at Castiglione ; and hence the surname of 
 " Petit Caporal," which was for a long time applied 
 to Napoleon by the soldiers. How subtle is the 
 chain which unites the most trivial circumstances 
 to the most important events ! Perhaps this very 
 nickname contributed to his miraculous success on 
 his return in 1815. While he was haranguing the 
 first battalion, which he found it necessary to ad- 
 dress, a voice from the ranks exclaimed, "Vive notre 
 petit Caporal ! we will never fight against him ! ' 
 
 
TAKING OF MALTA. 49 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 CONQUEST OF EGYPT. 
 
 MERGING from the harbour of Tou- 
 lon, the fleet directed its course to- 
 wards Malta. 
 
 After an agreeable passage of twenty 
 days, the French fleet appeared on the 
 10th of June before Malta, which sur- 
 rendered without resistance. After visiting the 
 fortifications, Cafarelli observed to Bonaparte, — 
 "My faith, general, we are very fortunate to have 
 found some one in the town to open the gates for 
 us." Napoleon has, however, denied at St. Helena 
 that he owed this conquest to any private aid. "It 
 was in Mantua," said he, " that I took Malta ; the 
 generous treatment shown towards Wurmser, pro- 
 cured me the submission of the grand master and 
 the knights." M. de Bourrienne affirms on the 
 contrary, that the knights were betrayed. 
 
 Be that as it may, Bonaparte stayed but a few 
 days at Malta. The fleet sailed towards Candia, 
 of which it came in sight on the 23d of June; and 
 it was in consequence of its taking this direction 
 that Nelson was deceived, and prevented from 
 
50 BONAPARTE LANDS IN EGYPT. 
 
 meeting the French expedition before Alexandria, 
 as he had calculated upon doing. It was very for- 
 tunate for the French army, for Brueys declared, 
 that with ten ships only, the English admiral would 
 have had every chance of success. " It was the 
 will of God," he often said with a profound sigh, 
 " that we should pass without meeting the English !" 
 
 The fleet arrived on the 1st of July before Alex- 
 andria. Nelson had been there two days before, 
 and surprised at not meeting the French expedition, 
 imagined it had made for the coast of Svria, in 
 order to disembark at Alexandretta. Bonaparte, 
 informed of his appearance, and foreseeing his 
 speedy return, resolved immediately to effect the 
 landing of his army. Admiral Brueys raised ob- 
 jections to this, and opposed it strongly ; but Bo- 
 naparte insisted upon it. " Admiral," said he to 
 Brueys, who asked for a delay of twelve hours only, 
 "we have no time to lose. Fortune gives me but 
 three days ; if we do not profit by it, we are lost." 
 
 The admiral was forced to yield, happily for his 
 fleet ; for Nelson, not having found them in the 
 straits where he sought them, delayed not an instant 
 in returning to Alexandria. But it was too late ; 
 the promptitude of Bonaparte had saved the French 
 arm} , the whole of which had been landed. The 
 disembarkation took place at one o'clock on the 
 morning of the 2d of July, at Marabout, three 
 leagues from Alexandria. They marched imme- 
 diately upon this town, and scaled the ramparts. 
 
Gilbert iGirioft 
 BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS. 51 
 
 Kleber, who commanded the attack, was wounded 
 in the head. This conquest was achieved with little 
 effort , and was not followed with any excess ; there 
 was ieither pillage nor murder in Alexandria. 
 
 Bonaparte leaving Kleber in command of Alex- 
 andria, quitted that place on the 7th of July, taking 
 the road to Dumanhour, across the desert, where 
 hunger, thirst, and an overpowering heat, caused 
 the army to endure unheard-of sufferings, under 
 which many of the soldiers perished. He continued 
 his march towards Cairo, and in four days he had 
 beaten the Mamelukes at Rahmaniah and destroyed 
 the flotilla and cavalry of the Beys at Chebreisse. 
 In this last action, the General-in-chief marshalled 
 his army into square battalions, against the enemy's 
 cavalry, which was quite disconcerted, despite the 
 boldness of its attacks, and the impetuosity of its 
 courage. At the commencement of this affair, 
 Peree, attacked by a superior force, changed a 
 perilous position into the most brilliant success. 
 The savans, Monge and Berthollet, rendered essen- 
 tial service, by fighting the enemy in person. 
 
 At the moment of giving battle to Murad Bey 
 at the foot of the Pyramids, Bonaparte, pointing to 
 these ancient and gigantic monuments, exclaimed : 
 "Soldiers, you are about to fight the rulers of 
 Egypt ; reflect that from these monuments you are 
 contemplated by forty centuries." 
 
 This battle, fought July 21st, 1798, received the 
 name of Embabeh, from the village near whicli it 
 
52 FRENCH FLEET DESTROYED. 
 
 was fought. The Mamelukes were overcome after 
 an obstinate contest, which lasted nineteen hours. 
 
 Bonaparte entered the capital of Egypt on the 
 24th of July. 
 
 Terrified by his late defeat, Murad Bey fled into 
 Upper Egypt, where he was pursued by Desaix. 
 Napoleon, in the meantime, occupied himself at 
 Cairo, in forming a regular administration for the 
 Egyptian provinces. But Ibrahim Bey, who had 
 arrived in Syria, obliged the conquering legislator 
 to quit his pacific labours and return to the fight. 
 Bonaparte encountered and beat him at Saleheyh. 
 The brave Sulkowsky was wounded in this affair. 
 
 The joy of the new triumph was soon disturbed 
 by the most deplorable news. Kleber announced 
 to Bonaparte, by a despatch, that Nelson had de- 
 stroyed the French fleet at Aboukir, after a despe- 
 rate struggle. As soon as the knowledge of this 
 catastrophe was spread in the army, great discon- 
 tent and consternation prevailed. The soldiers and 
 generals who had been disgusted and uneasy on 
 their first arrival in Egypt, felt more severely than 
 ever their situation, and frequently gave vent tG 
 their feelings in loud murmurs. Napoleon, seeing 
 at a glance all the enormity of this disaster, appeared 
 at first overwhelmed by it, and when told that the 
 Directory would doubtless hasten to repair the mis- 
 fortune, he hastily exclaimed : " Your Directory ! 
 they are a mass of — , they envy and hate me; and 
 will leave me here to perish. Do you not see all 
 
NAPOLEON IN EGYPT. 53 
 
 those figures?" he added, pointing to his staff-offi- 
 cers, "how long will they remain by me?" 
 
 But his great soul was not to be / cast down, and 
 arousing himself, he exclaimed with an heroic re- 
 signation, " If it must he so, then, we will remain 
 here, or, like the ancients, we will leave it as heroes." 
 
 From this time Bonaparte occupied himself with 
 indefatigable ardour and activity in the civil or- 
 ganization of Egypt. He felt more than ever the 
 necessity of conciliating the inhabitants of the coun- 
 try, and of forming lasting establishments. One 
 Ol his first and principal creations, was an Institute 
 on the plan of that of Paris. He divided it into 
 four classes : — mathematics, physic, political econo- 
 my, literature, and the fine arts. Monge was ap- 
 pointed president, and Bonaparte conferred on him- 
 self the title of vice-president. The installation 
 of this body took place with great, solemnity. It 
 was there that the immortal warrior confirmed his 
 promise to the head of the Institute of France, not 
 to be proud of any conquests but those he obtained 
 over ignorance ; and until the progress of his arms 
 was identified with the progress of enlightenment. 
 
 Bonaparte, already popular among the Mussul- 
 mans, who called him the sultan Kebir (the father 
 of fire), was admitted and invited by them to all 
 their festivals. 
 
 It was thus that he assisted, but without presiding, 
 as was believed, at those of the overflowing of the 
 Nile, and the anniversary of the birth of Mahomet. 
 
54 INSURRECTION IN CAIRO. 
 
 The respect which he showed for the religion of 
 the Prophet on all occasions, contributed not a little 
 in making his name and authority respected by the 
 Egyptians. Some have affected to discover a sort 
 of sympathy for Islamism in his conduct, which 
 displayed nothing more than the skilful politician. 
 Bonaparte was neither Mussulman nor Christian ; 
 himself and his army represented in Egypt the 
 French philosophy, the tolerating scepticism, and 
 the religious indifference of the eighteenth century. 
 But in the absence of positive religion in his mind, 
 he nourished a vague religion in his soul. 
 
 The sheicks, in gratitude for the part which 
 Bonaparte had taken at their festivals, joined at 
 least in appearance in the rejoicings of the French 
 army ; they made the grand mosque resound with 
 songs of gladness ; they prayed to the great Allah, 
 "to bless the favourite of Victory, and to let the 
 brave army of the West prosper." 
 
 In the midst of these amicable demonstrations, 
 the chiefs of the Mamelukes, in alliance with Eng- 
 land, Ibrahim and Murad-Bey, fomented an insur- 
 rection, which was not slow in breaking out even 
 in the capital of Egypt. Bonaparte was then at 
 Old Cairo ; as soon as he was informed of what 
 was passing, he hastened to return to his head- 
 quarters. The streets of Cairo were quickly cleared 
 by the French troops, who compelled the rebels to 
 lake refuge in the grand mosque, where they were 
 soon fired upon by the artillery. They had refused 
 
NAPOLEON VISITS SUEZ. 55 
 
 to capitulate, but the thunder of the cannon taking 
 effect on their superstitious imaginations, rendered 
 them more tractable. Napoleon, h6wever, refused 
 their tardy propositions. " The time for mercy is 
 gone by," said he, " you have begun, it is for me to 
 finish." The doors of the mosque were immediately 
 forced, and the blood of the Turks flowed in abund 
 ance. Bonaparte had to avenge, among others, the 
 death of General Dupois, governor of the place, 
 and that of the brave Sulkowsky, for whom he had 
 entertained great regard. This revolt took place 
 October 21st, 1798. 
 
 British influence, which had instigated the sedition 
 of Cairo, and the insurrection throughout Egypt, 
 succeeded also in rousing the divan of Constantino- 
 ple to acts of hostility against France. A manifesto 
 of the Grand Seignior, filled with imprecations and 
 invectives, devoted the flag of the republic to igno- 
 miny, and its soldiers to extermination. Bonaparte 
 replied to these outrages and provocations by a 
 proclamation, which terminated thus: — "The most 
 religious of the Prophets has said, ' Sedition has 
 fallen asleep, cursed be he that shall awaken it!'" 
 
 He went shortly after to Suez to visit the traces 
 of the ancient canal which connected the waters 
 of the Nile with the Red Sea. Monge and Ber- 
 thollet accompanied him; — wishing to visit the 
 sources of the Moise, he nearly became a victim 
 to his curiosity by losing his way in the dark, just 
 as the tide was coming in ; "I ran the danger of 
 
56 BONAPARTE CROSSES THE DESERT. 
 
 perishing like Pharaoh," said he, "which would not 
 have failed to have furnished all the preachers of 
 Christianity with a magnificent text against me ! " 
 
 The monks of Mount Sinai, knowing that he 
 was in their neighbourhood, sent him a deputation 
 requesting he would write his name upon their re- 
 gister, as was done by Ali, Saladin, Ibrahim, &c. 
 Napoleon did not refuse them a favour which flat- 
 tered his vanity, and his passion for celebrity. 
 
 However, Djezzar Pacha had taken possession 
 of the fort of El-Arish, in Syria. Napoleon, who 
 had meditated for some time a campaign in that 
 province, resolved immediately to execute his design. 
 The news of the success of Djezzar had reached 
 him at Suez ; and he hastened his return to Cairo, 
 to take troops necessary for the expedition, and 
 after having assured the tranquillity and submission 
 of that capital, by the nocturnal sacrifice of the 
 chiefs of the people, who had figured in the late 
 revolt, he quitted Egypt, and proceeded to Asia. 
 The desert was now before him: he crossed it 
 mounted upon a dromedary, which he found resisted 
 the heat and fatigue far better than his horses. The 
 vanguard having strayed, he did not meet with them 
 until they were giving themselves up to despair, and 
 sinking with fatigue or dying with thirst. Bona- 
 parte announced supplies of water and food to the 
 unfortunate soldiers. " But if all that has been 
 delayed, had been delayed longer," said he to them, 
 u would that have been a reason for murmuring, or 
 
ASSAULT OF JAFFA. 57 
 
 failing in courage ? No, soldiers, learn to die with 
 honour." / 
 
 Bonaparte arrived before El-Arish in the middle 
 of February. This fort capitulated on the 16th, 
 after a complete rout of the Mamelukes ; and, six 
 days after, Gaza opened her gates. When near 
 Jerusalem, Bonaparte, on being asked if he did not 
 wish to pass by that town, replied quickly ; " Oh ! 
 no ! Jerusalem is not in my line of operations ; I 
 do not wish to have anything to do with the moun- 
 taineers in difficult passages; and on the other hand 
 I should be assailed by a numerous cavalry. I am 
 not ambitious of the fate of Cassius." On the 6th 
 of March, Jaffa was carried by assault, and aban- 
 doned to pillage and massacre. Bonaparte sent his 
 aides-de-camp, Beauharnais and Croisier, to appease 
 the fury of the soldiers. They arrived in time to 
 save the lives of four thousand Arnauts, or Alba- 
 nians, who formed part of the garrison, and who 
 had escaped the carnage by taking refuge in the 
 vast caravansaries. When the general-in-chief 
 saw the number of prisoners, he exclaimed: "What 
 am I to do with them ? have I provisions to feed 
 them, or ships to send them to France or Egypt ? 
 what is to become of them?" The aides-de-camp 
 excused themselves on account of the danger thev 
 would have incurred by refusing to capitulate, and 
 likewise reminding Bonaparte of the humane mis- 
 sion which he had confided to them. " Yes, un- 
 doubtedly," he replied, " for women, children, and 
 
58 THE PLAGUE. 
 
 old men, but not for armed soldiers; you should 
 have killed these unfortunates, and not brought 
 them to me. What would you have me do with 
 them ? " He deliberated for three days on the lot 
 of these ill-tated people, in hope that the sea might 
 bring him some vessels to get rid of his prison- 
 ers, without compelling him to shed more blood. 
 But the murmurs of the army did not permit him 
 to delay any longer a measure, which inspired him 
 with the greatest repugnance. The order for 
 shooting the Arnauts and Albanians was given on 
 the 10th of March. 
 
 The French army had brought into Syria the 
 germ of the plague ; it developed itself at the siege 
 of Jaffa, and became every day more ravaging. 
 Bonaparte said of the adjutant-general Gresieux, 
 who would not touch any one, in order to guard 
 himself from the contagion : " If he is afraid of the 
 plague, he will die of it." His prediction was ac- 
 complished at the siege of Acre. 
 
 It was on the 16th of March that Bonaparte ar- 
 rived before that place, where he met with a more 
 vigorous resistance than he had expected. 
 
 During the siege of Acre, the celebrated battle 
 of Mount Tabor was gained, where Kleber, attacked 
 and surrounded by twelve thousand horsemen, and 
 as many foot, made the most heroic resistance with 
 three thousand foot soldiers. Bonaparte, informed 
 of the strength of the enemy, set off with a division 
 to support Kleber. Arrived at the field of battle, 
 
BONAPARTE RETIRES FROM JAFFA. 59 
 
 lie disposed his division in two squares, so as to 
 form an equilateral triangle with the square of Kle- 
 ber, thus placing the enemy between them. The 
 terrible fire which then proceeded from the extremi- 
 ties of this triangle, made the Mamelukes fall back 
 upon themselves, and dispersed them in all direc- 
 tions, leaving the plain covered with dead bodies. 
 This army, which the inhabitants said was as 
 numerous as the stars of the firmament, and the 
 sands of the sea-shore, was destroyed by six thou- 
 sand French. 
 
 After a siege of two months, Napoleon, seeing 
 his little army enfeebled every day by the ravages 
 of the plague, and by the frequent encounters which 
 ihey were obliged to sustain against an intrepid 
 garrison, commanded by Sir Sidney Smith, decided 
 upon returning to Egypt. All his vast projects 
 with respect to the East, which had carried his 
 ambitious imagination, sometimes to the Indus, 
 sometimes to the Bosphorus, abandoned him in this 
 moment ; it was this which caused him afterwards 
 to say that, " If Acre had fallen, it would have 
 changed the face of the globe: — the fate of the 
 East depended on this little paltry town." 
 
 At Jaffa, where they arrived on the 24th, the 
 hospitals were filled with sick ; and fever raged 
 with the greatest fury. The general-in-chief visited 
 these unfortunate men ; he deeply compassionated 
 their sufferings, and appeared greatly affected by 
 so melancholy a spectacle. The order was given 
 
60 DISORDERS IN FRANCE. 
 
 for them to be moved ; but of these so many were 
 sick of the plague, according to M. de Bourrienne, 
 upwards of sixty, and among them seven or eight 
 so severely afflicted, says the Memorial of St. He- 
 lena, that they could not live above four-and-twenty 
 hours. What was to be done with these expiring 
 soldiers ? Bonaparte hesitated ; but was told that 
 many of them requested instant death ; that their 
 contact might be fatal to the army, and that it 
 would be, at the same time, an act of prudence and 
 charity to hasten their death by a few hours. It is 
 almost certain that a soporific potion was adminis- 
 tered to them. 
 
 On approaching Cairo, Bonaparte took care to 
 order that a triumphal reception should be prepared 
 for him in this capital, in order to destroy any dis- 
 heartening impression the issue of the expedition 
 into Syria might create. At Cairo, he learned, by 
 the journals, the events of the 30th Prairial, and 
 the disturbed situation of the republic. Anarchy 
 reigned at home ; a second forced loan had excited 
 the indignation of the middling classes ; whilst the 
 odious law of hostages, which rendered the rela- 
 tives of emigrants responsible for the outrages 
 committed by the Chouans, once more armed the 
 royalists of the west and south against the Direc- 
 tory. Italy, with the exception of Genoa, was lost. 
 Joubert had been killed at the bloody battle of Novi, 
 gained by Suwarrow; and the allies were advancing 
 on the French frontiers, through Holland and Swit- 
 zerland, — where they were arrested by Brune and 
 
NAPOLEON RETURNS TO FRANCE. 
 
 61 
 
 Massena. Informed of this condition of things, 
 Bonaparte determined to overthrow the Direc- 
 torial government, — and to repair, at once, to 
 France, — whither he was preceded by the intelli- 
 gence of a new and brilliant victory. Eighteen 
 thousand Turks having landed in the bay of Abou- 
 kir, Bonaparte, supported by Murat, Lannes, and 
 Bessieres, fell upon this army, and annihilated it. 
 Immediately after this victory, he set out, leaving 
 Kleber in command of the army of Egypt ; crossed 
 the Mediterranean in the frigate Le Muiron ; — 
 escaped, as by a miracle, from the English fleet; 
 and landed in the Gulf of Frejus, on the 9th of 
 October, 1799, — a few days after the celebrated 
 victories of Zurich and Berghen, gained, the first 
 over the Austrians, by Massena, and the second by 
 general Brune, over the duke of York. Bonaparte 
 traversed France as a conqueror, and was received 
 with enthusiasm by the masses of the moderate 
 party, in Paris. 
 
62 
 
 BONAPARTE IN PARIS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE EIGHTEENTH BRUMAIRE 
 
 ITHERTO, Bonaparte had refrained 
 from attaching himself to any system. 
 Affecting great simplicity, and occu- 
 pying modest apartments in the Rue 
 Chantereine, he saw himself courted 
 hy the heads of each party, and de- 
 ceived them all. Sieves dreaded him; but the sup- 
 port of a military chief was essential to the execu- 
 tion of his designs. Bonaparte was in a condition 
 to aid him, and, in the end, Sieyes and he came to 
 an understanding. Their object was to overthrow 
 the constitution; and with this view the generals, 
 with the exception of Bernadotte, were gained over, 
 — as was, also, the garrison of Paris. On the 1 8th 
 Brumaire, on the demand of Regnier, one of the 
 conspirators, the council of the anciens declared, 
 that, in virtue of the right which the constitution 
 gave it, it transferred the legislative body to Saint- 
 Cloud, under the pretext that its deliberations would, 
 there, be more free. Bonaparte was charged with 
 the execution of this measure, and invested with 
 the military command of the division of Paris. He 
 immediately attacked the Directory by speeches 
 
EIGHTEENTH BRUMAI£E. 63 
 
 and by proclamations. i What,' said he, ; have you 
 done with that France, which I left to you so 
 covered with glory ? I left with you peace, and I 
 return to find war; — I left victories, and I find but 
 disasters. What have you done with a hundred 
 thousand Frenchmen of my acquaintance — the 
 companions of my fame ? — they are dead.' In this 
 manner, while accusing his adversaries, he con- 
 trived to insinuate his own vast importance. On 
 the same day, Sieves and Roger-Ducos repaired to 
 the Tuilleries, and laid down their authority. Their 
 three colleagues would have resisted, but their own 
 guard refused obedience to them. Barras, losing 
 all hope, sent in his resignation; — Moulins and 
 Gohier were detained prisoners : and the struggle 
 was now to commence between Bonaparte and the 
 council of the cinq-cents. 
 
 On the 19th Brumaire, the legislative body re- 
 paired to Saint-Cloud, accompanied by an imposing 
 armed force. Bonaparte presented himself, first, 
 before the council of the anciens ; and being sum- 
 moned to take the constitutional oath, he declared 
 that the constitution was vicious, and the Directory 
 incapable, and appealed to his companions in arms. 
 From thence, he repaired to the council of the cinq- 
 cents, which sat in the Orangery, and where the 
 agitation was, already, at its height. His presence 
 raised a violent storm: — 'Outlaw him ! Down with 
 the dictator!' resounded on every side. Accus- 
 tomed to brave an enemy's fire rather than the 
 
64 EIGHTEENTH BRUMAIRE. 
 
 menaces of a deliberative assembly, Bonaparte 
 grew pale and agitated, and was hurried away by 
 the grenadiers who formed his escort. The tumult 
 continued to rage in the chamber ; where Lucien, 
 the brother of Napoleon, presided, and attempted 
 his defence. On all sides, the outlawry of the 
 tyrant was loudly called for; and Lucien, being 
 required to put the question to the vote, quitted the 
 chair, and divested himself of the insignia of the 
 magistracy. Bonaparte had him carried from the 
 hall ; and both brothers, mounting on horseback, 
 harangued the soldiers, — one as the conqueror of 
 Italy and Egypt, and the other as president of a 
 factious assembly. The enthusiasm of the troops 
 broke loudly forth ; and Bonaparte, addressing 
 them, exclaimed : — ' Soldiers ! can I reckon upon 
 you?' — 'Yes! yes!' resounded on all sides; and 
 Bonaparte immediately ordered the council of cinq- 
 cents to be expelled. A troop of grenadiers entered 
 the hall, under the command of Murat, — who said • 
 — ' In the name of general Bonaparte, the legisla- 
 tive body is dissolved. Let all good citizens retire! 
 — Grenadiers, advance !' The shouts of indignation 
 which arose in answer were drowned in the roll of 
 the drums : ( the grenadiers advanced, and the depu- 
 ties fled before them, escaping by the windows, 
 amid cries of Vive la republique ! Freedom of re- 
 presentation was, on that day, at an end ; and of 
 the French republic there now remained nothing 
 but the name. 
 
DEFERENCE TO BONAPARTE. 
 
 65 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CONSULATE 
 
 HE revolution of the 18th Brumaire 
 was followed by almost universal ap- 
 probation. After so long a series of 
 shocks and lacerations, the nation, 
 exhausted, without credit, and over- 
 run by anarchy, felt the want of some 
 central power, strongly constituted, and wielded by 
 a skilful hand. Every citizen flattered himself that 
 he saw in Bonaparte the man of his own party. 
 The royalists lauded him as a second Monk — the 
 future restorer of the monarchy ; the moderate re- 
 publicans loved him as a hero born of the revolu- 
 tion, and anticipated that, by his means, liberty was 
 about to be established on solid and durable foun- 
 dations. Men in general were little on their guard 
 against his ambition ; license was, at that period, 
 an object of more alarm than despotism ; and no 
 suspicion was, as yet, entertained of the extent to 
 which the interests of liberty were about to be 
 made subordinate to those of his own greatness. 
 This illusion, however, was one of short duration. 
 Those members of the two councils who were 
 
C6 NAPOLEON FIRST CONSUL. 
 
 accomplices of Bonaparte, or favourable to the re- 
 volution of Brumaire, hastened to establish the new 
 government. Three consuls were appointed, for 
 ten years, — Bonaparte, Sieves, and Roger-Ducos. 
 At the same time, two legislative commissions were 
 formed, charged with the preparation of the con- 
 stitution, and the arrangement of a definite order 
 of things. The first acts of the consular govern- 
 ment were the abolition of the law of hostages, and 
 that of forced loans. Permission was given to the 
 priests to return to France ; and arbitrary and rigor- 
 ous measures were adopted against fifty-eight ex- 
 treme republicans. The absolute character of Bo- 
 naparte fully disclosed itself in the discussion of 
 the new constitution. Sieyes had prepared a plan, 
 — which Bonaparte rejected, retaining, nevertheless, 
 such portions thereof as were calculated to serve 
 his ambitious and arbitrary views. The great 
 powers of state created by him were — a consulate, 
 which had the executive power, and the initiative 
 of the laws — a tribunate, whose function it was to 
 discuss them — a legislative body commissioned to 
 pass them — and, finally, a senate, specially charged 
 w T ith their conservation. 
 
 Bonaparte, as first consul, associated to himself 
 as second and third consuls, Cambaceres, formerly 
 a member of the Plain, in the convention, and Le- 
 brun, anciently the colleague of the chancellor 
 Mapeou. The consuls named, at once, sixty sena- 
 tors, without waiting for lists of parties eligible; 
 
BATTLE OF MARENGO. 67 
 
 and these senators appointed one hundred tribunes, 
 and three hundred legislators. The constitution 
 of the year 8 was submitted to the acceptance of 
 the people, and obtained more than three millions 
 of suffrages. 
 
 In compliance with the general wish, Bonaparte 
 made overtures of peace to England ; — which that 
 power refused, inducing Austria to persevere in the 
 struggle ; while the emperor of Russia, Paul I., 
 swayed by a chivalrous admiration of Bonaparte, 
 declared himself his champion, and a foe to the 
 English. The first consul directed all the forces 
 of the republic towards the Rhine and the Alps, — 
 Moreau commanding the army of the Rhine, and 
 Bonaparte, himself, that of Italy. Field-marshal 
 Melas, with a hundred and thirty thousand men, 
 occupied that country, where the French army was, 
 now, reduced to twenty-five thousand men, under 
 the command of Massena. Bonaparte crossed the 
 great St. Bernard, at the head of an army of re- 
 serve, forty thousand strong ; and, after a brilliant 
 victory, won by his advanced guard, at Montebello, 
 where general Lannes covered himself with glory, 
 Bonaparte gained, on the 14th of June, 1800, the 
 celebrated battle of Marengo, which placed the 
 whole of Italy at his feet, — after a brilliant cam- 
 paign of only forty days. Peace, however, was not 
 yet attained, as a consequence. 
 
 The first consul next directed all his efforts to 
 the suppression of the factions which raged at 
 
68 INFERNAL MACHINE. 
 
 home. Several of the partisan chiefs he gainea 
 over; and gave employment to many proscribed 
 persons, such as Simeon, Portalis, and Barbe-Mar- 
 bois. A few of the Vendean leaders, Chatillon, 
 d'Autichamp, Suzannet, and the famous Bernier, 
 the cure of Saint-L6, had already made their peace, 
 by the treaty of Mont-Lucon : La Prevalaye and 
 Bourmont submitted, Frotte was taken and shot, 
 George Cadoudal capitulated, — and the war in the 
 west was at an end. 
 
 But the war was succeeded by conspiracies : and 
 Bonaparte escaped, as by miracle, the explosion of 
 an infernal machine, in the Rue Saint-Nicaise, on 
 3d Nivose, — the authors of which were the royalists, 
 though Fouche, the minister of police, in the first 
 instance, attributed the attempt to the democrats. 
 One hundred and thirty of these latter were in- 
 stantly transported, by a simple decree of the se- 
 nate ; but the real conspirators were afterwards 
 discovered, and special military tribunals created 
 for their trial. The despotism of Bonaparte was 
 conspicuous in these illegal measures : and it was 
 on this occasion that the constitutional party sepa- 
 rated itself from him, and commenced its strenuous 
 opposition. At the head of this party were, in the 
 senate, Lanjuinais, Gregoire, Garat, and Cabanis, 
 and, in the tribunate, Isnard, Daunou, Chenier, and 
 Benjamin Constant. All these raised their voices 
 against the arbitrary proscriptions, and the estab- 
 lishment of the special courts. 
 
TREATY OF AMIENS. 69 
 
 The victories of Moreau, in Germany, and more 
 particularly that of Hohenlinden, accelerated the 
 conclusion of peace ; which was signed, at Lune- 
 ville, on the 8th of January, 1801, betwixt France, 
 Austria, and the empire. This treaty guarantied 
 to the republic the possession of Belgium, and of 
 the German provinces on the left bank of the Rhine. 
 Separate treaties were concluded with Rome, Na- 
 ples, Sardinia, Portugal, and Bavaria, as well as 
 with Russia, — which latter power the assassination 
 of Paul I. had caused to fall back upon the English 
 system : and, finally, England herself felt the neces- 
 sity of momentarily laying down her arms. Pitt, 
 the irreconcileable enemy of the revolution, and 
 head of the English cabinet, was replaced in the 
 ministry by the opposition party ; and the treaty 
 of Amiens, signed on the 25th of March, 1802, by 
 England, Spain, and the Batavian republic, com- 
 pleted the pacification of Europe. 
 
 Freed from all other foreign cares, Bonaparte 
 attempted the subjection of the island of St. Do- 
 mingo; which had revolted against its white rulers, 
 and was governed by blacks, with the celebrated 
 Toussaint-Louverture at their head. Forty thou- 
 sand men, under general Le Clerc, were sent to 
 effect this conquest ; but, after some successes in 
 the outset, the troops were decimated by sickness, 
 and St. Domingo irretrievably lost. Egypt had, in 
 the preceding year, been torn from France, by the 
 arms of England. 
 
70 
 
 The government of Bonaparte, however, ren 
 dered, at this time, immense services to the state; 
 and the labours which he undertook would, alone, 
 suffice to make his name immortal. The roads, 
 ports, and arsenals of the kingdom attracted his 
 attention, and occupied his care: He ordered im- 
 mense maritime works at Flushing and Antwerp, 
 re-organized the admirable polytechnic school, 
 founded under the convention, developed the re- 
 sources of trade, promoted commerce, and declared 
 himself the protector of private interests. A civil 
 code which he propounded at this period, and which 
 appeared in 1804, was a monument of genius, and 
 became the model of legislation throughout Europe. 
 At the same time, the first consul occupied himself 
 as actively with the consolidation of his own power, 
 as with the public prosperity. He fettered the 
 press, — caused the senate to select the most ener- 
 getic amongst the tribunes of the people, and reduce 
 their number to eighty, — and then proceeded to 
 purify the legislative body, in the same arbitrary 
 manner. Regarding the clergy as an indispensable 
 auxiliary to power, he used every means of gaining 
 them over to his cause, and signed a concordat with 
 Pope Pius VII., which established nine archbish- 
 oprics and forty-one bishoprics in France. He 
 founded the order of the legion of honour, and de- 
 clared himself its head. This creation, however, 
 which invaded the feeling of equality, met with vio- 
 let opposition, in the public mind, as well as from 
 
HE CONSOLIDATES HIS POWER. 71 
 
 all the great bodies of the state, notwithstanding 
 the forcible purification which they had undergone. 
 It was adopted, nevertheless : and, finally, after 
 having obtained the prolongation of his consulship 
 for ten years more, he procured himself, on the 2d 
 of August, 1802, to be appointed consul for life, by 
 the senate, with the assent of the people, whose 
 wishes were taken by means of public registers. 
 Two days afterwards, the constitution of the year 
 10 was decreed by a simple act of the senate. By 
 this constitution, the people were finally stripped 
 of all remains of power ; the electors were for life, 
 and the first consul had the right of adding to their 
 numbers. To the senate was given the power of 
 changing the institutions, suspending the functions 
 of the jury, placing the departments out of the pale 
 of the constitution, quashing the judgments of the 
 tribunals, and dissolving the legislative body and 
 the tribunate. The number of tribunes was re- 
 duced to fifty; and the council of state, recon- 
 structed by Bonaparte, received a more vigorous 
 organization, and attributes more extensive. 
 
 Such were the results of two years' labours; and 
 each day did the government of the first consul de- 
 part more and more from the spirit in which the 
 revolution had been accomplished. But men were 
 so weary of anarchy — there was in the nation so 
 earnest a longing after order and security — the re- 
 collections of the reign of terror acted so power- 
 fully on men's minds — that the people, at all times 
 
72 DUKE 
 
 prompt to fly into extremes, seconded all the first 
 consul's ambitious views, and sacrificed, to the 
 interests of his power, those of the liberty which 
 had been purchased by such rivers of blood. 
 
 The peace betwixt Great Britain and France had 
 been little more than a suspension of arms ; and 
 fresh differences soon armed those powers, once 
 more, against each other. Bonaparte united to the 
 French territory the island of Elba, and Piedmont, 
 and occupied the states of Parma; whilst England 
 persisted in keeping possession of Malta, and the 
 Cape of Good Hope. On both sides, preparations 
 were made for war ; and the peace was definitively 
 broken, in June, 1803. The coasts of the two seas 
 bristled with batteries ; England called into action 
 all her naval force, and seven French armies occu- 
 pied, respectively, Italy and the camps of Bayonne, 
 Saint-Malo, Saint-Omer, Bruges, Boulogne, and 
 Holland. 
 
 A second, and formidable conspiracy was, about 
 the same time, undertaken against the first consul, 
 by some Chouan and royalist chiefs, having at their 
 head Pichegru and George Cadoudal. Moreau, 
 too, suffered himself to be drawn in, and became 
 an accomplice. The conspiracy was discovered in 
 February, 1804. Cadoudal was punished by death, 
 Moreau banished, and Pichegru was found strangled 
 in his prison. To the list of the condemned was 
 added one other great victim : — a squadron of cav- 
 alry suddenly carried off the duke d'Enghien, the 
 last scion of the house of Conde, from the castle 
 
NAPOLEON CROWNED EMPEROR. 73 
 
 of Etteinheim, in the grand duchy of Baden. Bo- 
 naparte believed him to be an accomplice of Piche- 
 gru, and had, no doubt, resolved to terrify the con- 
 spirators by a dreadful example. The young prince, 
 being conducted to Vincennes, was there precipi- 
 tately tried by a military commission, and shot, by 
 night, in the ditch of the chateau. This crime 
 threw the whole of France into a sort of stupor ; 
 and all the glory of the first consul was unable to 
 efface the horror which it everywhere inspired. In 
 vain did Bonaparte, at a later period, disclaim its 
 responsibility ; it remains as an eternal stain upon 
 his memory. 
 
 The war with Great Britain, and the conspiracy 
 of Pichegru contributed to assist Bonaparte in 
 elevating himself from the consulate to the empire. 
 The senate were induced to address him, praying 
 that he would govern the republic under the name 
 of Napoleon Bonaparte, and with the title of here- 
 ditary emperor. Faithful to the cause of liberty, 
 Carnot vainly opposed the wishes of the senate and 
 of his colleagues. The empire was proclaimed on 
 the 2d Floreal, of the year 12. The constitution 
 underwent still further modifications, to adapt it to 
 the new form of government ; the sittings of the 
 tribunate became secret, and all unfettered publicity 
 was destroyed. The clergy sang the praises of the 
 chief in whom they discovered a second Cyrus. 
 Pope Pius VII. came to Paris ; and, on the 2d of 
 December, 1804, in the cathedral of Notre-Dame, 
 
74 POLICY OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 surrounded by the high dignitaries of the cnurch, 
 and in presence of the high bodies of the state, he 
 consecrated the new dynasty. Napoleon, accom- 
 panied by the empress Josephine, required that all 
 the ancient usages of the French monarchy should 
 be revived, in this ceremony. He made his bro- 
 thers, Joseph and Louis, French princes, and created 
 eighteen marshals of the empire. These were Ber- 
 thier, Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, Augereau, 
 Bernadotte, Soult, Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, 
 Davoust, Bessieres, Kellerman, Lefebvre, Perignon, 
 and Serrurier. Napoleon, then, proceeded to sur- 
 round himself with all the ordinary array of courts; 
 he appointed dignitaries of the crown, and had his 
 chamberlains and pages. At the same time, how- 
 ever, while he sought to renew around the throne 
 the forms of the old regime, and to suspend the 
 liberties of the people, he, yet, respected the real 
 and substantial conquests of the revolution. These 
 were the division of properties, the depriving the 
 clergy of their civil character, equality in the eye 
 of the law, and admissibility for all into all public 
 offices. These principles are, next after those of 
 morality and the education of the masses, the best 
 foundations upon which a nation can, m our day, 
 build its liberal institutions ; and it was out of the 
 maintenance of these that the true liberies of the 
 French people were destined, at a later period, to 
 flow, — when it was no longer possible to impose 
 upon them a positive despotism, in tb« name of 
 military glory. 
 
ANECDOTES. 75 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE EGYPTIAN AND ITALIAN CAM- 
 PAIGNS, AND OF THE CONSULATE. 
 
 The Restorer of the City of Lyons. 
 
 N Bonaparte's return from the second 
 campaign of Italy, he passed through 
 Lyons, on the ninth Messidor, the 
 eighth year of the republic. It was 
 his wish to continue incognito, in order 
 to escape the honours and the fetes 
 intended for him ; but all his precautions were of 
 no avail ; the report of his being in the city spread 
 itself in all directions, and the populace in crowds 
 appeared in the streets, on the quays, in the prome- 
 nades, and mounted on the house-tops, crying : "It 
 is Bonaparte ! Long live Bonaparte ! " these ap- 
 plauses being prolonged until night, with which 
 were mingled the incessant discharges of artillery. 
 During the nights of the ninth and tenth, a 
 bronze medal was struck in haste and presented to 
 the conqueror of Italy ; and on the morning of the 
 last mentioned day, he repaired to the Square of 
 Bellecour, amidst an escort of upwards of fifty 
 
it) ANECDOTES OF 
 
 thousand Lyonese. Upon this occasion he laid the 
 first stone, and thus commenced the rebuilding of 
 the city, which had been almost entirely demolished, 
 by order of the comedian, Collot D'Herbois. Pre- 
 vious to the depositing of the stone, he took it in 
 his hand, smiling, and assured the inhabitants of 
 Lyons, that this Square should very soon recovei 
 all its former splendour, and that the manufactories 
 of Lyons, which were then reduced to four thousand 
 workmen, should speedily be augmented to twenty- 
 five thousand ; after which he deposited the medal, 
 which was enclosed in a leaden case*, beneath the 
 foundation of the new structure; the bronze in 
 question bearing this inscription : 
 
 To Buonaparte 
 
 The Restorer of Lyons; 
 
 Verninac Prefect. 
 
 In the name of the grateful Lyonese. 
 
 On the other side appeared, encircled by a coro- 
 net of oak, 
 
 Twice Victor at Marengo, 
 
 Conqueror of Italy. 
 
 He deposited this Stone 
 
 The 10th Messidor, An. VIII. 
 
 At the conclusion of the ceremony, Napoleon 
 repaired to the hotel of the Prefect, where a sump- 
 tuous breakfast was prepared. He proved as amia- 
 
THE BATTLE OF MARENGO. 
 
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN. 1 < 
 
 ble at table, as he was terrible in the field ; aud ?< 
 was justly said of this repast : " That here was 
 Alexander feasting with his friends, on the dai 
 when he founded Alexandria." 
 
 Battle of Marengo. 
 
 This conflict was undoubtedly that in which Bo- 
 naparte displayed the most brilliant proofs of mili- 
 tary capacity ; for on that momentous day, he 
 manifested the consummate tactics of a great com- 
 mander; neither was there any deficiency of those 
 traits of heroism which history always loves to 
 record, and which must descend to the remotest 
 posterity. It was during this battle, which might 
 be justly termed the modern Pharsalia, that Napo- 
 leon preserved, amidst the tumultuous din of arms, 
 and an army almost completely routed, that cool- 
 ness and certain dependence upon self, which were 
 the fruit of long military experience, and the cha- 
 racteristic of the truly brave. 
 
 As soon as the divisions of Lemonier and Desaix 
 had arrived, Bonaparte repaired to range them in 
 order for battle ; but, as the enemy's forces were 
 greatly superior in number to those of the French, 
 the latter began to give way, and retreat, which, 
 being perceived by Napoleon, he gallopped to the 
 front of the ranks, exclaiming : — " Frenchmen ! 
 remember my custom is to sleep upon the field of 
 battle." 
 
78 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 Bertbier on arriving to acquaint him that his 
 army began to be put to the route, he made this 
 answer: "You do not announce that, general, in 
 cold blood!" 
 
 During the hottest period of the action, news 
 was brought to Bonaparte that Desaix was killed, 
 when he only uttered these words : " Why is it not 
 permitted me to weep ?" The deceased w r as among 
 those generals whom he held in the highest estima- 
 tion. 
 
 After the battle, Bonaparte, happening to meet a 
 great number of the wounded, made the following 
 remark in tones of the deepest affliction : " We 
 cannot but regret not being wounded like them, in 
 order to participate in their sufferings." 
 
 Napoleon wounded in Italy and other places. 
 
 It has been said that Bonaparte has never been 
 wounded. This is not the fact, for Mr. O'Meara 
 says: — 
 
 Napoleon showed me the marks of two wounds; 
 one a very deep cicatrice above the left knee, which 
 he said he had received in his first campaign of 
 Italy, and was of so serious a nature, that the sur- 
 geons were in doubt whether it might not be ulti- 
 mately necessary to amputate. He observed, that 
 when he was wounded, it was always kept a secret, 
 in order not to discourage the soldiers. The other 
 was on the toe, and had been received at EchmiihJ 
 
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN. 79 
 
 " At the siege of Acre," continued he, " a shell 
 thrown by Sidney Smith, fell at my feet. Two sol- 
 diers, who were close by, seized and closely em- 
 braced me, one in front, and one on the other side, 
 and made a rampart of their bodies for me, against 
 the effect of the shell, which exploded, and over- 
 whelmed us with sand. We sunk into the hole 
 formed by its bursting ; one of them was wounded. 
 I made them both officers. One has since lost a 
 leg at Moscow, and commanded at Yincennes when 
 I left Paris. When he was summoned by the Rus 
 sians, he replied, that as soon as they sent him back 
 the leg he had lost at Moscow, he would surrender 
 the fortress. Many times in my life," continued he, 
 " have I been saved by soldiers and officers throw- 
 ing themselves before me when I was in the most 
 imminent danger. At Areola, when I was advanc- 
 ing, Colonel Meuron, my aid-de-camp, threw him- 
 self before me, covered me with his body, and re- 
 ceived the wound which was destined for me. He 
 fell at my feet, and his blood spouted up in my face. 
 He gave his life to preserve mine. Never, yet, I 
 believe, has there been such devotion shown by 
 soldiers as mine have manifested for me. In all 
 my misfortunes never has the soldier, even when 
 expiring, been wanting to me — never has man been 
 served more faithfully by his troops. With the last 
 drop of blood gushing out of their veins, they ex* 
 claimed ; Vive l'Empereur !' " 
 
SO ANECDOTES OF 
 
 His Generosity to the Veteran General Wurmser. 
 
 For several days after the decisive actions, 
 which left him without a shadow of hope of relief, 
 Wurmser continued the defence of Mantua in a 
 sullen yet honourable despair, natural to the feel- 
 ings of a gallant veteran, who, to the last, hesi- 
 tated between the desire to resist, and the sense 
 that resistance was absolutely hopeless. At length 
 he sent his aid-de-camp, Klenau, to the head-quar- 
 ters of Serrurier, who commanded the blockade, to 
 treat of a surrender. Klenau used the customary 
 language on such occasions. He expatiated on the 
 means which Mantua still possessed of holding out ; 
 but said, that, as Wurmser doubted whether the 
 place could be relieved in time, he would regulate 
 his conduct as to immediate submission, or farther 
 defence, according to the conditions of surrender 
 to which the French general was willing to admit 
 him. A French officer of distinction was present, 
 muffled in his cloak, and remaining apart from the 
 two officers, but within hearing of what had passed. 
 When their discussion was finished, this unknown 
 person stepped forward, and, taking a pen, wrote 
 down the conditions of surrender to which Wurm- 
 ser was to be admitted — conditions more honoura- 
 ble and favourable by far than what his extremity 
 could have exacted. " These," said the unknown 
 officer to Klenau, " are the terms which Wurmser 
 
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN. 81 
 
 may accept at present, and which will be equally 
 tendered to him at any period when he finds farther 
 resistance impossible. We are aware he is too 
 much a man of honour to give up the fortress and 
 city, so long and honourably defended, while the 
 means of resistance remained in his power. If he 
 delay accepting the conditions for a week, or a 
 month, or two months, they shall be equally his 
 when he chooses to accept them. To-morrow I 
 pass the Po, and march upon Rome." Klenau, 
 perceiving that he spoke to the French commander- 
 in-chief, frankly admitted that the garrison could 
 not longer delay surrender, having scarce three 
 days' provisions unconsumed. This trait of gene- 
 rosity towards a gallant but unfortunate enemy, 
 was highly honourable to Napoleon. But the 
 young victor paid a still more delicate and noble- 
 minded compliment, in declining to be personally 
 present when the veteran Wurmser had the mor- 
 tification to surrender his sword, with his garrison 
 of twenty-thousand men. Such self-denial did Na- 
 poleon as much credit nearly as his victory. His 
 conduct towards Wurmser may be justly compared 
 to that of the Black Prince to his royal prisoner, 
 King John of France. 
 
 Mount St. Bernard. 
 
 The campaigns of Italy, under the Directory and 
 Consulate, were well worth all the imperial battles 
 
 F 
 
82 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 fought in the days of France's splendid degradation. 
 The pass of Mount St. Bernard stands unrivalled 
 in modern military history. The cannons were 
 dragged up the heights by sheer strength of arm, 
 by efforts almost superhuman. Pecuniary motives 
 for exertion, proffered by the general, were rejected 
 by the army. The soldiers, one by one, climbed 
 through the crevices of the ice-rock, and in five 
 hours they reached the convent of St. Peter. The 
 descent was yet more perilous. The infantry cut 
 short the difficulty by sliding on their backs down 
 the ice. " The first consul followed their example, 
 and, in the sight of his army, slided down a height 
 of two hundred feet ! " 
 
 Bonaparte, before his departure for this cam- 
 paign, traced a slight sketch of his intended opera- 
 tions at a private house. In this plan, Millissimo 
 is marked, in the confidence of success, as being 
 the first site of the defeat of the enemy. " I shall 
 drive," he says, " the Austrians from the passage 
 of the Tyrol ;" and he finishes the sketch with these 
 words: "It is at the gates of Vienna, that I shall 
 give you peace." Speaking afterwards of his 
 treaty of Millissimo, he said, "this was the strong- 
 est sensation of my life." 
 
 His Employment of Time, 
 
 During the voyage to Egypt, Bonaparte was con- 
 tinually employed. His remarkable sayings to the 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 
 
 83 
 
 pupils of a school which he had one day visited, 
 "Young people, every hour of time lost, is a chance 
 of misfortune for future life," may be considered as, 
 in some measure, forming the rule of his own con- 
 duct. Perhaps no man ever better understood the 
 value of time: his very leisure was business. If 
 the activity of his mind found not wherewithal to 
 exercise itself in reality, he supplied the defect, by 
 giving free scope to his imagination, or in listening 
 to the conversation of the learned men attached to 
 the expedition ; for he, probably, was the only man 
 in the fleet who never experienced ennui for a single 
 moment. 
 
 A Man Overboard. 
 
 In a long voyage, it is impossible (says Bour- 
 rienne) to prevent accidents from men falling over- 
 board. This occurrence happened several times 
 with us, from the croAvded state of our vessel. On 
 these occasions, it was strange to witness the in- 
 stinctive force of humanity in the bosom of one so 
 lavish of the blood of his fellow-creatures on the 
 field of battle, and who was about to shed torrents 
 of it in the very Egypt whither we were going. 
 Whenever a man fell into the water, the command- 
 er-in-chief had no rest till he was saved. He in- 
 stantly ordered the ship to lay-to, showed the most 
 lively uneasiness till the unfortunate was recovered, 
 and ordered me to recompense liberally those most 
 
84 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 active in the rescue. Sailors who had thus distin- 
 guished themselves, when guilty of some breach 
 of discipline, were always exempted from punish- 
 ment. I remember, during one dark night, a noise 
 was heard, as of a man overboard. Bonaparte in- 
 stantly gave the word to put the ship about till the 
 supposed victim should be rescued from inevitable 
 death. The crew hastened from all quarters, exer- 
 tions were redoubled, and at length we fished up — 
 what? The victim was — a quarter of beef, which 
 had slipped from a noose over the side. How did 
 Bonaparte act ? He ordered me to reward the sai- 
 lors, who had exposed themselves on this occasion, 
 more liberally than usual: "It might have been a 
 man ; and these brave fellows have shown neither 
 less zeal nor less courage." 
 
 His Proclamation before landing in Egypt. 
 
 "Soldiers! — You are about to undertake a con- 
 quest, the effects of which upon the civilization and 
 commerce of the world are incalculable. You will 
 strike a blow, the surest and most vital which 
 England can receive, until you give her her death- 
 stroke. We shall have to make some fatiguing 
 marches; to engage in a few combats; but success 
 will crown our exertions. The destinies are fa- 
 vourable. The Mamelukes — retainers of England, 
 tyrants of all the unfortunate country — soon after 
 our landing shall have ceased to exist. 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 85 
 
 The people with whom we are about to be con- 
 nected are Mahometans. The first article of their 
 faith is this: — "There is no other God but God, 
 and Mahomet is his prophet." Do not gainsay 
 them ; live with them as you have done with the 
 Jews — with the Italians ; pay the same deference 
 to their muftis and their imaums, as you have paid 
 to the rabbins and the bishops ; show to the cere- 
 monies prescribed by the Koran, and to the mosques, 
 the same tolerance as you have shown to the con- 
 vents and the synagogues — to the religion of Moses 
 and of Jesus Christ. The Roman legions protect 
 all religions. You will find here usages different 
 from those of Europe : it is proper that you habitu- 
 ate yourselves to them. 
 
 The inhabitants treat their women differently 
 from us ; but, in every country, he who violates is 
 a monster. Pillage enriches only a few; it dis- 
 honours us, destroys our resources, and renders 
 enemies those whom our interest requires to be 
 friends. The first city we approach was built by 
 Alexander ; every step will awaken sublime recol- 
 lections, worthy of exciting the emulation of 
 Frenchmen/' 
 
 To this proclamation was appended an order of 
 the day, consisting of twelve articles, prohibiting 
 pillage, as also every species of violence, and con- 
 taining directions for collecting imposts and contri 
 butions. The punishments denounced upon delin- 
 quents were — repairing the damages inflicted, two 
 
86 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 years in irons, and death. Here I may be permitted 
 a reflection. Passages in this proclamation have 
 been severely animadverted upon as contraiy to the 
 doctrines of Christianity. But how absurd, to have 
 entered Egypt with the cross in one hand, and the 
 sword in the other ! Policy and common sense re- 
 quired us to respect the religion of the inhabitants. 
 Both this and other proclamations produced an 
 excellent effect. 
 
 Disembarkation of the French Troops in Egypt. 
 
 On the arrival of the French fleet on the Egyptian 
 coasts, Napoleon wished the troops to be landed 
 immediately ; but admiral Bruyes would not con- 
 sent, being afraid of the sea, then agitated by a 
 strong west wind ; but the general felt the value of 
 the moments which passed. He saw the expedition 
 exposed on the coast, and Alexandria in arms, pre- 
 paring for a defence ; and he wished positively to 
 land in spite of the violence of the waves. 
 
 The fleet accordingly anchored : and during the 
 evening and part of the night, the disembarkation 
 took place, a few leagues from Alexandria, near a 
 place called the tower of Marabout. 
 
 When Napoleon wished to execute the disem- 
 barkation without loss of time, he said to admiral 
 Bruyes, the moment he quitted the Orient : " We 
 must exert ourselves to open the port of Alexandria 
 for you, with the least possible delay; and if it be 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 87 
 
 not in a condition to receive the fleet, we must place 
 you in safety elsewhere. You have conducted us 
 successfully ; your task is over, but ours only com- 
 mences." — "What!" rejoined the brave Bruyes, 
 "do you take us for common carriers, and our ships 
 for baggage- wagons ? " 
 
 Napoleon* s Alarm on his arrival at Alexandria. 
 
 On the arrival of the French expedition in the 
 port of Alexandria, the resident consul was imme- 
 diately sent for. To the great astonishment of his 
 countrymen, he informed them that the English fleet 
 had made its appearance the preceding day before 
 the port, had demanded information with respect to 
 the French fleet, and had then continued its course 
 towards Alexandretta. At that very moment the 
 signal for vessels of war was made, and the order 
 of battle was given ; a firm belief being entertained 
 that the English fleet was at hand. 
 
 Napoleon at this instant gave expression to the 
 uneasiness which he felt. "Fortune," he exclaimed, 
 "why hast thou favoured us so long to abandon us 
 now, when former success only adds to the poig- 
 nancy of our misfortune ? In a few moments Alex- 
 andria would have been ours, and the whole of the 
 transports would have been safe !" 
 
 Happily for him, the signals were false; the ves- 
 sels turned out to be the French frigates, which had 
 fallen behind, and not the English fleet. 
 
S8 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 Gaiety of the French Soldiery. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the gaiety of the French 
 Boldiery : if they saw a young conscript sad and 
 dejected, he would soon be laughed and bantered 
 out of his sadness. Denon relates, that when the 
 French army, under Bonaparte, arrived off the 
 coast of Egypt, and saw it stretching along the 
 horizon, a perfect desert — not a tree, nor a plant, 
 nor any sign of a human habitation to be dis- 
 covered as far as the eye could reach either way — 
 far from being dispirited at this dreary prospect, 
 one of the soldiers drew a comrade to the side of 
 the vessel, and pointing to it, said, " Look ye ! 
 there are the six acres which have been decreed 
 thee !" alluding to a promise of a grant of land to 
 each soldier, on the expiration of his service in the 
 army. 
 
 In one of Bonaparte's despatches, he thus em- 
 phatically expresses himself upon the subject: 
 " They play and they laugh with death ; they have 
 now become completely accustomed to the enemy's 
 cavalry, which they hold in derision ; nothing can 
 equal their intrepidity, unless it be the gaiety tes- 
 tified during their forced and harassing inarches ; 
 for they sing by turns in honour of their country 
 and their mistresses. When arrived at the bivouac, 
 you would think, at least, that they would repose. 
 Such, however, is not the case ; each tells his 
 
"THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 89 
 
 story, or forms his plan of operations for the mor- 
 row ; and it is frequently ascertained that many of 
 them have made a just calculation." 
 
 Turkish Humanity towards the French Army in 
 Egypt. 
 
 When Bonaparte sailed with his army for Egypt, 
 d number of the most eminent of the French literati 
 accompanied him, in order to make research into 
 the antiquities, manners, customs, and literature of 
 that famous country. These labours they executed 
 with the most astonishing assiduity, even amidst 
 all the dangers of war. But the Institute had re- 
 mained at Cairo only a month, when their house 
 was pillaged, in a general insurrection of the in- 
 habitants 3 firing was heard in different places, and 
 many persons belonging to the Commission of Arts 
 fell a sacrifice to the fury of the populace. After 
 considerable slaughter, however, it was quelled the 
 second day, by means of some heavy artillery. 
 " Though the populace," says Denon, " the devo- 
 tees, and some of the great people of Cairo showed 
 themselves fanatical and cruel in this revolt, the 
 middle class (which is in all countries the most 
 accessible to reason and virtue) was perfectly hu- 
 mane and generous to us, notwithstanding the wide 
 difference of manners, religion, and language; — 
 whilst from the galleries of the minarets murder 
 was devoutly preached up — whilst the streets wero 
 
90 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 filled with death and carnage, all those in whose 
 houses any Frenchmen were lodged, were eager to 
 save them by concealment, and to supply and an- 
 ticipate all their wants. An elderly woman, in the 
 quarter in which we lodged, gave us to understand, 
 that, as our wall was but weak, if we were attacked, 
 we had only to throw it down, and seek for shelter 
 in her harem : a neighbour, without being asked, 
 .sent us provisions at the expense of his own store, 
 when no food was to be purchased in the town, and 
 every thing announced approaching famine ; he 
 even removed every thing from before our house 
 which could render it conspicuous to the enemy, 
 and went to smoke at our door, as if it were his 
 own, in order to deceive any who might attack us. 
 Two young persons, who were pursued in the 
 streets, were snatched up by some unknown people, 
 and carried into a house, and, whilst they were fu- 
 riously struggling for deliverance, expecting that 
 they were destined for some horrible cruelty, the 
 kind ravishers, not being able otherwise to convince 
 them of the hospitable benevolence of their inten- 
 tions, delivered up to them their own children, as 
 pledges of their sincerity. 
 
 " If the grave Mussulman represses those tokens 
 of sensibility, which other nations would take a 
 pride in exhibiting, it is in order to preserve the 
 dignified austerity of his character." 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 91 
 
 The Siege of Acre. 
 
 This celebrated siege began on the 20th of March, 
 1 799. It was during its progress that the actions 
 of Canaan, Nazareth, Saffet, and Mount Tabor 
 were fought. The latter was the one Kleber ad- 
 mired so much. Bonaparte sat up all night in his 
 tent, with the officers sleeping around him. He sat 
 at table examining maps and measuring distances 
 with a pair of compasses. Every now and then he 
 rose up, went to the opening of the tent, either to 
 breathe the fresh air, or as if to see how the night 
 waned. With the first streak of light he woke the 
 officers, and by ten o'clock he had beaten the Turks, 
 when Kleber arrived just in time to compliment him 
 on his victory. 
 
 Towards the end of April the most furious con- 
 tests took place daily ; sorties were made with va- 
 rious success, the besieged sometimes carrying 
 every thing before them, and then being driven 
 back again with great loss and disorder. Dismay 
 and death were scattered around. On the first of 
 May possession was obtained at peep of dawn of 
 the most salient point by twenty French volunteers ; 
 and at the same moment the English and French 
 made a sortie, which was briskly repulsed in its 
 turn, and several hundreds killed. On the seventh 
 the town received a reinforcement of fresh troops. 
 At night the French fought their way through the 
 
02 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 breach, and had gained a footing in the place, when 
 the troops which had landed appeared in formidable 
 numbers to renew the battle. Rambaud was killed; 
 and a great many fell with him. Lannes was 
 wounded. The besieged then sallied forth by every 
 gate, and took the breach in rear, but they were 
 attacked in turn, and cut off. Every thing appeared 
 so favourable, that on the tenth, at two in the 
 morning, Napoleon ordered a new assault. Gene- 
 ral Dubois was killed in this skirmish ; and on ad- 
 vancing, Djezzar's house and all the avenues were 
 so thronged with defenders, that the soldiers could 
 not pass beyond the breach. There seemed no 
 hope of carrying the place by a " coup-de-main." 
 The French, remote as they were from France and 
 Egypt, could not afford fresh losses : they had al- 
 ready twelve hundred wounded, and the plague was 
 in the hospitals. Accordingly, on the twentieth, the 
 siege was raised. The resistance made was no 
 doubt owing to the spirit and bravery of the gallant 
 English admiral, Sir Sidney Smith. The attack 
 was obstinate and well-directed ; and there was a 
 proportionable activity, courage, and readiness of 
 expedient opposed to it. A spirit like Ariel flamed 
 on every part of the walls, and a master-hand was 
 discernible in all the operations. Bonaparte spoke 
 highly of the courage and character of Sir Sidney 
 Smith. He attributed the failure of the attack on 
 Acre to his taking the French battering-train, which 
 was on board some small vessels in the harbour 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. 93 
 
 Bonaparte, until this period, had never experienced 
 any reverses, but had continually proceeded from 
 triumph to triumph, and therefore confidently an- 
 ticipated the taking of St. Jean d 'Acre. In his 
 letters to his generals in Egypt, he fixed the twenty- 
 fifth of April for the accomplishment of that event. 
 He reckoned that the grand assault against the 
 tower could not be made before that day : it took 
 place, however, twenty-four hours sooner. " The 
 slightest circumstances," said he, " produce the 
 greatest events ; had St. Jean d 'Acre fallen, I 
 should have changed the face of the world. The 
 fate of the East lay in that small town." 
 
 His Return from Egypt. 
 
 When the news of his arrival reached Marseilles, 
 the event was celebrated with a general illumination, 
 bonfires, and other demonstrations of joy. 
 
 But an impulse of a very different nature seized 
 the minds of the magistracy of Toulon. It was 
 known there that the plague had made considerable 
 ravages among the army in Egypt ; and when the 
 news circulated that Bonaparte had landed at 
 Frejus, and proceeded immediately to Paris, with- 
 out the vessel or any of the crew having been 
 subjected to the usual quarantine, couriers were 
 sent after him, with orders not to stop on the road 
 upon any consideration till they had overtaken him, 
 and to bring him and his companions back, that 
 
94 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 they might be put into quarantine. But Bonaparte 
 had got so much the start of them, and pursued his 
 journey with so much alacrity, that he arrived at 
 Paris long before them ; and the memorable events 
 which crowded upon each other from the moment 
 of his arrival, soon turned the public attention from 
 all other objects to fix it on them alone. 
 
 His Respect for the Memory of Washington, 
 
 When Napoleon was installed first consul, at the 
 palace of the Tuileries, where every thing still 
 breathed the recollection of its ancient kings, — it 
 was just at that moment he learned the news of the 
 death of Washington. He had died on the 14th 
 of the preceding December, at the age of sixty-eight 
 years, at his seat of Mount Vernon in Virginia, hav- 
 ing secured the independence of his country as a gene- 
 ral, its liberty as a legislator, and its prosperity as 
 a magistrate. What, says Hazlitt, hindered Bona- 
 parte from following his example ? Had the allied 
 troops been removed 3000 miles off, on the other 
 side of the Atlantic, had the French been a colony 
 of English settlers, and in France there had been no 
 palace of her ancient kings, there was nothing to 
 prevent it ! 
 
 The first consul did not neglect this opportunity 
 of showing his respect to the character of the hero 
 of American liberty ; his death was announced tc 
 
THE CONSULATE. 95 
 
 the consular guard, and to all the troops of the 
 republic in the following order of the day : 
 
 " Washington is dead ! This great man fought 
 against tyranny ; he established the liberty of his 
 country. His memory must always be dear to the 
 French people, as well as to all the free of both 
 worlds, and especially to the French soldiers, who, 
 like him and his American troops, fight in defence 
 of liberty and equality. In consequence, the first 
 consul has ordered, that for the space of ten days, 
 black crape shall be hung on all the colours and 
 standards of the republic." 
 
 His Conduct in the Revolution of the Eighteenth 
 Brumaire, 1799. 
 
 Napoleon was appointed to the military command 
 in Paris, preparatory to dissolving the government ; 
 he immediately summoned his officers to attend him 
 so early as six o'clock next morning. The sittings 
 of the council of Ancients, and the council of Five 
 Hundred, in which Lucien Bonaparte presided, 
 were removed to St. Cloud ; and the members of 
 the latter body assembled before the room was pre- 
 pared for their reception. 
 
 At length the sitting opened. Emile Gaudin 
 ascended the tribune, painted in lively colours the 
 dangers of the country, and proposed thanks to the 
 council of Ancients, for the measures of public 
 
96 ANECDOTES OF * 
 
 safety which it had set on foot ; and that it should 
 be invited, by message, to explain its intentions 
 fully. At the same time, he proposed to appoint a 
 committee of seven persons, to make a report upon 
 the state of the republic. 
 
 The furious rushing forth of the winds enclosed 
 in the caverns of Eolus never raised a more raging 
 storm. The speaker was violently hurled to the 
 bottom of the tribune. The ferment became ex- 
 cessive. 
 
 Delbred desired that the members should swear 
 anew to the constitution of the year 3. Chenier, 
 Lucien, Boulay, trembled. The chamber proceeded 
 to the "Appel Nominal," i. e., a calling over of the 
 names of the deputies, each one giving his vote at 
 the time of answering. 
 
 During the Appel Nominal, which lasted more 
 than two hours, reports of what was passing were 
 circulated through the capital. The leaders of the 
 assembly, "du Manege tricoteuses," [or knitters. 
 These were female jacobin clubs, chiefly encouraged 
 by Robespierre: they took their place in the na- 
 tional assemblies to hear the debates, &c] hastened 
 up. Jourdan and Augereau had kept out of the 
 way ; believing Napoleon lost, they made all haste 
 to St. Cloud. Augereau drew near to Napoleon, 
 and said, " Well ! here you are in a pretty situa- 
 tion!" "Augereau," replied Napoleon, "remember 
 Areola : matters appeared much more desperate 
 there. Take my advice, remain quiet, if you would 
 
THE CONSULATE. 97 
 
 not fall a victim to this confusion. In half an hour 
 you will see what a turn affairs will have taken." 
 
 The assembly seemed to declare itself with so 
 much unanimity, that no deputy durst refuse to 
 swear to the constitution — even Lucien himself was 
 compelled to swear. Shouts, and cries of " bravo," 
 were heard throughout the chamber. The moment 
 was critical. All minds were in a state of sus- 
 pense. Not an instant was to be lost. Napoleon 
 crossed the saloon of Mars, entered the council of 
 Ancients, and placed himself opposite to the presi- 
 dent. (x\t the bar.) 
 
 " You stand," said he, " upon a volcano ; the Re- 
 public no longer possesses a government; the Direct- 
 ory is dissolved ; factions are at work ; the hour of 
 decision is come. You have called in my arm, and 
 the arms of my comrades, to the support of your 
 wisdom ; but the moments are precious ; it is neces- 
 sary to take an ostensible part. I know that Caesar 
 and Cromwell are talked of — as if this day could be 
 compared with past times. No, I desire nothing 
 but the safety of the republic, and to maintain the 
 resolutions to which you are about to come. And 
 you, grenadiers, whose caps I perceive at the doors 
 of this hall, speak — have I ever deceived you ? Did 
 I ever forfeit my word when, in camp, in the midst 
 of privations, I promised you victory and plenty ; 
 and when, at your head, I led you from conquest to 
 conquest ? Now say, was it for my own aggrandize- 
 ment, or for the interest of the republic ? " 
 
98 ANECDOTES OP 
 
 The general spoke with energy. The grenadiers 
 were electrified ; and, waving their caps and arms 
 in the air, they all seemed to say, " Yes, true, true ! 
 he always kept his word ! " 
 
 Upon this a member (Linglet) rose, and said, 
 with a loud voice, "General, we applaud what you 
 say ; sw r ear, then, with us, obedience to the consti- 
 tution of the year 3, which alone can preserve the 
 republic." 
 
 The astonishment caused by these words pro- 
 duced the most profound silence. 
 
 Napoleon recollected himself for a moment, and 
 then went on again emphatically : — " The constitu- 
 tion of the year 3 ! — you have it no longer — you 
 violated it on the 18th of Fructidor, when the 
 government infringed on the independence of the 
 legislative body ; you violated it on the 30th of 
 Prairial, in the year 7, when the legislative body 
 struck at the independence of the government; you 
 violated it on the 22d of Floreal, when, by a sacri- 
 legious decree, the government and the legislative 
 body invaded the sovereignty of the people, by an- 
 nulling the elections made by them. The constitu- 
 tion being violated, there must be a new compact, 
 new guarantees." 
 
 The force of this speech, and the energy of the 
 general, brought over three-fourths of the members 
 of the council, who rose to indicate their approba- 
 tion. At this moment, Napoleon was informed that 
 the Appel Nominal was terminated in the council 
 
THE CONSULATE. 99 
 
 of Five Hundred, and that they were endeavouring 
 to Force the president, Lucien, to put the outlawry 
 of his brother to the vote. Napoleon immediately 
 hastened to the Five Hundred, entered the chamber 
 with his hat off, and ordered the officers and soldiers 
 who accompanied him to remain at the doors ; he 
 was desirous to place himself at the bar, to rally his 
 party, which was numerous, but which had lost all 
 unity and resolution. But to get to the bar, it was 
 necessary to cross half the chamber, because 
 the president had his seat on one of the wings. 
 When Napoleon had advanced alone across one- 
 third of the Orangery, two or three hundred mem- 
 bers suddenly rose, crying, " Death to the tyrant ! 
 Down with the dictator ! " 
 
 Two grenadiers, who, by the order of the gene- 
 ral, had remained at the door, and who had reluct- 
 antly obeyed, saying to him, " You do not know 
 them, they are capable of any thing!" rushed in, 
 sabre in hand, overthrowing all that opposed their 
 passage, to join the general, and cover him with 
 their bodies. All the other grenadiers followed this 
 example, and forced him out of the chamber. In 
 the confusion, one of them, named Thome, was 
 slightly wounded by the thrust of a dagger ; and the 
 clothes of another were cut through. 
 
 He descended into the court-yard, called the 
 troops into a circle by beat of drum, got on horse- 
 back, and harangued them. " I was about," said 
 he, " to point out to them the means of saving the 
 
100 ANECDOTES OF 
 
 republic, and restoring our glory. They answered 
 me with their daggers. It was thus they would 
 have accomplished the wishes of the allied kings. 
 What more could England have done? Soldiers, 
 may I rely upon you ?" 
 
 Unanimous acclamations formed the reply to this 
 speech. Napoleon instantly ordered a captain to 
 oo with ten men into the chamber of Five Hundred, 
 and to liberate the president. 
 
 Lucien had just thrown off his robe. " Wretches !" 
 exclaimed he, " you insist that I should put out of 
 the protection of the laws my brother, the saviour 
 of the country, him whose very name causes kings 
 to tremble ! I lay aside the insignia of the popular 
 magistracy ; I offer myself in the tribune as the 
 defender of him, whom you command me to immo- 
 late unheard." 
 
 Thus saying, he quitted the chair, and darted 
 into the tribune. The officer of grenadiers then 
 presented himself at the door of the chamber, ex- 
 claiming, " Vive la Republique IV It was supposed 
 that the troops were sending a deputation to express 
 their devotion to the council. The captain wan 
 received with a joyful expression of feeling. He 
 availed himself of the misapprehension, approached 
 the tribune, and secured the president, saying to 
 him in a low voice, " It is your brother's order." 
 The grenadiers at the same time shouted, u Down 
 with the assassins !" 
 
 Upon these exclamation s s the joy of the members 
 
THE CONSULATE. 101 
 
 was converted into sadness ; a gloomy silence tes- 
 tified their dejection. No opposition was offered 
 to the departure of the president, who rushed into 
 the court-yard, mounted a horse, and cried out in 
 his stentorian voice, " General — and you, soldiers — 
 the president of the council of Five Hundred pro- 
 claims to you that factious men, with drawn dag- 
 gers, have interrupted the deliberations of that 
 assembly. He calls upon you to employ force 
 against these disturbers. The council of Five 
 Hundred is dissolved !" 
 
 " President," replied the general, " it shall be 
 done." 
 
 He then ordered Murat into the chamber, at the 
 head of a detachment in close column. At this 
 crisis general B ### ventured: tio^^kvhjm £>r; fifty 
 men, in order to place himself. in amhuscade upon 
 the way, and fire upon dip ;fqgitiye*s;>.'' Naipoleoli 
 replied to this request only by enjoining the grena- 
 diers to commit no excesses. "It is my wish," said 
 he, "that not one drop of blood may be shed." 
 
 Murat presented himself at the door, and sum- 
 moned the council to disperse. The shouts and 
 vociferations continued. Colonel Moulins, aid-de- 
 camp of Brune, who had just arrived from Holland, 
 ordered the charge to be beaten. The drums put 
 an end to the clamour. The soldiers entered the 
 chamber charging bayonets. The deputies leaped 
 out at the windows, and dispersed, leaving their 
 
102 ANECDOTES OP 
 
 gowns, caps, &c; in one moment the chamber was 
 empty. Those members of the council who had 
 shown most pertinacity, fled with the utmost pre- 
 cipitation to Paris. 
 
 About one hundred deputies of the Five Hundred 
 /allied at the office and round the inspectors of the 
 hall. They presented themselves in a body to the 
 council of the Ancients. Lucien represented that 
 the Five Hundred had been dissolved at his in- 
 stance ; that, in the exercise of his functions as 
 president of the assembly, he had been surrounded 
 by daggers ; that he had sent attendants to summon 
 the council again; that nothing had been done con- 
 trary to form, and that the troops had but obeyed 
 his mandate- The .council of the Ancients, which 
 had witnessed with: some uneasiness this exercise 
 of military uower. was satisfied with the explana- 
 i !••;:. ,'• i ntn-iglu the two councils reassem- 
 
 bled; they formed large majorities. Two commit- 
 tees were appointed to report upon the state of the 
 republic. On the report of Beranger, thanks to 
 Napoleon and the troops were decreed. Boulay de 
 la Meurthe, in the Five Hundred, and Villetard, in 
 the Ancients, detailed the situation of the republic, 
 and the measures necessary to be taken. The law 
 of the 19th Brumaire was passed; it adjourned the 
 councils to the 1st of Ventose following; it created 
 two committees of twenty-five members each, to 
 represent the councils provisionally. These com- 
 
THE CONSULATE. liW 
 
 mittees were also to prepare a civil code. A pro 
 visional consular commission, consisting of Sieves, 
 Roger-Ducos, and Napoleon, was charged with the 
 executive power. 
 
 This was one of the greatest and most decisive 
 events in the life of Napoleon. 
 
104 NAPOLEON KING OF ITALY. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FROM THE ACCESSION OF NAPOLEON TO THE THRONE 
 TO THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 
 
 AD Napoleon, after the peace of 
 Amiens, preferred the interests of 
 France to those of his own ambition, 
 he might have secured to the nation 
 the fruits of twelve years of internal 
 IbbD and external struggle, and become the 
 
 moderator of Europe. But he chose rather to be 
 its sovereign ; and keeping his eyes steadily fixed 
 on the great image of Charlemagne, believed that 
 he was, himself, summoned to the same high desti- 
 nies. His first object of ambition was to add to 
 the title of emperor of the French that of king of 
 Italy ; and the representatives of the Cisalpine re- 
 public decided that their country should be erected 
 into a kingdom, in his favour. Napoleon set out, 
 instantly, for Milan ; where he put on the iron 
 crown of the Lombard kings, and appointed Eugene 
 de Beauharnais, his step-son, viceroy of Italy. The 
 establishment of this kingdom, the annexation to 
 the empire of the territory of Genoa and that of 
 
ENTERS VIENNA. 105 
 
 Piedmont, and the efforts of the English cabinet, 
 once more directed by Mr. Pitt, revolted Austria, 
 and united that country, England and Russia, 
 (where the emperor Alexander had succeeded to 
 his murdered father,) in a third coalition against 
 France. Napoleon was, at this time, at Boulogne, 
 meditating a descent upon England, and preparing 
 a formidable armament for that purpose. On learn- 
 ing that two hundred and twenty thousand Aus- 
 trians were advancing, in three bodies, under the 
 archdukes Ferdinand, John, and Charles, towards 
 the Rhine and Adige, and that two Russian armies 
 were in march to join them, he suddenly quitted 
 Boulogne, passed the Rhine, on the 1st of October, 
 1805, at the head of one hundred and sixty thou- 
 sand men, and advanced into Germany, — whilst 
 Massena arrested prince Charles in Italy. The 
 Danube was crossed, and Bavaria occupied ; and 
 Napoleon and his generals vied with each other in 
 boldness and success, — Murat triumphing at Ver- 
 tingen, Dupont at Hasslach, and Ney at Echlingen. 
 Bewildered by such a series of rapid reverses, the 
 Austrian general, Mack, suffered himself to be in- 
 vested in Ulm, and laid down his arms, with thirty 
 thousand men. This capitulation opened the gates 
 of Vienna to the French ; and Napoleon made his 
 entry into that city on the 13th of November. 
 From thence, he marched into Moravia, to meet 
 the Russians ; and encountered them, with *he re- 
 mains of the Austrian army, on the plains of Aus- 
 
106 BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 
 
 terlitz. The battle was fought on the 2d of Decern 
 ber, the anniversary of his coronation ; and there 
 Napoleon gained the most brilliant of all his victo- 
 ries. The battle of Austerlitz put an end to the 
 third coalition, and was followed, on the 26th of 
 December, by the peace of Presburg. By this 
 treaty, the house of Austria ceded the provinces of 
 Dalmatia and Albania to the kingdom of Italy, and 
 a great number of its possessions to the electorates 
 of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, which were erected 
 into kingdoms. But the year 1805, so fruitful in 
 triumphs for France on the continent, beheld, like- 
 wise, the complete ruin of her navy. The com- 
 bined fleets of France and Spain, under the com- 
 mand of admiral Villeneuve, beaten, on the 22d of 
 July, at Cape Finisterre, lost, on the 21st of Octo- 
 ber, the celebrated battle of Trafalgar. Thirty-two 
 French and Spanish ships were beaten by twenty- 
 eight English sail, under the command of Nelson ; 
 and thirteen ships alone of the combined fleet es- 
 caped. This great victory, which cost the English 
 admiral his life, secured to England the sovereignty 
 of the seas ; and it was no longer on that element 
 that Napoleon attempted to disturb her power. 
 
NAPOLEON IN PARIS. 
 
 107 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PROM THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR TO THE OCCUPATION 
 OF SPAIN. 
 
 HE trophies of Ulm and Austerlitz con- 
 soled France for the loss of her navy. 
 Napoleon returned to Paris after his 
 brilliant three months' campaign, and 
 was received there with universal en- 
 thusiasm. Intoxicated with his high 
 fortune, he occupied himself with effacing the last 
 traces of the revolutionary institutions. The repub- 
 lican calendar was definitively replaced by the Grego- 
 rian ; which was enriched by a new saint, — it being 
 ordained, by decree, that on the 15th of August, the 
 fete of Saint-Napoleon should be celebrated through- 
 out the empire. By another decree, the basilica 
 of Saint-Dennis was appointed as the burial-place 
 of the emperors ; and a chapel was ordered to be 
 consecrated in that church to each race of the kings 
 of France. The Pantheon was . restored to the 
 Catholic worship ; and the tribunate ceased to exist. 
 Napoleon, who, by the peace of Presburg, had cre- 
 ated the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wirtemburg, 
 declared that the house of Naples had lost the 
 
108 NAPOLEON S POLITY. 
 
 crown, in chastisement of the share which it had 
 taken in the last coalition, and transferred the Ne- 
 apolitan sceptre to his brother Joseph. He erected 
 the republic of the United Provinces into a kingdom, 
 in favour of his brother Louis, and named his 
 brother-in-law, prince Murat, grand-duke of Cleves 
 and Berg. One single republic, alone, now re- 
 mained, of all those which had surrounded France, 
 under the directory — that of Switzerland ; and Na- 
 poleon declared himself its mediator. He sought 
 to restore the military system of the middle ages ; 
 and transformed divers provinces and principalities 
 into grand fiefs of the empire, which he bestowed, 
 as recompenses, on his most illustrious ministers 
 and generals. Thus were Dalmatia, Istria, Belluno, 
 Conegliano, Treviso, Bassano, Vicenza, Padua, 
 Rovigo, and others, erected into duchies, and Neuf- 
 chatel, Benevento, and Guastalla into principalities. 
 Two years later, Napoleon gave the finishing blow 
 to the republican institutions, by creating a new 
 hereditary nobility, in which the old illustrious fami- 
 lies took rank, for the most part, after the distin- 
 guished men of the day. Thus, a Montmorency was 
 made a count, at the same time that the minister of 
 justice, Fouche, became a duke. This was trifling 
 with the good sense of the public, and altogether 
 misunderstanding the characteristic distinctions be- 
 tween ancient and modern times. It was an idle 
 nourishing of the vain hope of commencing a new 
 era, by setting up himself as the principle and source 
 
CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE. 109 
 
 of a novel order of things, and giving to the insti- 
 tutions of an advanced civilization the forms adopted 
 for that of an age as yet barbarous. But the press 
 was, then, constrained to adulation or to silence ; 
 and the victor-laurels which covered the faults of 
 Napoleon, extorted pardon for his errors and des- 
 potic acts. In the year 1806, all things smiled 
 upon his wishes. His irreconcileable enemy, Pitt, 
 was dead, and had been succeeded by Fox, the 
 leader of the parliamentary opposition. Negotia- 
 tions for peace were, immediately, set on foot, be- 
 tween the two powers, and actively prosecuted by 
 the minister, Talleyrand. Napoleon, however, still 
 laboured to extend his domination in Europe ; and 
 completed the organization of his military empire, 
 by bringing the ancient Germanic body into an 
 admission of its dependence upon himself. On the 
 12th of July, 1806, fourteen princes of the south 
 and west of Germany formed an union, under the 
 title of the Confederation of the Rhine, and acknow- 
 ledged Napoleon as its protector. Francis II. 
 abdicated the title of emperor of Germany, and took 
 that of emperor of Austria, under the name of 
 Francis I. : — and thus ended the Germanic empire, 
 after having existed a thousand years. 
 
 Frederick William, king of Prussia, uneasy at 
 the invasions of France, and jealous of the perpet- 
 ually increasing ascendency of Napoleon in Europe, 
 was desirous of forming, in Germany, a confedera- 
 tion of the northern states, with the view of opposing 
 
110 PRUSSIA OVERTHROWN. 
 
 it to the confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon 
 prevented Hesse, Saxony and the Hanseatic towns 
 from entering into this league ; and having rejected 
 the ultimatum of Prussia, Frederick William re- 
 solved upon war. He invaded Saxony ; the French 
 ambassador was insulted in Berlin ; and the young 
 and beautiful queen of Prussia traversed that city 
 on horseback, and in military costume, for the pur- 
 pose of exciting the warlike enthusiasm of the popu- 
 lace. " She looks," said Napoleon, speaking of her, 
 " like Armida, in her distraction, setting fire to her 
 own palace." These were prophetic words ; for 
 France was again destined to crush this fourth 
 coalition, formed between Russia, Prussia, Sweden, 
 and England. The death of Fox, which followed 
 soon alter that of Pitt, had destroyed all hope of 
 conciliation between that latter power and the 
 French empire. 
 
 Napoleon entered upon this campaign, on the 
 28th of September; and, on the 14th of October, 
 the fate of Prussia was decided by two glorious 
 victories. The emperor triumphed at Jena ; and 
 his lieutenant, Davoust, was victor, on the same 
 day, at Auerstaedt. Lubeck was taken ; all the 
 fortresses of Prussia capitulated : and, in a few days, 
 that despotic and military monarchy was annihi- 
 lated. Napoleon traversed the battle-field of Ros- 
 bach ; where his presence effaced the disgrace 
 suffered there by the French arms in the preceding 
 century. At Potsdam, he visited the tomb of the 
 
TREATY OF TILSIT. Ill 
 
 great Frederick, and took possession of that famous 
 warrior's sword. He then marched into Poland to 
 meet the Russian army ; which he fought, on the 
 7th of February (1807,) with equal loss on both 
 Bides, in the bloody battle of Eylau, — and which he 
 crushed, on the 14th of June, at Fnedland. Alex- 
 ander sued for peace ; a conference took place, on 
 a raft on the Niemen, between the two emperors 
 and the king of Prussia ; and, on the 7th of July, 
 peace was signed at Tilsit. Alexander interceded 
 for Frederick William, to whom Napoleon gave 
 back the half of his estates. Saxony and West- 
 phalia, augmented, the one by a great portion of 
 the Prussian territory and the other by Hanover, 
 were erected into kingdoms. The vanquished sove- 
 reigns acknowledged as grand-duke of Warsaw the 
 elector of Saxony, who had already been crowned 
 king by the emperor, and as kings of Naples, Hol- 
 land and Westphalia, the brothers of Napoleon, 
 Joseph, Louis, and Jerome ; — and the confederation 
 of the Rhine, from thenceforth, extended to the Elbe. 
 England alone continued to resist Napoleon ; who 
 directed all his efforts against her, and strove to 
 crush tier, by annihilating her commerce in Europe. 
 On the 21st of November, in the preceding year* 
 had issued, from Berlin, the famous decree which 
 created the continental system, declaring the British 
 islands in a state of blockade, and extending the 
 seizure of all English merchandise to every English- 
 man found on the territory of France, on those of 
 
112 BOMBARDMENT OF COPENHAGEN. _ 
 
 the countries which she had conquered, or of the 
 stales which acknowledged the dominion of her 
 allies. Every nation which refused to adhere to 
 this system was to be considered as an enemy of 
 the French empire. 
 
 This decree disturbed all Europe. It was espe- 
 cially injurious to the interests of the northern and 
 southern nations, for whom the commerce with Eng- 
 land was a vital necessity ; and it involved Napoleon 
 in a series of violent measures and gigantic opera- 
 tions, which precipitated his downfall. England, 
 deprived of the alliance of Russia by the treaty of 
 Tilsit, determined, at whatever cost, to preserve a 
 footing on the coasts of the Baltic ; to which end 
 she demanded of Denmark an alliance defensive and 
 offensive, and, as guarantee, the delivery of her fleet 
 and her capital. On the king's refusal to comply 
 with this demand, Copenhagen underwent, on the 
 2d of September, 1807, a terrible bombardment, 
 which destroyed three hundred houses ; while the 
 Danish fleet, composed of fifty-three ships of war, 
 fell into the hands of the English. Victim of this 
 act of iniquitous and barbarous violence, Denmark 
 avenged herself by instantly adhering to the conti- 
 nental system ; and Russia followed her example. 
 Alexander declared, besides, that he prohibited all 
 communication with the English until there should 
 be peace between France and Great Britain. 
 
 Sweden was the only power in the north which, 
 after the treaty of Tilsit, had remained in arms. 
 
TREATY WITH SPAIN. 113 
 
 Her feeble monarch, Gustavus IV., declared him- 
 self the avenger of Europe against Napoleon ; but, 
 abandoned by England, and plundered by his former 
 ally, Russia, he saw Stralsund and the Isle of Rugen 
 carried off before his eyes, lost Pomerania, and by 
 his foolish pride alienated from himself the affection 
 of his subjects. The entire shores of the Baltic 
 submitted to the French yoke. England had, some 
 months previously, vainly attempted to subdue the 
 Ottoman Porte, at that time at war with Russia, 
 and an ally of France. An English fleet, after hav- 
 ing, with this design, passed the Dardanelles, had 
 been beaten back by formidable batteries, hastily 
 thrown up by the French ambassador, Sebastiani. 
 There remained but one single state which acknow- 
 ledged the direct influence of Great Britain. That 
 state was Portugal; and Napoleon, who, by the 
 decree of the continental blockade, had arrogated 
 to himself the right of disposing, at his own good 
 pleasure, of the destinies of nations, signed, at Fon- 
 tainbleau, on the 27th of September, 1807, an in- 
 iquitous treaty with Spain, by which Portugal, in 
 chastisement of her alliance with England, was to 
 be almost entirely shared between the king of 
 Etruria, and Godoy, prince of peace, who governed 
 the Spanish monarchy. This treaty acknowledged 
 the king of Spain, Charles IV., as suzerain of the 
 two states formed by the dismemberment of Portu- 
 gal. A proclamation announced, on the 13th of 
 December, 1807, that the house of Braganza had 
 
 H 
 
114 ATTEMPT UPON SPAIN. 
 
 ceased to reign. Twenty-eight thousand French, 
 under the command of Junot, were charged with 
 the execution of this sentence ; and, before their 
 arrival at Lisbon, the prince regent of Portugal 
 embarked for Brazil, abandoning his capital and his 
 fleet to the invading army. 
 
 This rapid success, and the scandalous dissen- 
 sions of the royal family of Spain, inflamed the 
 ambition of Napoleon, and accustomed him to look 
 upon the peninsula, in part or in whole, as his con- 
 quest. The feeble Charles IV., entirely governed 
 by the queen's favourite, Godoy, had rendered him- 
 self contemptible in the eyes of all his subjects ; 
 of whom Ferdinand, the prince of Asturias, became 
 the idol, as the declared enemy of the obnoxious 
 favourite. Napoleon, at the summit of his fortune, 
 was an object of admiration and reverence to 
 Charles IV. and his son. Already, he had been 
 chosen as the arbiter of their differences ; and the 
 prince of Asturias had solicited the honour of an 
 alliance with his family. It was in the emperor's 
 power, by pacific measures, to have exercised a 
 sovereign influence over Spain, and profited, ad- 
 vantageously for his own system, by the hatred 
 with which a number of maritime disasters had 
 inspired the Spaniards against England. This, 
 however, was not sufficient for his ambition ; and, 
 whilst the eyes of all the royal family of Spain 
 were turned towards him in hope, a French army 
 passed the Pyrenees, under Murat, the grand-duke 
 
TREACHERY TO SPAIN. 115 
 
 of Berg, and suddenly the news reached Madrid 
 that the strong-holds of Barcelona, Figueras, Pam- 
 peluna and Saint Sebastian were militarily occupied 
 by the French (1808). Soon afterwards, Napoleon, 
 in contempt of the treaty of Fontainbleau, openly 
 demanded the annexation to his empire of the pro- 
 vinces on the left bank of the Ebro. Charles IV. 
 and the queen were smitten with dismay; and 
 Godoy counselled them to imitate the prince regent 
 of Portugal, and embark for their dominions in 
 America. His advice was adopted, and prepara- 
 tions were making for their departure ; but Ferdi- 
 nand opposed the measure, and, summoning the 
 population of Aranjuez to arms, denounced to them, 
 as new treacheries, the dastardly counsels of Go- 
 doy. An insurrection was the consequence, in 
 which the troops took part, and which was directed 
 by Ferdinand. He caused Godoy to be arrested^ 
 kept his father prisoner,' compelled him to abdicate, 
 and then made a triumphal entry into Madrid, in 
 the character of king of the two Spains. 
 
 On the following day, however, Murat, without 
 awaiting the emperor's orders, entered that capital 
 with his army. Charles IV. protested against his 
 compulsory abdication, and Murat refused to ac- 
 knowledge the royalty of Ferdinand. ' Napoleon, 
 alone,' he said, 'must decide between the father and 
 son.' The emperor came to Bayonne ; whither he 
 invited king Charles and his son to repair, that he 
 might pronounce, as supreme arbiter of their differ- 
 
116 JOSEPH MADE KING OF SPAIN. 
 
 ences and destinies. They obeyed the summons ; 
 and Napoleon, master of their persons, decided for 
 the father, and compelled him to abdicate in his 
 own favour. Charles IV. had the chateau of Cam- 
 piegne assigned for his habitation, and his son was 
 held captive in that of Valencay. Thus was con- 
 summated an odious act of usurpation, whose re- 
 sults became fatal to its author, and gave the first 
 blow to his fortune, by shaking the stability of his 
 throne. Murat, however, retained possession of 
 Madrid ; and, swayed by French influence, the 
 council of Castile was induced to demand as king 
 of Spain, Napoleon's eldest brother, Joseph. 
 
 An assembly of notables was immediately con- 
 vened at Bayonne; at which the emperor organized 
 a junta charged with the provisional government. 
 Joseph yielded up the crown of Naples to Joachim 
 Murat, instantly quitted that capital, and arrived at 
 Bayonne, on the 7th of June ; where he was ac- 
 knowledged king of Spain by the duke de l'lnfan- 
 tado, and a deputation of the grandees and different 
 bodies of the state. The assembly of Bayonne 
 voted a constitution, to which Joseph swore ; and, 
 on the 9th of July, he was in march for Spain. But 
 already the Spaniards, indignant and furious at the 
 usurpation, had flown to arms. The clergy set the 
 example of revolt, declaring that heaven was inte- 
 rested in the cause of Ferdinand, and denouncing 
 Napoleon as Anti-christ. The army had risen in 
 
RESISTANCE OP SPAIN. 117 
 
 mass ; and a provisional junta of government as- 
 sembled at Seville, disputed and annulled the acts 
 of the junta of Bayonne. On Saint-Ferdinand's 
 day, a new 'Sicilian Vespers' sounded against the 
 French, throughout the whole of Spain. Their 
 squadron was seized at Cadiz, and the crews 
 slaughtered ; and the Spaniards signalized their 
 vengeance, in various places, by massacres and 
 crime. They declared war to the death against the 
 French, — and the Portuguese followed their exam- 
 ple. However, Bessieres was victorious at Medina 
 de Rio Secco ; and his success opened the gates 
 of Madrid to king Joseph, — who made his entry 
 into that capital on the 20th of July. 
 
 Almost immediately afterwards, however, gene- 
 ral Dupont shamefully capitulated, at Baylen, and 
 laid down his arms, with twenty-six thousand sol- 
 diers. This terrible check gave a shock to the 
 French authority in the peninsula, and redoubled 
 the daring of the Spaniards. Joseph was obliged 
 to quit Madrid, one week after his solemn entry. 
 Portugal revolted ; and an English army landed 
 there, under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, 
 afterwards the duke of Wellington. Junot, with 
 only ten thousand men, risked the battle of Vimiera 
 against twenty-six thousand English and Portu- 
 guese. He was beaten; and, shortly afterwards, 
 signed the convention of Cintra, which at least left 
 him at liberty to return to France with honour 
 
118 
 
 REVERSES OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Portugal was evacuated ; and already Joseph pos- 
 sessed no more than Barcelona, Navarre and Biscay, 
 in all Spain. The English, so recently enemies to the 
 Spaniards, were received by them with open arms. 
 The star of Napoleon began to wane ; and the^res- 
 tige of the invincibility of the French arms, under 
 his reign, was at length destroyed. 
 
ANECDOTES. 
 
 119 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ANECDOTES 
 
 Coronation of Napoleon. 
 
 HE Pope arrived in Paris on the 28th 
 of November ; and no time was lost 
 in preparing for the solemnity which 
 had brought him thither. Two days 
 after, that is to say, on the first of 
 December, the senate presented to the emperor the 
 result of the votes of the people, on the question of 
 hereditary succession ; and next day the consecra- 
 tion took place. It was pretended that the title of 
 emperor changed nothing of the republic, and that 
 the succession of this dignity in one family was the 
 only innovation produced under the empire. 
 
 On the 2d of December, 1804, the pope repaired 
 first to the cathedral of Notre Dame, before the 
 emperor; the imperial cortege appeared resplendent 
 with gold, plumes, and rich furniture of the horses ; 
 the costumes dazzled the multitude, and for the first 
 time pages were stuck round the imperial carriage. 
 The vast interior was crowded with an audience in 
 
120 ANECDOTES. 
 
 full dress, and with swords. The crowns, both for 
 himself and the empress, were laid upon the altar ; 
 and the pope, having anointed the foreheads and 
 temples of the emperor and empress with oil, which 
 he had previously consecrated for the purpose, pro- 
 ceeded to bless and consecrate the crowns, taking 
 them in his hands as he pronounced the benediction. 
 fie then replaced them on the altar ; and, retiring 
 to his own seat, Napoleon advanced. Taking in 
 his hand the crown destined for himself, and " a 
 wreath of laurel," he pronounced the oath to the 
 nation, which had been decreed by the senate, and 
 repeated a formula signifying his acknowledgment 
 that he held the crown by the favour of God and 
 the French people ; after which he placed it upon 
 his head. The empress then advancing, he took in 
 like manner into his hand the crown destined for 
 her, in form the same as the queens of France used 
 to wear, and pronouncing a formula purporting that 
 she held the crown only as his true and lawful wife, 
 not from any right inherent in herself, he placed the 
 crown upon her head. 
 
 David's Picture of the Coronation. 
 
 Prior to its public exhibition Napoleon appointed 
 a day to inspect it in person, when, in order to con- 
 fer a greater honour upon the artist, he went in 
 state, attended by a detachment of horse and a 
 military band, accompanied by the empress Jose- 
 
ANECDOTES. 121 
 
 phine, the princes and princesses of his family, and 
 followed by his ministers and the great officers of 
 the crown. 
 
 After an attentive examination of the work, he 
 expressed himself in these words : 
 
 "M. David, this is well; very well indeed ; you 
 have conceived my whole idea ; the empress, my 
 mother, the emperor, all, are most appropriately 
 placed; you have made me a French knight, and I 
 am gratified that you have thus transmitted to fu- 
 ture ages the proofs of affection 1 was desirous of 
 testifying towards the empress." 
 
 After a silence of some seconds, Napoleon's hat 
 being on, and Josephine standing at his right-hand, 
 with M. David on his left, the emperor advanced 
 two steps, and, turning to the painter, uncovered 
 himself, making a profound obeisance while uttering 
 these words in an elevated tone of voice, " Mon- 
 sieur David, I salute you ! " 
 
 " Sire," replied the painter, " I receive the com- 
 pliment of the emperor, in the name of all the ar- 
 tists of the empire, happy in being the individual 
 one you deign to make the channel of such an 
 honour." 
 
 When the picture was removed to the museum, 
 the emperor wished to inspect it a second time ; 
 and M. David in consequence attended in the hall 
 of the Louvre, surrounded by his pupils ; upon 
 which occasion, at the emperor's desire, he pointed 
 out the most conspicuous "eleves" who received the 
 
122 ANECDOTES. 
 
 decoration of the legion of honour : " It is requi- 
 site," said Napoleon, "that I should testify my 
 satisfaction to the master of so many distinguished 
 artists ; therefore, I promote you to be officer of the 
 legion of honour: M. Duroc, give a golden decora- 
 tion to M. David !" — " Sire, I have none with me," 
 answered the grand-marshal. " No matter," replied 
 the emperor, " do not let this day transpire without 
 executing my order." And on the same evening 
 the insignia were forwarded to M. David. 
 
 The king of Wirtemberg, at the suggestion of 
 the emperor, also waited upon the artist to inspect 
 his labour, when, on contemplating the performance, 
 and in particular, the luminous brightness spread 
 over the group in which are the pope and cardinal 
 Caprara, his majesty thus expressed himself: "I 
 did not believe that your art could effect such won- 
 ders ; white and black, in painting, afford but very 
 weak resources. When you produced this, you 
 had, no doubt, ' a sunbeam upon your pencil.' " 
 
 Napoleon at Boulogne. 
 
 From the extensive preparations made by the 
 flotilla at Boulogne, every thing seemed to announce 
 a speedy invasion of Great Britain. The praams, 
 cutters, gun-boats, and even the smallest craft, were 
 filled with troops, who all felt desirous of taking 
 advantage of the opportunity of joining the stand- 
 ards of those legions that would be immortalized, 
 
ANECDOTES. 123 
 
 should the conquest of Albion be achieved. Al- 
 ready destruction seemed to wield the falchion over 
 the plains of England, whose formidable fleets and 
 well-known maritime genius so ably counterbalanced 
 the glory of the French arms. Napoleon, who was 
 at that period first consul, had already disposed 
 every thing in order for this great event, when other 
 circumstances intervened to impede the project, the 
 result of which, whether successful or not, would 
 have influenced, in a great measure, the destinies 
 of Europe. At this epoch a British squadron was 
 cruising in the Channel, and -particularly blockaded 
 the ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk. One 
 day, on the near approach of this fleet to the 
 French coast, the flotilla made sail, not to give 
 regular battle to the English, but to annoy them, if 
 possible, at a distance. At this period the British 
 frigate " Immortality," advancing from the line of 
 battle, almost singly engaged the gun-boats, cutters, 
 &c, when Bonaparte, being at the time in his own 
 boat, was thus perilously placed between the fire 
 of the English vessels and that of the French 
 praams, &c. Upon a thousand occasions similar 
 to the present, notwithstanding the play of an ene- 
 my's artillery, Napoleon had never issued orders 
 to his soldiers to halt ; but, in this instance, as if 
 actuated by a secret fore-knowledge, he had only 
 time to exclaim — " Raise your oars !" and in the 
 course of half a second a bullet fell so close to the 
 boat, as to wet every individual stationed within it. 
 
1 24 ANECDOTES, 
 
 Battle of Ansterlitz, 
 
 At length the great day arrived, when, according 
 to the expression of Napoleon, " the sun of Auster- 
 litz arose ;" all our forces were concentrated upon 
 the same point at about forty leagues beyond 
 Vienna. There remained only the wreck of the 
 Austrian army ; the division under prince Charles 
 having been kept at a distance by the skilful ma- 
 noeuvres of Napoleon, The most extraordinary 
 illusion prevailed in the enemy's camp. On the 
 very eve of the battle the emperor Alexander sent 
 one of his aids-de-camp, prince Dolgorowski, as a 
 flag of truce to Napoleon. This prince conducted 
 himself in such a self-sufficient manner in the pre- 
 sence of the emperor, that, on dismissing him, he 
 said to him, "If you were on the heights of Mont- 
 ma rtre, I would answer such impertinence only with 
 cannon-balls." This observation was very remark- 
 able, inasmuch as events occurred which rendered 
 it a prophecy. 
 
 "When we arrived at Austerlitz," says Rapp, 
 "the Russians, ignorant of the emperor's skilful 
 dispositions to draw them to the ground which he 
 had marked out, and seeing our advanced guards 
 give way before their columns, they conceived the 
 victory won. According to their notions, the ad- 
 vanced guard would suffice to secure an easy tri- 
 umph. But the battle began — they found what it 
 
AUCfVrfcftlHON 
 THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE OF AUSTERL1TZ. 
 
ANECDOTES. ] 25 
 
 was to fight, and on every point were repulsed. At 
 one o'clock the victory was still uncertain ; for they 
 fought admirably. They resolved on a last effort, 
 and directed close masses against our centre. The 
 imperial guard deployed; artillery, cavalry, infantry, 
 were marched against a bridge which the Russians 
 attacked, and this movement, concealed from Napo- 
 leon by the inequality of the ground, was not ob- 
 served by us. At this moment I was standing near 
 him, waiting orders. We heard a well-maintained 
 fire of musketry; the Russians were repulsing one 
 of our brigades. Hearing this sound, the emperor 
 ordered me to take the Mamelukes, two squadrons 
 of chasseurs, one of grenadiers of the guard, and 
 to observe the state of things. I set off at full 
 gallop, and, before advancing a cannon-shot, per- 
 ceived the disaster. The Russian cavalry had 
 penetrated our squares, and were sabring our men. 
 In the distance could be perceived masses of Rus- 
 sian cavalry and infantry in reserve. At this 
 juncture the enemy advanced : four pieces of artil- 
 lery arrived at a gallop, and were planted in posi- 
 tion against us. On the left I had the brave Mor- 
 land, on my right general d'Allemagne. "Cou- 
 rage, my brave fellows ! " cried I to my party ; 
 " behold your brothers, your friends, butchered ; let 
 us avenge them — avenge our standards! Forward !" 
 These few words inspired my soldiers ; we dashed 
 at full speed upon the artillery, and took them. The 
 enemy's horse, which awaited our attack, were 
 
1 26 ANECDOTES. 
 
 overthrown by the same charge, and fled in confu* 
 sion, galloping, like us, over the wrecks of our own 
 squares. In the meantime the Russians rallied ; 
 but, a squadron of horse grenadiers coming to our 
 assistance, I could then halt, and await the reserves 
 of the Russian guard. Again we charged ; and 
 this charge was terrible. The brave Morland fell 
 by my side. It was absolute butchery. We fought 
 man to man, and so mingled together, that the in- 
 fantry on neither side dared to lire, lest they should 
 kill their own men. The intrepidity of our troops 
 finally bore us in triumph over all opposition : the 
 enemy fled in disorder in sight of the two emperors 
 of Austria and Russia, who had taken their station 
 on a rising ground, in order to be spectators of the 
 contest. They ought to have been satisfied, for I 
 can assure you they witnessed no child's play. For 
 my own part, my good friend, I never passed so 
 delightful a day. The emperor received me most 
 graciously when I arrived to tell him that the vic- 
 tory was ours ; I still grasped my broken sahre, 
 and, as this scratch upon my head bled very co- 
 piously, I was all covered with blood. He named 
 me general of division. The Russians returned 
 not again to the charge — they had had enough, 
 we captured every thing — their cannon, their bag- 
 gage, their all in short ; and prince Ressina waa 
 among the prisoners." 
 
ANECDOTES. 127 
 
 Bulletin of the Battle of Jena. 
 
 i The battle of Jena has washed out the affront 
 of Rosbach, and decided, in seven days, a cam- 
 paign which has entirely calmed the warlike frenzy 
 which had possessed itself of the Prussian mind. 
 
 " The kins of Prussia wished to commence hos- 
 tilities on the 9th of October, by defiling before 
 Frankfort on his right, Wurtzburg on his centre, 
 and Bamberg on his left ; all the divisions of his 
 army were disposed to execute this plan ; but the 
 French army, turning on the extremity of his left, 
 found itself in a few days at Sadlburg, Labenstcin, 
 Schleisz, Gera, and Naumburg. The Prussian 
 army being turned, employed the days of the 9th, 
 10th, 11th, and 12th, in recalling all its detach- 
 ments, and on the 13th presented itself in order of 
 battle between Capelsdorf and Auerstadt, being 
 about a hundred and fifty thousand men strong. 
 
 " On the 13th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the emperor arrived at Jena, and from a slight ele- 
 vation, occupied by our advance-guard, he perceived 
 the disposition of the enemy, who appeared to be 
 manoeuvring in order to attack the next day, and 
 force the different mouths of the Saale. The ene- 
 my defended in great strength, and in an almost 
 impregnable position, the road from Jena to Wei- 
 mar, and appeared to think that the French could 
 not defile in the plain, without having forced tiiis 
 
128 ANECDOTES. 
 
 passage ; it did not appear possible, indeed, to 
 mount any artillery on the plain, which, besides, 
 was so small, that four battalions could scarcely 
 find room on it. We laboured all night at forming 
 a road through the rock, and succeeded in convey- 
 ing the artillery to the heights. 
 
 " Marshal Davoust received orders to pass by 
 Naumburg to defend the defiles of Koesen, if they 
 attempted to march upon Naumburg, or repair to 
 Alpoda, to take them in the rear if they remained 
 in their present position. 
 
 " The corps of marshal prince de Ponte Corvo, 
 was destined to defile from Dornburg, in order to 
 fall upon the rear of the enemy whether they at- 
 tacked Naumburg or Jena in any force. 
 
 " The heavy cavalry, which had not yet rejoined 
 the army, could not arrive until noon ; the cavalry 
 of the Imperial guard were at thirty-six leagues 
 distance, in spite of the forced marches it had made 
 since its departure from Paris. But there are mo- 
 ments in war, when no consideration can balance 
 the advantage of being before-hand with the enemy, 
 and of attacking first. The emperor ordered to 
 be ranged on the elevation which was occupied by 
 the advance-guard, which the enemy appeared to 
 'lave neglected, and opposite to which they were in 
 position, the whole of the corps of marshal Lannes, 
 each division forming a wing. Marshal Lefebvre 
 placed on the summit, the Imperial guard in a 
 square battalion. The emperor bivouacked in the 
 
ANECDOTES, 129 
 
 midst of bis brave fellows. The night offered a 
 spectacle worthy of observation, that of the two 
 armies, one of which embraced with its front an 
 extent of six leagues, and peopled the atmosphere 
 with its fires, the other whose apparent fires were 
 concentrated in a small point, and in both encamp- 
 ments, activity and motion. The fires of the two 
 armies were within half cannon-shot ; the sentinels 
 almost touched each other, and not a movement 
 could be made without being heard. 
 
 " The troops of marshal Ney and Soult passed 
 the night in marching. At day-break, the whole 
 of the troops took arms. The division Gazan was 
 ranged in three lines to the left of the hill. The 
 division Suchet formed the right; the Imperial 
 guard occupied the summit of the hillock ; each 
 of these bodies having their cannon in the intervals. 
 From the town and the neighbouring valleys, some 
 passages had been constructed, which permitted the 
 easier operations of the troops who had not been 
 able to find room on the hills ; for it was, perhaps, 
 the first time that an army was to pass through so 
 narrow a defile. 
 
 "A thick fog obscured the day. The emperor 
 passed before several lines ; he recommended the 
 soldiers to be on their guard against the Prussian 
 cavalry, which had been represented as so formida- 
 ble. He bade them remember that, a year ago, al 
 the same period, they had conquered Ulm; that 
 the Prussian, like the Austrian army, was at that 
 
 i 
 
130 ANECDOTES. 
 
 moment shackled, having lost its line of operations 
 ana its magazines ; that it could not, therefore, fight 
 for glory, but for a retreat ; that, as it would seek 
 to force a passage on different points, those divi- 
 sions which allowed it to pass, should lose honour 
 and reputation. To this animated discourse, the 
 soldiers replied by cries of ' Let us march.' The 
 riflemen commenced the action, and the firing soon 
 became vigorous. Good as was the position which 
 the enemy occupied, it was nevertheless dislodged, 
 and the French army, defiling into the plain, began 
 to take up its order of battle. 
 
 " On their side, the chief body of the hostile 
 army, which had only intended to commence the 
 attack when the fog had cleared up, took arms. 
 A body of fifty thousand men on the left, posted 
 themselves so as to cover the defiles of Nauraburg; 
 but they had already been forestalled by marshal 
 Davoust. The two other bodies, forming a force 
 of eighty thousand men, marched to meet the 
 French army, which was just emerging from the 
 plain of Jena. The fog covered the armies during 
 two hours, but was at length dissipated by a fine 
 autumn sun. The two armies perceived each other 
 within cannon-shot. The left of the French troops, 
 supported by a village and some woods, was com- 
 manded by marshal Augereau. The Imperial 
 guard separated it from the centre, which was oc- 
 cupied by marshal Lannes. The right was formed 
 by the corps of marshal Soult ; marshal Ney. had 
 
ANECDOTES. 131 
 
 but a small body of three thousand men, the only 
 troops under his command which had arrived. 
 
 " The hostile army was numerous, and boasted 
 of a fine cavalry. The manoeuvres were executed 
 with precision and rapidity. The emperor had 
 wished to delay for two hours, before commencing 
 the action, in order to wait, in the position which 
 he had just taken after the attack of the morning 
 for the troops which were to join him, and especially 
 the cavalry ; but French ardour carried all before 
 it. Several battalions being engaged at the village 
 of Holstedt, he saw the enemy moving to gain this 
 post. Marshal Lannes immediately received orders 
 to march to the support of this village. Marsha] 
 Soult had attacked a wood on the ri^ht. The ene- 
 my having made a movement of its right upon our 
 left, marshal Augereau was charged to repulse it; 
 in less than an hour the action became general ; 
 two hundred and fifty or three hundred thousand 
 men, with seven or eight hundred pieces of cannon, 
 scattered death on all sides, and presented a specta- 
 cle rare in history. 
 
 "Both sides were constantly executing manoeuvres 
 as though on parade. Among our troops there was 
 not the least disorder ; the victory was never for a 
 moment doubtful. The emperor retained near him, 
 exclusive of the Imperial guard, a large number of 
 reserved troops, in order to be enabled to provide 
 against any unforeseen accident. 
 
 " Marshal Soult, having carried the wood which 
 
132 
 
 ANECDOTES. 
 
 he had attacked during two hours, made a move- 
 ment in advance. At this moment the emperor 
 was advised that the division of French cavalry in 
 reserve, had begtfti to form, and that two divisions 
 of the troops of marshal Ney had taken up their 
 position in the rear of the field of battle. All the 
 troops in reserve on the first line were then ordered 
 to advance, who, finding themselves supported, 
 overthrew the enemy in the twinkling of an eye, 
 and made them retreat precipitately. They did so 
 in good order for the first hour ; but this was con- 
 verted into a frightful disorder the moment that our 
 divisions of dragoons and cuirassiers, having the 
 grand-duke of Berg at their head, were able to take 
 part in the affair. These brave soldiers, trembling 
 to behold the victory decided without them, threw 
 themselves upon the enemy in all directions. Nei- 
 ther horse nor foot could withstand the shock. In 
 vain did the Prussians form in square battalions. 
 Five of them were broken through ; artillery, 
 cavalry, all, were overthrown and taken. The 
 French reached Weimar at the same time with the 
 enemy, who were thus pursued for six leagues. 
 
 " On our right, marshal Davoust was performing 
 prodigies. He not only restrained, but continued 
 lighting with the whole of the hostile troops which 
 were to have defiled by Koesen. 
 
 " The results of the battle are : thirty to forty 
 thousand prisoners more are being brought in every 
 minute ; five-and- twenty to thirty flags, three hun- 
 
ANECDOTES. 133 
 
 tired pieces of cannon, and immense magazines of 
 provision. Among the prisoners are more than 
 twenty generals, some of them lieutenant-generals, 
 and, among others, lieutenant-general Schmettau. 
 The number of dead in the Prussian army is im- 
 mense. It is reckoned that about twenty thousand 
 are killed or wounded ; field-marshal Mollendorff 
 has been wounded; the duke of Brunswick is killed, 
 also general Blucher ; and Prince Henry of Prussia 
 is grievously wounded. By the account of the 
 prisoners, deserters, and such like, the disorder and 
 confusion in the remains of the hostile army are 
 extreme. 
 
 " The Prussian army has, in this battle, been 
 foiled in its retreat, and lost all its line of opera- 
 tions. Its left, pursued by marshal Davoust, effected 
 a retreat upon Weimar, at the same time that its 
 right and centre retired from Weimar upon Naum- 
 burg. The confusion, therefore, was extreme. 
 The king was compelled to retire from the field at 
 the head of his regiment of cavalry. 
 
 " Our loss is reckoned at a thousand or twelve 
 hundred killed, and three thousand wounded. The 
 grand-duke of Berg was at this time investing 
 Erfurt, where he found a body of the enemy, com- 
 manded by marshal Mollendorff and the Prince of 
 Orange. If it could enhance the claims which the 
 army has to the esteem and consideration of the 
 nation, nothing could surpass the favourable senti- 
 ments felt by those who were witnesses of the en- 
 
134 ANECDOTES. 
 
 thusiasm and love which were evinced towards the 
 emperor in the heat of the battle. Wherever there 
 was a moment's hesitation, the mere cry of 'Vive 
 VEmpereur /' reanimated the courage of all. In 
 the midst of the struggle, the emperor seeing his 
 eagles menaced by the cavalry, galloped forward 
 Jo order manoeuvres and changes in the squares ; 
 he was interrupted every moment by the cri^s of 
 'Vive VEmpereur!] The Imperial foot-guards, be- 
 held with a spleen they were unable to conceal, 
 everybody engaged, and themselves inactive. Seve- 
 ral voices shouted c Forward!' — 'How now?' said 
 the emperor, ' this can only be some beardless 
 young man who ventures to prejudge my actions : 
 let him wait until he has commanded in thirty 
 pitched battles before pretending to advise me.' 
 It was, in effect, some recruits who were anxious 
 to signalize their youthful valour. 
 
 " In so warm a fight, in which the enemy lost 
 almost all their generals, we should thank that 
 Providence which watched over our army, that no 
 man of note has been killed or wounded. Marshal 
 Lannes had his breast scratched without being 
 wounded. Marshal Davoust had his hat carried 
 away, and a great number of bails in his clothes." 
 
NAPOLEON IN SPAIN. 
 
 135 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 FROM THE INTERVIEW OF ERFURT TO THE 
 RUSSIAN WAR. 
 
 ETERMINED to subdue Spain, 
 Napoleon strengthened his alliance 
 with Alexander, by an interview at 
 Erfurt, in September ard October, 
 1808 ; and, secure of the pacific 
 intentions of that emperor, he re- 
 called his legions from the banks of the Niemen, 
 the Spree, the Elbe, and the Danube, and directed 
 them against Spain, — where his presence, at the 
 head of his veterans, soon changed the aspect of 
 things. The battles of Burgos, Espinosa, and 
 Tudela, in which his eagles were triumphant, once 
 more opened to Joseph the gates of Madrid. Ar- 
 rived in that capital, Napoleon promised franchises 
 and the abolition of feudalism to the Spaniards ; 
 but he spoke to a people who scarcely understood 
 him, who had no ears but for their priests, and 
 whose heroism displayed itself only in their im- 
 patience of a foreign yoke. Their answers to the 
 liberal promises of the usurper were cries of exe- 
 
136 BATTLE OF WAGRAM. 
 
 cration and rage. They organized themselves into 
 guerilla bands, who converted Spain into a second 
 Vendee for the troops of France. Everywhere, the 
 population rose, and flew to arms ; and the vow of 
 national independence became a bond to unite the 
 constitutionalists with the partisans of the clergy, 
 against their common enemy, France. The En- 
 glish were approaching, and Napoleon marched to 
 meet them. But his course was suddenly arrested 
 by the intelligence that Austria, emboldened by his 
 absence and the withdrawal of his veteran troops, 
 had formed a fifth coalition with England and the 
 Holy See (1809) ; and that the archduke Charles 
 was, again, in arms, and with difficulty held in 
 check by Davoust, whose force was inferior. Na- 
 poleon instantly quitted Spain, flew to the Rhine, 
 triumphed at Eckmuhl and at Ratisbonne ; and the 
 French army entered, a second time, as victors, 
 into the capital of Austria. On the 22d of May, 
 was fought, on some islands in the Danube, the 
 bloody and undecisive battle of Essling ; in which 
 the emperor lost thousands of brave men, and his 
 friend Lannes, duke of Montebello. The corps of 
 Marmont and Eugene rejoined the grand army, and 
 repaired its losses ; and, after the victory of Raab, 
 the terrible battle of Wagram, in which no less 
 than twelve hundred pieces of cannon swept the 
 ranks of the two armies, terminated the war, in 
 favour of France. The vanquished Francis I. 
 signed, on the 14th of October, the peace of Vienna 
 
WAR IN THE PENINSULA. 137 
 
 whereby he ceded several provinces, and gave in 
 his adherence to the continental system. Pope 
 Pius VII., who, groaning under the partition of his 
 territories, had given his countenance to this coa- 
 lition, and threatened the emperor with the thunders 
 of the Vatican, was dethroned from his temporal 
 sovereignty, brutally torn from the pontifical palace, 
 and consigned to a four years' captivity, first at 
 Savone, and afterwards at Fontainbleau ; and the 
 ancient metropolis of the world was degraded into 
 the capital of a French department. A numerous 
 English army had, during this campaign, at- 
 tempted a descent upon Holland ; Flushing had 
 fallen into their power, and Antwerp was menaced 
 by them. But the strong defensive condition of 
 this place, and a levy of national guards in the 
 northern departments, rendered their efforts un- 
 availing. Their ranks were thinned by sickness 
 in the marshes of Zealand ; and they evacuated 
 Flushing, after having sustained considerable losses. 
 The resistance to Napoleon's arms in the peninsula 
 was, however, continued, notwithstanding numerous 
 victories gained by his generals. Sebastiani had 
 triumphed at Ciudad-Real, Victor at Medelin, and 
 Soult at Oporto, where twenty thousand Portuguese 
 were left upon the field of battle. But the lofty 
 example of Palafox, the defender of Saragossa, and 
 the heroic conduct of the inhabitants of that town, 
 who buried themselves beneath its ruins rather than 
 submit to the conqueror, excited the enthusiasm, 
 
138 WAR IN THE PENINSULA. 
 
 and redoubled the energies of the Spaniards. The 
 English, hailed by them as deliverers, successfully 
 seconded their efforts. On the 28th of July, Jo- 
 seph fought, against Sir Arthur Wellesley, the un- 
 decisive battle of Talavera, — which, however, the 
 English celebrated as a victory. In vain did Se- 
 bastiani triumph, on the 21st of August, at Almon- 
 acid ; and Mortier, with twenty-five thousand men, 
 overthrow fifty thousand, at Ocana, on the 19th of 
 November ; in vain was Andalusia open to the 
 French ; — Spain was still unsubdued. Soult in the 
 south, and Suchet in the north, commenced the 
 campaign of 1810. Granada, Malaga, and Seville, 
 were occupied by the French ; and the provisional 
 junta of Seville removed to Cadiz, which was un- 
 successfully besieged by marshal Victor. It was 
 at this period that South America threw off the 
 Spanish yoke, and proclaimed the federal govern- 
 ment of Venezuela. Massena, prince of Essling, 
 at the same time, sustained the war in Portugal 
 against Wellington, whose army was greatly supe- 
 rior to that of the French : but the success of the 
 campaign was compromised by a serious misunder- 
 standing which arose betwixt him and marshal Ney. 
 He marched upon the capital, was beaten at Busa- 
 co, — and his progress finally arrested, in the month 
 of December, by Wellington, before the formidable 
 lines of Torres Vedras, which covered Lisbon. 
 
 Whilst the peninsula was thus devouring the 
 flower of the French armies, Napoleon attained J*e 
 
BERNADOTTE. 139 
 
 highest point of his marvellous destinies. Induced 
 alike by his anxiety for an heir, and his desire to 
 ally himself with the old European dynasties, he 
 divorced his first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais, 
 and, on the 30th of March, 1810, married Maria- 
 Louisa, archduchess of Austria, and daughter of the 
 emperor Francis. 
 
 Holland was, in this year, united with France ; 
 and Napoleon dethroned his brother Louis, whose 
 kingdom had become an entrepot for English mer- 
 chandise. On this occasion the Moniteur gave 
 publicity to the policy of the emperor relatively to 
 those on whom he conferred crowns. 'Know,' said 
 he, to the kings, his brothers, i that your first duties 
 are towards me and France.' The revelation to 
 Europe of this egotistical policy had a powerful 
 share in contributing to array it against him. One 
 of his generals was, at this period, chosen to the 
 succession of the Swedish throne. Charles XIII., 
 who reigned in that kingdom, since the deposition, 
 in 1809, of the violent and imprudent Gustavus IV., 
 adopted as his son, in 1810, Bernadotte, the prince 
 of Ponte-Corvo, elected, by the States-general, 
 prince royal of Sweden. Napoleon saw, in this 
 election, an event likely to complete the submission 
 of the north to his system, — not for a moment an- 
 ticipating that his lieutenant might, one day, prefer 
 the interests of the people over whom he reigned 
 to those of his native country, — and he, accordingly, 
 permitted him to accept the royal destiny which 
 
140 FEELING OF EUROPE. 
 
 presented itself. Sweden, since the accession of 
 Charles XIII., had adhered to the continental sys- 
 tem ; and there was a moment during which the 
 hlockade was observed throughout the whole of 
 Europe. The French empire, augmented by the 
 Roman States, the lllyrian provinces, the Valais, 
 Holland, and the Hanseatic towns, consisted of one 
 hundred and thirty departments, and extended from 
 Hamburg and Dantzick to Trieste and Corfu. Na- 
 poleon reigned over fifty millions of subjects ; and 
 the birth, in March, 1811, of a son, who was pro- 
 claimed king of Rome in his cradle, appeared to 
 consolidate his prodigious fortune, by securing to 
 him a successor. But, at this very period, all the 
 interests encroached upon by this colossal power, 
 were preparing a formidable reaction against it. 
 Napoleon, wedded to an Austrian princess, the 
 creator of a new nobility, surrounded by the ancient 
 array of courts, and attached to all the puerilities 
 of a strict etiquette, sought to disavow his popular 
 origin, and alienated from himself the partisans of 
 the revolution, without gaining over the friends of 
 the old regime in their place, and without being 
 sincerely adopted as their equal by the sovereigns 
 of the ancient European dynasties. At home, his 
 despotism appeared the more oppressive in propor- 
 tion as the effect of his victories was weakened by 
 their frequency; — abroad, Russia, Sweden, and 
 Holland, wounded in their commercial interests, 
 awaited but a favourable opportunity for shaking 
 
SIXTH CONFEDERACY AGAINST NAPOLEON. 141 
 
 off the yoke of his continental system, as Austria 
 did, also, that of regaining her lost provinces. 
 Prussia had heavy indignities to avenge. A great 
 fermentation prevailed throughout her universities ; 
 whence issued the cry of independence and rage 
 against the oppressor of Europe ; and already Na- 
 poleon, in his residence at Schoenbrun, had nar- 
 rowly escaped perishing by the dagger of the stu- 
 dent Stabs. Spain and Portugal, supported by 
 England, opposed an invincible resistance to his 
 arms ; and the clergy, indignant at his spoliation 
 of the temporal patrimony of Saint Peter, openly 
 conspired against him. Napoleon had, by his own 
 system, condemned himself to a perpetual struggle 
 against the league of dynasties, of nations, of the 
 priesthood, and of commerce, — and was over- 
 whelmed by that struggle, in the end. 
 
 Towards the close of 1811, a commercial ukase 
 re-opened the ports of Russia to the colonial pro- 
 duce of England, and the armies of Alexander ap- 
 proached the Niemen. At the same time, Sweden 
 renounced her adhesion to the continental system ; 
 and, shortly afterwards, a sixth confederation against 
 France was formed between England, Russia, Swe- 
 den, Spain, and Portugal, — France being voluntarily 
 seconded by Italy and Poland, and constrainedly 
 so, by Germany, Prussia, and Austria. The sultan 
 Mahmoud, the successor of Selim, who had been 
 slain by the janissaries, entered, at this period, into 
 treaty with Russia, and signed the peace of Bucha- 
 
142 
 
 WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 
 
 rest. Napoleon repaired to Dresden; where his 
 court was composed of most of «the crowned heads 
 and princes in Europe; — and there he made final 
 but fruitless efforts to re-attach Alexander to his 
 system. That which he failed in obtaining by- 
 means of persuasion, he determined to secure by 
 force of arms ; and war was declared against Rus- 
 *r. -n the 22d of June, 1812. 
 
RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 
 
 143 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 
 TO THE ABDICATION OF NAPOLEON AT FONTAIN- 
 BLEAU. 
 
 APOLEON took the field, at the 
 head of four hundred thousand sol- 
 diers, passed the Niemen, on the 
 24th of June, with half his forces, 
 and halted at Wilna seventeen days. 
 That delay was fatal to his arms. 
 The diet of Warsaw, during his sojourn in Poland, 
 proclaimed the re-establishment of the kingdom, 
 and the liberation of the entire nation. A deputa- 
 tion demanded of the emperor that he should re- 
 cognise the existence of Poland. Napoleon hesi- 
 tated, and gave finally an evasive answer. After a 
 glorious action, he arrived at Witepsk, the hostile 
 army, under the command of Barclay de Tolly, 
 retiring before him. A bloody battle was fought 
 before Smolensko, which was abandoned to the 
 flames. The Russians fell back, and the French 
 continued to advance. Valoutina witnessed a mur- 
 derous conflict; but the disobedience of one of 
 
144 BATTLE OF MOSCOW. 
 
 Napoleon's generals, saved the army of the enemv 
 from total destruction. Still, however, that army 
 retreated, followed by the emperor. At length, on 
 the 5th of September, the grand army arrived on 
 the plains of Borodino, a few miles from Moscow, 
 on the banks of the Moskowa, and found itself in 
 presence of the whole Russian army, commanded 
 by the veteran Kutusoff. A general engagemenr 
 was determined on, for the following day ; and, on 
 that memorable morning, IVapoleon, issuing from 
 his tent, thus addressed his officers : — * How bright, 
 to-day, is the sun! — it is the sun of Austerlitz!' 
 Then, in a proclamation to his soldiers, he said, — 
 4 The battle is now at hand for which you have so 
 longed : acquit yourselves as you did at Austerlitz, 
 at Friedland, at Witepsk, at Smolensko ; and let 
 posterity the most remote refer with pride to your 
 deeds of this day. Let men say of each of you, 
 when they shall behold you, — "He was at that 
 great battle on the plains of Moscow!"' The 
 tight began almost immediately afterwards, and 
 was a terrible one. Ney, Murat, Eugene, Davoust, 
 Gerard, and Poniatowski, performed prodigies of 
 valour. Auguste Caulaincourt was mortally wound- 
 ed, while carrying, in a gallop, a formidable redoubt, 
 at the head of his cuirassiers. The Russians at 
 length gave way, after a most sanguinary struggle. 
 Napoleon restrained his guards, and suffered the 
 enemy, whom he might have annihilated, to escape. 
 Twenty-two thousand French, and fifty thousand 
 
DRAWING A PLAN OF ATTACK IN THE SNOW. 
 
BURNING OF MOSCOW. 145 
 
 Russians were killed or wounded on that murderous 
 day. A great number of the generals of France 
 were slain ; but the victory was hers, and marshal 
 Ney was proclaimed prince of the Moskowa, on 
 die field of battle. A second engagement took 
 place, at Mojaisk, half a league from Moscow, 
 where the Russians were again beaten ; and their 
 arm) entered into the ancient capital of their em- 
 pire, only to abandon it. Thither the French pene- 
 trated, after them : but were astonished at the soli- 
 tude which reigned within its walls. The streets 
 were deserts, and the inhabitants had fled. Napo- 
 leon entered, unresisted, into the ancient citadel of 
 the Kremlin. Moscow he looked upon as an asy- 
 lum, after the sufferings and fatigues of his army. 
 He found immense resources within the city, and 
 here, therefore, he resolved to establish his winter 
 quarters, — and looked proudly around on his con- 
 quest. But, during the night, a frightful conflagra- 
 tion broke out. Rostopchin, the governor of the 
 city, had determined, in evacuating it, on an im- 
 mense sacrifice, for the salvation of his country. 
 Russia was lost, if the French should find a shelter 
 in Moscow. At an appointed signal, and by order 
 of Rostopchin, a band of convicts spread themselves 
 throughout the city, carrying flame in their hands, 
 and set fire to it in a thousand parts. Moscow 
 crumbled away beneath the conflagration ; and 
 little more of her was left, in a few hours, than a 
 heap of cinders and ruins. 
 
 K 
 
146 PASSAGE OF THE BERESINA. 
 
 The winter was approaching, and the French 
 had no longer an asylum to look forward to against 
 its rigours. Napoleon still flattered himself with 
 the hope of peace, and Alexander prolonged the 
 negotiations purposely, with the view of detaining 
 his enemy amid the ruins of Moscow. At length, 
 however, the negotiations were broken up, and the 
 order was issued for retreat. The emperor quitted 
 the city at the head of a hundred thousand fighting 
 men, after forty days of fruitless expectation. — 
 4 Your day of warfare is ended,' had said old 
 Kutusoff, 6 and ours is about to begin.' The win- 
 ter set in suddenly, with more than its usual rigour, 
 even in the heart of Russia. The French troops, 
 paralysed by the cold, were pursued and harassed 
 in their retreat by innumerable enemies, and the 
 roads were covered with their frozen corses. Still, 
 however, the army marched in tolerable order as 
 far as the Beresina, which it had to cross in the 
 presence of three Russian armies. The river was, 
 as yet, unfrozen over, though covered with floating 
 ice. It was necessary to construct rafts, under the 
 fire of the enemy, and at the same Vine make head 
 against them unceasingly. At this place were, 
 again, achieved prodigies of heroism; but the rafts 
 were encumbered by multitudes of stragglers and 
 disarmed soldiers, and, yielding to the pressure, 
 thousands of men were engulfed in the waters of 
 the Beresina. At length, after incredible efforts, 
 this formidable barrier was cleared : but the moral 
 
RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. 
 
DEFECTION OF THE ALLIES. 147 
 
 as well as physical strength of the soldiers was 
 beaten down ; the cold set in afresh, with renewed 
 rigour ; and the retreat was, thenceforth, one vast 
 and frightful rout. 
 
 Paris had been twenty-one days without tidings 
 of the emperor and the grand army ; and a prison- 
 er, general Mallet, spreading a report in that capital 
 of Napoleon's death, had nearly accomplished the 
 suspension of his government. The emperor, how- 
 ever, had foreseen that his presence in Paris was 
 indispensable, to counteract the plots of his enemies, 
 and create new military resources. On the 5th of 
 December, he quitted his shattered army, the com- 
 mand of which he gave to the king of Naples, and 
 which arrived at Wilna, stripped of every thing. 
 Ney strove to reanimate it by his own heroic exam- 
 ple. He w r as prodigal in the exposure of his own 
 life, for its defence, and was the last to retire, con- 
 fronting the enemy, now as general, and now as a 
 common soldier. 
 
 But with the reverses of the French arms, com- 
 menced the defections of the allies of France. The 
 Prussians, who covered the right of the army, dur- 
 ing its retreat, abandoned Macdonald, at Tilsit. 
 The Austrians, commanded by Schwartzenberg, 
 followed the example, treated with the enemy, and 
 by their secession left the army exposed on the 
 opposite wing, Murat, himself, the commander-in- 
 chief, abandoned his post, and deserted. Eugene 
 assumed the command, and restored order. France 
 
148 napoleon's new army. 
 
 had, in the meantime, made a new effort, and given 
 a fresh army to Napoleon, at the head of which he 
 marched to meet Eugene. Austria, seized with 
 alarm, made fresh protestations of fidelity ; while 
 Prussia entered into treaty with Russia, at Kalisch, 
 and England, by the promise of Norway to Sweden, 
 purchased the active co-operation of Bernadotte 
 against France. Napoleon, threatened on every 
 side, rejoined, on the 30th of April, 1813, Eugene 
 and the wreck of his grand army, at Lutzen. He 
 gained, with an army of conscripts, the brilliant 
 victories of Lutzen, Bautzen, and Wurschen, 
 against the veteran troops of Europe; and then 
 negotiated anew for peace. A congress was opened 
 at Prague, on the 4th of June, and Napoleon ac- 
 cepted the mediation of Austria ; who demanded 
 that the French empire should be bounded by the 
 Rhine, the Alps, and the Meuse. The emperor 
 hesitated ; the congress was suddenly dissolved, 
 without result, and Austria declared war against 
 France. The allies had five hundred thousand 
 men, under Schwartzenberg, Blucher, and Berna- 
 dotte, the prince royal of Sweden : Napoleon had 
 only three hundred thousand, forming eleven divi- 
 sions, under the several commands of Vandamme, 
 Victor, Bertrand, Ney, Lauriston, Marmont, Rey- 
 nier, Poniatowski, Macdonald, Oudinot, and Saint- 
 Cyr. The cavalry was commanded by the king 
 of Naples, Latour-Maubourg, Sebastiani, and Kel- 
 lermann • Mortier and Nansouty led the guard ; 
 
BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 149 
 
 and these forces formed the last hope of France. 
 Wherever Napoleon fought in person, he was vic- 
 torious. He gave battle under the walls of Dres- 
 den, and triumphed ; general Moreau, his ancient 
 rival in glory, being mortally wounded in the ene- 
 mies' ranks. But Vandamme suffered a terrible 
 reverse at Kulm, where he was made prisoner, and 
 lost ten thousand men. The three sovereigns, 
 Alexander, Francis, and Frederick- William, nego- 
 tiated a triple alliance, at Toplitz : and the emperor 
 of Austria, himself, appointed their meeting in the 
 camp of his son-in-law, whom he designated as the 
 common enemy. The allied armies daily increased ; 
 and several unfortunate actions were fought with 
 inferior forces. Oudinot was beaten at Grosberen, 
 Ney at Dennewitz, Macdonald at the Katzbach. 
 The king of Bavaria declared war against Napo- 
 leon ; and the French, hemmed in on all sides, re- 
 tired upon Leipsic. Thus did the emperor expe- 
 rience the fata 1 consequences of his oppressive sys- 
 tem. So lor»g as he was victorious, Europe, under 
 the influence of fear, was silent and submissive 
 before him ; but in the moment of his reverses, all 
 the classes whose prejudices or whose interests he 
 had wounded, revolted at once, and combined for 
 his destruction. 
 
 A sanguinary battle was fought beneath the walls 
 of Leipsic ; where a hundred and thirty thousand 
 French contended against three hundred thousand 
 soldiers of the enemy. The former were abandoned 
 
J 50 NAPOLEON RETREATS. 
 
 and betrayed by the Saxons, whose old king was 
 the last that had remained faithful to Napoleon. 
 This defection compromised the safety of the army; 
 and Napoleon commanded a retreat, which was 
 effected by the single bridge over the Elster. Sud- 
 denly an order, misunderstood, and but too rapidly 
 executed, caused the bridge to be blown up, before 
 the army had completed the passage. This disas- 
 ter decided the fate of the campaign. Twenty 
 thousand men were made prisoners ; two hundred 
 pieces of cannon, and an immense war materiel, 
 fell into the hands of the allies ; and a multitude 
 of brave men, amongst whom was the heroic Ponia- 
 towski, perished in the waters of the river. Napo- 
 leon, pursued by the enemy, arrested him yet once 
 more, and overthrew him in the glorious battle of 
 Hanau. After this, he established himself on the 
 Rhine ; whilst the allies encamped opposite to him, 
 and made their head-quarters at Frankfort. 
 
 By this time, Spain was irrevocably lost to 
 France. Two great battles lost, one by Marmont, 
 in 1812, and another, at Vittoria, by king Joseph 
 in 1813, had brought Wellington to the Pyrenees 
 Soult, subsequently appointed commander-in-chief 
 in the peninsula, had sustained the war, at the head 
 of sixty thousand men, against forces far superior ; 
 and the emperor, at the close of 1813, possessed, 
 in all Spain, only the little port of Santona. Eugene 
 still defended himself in Italy ; whilst even Murat 
 had deserted the cause of Napoleon. 
 
DISAFFECTION TO NAPOLEON. 151 
 
 France now beheld herself, once more, menaced 
 in her ancient limits, as she had been in 1789 ; but 
 her population had no longer, as then, the impulse 
 of independence which had enabled them to free 
 her territory. All those who had either applauded, 
 or consented to the elevation of Napoleon, had 
 separated themselves from him. His conscriptions, 
 his blockades, his military courts, and his accumu- 
 lated taxes, had all become intolerable to the nation. 
 Bonaparte had, in the day of his prosperity, abused 
 France, and misinterpreted her wishes ; and, in the 
 day of his danger, France abandoned him. At the 
 close of 1813, he made preparations for a new 
 campaign ; and the senate, still complying, granted 
 him three hundred thousand men; but the legislative 
 body ventured, for the first time, to resist. M.Laine, 
 in the name of a committee chosen by that body, 
 made a report hostile to the measures of govern- 
 ment, and demanding the abandonment of conquest 
 and the re-establishment of liberty. An address 
 to the emperor, in the spirit of this report, was 
 voted by a large majority. Napoleon, irritated by 
 an opposition so unexpected, and, in the face of an 
 enemy, so dangerous, closed the doors of the legis- 
 lative body, ordered its dissolution, and dismissed 
 that assembly in person, with haughty and reproach- 
 ful words. From that day, the domestic defections 
 began ; and Europe was suffered to perceive, by 
 this imprudent outbreak of Napoleon, that the nation 
 no longer made common cause with its emperor. 
 
152 FRANCE INVADED. 
 
 In the commencement of 1814, the entire male 
 population of the east was summoned to arms, 
 thirty thousand men of the national guard of Paris 
 fvere put in motion, and the last resources of the 
 empire were called into action. Marie-Louise was 
 declared regent ; and Napoleon took the field, on 
 the 25th of January, after having intrusted the 
 command of the capital to his brother Joseph. The 
 English were advancing by the south ; one hundred 
 and fifty thousand men, under Schwartzenberg, were 
 pouring into France, by way of Switzerland ,• a bun 
 dred and thirty thousand Prussians, commanded by 
 Blucher, were approaching from Frankfort ; and, 
 finally, a hundred thousand Swedes and Germans 
 were penetrating into Belgium, under Bernadotte. 
 General Maison in the north, Augereau at Lyons, 
 and Soult in the Pyrenees, were commissioned to 
 arrest the enemy. The emperor, himself, marched 
 into Champagne, against Schwartzenberg and 
 Blucher ; whilst Eugene still struggled in Italy, 
 and a congress opened conferences for peace at 
 Chatillon. Napoleon, in the face of these accumu- 
 lated dangers, was once more visited by the most 
 brilliant inspirations of his genius, and redoubled 
 at once his daring and his activity. Never had he 
 been more profound in his strategic combinations, 
 or more skilful in their execution. He all but de- 
 stroyed the two most formidable amongst the hostile 
 armies, attacking them in succession. Blucher he 
 crushed at Champ-Aubert, at Montmirail, and at 
 
CAPTURE OF PARIS. 153 
 
 Chateau-Thierry; and then flung himself upon the 
 Austrians, and overthrew them at Montereau. But 
 these successes became fatal to him, by, the confi- 
 dence which they inspired. He could not, yet, 
 bring himself to accept the propositions of the 
 allied powers, and consent that France should re- 
 turn within her ancient boundaries. The enemy, 
 however, was triumphant wherever Napoleon was 
 not present in person. The English entered Bor- 
 deaux, which declared for the Bourbons ; the Aus- 
 trians occupied Lyons, — and the allies marched, in 
 concert, upon Paris. Then, at length, Napoleon 
 subscribed to the demands of the congress ; but it 
 was now too late, — the conferences were dissolved. 
 Joseph had orders to defend Paris to the last ex- 
 tremity. The emperor reckoned on his power to 
 do this, and conceived the daring project of cutting 
 off the retreat of the allies, by throwing himself 
 rapidly behind them, at Saint-Dizier. This step, 
 which might, yet, have saved his crown, had it been 
 seconded, had only the effect of causing him to lose 
 time which was most precious. The two great 
 armies of the allied powers had effected their junc- 
 tion, and were approaching the capital, which Ma- 
 rie-Louise evacuated, with her son, transporting the 
 regency to Blois. Napoleon returned with all sper3d 
 towards Paris, but he was now too late. Marshals 
 Marmont and Mortier had, on the 30th of March, 
 fought a glorious battle under the walls of the city, 
 with only twenty thousand men, opposed to the 
 
154 DEFECTIONS FROM NAPOLEON. 
 
 entire force of the enemy. They were ignorant 
 that the emperor was close at hand ; and Joseph 
 gave the ortler to capitulate, abandoned his post, 
 set out for Orleans, and the allied troops entered 
 Paris on the 3 1 st of March. Napoleon was has- 
 tening to the relief of the capital, when, on the 1st 
 of April, he received this terrible news. He in- 
 stantly fell back upon Fontainbleau, where his army 
 took up its position.- There, he learned that the 
 senate, which had so debased itself by its servility 
 and adulation, had now proclaimed him a tyrant, 
 and, under the direction of M. de Talleyrand, de- 
 clared 'That Napoleon had forfeited the crown, — 
 that the right of succession in his family was abro- 
 gated, — and that the French people and army were 
 released from their oath of allegiance to him.' 
 
 The emperor, at the head of fifty thousand men, 
 whom the coalition had not yet been able to subdue, 
 and occupying a formidable position in the enemy's 
 rear, was still in a condition to resist. He might 
 rejoin the armies of the vice-king, of Augereau, 
 and of Soult. At one time, he determined upon 
 manoeuvring around Paris, and, at another, on 
 marching towards the Loire. But around him 
 reigned a silence which was the forerunner of de- 
 sertions. Weariness of war, or treason, had al- 
 ready detached from him many of his generals, — 
 and some of them those whom he had laden with 
 honours and riches. After so long a series of fa- 
 tigues, they panted to enjoy the rank to which he 
 
NEGOTIATIONS. 155 
 
 had elevated them. Napoleon guessed their secret 
 thoughts, and resigned himself to the necessity of 
 abdicating ; but he determined to dictate the con- 
 ditions of his own fall, and transfer the crown to 
 his son. He sent, as plenipotentiaries, to the allied 
 sovereigns, three men, whose fidelity no proof had 
 shaken, — Ney, Macdonald, and Caulaincourt, duke 
 of Vicenza. With these, he joined in commission 
 Marmont, duke of Ragusa, his ancient aid-de-camp, 
 of whom he had said : — ' He is my very son, — 
 brought up beneath my own tent,' and to whom he 
 had intrusted the advanced post of Essone, which 
 covered Fontainbleau : — and yet, Marmont was, at 
 this moment, in treaty with Schwartzenberg, under 
 pretext that the army was, by the decree of the 
 senate, absolved from its oath of fidelity to the 
 emperor. 
 
 The defection of Ragusa and his corps dictated 
 the reply of Alexander to the plenipotentiaries. He 
 demanded the unconditional abdication of Napo- 
 leon ; and, on the same day, the provisional 
 government and the senate called to the throne 
 Louis Stanislaus Xavier, the brother of Louis XVI., 
 and published a new constitution, the acceptance 
 of which was to be the condition of that prince's 
 accession to the crown. 
 
 The emperor, betrayed by Marmont, and aban- 
 doned by many of his old companions in arms, 
 meditated laying down his life, and escaping by 
 suicide the necessity of signing his own abdication 
 
156 NAPOLEON ABDICATES. 
 
 and that of his descendants. But the poison ol 
 which he made use for this purpose, and which he 
 carried always about him since the fatal catastrophe 
 of Moscow, had lost its virtue by the operation of 
 time. A long stupor succeeded to his pangs, and 
 effaced the symptoms of approaching death. It is 
 said, that, on awakening from his state of insensi 
 bility, Napoleon, astonished to find himself still in 
 life, remained for some moments plunged in thought. 
 4 God wills it otherwise ! ' he said, and abandoning 
 himself to the decision of Providence, he calmly 
 submitted to his new destinies. 
 
 From that moment, he offered no further resist- 
 ance; but signed, on the 13th of April, at Fontain- 
 bleau, the treaty which declared him and his de- 
 scendants to have forfeited the throne of France. 
 The sacrifice being complete, on the 20th of April, 
 Napoleon took leave of his brave army. His guard 
 awaited him under arms, and ranged in battle order, 
 in the court-yard of the palace. The emperor tra- 
 versed his apartments, and found, in his passage, 
 the duke of Bassano, generals Belliard and Fouler, 
 his secretary, baron Fain, and a few superior offi- 
 cers — the last and sole remains of a court which 
 had, once, been the most numerous and brilliant in 
 Europe. He held out his hand to them, rapidly 
 descended the stairs, and, advancing towards his 
 guard, cast an agitated look upon his old warriors, 
 and spoke as follows : — ' Soldiers of my old guard, 
 I bid you farewell. For twenty years past, I have 
 
RETIRES TO ELBA. 157 
 
 found you. ever, on the path of glory and of ho- 
 nour. In these- latter days, as in those of our 
 prosperity, you have not, for a moment, ceased to 
 be models of valour and of fidelity. With men 
 like you, our cause could not be lost ; but the war 
 had been, already, too far prolonged. It must now, 
 too, have been a civil war ; and France must have 
 suffered more than she has already done. I have 
 therefore sacrificed your interests and my own, to 
 those of our country, — and I am about to depart. 
 You, my friends, will continue to serve France: 
 whose happiness has been my only aim, and will be 
 ever the object of my prayers. Lament not for my 
 fate. If I have consented to survive you, it is that 
 I may still contribute to your glory : I am about to 
 commit to writing the great things which we have 
 achieved together. Farewell, my children ! Fain 
 would I press you all to my heart, — let me, at least, 
 embrace your standard ! ' At these words, general 
 Petit, snatching up the eagle, advanced with it to- 
 wards the emperor. Napoleon kissed the ensign, 
 amid the loud sobs of his soldiers. The emperor, 
 greatly agitated, recovered himself by an effort, 
 and resumed with a firmer voice ; — 4 Yet once 
 again, adieu, my old companions in arms ! Let this 
 last embrace pass into your hearts !' Then throw- 
 ing himself into his carriage, he departed for the 
 island of Elba ; which had been assigned to him. 
 in full sovereignty, by the treaty of Fontainbleau, 
 and whither the generals, Bertrand, Drouet, and 
 
158 RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 
 
 Canibronne, with four hundred soldiers of the guard 
 had obtained permission to follow-his fortunes. 
 
 Thus fell, the first time, that colossus of power 
 which had governed France for fourteen years, and 
 seen, for a time, the entire continent subject to its 
 will. It was never the destiny of any man to 
 attain to fortunes more brilliant ; and never did 
 any one more powerfully agitate the whole of Eu- 
 rope. A great statesman and a great captain, he 
 re-established order in France, and made her glo- 
 rious in the eyes of foreign nations by his marvel- 
 lous victories. He was gifted with prodigious 
 strength of resolution, combined with an apprehen- 
 sion of great things ; and, like Louis XIV., so long 
 as he sought the inspirations of his genius in the 
 wants and wishes of the nation, they produced 
 results propitious and lasting. His civil code — the 
 re-organization of the judicial powers and of the 
 council of state — the system of administrative 
 centralization, which, by impressing on France a 
 great character of strength and unity, placed her 
 in a condition to support, unbroken, the most fear- 
 ful shocks — many useful constructions, such as the 
 admirable road over the Simplon, the canal of 
 Saint-Quentin, the works at Cherbourg, the ports 
 which he caused to be formed, and the magnificent 
 monuments with which he enriched the capital and 
 many other towns — and his decrees for the exposi- 
 tion of the products of labour and ingenuity — are 
 sufficient to immortalize his reign. Studiously 
 
AMBITION OF NAPOLEON. 159 
 
 careful of all which might contribute to the splen- 
 dour of France and add to his own glory, he occu- 
 pied himself with the interests of commerce, manu- 
 factures, letters, and arts, in the intervals between 
 his battles. But that all-grasping activity of mind 
 had, unhappily, its source in a measureless ambi- 
 tion ; and it is worthy of remark, that, on every 
 occasion on which the conceptions of his despotic 
 egotism departed from the path avowed by morality, 
 or pointed out by the true interests of France, they 
 became fatal to himself, contributing to his future 
 reverses. The execution of the duke d'Enghien 
 raised a cry of indignation against him, — re- 
 strained, at the moment, by fear, but destined to 
 find terrible echoes in the day of his disasters. 
 His treacherous usurpation of the Spanish crown 
 opened that country to the English, and devoured 
 the flower of his soldiers. His oppressive system 
 of blockade condemned him to the fatal necessity 
 of being always victorious. And, finally, the entire 
 destruction of the liberty of the press separated 
 him from the fellowship of public opinion, and con- 
 tributed powerfully to deceive him as to the re- 
 sources which the nation was likely to offer him, 
 in the hour of adversity. At the point to which 
 our history has now brought us, Napoleon is fallen ; 
 but his terrible part is not, yet, finished. The giant 
 is, once more, to lift up his head ; and in his second 
 fall he is, a second time, to shake the world. 
 
160 
 
 THE RESTORED DYNASTY, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 THE RESTORATION OF LOUIS EIGHTEENTH. 
 HUNDRED DAYS. 
 
 THE 
 
 HE gravest evil which usually attaches 
 to a political restoration, accomplished 
 after a considerable lapse of time, arises 
 from the fact that those in favour of 
 whom that restoration is effected, have, 
 for the most part, become strangers to 
 the new feelings and manners of the nation which 
 they are thereby called upon to govern. Their 
 affections and prejudices are all with the men and 
 things of a period past away, but whose memory 
 is linked, in their minds, with the recollections of 
 their own greatness and prosperity ; and it is 
 scarcely to be expected that they should look other- 
 wise than with distrust and aversion on all things 
 which have arisen out of those opinions to which 
 they attribute their own humiliation and long mis- 
 fortunes. The new generation, whose interests are 
 linked with the existing order of things, is but too 
 well prepared to hold them guilty, by anticipation, 
 
LOUIS EIGHTEENTH. 161 
 
 of those prejudices and sentiments so natural to 
 their position ; whilst, on the other hand, the party 
 whose hopes are attached to the re-establishment 
 of an overthrown system, triumph in the belief that 
 there is a necessary conformity between their own 
 wishes and those of the princes over whose return 
 they rejoice. Thence, on the one side, foolish 
 hopes, imprudent menaces, and rash projects, are 
 met, on the other, by gloomy apprehensions, na- 
 tural repugnances, spreading disaffection, and dan- 
 gerous plots. When to this fermentation of civil 
 disturbances are added, in the popular mind, those 
 humiliating recollections inseparable from a forcible 
 restoration, — when that restoration is introduced 
 by great national calamities as its heralds, and ac- 
 companied by foreign bayonets as its supporters — 
 it may be safely predicated, ere a single word has 
 been pronounced, or a single fault committed, that 
 great resistance is to be apprehended, and great 
 danger inevitable. Such were the unpropitious 
 circumstances which accompanied the restoration 
 of the Bourbons, in 1814; and ere yet a single 
 member of that family had set foot on the soil of 
 France, it was easy to estimate the obstacles which 
 they would have to encounter, and to foresee the 
 storms ready to burst forth around their path. 
 
 Louis Stanislaus Xavier, the head of the royal 
 house, whom the senate summoned to the throne, 
 under the title of Louis XVIII., was a prince of 
 judgment, with a mind capable of appreciating the 
 
 L 
 
162 THE ROYAL FAMILY. 
 
 character of the times. In his youth, he had 
 acquired, as comte de Provence, a certain degree 
 of popularity, by declaring himself, in the second 
 assembly of notables, in favour of the double re- 
 presentation of the tiers etat. Subsequently, during 
 the emigration, he fought against the republic, and 
 protested against the sovereignty of Napoleon, 
 asserting his own right to the crown. Driven from 
 the continent, he sought an honourable asylum in 
 England, where he had long lived in retirement, at 
 Hartwell, surrounded by a few friends, when the 
 reverses of the French arms opened up his way to 
 the throne. The members of his family, Monsieur, 
 the comte d'Artois, his brother, the dukes of An- 
 goultme and Berry, the sons of Monsieur, and 
 finally the two princes of the house of Conde who 
 survived the unfortunate duke d'Enghien, were 
 known to Europe only by their fruitless efforts to 
 triumph over the revolution by the aids of civil war 
 and foreign armies. Of all the princes of the house 
 of Bourbon, the duke of Orleans alone, the first 
 prince of the blood, had borne the national colours, 
 and fought against the enemies of France. Amongst 
 the other members of the royal family, the most 
 distinguished was the illustrious daughter of Louis 
 XVJ. and Marie-Antoinette, wife of the due d'An 
 gouleme, — a princess worthy, alike from her mis- 
 fortunes and her own greatness of mind, to excite 
 a profound and universal interest, but who had too 
 much to fojget, and too many things to forgive, for 
 
LOUIS IN FRANCE. 163 
 
 France to benold her return to the soil of her early 
 sufferings without apprehension. 
 
 Monsieur, the cornte d'Artois, preceded his bro- 
 ther ; and made his entry into Paris, as lieutenant- 
 general of the kingdom, on the 12th of April, 1814. 
 A very happy and graceful remark of his gave a 
 first impression greatly in his favour. ' Nothing,' 
 said he, in his proclamation to the Parisians, 4 is 
 changed in France, by my coming, save that there 
 is one Frenchmen more.' Yet he, himself, gave 
 the first signal of a political reaction, by substitut- 
 ing the white flag and cockade, long since forgotten, 
 for the glorious colours which were associated with 
 the memory of so many triumphs for France. 
 
 Louis XVIII. speedily followed his brother, and 
 was received at Calais by general Maison. Yield- 
 ing to the counsels of those about him, he refused, 
 through a sentiment of mistaken pride, to accept 
 the constitution tendered by the senate, accusing 
 that body of encroaching upon his hereditary rights. 
 Enlightened however, by the earnest representations 
 of the emperor Alexander, and of M. de Talleyrand, 
 a statesman skilled, above all others, in anticipating 
 at all times the wants and wishes of France, he 
 caused his entry into the capital to be preceded by 
 a celebrated declaration, dated at Saint-Ouen, which 
 guarantied to the French the enjoyment of the 
 liberties promised by the senatorial constitution, 
 and maintained a large proportion of its clauses. 
 On the following day, the 3d of May, v took place 
 
J 64 APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 the solemn entry of the king and madame la duch- 
 esse d'Angouleme into Paris. No foreign soldier 
 appeared in the royal cortege ; the monarch was 
 escorted by the old guard ; and a great portion of 
 the public interest was attracted to these brave 
 warriors, whose air of gloom and sadness contrasted 
 with the enthusiasm of the partisans of the house 
 of Bourbon. The cry of Vive le roi ! was more 
 than once drowned in that of Vive la garde ! and 
 many of the spectators carried away from that 
 solemnity dark and painful forebodings. These 
 alarms were augmented by the formation of the 
 ministry, which included several members wholly 
 strangers to the spirit of the revolution, and re- 
 commended to the monarch's choice by services 
 anterior to 1789, or by his own personal attach- 
 ment. Of this number were M. Dambray, chan- 
 cellor of France, and keeper of the seals — M. 
 l'abbe de Montesquieu, minister of the interior — 
 and M. le comte de Blacas, minister of the royal 
 household. General Dupont, unfortunately cele- 
 brated for the capitulation of Baylen, had the war 
 portfolio ; M. de Talleyrand was minister for foreign 
 .affairs ; M. Malouet had the navy department, the 
 baron Louis that of finance, and M. Beugnot the 
 direction of the police of the kingdom. Active 
 negotiations for peace were set on foot. The glo- 
 rious but undecisive battle fought by marshal Soult, 
 with a very inferior force, against the duke of Wel- 
 lington, beneath the walls of Toulouse, operated no 
 
THE CONSTITUTION. 165 
 
 change in the general condition of affairs ; and, on 
 the 30th of May, a definitive peace was concluded 
 between France and the allied powers by the treaty 
 of Paris. France returned within her ancient limits, 
 retaining Avignon, the Venaissin county, Mulhau- 
 sen, and a small portion of Savoy, — and restoring 
 to the allies fifty-three fortresses still in the occupa- 
 tion of her troops, with all the war material which 
 they contained. England seized upon three of the 
 French colonies, the isle of France, Saint Lucie, 
 and Tobago ; whilst France retained possession of 
 the island of Bourbon, Guiana, Pondicherry, Guada- 
 loupe, and Martinique. Shortly after the signing 
 of this treaty, the French territory was freed from 
 foreign troops. 
 
 The king convoked, for the 4th of June, the sena- 
 tors and the legislative body, which had been vio- 
 lently dissolved by Napoleon; and, on the same 
 day, in their presence, made a solemn gift to the 
 French of a constitutional charter, the principal 
 provisions of which were a repetition of those con- 
 tained in the act of the senate and the declaration 
 of Saint-Ouen. It established a representative 
 government, composed of the king and two cham- 
 bers — the one of peers, named for life, by the king 
 — and the other of deputies from the departments. 
 It guarantied individual liberty, the freedom of the 
 press, and that of religious worship, the inviolability 
 of property, the irrevocability of the sales of tne 
 national estates, the responsibility of ministers, the 
 
166 ERROR OF LOUIS. 
 
 aniiMctl vote of contributions, and the independence 
 of the tribunals. It recognised the public debt, 
 restored the ancient nobility, and acknowledged 
 and retained the new. This charter was to be 
 sworn to by the kings of France, at their corona- 
 tion ; and was generally well adapted to the wants 
 of the nation, and the wishes expressed for the last 
 twenty-five years, by the most distinguished men 
 of France. Immediately after its reading, the 
 chancellor communicated the ordinance which con- 
 stituted the chamber of peers, composed principally 
 of the old senators, the marshals, and a great num- 
 ber of dignitaries of the ancient court and the no- 
 bility. 
 
 But the promulgation of the constitutional act 
 was accompanied by one grave fault. The king 
 had refused to accept it as the condition of his ele- 
 vation to the throne, and chose to confer it as the 
 simple act of his sovereign will, at the same time 
 that he made the preamble bear date the nineteenth 
 year of his reign. This was, in fact, to refuse to 
 take any reckoning of all that had passed in France, 
 during the last twenty-five years ; it was erecting 
 the royal will, in virtue of a pretended divine righc 
 unintelligible to the great majority of the French 
 over the will of the entire nation ; in a word, it 
 was putting the charter in danger, and surrendering 
 it, by anticipation, to the caprices of a suspicious 
 and undefined power. In fact, if the prince, him- 
 self, who was the author of this constitution, recog- 
 
MURMURS AGAINST LOUIS. 167 
 
 nised in it no more than an act emanating from his 
 sole authority, it was to be feared that a king less 
 judicious or enlightened than he, might, one day, 
 hold himself at liberty to alter or revoke it, in virtue 
 of the. same hereditary and inalienable right. The 
 first consequences of this capital error were to 
 exaggerate the premature apprehensions of some, 
 and inflame the audacious hopes of others ; and to 
 this great fault may be imputed a large proportion 
 of the misfortunes of the restoration. 
 
 The dangers of the ground which the monarch 
 had taken up as the foundation of his power soon 
 became manifest. All those who had looked upon 
 the return of the Bourbons with discontent, now 
 perceived that the latter, in maintaining, against 
 their will, the state of things produced by the revo- 
 lution, by no means regarded that event as an irre- 
 vocable fact. These were loud in the expression 
 of their suspicion and alarm ; and the press, violent 
 and implacable, gave loud echoes to their menaces 
 and apprehensions. The government lost no time 
 in fettering its action ; and the censorship was re- 
 established, by a perversion of the true sense of one 
 of the articles of the constitution. The partisans 
 of the old regime continued, nevertheless, to indulge 
 themselves in fanatical declamations ; and, as al- 
 ways happens when the liberty of the press is sus- 
 pended, the people attributed to the government the 
 instigation of those excesses which it failed to re- 
 press. Imprudent words too often fell from the lips 
 
168 INCREASING DISCONTENT. 
 
 of the ministers and servants of the government , 
 ind those who arrogated to themselves exclusively 
 the name of royalists, indulged in bitter invectives, 
 not only against the charter, and the guarantees 
 which it offered, but even against its royal author, 
 himself. Ordinances were issued, some offensive to 
 the army and nation, and others vexatious and irri- 
 tating in their character. Expiatory solemnities 
 were appointed, in honour of the royal victims of 
 the revolutionary tempest ; and, in the language 
 of the official proclamations, as w 7 ell as in that of 
 the pulpit, France was continually accused of all 
 the atrocities committed during the reign of terror. 
 The clergy essayed their power, by issuing an ordi- 
 nance which interdicted all public amusements on 
 the Sundays and sacred days of the church. Al- 
 ready they spoke of recovering their tithes and 
 their domains, and denounced the purchasers of the 
 national property ; and, finally, the greater number 
 of the bishops adhered openly, and with all their 
 hearts, to the bull of Pope Pius VII., which re- 
 established the order of the Jesuits, so unpopular 
 throughout the kingdom. The army, consigned to 
 obscure garrisons, grieved over their lost eagles, 
 which the fleurs-de-lis had supplanted, and hid, with 
 many sighs, the colours which they had made so 
 glorious, beneath the white cockade. They had 
 seen a number of officers, who had grown grey in 
 their ranks, dismissed by general Dupont, and after- 
 wards by marshal Soult, (compelled, as they were, 
 
DIFFERENT PARTIES. 169 
 
 to yield to the exigencies of the court,) and replaced 
 by men whose birth, or services in foreign armies, 
 formed their sole title to the honours of military 
 command. These new-comers, full of recollections 
 of the old monarchy, spoke of the white plume of 
 Henry IV., and the christian virtues of Saint-Louis, 
 to men who had followed Napoleon into all the 
 capitals of Europe, but who, for the most part, 
 were ignorant of the very names of Saint-Louis 
 and Henry IV. Irritation and uneasiness agitated 
 all those classes whose interests were intimately 
 connected with those of the revolution; and several 
 distinct parties were formed, almost equally hostile 
 to the system adopted by the government. Queen 
 Hortense, the daughter of the empress Josephine, 
 and wife of Louis Bonaparte, was the centre and 
 soul of the imperialist party, in Paris. Fouche, 
 Gregoire, and the ex-directors Barras and Carnot, 
 were at the head of the patriot faction, whose 
 dreams were of a republic, and who of course desired 
 to overthrow the monarchy. In the foremost ranks 
 of the constitutionalists, were La Fayette, Benjamin 
 Constant, Lanjuinais, Boissy d'Anglas, and De 
 Broglie. And finally, the party most dangerous 
 of all by its power, that which was designated 
 under the title of ultra-royalist, had for its chief 
 Monsieur, the king's brother. The comtes de Bla- 
 cas and de Vaublanc were its most active members ; 
 and, as well as Monsieur, were incessant in their 
 efforts to urge Louis XVIII. to unpopular acts, in 
 
170 DIFFICULTIES OF THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 opposition, at once to the spirit of the charter, and 
 to the persona] inclinations of the monarch. 
 
 An active correspondence was, at the same time, 
 carrying on between Paris and the island of Elba ; 
 where Napoleon, with his eye upon France, rejoiced 
 over all the faults of power and all the symptoms 
 of popular irritation. Acquainted with the intrigues 
 of the imperialists, and apprehending a fatal termi- 
 nation to the patriot cause, Barras and Fouche, two 
 of the chiefs of that party, attempted to enlighten 
 the government on its dangers, and to impress upon 
 its proceedings a more judicious direction. Un- 
 known to one another, they each demanded an 
 audience of the king. M. de Blacas, at that time 
 all-powerful with Louis XVIII., reminded the king 
 of their regicide vote, as an obstacle to the granting 
 of an interview with the monarch, and was, himself, 
 commissioned to receive them. His prejudiced 
 mind either could not, or would not, understand 
 them ; and Fouch6 said, on quitting him : — ' Let 
 the king only continue to employ the services of 
 that man, and he would lose a dozen crowns, one 
 after the other.' 
 
 In the face of so many causes of agitation and 
 revolt, the task of the government was one of im- 
 mense difficulty ; and it acted without union, with- 
 out intelligence, and without vigour. M. de Tal- 
 leyrand had no longer a seat in the council, — being, 
 at that time, absent, as the representative of France 
 at the congress of sovereigns assembled, for some 
 
CONGRESS OF VIENNA. 171 
 
 months past, at Vienna, for the purpose of dividing 
 the spoils of the vast empire of Napoleon. This 
 congress, directed principally by the emperor Alex- 
 ander, but in which prince Metternich for Austria, 
 lord Castlereagh for England, and count Harden- 
 berg for Prussia, exercised a very high influence, 
 had already excited prodigious discontent. The 
 monarchs had there assumed as a principle the 
 right of sharing nations amongst them, like so 
 many sheep. It was not, now, territorial extent, 
 but the number of souls in each city and each coun- 
 try, which was taken as the basis of these partitions. 
 No account whatever was made of the distinctions 
 established between one people and another, by 
 manners, national character, the demands of com- 
 merce, or religions ; but the interests of states of 
 the second order were, in all cases, sacrificed to 
 those of the great powers. The unfortunate king 
 of Saxony, guilty of being faithful to Napoleon, was 
 despoiled, for the benefit of Prussia and Russia ; 
 the first of which obtained, besides the electorate 
 of Saxony, Swedish Pomerania, and a great portion 
 of the territory between the Rhine and the Meuse, 
 — whilst Russia acquired the grand-duchy of War- 
 saw, under the name of the kingdom of Poland, 
 and on the condition of ruling it by a special and 
 constitutional government. Austria recovered Lom- 
 bardy, and added thereto all the ancient possessions 
 of Venice on both shores of the Adriatic. Tuscany 
 was given to the archduke Ferdinand, Genoa to the 
 
172 DELIBERATIONS AT VIENNA. 
 
 king of Sardinia, and Parma and Placentia to the 
 ex-empress Maria-Louisa. The foreign policy of 
 all the German states was submitted to the decision 
 of a federal diet ; in which Austria and Prussia 
 contrived to secure the entire influence, notwith- 
 standing the strong remonstrances of the kings of 
 Bavaria and Wirtemberg, and the sovereigns of the 
 secondary states. Sweden acquired Norway, at 
 the expense of Denmark, — from whom England 
 took aw T ay, in addition, Heligoland. The latter 
 power, enriched by the colonies won during the 
 war, and by her new conquests in India, retained, 
 besides, the Cape of Good Hope, the Isle of France, 
 Malta, and the Ionian Islands ; and devoted her 
 anxious care to the formation of the kingdom of the 
 Netherlands, composed of Holland and Belgium 
 united under the house of Orange, — and which 
 appeared to that power to present a formidable 
 barrier against France. The latter country having 
 had its limits determined by the treaty of Paris, M. 
 de Talleyrand had but an unimportant share in the 
 operations of the congress. He confined himself 
 principally to resisting the encroachments of Russia, 
 and demanding the throne of Naples, filled by Mu- 
 rat, for the Sicilian Bourbons. His endeavours 
 were, at first, unattended by anything like success ; 
 but alarmed, at length, for the maintenance of his 
 rights, Murat once more entered into communication 
 with the great man whom he had abandoned, invited 
 him into Italy, and promised him vigorous aid. Si ,*h 
 
NAPOLEON RETURNS TO FRANCE. 173 
 
 was the general situation of Europe, at the begin- 
 ning of March, 1815, — when an extraordinary event 
 suddenly drew the eyes of all men, once more, to- 
 wards France. 
 
 On the 27th of February, a brig of war, followed 
 by six light barks, stole cautiously over the Mediter- 
 ranean. A profound stillness reigned on board, 
 and the glitter of arms flashed from every side. 
 Foui hundred soldiers, with weather-beaten faces, 
 covered with scars, and of martial aspect, manned 
 the brig; but, anxious and watchful, their eager 
 eyes questioned every sail that appeared on the 
 horizon. Suddenly, the brows of more than one 
 of these heroes grew pale, as a ship of war hove in 
 sight ; and already the word ' Elba,' and murmurs 
 of return, passed, in whispers, from mouth to mouth. 
 But in the midst of these, stood one man, apparently 
 unmoved, towards whom all eyes were turned, and 
 who rejected all suggestions of delay to the execu- 
 tion of his vast enterprise. He pointed towards 
 France, and shouted — ' Forward !' That man was 
 Napoleon, who had, once more, committed himself 
 to his fortunes. Then, as on his return from Egypt, 
 but, this time, for his own misfortune and that of 
 France, he escaped the enemy's cruisers ; and, on 
 the 1st of March, disembarked on the beach of 
 Cannes, near Antibes, with a thousand soldiers, and 
 his three gallant generals, Bertrand, Drouet, and 
 Cambronne. 
 
 This daring enterprise was characterised, by 
 
174 PROGRESS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 those about Louis XVIII., as an act of utter mad 
 ncs?. The crowd of his courtiers were delighted 
 looking upon it as a mere abortive conspiracy, — a 
 most fortunate event, the only effect of which would 
 be to expose the secret designs of those whose 
 places they coveted. It was proposed to organize 
 a dictatorship, to raise the nation in mass, and to 
 put an end to Bonaparte and the conspirators at 
 once. The king convoked the two chambers ; the 
 comte d'Artois was commissioned to take charge 
 of the military forces at Lyons, in conjunction with 
 marshal Macdonald ; Ney accepted the command 
 of the troops scattered throughout Tranche Comte, 
 and took an oath of fidelity to the king; the due 
 de Feltre replaced Soult as minister at war ; and, 
 finally, by a royal ordinance, Napoleon Bonaparte 
 was declared a rebel and a traitor, and all French- 
 men were enjoined to seize upon him as such. 
 
 Napoleon, however, continued to advance, by 
 forced marches, amongst a people subdued by the 
 magic charm of his name, of the tricoloured flag 
 which he bore, and of his eloquent proclamations. 
 To the people, who crowded round him, he said — 
 1 Citizens, called to the throne by your choice, all 
 which has been done without your assent is illegal. 
 But your wishes shall be heard, and the national 
 cause shall, yet, be triumphant. My return secures 
 to you, once more, all the privileges which you 
 have enjoyed for the last five and twenty years.' 
 To the army he said : — ; Soldiers, your voice has 
 
HIS RECEPTION BY THE ARMY. 175 
 
 reached me in my exile, and I have come to you, 
 through every obstacle and every danger. Fling 
 down the colours which the nation has proscribed, 
 and around which have rallied all the enemies of 
 France. Up, once more, with the tricoloured cock- 
 ade, which you wore in all our great battles. The 
 veterans of the armies of the Sambre and Meuse, 
 of the Rhine, of Italy, of Egypt, and of the west, 
 are humiliated ; their honourable scars are sullied ! 
 Soldiers, place yourselves beneath the banners of 
 your chief! victory shall march by your side, and 
 the eagle shall fly, with the colours of the nation, 
 from steeple to steeple, until it nestle upon the 
 towers of Notre-Dame !' 
 
 The sole hope of Napoleon reposed on the affec- 
 tion and enthusiasm of the soldiery for his person : 
 on their return to his standard depended the success 
 of his vast enterprise. A first attempt, made on 
 the garrison of Antibes, had failed; and, during 
 several days, Bonaparte marched without meeting 
 any forces, either friendly or hostile. At length, 
 on the evening of the 7th of March, a battalion of 
 seven hundred men presented themselves, at the 
 defile of Vizille, near Grenoble, the road to which 
 they cut off. The officer in command refused to 
 parley, and threatened to fire on Napoleon's party. 
 This was the decisive moment. Napoleon advanced, 
 alone, and on foot, and approaching within hearing 
 of the troops, he opened his riding-coat, and thus 
 addressed them: — 'Soldiers, it is I ! look upon me! 
 
176 
 
 If there be a man amongst you who would slay his 
 emperor, behold him here! he comes, with uncovered 
 breast, to offer himself to your weapons !' All re- 
 coiled ; admiration and enthusiasm took possession 
 of their hearts ; the cry of Vive Vempereur ! was a 
 Miousand times repeated ; the two parties frater- 
 nised, hoisted the same standard, and marched to- 
 gether upon Grenoble. Shortly afterwards, colonel 
 Labedoyere appeared with his regiment, and joined 
 Bonaparte, — to whom that unfortunate young man 
 had vowed a sort of worship. Grenoble and Lyons 
 opened their gates. In the latter city, the comte 
 d'Artois was abandoned, and quitted it, with a 
 single horseman for his escort. Everywhere, the 
 soldiers responded to the appeal of their old gene- 
 ral ; the division of the army commanded by Ney 
 yielded to the example, and Ney himself, won over 
 by the sentiment of the hour, flung himself into the 
 arms of his former general — his companion in arms. 
 Then, for the first time, did Monsieur take the oath 
 to the constitutional charter, in presence of the as- 
 sembled chambers. In vain, however, did marshal 
 Mortier and the garrison of La Fere repress, in the 
 east, a revolt led by the generals Lallemand and 
 Lefevre-Desnouettes ; in vain did the due d'Angou- 
 leme, in Languedoc, and Madame, at Bordeaux, — 
 the city which had been the first to proclaim the 
 Bourbons, — endeavour to rally the troops in the 
 royal cause: Napoleon was, already, but a few 
 marches distant from the Tuileries. 
 
NAPOLEON'S RETURN FROM ELBA. 
 

NAPOLEON ENTERS PARIS. 177 
 
 In Pans, the troops gave no response to the cry 
 of Vive le roil Louis XVIII. understood their 
 silence but too well ; and, yielding to necessity, he 
 hastily quitted his palace, in the night between the 
 19th and 20th of March. He repaired to Lille, 
 and subsequently to Ghent; where he was speedily 
 joined by M. de Talleyrand, and whither he was 
 followed, besides his faithful servants, by all those 
 who disguised their prudence beneath the semblance 
 of devotion. 
 
 On the evening of the 20th of March, Napoleon 
 re-entered the capital, without having fired a shot. 
 His rapid march had been one continued triumph ; 
 yet never, perhaps, did sovereign, in repossessing 
 himself of a crown, find himself in a situation more 
 critical than did Napoleon, on his return from Elba, 
 during that period so fatally celebrated as the hun- 
 dred days. France was exhausted, and divided 
 into factions. The immense majority of enlightened 
 Frenchmen, satisfied with the promises of the char- 
 ter granted by Louis XVIIL, which they hoped to 
 see religiously fulfilled, looked back with terror on 
 the imperial despotism. The south was menaced 
 with civil war ; La Vendee was once more in a 
 state of fermentation ; the Roche-Jacquelins, the 
 Sapineauds, and the D'Autichamps, were agitating 
 the Bocage; the working classes at Paris, Lyons, and 
 other towns, were in a state of disturbance, which 
 recalled the most gloomy periods of the revolution ; 
 the whole of Europe was, again, in arms ; and 
 
 M 
 
178 DIFFICULTIES OF NAPOLEON'S POSITION. 
 
 Murat was unsuccessful in his attempt to restore 
 freedom to Italy. The congress of Vienna de- 
 clared Napoleon to be without the social pale j and 
 a million of soldiers were about, once more, to be 
 poured into France. Under these circumstances, 
 it became essential, at whatever cost, that, in this 
 gigantic struggle, victory should give to the diadem- 
 ed forehead of Napoleon a new baptism of human 
 blood. 
 
 It was the army almost alone that had recalled 
 its emperor, — his return being in fact the work of 
 the soldiers far more than of the people. So cir- 
 cumstanced, an almost unlimited authority was 
 necessary to the chief; but, constrained to turn for 
 support to those quarters where strength resided 
 Napoleon sought it amongst the patriot party, — 
 and that party, which nourished republican senti- 
 ments, could not bring itself to intrust to the author 
 of the 19thBrumaire, a dictatorship even momentary. 
 It became necessary for Bonaparte to flatter its 
 chiefs, and hold the language of one who was a 
 friend to the national liberties ; and such language, 
 in his mouth, was but a feeble instrument of success. 
 For public opinion, when it has the upper hand, is 
 only to be won over by the language of truth, — or 
 by language which, if not sincere, at least wears the 
 appearance of sincerity. 
 
 The first imperial decrees, dated from Lyons, 
 were energetic. They pronounced the dissolution 
 of the chambers of Louis XVIIL, — and convened 
 
NEW CONSTITUTION. 179 
 
 the electoral colleges to an extraordinary assembly, 
 in the Champ de Mai, for the purpose of modifying 
 the constitution of the empire, in the popular inte- 
 rest. The ancient nobility was abolished, — a se- 
 questration ordered of all the property of the Bour- 
 bons, — and eleven heads were placed under pro- 
 scription, including those of Talleyrand and Mar- 
 mont. Yielding to the forced alliance which neces- 
 sity imposed on him, the emperor admitted the 
 patriot chiefs, Carnot and Fouche, into his council 
 — the first as minister of the interior, the second as 
 minister of police. He endeavoured, too, to gain 
 over the constitutionalists ; and Benjamin Constant 
 had the greatest share in the drawing up of the act 
 of addition to the constitution of the empire. This 
 act adopted the leading features of the charter of 
 Louis XVIII. ; but, by its strange title, justly con- 
 demned by public opinion, it had the appearance 
 of placing liberty in the train of despotism. Napo- 
 leon submitted it for the acceptance of the people, 
 and it was approved of by a million of Frenchmen, 
 while four thousand had the courage to protest 
 against it. Bonaparte took the oath to this new 
 constitution, in the solemn assembly of the Champ 
 de Mai, where the eagles were distributed amongst 
 the regiments, and where he, himself, appeared sur- 
 rounded by all the ceremonial of the empire. The 
 elections, which were almost entirely in the patriot 
 interest, were, by this time, known ; and the cham- 
 ber of representatives assembled, on the 3d of June, 
 
180 WAR WITH ALL EUROPE. 
 
 under auspices little promising for the emperor. 
 Here, La Fayette reappeared on the political stage, 
 after twenty years of honourable retreat. The 
 votes for the presidency were divided betwixt him 
 and Lanjuinais ; but the latter, who was the orator 
 most hostile to the imperial government, obtained 
 it. Military measures absorbed, now, all the 
 thoughts of Napoleon. The nation was delivered 
 from civil war; the due d'Angouleme, after some 
 temporary successes, had capitulated ; and being, 
 subsequently, taken prisoner by some peasants, was 
 set at liberty by the emperor's order, and quitted 
 France. La Vendee, itself, kept in check by the 
 energetic and conciliatory measures of general La- 
 marque, laid down the sword. But Europe was 
 advancing in arms. The English, under Welling- 
 ton, and the Prussians, under Blucher, occupied 
 Belgium. The German universities were animated 
 against Bonaparte by a frenzied enthusiasm for 
 liberty ; and, at their voice, all Germany arose, — 
 whilst, in the background, the Russian columns and 
 the hordes of Tartary were, already, in motion. 
 
 The geniuo of Napoleon, once more, raised, in a 
 few days, a formidable army, from the soil of 
 France. He reckoned three hundred thousand 
 fighting men ; of which number one hundred and 
 ten thousand were directed against Belgium. On 
 the 12th of June he, himself, set out for the army, 
 with the design of fighting Wellington and Blucher, 
 — each of whom had ninety thousand men under 
 
BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 181 
 
 uis command. His hope was to engage, and over- 
 throw, them separately, and then to make head 
 against Austria and Russia. On the 16th a bloody 
 battle was fought round the village of Ligny, on the 
 plain of Fleurus; where the Prussians were defeated 
 and lost twenty-two thousand men. The victor 
 then advanced, with only seventy thousand soldiers, 
 to meet the English, Dutch, and Hanoverian forces, 
 — and came up with them at Waterloo. Grouchy, 
 at the head of thirty- three thousand men, had orders 
 to keep back the beaten troops of Blucher, and pre- 
 vent their junction with the army of Wellington. 
 The fight began, on the 18th of June, at eleven 
 o'clock in the morning ; and the destinies of the 
 world were staked upon that battle-field. For 
 several hours, the French maintained the advan- 
 tage, and already the enemy had thoughts of re- 
 treating. About six o'clock, Napoleon ordered a 
 formidable charge, and the English began to give 
 way. The arrival of Grouchy or of Blucher, how- 
 ever, it was evident, must decide the victory. Sud- 
 denly, a numerous body of men were seen in the 
 distance, on the right flank of the French army. 
 On both sides, anxiety was, for a moment, at its 
 height ; but the confidence of Wellington was soon 
 restored, and his victory assured, — for he had 
 recognised the Prussians. Blucher had evaded 
 Grouchy, and the struggle was decided. The rout 
 of the French army was complete, and the carnage 
 fearful. Two hundred pieces of cannon fell into 
 
182 NAPOLEON AGAIN ABDICATES. 
 
 the enemy's hands. But the honour of France, at 
 least, remained unsullied, on that dreadful day. 
 Summoned to lay down their arms, some mutilated 
 battalions of the old guard replied by this heroic 
 cry: — 'The guard can die, but not surrender!' 
 Bewildered and distracted, in the midst of this 
 irremediable disaster, Napoleon presented his breast 
 to the bullets which flew around, — but could not 
 die. For the second time, death seemed to shun 
 him. Then, at length, despairing of his fortune, he 
 abandoned the wreck of his army, and returned to 
 Paris, to announce, in person, that all was lost. 
 
 The aspect of the representatives, already but 
 ill-disposed towards him, was gloomy and threaten- 
 ing. La Fayette arose, and spoke with severity. 
 On his proposal, it was resolved that any attempt 
 to dissolve the chamber should be punished as high 
 treason. Napoleon saw that his own friends were 
 smitten with consternation ; the populace of the 
 faubourgs, alone, still greeted him with the cry of 
 Vive Pempereur ! mixed, however, with savage cla 
 mours. He could not resolve to throw himself 
 upon them for support, and let them loose against 
 the representatives of the nation. He prudently 
 resisted the entreaties of his brother Lucien, who 
 exhorted him to attempt another 18th Brumaire ; 
 and signed a second abdication, in favour of his 
 son. This act the chambers accepted ; and, without 
 pronouncing positively in favour of Napoleon II., 
 formed a government, composed of the ministers 
 
NAPOLEON SURRENDERS TO THE ENGLISH. 183 
 
 Carnot and Fouche, duke of Otranto, the generals 
 Caulaincourt and Grenier, and Quinette, formerly 
 a member of the convention. Fouche, suspected 
 of having betrayed the emperor, was appointed 
 president of this provisional government. 
 
 Napoleon quitted Paris ; and from Malmaison, 
 whither he retired, he turned his eyes towards 
 America. Behind him, innumerable enemies were 
 pouring into France ; the roads to Paris were open, 
 and the English and Prussians were rapidly approach- 
 ing by them. One hundred and sixty thousand 
 French soldiers might, still, in a few days, be as- 
 sembled beneath the walls of the capital, and cut 
 off their retreat. Napoleon traced in his mind, and 
 on the map, the imprudent march of his enemies ; 
 and, once more, his warlike genius awoke. He 
 wrote to the provisional government that he had 
 formed an infallible plan for their destruction, and 
 demanded permission to fight them but as a simple 
 general. His offer was insultingly rejected by 
 Fouche. The emperor then resigned himself to 
 abandon France; and directed his steps towards 
 Rochefort, under the protection of general Becker. 
 But the English cruisers were hovering about the 
 port ; and, deluded by a strange infatuation, Napo- 
 leon flattered himself that an act of noble confidence, 
 on his part, might triumph over the imperious de- 
 mands of a necessary policy. He presented him- 
 self, with his suite, on board the English ship, Bel- 
 lerophon: from whence he wrote to the prince 
 
184 NAPOLEON IS SENT TO ST. HELENA. 
 
 regent, demanding permission to sit down, like 
 another Themistocles, by the British hearth, and 
 claim the protection of the British laws. The reply 
 to this letter was an order to convey the illustrious 
 suppliant to Saint Helena ; and, almost immediately 
 afterwards, he sailed — for the world's repose — to- 
 wards the rock which was destined to be his retreat, 
 his prison, and his tomb. Thus did this wonderful 
 man disappear, for the second time, and for ever, 
 from the political horizon ; leaving behind him an 
 immense void, within whose arena struggled those 
 passions, whose shock sent frightful oscillations afar 
 throughout Europe : — like some huge vessel, which, 
 after having ridden triumphant over the sea, is sud- 
 denly engulfed by the waters, and, as it sinks into 
 the dark abyss, continues long to agitate the surfaco 
 of the foaming waves. 
 
RESIDENCE AT ST. HELENA. 
 
 183 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CAPTIVITY AND DEATH OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 T is not our purpose to fatigue the 
 reader with a detail of the petty 
 persecutions inflicted on the unfor- 
 tunate emperor, by the British min- 
 istry, during the six years of his 
 dreary imprisonment on the island 
 of St. Helena. Every thing that was calculated 
 to wound his feelings, irritate his sensibility, and 
 wear out his health, was resorted to. The attend- 
 ants most agreeable to him were removed. He was 
 watched by coarse spies. His favourite physician 
 was ordered to leave the island ; and, to crown the 
 whole, a petty, vulgar, cruel, and malignant wretch, 
 named Sir Hudson Lowe, was placed over him in 
 the character of gaoler, who rendered himself so 
 utterly odious to Napoleon, that on one occasion 
 he threw away a cup of coffee, declaring that the 
 looks of the governor had poisoned it. 
 
 At length the purpose of the British government 
 was accomplished. 
 
186 DEATH OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 The great captain, who had been victor in fifty* 
 two pitched battles, and disposed, at his pleasure, 
 of the sceptres of the world, died, on the 5th of 
 May, 1821, at Saint Helena, surrounded by a few 
 faithful friends, — carried off, after some months of 
 a lingering and painful disease, and a captivity of 
 six years. Napoleon perished of a disease of the 
 liver, the progress of which was accelerated by the 
 influence of an unwholesome climate, the severity 
 of his gaoler, Sir Hudson Lowe, the governor of the 
 island, and, more than all, by the fever of an imagi- 
 nation, whose activity had no longer any other food 
 than poignant regrets, after having, long, had the 
 whole world for its sphere of operations. The 
 stern historian is compelled to say that, in that 
 vast sphere of which he had made himself the 
 centre, his egotism employed all things with a 
 reference to himself. Napoleon held human nature 
 in contempt ; men were in his eyes no more than 
 ciphers, whose value was represented by the ser- 
 vices that he could extract out of them. He loved 
 war, as a professed gambler loves the game in 
 which his skill is pre-eminent. Like the gambler, 
 too, he risked, every day, the gains of yesterday, 
 and had himself to reproach for almost all his dis- 
 asters. The restoration of order in France, and 
 many useful creations of his genius, constitute his 
 true titles to glory ; but the comparison of the good 
 which he did with that which he might have done, 
 had he been governed by none but moral and pa- 
 
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON- 187 
 
 triotic views, must ever weigh upon his memory as 
 a subject of heavy reproach. His insatiable ambi- 
 tion twice laid his country open to the invasion of 
 foreign arms ; and the calamities by which those 
 invasions have been followed, and the blood of two 
 millions of men, shed in innumerable combats dur- 
 ing his reign, have taught France how heavy a 
 price the glory of a conqueror costs. Let us, 
 however, hope that she may not have suffered so 
 deeply, without some future benefit being derived 
 to humanity therefrom. Napoleon, in the course 
 of his triumphant march throughout the nations of 
 Europe, at the head of kings and princes and pow- 
 erful chiefs, all sprung from the ranks of the people, 
 scattered, wherever he passed, certain notions on 
 equality of rights, which have become, in our day, 
 the basis of political freedom ; and, in his double 
 catastrophe, by twice drawing into France the 
 armies of combined Europe, he introduced the most 
 distant nations to a higher civilization, which will, 
 hereafter, no doubt, establish new links of connexion 
 between them and his countrymen, and be the re- 
 mote means of effecting a greater harmony between 
 their social institutions and our own. Such was 
 the spell of this marvellous man, that, at the dis- 
 tance of eighteen hundred leagues from Europe, he 
 still filled it with the echoes of his name. His 
 great image loomed afar, from his solitary rock in 
 the ocean, a perpetual object of terror to some, and 
 of hope to others. His death hurried some of these 
 19* 
 
188 REMOVAL OF NAPOLEON'S REMAINS. 
 
 latter into rash and desperate enterprises, — whilst, 
 in delivering their adversaries from a salutaiy fear, 
 it left them at liberty to abandon themselves, with 
 less of prudence and reserve, to their reactionary 
 and disastrous inclinations. 
 
 In the autumn of 1840, the remains of Napoleon 
 were removed from St. Helena, and carried to 
 France in the frigate Belle Poule, under the com- 
 mand of the Prince de Joinville. In December of 
 the same year, a grand funeral procession accom- 
 panied the remains of the emperor with magnificent 
 pomp, and great enthusiasm, to the Church of the 
 Invalids, where they were deposited in their last 
 res^ng-place. 
 
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