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MEMORABLE

EV*ENTS liN PAU18,

IN 1814.

LONDON:

PRINTRD BY J. MOVES, TOOK'S COURT, CHAN( ERV LANE.

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A NARRATIVE

MEMORABLE EVENTS IN PARIS,

PRECEDING THE CAPITULATION, AND DURING THE OCCUPANCY
OF THAT CITY BY THE ALLIED ARMIES,

IN THE YEAR 1814;

BEING EXTRACTS FROM

THE JOURNAL OF A DETENU, '

WHO CONTINUED A PRISONER, ON PAROLE, IN THE fKENCIl
CAPITAL, FROM THE VEAR 1803 TO 1814.

ALSO,

ANECDOTES
OF BUONAPARTE'S JOURNEY TO ELBA.

THE DFATII OF EVEBV MAN DEPRIVES THE WORLD OF SOME IXKORM.XTrOM WHICH COULD
NO WHERE ELSE (IE PROCURED." — Wntdliam.

LONDON

PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, BURTON STREET;

SOLD BV

LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN, PATERNOSTER ROW.

M.DCCC.XXVm.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LOl.^D FRANCIS LEVESON GOWER,

^c. 4f- 4<-.

AS A MEMORIAL OF RESPECT

THE ZEAL AND TALENTS MANIFESTED IN PARLIA!\IENT,
AND IN ADMIRATION OF THE ABILITIES

KVIXCKD IV

HIS LORDSHIP'S LITKKAUY PRODUCTIONS;

THIS VOLUME

IS INSCUIUKU 15V

THE EDITOH.

An, 1 1. .■), l«-2({.

A 1) D 11 F. S S,

II V

THE EDITOH,

The Editor of the present Volume had the manu-
script presented to him by an old and confidential
friend, who has been a resident at Paris ever since
the year 1803, and whose principal injunction was,
that it should be faithfully and correctly conveyed
to the world through the medium of the Engllsli
press. — The laudable and insatiable avidity with
which that friend sought information on every
subject of art, science, literature, and the po-
.litical state of nations, led him to visit France,
cScc. during the short peace of 1802-3. He was
returning to England, and had reached Calais,
.when the peevish arrete of Buonaparte (22d May
1803) was forwarded to that port, commanding
the arrest of all Englishmen. Instead, there-
fore, of revisiting his native home, and imparting
to his friends the result of his inquiries, ob-

yiii ADDRESS.

servations, and researches, he was detained as a
prisoner ; but, as a particuhir favour, from in-
timacy with some of the savans of Paris, he was
allowed to return to that city, in place of being
sent to Valenciennes, where many other English
detenus were consigned. The fortunes of war and
conquest at length released him from military
confinement, as stated in page 9G of this narrative.
During the whole of this captivity he was fortunate
enough to enjoy a friendly and familiar intercourse
with many eminent persons of the French capital.
He was also honoured in having frequent inter-
views with the empress Josephine, in her domestic
and private station. This was a favour which few
others possessed, and, of course, afforded a familiar
insight into many circumstances which were never
proclaimed to the world. To one who has been
in the habit of keeping a regular daily journal,
from infancy, of all events, interesting traits of
character, and circumstances connected with art,
science, and literature, — such an opportunity,
and such eventful occurrences, were calculated
to awaken more than common curiosity and in-
terest, and he availed himself of it by preserving
a faithful record of all the memorable transactions

ADDUKSS. IX

whicli occurred in the French metropolis for
upwards of twelve years. The scenes delineated
in the following Journal, so kept — the charac-
teristic anecdotes which it imparts of national
manners — of personal incidents — of the savage
and murderous scenes of warfare — of the dis-
tracted state of alarm in some, and of indif-
ference in others — of the successive events of
infuriated conflict and slaughter, contrasted by
])ompous triumphant processions, and rapid tran-
sition to gaiety and pastimes — of the expulsion of
a warrior, emperor, and despot, from his throne,
and the exaltation of an exiled, artful king to
the sovereignty of a nation, — cannot fail of creat-
ing the alternate emotions of curiosity, sympathy,
and interest. Had the Journalist originally cal-
culated on giving publicity to his narrative, he
would have sought for, and obtained further de-
tails ; he would have worked up his pictures to a
higher degree of finish, — to more vivid effects of
light and shade, — to more skilful grouping, —
and to more powerful and palpable expression.
But his chief object was to preserve slight, though
faithful sketches of passing events ; and these

X ADDRESS,

would have rcnvaincd undisturbed in his own port-
folio but tor the advice of a few friends, and from a
knowledge that much misrepresentation had gone
abroad respecting many public persons and sub-
jects, which are legitimate objects of history, and
of which his Journal preserved authentic records.

To the professional Critic the Editor has to say
a few words ; because he is desirous of protecting
his friend against misunderstanding or erroneous
inferences. The ensuing Journal is printed ver-
batim from the Author's copy, he being scrupulous
as to names, dates, phrases, and facts : and it
will not escape the keen eye of the experienced
critic, that the writer has neither aimed at ele-
gance nor eloquence of diction ; but, on the
contrary, betrays occasional carelessness of style.
Accustomed as he has been, for many years, to
French society, French literature, and to express
his ideas in that language, it is not surprising that
he should forget or confound a little of his own.

Parts of the following Journal have already
api)eared in the London Magazine for 1825; but
these are nuich enlarged, have been corrected in
many passages, and very considerable additions are

ADDRESS. XI

now made. Had the Author deemed it c;cpedient
to review the statements of other writers on the
same time and events, he would have been led
into lengthened disquisition and comment, and
must have impeached the accuracy of representa-
tions in many of his own countrymen, as well
as of the French, Russians, and Austrians, all of
whom have published their respective accounts
.and opinions of one of the most eventful years of
modern times.

The Journalist invariably distinguishes between
what he lieard and what he saw ; and in noting
information on the authority of others, he has exer-
cised the greatest caution, collecting and sifting it
with the most scrupulous care. The French, in
their love of display and indifference to accuracy,
and in their inordinate vanity, are witnesses not
always to be relied on, without the utmost caution
and strictest examination.

On many of the facts here detailed, the Paris
papers preserved a studied silence, while other
transactions were related in precise contradiction
to the truth. Several of the notes were furnished
by persons of high diplomatic authority, who were
actors in the great scenes described, and the me-

xii ADDRESS.

moranda were committed to paper at the time of
communication.

As this Journal was kept solely for the amuse-
ment of the Author, and to aid his recollection of
facts, without any view to publication ; there
was, consequently, no motive for mistatement or
for misrepresentation.

Such parts of the narrative as were printed in
the London Magazine were translated into French,
and appeared at Paris, during seven successive
months, in the Revue Britannique for 1826, with-
out a single contradiction of any of the numerous
anecdotes it contained. Other journals, belonging
to both parties, also cited it, and pronounced it to
be a valuable addition to the history of a period in
which no one was allowed to publish such ac-
counts in Paris; and few, indeed, in that city,
ventured even to commit to paper the occurrences
they witnessed.

The following paragraph appeared in the
Etoile, Mars 2, 1826 : —

" Les ^diteurs de la Revue Britannique viennent
de publier le septieme num^ro. On y remarque
le journal d'un Anglais, prisonnier de guerre a
Paris pendant les quatre premiers mois de 1814.

ADDRESS. xiii

Ce journal est rcmpli de particularites curicuses
siir les <!^v^nemens ;\ jamais m^morables de cette
^poque, qui a pi<^c6d^ et amen6 la restoration."

In the Courier Francais, 2 Juillet, 1826, was
the following notice : —

" Le cahier onzieme de la Revue Britannique
vient de paraitre, et n'est pas moins int^ressant que
les pr^c^dens ; pout-etre m^me il fournit encore
plus d'alimens a la curiosite. L'article, * Journal
d'un Anglais, prisonnier de guerre k Paris pendant
les quatre premiers mois de 1814,' renferme une
foule de documens et d'anecdotes piquantes sur
cette ^poque, la plus remarquable du si^cle. Si
le r<!icit en acquiert beaucoup d'int^ret pour les
lecteurs de la Grande Bretagne, il doit en avoir
bien d'avantage en France, puisqu'il nous pr6-
sente, dans leur vrai jour, les hommes de notre
pays qui ont eu le plus d'influence sur ce grand
^v^nement."

In closing this Address, and reflecting on the
contents of the volume to which it is prefixed,
I cannot help regretting that the writer has not
allowed me to place his name in the title-page.
His reasons are to this effect : — ** I am not
an author, nor do I aspire to this honour. In

xiv ADDRESS.

printing the present narrative, I have been more
seduced by the entreaty of friends than by any
prospect of fame or profit : the latter I entirely
forego, and the former I have no right to expect.
Perhaps I might have secured a fair portion of
both, with several of my literary friends, had
my predilections led me to this department of
study, — but circumstances have impelled me
rather to be a spectator than an actor in the
ever- varied drama of life. The fine arts and
the sciences have claimed much of my time and
attention, and have afforded me rewards by the
endless pleasures that ever accompany them."

As the ensuing Journal details many anec-
dotes and facts respecting public characters, —
not always creditable to the respective parties, —
the writer considers himself responsible for the
veracity of every statement, and will be ready
to substantiate the same through the medium of
the Editor, or in any respectable literary journal.

J. BRITTON,

April 5, 1828. Burton Street, London.

ANALYTICAL
TAIiLE OF CONTENTS.

EVENTS OF JANUARY 1814.

State of Paris in January 1814. — Demand for gunpowder, 3. —
Survey of Paris for fortifying it, 4. — Buonaparte and Talley-
rand, 5. — Allies pass the Rhine in different places, 6. — Con-
sultation at Aix-la-Chapelle, 7. — French newspapers admit that
100,000 of the allied troops were assembled on the Rhine, 8. — •
Buonaparte assembles the national guard, and manifests state
finesse, 9. — Quits Paris to join the army, 10. — Battle of
Brienne ; removal of the English prisoners who resided in
Paris, 11. — State prisoners in Vincennes and La Force, 12.

EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 1814.

Removal of prisoners from Paris, 13. — Destruction of secret
papers, 14. — Fear of trusting the national guards with arms;
secretion of muskets ; duke of Rovigo and Napoleon, 15. —
Plot to assassinate Buonaparte, 16. — Anecdote of Napoleon ;
battle of La Rothiere, 18. — Approach of the allied armies;
battle of Champ-aubert, and secretion of property ; new medal
struck, 19. — Want of muskets, 21. — Pledging property, 22. —
Asylums for the wounded, 23. — State of the Hospitals, 24,25. —
Announcement of the victory of Champ-aubert, 26. — The armies
engage inNanges, Provens, and Montereau, 27. — Arrival of allied
generals in Paris, 28. — Russian and German prisoners paraded
through Paris, 29. — Sympathy towards them, 30, 31. — Arrival
of a large mass of papers from Holland ; sitting of the munici-
pality, 32.

XVI CONTENTS.

EVENTS IN MARCH 1814.

Inefficiency of hospital room; wounded refused admittance;
dead bodies in the Seine, 37, 38. — Mode of taxation in France,
39. — Want of money ; review of the Parisian national guards, 40.
— Approach of the allies, 41. — Explosion of the French powder-
magazine ; rapid approach of the allied army, 42. — Peasantry
flying into Paris, 43. — Report of an action at Claye, 44. —
Retreat of the French on Paris, 45. — Hypocritical finesse of
Cambaqeres, 46. — Account of the battle of Claye; national
guard under arms, 47. — The Silesian army crossed the Marne ;
order from Napoleon, 48. — Removal of Napoleon's treasures, 49.
— Closing of the Museum, 50. — Address to the Parisians by le
Roi Joseph, 51. — Cannon firing from the battery at La Villette,
52. — The allies approach Paris, 53. — Order to unpave the streets,
and use the stones in assailing the allies, 54. — Marshal Moncey
visits the different posts, 55. — The allied army enter Paris, 56. —
Situation of ditto, 57. — Article in the Moniteur relative to
ditto. 58. — Retreat of the empress Josephine, 61. — Cannonading
of Paris, 63. — Reconnoitring the armies, 65. - Attack of the
allies, 67. — The amount of troops collected to defend Paris, 74.

— Slaughter of the Russians, 75. — Capitulation offered, 79. —
The allies arrive at Neuilly, 81. — Polytechnic scholars; killed
and wounded, 82. — Cross given to them by Louis XVIII, 84.

— French army flying into Paris, 85. — The allied monarchs, &c.
advanced to Butte St. Chaumont ; the allies repulsed twice at
Belleville; killed and wounded of French, 86. — Departure of
the wife of Joseph Buonaparte for Blois; evacuation of Paris,
87. — Appeal to the people, 88. — Wounded French crawling in
the streets, 91. — Number of the allies and French killed, 93. —
Destruction of the flags of war, 94. — Mild manners of the Rus-
sians, 96. — Conversation with a Russian officer, 97. — Wood-cut
of a medal given to Russian soldiers who h^d been in the
Moscow campaign, 99. — State of besieging army, and threat of
the emperor of Russia, 100. — The white cockade mounted, 101.
— Vive le roi! 102.— Royalists, 103. — Entry of the allies, and
m Ts of the Russians, 105. — The pompous procession, 107. —

CONTENTS. xvii

Manners of the e;ran(l duke Constantino, 1 08. — His figure and face,
109. — Residence of tl»e monarchs, 110. — Attempt to pull down
Napoleon's statue, 111. — Address in favour of royalty, 113. —
Capitulation of Paris; its shojjs, 115. — Emperor of Russia's
declaration, 117. — The streets occupied by the armies, 119. —
Conference between the emperor of Russia and the deputies of
Paris, 121. — Talleyrand and Nesselrode, 123. — Proclamation of
prince Schwartzenberg, 125. — Disposition of the allied armies,
127, — A council respecting the fate of France, 128. — Pro-
visional government formed, 129. — Exertions of Viscomte Sos-
thenes de Rochfoucault to restore the Bourbons, 131. — Debates
and tumultuous proceedings, 133. — Sacken's proclamation, 134.

EVENTS IN APRIL 1814.

Monarchs visit the Opera, 136. — Newspapers contain notices
of the state of Paris, 138. — Gouvernernent provisoire and dcche-
ance of Napoleon, 140. — Review of field of battle, &c. 142. —
The state of some houses in Paris, 146. — Restoration of the
Bourbons effected by M. Bellart, 148. — Cossack camp, 151.—
Russian encampment, 153. — German camp, 154. — Gardens of
the Tuilleries and Rue St. Honore crowded with loungers and sol-
diers from all the north of Europe, 155. — Palais Royal, and
placards, 157. — A bridge built in haste, 158. — Assembly of the
corps legislatif, 159. — Effects of successive governments, 161. —
Letter from the emperor Alexander, 161. — Bust and colossal
statue of Napoleon taken down, 165. — Order of provisional
government, 166. — Tyrannic order of Buonaparte, 168. — State
of disbanded troops, 169. — Grand procession and religious
ceremony, 170. — Diseases of Paris, 172. — Entry of Monsieur,
174. — Opinion of the Prussians, and conduct of the king of
Prussia, 177.- Monsieur and the allied monarchs at the Opera,
179. — Caulincourt and the emperor of Russia, 181. — Entry of the
emperor of Austria into Paris, 182. — Empress Josephine, 183. —
Her death, 184. — Her pedigree and funeral procession, 185. —
Meeting of emperor of Russia, king of Prussia, &c. 186. — Due

xviii CONTENTS.

de Bcrri arrives at Paris, 187. — ConHict at the Palai^ Royal
between Russians and French, 188,

EVENTS OF MAY 1814.

Louis XVllI at Chateau of St. Ouen, 189. — Procession to
Paris, 190. — Review at the Tuilleries, 191. — Affray between the
French and Austrians; orders to put a stop to, 192. — Duchess
of Angouleme visits her parents' grave, 193.

EVENTS OF JUNE 1814.

Peace proclaimed ; gates of Paris delivered to the national
Sjuard, 194. — Emperor of Russia and king of Austria leave Paris,
195. — Dissatisfaction of the French; ordonnance for the ob-
servance of Sundays and holydays, 196. — Procession of Fete
Dieu, 197.

SECOND PART OF EVENTS.

JOURNEY OF NAPOLEON FROM TROYES TO ELBA,
AND REGENCY AT BLOIS.

Napoleon, general Belliard, and marshal Marmont, 201. —
Inspection of Marmont's army, 202. — Napoleon assembles the
marshc.ls and generals, 203. — Resolution to take Paris, 204. —
Opposed by the officers, 205. — Act drawn up by Napoleon,
207. — Amount of his troops, 208. — Resigns the command of
the army, and conference with marshal Ney, 209. — Plot to
assassinate Napoleon, 210. — Copy of orders read at De Mau-
breuil's trial, 213. — Further particulars respecting his trial,
progress, &c. 225. — Napoleon and M. Lamezan, 227. — Pro-
hibitions to the Publicist from the minister of police, 229. —
Napoleon's wish to retire to England, 232. — His interview with
the Russian and Prussian commissioners, 234. — His opinion of

CONTENTS. Xix

the English, 235. — His departure for Elba, 23G. — His speech,
237. — Further particulars relative to the voyage, up to 264. —
Napoleon and major Vivian, 266. — Baron Fleury de Chaboulon
and Napoleon, 269. — Resolution of Napoleon to quit Elba, 270.
—Quits Elba, 271.

THE REGENCY AT BLOIS.

Decree for taking young men for the army, 273. — Marie
Louise and her son quit the palace of the Tuilleries,274. — Diffi-
culty of obtaining lodgings, 275. — Buonaparte's intention to march
against Paris, 277.— Proclamation at Blois, 280. — Enthusiasm of
the people at Nismes, 1815, and their ferocious conduct in 1816,
282. — Attempt of Jerome and Joseph to seize and carry off
the empress, 283. — Conversation between Napoleon and Jerome,
and anti-majestic countenance of the latter, 282. — Order for the
distribution of 45,000,000 francs, 286.— Ministers retire from
Blois to Paris, 287.— Servants refuse to obey the empress, 288.—
The emperor of Russia visits Marie Louise, 289. — Her presents
to Isabey and others: her character, 290. — Her pregnancy,
ceremony at accouchement, 291.— Buonaparte's anxiety and
conduct, ibid.

I CONCLUDING KEMAKKS KY THT: EDITOR, 2'.V.i.]

MEMORABLE EVENTS.

MOVEMENTS OF THE ALLIED ARMIES,

AND STATE OF PARIS:
JANUARY 1R14.

ToM'Auns the end of January 1814, the dreams
of power, security, and reliance on the omnipo-
tence of their arms, which the French had so
long- indulged, vanished before their increasing
dangers. Apprehensions that the invading- army
would arrive at Paris were manifested by several
of the inhabitants packing up their most valuable
effects, and sending them into those parts of
France where it was least probable the enemy
would penetrate ; while, at the same time, many
of the inhabitants of villages, farms, and country-
houses in the environs, brought their furniture
into the metro))olis, for greater security. Waggons
and carts, thus laden, were daily seen on the Boule-
vards, and on all the roads approaching the capital.
Even the duke of Rovigo, minister of police, sent
his daughters, and the most valuable part of the
furniture of his hotel in the Rue Cerutti, to the

2 EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUARY 1814.

neighbourhood of Toulouse. The Parisians of
every class laid in, to the full extent of their
circumstances, stores of flour, rice, vetches, white
beans, potatoes, salt pork, red herrings, &c. — (Salt
beef and biscuit are unknown at Paris.) — The
bakers also received orders from the police to lay
in a stock of flour. One day, at the commence-
ment of February, the demand for potatoes was
so great at the March6 des Innocentes, that a
measure (the decalitre) rose from the usual price
of six sols, to forty : but this produced a con-
siderable supply the next day, when they fell to
the usual price.

Notwithstanding the exertions of government
to ** nationalise the war,'' the greatest indifference
was evidently felt by the middle and lower classes,
now that their vanity was no longer gratified by
conquest for themselves and insult to others. Every
artifice was resorted to by the police to arouse the
slaves of its power from this apathy : one of these
was the attempting to recall to the minds of the
people (what they had been for fourteen years
labouring to destroy) the energy they had mani-
fested during the republic. Towards eff'ecting
this object, verses in praise of the emperor,
adapted to the long-proscribed Marseillois hymn,
were performed on barrel-organs, or sung in every
street : but the revolutionary slang was ill adapted
to the praise of imperial power, and produced a
tridy ludicrous effect. During the twelve years

DEMAND FOR GUNPO^VDF.R. 3

of my residence in France, I never had listened
to this piece of music, and only once (in 1803)
heard " Ca ira," in passing an obscure wine-shop
near the Place de Gr^ve. But all would not do :
the whole class of young men had grown up
imbued with the egotism of slaves, the true test
of a despotic government. Napoleon, on his return
to Paris at the end of 1813, found the greatest
penury and confusion in every department of the
state. France was without arms or ammunition
wherewith to refit the wreck of the army, which
returned exhausted by fatigue, want, and disease.
All was shut up in Dantzic, Hamburgh, Mag-
deburgh, and other German fortresses occupied
by the French powers. Gunpowder was or-
dered to be made with the utmost despatch. A
rapid but dangerous method of pulverising the
ingredients by means of loose cannon-balls in a
large cylinder having a rotatory motion, being
proposed by a young coxcomb named Champie,
was instantly approved by the emperor, contrary
to the advice of the officers who superintended
the administration of powder and saltpetre : the
consequence was, that almost as soon as this
scheme was put in practice, the powder-mill at
Essounes, containing eight thousand pounds of
powder, blew up.

Though by the decrees of the 9th of October
and the 17th of November, 1813, five hundred and
forty thousand fresh troops were ordered to join the

4 EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUARY 1814.

army, yet Napoleon never could bring more than
fifty thousand men into the field during the whole
of this campaign. Artillery was the chief means
he employed ; and considering the want of artil-
lerymen, it is wonderful to think the advantage
the emperor obtained by them, in covering the
w^eakness of his infantry. The latter were com-
posed of conscripts, torn from their homes before
they had arrived at the age of manhood.

When the arrival of the allies at Paris was
deemed probable, the surrounding heights were
visited by engineers, with a view to having them
fortified. From their report, the council of de-
fence drew up a plan, by which it was proposed
to throw up earthworks on the hills, communi-
cating by trenches with the gates of the city.
This project the emperor rejected, and, accord-
ing to a plan of his own, ordered strong palisades
to be erected in front of the barriers, and the city
wall adjoining, to be pierced wnth loop-holes.
This insignificant method of defence evinced his
opinion that the enemy would only attempt a
rush by a few light troops. The carrying this
plan into effect was taken by Napoleon from the
department of the minister of war, and given to
the minister of the interior to be executed by
the corps of engineers of the jwjits et chaussees.
Notwithstanding those precautions, few persons
would openly acknowledge that the enemy would
dare to attack the capital : it might be so sur-

BUONAPARTE AND TAM-EVllANl). 6

rounded as to have all supplies of provisions cut
ott". A paper was stuck, at the base of the column
in the Place Vendomc, on which was written,
** Passez vite, il va tomber."

At the beginning- of January, an officer, in con-
versation with Talleyrand, said that he could not
comprehend what was going on, alluding to the
confusion which then reigned in every branch
of the government, when Talleyrand replied,
" C'est le commencement du fin."*

A short time before the emperor's departure
for the army, Savery, duke of Rovigo, comte
llegnaud de Saint Jean d'Angely, and Talleyrand,
were with him in his closet. Napoleon address-
ing the latter, said, *' I think for my own security
I ought to send you to Vincennes ; your conduct

* Abbe de Pradt, in his Recit Historique sur la Restauration
de la Royaute en Fiance, le 31 Mars 1814, (Paris 1816) writes:
" Every where was seen a decided spirit to rid themselves of the
present domination. All coincided in this desire: an atmosphere
of conspiracy hovered over the whole city ; and, as is the case in
all popular conspiracies, what was every body's secret was con-
sequently the best kept : no traitors ; and though so many bab-
blers, no informers. For many years no one had dared to sport
with the power of Napoleon : every one considered himself most
happy when he supposed himself unnoticed or forgotten : now,
though he was as much, and even more feared tlian ever, yet
every one gave vent to the most hazardous discussions and
perilous forebodings. All said, * This will not continue; the cord
is too much stretched ; it will soon be over.' This was the text
and finale of every conversation in Paris." — (p. 3'2.)

6 EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUxiRY 1814.

is very equivocal, and you are either related to,
or in habits of intimacy or correspondence with,
my greatest and most dangerous enemies :"
(meaning the Bourbons and those who had fol-
lowed them). Talleyrand replied, that by re-
maining in his service he gave the strongest
proof of devotion to his person. Rovigo and
Regnaud both vindicated Talleyrand ; and though
they succeeded in calming the emperor's anger,
most probably failed in lulling his suspicions.

January 3d. — • Price of stocks, — 5 per cents,
50 francs 50 centimes — 51 francs. Bank actions,
690 francs.

6th. — The passage of the Rhine was an-
nounced in the Journal de V Empire, in a despatch
from the prefect of the Roer, dated Aix-la-Cha-
pelle, 2 o'clock, a.m., saying that the allies had
passed the Rhine on the 1st, but had been
beaten, and lost three hundred men : on the 3d
they passed at Mulheim in eleven little boats,
but were driven back by the garrison of Cologne,
leaving sixty prisoners ; only a few were sol-
diers, the rest consisted of landwehrd and chil-
dren. The same day, at 11 o'clock, they
crossed between Weiss and Rodenkircher, but
were repulsed.

M. de la Doucette, who at this time was pre-
fect of the department of the Roer, afterwards
told me, that so little did he apprehend the
allies would venture to pass the Rhine, that

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 7

when, on the evening of the 1st of January, one
of his police spies inf«)rmed him that an officer,
just arrived at Aix-la-Chapelle from Neuss, had
asserted the fact in a public coffee-house, he
instantly sent for the gentleman and expressed
to him the anger and astonishment he felt at his
having dared to assert so improbable a circum-
stance ; adding, that it was only from respect to
his colonel that he did not send him to prison.
The officer, however, persisted in the truth of his
intelligence, having been an eye-witness of the
event, which was confirmed a few minutes after-
wards by the arrival of a gens-d'armes with a
despatch addressed to the military commander-
in-chief at Aix-la-Chapelle, who being absent
and at some distance. La Doucette convened the
council of the prefecture and the captain of the
gendarmerie, whom he considered next in mi-
litary rank to the commandant, by whom the
despatch was opened ; and its contents, on being
read, struck the assembly with consternation, as
it contained the details of the affair. La Dou-
cette copied the despatch and sent off the ori-
ginal by express to Paris : he forwarded a copy,
with an apology for having opened it, to the
commandant.

9th. — The imperial decree, dated the 8th, for
calling out the national guard, was inserted in
the Monitcur, of this day.

11th. — Journal dc C Empire published a letter
from Cologne, dated the 5th, mentioning an

g EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUARY 1814

attempt of the allies to pass the Rhine, but
affirming that they were driven back, except
about twenty prisoners, who were such miserable
objects as to excite the laughter of all who saw

them.

14th. — The same newspaper inserted a letter
from Langres, admitting that from Mulhausen to
Schelstadt there were sixty thousand troops of the
allies.

18th. — The law which fixed the rate of in-
terest in civil cases at 5 per cent, and at 6, in
commercial concerns, was suspended until Ja-
nuary 1, 1815; and in the interim, every person
was at liberty to obtain what interest he could.

It was stated in the Journal de f Empire, 21st,
that the allies had left several important fortified
places in their rear.

22d. — Official news of the army first appeared
in the Aloniteur, in which it was said that the
Silesian army had crossed the Rhine on the 1st
of January, in four divisions, amounting to fifty
thousand men ; also that prince Schwartz en-
berg had entered Switzerland on the 20th of
December. The positions of the allied army are
stated, and their number estimated at one hun-
dred thousand men, exclusive of those in Brabant.

23d. Sunday , — The officers of the national
guard received orders to attend at the palace of
the Tuilleries, in the Salon des Mar6chaux.
Nearly nine hundred assembled, in new uniforms,
and formed on each side of the apartment, but

NAPOLEON'S FINESSE. 9

were wholly ignorant of the cause. The emperor
|)assed through, according to custom, as he went
to mass in the chapel, and was saluted with the
cry of " Vive I'cmpereur !" On returning, he
walked round the room, and then placed himself
in the middle. At this moment the empress
entered, accompanied by the countess de Mon-
tesquiou. This lady, and not the empress, as
was said in some of the newspapers, carried the
king of Rome in her arms. The family walked
round, and advancing into the middle of the
apartment, the emperor, in a firm tone of voice,
said, — that a part of the territory of France was
invaded — that he was going to put himself at
the head of his troops, and hoped, with God's
help and the valour of those troops, to drive the
enemy beyond the frontiers. Then, taking the
empress in one hand and the king of Rome in
the other, he continued, " but if they should
approach the capital, I confide to the courage of
the national guard the empress and the king of
Rome;" then correcting himself, he said, with a
voice of emotion, " my wife (uid child.'''

This produced the wished-for effect : several
of the officers stepped from their places and
approached nearer to him ; a considerable num-
ber were in tears, and among that number were
many who were far from being admirers or
willing supporters of the imperial government,
but who were impressed by the scene. The

10 EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUARY 1814.

next day the whole was considered as a theatri-
cal display, got up by Buonaparte.

24th. — I saw the emperor, about ten o'clock
in the morning, standing in the snow, in the court-
yard of the Tuilleries, reviewing some troops. This
evening count Real had a private audience with
the emperor, who said, *' he quitted Paris in per-
fect security, the empress Marie-Louise being
affectionate and mild as a virgin ; but were she
a Marie Antoinette, he would not have left her
there at this crisis." Real said, *' Yet, if in the
course of the campaign, a corps of twenty-five
or thirty thousand men should succeed in eluding
the French army, and make a dash upon Paris,
how am I to act?" Napoleon answered, ** the
inhabitants would rise and defend the capital."
Real replied, he was sure that the Parisians, so
far from meeting the enemy *' les armes aux
bras," would receive them ** les armes aux
pieds." This frank assertion, from a man of
Real's character, and who, from his situation in
the police, was so capable of knowing the public
opinion, very much displeased the emperor, who
said that he did not expect such an answer from
him.

25th. — At three o'clock in the morning Na-
poleon quitted Paris, to join the army. General
Bertrand was in the carriage with him. At
eleven o'clock at night he arrived at Chalons-
sur-Marne.

STATE OF ENGLISH PRISONEES. 11

27tli. — The emperor was present at a slight
skirmish at St. Dizier.

30th. — Battle of Briaine, by which, from the
official account published, the public hope was a
little raised.

On the 10th of January an order from the
minister of war arrived at Verdun to remove the
English prisoners, eleven hundred in number, of
all ranks, exclusive of children, to Blois, and to
clear Verdun by the 13th. Seventeen days after
they had arrived at Blois, they were not deemed
sufficiently distant from the allied army, and
were ordered to Gueret, the principal town of
the department of La Creuse, which contained
three thousand three hundred inhabitants. The
first detachment left Blois on the 17th, and the
last on the 19th of February.

The intended removal of the English detenus
who resided in Paris was rumoured among them,
from hints at the war-office, about the 20th of
January ; and on the 28th and following days,
circular letters were sent to them to attend at
the prefecture of police. On presenting them-
selves there, their permission to remain at Paris
was taken from them, and a passport delivered
for Blois or Tours ; and this was nine days after
those who had arrived there from Verdun had
been sent to Gueret. The clerks were far more
civil than they had been on similar occasions,
but said there were to be no exceptions. The day
of departure was not, as was usual in such cases.

15 EVENTS AT PARIS, JANUARY 1814.

specified ; they were only told to quit the capital
as soon as possible. Many, however, subsequently
obtained permission of the minister of police to
remain. At the particular request of the em-
press Josephine, I was among the number ; and
others delayed their departure until the enemy
occupied the country about Orleans, which ren-
dered their departure impossible.

M. Paulze, auditor of the council of state,
who was on a mission in the western depart-
ments of France, received directions in January
to superintend the arrangements of the castles at
Saumur and Angers, on the banks of the Loire,
for the reception of the state prisoners then
confined in the keep (cIo?iJon) of the castle of
Vincennes, near the capital, and in the prison of
Laforce, at Paris. There were at this time
twenty-seven state prisoners in the dungeons of
Vincennes : among them were M. de Boessular,
for being an agent of Louis xviii. ; the bishops
of Ghent and Tournay ; Abb6 d'Astros, premier
vicaire- general of Paris; Abb^ Perrault; and
Messrs. Latumierre and Charette, for shooting at
M. de Segur, in a revolt of the gardes d'honneur
at Tours. The celebrated Spanish general, Pa-
lafox, had undergone five years of the most
rigorous confinement in this castle. His prison
name was Mendola ; and he was told that if he
divulged his real name even to the turnkeys, he
would instantly be put to death. The Spanish
generals, Zajas, Lardezabel, Delia Rocca, Blake,

PAIJTSIAN XKWSI'APF.nS. 13

Charles O'Donnel, Abrad, a Spanish officer, and
Mina, the nephew of" the celebrated Espoz-y-
Mina, cardinals Dipietre, Gabrielle, Oppozone,
baron Kolli, employed by England to try to
effect the escape of Ferdinand VII. from the
chateau of Valency, and baron d'Aurvech Stein-
fels, of Baden, had been seven years inmates of
the same prison.

The state prisoners were removed from Paris
the first week in February, in twelve carriages,
guarded by as many gens-d'armes. They were
seen by the English prisoners, then at Blois, as
they stopped to dine in that city.

EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 1814.

The 7icwspape?'s, in every stage of the revolution,
were the base organs of calumny and persecutors
of every unfortunate person proscribed by the
state. It was very common to see them pouring
forth the most vindictive slander against persons
in one day's paper, whom they had indiscri-
minatingly praised the preceding. Flatterers
and sycophants to every new minister and new
order of things, they by turns became panders
to tyranny and eulogists of faction and terror.

14 EVENTS AT PARIS, FEBRUARY 1814.

At the beginning of this month, those basest of
all the functionaries of despotism, — the ordinary
censors of the jiewsjxipers, not being deemed by
government sufficiently conversant with its inten-
tions to be intrusted with the revisal of the articles
on politics and the army intended for insertion, —
a special commission of five persons, Etienne,
Pelline, Jay, Desrenauds, and Tissot, was formed,
with a monthly salary of a thousand francs each,
and charo-ed with the fabrication of articles cal-
culated to excite the passions and deceive the
understandings of the people. The mask of
patriotism has been one of the most distinctive
characteristics of the French Revolution, to be-
guile and cajole the populace.

M. Desmarest, secretary of the haute police, in
consequence of orders from the duke of Rovigo,
began this month to destroy the secret papers of
this important department of the French cabinet,
consisting of private examinations of the victims
of its suspicion, reports made by the higher order
of spies, and information given by those of the
fashionable circles who volunteered this honour-
able office ! Most of these latter now crowded
the closet of the secretary in the greatest tribula-
tion, lest, in the event of the expected change
in the government, or the arrival of the allies,
the documents furnished by them should fall into
other hands. It was with the greatest difficulty
they could be tranquillised by the assurance that

ALARMS OF GENERA I- HULLIN. 16

every vestige of Ihcir baseness had been con-
sisrned to tlie flames.

M. de Talleyrand was accustomed to entertain
evening whist parties : these he now relinquished,
lest he should incur the suspicion of their being
made subservient to political purposes.

General HuUin, the commandant-en-chef of
the first military division of France (in which
Paris is situated) and of Paris, who, from the
first advance of the allies in France, had been
much dejected, apprehending that all was over
with the existing government, and aware of the
general detestation in which it was held by the
citizens of Paris, was fearful of trusting the
national guards with arms. To prevent this, he
industriously collected and secreted all the muskets
which he was able to discover, and muskets
were at this time with great difficulty procured
even for the regular army, — such had been the
losses and destruction in the last campaign.
Marshal Moncey, duke of Conegliano, major-
general of the national guard, sent for general
Hullin, and ordered him to deliver up these arms.
At first he denied having any, and, ultimately,
evaded the surrender. Even to the last the
national guards were, with few exceptions, only
provided with fowling-pieces.

The duke of Rovigo, in obedience to Na-
poleon's orders, wrote every night a long fimiiliar
letter to him, containing all the intbrmation he

16 F.VENTS AT PARIS, FELRFARY 1814.

received in the course of the day relative to
public feeling, and all the Parisian gossip he
could pick up by means of his spies. It was
the rough draught which he was required to send,
that from the faults and erasures which occurred
in hasty composition, Napoleon might better be
enabled to judge what were the minister's im-
pressions at the moment. At this time it ap-
peared to be the general opinion that Buonaparte
must be got rid of, and the imperial government
overthrown, — that every class of society was
tired of the war, the conscription, &:c., — that
peace must be obtained, no matter by what means,
or to what extent the sacrifice. Desmarest, one
evening, said to the duke, " What can you say
to the emperor; for who would venture to in-
form him of the truth ?" " Look there," replied
Rovigo, handing him the letter which he had just
finished. Desmarest, to his astonishment, read:
" I can give you no hope : you are lost ; and if
a cannon-ball does not carry you off, I cannot
answer what will be your end ; such is the feeling
of disgust and hatred for the government, and
such the wish for your destruction by every rank
and class, that there can be no safety for you,
or chance of preserving the government."

The duke of Rovigo, who was far from pos-
sessing the necessary talents or powers of mind
for his official situation, which he obtained and
kept by the most absolute devotion to the caprices

THE EMrEUOn'S LIFE THREATENED. 17

of his despotic master, was at this time daily
surrounded by the wily Talleyrand and liis party,
Tabbc de Pradt, the baron de Marguerite, and,
above all, Bouriennc. One of these crafty emis-
saries was constantly with him, lulling or divert-
ing his just suspicions, and duping him, whilst
he vainly imagined they were sincerely serving
him from personal admiration. Of their ma-
noeuvres the minister was repeatedly warned
by the sagacious secretary, Desmarest. Napo-
leon's power was laughed at even in the pre-
sence of Kovigo himself, and this at the latter
end of 1813. In one of the letters he wrote to
the emperor, Rovigo expressed a wish to remain
at Paris, in the event of the allies arriving, as
he was personally acquainted with the emperor
of Russia ; but Napoleon refused, saying, if he
did, *' the hypocrite Alexander would send him
to Siberia."

Towards the latter end of February, mar^chal
Lefevre, due de Dantzic, being at the imperial
head-quarters, a friend of his, a general of brigade,
declared to him, that a party of superior officers
were so thoroughly weary of the long continu-
ance of the war, and so convinced that Napoleon
would not make peace, that they had resolved to
assassinate him. The old mareehal, in a violent
passion, told the general, that unless he returned
in twenty-four hours, and swore that he and
his band had relinquished their daring plot, he

18 EVENTS AT TAR IS, FEBRUARY 1814.

would denounce them to the emperor. The
officer came at the appointed time, and affirmed,
that neither he nor his party would relinquish
their purpose ; and so far from dreading the threat
of denunciation, they rather wished he would in-
form Napoleon. The mar^chal instantly waited on
the emperor, and communicated what had passed.
*' They are mad," was the only reply which
the lately all-powerful Napoleon dared to make.
This remarkable anecdote (so completely con-
formable to the French melo-dramatic character)
I heard from more than one person to whom
Lef^vre had mentioned it.

The manifested public opinion underwent a
total change after the battle of Brienne on the
4th of February, and that at La Rothiere on the
1st of February. Napoleon, in his bulletin, pre-
tended to treat the latter as an affair of his rear-
guard, saying there were but few prisoners taken
on either side ; but the French lost sixty-seven
pieces of cannon, and seven thousand men, three
thousand of whom were taken prisoners. In this
hard-fought battle, which took place in a marshy
plain during a snow-storm, the only skilful
manceuvre was by Blucher effecting his junction
with the grand army. It was line to line, man
to man, the weaker falling beneath the bayonets
of the stronger : but the idea of Napoleon's invin-
cibility then received its death-blow, for he had
been completely beaten, and on his own ground.

SECRETIXC; or PROrEUTV. 19

The approach of the allied army towards Paris
was then known, and it was even expected to
reach the capital in the course of the next ten
days. To have doubted this, or the inability to
resist them, would have made a person suspected
of being in the pay of the police ; and every one
seemed ready to humble himself before the ap-
proaching enemy. A greater number of persons
than usual visited the Museum of the Louvre, to
take a farewell look at the pictures, not doubting
that the allies would imitate the example of the
French, and carry them all away. A considerable
number of the more wealthy inhabitants of Paris
employed carpenters, joiners, and masons, in
making hiding-places for their plate, money, and
]X)rtable articles. But no sooner did the news
arrive of the battle of Champ-aubert, which was
fought on the 10th, and a column of prisoners
was exhibited to the versatile and sanguine Pari-
sians, than a paroxysm of confidence was excited ;
and the universal cry was, that " not one of the
insolent invaders would re-cross the Rhine."

M. D6non, under whose direction the govern-
ment medals were struck, was anxiously v.'aiting
for some event to commemorate ; and no sooner
had the battle of Champ-aubert afforded a pre-
text for exultation, than he ordered a medal to
be executed to designate the state of France at
that moment. On the obverse was the head of
Napoleon ; on the reverse an eagle, erect, having
a most ridiculous Bobadil air ; above his head was

20 EVENTS AT PARIS, FEBRUARY 1814.

a star, his claws on a thunderbolt, and on one side
the sign Pisces, on the other a small figure of a
flying Victory with a wreath in her hand. The
legend fevrier. mdcccxiv. This was the only
medallic record of that memorable campaign.

Outworks before the fifty-two barriers, or gates
of Paris, began to be erected on the 1st of February.
This defence consisted simply of palisades, of about
a foot diameter, and nine feet in height, securely
driven into the ground, enclosing a space before
the gates of the city, forty or fifty feet wide, by
about thirty feet, in the direction of the entrance.
These enclosures had a strong gate, which, before
the principal barriers, had embrasures for cannon
on each side of it; the palisades being sufficiently
asunder to allow the passage of small-arms. For
the construction of these works, only capable of re-
sisting cavalry, many of the finest and largest oaks
of the Bois de Boulogne were felled. On the 8th
they were finished ; and on the 16th, M. Casimer
de Mortemart, officier d'ordonnance to the emperor,
arrived at Paris from the army, charged by Napo-
leon to visit each of the barriers, and draw up a
descriptive account of the nature and form of the
defence erected before it ; which having completed
in three days, he returned to the imperial head-
quarters.

I called on count Real, on the 1st of this
month, with my friend Lebreton, perpetual se-
cretary to the fourth class of the Institute,
and heard a curious conversation between them,

WANT or All^NIS. 21

ill which the old republican. Real, stern and
manly as his character was, did not attempt
to conceal his anxiety at the hopeless pro-
spect w^liich the war presented, and at the
impossibility of obtaining a supply of muskets
for the newly-raised troops. ** What silly boast-
ing," said the count, *' that the Paris manufac-
tories daily turn out twelve hundred muskets.
Why, if they could, that number would not be of
any positive value. We, who want five hundred
thousand at this moment, have not five thousand ;
and in ten days the allies may be at the gates of
Paris." They discussed the merit of an invention
that had been offered, by which it was proposed
to make gun-barrels by twisting a strip {ruban) of
iron round a cylinder, and, after welding the edges
together, withdrawing the cylinder; by this de-
vice the time employed in boring was intended
to be saved. This invention, though much ad-
mired at the time, did not meet with final appro-
bation.

The Orifiamme, an opera in one act, produced
by order of government to excite popular feeling
against the invasion, was brought out at the Great
Opera this evening. The house was very much
crowded.

Price of stocks this day, 5 per cents, 51 francs ;
bank actions, G05 francs.

I was at Malmaison on the 3d, and witnessed the
removal of the most valuable pictures and Etruscan

22 EVENTS AT FAIUS, FEBllUAKY 1814.

vases, with a view to their conceahiient, in the
event of the entrance of the allied forces. Con-
stantine, the keeper of the picture gallery, was
present, and directed such alterations to be made
in the arrangement of those which remained, as
to prevent any suspicion of the removal which had
taken place.

The ex-empress, Josephine, remained in the
gallery nearly the whole morning, indicating, ap-
l)arently with her usual calmness, the pieces she
wished to be secreted, without venturing to con-
jecture what would be the fate of those which
were suffered to remain.

About the 5th, the pass-port office at the pre-
fecture of police was daily thronged with ladies,
who, fearing the arrival of the enemy, hastened
to quit Paris with their children, and take refuge
in Normandy, Touraine, and in the western parts
of France. Thirteen hundred pass-ports were
delivered in one day.

Many persons pledged their effects at Mont
de Pi6t6, as a security from their being losers
should Paris be pillaged. To put a stop to this
motive for pledging, from the 15th, however
valuable the article offered, only twenty francs
were lent upon it. The estimated value was,
however, inserted in the duplicate, that, if acci-
dcnlalli/ lost, the real amount might be returned.

Bills were stuck up about Paris on the
loth, containing an invitation from the prefect

ASYLU^IS rOR THE WOUNDED. 23

of the department of the Seine to the inlia-
])itants of Paris, to furnish the hospitals with
six thousand bedsteads, eight thousand straw-
mattresses, seven thousand mattresses, six thou-
sand bolsters, eighteen thousand sheets, eight
thousand blankets, twenty-four thousand shirts,
twelve thousand caps, half a pound of lint
and one pound of linen rags with each bed,
and money to purchase cooking-vessels. This
was solicited for the newly-established military
hospitals, accompanied with a threat, that, if not
complied with, the sick would be quartered upon
the inhabitants. Previously to this notice, most of
the females in the higher and middling classes
employed their leisure minutes in the tedious
process of unravelling rag to make lint for the
wounded : — woven lint being unknown in France.
This was the evening occupation at almost all the
houses I frequented ; and I saw at Malmaison the
empress Josephine herself and all her ladies thus
employed.

The prefect of the department of the Seine
gave orders to establish an hospital, pro tempore,
in the newly-constructed and not yet finished
slaughter-houses at the top of the Rue Roche-
chouart, and that in the Rue Pepini^re. The
clerk of the works, Clochard, instantly visited
the place to make arrangements. Beds were
accordingly placed in the ox-stables, slaughter-
houses, cart-houses, &c.: glass windows were put
in the place of the luffer-boards.

24 EVENTS AT PARIS, FEERUARY 1814.

One of the slaughter-houses was converted
into a kitchen and a tisanerie (a place for pre-
paring infusions of herbs, &c.) A room in the
upper story was set apart for the soldiers' knap-
sacks, a pharmacy was established, and the offices
of the clerks were fitted up for officers' bed-rooms.
These works were begun on the 10th, and on the
18th, twelve hundred wounded French soldiers
were placed therein.

All the disgusting imagery of war was now
displayed within the walls of the capital. In
consequence of the military hospitals being found
insufficient to receive the immense numbers of
sick and wounded which continued to arrive,
either from the army, or from the evacuation of
the military hospitals on the frontiers, now in
possession of the allies, the city patients were
driven from the hospitals, and replaced by the
soldiers from the army; while those thus driven
out were obliged to return to their small and
crowded homes in the populous fauxbourgs, — thus
spreading contagion and misery in those abodes
of wretchedness.

The Salpetriere was the asylum for indigent,
aged, infirm, and insane females : these miserable
objects were driven from the wards they inhabited,
and forced into the workshops of that extensive
establishment, and the wards were filled with the
sick and wounded military. From the middle of
February to the end of March, seven thousand six
hundred and nine persons were brought into this

STATE OF HOSPITALS. 2

hospital from the army ; the greater number of
tliem labouring under typhus and chronic diar-
rhoea, resulting from bad, or rather the almost
total want of, nourishment. Such was the con-
fusion in the administration of the hospital, that
there was no wood for fuel, nor even charcoal for
heating the tisanes, which, from the severity of
the weather, were frozen. The broken windows
remained so : this, though it saved many of those
attacked with fever, killed the pulmonary patients.
Numbers of raw conscripts died of consumption,
before they had been a month on service, and
without having received any medical assistance.
Contagion raged to such a degree in the Sal-
petri^re, that, out of six physicians and surgeons
who attended there, three died ; and Dr. Esparon,
from whom I received this information, attri-
buted his preservation to taking an additional
(juantity of strong coffee. All those who sorted
the clothes of the dead soldiers died; as did also
the man who fumigated the wards with chlorine.
The wool of the mattresses was neglected to be
washed ; this also contributed to propagate the
contagion, which was so much dreaded, that the
drivers of the cabriolets and fiacres could not be
induced to approach the hospital with a fare.

There were, at this time, from eighteen to
twenty thousand sick and wounded soldiers, from
Napoleon's army, within the walls of Paris.

During the whole of the month of February, the

26 EVKNTS AT PARIS, FEBRUAllY 1814.

streets were filled with soldiers and raw con-
scripts, whose route to join their regiments lay
throuah Paris. Government not havins^ made
any provision for their subsistence, they were
under the necessity of begging in the streets.
People fed, and even lodged them, from mere
compassion. On the 7th of February, a court-
martial sat at Meaux to decimate those wretched
beings (termed traineurs), who, sinking from inani-
tion and sorrow at being torn from their families,
were unable to join their regiments with the
required celerity. I saw the judgments, with
the names of those who were shot, stuck up
against the walls of the metropolis.

11th. — The national guard began their ser-
vice at the Hotel de Ville, and at all the barriers ;
at five o'clock in the afternoon the cannon an-
nounced the victory of Champ-aubert, the bulletin
of which was afterwards read at the theatres.

12th.' — King Joseph Buonaparte reviewed the
grenadiers of the national guard, for the first
time since their being called out, in the court
yard of the Tuilleries. On this occasion, the little
king of Rome was dressed in the uniform of the
national guard.

I was this day at the Theatre de I'Op^ra Co-
mique, at the first representation o^ Bayard aAIeziers
• — a piece written by order of the police, to excite
public spirit. It was announced for representa-
tion ten days sooner ; but on account of the ad-

ALLIKD AKMV NlLVll PARIS. 27

vancc of the allies, Gavaudan, the actor, waited
oil the minister of police, to know if it should
appear. The minister replied, " Ce n'est pas le
moment." On the 5th, a paragraph was inserted
in the JouduiI dc Paris, saying that Bayard a
Aleziers, which was intended to have been per-
formed that day, was postponed on account of the
indisposition of the three principal performers.
On the first successes of the French arms it was
brought out, and received with great applause.

13th, Sunday. — A beautiful, calm, mild day.
I walked with mademoiselle D. along the skirts
of the Plain de Grenelle, and beheld innumerable
marks of bullets on that part of the wall near to
which the military executions took place of the
unfortunate victims of the jealousy and despotism
of the imperial government. In a few places
a cross had been traced on the wall, and also the
name of the unfortunate being who there had
ceased to exist. While indulging in this melan-
choly gratification of curiosity and sympathy, we
were aroused by the distant sound of artillery,
in a south-east direction, and afterwards learned,
that at this time the hostile armies were engaged
in the neighbourhood of Nanges, Provens, and
Montereau. In the evening I was at the Theatre
de rOp^ra Comique, where, in the middle of a
scene, Veyrat, the inspector-general of the police,
in full uniform, came abruptly on the stage, ac-
companied by an actor, to whom he gave the

28 EVENTS AT PARIS, FEBRUARY 1814.

IniUetin to read of the battle of Montmirail, that
took place on the 11th.

16th. — The arrival oi general Alsujief, who
had been taken on the 10th at Champ-aubert,
was announced previously in the newspapers to
take place this day. He entered Paris by the
fauxbourg St. Martin. At half-past twelve I saw
him on the boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, accom-
panied by prince Pottaroski and colonel Reiden.
They were on horseback, in an undress, with tra-
velling caps : one had an order round his neck.
Six gens d'armes, with drawn swords, conducted
them by so slow a pace, that more than an hour
was employed in going from the barrier of Pantin
to the ^tat-major in the place Vendome. The
spectators near me gazed on them in silence, and
seemed ashamed of this contemptible attempt to
humiliate officers of their rank : and some few
expressed their fears lest the emperor of Russia
should retaliate such an insult. But in the rue
Napoleon,* and in the place Vendome, some mis-
creants, who were suspected of being hired for
the purpose, hooted them, and, pointing to the
bronze column, cried '* Vive la Colonne !" alluding
to the report industriously spread by the govern-
ment, of its being the intention of the allies to
destroy all monuments of art and trophies of vic-
tory. While the mob at Paris were exulting at

* Now rue de la Paix.

IIUSSIAN AND GERMAN PllISONERS. 29

the sif^ht of these prisoners, anotlier crowd had
assem])led, whh totally different feelintrs, not four
miles from them, round the park of artillery and
heavy baggage of the dukes of Bellune and
Reggio, which had been driven to Charenton by
the enemy, who also, this and the two following
days, had occupied the town and palace of Fon-
tainebleau.

17th. — The national guard was under arms
at the barrier of Pantin before eight o'clock in
the morning, to receive the prisoners taken at
Champ-aubcrt. The Boulevards were thronged
by two o'clock. At four, a column of about 5000
Russians and Germans was paraded along the
Boulevards, preceded by French drums and gens
d'armes on horseback, and guarded on each side
by a file of national guards, who were now for
the first time seen on duty. The papers had
boasted that there would be 15,000. This show,
like the indecent display of yesterday, was re-
ceived by the people in a very different manner
from that which the government intended or ex-
pected. The multitude assembled to see them
pass evinced the greatest pity ; and money and
whatever eatables could at the instant be pro-
cured were freely bestowed, even by the poorest
persons. Those who passed on the 18th were
still better treated, as the peo])le had time to
provide for them. On both days a considerable
quantity of bread was thrown from the windows.

30 EVENTS AT PARIS, FEBRUARY 1814

JMademoiselle Bourgoin, the celebrated actress of
the Theatre Francais, manifested her gratitude for
the liberality she had received in Russia, and her
pique at an affront her personal charms had re-
ceived from Napoleon, while she was mistress to
Chaptat, his minister of the interior, by attend-
ing on the Boulevards with her carriage full of
provisions, which she distributed. Mademoiselle
Regnault, of the Th6itre de I'Opera Comique,
did the same, as did also her friend Boyeldieu,
the musical composer, who had likewise been
greatly patronised in Russia.

The officers, whose melancholy dignity excited
universal admiration, marched at the head of the
column, and almost all the men were clothed in
long, loose, coarse, brown great-coats, with the
number of the regiment on their shoulders. The
Russians wore boots of Russia-leather, the power-
ful odour of which being new to the Parisians,
they believed it emanated from the Russians
themselves. Some had cloth caps, none had
hats ; but most of them were without any covering
on their heads. Some few had preserved their
knapsacks and camp kettles. Several were
wounded, and their skins covered with encrusted
and darkened blood. The Russians were of verv

ft/

dark-brown complexions, and their hair was cut
quite close to the head. I saw two women among
them. The column took twenty-seven minutes
passing. They had come that morning from

SYMPATHY TOWARDS PRISONKKS, 31

Clayc, Villeparisis, Livry, and the smaller villages
of that neighbourhood : a general rendezvous for
these divisions was at Pantin, from whence they
were marched in one column to Versailles, where
they arrived between ten and eleven at night, and
were shut up in the Ecuries du Roi, a large
building on entering the Place d'Armes, not having
had any thing to eat the whole day, nor until the
next morning, after which they continued their
route. At half-past nine o'clock they passed
through St. Cyr, on their way to the western part
of France.

It was said that many of these prisoners had
been taken long anterior to the battle of Chanip-
aubert : it certainly manifested to the government
that the people of Paris had no animosity against
the allies, notwithstanding the crafty means
employed to excite it. Indeed, much of the
humanity shewn by the better classes was sys-
tematic, and intended to evince their attachment
to the cause of the allies.

The newspapers asserted, that 7000 of those
who passed through on the 18th were Austrians,
taken at Nangis on the IGth, and that they en-
tered Paris by the barrier of Charenton. Some
prisoners, indeed, were brought in by that barrier,
but no Austrians were among them ; and the head
of the column which arrived by the barrier of
Pantin halted in the Champs Elys6es for these
to come up. Tlie whole column, in which there

32 KVENTS AT PARIS, FEBRUARY 1814.

might be GOOO, went to Versailles, where they
slept. The Parisians classed them all under the
term Cossacks, though there was not a single
Cossack among them. Some of the Germans, on
hearing this epithet from almost every mouth, ex-
claimed, Nein, nein.

During the rest of the month, small detach-
ments of prisoners were almost daily seen passing
along the Boulevards ; some only guarded by pea-
sants, armed with bludgeons.

20th.- — A paragraph in the Journal de V Empire
announced that a girls' boarding-school had given
two cotton nightcaps to the mairie of the third
arrondissement: such was the real paucity of
patriotic feeling, that the trifling display of it in
the gift of two cotton nightcaps was considered
to be worthy of record !

Immense packing-cases full of stamped paper
continued to arrive for some weeks from Holland
and those parts of Germany which had been re-
conquered, and from the departments of France
invaded by the allies. The different receivers-
general and distributors of stamps hastily tum-
bled the contents into packing-cases, without
order, or even care. Thus every department of
the government was in disorder and confusion.

26th. — An extraordinary sitting of the muni-
cipality of Paris was held at the Hotel de Ville,
to receive the municipal councils of the numerous
towns which had been occupied by the allied

AKSURDITY OF REPORTS. 33

armies. These councils were ordered to attend
at Paris, with detailed accounts of the distresses
which the respective towns had experienced from
the armies. A long series of official articles sub-
sequently appeared in the Moniteu7\ and were
promptly copied into other journals, detailing the
miseries and horrors occasioned by the invaders,
and the threats they proclaimed against the
Parisians.

These accounts of the wanton barbarity and
lawless outrages committed by the allied troops
were uniformly followed by an appeal to the
people, who were exhorted to rally round their
emperor, their hero and father — ^who had so
often led them to victory, and rendered France
pre-eminent amongst all the nations of the earth.
The absurdity of those articles surpassed belief;
and instead of inflaming the public mind against
the allies, led to the conclusion, that nothing
short of an overpowering necessity could have
caused their countrymen to become the victims of
such flagrant atrocities. True wisdom would
dictate submission to that physical force which it
was worse than useless to resist, and the aban-
donment of the cause of that individual who ap-
peared to be the chief personal object of attack.

Where Bernadotte, the crown prince of Sweden,
could be ? was a question which excited consider-
able interest among the ancient nobility; and also
freat curiosity among all ranks of people, whatever

g«

34 EVENTS AT PARTS, FEIiRUARY 1814.

were their political sentiments. It was deemed
highly probable that he had crossed the Rhine,
had joined the allied army, and was then engaged
in combating Napoleon ; but, notwithstanding he
was the general subject of inquiry, still his real
situation was unknown at Paris. On the 12th of
February he was at Cologne, whence he pub-
lished a proclamation to the French people,
stating that the sovereigns did not form their
alliance to make war upon the nation, but to force
the government to acknowledge the independence
of other states. He never alluded to the Bour-
bons. This proclamation did not reach Paris.
The hopes of the royalists on the crown prince
were founded on M. Alexis de Noailles, who sought
refuge in Sweden, being appointed his aide-de-
camp. M. de Noailles was nephew of the prince
de Poix, and the duchess dowager de Duras, and
was related or allied to many of the ancient no-
bility. He had been imprisoned at La Force by
Napoleon.

A proclamation, pretending to be from the
crown prince, was secretly handed about at
Paris, inviting the French to enter under the
dominion of their ancient princes. The royalists
were so far the dupes of this proclamation, and to
the report of his being at Laon, that in one of their
secret meetings they deputed two persons to en-
deavour to gain access to him. Messrs. de Gain-
Montaignac and Vinchon de Quemont quitted

ROYALISTS AND CROWN I'RINCK. 35

Paris lor that purpose on the 9th of March. On
the evening of the r2th they arrived at La Ft^re,
and had an interview with general Bulow, who,
to their utter astonishment, informed them that
the crown prince, so far from being at Laon, as
was believed in Paris, was at Liege, from whence
he did not appear inclined to advance. The next
day they obtained an interview with general
Gneiseneau, who advised them to address them-
selves to the emperor of Russia ; but though the
general facihtated their journey, yet the difficul-
ties they had to encounter were greater than they
chose to risk, and they returned without seeing
Alexander. Arri\nng at Paris on the 20th of
March, they waited on Messrs. Fitzjames and
Bruno de Boisgellin, who were much surprised
to learn that Bernadotte was not the very soul
of the coalition. They brought a letter from the
prince Wolkensky, major-general to the emperor
of Russia, to Talleyrand, and at night made a
report of their mission to the royalist assembly.
While these imagined that Bernadotte was zealous
in the cause of legitimacy, the Napoleonists be-
lieved with greater reason he was manoeuvring on
his own account, and that he entertained oreat
hopes of being called upon by the French to
succeed tlieir emperor.

27th. — I saw a line of about twenty ^V/rrt'*
and nearly forty carts, filled with wounded French
soldiers, arrive at the newly fitted-up military
hospital at the top of the Rue Rochechouart.

36 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

EVENTS OF MARCH 1814.

Coloured prints, representing grim-looking mon-
sters in uncouth dresses, (for which the artists had
no authority), and in the act of committing every
excess, entitled " Cossacks," were exposed for
sale at all the print- and book-stalls in Paris.

On one occasion, during this month, I saw a
superior officer, recently wounded, borne on a
litter by infantry, and escorted by cavalry along
the Boulevard des Italiens ; and, a few days after-
wards, another under similar circumstances.

4th. — Price of stocks, — 5 per cents, 53 francs
73 centimes; bank actions, 710 francs.

8th. — On entering Paris by the Versailles
road, at theBarri^re des Bons-hommes, this evening,
between seven and eight o'clock, a sentinel of the
line stopped me, and said I must go into the corps
de garde, and shew wlj papier s. On my instantly
acquiescing in this unusual order, and putting my
hand to my side-pocket, the officer of the national
guard. said, " Cela suffit," and I passed on; and
not having spoke a word, my being an English-
man was unsuspected. Between the barrier and
the bridge were two pieces of cannon, a second
range of palisades, and a sentinel.

15th. — This evening, between six and seven
o'clock, I saw about thirty sick and wounded sol-
diers lying in the street at the bottom of the Rue

THE SEINE FILLED WITH DEAD liODIKS. 37

Rochechouart. Tlicy had been brought from Brie
in carts ; and on arriving at the hospital at the
top of the street, were refused admittance, for
want of room. The country people-who had been
put in requisition to convey them to Paris, brought
them to this spot, turned them out of their carts,
and there left them, hastening away, lest they
should be seized to carry bread to the army.
Frequently those who had been pressed to convey
the wounded for only five leagues, were detained
fifteen, and even twenty, days from their homes,
in consequence of fresh requisitions. The in-
habitants, however, particularly the poorer classes,
were very humane, and administered every suc-
cour in their power, and also received many of
them into their dwellings, until they could be
removed to the different hospitals.

23d. — A letter appeared in the Moniteur,
signed by J. J. Leraux, doyen de la Faculte de
M^decine ^ Pans, Chaussier, and Percy, profes-
seurs a la Faculte, respecting the state of the waters
in the Seine, which the public apprehended were
deleterious, in consequence of the number of dead
bodies thrown into the river. This fear they en-
deavoured to remove, by assuring the people that
the continued fluctuation and change of water
destroyed all putrescence, and that the fluid was
consequently harmless. The number of dead
bodies seen, cither floating down the river, or
stranded on the banks, was immense, and exhi-

38 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

bited an appalling spectacle. Many idle people
in the neighbourhood of Melun, Corbeil, and
Choissy le Roi, were engaged the whole day look-
ing over the parapets of the bridges, to witness the
bodies that floated down the Seine in countless
numbers.

This was immediately after the battle of Mon-
tereau, when the dead were thrown into the river,
to avoid the labour and expense of interment.
Many others were also committed to the stream
from the hospitals at Nogent, and other towns on
the banks of the Seine. Hundreds of the wounded
and diseased soldiers were packed together in
large barges, without awnings or other protection,
and exposed to severe frosts, — in consequence of
which numbers perished, and were thrown over-
board.

26th. — The distant roaring of artillery having
more than once been heard at Paris, every sound
of cannon near the capital excited alarm. To
remove all fears, and ascribe such sounds to one
cause, it was this day announced in the newS'
papers, that the artillerymen of the line and the
national guard would daily practise with artillery
at Vincennes.

A considerable number of the workmen out of
employ daily loitered on the boulevards about
the Porte St. Martin, as it was by this road that
waggons and carts, laden with the wounded French,
and detachments of prisoners, arrived . The passing

:NrODE OF TAXATION. 39

of couriers to and from the army, the departure of
reinforcements ahiiost every hour, produced fresh
objects to excite or stratify curiosity. Triflint^
as this circumstance may appear, it proved that
the pohce were conciliating the lower orders : for
1 had never before witnessed assemblies of this
kind in Paris ; nor, indeed, had they been per-
mitted for many years, however insignificant the
persons, or harmless the motives which induced
them to collect together. Yet from the beginning
of March they were tolerated, and their numbers
increased until this day, when, as soon as groups
were formed, the national guard ordered them to
disperse; and the people, having assembled merely
to occupy their idle time, and share in the excite-
ment and incidents of the hour, instantly obeyed.

Price of stocks, — 5 per cents, 46 francs, 35
centimes; bank actions, 615 francs.

In France, taxes are paid monthly ; if other-
wise, it is in consequence of a private arrangement
with the collector. During February, the amount
of taxes suifered little diminution in the mean
daily receipt, which for the city of Paris is seventy
thousand francs ; the whole annual produce being
twenty-five millions of francs. In the month of
March, not more than from two to three hundred
francs per diem could be obtained.

All classes of persons shewed the greatest
reluctance to part with their money. Few work-
men or artisans were employed, and those few

40 KVENTS AT PAllIS, MARCH 1814.

could not obtain wages. So great was the stag-
nation of trade, that shopkeepers were eager to
sell their goods considerably under prime cost.
Money became so scarce, that many pei^sons were
obliged to send their forks and spoons to the mint
to be coined. There was a premium of forty
francs for fifty pieces of twenty francs in gold ;
all persons were desirous of hoarding.

Sundaij, 27th. — I was present at a review of
the Parisian national guards, to the number of
nearly thirty thousand, by Joseph Buonaparte, in
the court-yard of the Tuilleries. About twelve
thousand were armed with second-hand muskets,
carbines, and fowling-pieces ; and wore new uni-
forms. Those Vv^ho could not thus equip themselves
were armed with a pike only, which was dignified
by the name of lance, and had a tricoloured pennon
hanging to it. There were also about two hundred
and fifty cavalry of the line, and a considerable train
of artillery, of which several pieces were worked
by the Polytechnic scholars. The troops were
under arms at nine in the morning, and the review
continued until three. The court-yard of the
Tuilleries, and Place Carousel, Quai du Louvre,
Place Vendome, Rue Castiglione, and Rue de
Rivoli, were entirely filled with troops, which
successively defiled before the " roi Joseph."
The day was very fine, and the environs of the
palace were crowded with spectators, who all
exulted at the sight of so many new uniforms,

REVIKW IN PARIS. 41

and expressed their wishes that the enemy could
only behold them — little doubting but that the
terror of the allies would equal the self-admira-
tion of the French. To render this show more
dazzlini^ to the Parisians, general Ornano lent
the national guard two thousand muskets be-
lonu^ing to the arsenal of the imperial guard, but
upon the express condition that they were to be
returned the next day. The position of the allies
was totally unknown to the Parisians, who little
thought they were then crossing the Marne,
within twenty-five miles of Paris.

At night, however, the flying French troops
announced to the inhabitants of Claye, Ville-
parisis, Livry, &c. that the enemy w^ere closely
in pursuit of them.

The head-quarters of the sovereigns was at
Coulomiers, and Blucher's at La Ferte-sur-Jouarre.

In the afternoon, the corps ofYorke andKleist
began to cross the Marne at Triport, three miles
above Meaux, by a bridge which general Mufflin
threw across the river ; and at Germigny FEv^que,
one mile higher up. A trifling resistance was
made by the national guard. General Mufflin,
quarter-master-general of the Silesian army, told
me there was a smart aflair at Triport. About
nine in the evening, some French cavalry gal-
loped through Meaux, evidently routed, but gave
no warning to the inhabitants of the enemy's
approach.

42 EVKNTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

During the night, a cannonading was heard
at Meaux : the alhes entered that city between
twelve and one in the morning ; and, at about three
in the morning of the 28th, the whole neighbour-
hood was thrown into the greatest alarm by a
tremendous explosion of the French powder maga-
zine, situated at the entrance of Meaux from Paris.
This was done without any warning having been
given to the inhabitants of the town. Several
adjacent houses were thrown down by the con-
cussion, and most of the windows in the city were
broken, though no lives were lost. A large house,
which had formerly been an inn, was, at the
beginning of March, converted into this powder
magazine. Early on the preceding day, the
French began to remove the powder in boats
down the Marne ; but the rapid approach of the
allied army prevented its being entirely carried
away; they therefore blew it up, to prevent its
falling into their hands. The advanced guard
arrived at Livry at nine in the evening, harassed
by the Cossacks, by one of whom a French lancer
was dreadfully wounded at eleven o'clock, within
a quarter of a mile of the village, which is at the
ninth borne, or thousand toise-stone, from N6tre
Dame at Paris :^ — equal to eleven English miles
and a quarter.

28th. — In the Journal de Paris, this day,
under the head of "Paris:"- — '* King Joseph
passed in review yesterday 15,000 troops of the

TEASANTRY FLYING INTO PARIS. 43

line, ini))ciTcil guard, cavalry, and infantry, and
20,000 national guards of Paris, with their artil-
lery. The troops depart for the army au prcmkr
jourr

In the Monitcur, dated Paris, the 27th : — •

NOUVELLES DES ARMEES.

" Doulevcnt, 25 Mars, 1814.

*' Le quartier-g^i^ral de rempereur est ici.
L'ai'in^e Fran^aise occupe Chaumont, Brienne.
Elle est en communication avec Troyes, et ses
patrouilles vont jusqu'a Langres. De tout c6t6
on rem^ne des prisonniers. La sant6 de sa ma-
jest^ est tres-bonne."

Price of stocks, — 5 per cents, 45 f. 50 c. ;
45 f. 75 c. ; bank actions, 555, 565.

Before day-break, the terrified population of
the country between Meaux and Paris came
pouring into the capital, with their aged, infirm,
children, cats, dogs, live-stock, corn, hay, and
household goods of every description. The boule-
vards were crowded with waggons, carts, and
carriages, thus laden, to which cattle were tied,
and the whole surrounded by women on foot.
The distress of these poor refugees was augmented
by being forced to pay the octt^oi at the gates of
Paris, for which many were obliged to sell part
of their stock at the barriers, to obtain what, they
hoped, would be security for the rest, — the right
of taking it within the walls ; thus displaying to tlie

44 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

inhabitants of Paris a picture of the effects of
war, far different from that which they had been
accustomed to look upon. According to general
report, the Cossacks, — a term by which all the
allied troops were designated, — had burnt Meaux,
and were rapidly advancing without interruption :
yet all this had little effect on the staring Pari-
sians, whom the country people reviled for apathy
and cowardice, in not rising to repel the enemy.
I went up the Rue Faubourg St. Martin, at half-
past three in the afternoon : the peasantry, still
arriving in vast numbers, reported, that at twelve
o'clock there had been a sharp action at Claye, a
village fifteen homes (eighteen and three-quarters
English miles) from Paris; but of the result I could
obtain no account. Near the church of St. Lau-
rent, I met about fifty prisoners taken in that
contest; some were sinking from toil and loss of
blood, their unbound wounds were still bleeding,
and, to increase their misery, all were crowded
into one cart. The country people whom I now
questioned, agreed that the enemy were at Claye,
where an action had taken place ; some said they
had advanced to Villeparisis (which was the fact,
where a severe conflict occurred in the streets,
with much bayoneting, man to man, and in
which two hundred of the French were killed) ;
others said that they were driven back ; some, that
there were forty thousand; others, only twenty
thousand ; and some averred that they did not

FllENCn RETREAT TO PARIS. 45

exceed six thousand. I walked out of Paris by
the barrier of Pantin, on the Meaux road, which
every one was now allowed to do, without being
subjected to examination of pass-ports or cartes de
surety, as had been the case at all the barriers for
some days previously : few profited by this, and
still fewer had curiosity sufficient to urge them to
proceed above a quarter of a mile. All soldiers
who attempted to enter the barriers were put
under arrest. I saw about forty of these lying
on the ground near the barrier, under guard,
awaiting to be conducted to the etat - major.
Within the palisades were two small field-pieces
and some Polytechnic scholars on duty. On the
sides of the road to Pantin were the French
cavalry, infantry, and artillerymen, reposing, with
cannon, tumbrils, &c. Several had lighted fires,
and were cooking, and all waiting for orders,
having had rendezvous given them here after the
buttle at Claye, which some said lasted until
nearly two o'clock ; others, that it was over at half-
past twelve. That they had been repulsed and
dispersed, was very evident. Among them I ob-
served some of the cavalry which I had seen re-
viewed the day before.

I breakfasted this morning at the duchesse

de C 's, in the Rue de Lille (now Bourbon).

An event, which part of the family had just
witnessed at the church of St. Thomas d'Aquin,
engrossed the whole of the conversation. The

46 EVENTS AT PAUIS, MARCH 1814.

devotion of the con^es^tion having been dis-
turbed by the great central doors of the church
being suddenly thrown open, and that cowardly
sycophant, of infamous reputation, the arch-
chancellor Camba^eres, who had never been pre-
viously known to attend this his parish church,
was ushered in, full dressed in white, and with
all the homage of ecclesiastical pomp, — -priests,
with sacring boys, swinging incense. Being thus
conducted to the place of honour, he began a
Novenna.* Whether '* monseigueur'" continued
this series of supplication at Blois, I could not
learn. The interest which this pompous display
of faith excited, prevented attention to the mighty
events that were passing on the other side of the
city, and of which, till my arrival, they were
wholly ignorant.

In the evening I went to the cafe Lecuy, and
there met Gautherot, the historical painter, and
Lenard, who had been that morning as far as
Villeparisis, and had there witnessed the retreat of
the French, and also saw the allies take possession
of the heights above that village, (which is only
twelve bornes, or sixteen English miles, from the
capital). They were slowly advancing.

This day the Silesian army, with their bands

* A Novenna is a series of prayers continued during nine
days, for the obtaining of certain favours, under the invocation
of any particular saint, or addressed immediately to God.

BATTLE OF CLAYE. — ROI JOSKPH. 47

playing at the head of each regiment, crossed the
Marne at Triport. General Muftiin was repairing
the bridge at Meaux, which was not rendered
passable until evening. The battle of Claye proved
to have commenced at ten o'clock. The allies
attacked and drove in the rear-guard of the
French ; but they rallied and repulsed the enemy,
who returned in such numbers as to overpower
the French, many of whom were killed in the
streets of Claye. The whole was over at two
o'clock. Blucher established his head-quarters
at Plessis Belleville, and forbade the adjacent
village of Ermenonville to be occupied by any
part of his army, out of respect to the spot where
J. J. Rousseau died and was buried.

Tuesday, 29th. — The national guard was this
morning under arms in every part of Paris. The
barriers and all the military posts in the interior
of the city were delivered up to them by the troops
of the line, who bivouacked without the walls.
The " roi Joseph " visited the heights about
noon ; but was prevented from proceeding far, as
they were occupied by the allies, of w^hose force
he returned as ignorant as when he set out.
Thus was the safety of the metropolis confided to
a man whose want of intellect and inexperience
in war was not even compensated by personal
courage ; and this was not the result of dire neces-
sity, but of Napoleon's own combinations.

The influx of the surrounding population con-

48 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

tinued to pour into the city for refuge and pro-
tection ; but of the situation, or force of the allied
army, every one appeared marvellously ignorant ;
nor did its approach excite any great conster-
nation in the thoughtless Parisians. The pea-
santry, after depositing their property, auginented
the number of stupid gapers on the boulevards,
along which, at ten o'clock, some artillery, tum-
brils, and small detachments of cavalry, passed
towards the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. The lugu-
brious sound of the tumbrils, rolling along the
pavement, harmonised with the foreboding aspect
of affairs.

I went this morning to the Museum of the
Louvre, where I found nearly the usual number of
artists : some of them were quietly copying the
pictures ; but many were looking from the win-
dows into the court-yard of the Tuilleries at the
preparations for the departure of the empress,
Marie- Louise.

Napoleon had sent orders to the arch-chan-
cellor, that if the allies approached Paris, the
empress regent, the king of Rome, the council
of the regency, ministers, senate, &c. should re-
pair to the banks of the Loire ; vainly flattering
himself, that, should a party hostile to him be
formed in Paris under the sanction of the allies,
not having the seal of the empire to affix to
their acts, they would not be valid. The empress
and council of the regency wished to remain at

CoySTKIlNATION AT TTIK TUir.LEllIF.S. 4'J

Paris; but on Cambaccres producing the im-
perial mandate, all lurtlier remarks ceased.

It is the general opinion, even among the most
strenuous partisans of the Bourbons, that had the
empress remained, whatever might have been the
fate of Napoleon, there w^ould have been no
movement in behalf of the royal family ; and the
little band of royalists finding no support, would
have pined away neglected and despised.

At day-break, the disorder which had reigned
all night in the Tuilleries was exposed to the
public. The window-shutters being opened, the
wax lights in the chandeliers were seen expiring in
their sockets. The ladies of the court were disco-
vered running from apartment to apartment ; some
were weeping, and in a state of distraction ; whilst
servants were hurrying from place to place in like
confusion. At half after six, fifteen fourgons,
escorted by cavalry, left the palace. It was after-
wards known that these carriages contained the
amassed treasures of Napoleon. Sentries, sta-
tioned in the court-yard, prevented any of the
spectators approaching this part of the palace.
At eight o'clock the travelling carriages were at
that entrance of the Tuilleries near the Pavilion
de Flore, and arrangements were making for de-
parture. A little before nine, an officer came to
the door from the interior with fresh orders, in
consequence of which the carriages were taken

60 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

across the Place Carousel back to the stables.
Cambaceres arrived ten minutes after nine; and
a few minutes after, a servant galloped to the
stables, the carriages returned, the preparations
for the journey were continued and partially com-
pleted, and at half-past ten the empress Marie
Louise, in a brown cloth riding-habit, with the
king of Rome in one coach, surrounded by
guards, and followed by several other coaches,
with attendants, quitted the palace ; the spec-
tators preserving the most profound silence. They
proceeded along the quay under the garden-wall :
to this first cavalcade succeeded other carriages
with the domestics, and the state coach covered
up. This scene occupied the whole day and
until seven in the morning of the 30th. Even
after the capitulation of Paris was signed, several
waggons, laden with large packing-cases, were
driven from the palace.

The empress slept this night at the palace of
Rambouillet; the 30th, at Chartres; the 31st, at
Chateaudun ; at Vendome on the 1st of April;
and from thence, by a very bad road, and after a
laborious journey, arrived at Blois on the 2d, at
five in the afternoon. Immediately after the de-
parture of the empress, all persons were turned
out of the Museum, and the doors were closed.
I then went to the Fauxbourg St. Martin, where
I saw the following address on the wall : —

ADDllKSS TO THE I'AUISIANS. 51

" Li: KOI JOSKPH,

** Licutcnant-gincral de VEinpcreur, Commandant-cn-chcf de la
Garde Nationalc, aux Citoi/cns de Paris.

** Citoyens de Paris, — Une colonne ennemie
s'est port(^e sur Meaux. Elle s'avance par route
d'Allemagne ; mais Tempereur la suit de pres,
i\ la tete d'une armc^e victorieuse.

** Le conseil de r^gence a pourvu a la surete
de rimperatrice et da roi de Rome. Je reste
avec vous.

" Armons-nous, pour d^fendre cette ville, ses
monumens, ses richesses, nos femmes, nos enfans,
tout ce qui nous est cher ; que cette vaste cit6
devienne un camp pour quelques instans, et que
Tennemi trouve sa honte sous ses miirs, qu'il
esptJre francliir en triomphe.

" L'empereur marche a notre secours. Se-
condez-le par une courte et vive resistance, et
conservons Ihonneur Francais.

Paris, le 29 Mars, 1814. (Sign(i) '* JoSEPH."

The fauxbourg was thronged with people :
about two o'clock the guard cleared it, and no
person was afterwards allowed to pass. I met
a fellow-detenu, (Mr. L.) and walked with him
out at the barri(^re Poissonuiere, and ascended
the eastern side of Montmartre ; but on the exten-
sive plain which we commanded, from thence, by
our elevation of about two hundred and fifty feet.

52 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

there was no appearance of troops. From the
edge of a wood, on the heights between Raincy
and Montfermel, which, beginning at Claye, (a
market town,) command and skirt the high road
to the capital, we saw smoke, and distinctly
heard the sound of artillery. Whilst exercising
our conjectures on the position of the armies, to
our great astonishment, at ten minutes after four,
we heard and saw three cannon fired in suc-
cession from a battery at La Villete, constructed
where the canal de I'Ourcq crosses the road at
the northern extremity of the village, in the pass
between the vertical escarjDment of the Butte
St. Chaumont and Montmartre, and at less than
a mile from the walls of the city. We could not
ascertain the cause of the firing, but afterwards
learned it was at some eclaireurs, who had ad-
vanced to the farm of Rouvry, on the left of the
road from Paris to Pantin. The heights from
which we saw the firing were then occupied by
the allies, who were cannonading the rear of the
French in their retreat upon Paris. There were
about twenty persons, whom curiosity had drawn
to the same spot on which we stood. We instantly
returned to Paris, apprehending that the barriers
might be shut. In coming down the fauxbourg
Poissoni^re, we saw an aide-de-camp arrive at
marshal Marmonf s, in the Rue de Paradis.

The proclamation of roi Joseph was selling, for
a sou, on the boulevards, where groups of people

THE ALLIES AITROACII PAKIS. 53

were assembled. Much agitation now prevailed —
the Hight of tlie empress caused considerable alarm.
Many loudly expressed their discontent at the
national guard, for permitting her to leave Paris,
as they entertained a dastardly hope that her pre-
sence would preserve them from the vengeance of
the allies. For the first time, I heard the people
openly dare to vent complaints against the em-
peror, as the sole cause of the impending calamity;
but I witnessed no patriotic feeling to repulse the
enemy. At dusk, a train of very large waggons,
laden with sacks of ammunition-bread, passed
along the Boulevard des Italiens, to the westward :
thus the situation of the rear of the army could
no longer be concealed. As night came on, the
varying rumours increased. Between seven and
eight o'clock, St. Denis, and even Clichy, were
falsely reported to have been taken ; but of
Romainville, a village within three miles of the
gates of Paris, being occupied by the enemy,
which it had been for more than two hours, I did
not hear a word. Of the situation of the allies,
or of their numbers, all seemed ignorant : few al-
lowed them to amount to 20,000 : 30,000 was the
greatest number I heard named. M. Gustave
(now duke de Coigny), who in the Moscow cam-
paign lost his arm, had been aide-de-camp to
general Sebastiani, rode out to the advanced posts
in the morning, and returned with a report that
there were not more than 30,000 of the allies.

54 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

M. Lebreton, the secretary of the fourth class
of the Institute, told me he called in the evening
on the duke of Rovigo, at the hotel of the minister
of police, Quai Malaquais, and found him playing
at billiards with count Real, and conversing at the
same time on the situation of things. Rovigo,
though he had ridden that morning towards Ville-
parisis, did not believe there were more than
40,000 of the allies marching against Paris ; and
Real maintaining that there were only 30,000,
urged the minister to publish an ordinance, com-
manding the inhabitants of Paris, under pain of
death, to unpave the streets, and carry the stones
into the upper rooms ; that those who remained
in the houses, even the women, might throw them
on the enemy, and also to fire upon them from the
windows. The duke said it could not be done.

At the Theatre Feydeau there were only three
persons in the pit when the curtain drew up, nor
at any time during the evening were there more
than twenty in the house.

About nine o'clock I went to the caf6 de Lecuy,
where I met lieutenant Prot, who had just arrived
at Paris with marshal Marmont's corps, which,
in conjunction with that of marshal Mortier,
having fought on the 25th at Bussy-l'Estree,
between Arcis-sur-Aube and Chalons, and been
beaten, were compelled to retreat by cross-roads,
pursued by the allies, and obliged to abandon
all their artillery, ammunition, and baggage. The

DISTIIACTING ORDERS. 55

remains of these corps were then entering Paris
by Charcnton bridjie.

Marshal Moncey visited the different posts of
the national guard, on horseback, about dusk,
attended by an aide-de-camp. At the post in the
Rue de Provence, near the end of the Rue Cerutti,
the soldiers turned out to receive him. He
addressed them, saying that the enemy was ad-
vancing, and he would not conceal that there was
some danger, but the troops under the walls of
the capital would hold them in check ; that the
emperor was coming, and they must remain firm
at their posts. Marshal Marmont, duke of Ragusa,
informed me, (May 30, 1814,) that when at
Rheims, after the battle of Craone, he received
orders from the emperor Napoleon to make a
junction with marshal Mortier, duke of Treviso,
and march to Paris to protect the city. On their
arrival at Fismes, they received counter orders to
proceed by forced marches to Chalons ; but on
arriving at Vertus, they obtained information that
it was in possession of the allies, whose position
and motions, combined with those of other divi-
sions of the allied army, rendered it evident to
him that they were rapidly moving on Paris. He
was therefore desirous of marching directly to the
capital. This the duke of Treviso opposed, al-
leging that the sudden appearance of their corps
would greatly alarm the inhabitants. Marmont
replied, '* Will, then, the arrival of the enemy

56 EVENTS AT PAllIS, MARCH 1814.

frighten them less?" After the affair of Bussy-
TEstree, on the 25th, the marshals continued
their retreat. On arriving at Rosay, Marmont
was of opinion that they should advance to
Meaux, to defend that passage of the Marne,
which point they might gain before the allied
army; but as Mortier persisted in directing
his march to Melun, he was under the neces-
sity of following him, and thence arrived at Paris
on the 29th, at four o'clock in the afternoon. He
immediately visited the heights of Belleville, —
a situation which he had never before studied as
a military position.

Finding part of the ground much intersected by
garden walls, and deeming it advantageous that
openings should be made in them, to facilitate
the motions of the troops and artillery, he waited
on the minister of war in the evening, to request
that he would give the necessary orders; but
not obtaining an interview with him, left a mes-
sage to that effect with his secretary. However,
the next day he found that not a stone had
been removed.

During the evening and night, his corps, to
the number of 2600 men, and that of the duke of
Treviso, consisting of 7000, arrived at Paris.

The grand army passed the Marne this morn-
ing at day-break, and established their head-
quarters at Claye. Blucher marched on; and
moving to the right, fixed his head-quarters at

SITUATION or THE AIJ.IED ARMIES. 57

Aiinay. General Mufflin, qnarter-master-general
of the Silcsian army, told me lie lodged at ma-
dame de Tessiers' cluiteau, and Blucher in the
village, where they arrived at six in the evening.
In consequence of the emperor of Russia having
sent word to Blucher not to advance too rapidly,
in order that both armies might be united, and
the attack upon Paris made general, the bivouac
of Langeron's corps v^^as disposed between Da-
martin and Bourget, and extended nearly from the
extremity of one town to that of the other. Mufflin
iiaving made this disposition, he despatched an
officer to prince Schwartzcnberg, who was at
Claye ; but the guide giving him the slip on the
way, prevented his arrival at head-quarters until
after midnight.* The orders he there received were,
to advance immediately and attack; but again
losing his way, instead of returning at one o'clock,
as was calculated, he did not reach Aunay until
nearly six. Mufflin then sent orders to Langeron
to advance and attack Montmartre, and instantly
moved forward upon La Villette, by Aubervilliers.
Langcron's corps marched towards St. Ouen and
Clichy, but where, in consequence of the evasion
of the guide, it could only arrive in the middle of

• The distance from Aunay to Claye is only ten English
miles, and chiefly consists of an open plain, through which the
canal d'Ourcq is conducted. Part of it is occupied by the
forest of Bondi, in which not only the guide might easily make
his escape, but the stranger lose his way.

58 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

the day. The principal attack was made by the
corps of York and Kleist, at La Chapelle and
La Villette, and where general Mufflin himself
was.

The following article in the Mouiteur, which
was the only intelligence of the situation of the
armies, was published this day : —

'* Nouvelks des Anntes. — Le 26 de ce mois, sa
majeste I'empereur a battu, a St. Dizier, le general
Witzingerode ; lui a fait deux milles prisonniers ;
lui a pris des cannons, et beaucoup de voitures de
bagages. Ce corps a ete poursuivi tr^s-loin."

The following is the only article which ap-
peared in any of the newspapers respecting the
state of France, at the very gates of the capital.

" Journal de Paris, Avril 29.

" Depuis trois heures du matin de la journ6e
de hier, un grand nombre de troupes, infanterie
et cavalerie, sont parties de Paris pour I'armee.
Hier, vers cinq heures du soir, un detachement
de prisonniers de guerre est arriv6 a Paris par
la barri^re de Pantin. Au moment oii il passoit
sur les boulevards int^rieur du nord, un train
considerable d'artillerie, suivant les memes boule-
vards, se dirigent sur Meaux.

" Les compagnies du centre de la garde na-
tionale de Paris ont commence avant-hier a faire
usage des lances nouvellement fabriqu^es : on y
adapte une petite oriflamme, indiquant le numero
des legions.

TELEGllAPII AT ^lOXTMARTRE. 59

" S. A. le Prince arcliichancelier de Tcmpirc
a assiste hier a Tasscmblce du scnat."

Such was the degraded prostitution of the
press, and such the credulity of its readers.

The keeper of the telegraph on the tower of
the church at Montmartre told me, that at twelve
o'clock this day the inspector of his post ar-
rived in great haste and fright, and ordered him
instantly to dismount the telegraph, and to take
the two telescopes into Paris, saying that some-
thing might occur in the night.

At niij:ht he saw the bivouac fires of the allies
on all the heights from Damartin and Vaujours
along the forest of Bondi, until hid by the bois
de Romainville.

There were only some artillerymen, but no
troops on Montmartre this night. He first heard
the cannon in the direction of Meaux on the 27th,
in the evening.

The price of stocks this day, — 5 per cents,
45 f. 23 c. ; 45 f. ; 45 f. 23 c. ; 45 f. ; 45 f. 10 c. ;
45 f. Actions in the bank of France, 550 f. ;
540 f.; 530 f.; 520 f. ; 515 f.; 520 f.

The grand army, under the command of prince
Schwartzenberg, crossed the Marne at Meaux and
Triport, and, excepting the corps ofWreden and
Sacken, who were left to secure the passage of
the river at Meaux, advanced upon Paris by the
high road.

Prince Schwartzenberg sent a flag of truce

60 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

from his head-quarters at Claye to general Corn-
pens, offering terms for the evacuation of Paris ;
but roi Joseph, to whom the general forwarded
the despatches at Paris, would not listen to them.
At a little before three in the afternoon, the last
three vedettes of the French cavalry which re-
mained at Sevran were recalled by an officer;
they were pursued to Livry. The whole of the
morning the inhabitants of Livry and the adjacent
villages continued removing their live-stock and
furniture, with which, and the cavalry, artillery,
tumbrils, and baggage of the retreating French
army, the road was rendered almost impassable ;
and, to increase the confusion, the enemy, who
were masters of the heights which commanded the
road, cannonaded them, particularly between the
eighth and ninth home, where it is unsheltered
by wood. About four in the afternoon, the allied
army arrived by the high road at the fifth borney
and there dividing by the village of Baubigny,
which is half a mile from the road, their right
advanced towards St. Denis, and the left ascended
the heights above Noisy le Sec. At five, a swarm
of Cossacks rushed unexpectedly on the few in-
habitants of Romainville that had remained there,
supposing that some of general Com pens' corps
would either occupy that village or pass through
it in their retreat, and that till then they were in
safety. The poor people took to flight, but some
were first rifled. The enemy arrived in great

kli(;ht or the empuess .losEriiiNE. 6\

numbers on this ))lateau, which extends from
Rosory to tlic butte St. Cliaumont, and not only
occui)ied the village all night, but even the villa
of the senator-general de Vallence, son-in-law of
niadame de Genlis, at the entrance of the wood
which is between it and Belleville. The next
morning the French took possession of this wood,
tilled it with their sharp-shooters, and advanced
towards the village of Romainville.

The empress Josephine quitted Malmaison for
her domain at Navarre, in the department de
I'Eure, near Evreux, at half after two o'clock in
the afternoon, having waited nearly an hour for
the arrival of a bag of money from Paris to defray
the expenses of her journey. There were three
carriages ; and the first six leagues were per-
formed with her own horses, the remaining four-
teen leagues with those of the post. Constantine,
the keeper of her pictures, was at Malmaison
when she set off, by whom she sent a letter to
the minister of police. At Navarre, mademoiselle
de Comonde told me, she was joined by her
daughter, the queen of Holland. In public she
preserved her habitual calm and amiable man-
ners : but she passed the night at her window
and on a terrace in the garden, eagerly listening
for the approach of a courier charged with her
future destiny, of which, as well as what had
taken place at Paris, all in the chateau remained
ignorant for a week.

62 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Mademoiselle de Comonde, demoiselle d'hon-
neur to the empress Josephine, told me she was
in the carriage with the empress on the journey
to Navarre, and that as Josephine adored her son
Eugene Beauharnois, his position caused her the
greatest uneasiness. She always continued to
love Napoleon, whom she saw for the last time
just before he set out for Moscow. She some-
times went from Malmaison to Paris after dark
to see queen Hortensia, w^ho resided in the Rue
Cerutti.

This extraordinary separation from Napoleon,
who, it is well known, always entertained for
this fascinating woman, his divorced empress,
the most constant affection, was attributed at
court to the protest and interference of the
empress Marie Louise.

Wednesday, 30th. — I was awakened at half
after six by a single drummer of the national
guard going round beating to arms, and at the
same moment heard the roaring of cannon in
the direction of Belleville. It was a mild, gray
morning. On looking out, I saw numbers of my
neighbours of both sexes, with their night-capped
heads out of window, and in a state of semi-
nudity, which produced a very singular eftect.
The third battalion of the second legion of the
national guard was forming in the street* before

* Rue Cerutti, now d'Artois.

CANNONADING OF PARIS. 63

the house of the chef de bataillon, count Alex-
andre de Laborde, and where they were receiving
ball-cartridges. Regnaud de Saint Jean d'Angely,
the chief of the second legion, was riding about
on a prancing cream-coloured charger, blustering
and giving orders.

Mr. L called, and we walked as far as

the fountain on the Boulevard de Bondi ; but
there was no appearance of military on that side
of the Butte St. Chaumont and Belleville : we
therefore proceeded thence by the Rue des Vin-
aigriers to a field behind the hospital St. Louis,
but we could only see a vedette : a heavy can-
nonade was heard to the north and east, appa-
rently very near to us. A few people had col-
lected in this field, and amongst them I observed
a hawker crying bread and brandy, " Prenez la
goutte, cassez la croute," with as much uncon-
cern as at a fair. The national guards at the
adjoining barrier would not suflTer any one to
pass. We crossed to the upper part of the
Fauxbourg St. Martin, where several of the fiacres
were collecting by the police-ofiicers, who had
put them in requisition for the service of the
wounded. From thence we descended the faux-
bourg, where no one out of uniform was allow^ed
to loiter. The military were, by order, forcing
the inhabitants to shut their porte-cocheres and
shops. When we arrived on the boulevards.

64 KVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

many persons were assembled out of curiosity ;
but no patriotic energy, no consternation, or any
tendency to it, was evinced : the people appeared
almost every thing but what might be expected
they would or ought to be. The grisettes were
running about giggling and laughing : small par-
ties of soldiers under arms were moving in different
directions. Some national guards were conducting
three prisoners of war to the etat-major, one of
whom had just been wounded; a few of the
people proposed killing the prisoners, but those
who openly commiserated them were the most
numerous.

I breakfasted with Mr. L at nine o'clock.

The cannonade nearly ceased from nine to half-
past ten, when it became very brisk. After

breakfast we called on the princess de C

and Miss d'A — — , whose court-yard was full of
cows belonging to some country people. We
then went to the Rue de Clichy : the third bat-
talion of the second legion, consisting of three
hundred national guards, were marching up this
street, with drums beating, headed by counts
Regnaud de St. Jean d'Angely and Alexander
de Laborde, on horseback ; the former looking
very pompous, and the latter grave ; the major
part of the privates with rolls, buns, or pieces
of bread stuck upon their bayonets, affecting to
imitate the regulars carrying their ammunition-

RECONNOITERING TIIK ARMIES, C5

bread vvlicn on a march ; but none seemed to
take an interest in the battle.* Arriving at the
barrier, they halted. We waited some time to
see if they would go out ; but observing no such
disposition, and being unable to get through the
ranks so as to gain the chemin-ronde, we re-
turned, and went by the Rue du Rocher to the
barrier of Mousseaux, when we found that none
but military were allowed to go out of Paris.
Thence we went to the Rue Cisalpine, wishing
to get into Mousseaux gardens, in which was
a post of national guards ; but a sentry, at the
corner of the Rue de Courcelles, prevented us
from approaching the entrance to the gardens.
We therefore returned to the large field behind
Tivoli gardens, in which, from the barrier of
Clichy to that of Mousseaux, a subterraneous
aqueduct was constructing, parallel and near to
the wall of Paris. The earth thrown out formed
a bank sufficiently high to enable us to look over
the wall, and command a view of the western part
of the plain of St. Denis, from Clichy to St. Ouen,
and to the right of Montmartre, Belleville, Menil-
montant, and Mont Louis, beyond which we were
prevented from seeing by the houses in the Rue de

• Three or four of the first of these, who went out voluntarily
in the plaiu of St. Denis, were killed a few hours after. There
were two other battalions at the barrier: fifty of these, and
thirty of the third, and a few others, went out into the plain ;
but count de Laborde told me it was perfectly voluntary,

66 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Clichy. We determined to remain on this spot,
calculating that the allies would attempt to turn
Montmartre, and that from this position we
should be enabled to see the manoeuvre. At this
time we could only see three or four soldiers at
the west summit of Montmartre. At about
twelve o'clock the cannonade slackened, and the
musketry was rarely heard ; but at half-past one
the firing became general along the whole line on
the heights, extending beyond Mont Louis from
the Butte St. Chaumont. From between Menil-
montant and Belleville the cannonade appeared
very brisk among the trees. A house was on fire
at Belleville, the smoke of which ascended far
above that of the artillery, and was, by its black-
ish-brown colour, easily distinguished from the
white smoke of gunpowder.* Towards three
o'clock the firing almost ceased in that direction.

About one o'clock, nearly an hundred national
guards, preceded by their pioneers, marched out
of the barrier of Clichy as volunteers, taking the
St. Denis road, but quitted it at the first turning
to the left ; then moving to the right we lost sight

* This house I afterwards saw : it is situated at Belleville,
in the Rue St. Denis, No. 136, to the left on going out of the
Rue de Romainville, forming the right-hand corner of the Rue
Thiery. It was a ladies' boarding-school, and the fire was occa-
sioned by the shell from a howitzer breaking through the roof
and exploding. It was considerably damaged, and was not
repaired until September 1815.

ATTACK ON I'AIUS. 67

of them behind the Clichy road, at the base of
Montmartre. About half an liour after, we per-
ceived a few stragglers of the allied cavalry on
the Chemin de la Revolt,* and in the cross-road
which ])ranchcs from it near the park of St. Ouen
to Clichy, towards the latter of which they were
advancing, exchanging some pistol-shots, at the
same time, with the French horse. Shortly
afterwards, four regiments of the allied infantry,
arriving by the same road, made their appearance
on the plain between Clichy and St. Ouen, over
which the sharp-shooters of both armies were
thickly scattered. Those of the French consisted
of national guards. Some women and country-
people were seen running across the fields from
Clichy, which we shortly afterwards saw was in
the possession of the allies, who, advancing by
the road from that village to Montmartre, began
to fire from a cannon and a howitzer. Another
cannon and a howitzer, placed on the summit
of the westernmost windmill, returned six or
seven shots, and at the same time the French
opened two pieces from the elevated part of the
same road, where it intersects that from St. Denis
to the barrier. The white appearance of the
smoke, contrasted with the deep blue of the hills

* The Chemin de la Revolt goes from the Porte Maillot, in
the Bois de Boulogne, to St. Denis, leaving Clichy and St. Ouen
to the left.

68 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

of Montmorency and the lowering sky, produced
a grand effect. Shortly afterwards, the cannon
belonging to the allies ceased firing. That part
of the battle which we could distinguish extended
from the village of Clichy until it was hid from
us by the rising ground of the road from Clichy
to Montmartre, and that of St. Denis. From
behind this ground, occasionally a dragoon ap-
peared, leading off his wounded horse. Though
what I saw did not fully come up to my idea of
the tumult of a battle, yet the novelty of the
scene — the roaring of the artillery — the noise of
the shot and shells rushing through the air — the
evident progress of the allies — and the vain con-
fidence of my fellow-spectators, who, blinded by
vanity, considered it as a trifling affair — the hope
that a few hours would end my captivity — all
tended to render the present moment that of the
highest excitement and deepest interest I had
experienced in my life.

One man only seemed deeply and silently to
feel the humiliation of his country. Many looked
on with apathy, and some with satisfaction ; but
of the immense force of the enemy, all were igno-
rant. In general, it was believed to be but
inconsiderable ; for even at half-past three, I
heard a fellow, in answer to the remark that the
firing increased, say, " lis jouissent de leur reste ;
ils seront bientot nos prisonniers."

The stables and woodstack of a house at Les

NATIONALGUARDS REPULSE THE FllENCII SOLDIERS. 69

Batij:^nolcs, just without the ])aiTier of Clichy,
were set on fire by a shell from a howitzer ; but
after burning some time, the pioneers of the
national guard succeeded in extinguishing it.*

A horse, with his hind leg dangling by a
sinew, was brought into the field where we were,
to whose misery a national guard humanely put
an end with a musket-ball.

At three o'clock we walked to the barrier of
Clichy, and saw about fifty French cavalry and
artillerymen come in with a cannon, a howitzer,
and some tumbrils, pretending they were bringing
in dismounted pieces, and going to fetch ammuni-
tion ; but as one of the national guards remarked
that the pieces were uninjured, and as, at the
same time, a considerable body of cavalry and
infantry was attempting to crowd into Paris, the
guard posted at the barrier would not let those
who were already within proceed, and with great
difficulty effected the shutting and barring of the
gates of the palisades against those who were
without. We returned to our former station, and
had scarcely reached it, when a considerable
number of French cavalry and infantry, fugitives
from the battle, rushed in at the barrier of

* The house belonged to M. Robin, the notary, and is
situated in the first turning to the right on the St. Denis road :
it is No. 2, and is remarkable from having a hexagonal Belvidere
on the top. Damage was done to the amount of three thousand
francs.

70 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Mousseaux, and endeavoured to penetrate into
the city. The national guard stopped them,
and succeeded in forcing some of the infantry-
out. A fresh body of national guards arrived,
by the Rue du Rocher, with drums beating: few
of them were in uniform or armed ^vith muskets,
having, in general, only pikes with a tricolor
pennon. But the fortune of the day was now
decided : the national guards, who were without
the walls, returned in disorder. One of them told
us that the French troops of the line were running
from all their posts, and that the road on the
other side of the wall was strewed with the
muskets they had thrown away. In this they
had been imitated by the national guard, as I saw
several without arms, though in uniform. The
allied cavalry were now advancing by the fields
from Clichy : a squadron of French went to meet (j
them. We were in expectation of seeing a
charge ; but when they were within about two
hundred yards of each other, the French coolly
wheeled about, and came leisurely back, the
allies continuing as slowly to advance; but not
even a pistol-shot was exchanged. At four
o'clock we saw the inhabitants of Montmartre
running down the old road by the Poirier-sans-
pareil, and a few minutes after, two squadrons of
French cavalry followed ; but before they were
half-way down, our eyes were caught by the sight '
of sharp-shooters of the Silesian army appearing \

niENCII ARTILLERY TURNED UPON PARKS. 71

in rapid succession, and as they gained the various
points of tlie summit, opening a quick, scattered
fire upon tlie fugitives, who returned a few sliots
in their flight. This, from the irregularity of the
ground, and the steepness and winding nature
of the road, had a most picturesque and scenic
effect. Montmartre was immediately covered by
the allies, who, from the different terraces, opened
a terrible fire of musketry on the troops which
were crowding in at the barriers.

At twenty minutes after four, the artillery
abandoned by the French on the summit of Mont-
martre, was turned upon Paris, which the enemy
began to cannonade. One ball passed just above
our heads, and plowed up the earth close behind
us. The boys scrambled for it ; but the other
spectators scampered away towards the streets. As
there were several national guards on the bank on
which we were, it is probable that this ball was
fired at them, as all the succeeding balls passed
into Paris. One man was mortally wounded in
a house in the Rue St. Nicholas, near the Rue
du JMont-blanc, and was taken to the hospital,
where he died. A shell from a howitzer burst
in the gardens of the Hotel -Tellu son. Rue de
Provence : another fell on Mr. Greffulhe's garden
of the Pavilion de la Boissiere, Rue de Clicliy.
A cannon-ball knocked down a chimney of a
house in the Rue Basse du Rempart, No. 8, and
fell in the garden of the Hotel dc Gontaud-Biron.

7-^

EVENTS AT PAIIIS, MARCH 1814.

I afterwards saw a window-frame which had been
shattered, in the Rue St. Martin, opposite the
junction of the two roads to Bourget and to Bondi.
The porter of a house in the Rue Fontaine-au-Roi,
Fauxbourg de Temple, was killed at his door by
a cannon-ball, and doubtless many others I did
not hear of. We returned by the Rue du Rocher.
Some national guards, who came in with us, loudly
complained of having been abandoned by the
troops of the line. Three or four ladies were
going up to the barrier in search of their hus-
bands, who were in the national guard. We
attempted in vain to persuade them to turn back,
as we believed the allies were on the point of
rushing into the city. In our way homewards,

we again called on the princess de C , who

informed us that she had just heard from M.
d'Herboville, formerly prefect of the department
of the Rhone, that there was a capitulation going
on, which was shortly afterwards confirmed to me
by M. Laffite, my banker, whom I met in the Rue
Cerutti. As I passed the Rue de Clichy, I saw
the inhabitants barricading the lower end with
carts, ladders, furniture, logs of firewood, &c.
apprehending that the enemy were coming in.

The firing ceased about five o'clock, with the
exception of now and then a distant and random
shot. At this time I took a few turns on the
boulevards, which were crowded with people,
all seemingly ignorant of the fate of the day.

SUSPENSION OF AKMS. 73

The French army was filing mournfully to
the Champs Elysees, and all were in a silent,
sulky mood, strangely contrasting with their
usual animation and loquacity. Some cavalry,
who were drunk, had got off their horses, and
wanted to quarrel with, and sabre the bystanders.
They bivouacked in the Champs Elysees, the
Place Louis XV., and in the Rue de Rivoli, until
they evacuated Paris during the night.

I observed two soldiers conducting a Russian
prisoner to the ^tat-major in the Place Vendome.

I returned to Mr. L , in the Rue Trudon,

to dinner. From every information we had been
able to collect, we were induced to believe that
there was only a suspension of arms until nine
o'clock at night, unless the terms of a capitulation
should then be agreed upon ; and for that hour
we anxiously waited.

At dark, we saw, from the upper windows of
the house, Montmartre covered with the blazing
watch-fires of the Silesian army, and which dis-
tinctly shewed the soldiers bivouacking around
them.

Messrs. B and T came in to tea. I

returned home, and remained till late at my
window, gazing at the fires on Montmartre, en-
joying a beautifully serene night, and the delight-
ful emotions of satisfaction and hope resulting
from this eventful day. Not a carriage or a per-
son was to be heard in the streets, and the stillness

?4 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

(more awful from its contrast with the preceding
tumult) was only broken at intervals by the
distant sounds of music in the allied camp.

Marshal Marmont, duke of Ragusa, arrived
on the heights of Belleville a quarter before four
in the morning. But the allies beginning the
attack at a little after four, he had no time to
make any dispositions.

The following is the statement he gave me of
the total amount of the forces collected for the
defence of the capital. His army and that of
marshal Mortier, joined to the troops previously
before Paris, under general Compens, amounted
to between fifteen and sixteen thousand men,
consisting of — cavalry, rather more than three
thousand ; infantry, thirteen thousand ; artillery
in the battle, eighty. To these may be added
twelve thousand national guards, being all that
had arms. Of the number of troops the allies
had to oppose to him, he, as well as every
one else, was totally ignorant when the battle
began.

About six thousand troops bivouacked within
the walls of Paris, near the barriers of the Faux-
bourg St. Martin. They sallied forth at half-
past six in the morning. The empress's dragoons
going towards Belleville, and the Cossacks Fran-
Ipais to Les Vertus. They came in again about
twelve o'clock.

The cannonade and firing of musketry at the

Al'l'llOACII AND SLAUGHTER OF THE PllUSSIANS. 75

Butte de St. Chaumont and the Pie St. Gervais,
was terrible from eight till half-past nine o'cloek.

The Prussian guards halted on the night of
the 29th at Villeparisis. At nine o'clock this
morning, intelligence was brought them that the
allies had been repulsed near Paris. The Prus-
sians instantly set forward, and ran nearly the
whole way to Pantin. Having reposed there a
few minutes, they again advanced with the
utmost rapidity, and were soon exposed to so
destructive a fire from the artillery, at open
batteries, on the heights of Belleville and the
Butte St. Chaumont, that nearly two thousand
were left dead on the field. This, a Prussian
officer told me, was the first time of their going
into action during the campaign.

Colonel Paixhans, of the artillery, commanded
the batteries at Belleville and the Butte St.
Chaumont. The cannon of the former were
served by raw conscripts, and not, as was gene-
rally believed, by the Polytechnic scholars.
The allies advanced by the road from Pantin,
and forming under the shelter of some houses,
rushed forward. When a certain number had
become exposed to the fire of the French bat-
teries, these were opened upon them with most
destructive effect ; many were swept down, and
the rest retired behind the houses, where they
formed again, and again advanced. The battery
of the Butte St. Chaumont, which was more

76 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

considerable, and worked by the artillerymen of
the navy, opened a tremendous fire, and threw
them into confusion. The French cavalry and
infantry then charged and drove them back
towards Pantin, where they remained inactive for
some time. About one o'clock, colonel Paix-
hans saw three immense columns of troops, — one
crossing the plain St. Denis from Aubervilliers
towards Clichy; a second moving slowly along
the high road from Pantin ; a third advancing by
the Bois de Romainville, apparently with the
intention of turning his batteries ; but of this he
was under no apprehension, knowing the wood
was full of French sharp-shooters. Some time
afterwards, to his utter astonishment, and without
having heard a shot fired, he found the sharp-
shooters of the allies so close upon him, that he
was obliged to abandon his cannon, and retreat
into Paris, where, on arriving, he observed with
surprise, those troops reposing on the boulevards
on whose defence of the Bois de Romainville he
had calculated. General Michel, of the imperial

guard, told M that he headed the troops

which drove the allies back to Pantin. One of
the houses behind which the allies formed, was
almost knocked to pieces by the French balls,
though it was large and of three stories. From
the third mile-stone to the entrance of Pantin, all
the trees on each side of the road were shattered
by cannon-balls and pierced by bullets ; in one

CANNON BALLS AND lUJLLETS. 77

tree I counted the marks of seventeen, and the
smallest number was five : several of these
musket-bullets I saw sticking in the trees on the
17th of April. The master of the plaster kiln at
the foot of the Butte St. Chaumont told me that
thirty-four cannons were dragged up the steepest
part of that hill on the 29th, and that there were
four pieces at the base : these latter were spiked
and abandoned, at two o'clock on the 30th.
M. Casimir de Morteinart,* orderly officer to the
emperor, informed me that he was at the Maison-
rouge, a little villa at the north-east base of
Montmartre, with Joseph and Jerome Buona-
parte, neither of whom stirred out, nor had the
sun-blinds opened, until half- past one o'clock,
when, accompanied by their suite, consisting of
about thirty persons, they descended to the outer
boulevards, and went round by the walls to the
Bois de Boulogne. M. de Mortemart followed,
supposing they were going to another post, but
on their taking the road to St. Cloud, he quitted
them and returned home. The minister of war,
the duke of Feltre, had been with them in the
course of the morning.

M. Edouard Hocquart, an officer in the na-
tional guard, told me he was at Montmartre, and
on horseback. Joseph Buonaparte arrived there
at seven in the morning, and went to La Maison-

* Now duke de Mortemart.

78 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

rouge, out of which he never stirred until he ran
away. He sent M. E. Hocquart about eight
o'clock to the dukes of Treviso and Ragusa, to
know the state of the battle. The former was
then between the basin of the Canal de I'Ourque
and the Bourget road, having on his right the
canal and a battery of cannon, which was
keeping up a heavy fire. The duke said he was
in a good position. He then went to Marmont,
whom he found on the heights near Montreuil,
with some squadrons of cuirassiers with him.
Marmont said his positions were beginning to be
forced, that the allies were masters of the Bois
de Romainville, shewed him the distant country
which was blackened by their advancing troops,
and told him to inform the king that he must
send him some reinforcements, as he could not
hold out. M. Hocquart said, " It is so long
since you have seen me, that probably you do
not remember me : I am the grandson of madams
Pourat." Marmont took him by the hand, saying,
*' Ah, mon ami ! nous nous renouvelons connais-
sance dans un f moment." Hocquart re-
turned to the king, and reported what Marmont
had said. Joseph exclaimed, " Des renforts, oil
veut-il que je les trouve." This was about half-
past one ; a few minutes after, Joseph asked him
if his horse was a good one ; on his replying in
the affirmative, he said, " then follow me ;" and
he went to Blois by Versailles and Rambouillet.

FLAG OF TRUCE. 79

Marshal Marmont sent, about two o'clock, to
general Conij)ens, who commanded the advanced
guard between La Villette and Pantin, ordering
him to send a trumpet (flag of truce) to pro-
pose a capitulation. Four were despatched ;
one only, M. Quelin, chef-d'cscadron, and his
aide-de-camp, arrived at the allies' head-quar-
ters ; his sword was taken from him by those
who took him. On the armistice being pro-
posed, the emperor of Russia replied it was not
his wish to do any injury to the city of Paris, as
it was not the French nation on whom he made
war, but the emperor, Napoleon : the king of
Prussia added, not even against him, but his
ambition. The emperor said, it was with great
concern he had that morning seen several co-
lumns of national guards march out of Paris ;
but concluded with assuring him, that not a
soldier of his should enter the city in a hostile
manner. Quelin made an apology to the emperor
for appearing before him without his swordj
stating the manner it was taken ; but although
Alexander insisted it should be found and de-
livered to him, yet he never recovered it. The
sovereigns sent two officers back with M. Quelin,
to agree upon the capitulation, which was drawn
up at five o'clock, at La Chapelle, in the second
house to the left on going out of the barrier
St. Denis ; it is the an^le of the street. The

80 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

following inscription was painted on the front in
the succeeding May : —

" Au Petit

Jardinet

L'an 1814

Ici le 30 Mars (Jour

a jamais prospere)

Pour le bonheur

de Notre Nation

La plus Sage

Capitulation

Aux Fran^ais

Rendit un Pere

Thourout

Md. de Vins

Traiteur."

General Savery, duke of Rovigo, minister of
police, came on horseback, about noon, to the
barrier de I'Etoile, and urged the national guard
to defend it, as the emperor was coming to the
relief of Paris. He ordered the trees on each
side of the road to be cut down, so as to fall
across the way and obstruct it. This was exe-
cuted on the first tree at the north side of the
road ; that which corresponded on the south was
only half cut through ; and at the fifty-second
tree, or about three hundred yards down the
road, three trees were felled on each side. At
about half- past three, the allies appeared on
the road near the entrance to the Bois de
Boulogne.

OCCUPATION OF MONTMAKTRK. 81

The allies arrived at Neuilly at four o'clock,
but were prevented from passing the bridge tliat
evening, by the resistance which was made by
about forty grenadiers of the imperial guard,
posted on the left side of the river. I afterwards
saw their bullets sticking in the trees by the side
of the road, and the marks of the musket balls of
the allies on the opposite side of the bridge.

The duke of Mortemart told me he was on
Montmartre at twelve o'clock, when there were
not any troops of the line, and only a few na-
tional guards, pompiers, and maimed invalids, near
two pieces of artillery (the only ones he saw),
placed at the western extremity of the summit.
In tlie plain of St. Denis were some squadrons of
cavalry, each consisting of one hundred and thirty
men. At the extremity of La Villette, where the
canal crosses the road, was a battery of cannon.

Sixty national guards were posted m Mous-
seaux gardens. At two o'clock there were not
more than two hundred national guards at Mont-
martre, of which C 's eldest son was one.

The allies advanced in regular platoons.

There were only eight pieces of artillery (six
cannon and two howitzers) on Montmartre, though
there were more than one hundred in the Champ
de Mars, which were not used. A battery of
twenty- eight cannons was formed by order of
general Abbeville, in the Vincennes road, near
the entrance of the wood. It was commanded by

82 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

major Evain, of the artillery ; pointed by the
artillerymen of the old imperial guard; and
worked by the Polytechnic scholars (61^ves de
I'Ecole Polytecnique), who, to the number of two
hundred and seventy, were posted there. This
battery was attacked at eleven o'clock by the ca-
valry of the allies ; and not being protected either
by cavalry or infantry, those who were defending
it were forced to fly. Their muskets having been
taken from them to give to the national guard,
they were only armed with short swords. Their
artillery and tumbrils were drawn by post horses,
and by those used for towing barges up the Seine,
and conducted by drivers as unaccustomed to the
service as the horses were to the noise of artillery,
or the rumbling of tumbrils. The horses took
fright ; most of the cannon and tumbrils were
overturned ; and thus dragged, soon broken. Ge-
neral confusion ensued; six of the pieces were
taken by the allies; seven of the scholars were
taken prisoners, forty wounded, and their two
drummers killed by pistol-shots, of which some
thousands were fired by the two regiments of
Hulans, with whom they were engaged and con-
fusedly mixed. The rest of the cannoil were
abandoned, and the scholars retired under the
protection of two batteries, near the barrier du
Tr6ne, which immediately opened a fire of gi'ape-
shot; and, at the same time, a company of cui-
rassiers charging the allies, enabled the Poly-

rOLYTECHNIC SCHOLARS. 83^

technic scholars to retake their pieces, and brinji;
them close to the barrier, where, uniting them
witii those already there, they continued to fire
grape-shot the rest of the day. They remained
ignorant of the capitulation until ten at night,
and then first learned it by the order brought for
their return to the school. Orders came in the
night for them to march to Fontainebleau ; but
only one hundred obeyed : two hundred and
thirty escaped, and remained with their friends in
Paris.

At Fontainebleau a proposal was made to
incorporate them with the troops of the line,
which M. Durivau, inspector of their studies, pre-
vented by producing the imperial decree, that in
case of being obliged to quit Paris, they were to
repair, as well as the persons who composed the
different officers of government, to Rennes in
Brittany. He then marched them to Orleans,
and thus saved them.

During the battle, sixty of them remained at
the school waiting for orders. These had re-
turned on the evening of the 29th, having been on
duty from the early part of Monday morning.

It was reported currently at Paris, that the
guns which these young men worked were obliged
to cease firing for more than two hours from want
of ammunition. This was not true; but some of
the tumbrils were furnished with cartridges (gar-
go usses) of a calibre too large for the pieces.

84 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

'* But this," according to M. Antoine Lebriin and
M. de Montferrand, who furnished me with all
the information relative to their fellow-students,
" was attributable to the precipitation with which
the tumbrils were loaded."

M. Francais was the only scholar who was
killed : he lingered seven months with the wounds
he received on that day.

A short time after his return, Louis XVIII.
yielding to public opinion, conferred some crosses
of the legend of honour on these young gentle-
men, whose conduct on this day was the subject
of general admiration ; but instead of giving one
to the unfortunate M. Francais, and to those who
were engaged on the Vincennes road, they were
bestowed on those who remained at the school
the whole of the day.

Comte Regnaud de St. Jean d'Angely, chef
of the second legion of the national guard, arrived
on horseback, with orders to Count Alexander de
Laborde, at four in the morning. In the middle
of the day, being at the Barri^re de Clichy, he
ordered those of the national guard who chose,
to go and reconnoitre without the barriers in the.
plain of St. Denis : Count Alexander de Laborde
himself went out with these volunteers, who really
were volunteers.

But Regnaud, who had been swaggering and
blustering the whole morning, said he could not
accompany them, as he must obey the orders of

rilKNClI ARMY ri.YlNG. bo

tlu' minister, and follow the government. He
then set ofi", j)ursiied by the hootings of the na-
tional guard. His conduet was so severely cri-
ticised by the ])ublic, that he read a justification
of it at the Institute, of which he was a member:
this, however, only made bad worse, and gave
consistency to what was before only a surmise.

AlK)ut half-past two o clock, or a quarter be-
fore three, G — • — saw a considerable body of
I'rench cavalry galloping into Paris by the Rue
Uochechouart, to all appearance escaping from

the field of battle ; and at three, V saw

artillery brought in at the barrier Rochechouart;
at four, a confused flight of cavalry came down
the street. In the evening, two conscript sentinels
were posted near the barrier to prevent the inha-
bitants from approaching it and holding communi-
cation with the allies.

At a cpiarter after three, Miss J M

observed from her window, in the Rue Charonne,
the French cavalry gallop down the Butte St.
Chaumont, which they had occupied all the
morninGT, when they were instantly replaced by
those of the allies, who formed into much closer
ranks. A few minutes after, she saw the national
guard quit the burial-ground of Pcre de la Chaise,
from which they had been firing through loop-holes
in the wall. But there had been a complete
route of cavalry down the Rue de Charonne,
about a quarter of an hour before, which was

86 EVENTS AT PAKIS, MARCH 1814.

preceded by artillery that came from La Villette,
and had been obliged to make the circuit of the
walls, not having found it possible to effect an
entrance at any other barrier. At night she saw
the allies' cavalry round the bivouac fires on the
Butte St. Chaumont.

At four o'clock, the emperor of Russia, the
king of Prussia, and prince Schwartzenberg, had
advanced to the Butte St. Chaumont.

The south side of the foot of Menil-montant
was occupied by the allies at four o'clock, Le-
fevre, the restaurateur, told me that some French
dragoons were skulking in his court -yard the
whole of the day, instead of joining the battle.
The firing did not entirely cease at the ex-
tremities of the engaged line until past six in the
evening.

The allies were twice repulsed at Belleville,
the French being protected by garden-walls. A
Russian colonel, attached to prince Schwartzen-
berg's staff, said that the loss of the allies was six
thousand. A Russian account of the battle states,
that the Russians lost one hundred officers and
seven thousand rank and file.

The loss of the French was about three thou-
sand troops of the line, and sixty killed and one
hundred and fifty wounded of the national
guards : * among the killed was Fitzjames, the

'* As stated to the writer by count Alexander de Laborde.

EVACUATION OF PARIS. 87

celebrated ventriloquist, who kept a coffee-house
in the Palais Royal, and who was killed at the
foot of Montinartre.

The Prussian guards sustained a very great
loss in the battle. Fifty-seven Prussian othcers
were wounded or killed.

About half-past one o'clock, news was brought
to the Luxemburg Palace that the king of Prussia
and his staff were taken prisoners. This was the
signal agreed upon for the wife of Joseph Buo-
naparte to fly. She immediately entered her
carriage and set off for Blois.

M. Frederic Cuvier, brother of the celebrated
comparative anatomist, as national guard, was on
duty at the barrier des Gobelins, from the 28th
at night, until the 31st in the morning. During
the battle, officers of the line came round to the
barriers, informing those who were there that the
em])erer was at the battle. At five in the after-
noon, they came and said the enemy were re-
pulsed, and the king of Prussia taken prisoner.
But at seven in the evening, the evacuation of
Paris began, and continued, without intermission,
the whole night. The men appeared greatly de-
jected; and those whom Cuvier questioned, though
ignorant of the force of the allies, yet asserted
they had been sold to them.

At the prefecture of police, the architects at-
tached to that establishment were in waiting by
order of the prefect, lest accidents should even-

88 EVENTS AT PARIS, MAllCH 1814.

tually happen to the city from the explosion of
shells. At ten o'clock in the morning, the follow-
ing appeal to the passions of the people was laid
on the desks of the different offices of the prefec-
ture, and police-officers were sent into the streets
to distribute them ; which they had scarcely begun
to do when an order came to recall them. They
were even taken from the persons who had them,
and burned, together with several official papers
from the bureau of the first division. Thousfh
this appeal w^as reprinted in one of the news-
papers a few days after, yet very few persons
had seen the original. I never saw but one. It
is printed on both sides of a duodecimo size : —

'* Nous laisserons-nous piller ! Nous laisserons-
nous briiler !

" Tandis que Fempereur arrive sur les derrieres
de I'ennemi, 25 a 30,000 hommes, conduits par un
partisan audacieux, osent menacer nos barri^res.
En imposeront-ils a 500,000 citoyens qui peuvent
les externiiner ! Ce parti ne Tignore point, ses
forces ne lui suffisaient pas pour se maintenir
dans Paris. II ne veut faire qu'un coup de main.
Comme il n'aurait que peu de jours i\ rester parmi
nous, il se haterait de nous piller, de se gorger
d'or et de butin ; et quand une armee victorieuse
le forcerait a fuir de la capitale, il n'en sortirait
qu'a la lueur des flammes qu'il aurait allumees.

" Non ! nous ne nous laisserons pas piller !

rilENCH APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE. 8V

nous nc nous laisserons pas bruler ! Defendons nos
biens, nos femmes, nos enfans, et laissons le terns
;\ notre brave arni6e crarriver pour an(^antir sous
nos niurs les barbares qui venaient les renverser!
Ayons la ferme volont6 de les vaincre, et ils nc
nous attaquerons pas ! Notre capitale serait le
tombeau d'une arm(^^e qui voudrait en forcer les
portes. Nous avons en face de I'ennemi une
armce considerable ; elle est commandee par des
chefs habiles et intrepides ; il ne s'agit que de les
seconder.

" Nous avons des canons, des baionettes, des
piques du fer. Nos fauxbourgs, nos rues, nos
maisons, tout pent servir a notre defense. Etab-
lissons, s'il faut, des barricades ; faisons sortir nos
voitures et tout ce qui pent obstruer les passages ;
cr^nelons nos murailles, creusons des fosses, mon-
tons a tons nos etages les pav^s des rues, et
Tennemi reculera depouvante.

" Qu'on se figure une armee essayant de tra-
verser un de nos fauxbourgs au milieu de tels
obstacles, a travers le feu croise de la nious-
queterie qui partirait de toutes les maisons, des
pierres, des poutres qu'on jeterait de toutes les
crois^es ! Cette arm^e serait detruite avant d'ar-
river au centre de Paris. Mais non ! Le spectacle
des apprets d'une telle defense le forcerait de
renoncer k ses vains projets, et elle s'eloignerait
a la hate pour ne pas se trouver entre Tarm^e de
Paris ct Tarmee de rempereur."

90 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Three of the enemy's spies were brought to
the prefecture of police, from whence they were
sent to the etat-major.

A quantity of papers was burnt at one o'clock
in the minister of war's court-yard, Rue de Lille,
(now Bourbon).

The iron gates to the Palais Royal garden
were locked the whole day; all the shops and
lateral entrances were shut, as were also most
of the other shops in Paris.

During the battle, the Boulevard des Italiens
(now Coblentz) and the Cafe Tortoni were thronged
with fashionable loungers of both sexes, sitting,
as usual, on the chairs placed there, and ap-
pearing almost uninterested spectators of the
number of wounded French and prisoners of the
allies which were brought in. The wounded
French officers were carried on mattresses. This
astonishing instance of want of deep feeling was
confirmed to me by many persons. A black flag
was displayed on all the hospitals, that the cannon
should not be directed against them. About two
o'clock, a general cry of " Sauve qui peut" was
heard on the boulevards from the Porte St. Martin
to Les Italiens : this caused a general and con-
fused flight, which spread, like the undulations of
a wave, even beyond the Pont Neuf. In a short
time, however, the panic subsided. This was
confirmed to me by several persons who expe-
rienced it at dift'erent places, from the boulevards

JIUMOLUS: — DYING SOLDlJiltb. 9t

to the other side of the river ; but of the cause I
could never obtain any satisfactory information.
One story was, that two Austrians had dashed
into Paris by the barrier St. Martin, and galloped
to the boulevards, where they were killed. The
other, that a Polish lancer, who was drunk, had
galloped down the Fauxbourg Montmartre, as far
as the boulevards, crying " Sauve qui peut," and
that he was there shot.

During the whole of the day, several wounded
French soldiers crawled into the streets of Paris,
and there laid down to die. Favart saw one, who
had moved as far as the Rue de I'Universite, Faux-
bourg St. Germain, and was there lying on the
pavement : one of the by-standers asked him if he
wished to be carried any where ? All he requested
was, to be allowed to die quietly, which he did a
few minutes after. Several were supported by
their comrades, and some even carried on their

backs. Mrs. G saw many brought down the

Rue Rochechouart in the afternoon.

At about four o'clock, the duke of Rovigo set
off for Blois from the hotel of the minister of
police, Quai Malaquais, and went up the Rue de
St. Peres at full gallop, in a caliche, with his wife,
followed by a second caleche, and escorted by
about twenty gens d'armes d'elites.

Comte Alexander de Girardin arrived at Paris
at three in the afternoon, announcing the emperor s
speedy arrival, and exhorted the people to rise in

92 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

a mass. After seeking in vain le roi Joseph and
the minister of war (who were on their way to
Blois), he went to Talleyrand, then to his own
house, and at midnight quitted Paris to return to
Napoleon, whom he met at la Cour de France.

Comte Alexander de Laborde was without the
walls at five o'clock, with several of the national
guards ; the gates of the palisades being fastened,
they were obliged to assist each other to clamber
over, the Cossacks and troops looking on, but not
offering the smallest interruption.

The inhabitants of the remote parts of Paris
remained ignorant of the capitulation all the
evening. Miss M told me, that in the neigh-
bourhood of the Rue de Charonne they were not
acquainted with it when she retired to rest.

The king of Prussia's head-quarters this night
were at the chateau of M. de Meze, at Vertgalant,
between Livry and Villeparisis, where he slept. I!

Marshal Marmont informed me, that Joseph
Buonaparte, having sent him an order to capitu-
late when he should consider all defence useless,
and perceiving a column of 25,000 fresh troops of
the enemy advancing on his left, he sent four
officers with flags of truce, to try to penetrate to
the head-quarters of the allied sovereigns.

About three o'clock in the afternoon, at the i

extremity of Belleville, he was so closely pressed i

upon by the enemy, that eleven men were killed !

by the bayonet near his person. In this extremity, I

NUMREllS OF THE OPPOSING AimiES. 93

and beiiif]^ cut off from assistance, he forced his
way with forty men through tlie streets of Belle-
ville. At this moment the officer who had suc-
ceeded in penetrating to the head-quarters of the
allies, returned with the flag of truce, accompanied
by two of their officers, and the capitulation was
soon afterwards concluded. The duke also in-
formed me, that the allies lost 10,000 men and
the French 4000. He likewise said, the emperor
of Russia told him that the allies had 210,000
men between Meaux and Paris, and that it was
their belief that 50,000 French troops were assem-
bled to defend the capital.*

Marmont further observed, that there never
was a more foolish attack made than that of the
allies, as they might have entered Paris on the
side of the Bois de Boulogne without resistance.

The Mojiiteur of this day was a full sheet ; but
no notice was taken of the war or the army.
Nearly four columns and a quarter were occupied
by an article on the dramatic works of Denis, and
three columns by a dissertation on the existence
of Troy. The theatres announced as usual.

Between eleven and twelve o'clock, Favart saw
a squadron of carbiniers near the Porte St. Martin,
going to the battle ; they met about fifty or sixty
prisoners who had just been taken. The car-

• General Mufflin told me there were about 80,000 of the
allies opposed to the French. ^

94 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

biniers, full of spirits, boasted to the by-standers
that they would soon bring in more ; but about
half- past one o'clock, he saw them returning
quite dispirited.

During the battle, the president and governors
of the bank of France assembled at the bank, and
ordered the copper-plates of their notes to be de-
stroyed ; and such was their consternation, that
they were preparing to burn all the notes when
the news of the capitulation arrived.

The colours and standards taken by the French
in their different wars, and which decorated the
Chapel of the Invalids, were, on the approach of
the allies, taken down and packed up for the pur-
pose of removal ; but on the night of the capitu-
lation, in consequence of an order left by the
minister of war, these memorials of triumph over
public virtue, over the faith of treaties, and over
the rights of nations, were unpacked and burnt
in one of the court-yards of the hospital. The
sword and scarf of Frederic, king of Prussia, which
were suspended from the centre of the arch lead-
ing from the nave to the dome of the chapel, were
destroyed at the same time.

Towards evening, several ambulances came
down the Rue Rochechouart full of wounded
French, and one cart was laden with the slain.

In the evening of the 31st, about thirty
wounded Russians, prisoners, who probably had
been brought to the etat-major, in the adjacent

INSPECTION OF THE ALLIED ARMY. 9^

Place Vcndome, laid themselves down under the
arcades of the Rue Castiglione. General Scott
lodged in the house, and an English medical
man who was dining there dressed their wounds ;
the Misses Scott made lint, and the pavement was
covered with straw: he left them about eleven
o'clock. The next morning they were gone, but,
as not one of them could speak French, it was
not ascertained how they came there. The French
were very humane to them.

31st. — A fine morning; Mr. T , a fellow-
detenu, called upon me at half- past six. We
walked to the Barri^re Montmartre, which we
found shut, and proceeded thence to the Barriere
des Marty res, which was open, with national
guards posted at the entrance. Passing through,
we found the allied army; and feeling ourselves
under their protection, considered our detention
of eleven years to be at length terminated.* Near
the barrier, a Russian band of music was playing,
and a group, composed of a few French of both
sexes, and some soldiers of the allies, were quietly
listenino^ to it. Close to this, several horses, killed
in the battle, were lying, upon which some of the
listeners were seated. We walked up Mont-
martre : the streets were filled with Russian,

* The decree of the French republic, signed by the first
Consul, Buonaparte, constituting all the English then in France
prisoners of war, is dated 2 Prairial, an xi. (22d May, 1803);
the number then detained was between nine hundred and a
thousand.

96 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Prussian, and German soldiery, forming part of
the Silesian army, but mostly Russians; some
sleeping, some bedecking themselves, others
shaving their comrades or waxing their mus-
tachios. Most of them had a sprig of box in
their caps, and a piece of white linen bound
round their left arms : the latter had been worn
about three weeks, and was adopted to distin-
, guish the allied army among themselves, as the
variety of uniforms in the different corps had
occasioned many fatal mistakes. A dead body,
half stripped, was lying by the side of the old
road, near the Poirier-sans-pareil, probably that
of the last Frenchman killed yesterday on his
flight into Paris. The vast old gypsum quarry, on
the left of the road, was full of soldiers sleeping
among piles of arms. The summit of the moun-
tain was covered with troops, and on every part
were the remains of watch-fires, made with vine-
props, and surrounded with empty bottles. We
were struck with the quiet manners of the soldiers,
and the mild physiognomy of the Russians. No
one paid the least attention to us, although we
were the only persons who ventured so far among
them. Never was any assemblage of men gazed
on by me with greater interest. I felt indebted
to them for my deliverance from captivity : they
had revenged their country, and raised the
continent of Europe from the degraded state to
which it had been subjected for so many years.
These troops, a few hours before, had been the

PAULEY WITH A RUSSIAN OFFICER. 97

furious and terrible agents of destruction ; but of
tills not the smallest vestige was now apparent in
their manners, nor was there the least appearance
of exultation from victory. Descending, on the
north side of the mountain, we saw three or four
dead soldiers in the field below the well, also
some dead horses. About half a mile further in
the plain was an open battery of artillery and a
camp, forming the most picturesque assemblage
of figures I ever beheld. The Russian cannon
and carriages have inscriptions on them in Rus-
sian characters, and their colour, as well as that
of the tumbrils, is bright green. The lids of the
latter form angles of about 45 degrees with the
sides. There were several cannon and tumbrils
which had been taken from the French, with
" Liberte, Egalite," on them : the gun-carriages
and tumbrils of the French are lead colour; their
roofs are flat segments of circles. So strikin<>-
was the novelty of the scene, that even the most
trifling and minute circumstances forcibly attracted
my attention. We made acquaintance with a Rus-
sian orticer of rank, who spoke excellent French ;
and who, when he knew that we were En<2-
lish prisoners, was most cordial, and affably com-
municative relative to the events of the campaign.
fie told us that " Napoleon* was moving upon

• General MufHin told me, that on the '2'id ol' Marcli a
French courier was taken by the Cossacks between Vitry le

98 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

St. Dizier, and that the corps of Witzingerode had
been left to look after him ; but that, if he at-
tempted to return upon Paris, he would be
received by Sacken's corps, which formed a re-
serve to guard the passage of the Marne, at
Meaux. Nothing, however, was to be appre-
hended from the French army, which was almost
destroyed by recent disasters." The quantity of
artillery which had fallen into the hands of the

Fran^ais and Sezanne, bearing a letter from Napoleon to Marie-
Louise, in his own hand-writing, but so badly written as to be
nearly illegible. Towards the conclusion, the emperor said he in-
tended to approach his fortresses, and that he was now moving
towards St. Dizier; the latter word, of so much importance to
decipher, was so badly written that they were several hours in
making it out. The letter was, the same day, sent to Blucher
at Nismes, who forwarded it to the empress with a letter in
German, saying, that as she was the daughter of a respectable
sovereign who was fighting in the same cause with him, he had
sent it to her ; and that, as he was in the rear of her husband's
army, should other letters fall into his hands, she might rest
assured they should be regularly forwarded. On the 24th,
the head-quarters of Blucher's army was at Chalons; that of
the grand army, with which the two sovereigns were, at Vitry le
Franqais, having marched from Arcis-sur-Aube : the junction of
those two armies, and the discovery that Napoleon was on his
march to St. Dizier, led to the determination of proceeding
immediately to Paris, which had been discussed on the foregoing
day. The 25th, Blucher's army, at La Fere Champenoise, beat,
cut to pieces, and made prisoners, the divisions of generals Pactod
and Amey, and took such a quantity of ammunition, that it
enabled general Mufflin to fill all the tumbrils of the Silesian
army. On the 26th, Blucher's army arrived at Montmirail.

KUSSIAN ARMY.

allies he described as immense; " but notwith-
standing all, the war (he said) is not yet over; — -
we have just sent off troops after the army which
has evacuated Paris." He wished us to believe
tliat the whole glory of the campaign was due to
the Russians, speaking of the Prussians only as
interesting from their misfortunes. Of the French
he spoke with the greatest contempt, lie did
not expect that the allied sovereigns would make
their entry into Paris this day. The different
orders with which he and the other officers were
decorated having excited our attention, he ex-
plained them to us. One medal interested us
highly ; it was that given to every person who
had been in the Moscow campaign : it is of silver,
suspended by a sky-blue riband. On one side is
a triangle in the midst of rays, and in the centre
is the eye of Providence ; beneath, the year 1812.
On the other side, in Russian characters, is a
motto, importing — "Not unto us, O Lord!

NOT UNTO us, BUT UNTO ThY NAME BE THE

(iLORY." Literally it is — Not u.s, )iot us, but in
His jKuiic The following^ is a fac-simile.

100 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

We returned by the new road, under the
wind-mills, along which artillery, pointed towards
Paris, was ranged from one extremity to the
other. These were dragged up yesterday evening,
immediately on the allies obtaining possession of
the hill. I was afterwards informed by baron
Mufflin, quarter-master-general of the Silesian
army, that the emperor of Russia had given
orders that, if the capitulation was not ratified by
midnight, Paris should be cannonaded ; but upon
Mufflin asking if he should " bien allumer la
ville?" he replied, " No; it is only to frighten
them into terms, by shewing that we are masters."
As shells were not to be thrown into the city, no
howitzers were planted, but fifty twelve-pounders
were so placed as to command every part of
Paris. Posterity will scarcely credit the fact of
such a numerous invading army arriving within
ten miles of Paris, while the inhabitants of that
metropolis, up to the very moment of their appear-
ance, were ignorant of the impending danger.

Bands of music were playing — officers were
going the rounds : one seemed of very high rank,
from the general demeanour towards him ; another
general (a Russian) in full uniform, on horseback,
accompanied by an aide-de-camp, we saluted as
he passed, and said we were English ; this the
aide-de-camp translated, as the officer did not un-
derstand French. He instantly gave us his hand
in the most polite and hearty manner.

THE WHITE COCKADE. 10)

We brcaktiistcd at Mr. L 's, and tluii

went with liini. Miss L , Mademoiselle de

A , and Mr. D , to the garden of the

Tuilleries, but found the gates locked. Walked
on to the Place Louis XV — it was a quarter
j)ast ten o'clock — a few national guards were
there, and about a hundred persons, of whom ten
or twelve, at most, had white cockades in their
hats. M. du Dresnay,* M. Guerry de Maubreuil,
and M. de Vauvineux, were of the number. We
inquired of a poor-looking elderly man, who, as
well as several others, had only a bit of white
rag in his hat in lieu of a cockade, what all this
meant? He told us that Louis XVIIL had just
been proclaimed, but by whom he did not know.
Some of those who had assumed the cockade had
the air of saying: " This have we done; will
any of you follow our example, or dare to prevent
us?" but upon a trifling dispute occurring at a
few paces from us, most of those who had white

• M. du Dresnay is a native of Brittany ; when very young-,
he emigrated with his fiither to England, He afterwards told
nie, that the preceding evening he agreed with M. de Maubreuil
to meet early in the morning, and attempt a royalist movement.
They went on the Place Louis XV at seven in the morning,
and at eight o'clock put up a white cockade, promising to stand
by each other, and never to take it out. M. du Dresnay was
accosted by M. de Choisseul Praslin, colonel of the national
guard, and desired to take out his white cockade, but the
former refused, saying, as now every one could speak his
opinion — this was his.

102 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

cockades, or bits torn from their pocket-hand-
kerchiefs, in their hats, hastily took them out.
M. de Choisseul Praslin, in his uniform of the
national guards, drew one gentleman, who had
a white cockade, from the crowd, and appeared
as if trying to dissuade him from espousing the
Bourbon cause, but without success. We left
the place, and just as we reached that end of
tlie Rue Royale next the boulevards, we saw
M. Finguerlin, the banker, and four other gentle-
men, with white cockades, on horseback, ride
into the mairie of the first arrondissement in the
Fauxbourg St. Honor6, followed by about fifty
persons on foot. They remained there about five
minutes, and, on coming out, waved their hats
and shouted, " Vive le roi ! Vive Louis XVIII !
Vivent les Bourbons ! A bas le tyran !" This was
echoed by the people and by the national guard
posted there, some of whom at the same time
tore the tri-coloured pennon from their pikes,
and trod it under foot. At this moment a band
on foot appeared : at its head I saw M. Edouard
(now duke) de Fitzjames, in the uniform of the
national guard, M. Thibaut de Montmorency,
M. Gillet, and M. de Mortfontaine, all with
white cockades, vociferating, " Vive le roi ! Vive
Louis XVIII ! Vivent les Bourbons !" They
proceeded up the boulevard, followed by a few
of the rabble, shouting. We also saw M. Louis
de Chateaubriand, on horseback, courageously

ROYALISTS. 103

j>all<)|)in^^ al)()ut alone, crying, " Vive le roi!"
This young gentleman's father, the brother to
the anther, was guillotined during the revolution.
Another group, composed of three gentlemen, one
of them with a brace of horse-pistols in his belt,
rode about crying, " Vive le roi!" and joined
the first party, which was now increased to about
a dozen persons, and had made two standards
by fastening a white pocket-handkerchief to a
walking-stick. Among them was M. Archam-
baud Pcrigord, brother of Talleyrand, and M. de
Maubreuil, who had divested himself of his cross
of the lesfion of honour, and tied it to his horse's
tail. They continued parading the boulevards
as far as the Rue Montmartre, followed by a
few persons on foot, shouting, "Vive le roi!
Vivent les Bourbons ! A bas le tyran !" A few
English bludgeonmen w^ould have suppressed
this apparently futile revolt. Several of the
bystanders appeared not to understand what was
meant, or who the Bourbons were ; others be-
held it with indifference, some with the fears of
jiuonaparte's revenge, and many with contempt.
Indeed it really was a pitiful display; for so
little support did the partisans of royalty receive
from the surrounding multitude, that even the
])rincipal ])crformers appeared to have much
ditiiculty in exciting themselves to continue tlieir
hazardous undertaking. No one, however, mo-
lested them, nor did I hear a single cry of Vive

104 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

Tempereur! or in favour of liberty. About half
a dozen of the allied officers came in pairs, or
with a single soldier as an orderly, and rode
along- the boulevards. By twelve o'clock the
boulevards were crowded with people of every
class, all appearing in high spirits, and anxious
only for the new show that was expected. The
number of white cockades slowly increased ;
many of them were only bits torn from white
handkerchiefs, and some even of paper ; for, as
none of the shops were open, riband could not
be procured.

Ten minutes after twelve, Veyrat, in his uni-
form of inspector-general of the police, on a
cream-coloured charger, and accompanied by the
only two gens d'armes I saw during the day,
passed along the boulevards without noticing the
white cockades, or the Bourbon cavalcade, con-
sisting of sixteen or eighteen persons, and which
had continued riding up and down until the
trumpets of the allies were heard, when it pre-
ceded the triumphal entry of the conquering
army, who reached the Boulevard des Italiens
at twenty minutes after twelve. It was opened
by a band of trumpeters, succeeded by cavalry,
fifteen abreast. The Russian officers spoke in
the mildest manner to the spectators, requesting
them to make way, as there was no line of troops
to keep it, and announced that the emperor
Alexander was on a white horse, and would come

ENTRY OF THE ALLIES. 105

after the third reiJi;iment. A most gorgeous as-
seinhhigc then appeared, composed of the emj)er()r
of Russia, the king of Prussia, prince Schwartzen-
berg, the hetman PhUoff, general Mufflin, lord
Catheart, lord Burghersh, sir Charles Stewart,*
and the numerous staff of the victorious armies,
on the finest horses, and in the most splendid
uniforms. The emperor was in green, with gold
epaulets ; in his hat was a bunch of pendant
white feathers, similar to those of a cock's tail :
he smiled and bowed very courteously. The
king of Prussia, who looked grave, was in blue,
with silver epaulets, and rode on the left of the
emperor. Prince Schwartzenberg was on the
right. Lord Catheart, in scarlet regimentals,
his low, flat cocked-hat forming a striking con-
trast to all the others. Sir Charles Stewart was
covered with orders, and conspicuous by his fan-
tastic dress, evidently composed of what he
deemed every army's best. As soon as the
conquerors appeared, the people began to
shout, "Vivent Jes allies! Vivent nos lib^-ateurs !
A bas le tyran ! Vivent les Bourbons!" The
officers received, in the most courteous manner,
the salutations, or rather cajoling supplications,
which all classes, and the fair sex in particular,
poured upon them. One of the Russians, smiling,
said, " Vous voyez que nous ne mangeons pas

*■ Now marijuess of Londoiulerry.

106 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

des hommes," alluding to the articles in the
French newspapers. When the sovereigns ar-
rived, the acclamations redoubled ; but to the
occasional cries for the restoration of the Bour-
bons, Alexander made no answer, and appeared
to take no notice, though in his manner he was
highly gracious. The officers around him re-
peatedly cried out, " Vive la paix !" To the
shout of " Vivent nos lib6rateurs !" one of them
replied, " Nous esp6rons Tetre." This magni-
ficent pageant far surpassed any idea I had
formed of military pomp, and lasted, with one
short interval, until ten minutes after four o'clock.
The cavalry were fifteen abreast, the artillery five,
and the infantry thirty. There probably passed
along the boulevards 45,000 troops : I did not
hear any conjecture that there were more than
50,000 or less than 35,000. All the men were
remarkably clean, healthy, and well clothed :
their physiognomies strongly indicated the coun-
tries of which they were natives. A great variety
of form was displayed in the helmets of the
cavalry, some of which nearly approached the
antique in beauty and in shape. The bands of
music were very fine. The precision with which
the infantry marched was universally admired :
most of them wore a piece of white linen round
their left arm, and a sprig of box or laurel in their
caps. A considerable number of the Russians
had the medal of the campaign of 1812, and there

I'DMPOUS I'llOCESSION AND PARADE. 107

were few of the officers vvho were not decorated
witli more than one order. This splendid pro-
cession was closed by horses, led by dirty livery-
servants, and a considerable number of clumsy,
dirty travelling carriages, mostly empty, though in
some there were a few officers of distinction, either
sick or wounded. The people, astonished at the
prodiixious number of troops, repeatedly ex-
claimed, '* Oh, how we have been deceived!"
Just below the Madelcne, the grand duke
Constantino, brother to the emperor of Russia,
quitted the procession, and placed himself by the
side of the road, to inspect the troops as they
continued their march. M. de St. Blancard
Gontaut, and a few others of the ancien regime,
were standing near him, with whom he entered
into conversation, affably naming the different
regiments as they passed. In one of the Russian
corps he remarked that there were many " Mo-
hammedans," and mentioned the province whence
thev came, but which I could not hear. Of
another he said, '* Those are the men who fought
so desperately at Pantin, and were very near
forcing the barrier of Paris." Of another, " There
is the regiment you were told was cut in pieces."
This was succeeded by one which the French
bulletins announced to have been annihilated.
'* Now," said he, in a sarcastic manner, " men
who were killed never return ; and yet there they
arc. Look at the tine appearance of these men.

108 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

who have bivouacked for these six weeks." He
stopped one of the officers as he passed, and,
presenting him to the bystanders, said, " There
is the hero who beat Vandamme." The officer
bowed and blushed. This condescension en-
couraged one of the common people to ask him
if it was true that Vandamme was sent to Siberia?
He rephed, " No; he is at Moscow." Another
asked him if Moreau was really dead ? He re-
plied, " Does any one doubt it ?" As the people
crowded forward, he very civilly requested them
to get out of the way of the horses, and not to
push one another ; then, seeing some men place
themselves before a woman, he told them he
thought the French were more gallant. The
rabble, who were unaccustomed to this kind of
treatment, were enchanted with it, and vented
the most bitter execrations on the government
for deceiving them in every circumstance relative
to the allies. As the regiments passed, he stopped
several of the officers, to shake hands with them :
they at the same time kissed a gold medal of the
emperor which hung at his breast. He smiled
and nodded to several of the common soldiers,
crynig, " Brave! brave!" They returned a most
risible grimace, expressive of their delight at the
distinction shewn them. M. Sosthenes de Roche-
foucault rode up to him, and spoke for a few
moments. The duke received what he said with
evident coldness and indifference ; and M. de

GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE. 109

Rochcfoucault rode away, much hurt. He after-
wards told me, that on the mob, at his insti-
gation, fixing the cords about the statue of Na-
])oleon, on the column in the Place Vendome, he
ajiprouched the duke Constantine, and informing
him what he had done, requested a guard, to
prevent any miscliief that might ensue. The
duke received him very coldly; and answered,
that not having received any orders, he could not
grant what he asked. The grand duke paid the
greatest attention to minutiae of uniform : a sword-
knot untied, the sack of corn which the horse-
soldiers carried behind them hanging a few inches
too low, or the smallest derangement in any part
of their accoutrements, was instantly perceived
by him, and the neglect noticed. When his own
regiment of cuirassiers came up, he put himself
at its head and went forward, joining his brother,
who, with the king of Prussia and the generals-in-
chief, were on the north side of the road in the
Champs Elys^es, near the Elys^e Napoleon,
seeing the army defile off. The grand duke
Constantine is tall, stout, well made, with a
fair complexion ; his jn'ofile is scarcely human,
his nose that of a baboon ; he is near-sighted,
contracting his eyes when looking attentively,
which are covered with uncommonly large, light,
bushy eyebrows ; his voice is hoarse and husky ;
he has a rough, soldier-like manner, and is sar-
castic, yet affable.

no EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

M. de St. Blancard Gontaut gave me a bit of
white riband, which I put in my hat, not with
any intention of espousing the cause of legiti-
macy or that of the Bourbons, but as a symbol of
revolt against the despotism of Buonaparte.

The procession having closed, I walked on to
the Place Louis XV, and there met the sove-
reigns, surrounded by the generals-in-chief and
their staff, all on horseback, returning from the
Champs Elysees. The emperor of Russia was
giving his hand in the most unreserved manner
to the shouting populace, who, unrestrained,
pressed around him. The emperor then went to
the Hotel de I'lnfantado, at the corner of the Rue
St. Florentin, the residence of M. de Talleyrand,
prince of Benevento, and there established his
quarters ; the king of Prussia's were at Eugene
Beauharnois, formerly Hotel de Villeroi, Rue de
Lille, now Rue de Bourbon, No. 82. The street
was suddenly crowded by officers and cavalry,
all of whom took the greatest care not to hurt
those persons who unexpectedly became inter-
mingled with them. Having with some difficulty
extricated myself from the horses, I went along
the Rue de Rivoli, and arriving at the Rue
Castiglione, saw a man mounted on the acro-
terion of the column, in the Place Vend6me,
attempting, with a large hammer, to break the
colossal statue of Buonaparte off at the ancles.
The little Victory which it held in the left hand

COLUMN AND STATUE OV BUONAl'ARTK. 1 1 1

had already been thrown down, as this work was
begun about tliree o'clock. A ladder, placed in
the gallery above the capital, gave access to the
statue, round the neck of which a rope was
fastened, reaching to the ground. After the man
had continued hammering for some time, the mob
below made some ineii'ectual efforts to pull it
down. Two men again attacked with hammers
the ancles of the statue : while they were thus
employed, a fellow mounted on its shoulders, sat
upon the head, amused himself with pulling the
jackdaws' nests out of the crown of laurel, and
throwing theui to the mob below ; then getting
forward, committed an insult of the most of-
fensive and indecorous nature upon the face of
the august Napoleon;* and remounting on the
head, he waved a white handkerchief, and cried,
** Vive le roi !" These feats were encouraged
by the shouts and clapping of the surrounding
multitude. Another rope was brought and fixed

• At this time the following inscription was on the pedestal
of the column: it was removed the 25th January, 1816: —

" NEAPOLIO. IMP. AVG.

MONVMENTVM. BELLI. GERMANICI.

ANNO. MDCCCV.

TRIMESTRI. SPATIO. DVCTV. SVO. PROFLIGATI.

EX. AERI, CAI'TJ.

OLORIAE. EXERCITVS. MAXIMI. DICAVIT."

Among^ the pieces of captured brass, above thirty culverins,
of ihe finest cinque-cente work, that were preserved in the
arsenal at Vienna, were melted to enter into the composition of

112 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

to the statue ; to the lower extremities of the
ropes several others were fastened to facilitate
the united efforts of the mob, who, after making
several vain attempts to overthrow the statue,
desisted at night -fall. I then approached the
column ; the keeper, who was within the iron
railing which surrounds it, told me that (" on dit")
all this was doing by order of the emperor of
Russia. A large pitcher of wine was on the
steps, glasses of which a man was offering with
great civility. A sans-culotte, after drinking,
said — " See what it is to be treated by gens
comme il faut ; they provide glasses, while that
canaille, who are now kicked out, suffered us to
drink as we could." The general belief was,
that this attempt to pull down the statue of
Napoleon was made by order of the allies : no
one appeared to feel any indignation, and most
certainly the greater number of those assembled
were pleased. M. de Maubreuil was the person

this monument. M. Gerard, one of the twenty-six sculptors
employed in making the clay models for the bas-reliefs which
cover it, assured me that every one of these ancient culverins
was better worth preserving as a work of art than the whole of
the column. They were adorned with battles, trophies, and
rich armorial bearings of the finest chiseling; and yet Denon,
who, as sole director of the execution of the column, might
have saved them, or prevented their being melted, passes for a
man of taste ! The statue of Napoleon, ten feet seven inches
English in height, in an ancient Etruscan dress, was the work
of Chaudet.

ADDKKSS IN FAVOUR OF THE KING, 113

will) excited the mob to the deed, although
M. Sosthenes de Rocliefoucault arrogated to him-
self tlie merit of it : he did, iiowever, distribute
luoney, as well as M. de Maubreuil. While this
was going" forward, a few gentlemen in company
with a group of ladies, M. Leopold de Talmont,
aide-de-camp of the minister of war, and another
gentleman and two ladies, in a second group,
were standing in the Rue Castiglione, near the
Rue St. Honore, with white cockades in their
hats. Each party had a printed address in favour
of the king, which they read aloud by turns, at
an interval of a few minutes ; and at the con-
clusion of every reading attempted to raise a
shout, by crying " Vive le roi ! Vivent les Bour-
bons !" in which the by-standers but feebly joined.
However, not even the smallest symptom of oppo-
sition was evinced.

The following is a copy of the address : — ■

" AUX IIABITANS DE PARIS.

" Ilabitans de Paris ! — L'heure de votre d^li-
vrance est arriv^e ! vos oppresseurs sont pour tou-
jours dans limpuissance de vous nuire :

" VOTRE VILLE EST SAUV^e!

" Rendez graces a la Providence! adressez en
suite d eclatans temoignages de votre reconnois-
sance uux illustres monarques et ;\ Icurs braves
arm(jes, si lachement calomni^es ; c'est i\ eux que

114 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

vous devrez la paix, le repos, et la prosp^rite dont
vous futes privies si long-temps.

" Qu'un sentiment, etouffe depuis tant d'annees,
s'echappe, avec les cris mille fois repet^s de Vive
le roi ! Vive Louis XVIII ! Vivent nos genereux
li berate 11 rs !

" Que i'union la plus touchante et I'ordre le
plus parfait regnent parmi nous, et que les tetes
couronn^es qui vont honorer vos murs de leur
presence, recues comme vos sauveurs, reconnais-
sent que lesFran^ais, et surtout les Parisiens, ont
toujours conserve, au fond de leur ame, le respect
des lois et I'amour de la monarchic. '

" Paris, 31 Mars, 1814."

One of these gentlemen came up to me, and,
looking at my bit of white riband, said — ■'' Sir,
I suppose you know that there is to be a meeting
of those persons who are determined to support
that noble cause, at No. 45, Rue Fauxbourg St.
Honore, and where we hope that you will attend."
In the mean time the officers of the allied army
were riding about, some apparently in search of
lodgings, others to gratify their curiosity ; some
had a few soldiers in their suite, but all took the
greatest care not to incommode the people, going
at a foot-pace, and requesting leave to pass in the
most courteous manner. One of them observing
my white riband, bowed and exclaimed — " Ah,
la belle decoration !" All these officers had a

CAl'ITULATION ()¥ PARIS. ll^

white piece uf linen round their left arms : this
symbol misled several persons in the course of
the day with regard to its object and intent. I
heard M. Leopold de Talmont ask his companion,
if he was sure that this white scarf signified
attachment to the Bourbon cause? observing at
the same time, that he began to entertain some
doubts about it. The shops in the Rue St.Honore
were shut, from fear of pillage ; but there was not
the smallest disturbance of any kind, although
the streets were thronged with people of all
classes, and also with the allied officers. A very-
small number of copies of the following Notice
were stuck up — the only official publication of the
capitulation, the news of which did not penetrate
into several parts of the Fauxbourg St. Jacques
until the middle of the day : —

" PRKFECTURE DE POLICE.

''Paris, le 31 Mars, 1814.

" Citoyens de Paris! — Les (^'vcnemens de la
guerre out amene a vos ])ortes les armees des
puissances coalisees.

" Leur nombre et leurs forces n'ont pas per-
mis a nos trou[)es de continuer la defense de la
capitale.

" Le marcchal qui la commandait a du faire
une capitulation : il Ta fait fort honorable.

" Une plus longue resistance eut com prom is
la surete des personnes et des proprietes.

116 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

** Elle est aiijourd'hui garantie par cette capi-
tulation, et par la promesse de sa majesty I'em-
pereur Alexandre, qui a donn6 ce matin au corp
municipal les assurances les plus positives de sa
protection et de sa bienveillance pour les habitans
de cette capitale.

" Votre garde nationale demeure charg^e de
prot6ger vos personnes et vos propri^tes.

" Restez done calmes et tranquilles dans ce
grand evenement, et montrez dans cette occasion
le bon esprit qui vous a toujours signales.

(Sign6) '* Le Baron Pasquier,

" Prefet de Police.

"■ Le Baron Chabrol,

" Prefet du Dcpartement de la Seine."

After dining I walked in the Palais Royal ; all
the shops were shut, to protect the property, ex-
cept Mothers, the glover's, which was crowded
with officers making purchases. The coffee-houses
were all open, excepting Lemblin's, and thronged
with officers of the allied armies (mostly Rus-
sians), national guards, and other citizens of Paris,
among whom the greatest harmony and convi-
viality reigned : the war seemed to be forgotten,
and every person appeared only emulous which
should make the most clamour. I went to the
Caf6 de la Rotonde, where the greatest numbers
were assembled. I found captain Baker and
his wife, Americans of my acquaintance, drinking

DKCLAUATION Ol' THE EMPKllOU Ol' RUSSIA. 117

puiu'li witli some Russian officers, wliosc invita-
tion toj(*in them 1 accepted. One was a Cossack,
covered with orders ; the other was a general,
named Macdonald, of Irish parents, but now in
the service of Russia, a very friendly, agreeable
man, speaking good French, but not a word of
English. He advised me to lay aside my white
riband, hinting, that the intentions of Alexander,
with regard to that cause, were not positively
known, and that whether the allies could hold
Paris was extremely doubtful. We afterwards
walked in the garden, and remarked that none
of the more elegant cyprians made their appear-
ance ; but there was an inundation of grisettes,
who expressed great discontent at the decorous
manner in which the allies conducted themselves.
Going out of the Palais Royal, I saw the emperor
Alexander's Declaration, which had just been
stuck up in the Rue du Lycee.

" DECLARATION.

" Les armies des puissances allies ont occupe
la capitale de la France. Les souverains allies,
accueillant le voeu de la nation Francaise,

" lis declarent : — ■

" Que si les conditions de la paix devoient
renfermcr de plus fortes garanties, lorsqu'il s'agis-
soit d'enchaincr Tambition de Buonaparte, elles
doivcnt ctre plus favorables, lorsque, ])ar un rctour
vers un gouvernement sage, la France ellc-meme

]18 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

ofFrira Tassurance de ce repos. Les souverains
proclament en consequence, qu'ils ne traiteront
plus avec Napoleon Buonaparte, ni avec aucun
de sa famille ; qu'ils respectent rint^grit^ de I'an-
cienne France telle qu'elle a exist^e sous ses rois
legitimes ; ils peuvent mcme faire plus, parce-
qu'ils professent toujours le principe que, pour
le bonheur de VEurope, il faut que la France soil
grande et forte.

** Quils reconnoitront et garantiront la consti-
tution que la nation Franj^aise se donnera. lis
invitent, par cons^^quent, le senat a designer sur-
le-champ un gouvernement provisoire qui puisse
pourvoir aux besoins de I'administration, et pre-
parer la constitution qui conviendra au peuple
Francais.

** Les intentions que je viens d'exprimer me
sont communes avec toutes les puissances allies.

(Sign6) ** Alexatstdre.

** Par S. M. I. le secretaire d'etat,

" CoMTE de Nesselrode."

" Paris, 31 Mars, 1814, trois heurs apres-midi."
" Imprimerie de Michaux, Imprimeur du Roi."

Went to the Caf(6 des Arts, and from thence,
at about half-past ten, with Favart and Gautherot
the painters, walked across the Place Carousel,
which was covered with baggage-waggons ; the
horses were not unharnessed, but the drivers were
fast asleep under them; and such was the state of

STKKiaS OF TAllIS OCCUPIKD liV llIK AJLMIKS. 110

security tliey a])i)arently felt, tliat not a sentinel
was to be seen in all the place. Along the (juai
of the Louvre were cavalry slee|)ing in the same
state of incautious and presumed security. The
barracks of the Quai Buonaparte were filled with
Russian cavalry and infantry. Under the walls
of the quai, on the banks of the river, a con-
siderable body of Russian soldiers were bivouack-
ing ; round the blazing fires many were sleeping —
some washing their linen, others cooking. Several,
entirely naked, were cleansing themselves, some
of whom were occupied in the following curious
manner: — they were holding their shirts over the
Hames, at the same time turning them rapidly
round to prevent their catching fire ; the inflated
and scorching shirt was then suddenly rolled up,
with a view to destroy its minute and many-
legged inhabitants. Having amused ourselves
for some time with this curious and picturesque
scene, we returned by the same way we came,
and passed through lines of sleeping soldiers on
the quai, and waggoners on the Place Carousel.
Not a light was to be seen in any of the apart-
ments of the palace of the Tuilleries ; and there
were no persons moving in the deserted streets,
excepting a few patrols of the allied horse.
But on the Boulevard des Italiens there was a
considerable number of Russian forage-carts laden
with hay, and escorted by Cossacks, going to the
westward.

120 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

The senate was sitting during the battle.
The twelve mayors of Paris and the council of
the department of the Seine were assembled at
the Hotel de Ville. The prefects of the depart-
ment and the police were riding about the city,
and visited the two marshals who commanded at
the battle.

At a little after six o'clock, the mayors not
having received any communications from the pre-
fects, and the rumours of a capitulation having
reached them, sent a deputation to marshal Mar-
mont ; he was at dinner when it arrived : he told
them he had capitulated for the army only, and
they must do what they could for the city. In
consequence of this, eight of the mayors and
municipal council of Paris; the baron Chabrol,
prefect of the department of the Seine ; the baron
Pasquier, prefect of police ; together with count
Alexandre de Laborde and M. Tourton, who went
by order of marshal Moncey, commandant of the
national guard of Paris (he having quitted the
capital to meet the emperor), jointly representing
the national guard, having associated with the
municipal body at the Hotel de Ville, left Paris
at ])etween one and two in the morning, accom-
paniec^ by colonel count Orlow and another officer,
who had been delivered to marshal Marmont as
hostages for the capitulation. They proceeded
from the marshal's house to the H6tel de Ville
about midnight, having been there from the time

EMrEROll OF RUSSIA AND DKPL'TIES. 121

the capitulation was first drawn up. They arrived
at four o'clock at the Chateau de Bondi, the
emperor of Russia's head-quarters, who was then
sleeping. While waiting his levee, tea was served
them, and the duke of Vicenza (Caulincourt)
arrived from Najioleon. At seven o'clock the
deputation was admitted to the emperor of Russia,
when it otiered the city of Paris to his modera-
tion, and the hospitals, the Hotel de Ville, and
public establishments, to his protection. He re-
ceived them in the most courteous manner, saying
that he expected to have seen them the preceding
evening. They replied, that they had not been
informed in time what had been then done. The
emperor observed, that there was no necessity for
their coming in the night, as the morning would
have been time enough. He began a discourse by
stating, that Napoleon had wantonly invaded his
empire, and that a righteous judgment had brought
him to their walls. The baron Thiboneau, sub-
governor of the bank of France, and also one of
the council of the department of the Seine, soli-
cited a safeguard for the bank. The emperor
replied, it was unnecessary, as the whole city
was under protection ; that he had no enemy in
Paris, and only one in France ; and assured the
deputation, that not a soldier of his army should
enter the city until the deputation returned. He
entered into conversation with them : he asked
M. Barthelmy if he knew where M. dc Talleyrand

122 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

was, and how he was inclined to act on this occa-
sion. — M. Tourton then requested of Alexander,
that the national guard should continue the ser-
vice ; to which he agreed. About eight o'clock
they withdrew, affected even to tears with grati-
tude for a reception so different from what they had
expected. Caulincourt was then admitted to the
emperor, who refused to listen to any proposition,
and declared he would not make peace with
Napoleon. The duke of Vicenza's troubled coun-
tenance, on coming out, betrayed the failure of
his mission, Alexander was so taken up with
the idea of his triumphal entry into Paris, that
he could think of nothino- else. All that Caulin-
court could obtain was the promise that he would
see him again.

Count Alexandre de Laborde informed me,
that on the arrival of the deputation, M. Nessel-
rode, with whom he was previously acquainted,
took him into the recess of one of the windows,
and there questioned him respecting the state of
public opinion in Paris, and what was to be done;
or rather, what the French intended to do. He
replied, that before he could answer that, he
expected him (Nesselrode) to tell him, upon his
honour, the number of troops the allies had in
France. Nesselrode said, there were 150,000
before Paris, and that 50,000 were with the
emperor of Austria. Laborde, upon this, said,
that the talent of France was for the regency and

TALLEYRAND AND NESSKLRODE. 123

the new interests of the kini^^cloni ; ])ut that tlic old
nobility and the sahm of Paris were strenuously
for the Bourbons, unconditionally ; that the mass
of the population would only receive the Bourbons
with a limited monarchy ; but that if they were
desirous of obtaining more ample information, he
advised them to consult M. de Talleyrand, — he
being the ))erson most conversant on this subject,
as the statesmen (hommes d'etat) habitually met
at his house. Upon this, Nesselrode asked if Tal-
leyrand was in Paris : M. de Laborde replied, that
he was on the preceding evening, but that Napo-
leon had ordered him to go to Blois. Nesselrode
immediately despatched M. de Laborde to Talley-
rand, desiring him not to quit Paris, and, in case
of his refusal, to detain him by force ; at the same
time ordering the count de Dunow, aide-de-camp
to prince Walkonski, major-general of the emperor
of Russia, to accompany him, that he should not
be impeded at the outposts. The emperor of
Russia sent another messenger, that he should
take ujj his quarters at M. de Talleyrand's : this
had been previously arranged by the duchess de
Courland. M. de Laborde and count de Dunow
returned to Paris on horseback, followed by a
Cossack (the first that entered the city). They
met on the road the duke of Vicenza (Caulin-
court\ with an agitated look, who, having quitted
Napoleon at the Cour de France, was galloping
to the cnqjcror of Russia's head-quarters; they

124 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

bowed in passing, but did not speak. M. de
Laboide arrived at Talleyrand's a few minutes
after seven in the morning, and found him in his
dressing-gown. Upon communicating what had
passed at Bondi, and adding that he had on the
Place Vend6me a battalion of the national guard*
devoted to him, Talleyrand told him to go into
the drawing-room, and make the same communi-
cation to those he found there, and then ask abb^
Louis what he was to do. In the drawing-room
he found abb6 Louis, monsieur de Pradt, arch-
bishop of Mechlin, and the due de Dalberg, who
had been there about two hours, to whom M. de
Laborde communicated the nature of his visit.
M. Louis pulled out a white cockade, and said,
*' Take that." This, however, the count declined
accepting for the purpose of offering it to the
national guard.

Count Dunow breakfasted with M. de Laborde,
and then returned to head-quarters, with M. de
Talleyrand's acquiescence to the emperor of
Russia's desire that he should remain at Paris.

From twelve at night until five in the morn-
ing, large parcels of official papers were brought
from the office of the etat-major to the Place
Vendome, and burnt before the door.

Early in the morning, before the barriers were
open, the soldiers of the allied army climbed up

* The third of the second legion.

SCinVARTZENBLllCl'S I'ROCLAMATION. 125

the palisades of the barrier Roeheehouard, to look
into Paris : they threw the following proclama-
tion, by prince Schwartzenberg, over the wall,
and through the iron gates : —

" HABITANS DE PARIS'

" Les armies allies se trouvent devant Paris.
Le but de leur marche vers la ca])itale de la France
est fonde sur Tespoir d'une reconciliation sincere
et durable avec elle. Depuis vingt ans, TEurope
est inondee de sang et de larmes. Les tentatives
faites pour niettre un terme k tant de malheurs
out (:t^' inutiles, parcequ'il existe, dans le pouvoir
ra^me du gouvernement qui vous opprime, un
obstacle insurraontable a la paix.

" Les Souverains allies cherchent, de bonne
foi, line a II tori te mlutaire en France, qui puisse
c^menter Tunion de toutes les nations et de tons
les gouvernemens avec elle. C'est k la ville de
Paris qu'il appartient, dans les circonstances ac-
tuelles, (racceltrer la pair du monde. Son voeu
est attendu avec Tinterc^t qui doit inspirer un
si immense r^sultat ; qu'elle se prononce, et d^s
ce moment Tarm^e qui est devant ses murs de-
vient le soutien de ses decisions.

" Parisiens ! — Vous connaissez la situation de
votre patrie, la conduite de Bourdeaux, Toccupa-
tion amicale de Lyon, les maux attires sur la
France, et les dispositions v(l'ritables de vos con-
citoyens. Vous trouverez dans ces exemples le

126 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

terme de la g-uerre ^trang^re et de la discorde
civile : vous ne sauriez plus le chercher ailleurs.

" La conservation et la tranquillity de votre
ville seront I'objet des soins et des mesures que
les allies s'ofFrent de prendre avec les autorit^s et
les notables qui jouissent le plus de I'estime
publique. Aucun logement militaire ne p^sera
sur la capitale.

*' C'est dans ces sentimens que VEiirope eii
armes devant vos murs s'adresse a vous. Hatez-
vous de r^pondre a la confiance qu'elle met dans
votre amour pour la patrie, et dans votre sagesse.

(Sign6)

" Le Marechal Prince de Schwartzenberg,
" Le commandant-en-chef des armces allies."

While the guards of the emperor of Russia
w^ere entering Paris, in grand parade, the Silesian
army moved by the outer boulevards, crossed the
Seine by the bridge of Jena, opposite the Champ
de Mars, (this purposely on account of the name,
as general Mufflin told me,) to the entrance from
Orleans, where they took their position across the
road, having on their left the steep valley through
which the little river of the Bievre runs. At the
same time the Austrian army marched over the
bridge of Austerlitz, and took up their position
on the Fontainebleau road, on the same line, and
having the valley and river on their right. This
position of the armies, general Mufflin said, was

EMl'KUOK or RUSSIA AT TAI.l.KYUAND'S. 1_>7

excellent : for should Napoleon arrive by either
ol' these roads, to join the army which had
evacuated Paris, and marcli upon the city, the
army on the road by which he arrived was to fall
back and give battle, while the other branch of
the army was to take him in the rear. A similar
plan was afterwards executed with success at
Waterloo.

After the guard had defiled before the em-
peror of llussia, and MufHin had conducted the
emperor to Talleyrand's, he returned to Mont-
martre, where Blucher had remained indisposed
the whole day with what was said to be a com-
plaint in his eyes, and did not enter Paris till
two davs afterwards. The fact was, that the ex-
citation of the late events had temporarily affected
his mind. When the emperor of Russia arrived
at Tallevrand's, he retired with him into his
closet, where they remained for some time. Tal-
leyrand was frightened, and hesitated to avow his
wish for the rejection of Napoleon and the restora-
tion of the Bourbons ; but the emperor encouraged
him, by saying that he had sufficient force to
overcome any army that Buonaparte might oppose
to him, and that he was determined not to treat
with Bu()na|)arte nor any of his family.

Talleyrand requested permission of the em-
peror to introduce abbe de Pradt and abbe Louis.
This being granted, a council was held, at which
the king of Prussia, prince Schwartzenbcrg, the

128 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

due de Dalberg, Messrs. Nesselrode, Pozzo de
Borgo, the princes Liclitenstein, de Talleyrand,
de Pradt, and Louis, formed a semicircle, and
Alexander walked to and fro. The restoration
of the Bourbons was urged by the French. Tal-
leyrand spoke first, but in his usual icy, cautious
manner ; abbe Louis next, who was followed by
de Pradt. Alexander replied, that however it
might be his wish to restore the Bourbons, yet
he must own, that though he had been three
months in France, he had no-where perceived the
slightest manifestation of such a feeling ; nay, so
far from it, that only six days ago, at Fere Cham-
penoise, some thousands of raw troops, just taken
from the plough, allowed themselves to be cut in
pieces in the cause of Napoleon, when a cry in
favour of the Bourbons would have saved them.
Abb6 de Pradt replied, that he could not expect
them to declare against a man with whom he
condescended to treat, though he had a halter
round his neck. Alexander asked the meaning
of those words, to which de Pradt replied, that he
had just seen the people put a rope round the
neck of the emperor's statue in the Place Ven-
dc>me, — a circumstance of which Alexander was
then ignorant. After some discussion, the em-
peror of Russia agreed not to treat with Napo-
leon, and, at the suggestion of abbe Louis, nor
with any of his family. De Pradt told me he
retired into a corner of the apartment, with Roux

HESTORATION OV TUK BOURBONS. 129

Laboric, a lawyer, and a creature of Talleyrand's,
to whom lie dictated the emperor's declaration,
which was hastily written with a pencil, and
shewn to Alexander, who approved of it. Mi-
dland, who was in waitini^, caused it immediately
to be i)rinted, putting under the name of the
emperor, '* imprimeur du roi," and two hours
afterwards it was stuck up in Paris.

The formation of a government, pro tempore, was
agreed upon, its members named, and de Pradt
liad the mortification to find he was not among
those nominated. The restoration of the Bour-
bons resulted from this council ; for Mufflin told
me, that on their march, the Bourbons were never
thought of: all they intended was, the overthrow^
of Buonaparte.

Sir Neil Campbell, in a conversation on the
9th of February, 1819, informed me that the king's
proclamation at Hartwell was brought to the allied
army by Monsieur. Sir Neil first saw it in the
hands of Wreden, who received it from Schwartz-
enberg : he shewed it to him in a mysterious
manner, and as a secret. The intentions of the
allies either not being fixed, or at least being
unknown, he obtained it for ten minutes, and
went into a stable, where he copied it with a
black-lead pencil : he had two or three thousand
copies printed at Provins. When obliged to fly
from that town, he, in going through IMormans
early in the morning, and closely pursued by the

130 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

French, took a bundle of them out of his holsters,
and hung them on the hooks of a butcher's shop.

The Austrian commandant tore down the
Hartwell proclamation at Dijon, where it had
been stuck up.

The allies most certainly had formed no plan
of what they were to do on arriving at Paris.

The report that their ammunition was ex-
pended at the battle of Paris is not true.

A considerable number of allied troops, who
had not complete uniforms, marched round the
outer boulevard, and entered Paris after dark ;
for none in loose brown great-coats were in the
triumphal entry, while all those quartered in the
barrack on the quai opposite the Tuilleries were
so dressed.

Viscomte Sosthenes de Rochefoucault, son
of the due de Doudeauville, and son-in-law to M.
Matthieu de Montmorency, told me that he,
mounted on horseback, accompanied by M. Talon,
and followed by two servants, distributed some
white cockades as they proceeded, in different
directions, to join the Bourbon party on the boule-
vards. When the sovereigns were stationed on
the north side of the Champs Elys^es, to review
their troops, he rode up, and solicited them to re-
store the Bourbons. At the same time a number
of persons of the ancien regime, who had sur-
rounded the sovereigns, made the same request.
To such extent did the admiration of the allies

STATUE OF NArOI.KON. 131

extend, that the coiutcssc Pcrijj^ord got up behind
a Cossack ; but though the sovereigns, and par-
ticuhirly the emperor of Russia, received them
ill the most gracious manner, yet they gave no
answer to their demand, and M. Sosthenes de
Rochetoucault said, it was evidently not their in-
tention to restore the king : then, addressing him-
self to the generals who surrounded the emperor,
he asked what could be done to influence the
emperor. One of them replied, that it was not
the intention of the emperor to force any govern-
ment on the French people, and that it rested
with them to declare their wishes. Sosthenes
then addressed the bystanders; but, said he, the
people preserved " le plus niorne silence." Sos-
thenes then said to the general, this silence must
be attributed to fear ; but if the sovereigns
will declare that they will not treat with the
'* Usurper," the people will no longer hesitate in
proclaiming their sentiments. He proposed to over-
throw the statue of Napoleon from the column of
the Place Vcndome. The aide-de-camp of Alex-
ander seized this idea as excellent. Sosthenes
liien mounted his white horse and haranirued
the i)e()ple, (he is a man of engaging manners, an
agreeable though not a powerful voice, a hand-
some j)erson, no talent, but considerable Fraicli
energy,) and at the same time distributed some
])ieces of w-r//^/ among them : they followed him to
the Place Vendome, forced open the bronze door

132 EVENTS AT PARIS, MARCH 1814.

in the pedestal of the column, and procured
cords. Meeting with resistance from one indivi-
dual only, who was soon overpowered, they be-
gan to fix the ropes. He rode to the grand duke
Constantine, to inform him of what he had done,
and to request a guard to prevent any mischief.
His reception has been already stated in a pre-
ceding page.

In the evening, M. Sosthenes de Rochefoucault
went to the meeting at M. de Mortfontaine's, in
the Fauxbourg St. Honor6, who presided ; but
all was noise, tumult, and clamour — each assert-
ing his services, his claims, the epoch of his
emigration, or boasting how he had betrayed,
under pretence of serving, the usurper : at last
Sosthenes jumped on a table, and exclaimed that
they were losing time, and that the only thing
they had to do was to send a deputation to the
emperor of Russia, praying him to restore their
legitimate king, and offered to make one of the
number. This was agreed to, and three other
persons were added, M. Ferrand, M. Ceesar
Choiseul, and the third he i>aid he had forgotten.
In going out of M. de Mortfontaine's, he met
M. de Chateaubriand, and induced him to go
with them. They arrived at the emperor's at
nine o'clock, who had retired to rest : they were
received by M. Nesselrode. M. de Chateau-
briand would wot speak — M. Ferrand could not —
Sosthenes, therefore, announced the business ;

TUMULTUOUS ASSEMBLY. 133

but tliey (lid not offer any written address to the
emperor. Nesselrode replied to this effect: —

" Je qiiitte h Tinstant I'empereur Alexandre,
et c'est en son noni que je vous parle. Retournez
vers cette assemblee, et annoncez a tous les
Francais que Tempereur, touch6 des cris qu'il a
attendu ce matin, et des voeux qui lui ont ^t6 si
vivement exprim^s, va rendre la couronne k celui
i\ qui seul elle appartient. Louis XVIII va
nionter sur son trone."

They then returned to the meeting, and were
received with acclamations. A scene of tumult
and confusion ensued, all desiring to be heard,
or at least to speak. There was no means of
dissolving the meeting: at last it occurred to
M. Talon to extinguish the lights, and this alone
forced them to separate.

The Moniteur of this day was only half a
sheet, and that did not contain a single word
relative to the army, or of foreign news. The
articles announced the payment of the funds,
judgments respecting the claims of individuals by
the grand judge, four columns of poetry, and a
tour in Italy. The theatres were announced as
if they were open ; and contained the following
notice from the Hospice Civile : —

" Le conseil des hospices de Paris invite les
habitans i\ faire le plus promptement possible vue
de Turgence en leurs municipalites respectivcs de
nouveaux envois, aussi abondans qu'ils pourront

134 EVENTS AT PARIS, MAECH 1814.

de linge k pansemens, charpie, draps, chemises, et
autres objets de fournitures utiles aux blesses."

The only evidence by which a state different
from the usual one of Paris might be suspected
from the journals was, that no price of stocks
was mentioned. M. Sailliant de Juiney appeared
at nine in the morning in the Place Vend6me
with a white cockade in his hat.

Morin, who had formerly been administrator
of the army, with two others, were arrested by
the national guards in the Rue Montmartre, for
wearing white cockades. About nine o'clock
they were conducted to the Mairie of the third
arrondissement. The national guard tore their
cockades out of their hats, and trod them under
foot. The marquis de la Grange immediately
went to general Plateau, prefect of the palace
to the king of Prussia, who had already come
into Paris, and had given orders to set the men
at liberty. The marquis de la Grange presented
Morin this day to general Sacken, the newly
named governor of Paris, who issued the follow-
ing order : — ■

"■ Ordre de son Excellence le General-en-chef^ Gou-
verneur 7mlitaire de la Place de Paris, le Baron
Sacke?i.

" Tons les journaux qui s'impriment a Paris
sont des ce moment mis sous la police de
M. Morin, qui ne fera rien imprimer, et qui ne

CENSORS OF THE JOURNALS. 135

laissera ricn imprimcr, sans que les dits joiirnaux
et autres papiers public's nc me soient repr^scntes
et souniis a nion aj)prubation.

" Tons les airens et toutes les aiitoiites ob-
tempcrcnt aux ordres de M. JVluriii pour cet
objet de police et d'imprimerie.

" Paris, le3\ Mars, 1814. (Sign^) ** SaCKEN."

Morin named the following censors : — De
Mersan, for tha Journal des Debuts; Salgues, for
the Journal de Paris; Michaud, for the Gazette
de France; and ordered them to announce that
the white cockade had been assumed, and that
the allied armies had been received with re-
iterated shouts of " Vive le roi ! Vivent les
Bourbons !"

EVENTS OF APRIL 1814.

w4;;W/ 1st. — At eight o'clock in the morning I
went to the Place Vendome. The ropes still
remained atHxed to the statue of Buonaparte,
but a sentinel of the national guard was placed
at the foot of the column to prevent any further
attempts to pull it down. The gates of the Tuil-
leries gardens continued locked. Some few shops
in the Rue St. Honor6 were open ; and a con-
siderable number of officers of the allied army
was strolling about, each Russian followed by

136 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

one or more light cavalry, armed with pikes
fourteen or fifteen feet long.

The declaration of the emperor Alexander,
which had been stuck up in different parts of
Paris, was read by the people with great eager-
ness, and many of them were copying it. The
proclamation of prince Schwartzenberg was also
stuck up, but that of the emperor of Russia
excited the greatest sensation.

Walked in the garden of the Palais Royal,
and afterwards in the streets of Paris. Officers
of the allied army, and many of the soldiers, were
every where seen gazing about ; but still, few
shops were open. Those who wore white cock-
ades were often insulted, and some of the national
canards tore them out of the hats of the wearers.
In the course of these rambles, I saw the emperor
Alexander on foot, with four or five attendants,
on the Quai Voltaire. Most of the shops in
the Rue Thionville (now Dauphine) were open.
The theatres opened this evening. At Feydeau,
instead of the Theatre Imperiale de TOp^ra
Comique, " Th6atre de FOp^ra Comique," was
printed at the head of the bill. But at the
Opera " Academic Imperiale de Musique" the
usual title remained. The emperor of Russia,
the king of Prussia, prince Schwartzenberg, and
a great number of officers of the allied army,
were at the opera this evening. They were
received with enthusiasm by the crowds at the

SOVF.llEICNS AT THE TIIKATUE. 137

theatre. Between the acts, the air of " Vive
Henri IV !" was performed, the words of which
were loudly called for. Lays came forward, with
a paper in iiis hand, and sung the following
impromptu to that air: —

" Vive Guillaumc

Et ses guerriers vaillans !

De ce royaume
II sauve les enfans.

Par sa victoire
II nous donne la paix,

Et compte sa gloire
Par ses nombreux bicnfaits.

" Vive Alexandre !
Vive ce roi des rois !

Sans rien pretendre,
Sans nous dieter des lois,

Ce prince auguste
A le triple renom,

De heros, de juste,
De nous rendre un Bourbon."

The ladies in the boxes threw white cockades
into the ])it, whicli were received with accla-
mations. Le Triomphe de Trajan had been an-
nounced, but the emperor of Russia desired it
might not be performed ; modestly disclaiming
the incense of this celebrated piece. The Vestal
was performed.

The overthrow of the insignia of Buonaparte,
whicli decorated his box, was loudly called for
by the audience ; but as this would have inter-

138 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

ruptcd the performance, a cloth was thrown over
them.

Price of stocks this day : — 5 per cents, 49,
50, 51; actions de la banque de France, 640,
G80, G75.

The following paragraph appeared in the
Moniteur : —

*' Avis. — Le public est pr6venu, que le d6part
des courriers de la poste aux letters aura lieu
aujourd'hui comme a I'ordinaire."

Caulincourt having solicited an audience with
the emperor of Russia, he was admitted between
three and four o'clock, while Talleyrand was at
the senate.

The great change which had taken place at
Paris was made known in those parts of France
where the newspapers could penetrate, by the
insertion of prince Schwartzenbergs proclama-
tion ; and the following was inserted in the Mo-
7iiteur of this day : —

" Copie (Tune Note, en date de Z\ Mars, 1814,
addressee par le Comte de Nesselrode a M. le
Baron Pasquier, Prefet de Police: —

" Par ordre de S. M. I'empereur mon maitre,
j'ai riionneur de vous inviter, M. le Baron, a faire
sortir de prison les habitans de Coulomiers,
JVE. M. de Varennes et de Grimberg, detenus a
Sainte Pelagic pour avoir empech^ de tirer sur les
troupes alli^es dans riut^rieur de leur commune, et

rilOCLAMATIONS liY THE RUSSIANS. 139

avoir sauv(^ ainsi la vie dc Icur concitoyens ct leur
|)rc)j)rict(!'s.

" S. M. desire (^'galement que vous rendiez i\
la liberty tons les individus qui, par attachenicnt
;\ Icur ancien et leur l^-gitimo souverain, ont ht
d(!:tenus jusqu'ici.

" Vous voudrez bien, M. le Baron, fairc in-
surer cette lettre dans tous les journaux.

(Sis^n^) " Le Comte de Nesselrode."

And also : —

" Paris, le 31 Mars, 1814.

** M. le Baron, — J'ai I'honneur de vous ad-
dresser une Proclamation que M. le Marechal
Prince dc Schwartzenberg vient de publier, au
nom des puissances alli^es. Je vous ordonne de la
faire insurer dans tous les journaux, Fafficher aux
coins des rues, en un mot, de lui donner imme-
diutement la ])lus grande publicite possible.

" Agreez Tassurance de ma consideration dis-
tingu6e.

(Signe) " Le Comte de Nesselrode."

" Habitans dc Paris !" &c. Vide page 126. '

The Journal dc rEmpirc resumed its former
title o^ J our mil ilea Debuts; but only Haifa sheet
was published, which contained a very spirited
account of yesterday's transactions, written by
abb6 de Pradt.

The senate having been convoked on the 1st

140 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRII. 1814.

by Talleyrand, as vice-grand-elector, sixty-one
senators assembled this day at their palace of
the Luxembourg. This meeting, at which Talley-
rand presided, (being as usual secret,) was opened
by a speech from him, which the abbe de Pradt
assured me he himself wrote for the occasion.
In this address he called upon the senators to
save their country, nor suffer another day to pass
without having established an administration
which would impart vigour, and give confidence
to their oppressed countrymen.

After divers proposals had been made by
several senators, it was resolved that a govern-
ment, pro tempore, (" gouvernemetit provisoire ")
should be formed, composed of five members, who
should be charged with the administration, and
who were to present to the senate the project of a
constitution suitable to the French people.

The senate then elected the following persons
members of the " gouvernement provisoire:" —
M. de Talleyrand, prince of Benevento; the senator
comte de Beurnonville ; senator comte de Jaucourt ;
the due de Dalberg, conseiller d'etat; M. de Montes-
quieu, ancient member of the constituent assembly.

This being done, several other proposals were
agitated. Count Destutt de Tracy told me that he
proposed the " decheance'" of the emperor Napo-
leon, and the hereditary right established in his
family to be abolished. Several senators started
up, exclaiming, *' Quest ce que vous faites 1^!"

TALLKVllAND AND PllOVISIONAL GOVKUNMENT. 141

The venerable metaphysician coolly answered,
that his ))roj)osal was only a necessary sequence
to what they had just decreed.

Talleyrand then put De Tracy's proposition
to the vote, which was carried by a show of
hands. Some of the members declined voting,
but no one held up his hand for Napoleon. The
secretaries having sneaked away upon the pro-
posal being made, the official minutes could not
be drawn up ; they came, however, to the next
meeting, and the act passed on the 2d of April ;
and on the 3d, received the form of a senatus-
consultum. The senator Lambrechts was charged
with drawing up the preamble (" considcnmt")
and by which a noble precedent is established.

2d. — Early this morning, I observed from
my window that part of the Silesian army, which
had bivouacked on Montmartre, was breaking up.

When I went out I found the statue of Buo-
naparte, on the column in the Place Vendome,
veiled by a large sail-cloth.

A column of Russians entering the boulevards
by the Rue du Montblanc, continued their march
to the Pont de Jena, where it crossed the river, to
join the army on the south side of Paris. I also
saw a second column of allied troops with their
bajxufaGfe, coming from without and crossinc^ Paris
by the Rue St. Martin.

Breakfasted with madanie de L ; she told

me that the battalion of national guards in which

142 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

her brother-in-law, M. Titon, a judge in the coiir
imperialc, served, had, with the exception of the
captain and three privates, come to a secret
understanding relative to the Bourbons, and were
determined to fight in their cause should Na-
poleon march against Paris ; but of whose mo-
tions every one was as ignorant as they had so
lately been of those of their new masters.

I afterwards walked up the Fauxbourg du
Temple. A Russian guard was posted at the
barrier, but the clerks of the octroi still attended
for the collection of the usual duties. Proceeded
to Belleville, at the entrance of which, in a small
field to the left of the road, a Russian bivouack
had been established, but which was evacuated
this morning. Some people, mostly children,
were eagerly engaged scratching the dung-heaps,
in search of money and other small articles lost
by the soldiers, and, from what I could perceive,
were amply repaid for their trouble ; thus ex-
plaining to me why so much ancient money is
usually found in Roman encampments.

While thus employed, they were interrupted
by a considerable train of small Russian forage
and baggage-carts re-occupying the field, and
conducted by Russian boors, having the air of
perfect barbarians, and at whose approach the
French made oft'. Entering Belleville, the ef-
fects of war were presented to view in horrible
variety. Several dead bodies of the French

BKLLEVILLE, AFTER THE BATTLE. 143

soldiery, killed on the 30tli, were lying against
the houses of the high street, from the middle of
which they had been dragged, merely because they
would have impeded the carriages ; but no person
was employed in removing them for the purpose
of interment. Every house had been broken open
and pillaged, as all the inhabitants had fled to
Paris during the battle; but they had now ven-
tured to return, to remove such articles of fur-
niture as remained uninjured. The carts used in
this business, and those of the Russian forage
train, so obstructed the highway, that foot peis-
sengers had no means of passing without stepping
on the bodies of the slain. This, however, gave
them no concern. A large house on the left, at
the upper part of the Rue de Romainville, had
been used as a prison for the captive French, who
were released this morning. At every step I
advanced, the number of objects of devastation
increased. The walls and houses on the right
side of the street, in many places, were pierced
through by cannon-balls, some of which had
buried themselves on the opposite side. This
street terminates at the brow of a hill, and there
opens upon the Pr6 St. Gervais. I found this
beautiful sjiot, that descends from the heights of
Belleville to the plain of Pantin, and till now
the j)icture of industry and happiness, strewed
with carcasses of men and horses; the kitchen-
gardens and extensive plantations ol' lilacs were

144 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814

torn and trampled down, as were the smaller
fruit-trees, w^hile the larger ones were pierced by
the musketry, or overthrown and shattered by
the artillery ; all around bespoke the fury with
which the battle had raged, and although many
of the dead bodies had been thrown into a
neighbouring sand-pit, yet, on the summit of the
hill I beheld hundreds nearly stripped, but still
unburied. Some of the proprietors of the garden-
grounds, where the bodies lay, were digging shal-
low holes, into which they thrust the dead,
appropriating to themselves their shirts as a
recompense for this ill-performed office of hu-
manity. The houses and yards of the village of
Pre St. Gervais were full of those who had
crawled from the tumult of the battle to die. On
ascending through groves of fine walnut-trees,
with the intervening spaces laid out in vineyards,
kitchen, and fruit-gardens, towards the Bois de
Romainville, I was struck with horror at the sight
of a far greater number of slain.

The Russian account of the battle says, that
such was the loss on both sides, from the ob-
stinacy with which this spot was attacked and
defended, that the sharp-shooters were obliged to
be renewed several times.

Six or seven French surgeons were searching
about for such persons as remained alive, and
were employed in dressing their wounds ; while
I remained, I witnessed the case of three poor

I-IELl) or BATTLK. 145

wretches, who liad lingered, unattended, from
VV^odncsday, and w^ere tlien again abandoned
to all the horrors o(" their situation, no one
being employed to convey them to an hospital.
During the dressing of a Russian, who was severely
wounded on the head, and appeared insensible, a
Cossack riding by, drew his pistol from his girdle,
and signified, 1)y signs, that it would be preferable
to end the misery of his fellow-soldier ; the by-
standers, however, demonstrating a different opi-
nion, he coolly returned his pistol and continued
liis route. The dead were lying stretched out,
generally with one of their arms extended; their
countenances by no means indicating that they
had *' hit the dust,'^ or exhibiting fierce passions.
Some, wlio had been killed by artillery, presented
horribly mangled remains ; but of the others, with
the exce})tion of those whose faces were swollen,
tlie countenances were very placid ; and where
national physiognomy was not sufHciently marked,
the blue dye of their coat having stained their
shirts, served to distinguish the French. Many
of the Paris ral)ble were engaged in plunder, and
in stripping the bodies. As the fire-arms, when
perfect, were seized at the gates of Paris, to pre-
vent this, they broke tliem ; and the lock, barrel,
antl ranuod, were separately carried into the city
for sale. The few whom mere curiosity had ex-
cited to vi.Nit the field of battle, were obliged lo
go in parties for mutual protection, as well from

146 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

the fear of the French pillagers as the Cossacks ;
but, notwithstanding this, many persons were
robbed.

Returning by the west side of Belleville, in
the Rue St. Denis, No. 13G, the right-hand corner
of the Rue Thiery, I passed the house I saw burning
during the battle. It was a handsome building,
and had been a ladies' boarding-school. The fire
was occasioned by a shell from a howitzer breaking-
through the roof and exploding. All the houses
in this district had been pillaged, every door and
every shutter being broken open ; but a Russian
patrole, going the rounds, drove away the soldiery
who were roaming about, seeking the gleanings
of pillage. Between the village and the Butte
St. Chaumont was a Russian post and a park of
artillery. One of the three windmills on this side
of the village was destroyed by the cannon-shot ;
every thing in the fields was trodden dowqi, and
the innumerable empty bottles with which this
extensive and elevated plain was strewn, evinced
that myriads had bivouacked on it after the battle.
The firing of cannon at the Chateau de Vincennes,
which still held out, was heard at intervals.

I returned, at four o'clock in the afternoon, by
the Boulevard du Temple, whence, to the Boule-
vard des Italiens, a distance of more than a mile,
I did not meet twenty persons who had white
cockades. At the door of Tortoni's coffee-house,
the corner of the Rue Taitbout, I noticed several ;

M. liKLLAllT'S ATTEMP'1\ 147

but tliis house was a rendezvous of" the Bourbon

party.

In consequence of the national |n;-uarcl, and
several other persons, w^ith the agents ot tiie
police, having yesterday torn the white cockades
from the hats of those persons who wore thein, the
following Notice was stuck up on the walls, and
also inserted in the newspapers: —

** Le Gouverneur- general de Paris, baron
Sacken, defend exjiress^'ment que personne dans
cette ville puisse ^tre inquiete, offens6, et molested,
|»ar qui faire ce soit, pour faire d'opinion politique,
et pour Ics signes ext^rieurs qui pourroient etre
port^-s. " Barov Sackex,

" Le Gonverneur-gcneral d€ Paris."
" Paris, le 1 Avril, 1814."

The proclamation ** du conseil-g^ieral du d6-
])artement de la Seine et du conscil municipal
de Paris," to the inhal)itunts of the capital, was
stuck uj) on the walls, and sold in the streets.
This energetic production concludes by declaring,
that the citizens renounce all obedience to Na-
poleon Buonaparte, and expresses the most ardent
wish that the monarchical government shall be
re-established in the person of Louis XVIII and
his legitimate successors ! This inqwrtant pro-
ceeding was effected by M. Bellart, an advocate ;
who, on the day of the battle, assembled his
fannly, and stated tu them that the moment was

148 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

arrived to throw oW the yoke of Buonaparte ; that
he considered it a duty he owed his country to
devote his life to the attempt ; but, as they would
all be sacrificed to the tyrant's vengeance if he
should fail, he would abandon the design unless
he obtained their acquiescence. They all declared
it their desire that he should proceed. He ac^
cordingly convened an assembly of the two coun-
cils at the Hotel de Ville on the 1st of April, and
there proposed his resolutions. M. Gauthier alone
supported them. One member dissented, avowedly
from fear. The baron Thiboneau, sub-governor of
the bank of France, declined on account of per-
sonal obligation to the emperor, declaring, at the
same time, that he wished well to the undertaking.
Four members were absent. After some debates,
the members acceded to the resolutions drawn up
by M. Bellart, who thus laid the foundation for
the overthrow of the imperial government and the
restoration of the Bourbons. This decision of the
councils influenced the senate, whose determina-
tions fixed the wavering disposition of the emperor
of Russia, who, as count Alexandre de Laborde
informed me, was, even on Friday evening, far
from having decided upon restoring the Bourbon
dynasty, and, notwithstanding his declaration pub-
lished on the 31st of March, was rather inclined
to favour the plan for confirming the regency, as
he did not place much confidence in Talleyrand.
Pozzo de Borgo, his major-general, a Corsican,

IJOL'UBONS OU IJL'ONArAKTK? 149

wlio was actuated by personal hatred to Jiiiona-
parte, principally induced him to espouse the
cause of the Bourbons. Nesselrode was for the
re,y:ency ; so was the due de Dalberg (member of
the government, pro tempore). On the other hand,
the partisans of the ancient dynasty, who, by
their emissaries, were tampering with Marmont,
supplicated Alexander to suspend his determina-
tion, confident that Marmont's wavering would
jM-oduce a like feeling in the whole army. The
|K)int was finally settled by the proclamation of
the munici])al councils.

In tlic evenin"- the kincr of Prussia visited the
Theatre de I'Op^ra Comique. Cendrillon was
announced, but La Fausse Magie, followed by
the Deserteur, were given. The king did not
remain until the end of the performance, during
the whole of which the audience evinced a strong
disposition in favour of the Bourbons. St. Aubin
})erfbrmed the part of the Invalide in the Deser-
teur : a white cockade was thrown upon the stage :
this the house commanded him to wear, which he
did during the rest of the evening. In the con-
cluding scene, wherein the cry of " Vive le roi !"
occurs, the audience joined in it with the greatest
enthusiasm. It was at this moment that I entered
the theatre ; and at the conclusion of the opera,
several pieces, which had been forbidden by the
police, were commanded by the audience to be
reproduced.

150 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

The emperor of Russia having intimated that he
wished to receive the officers of the national guard,
they assembled this day at the house of the 6tat-
major, in the PlaceVendome, to deliberate whether
they should on that occasion assume the white
cockade; and also if the national guard, who were
on duty near the emperor of Russia's person, should
wear it. The majority were for the measure; but
the two chiefs of the legions of the Fauxbourgs St.
Antoine and St. Marceau were of opinion, that great
inconvenience might result from proposing it too
soon — they therefore waited on the emperor with
the tricolour cockade, which was also worn by the
sentries. The deputation, which consisted of the
twelve chiefs of legions and the four of the staff,
was well received by Alexander, who made no
observation relative to the cockade or to the state
of public opinion. He only complimented them
on the order which reigned in Paris by their
exertion. They did not wait on the king of
Prussia.

There was not any account of the battle in the
Moniteur of this day, but it contained the emperor
Alexander's declaration. A supplement appeared,
in which the sitting of the senate of the 1st was
given, as also those at half-past three in the after-
noon and nine at night, for forming a gouverne-
ment provisoire.

3d. — The result of the sittings of the senate
on the 1st instant, relative to the formation of a

COSSACK CA.Afr. 151

gouvcrncmcnt i)rovisoirc ; and of the 2d, pro-
nouncing- the forfeiture of the crown by Na})oleon
Buonaparte, were inserted in the Jlloiiitciir and
other daily papers, together with the address to
the French army from the new government ; they
were also printed separately, and cried about the
streets. No one from fear seemed now to hesitate
about declaring against the emperor, though still
ignorant of his position. After breakfasting at the
Caf<: Anglais with my friend Ampere, professor of
mathematics to the Polytechnic school, I took a
walk with mademoiselle D. along the boulevards.
White cockades were very generally worn, and a
stall had been established for the sale of them in
the llueVenddme. The old chevaliers de St. Louis
had brought forth their long-hidden crosses, and
displayed them at their button-holes. The Champs
Elysecs, from the Place Louis XV to the Elys^e
Bourbon, was covered with military. The Prus-
sians bivouacked on the south side of the road
with all the regularity of disciplined troops. Li
the northern quincunx was the Cossack camp.
None of the order — none of the usual pageantry,
imposing splendour, or even weapons of a modern
army, were here to be seen ; but a confused horde
of barbarians from the borders of the Don, the
deserts of Tartary, and from the shores of the
Caspian, presented itself: time seemed to have
rolled ]:)ack, and another age, as well as another
state of society and another people, were dis-

152 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

played. The supineness in which the greater
part of this multitude was now immersed, con-
trasted with the energy they had so long evinced,
the fatigue so long endured, and the powerful
emotions so recently experienced, was most
striking. At the entrance of huts, constructed
more for the security of plunder than for personal
convenience, as they were not high enough to sit
upright in, some were botching their variously
fashioned grotesque clothes, cobbling their boots,
or contemplating their booty ; others offering
various articles for sale, such as shawls, cotton
goods, watches. See, for which the French were
eagerly bargaining, undisturbed by the reflection
that they were thus facilitating the pillage of their
own country. Some were employed in cooking ;
but the major part were wallowing in a state of
uncomfortable lethargy, among the offals of ani-
mals they had killed, and with which the ground
was strewed, and on the accumulated litter of
their horses, who were eating the bark of the
trees to which they were fastened. Against these
trees arms of various descriptions, — lances of pro-
digious length, bows and quivers of arrows, sabres,
pistols, together with military cloaks, and other
articles of dress and rudely fashioned saddlery,
were placed and suspended : highly picturesque
groups resulted from this confused mixture. The
French were strolling about unrestrained and even
unregarded by the barbarians, to a degree hardly

RUSSIAN ENCAMPMENT. 153

conceivable. Bands of hawkers from Paris were
orterini,^ gingerbread, apples, oranges, bread, red
herrinirs, wine, brandv, and small beer for
sale ; the latter appeared to the Cossacks an
unpalatable beverage, since, after putting it to
their lips, none would swallow it, while oranges
were sought for with the greatest avidity by every
class of Russians. The altercations which arose
about the comparative value of foreign coin with
the French money, usually terminated, through
the good-nature and indifference of the Cossacks,
to the advantage of the hucksters, whose attempts
to cheat only produced a grin of good-humour in
return. After amusing ourselves for some time
witii this singularly interesting scene, we con-
tinued our walk over the bridge of Jena to the
Champ de Mars. Here, in the avenue, was a
Russian encampment, and in the area a consi-
derable park of French artillery, which a Russian
officer was comj)aring with the inventory, held by
a French clerk, who was standing by at the time,
and who had delivered it with the guns and ammu-
nition. As the tumbrils were laden witli powder,
the officer desired the national guard to warn off
the spectators, for fear of accidents which might
result from nails in their shoes or fire from their
tobacco-pii)es. The teole militaire was used as
barracks for the Russian soldiers. At Gros-
Caillou, a district inhabited chiefly by washer-
woinen, linen was hanging to dry : this, while we

154 EVENTS AT PAllIS, APRIL 1814.

were there, some of the Parisian rabble instigated
the allied troops to plunder, that they might
afterwards buy it, thinking that their own police
had no right to interfere : in this, however, they
were deceived ; for no sooner had they possessed
themselves of the spoil, than the national guard
took them into custody, and conducted them to
the prefecture of police. We saw two women
and a man who could scarcely walk under the
weight of their bundles. From the Champ de
Mars w^e proceeded to the Invalids ; when passing
before the hotel, mademoiselle D. remarked, that
the cannon had been removed from the platform.
An old invalid, who overheard her, said sorrow-
fully — " Alas ! of what use would they be to us
now ? they were used to announce our victories."
In every other point, however, the national pro-
perty had been respected. Many of these old
warriors, who seemed pleased to find themselves
once more in the bustle of a camp, were rambling
in that of the Germans, which occupied the whole
space from the iron gates of the hotel to the river,
and formed a curious and varied scene, in the
centre of which was a pedestal, supporting the
celebrated bronze-winged lion brought from St.
Mark's Place, Venice, and which, according to
the inscription, was placed as a trophy by order
of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French,
the first year of his reign, 1804. '* Sous les yeux
des guerriers dont il attest les exploits." Many

DIFFEllENT TllllitS. 155

liuts had been erected, in which were some very
decent and well-dressed German women. On
the railed-in grass-plats were some cows be-
longini^ to the army, brought from beyond the
riffht bank of the Rhine. In the rear were the
kitchens and the forge-carts, at which the farriers
and armourers were employed in repairing the
destructive results of the campaign. In our
whole walk we did not perceive the smallest
tendency to insolence in any of the allied army.
There was, on the contrary, a display of kindness
and mildness of manner in the soldiers w^hich
discipline alone could never have produced. We
returned by the garden of the Tuilleries, which,
being re-opened, was crowded by the Parisian
Sunday promenaders, many wnth white cock-
ades : several women wore them. A Russian
soldier and a national guard were posted at each
entrance.

The Rue St. IIonor6 was thronged with
people of every description mingled together:
inhabitants of all the north of Europe, and the
Asiatic subjects of the Russian empire, from the
Caspian Sea to the Wall of China, were riding
about ; Cossacks, with their sheep-skin jackets,
sandy-coloured, shaggy beards, long lances, and
the constant appendage to their necks, the
kanschuh, which is a short whip, with a hard
platted thong of equal thickness throughout; Cal-
mucks, and diilerent Tartar tribes, with their flat

156 EVENTS AT PARIS, APUIL 1814.

noses, little eyes, and dark reddish-brown skins ;
Baschkins and Tungusians of Siberia, armed
with bows and arrows ; Tscherkess or Circassian
noblemen from the foot of Mount Caucasus, clad
in complete hauberks of steel mail, perfectly
bright,* and conical helmets, similar in form to
those worn in England in the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries ; Russian and Prussian officers
in full uniform, and most of them decorated with
orders. Some of the officers of the former were
mere boys, and all of them either wore stays, or
else were very tightly girt above the hips ; their
breasts were very much padded, and they wore
white kid gloves, with their hair very bushy, down
to their shoulders. The common soldiers of the
Russian infantry wear their hair cut as close as
possible. Russian carriages were to be seen with
rope harnesses, the bearded coachman holding
the reins in both hands, with extended arms, the
width of the body asunder, the whip hanging to
the right wrist, dressed in a robe, and a broad-
brimmed hat, with the crown enlarging towards
the top : the postilion mounted on the off horse.
Such was the equipage even of baron Sacken,
Russian governor of Paris !

The Palais Royal was, as usual, crowded to
excess, and exhibited a most curious scene, but
of another description ; for here the French were

* This steel mail is brought from Persia and Kubesca.

CilATEAUBUIAND'S I'AMPIH.ET, 157

placarding: their sentiments, which the assumed
right of a free press enal^lcd them to intrude ui)on
the public : but to this siiadow of liberty an
ephemeral existence only was allowed. The
provisional government on the following day
decreed, that no such manifestations of public
sentiment should be permitted. The sides of the
arcades were covered, and rapidly re-covered,
with a profusion of ebullitions of vanity, legiti-
macy, and abuse of their no longer dreaded
emperor : individuals in this manner forcing
themselves into notice by giving their votes for
the restoration of the long-forgotten Bourbons.
Among the most curious were those of Lamarre,
a schoolmaster and author of some philological
works, and of the celebrated Brissot de War-
ville's son, who had been expelled from the Po-
lytechnic school by order of Buonaparte, for
refusing to vote for his being emperor.

M. de Chateaubriand's celebrated pamphlet,
'* De Buonaparte etdes Bourbons," was announced
for publication by numerous large bills, printed on
unusually tine paper. Sixteen thousand copies
of this work were sold in the course of two
months.

At twelve o'clock at noon an order was sent
by the governor to the prefect of Paris, to put
all the barges on the river, with the iron cramps,
timber, cS:c. in recpiisition, to construct a bridge

158 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

over the Seine, just above the barrier of Bercy:
this was obeyed. At seven in the evening an
order to construct a second bridge arrived, and
at midnight a third. These objects were in-
stantly procured : the architects and their clerks
belonging to the prefecture were on the spot to
acknowledge the receipt of the materials. The
allied soldiers began on Sunday morning to level
the earth on the banks of the river. Two thou-
sand pontoniers and soldiers, mostly Bavarians,
worked all Sunday night and the whole of Mon-
day : on Tuesday morning they relaxed their
exertions, and in the afternoon left off, when
one bridge was completed and a second was half
executed.

The order for building these bridges, general
Mufflin told me originated with him ; for had
there been a battle, the passage of troops through
Paris would have been productive of great con-
fusion, and the removal of tumbrils, laden with
powder, would have been attended with great
danger : but he was certain that if Napoleon had
attacked them, the French army would have been
utterly destroyed.

3d. — The Conservatory Senate, in a senatus-
consultum, declared and decreed,

*' 1. Napoleon Buonaparte est d^chu du trone,
et le droit d'h6r6dit6 ^tabli dans sa famille est
aboli.

DKCHEANCE OF NAPOLEON. 159

** 2. Lc peuple Fran^-ais et rarincc sont dcli^s
dii senneiit de fidelity envers Napoleon Buo-
naparte.

" 3. Le present d^cret sera transmis par un
message au gouvernement provisoire de la
France, envoy^ de suite a tous les departemens
et aux armies, et proclame incessaniment dans
tous les quartiers de la capitale.

** Bauthelmy, le comte de Valence.
" Pastoret."

The corps Koislatif assembled at the inti-
mation of the gouvernement })rovisoire. The pre-
sident, the duke of Massa, was at Blois with the
imperial government. Comte Henri de Montes-
quieu, the vice-president, who filled the chair when
the former was absent, decUmng on this occasion, the
other vice-president, M. Felix Faulcon, took the
chair, and reading the arreted of the gouvernement
provisoire, announced that the senate had de-
clared the dcchcance of Napoleon Buonaparte,
which had been voted on the ground that he had
violated the constitutional compact: the corps
legislatif accordingly adhered to the act of the
senate, and acknowledged and declared the de-
cheamr of Napoleon Buonaparte and his family.
This declaration was signed by those present, to
the numljcr of seventy-seven. Comte Henri de
Montesquiou, though he voted, would not sign

160 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

the resolution. M. Fornier de St. Laray pro-
posed to close the list of signatures, that those
who had come forward on the first meeting
should have the sole merit ; but on this pro-
position, the house passed to the order of the
day.

The public were then admitted, and the de-
claration read to them.

4th. — M. Lorris, keeper of the government
warehouses in the Fauxbourg Poissonier, re-
ceived an order to pack up immediately the
triumphal car and the four horses of ham-
mered copper, that they might be returned to
Berlin, to be replaced on the Brandenbargh
Gate, from which they had been taken and
sent as spoils to Paris by order of Buonaparte.
The packing up and transporting of them to this
city, though it cost seventeen thousand francs,
(as M. Lorris told me) had been so carelessly
executed, that on their arrival they were so
much damaged that their repair cost twenty-
three thousand francs. The metal was not so
thick as a shilling.

This day the gouvernement provisoire re-
solved and ordered that all emblems, initial
letters, and armorial bearings, which charac-
terised the " goiwenietneut de Buonaparte,'' should
be suppressed and effaced wherever they ap-
peared. This was to be exclusively executed by

MOKAL ],KSSONS. {(>]

persons delegated by the jmlice or municipal
authorities, and that no individual zeal should aid
or prevent.

Thus, in the course of twenty years the mo-
numents of kin^s were torn down by repub-
licans ; those of the republicans were suppressed
by order of Ikionaparte ; and those of the latter,
in their turn, were demolished by this mongrel
government. These successive g?'cat moral lessons
produce no permanent effect on the people, and
are useful only as admonitions to despotic govern-
ments.

Tlie following appeared in the Moniteur of the
6tii : —

" Cop'ic dcs Lcttrcs de Crtance de Jll. k Commissaire,
nommc par S. M. C Empcrcur dc toutes les
Russks, pour reskkr pres du Gouverncmcut
Proviso! re.

" En m'eloignant de Paris, j'ai pense qu'il
ctait n^cessaire de pourvoir aux moyens d'etablir
Jes relations le plus suivies et le plus frequentes
avec le gouvernement provisoire; j'ai a cet effet
nomme mon g<^'neral-major Pozzi di Borgo pour
resider auprc's de lui en qualit(^ de commissaire-
g^u'ral. Je vous invite, messieurs, a ajouter foi
a tout ce qu'il sera dans le cas de vous dire de
ma part, et a me transmettr^^, par son entremise,
toutes les communications que vous auriez a me

162 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

faire. II jouit de toute ma confiance, et la jus-
tifiera surement encore, dans cette occasion, en
ne n6gligeant aucun moyen de cimenter les rap-
ports de paix et d'amitie si heureusement 6tablis
entre la Russie et la France. Recevez, mes-
sieurs, I'assurance de toute mon estime.

(Signe) "Alexandre.'*

" Paris, le Mars, (4 Avril, 1814.)"

5 til. — Walked with mademoiselle D out

of the Barriere du Trone, within a furlong of
which we saw seven dead bodies that had been
thrown into the ditches on each side of the
Vincennes road, and which were so slightly
covered with earth that their hands and knees
appeared : their uniforms shewed that they were
French. On the same road were several dead
horses. We were not allowed to proceed much
above a mile on the high road, as Domignie, the
governor of Vincennes, refused to surrender that
fortress : it was, as well as the village of La
Pissotte, which is opposite to it, surrounded by a
cordon of Russians, at whom, from time to time,
a shot was fired. Taking a circuitous path across
the field, we entered into the village on that side,
and found it occupied by about sixty Russian
soldiers : the inhabitants were removing their
goods, fearing they might be burnt in a sortie
from the castle ; but to prevent a surprise, the

DKCISION lOU THK BOURBONS. ICiU

entrance to the streets were barricaded by carts,
ladders, &c. &c.

In tlie Fauxbourg St. Antoine we saw several
of marsiial Marniont's soldiers, who told us they
iiad been disbanded at Versailles early this
morning: some returned to Paris, but the major
part were dispersed about the park and gardens,
and spread terror round the neighbourhood.

This evening there was a sitting of the gou-
vernement provisoire in the entresol of Talley-
rand's hotel, the room in which all of these meet-
ings were held. Roux Laborie, their assistant
secretary, told me that the emperor of Russia was
present, wlio, in consequence of his conversation
with marshals Macdonald and Ney, and the duke
of Vicenza (Caulincourt), and at the same time
influenced by fear of the result of a battle with
the troops wdiich remained with Napoleon, an-
nounced his determination to abandon the cause
of the Bourbons and retreat from Paris, unless
they would adopt the regency of Marie-Louise ;
and it was only by a very eloquent and animated
speech from comte Dessoles, commander-in-chief
of the Parisian national guard, that he was dis-
suaded from this jjurpose. Dessoles said, that if
the emperor did abandon Paris, he hoped that he
would grant passports to all the Bourbonists to
follow him.

There had not been any j)ublished news o(

164 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

the position of the armies until this day, when
the following appeared under the head of Paris,
the 4th : —

" Le general Russe KaisarofF a pris aujour-
d'hui la ville de Meliin : il a siirpris le camp de
cavalerie qui la couvroit, Ta mis enti^rement en
d^route, et a fait beaucoup de prisoniers."

The due d'Angouleme's proclamation, dated
St. Jean de Luz, 2d February, and that published
by him at Bourdeaux on the 15th of March, ap-
peared in the Moniteur of this day.

6th. — The erection of machinery for the re-
moval of the statue of Napoleon from the top of
the column on the Place Vendome was begun, and
the following bill was stuck about the place : —

" PREFECTURE DE POLICE.

** Le monument 61eve sur la Place Vendome
est sous la sauve-garde de la magnanimity de
S. M. Fempereur Alexandre et ses allies. La
statue qui la surmonte ne pouvoit y rester : elle
en descend pour faire place a celui de la Paix."

Several hundred French prisoners, who had
been liberated by the allies, went in bands
shouting along the boulevards. Many had white
cockades in their hats, which had been given to
them by the Bourbonists.

Notwithstanding the emperor Alexander was
persuaded not to abandon the Bourbon cause

BUONAPARTE'S BUST, &C. KEMOVED. 165

yesterday evcnin<(, at the sitting of the pro-
visional government, yet he was so little inclined
to support it, that lloux Laborie told me he went
into Talleyrand's bed-room at six in the morning,
and expressed a strong desire not to acknowledge
the Bourbons, but to adopt the regency. After
some conversation with Talleyrand, he went on
foot at seven o'clock to the king of Prussia, to
consult with him, but the opinion of the king
being against the regency, the restoration of the
Bourbons was determined.

Abbe de Pradt was present when Laborie
mentioned these curious facts, and confirmed
them. Michaud, member of the Institute, and
author of the " History of the Crusades," who, at
this time, was constantly with M. de Talleyrand,
also told me the same.

7th. — The fine colossal bronze bust of Buo-
naparte, by Bartholini, which was over the en-
trance to the Musee Napoleon, at the Louvre,
was taken down,

A scatibld was suspended before the frieze of
the portico of the palace of the " corps legislatif,"
and the inscription, in bronze letters,

"A NAPOLEON LE GRAND,"

was obliterated in a few hours.

8th. — At six in the evening the statue of
Napoleon, on the column in the Place Vendome,
was lowered, by means of two capstans. It

166 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

remained within the railing, round the pedestal,
until the next morning, when it was taken to the
place where it was cast, in the Fauxbourg St.
Martin.

The government, pro tempore, decided as fol-
lows : —

" Paris, le 8 Avril, 1814.

" Le gouvernement provisoire, considerant
que le syst^me de diriger exclusivement vers
letat et I'esprit militaire, les hommes, leurs in-
clinations et leurs talens, a port6 le dernier gou-
vernement a soustraire un grand nombre d'enfans
a I'autorit^ paternelle, ou a celle de leur famille,
pour les faire entrer et elever, suivant ses vues
particulieres dans des ^tablissemens publics ; que
rien n'est plus attentatoire aux droits de la puis-
sance paternelle, et que, d\m autre c6t6, cette
mesure vexatoire s'oppose directement au deve-
loppement des differens genres de genie, de
talens, et d'esprit, que donne la nature, et dont
I'ensemble varie forme la richesse morale pub-
lique ; qu'enfin, la prolongation d'un pareil des-
ordre serait une veritable contradiction avec les
principes d'un gouvernement libre ;■ —

*' Arrete, que les formes et la direction de I'^du-
cation des enfans seront rendues a I'autorit^ des
peres et ra^res, tuteurs, ou families ; et que tous
les enfans qui ont etc places dans des ecoles,
lycees, institutions, et autres etablissemens pu-

PRYTANEK MlLITAIllE. 167

blics, sans le vodu dc lours parens, ou qui scront
r<jclam6s par eux,leur seront sur-le-clianip rendus,
et remis en liberie!;.

" Les Membres du Gouvcniement Provisoire —

(Sign(^') " Le Prince de Benevexto.
" Le Due dc Dalbeug.
*• Francois de Jaucourt.
' ' Le G^n^ral Comte de B e u u n o n v i l l e .
** L'Abbe de Montesquiou.
" Pour copie conforme —

(Sign(^') " DupoNT (de Nemours) Secretaire."

Tiie following particulars, illustrative of this
species of despotism, were communicated to me
by M. Charles Choderlos de Laclos, who was at
this time at the Prytanee Militaire, at Laflcche.

Towards the end of the year 1812, Buonaparte
ordered the Roman prince Patrizzi to send his
two sons, the eldest seventeen, the youngest
thirteen years of age, to the Prytanee Militaire,
at Latlcchc. The prince, their father, offered to
endow ten scholarships (bourses), for the main-
tenance of as many scholars, to procure exemp-
tion for his sons ; but this was refused. He then
proposed to form a similar establishment at
Rome, but this also was rejected. At the same
time, M. de Tournon, the prefect of Rome, re-
ceived orders to send the youths to Lafleche in
a carriage, under a guard of gens d'armes, and
the father to a state prison at Marseilles, whilst

168 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

his property, real and personal, was put under
sequestration. The boys arrived at Lafl^che in
the spring of 1813. The princess, their mother,
with great difficulty, obtained leave to follow
them to Lafl^che, where, from poverty, she was
obliged to live in a garret. These were not the
only victims of Napoleon's iron-hearted policy.
Ninety other young men, of the most illustrious
families in Italy, were immured in this despotic
establishment, — sons of the prince of Altieri,
of the duke of Brachano, of Palavicini, of Doria,
a Genoese descendant of Andrea Doria, &c.

From the Illyrian provinces, one hundred and
twenty were sent at the beginning of 1811; fifteen
from Holland ; and a considerable number of young
men, subjects of the princes of the confederation of
theEhine. In all, there were three hundred young
men detained as hostages for the fidelity of their
parents. They were thus considered, and called
by the other boys, natives of the old French pro-
vinces. They were obliged to pay 800 francs per
annum .

The day after the news arrived of the de-
thronement of Buonaparte, the governor of the
Prytan^e gave his scholars leave to depart to their
own homes, not troubling himself with any in-
quiry whether they had the pecuniary means of
performing their journey, only that he allowed
those whose homes were in districts occupied by
the allied army to remain ; so that when the

STARVED SOLDIERS AND CONSCRIPTS. 169

aiTc'te (la goiiverncment provisoirc arrived at
LaflcV'he, the principal body of the scholars had
left the place. The scholars had been latterly with-
out a supply of the necessaries of life at the esta-
blishment, which w^as 200,000 francs in debt, and
hence the trades-people refused to furnish their
usual supplies. The school was composed of six
hundred ^-Ic^ves.

One cause of the establishment being in debt
was, that the parents of those pupils who lived in
parts of Europe, then the theatre of war, or where
the French were no longer the masters, could not
or did not send the suras due for the education
of their children.

9th. — This and the two preceding days, se-
veral hundred soldiers and conscripts were seen
in the streets, who were returning to their homes,
in consequence of the resolution of the gouverne-
ment provisoire of the 4th April, which authorised
them so to do. Most of them were wretched-
looking objects — mere phantoms, exhausted by
hunger, sickness, and fatigue. Some were ob-
liged to wait two days before the etat-major in
the Place Vendome for their feu i lies de route, with-
out any food, or the means of procuring it, de-
pending on charity for subsistence.

lOtii, Easter Siuidin/. — Between eight and
nine o'clock in the morning, the infantry of the
allied army were drawn up on the northern foot-
way of the boulevards, from the Rue Royale to

170 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

the Place de la Bastille. The south side was kept
by the national guard. By order of the police,
no carriages were allowed to pass the boulevards,
and even pedestrians were totally excluded from
the Place Louis XV, which was reserved for the
troops attending the solemn thanksgiving which
the victorious army was there to offer up.

I went to the north-west terrace of the garden
of the Tuilleries, whence I had a full view of the
whole of the Place Louis XV. In the centre, a little
to the eastward of the spot where Louis XVI was
executed, a square platform, with a flight of about
a dozen steps on each side, was erected, on which
was an altar, so placed, that persons before it
looked to the south. The national guards kept
the avenues leading to the altars.

The first sign of the approaching ceremony
was at ten minutes before twelve o'clock, when
seven priests of the Greek church, wearing beards,
and arrayed in rich copes, slowly crossed the
place, and took their station by the altar. At
half-past twelve, the allied infantry, twenty-three
abreast, marched in by the Rue Royale. They
were succeeded by the cavalry, all forming, as
they arrived on the place, with the greatest pre-
cision, until it was entirely filled. The proces-
sion continued without interruption until one
o'clock, and was closed by the allied sovereigns,
surrounded by a numerous stafi", among whom I
saw some English officers, in uniforms. Arriving

SOLEMN TIIAiXKSGIVING. 171

at the foot of the altar, they all dismounted, and
ascended the steps. They, and the whole army,
were uncovered ; but some of the French national
guard kept their hats on. Divine service then
betjnn. A most profound and impressive silence
reiii^ned among the mighty host during this solemn
ceremony, which lasted half an hour. Its con-
clusion was announced by the discharge of a
liundred cannon ; of which previous notice had
been given in the newspapers, and by placards
stuck up by the police, to prevent any alarm.
The cannon were placed on the right bank of
the river, opposite the corps l^gislatif. The
emperor of Russia then returned to his quarters
at M. de Talleyrand's, appeared at the window,
and was greatly applauded. This day M. Bellart,
who drew up the proclamation of the conseil mu-
nicipal to the citizens of Paris, received an invita-
tion from M. de Talleyrand to dine with him and
the emperor of Russia, an honour he did not ex-
pect. On being presented, the emperor said to
him — ** Je desire connoitre un homme si profonde-
raent vertueux. Dans ma qualit6 d ctranger, je ne
pouvais pas appr^cier suffisamment votre mcrite ;
mais je voudrais emporter en Russie dans ma
nK'-moire les traits de votre figure."

I called on the wife of general Letort, who
was with Napoleon at Fontaincbleau. I met
general Sebastiani there, who had this morning

172 EVENTS AT PARIS, APEIL 1814.

returned from Fontainebleau and given his adhe-
sion to the new order of things.

11th. — Went to the weekly meeting of the
first class of the Institute. There were but two
members who had mounted white cockades ; one
was Sage, the mineralogist. The marble statue
of Napoleon, by Roland, in his imperial robes,
which was in the hall of the public meeting of
the Institute, had been removed, and was in a
packing-case in the court-yard. This statue was
inaugurated on the 3d of October, 1807.

The Gazette de Sante (a periodical publication
that appears at Paris every ten days) of this day
announced that the reigning diseases of the metro-
polis were the "fievre d'hopital," or, as it is gene-
rally termed, typhus, and the still more dangerous
*' pourriture des hopitaux, ou gangrene humide des
plaies," with which all the hospitals in Paris were
infected ; and that a multitude of victims, includ-
ing many young medical practitioners, are carried
off by the same diseases.

Dr. Friedlander, a Prussian physician esta-
blished at Paris, informed me, that the average
deaths of the allied army in the hospitals of Paris
was one in twenty per diem, and that there is less
mortality among the Russians than the Prussians ;
that among the French military sick, the deaths
were one in sixteen per diem.

After the resolution of the government pro

IXI'KNSK COM), AND ilS CCJNSKQUENCKS, 173

tempore, which uuthorised all the conscripts and
the new-raised battalions, and those composinij
the levee en masse, to return home, numbers of
emaciated lads were seen daily crawling into
Paris, and lying extended in the streets, many
labouring imder nervous fever, the result of grief
and fear, which, on their return home, soon left
them. Marshal IMarmont and several officers told
me, that fear increased the effects of epidemical
diseases in the army. The French soldiers had
suffered dreadfully from cold this campaign, par-
ticularly in the night between the 9th and 10th of
March, which was so severe that a very consider-
able number perished. General Letort, who had
been in the Moscow campaign, told me that it
was his opinion, as well as that of several other
officers, that the cold was even greater than at
any period of that campaign.

r2th. — I went to the upper end of the Faux-
bourg St. Martin, and took my station at the
intersection of the road to La Villette with that
of Pantin, by which monsieur comte d'Artois,
lieutenant-general du royaume, was to make his
entry into Paris. He had passed the night at
Livry at the chateau of the countess Charles de
Damas, where he had arrived from Chalons on
the preceding day at three in the afternoon.

From Notre Dame by the Rue and Fauxbourg
St. Denis, thence by the church of St. Laurent to
the Fauxbourg St. Martin, and to the barrier of

174 EVENTS AT PARIS, APIIII. 1814.

Pantin, the streets were lined by the national
guard.

About twenty minutes before one o'clock, the
coaches of M. de Talleyrand, of the municipal
officers of Paris, and the marshals, passed towards
the barriere to receive Monsieur. When he arrived
at that point, Talleyrand harangued him in the
name of the government pro tempore ; he replied,
and then entered the barriere, where he was again
harangued by the prefect of the department of the
Seine. This procession was bisected at the spot
where I was, and its march retarded by a column
of about fifteen thousand Russian cavalry, infantry,
and artillery, which were marching out of Paris
by the Barriere de la Villette. This interruption,
which to some might appear ill-timed, delayed the
entry until a quarter before two o'clock. I have
no doubt this was preconcerted, to impress the
minds of the populace that the allied army was
to evacuate all Paris at the approach of the Bour-
bons. The entry of Monsieur was opened by a
body of the national guard, their band playing the
favourite air of ** Vive Henri IV !" then gentlemen
on horseback, in the uniform of national guards,
but with the addition of high white plumes in
their hats. Among them I saw M. de Chateau-
briand and M. de Chastenay. This immediately
preceded Monsieur, who was dressed in the uni-
form of the national guard, decorated with the
blue riband and medallion of the order of the

COMTE D'ARTOIS. 175

St. Esprit. He rode upon a fine white horse,
richly cui)arisonecl, and surrounded by a numerous
stati', among whom 1 remarked marshal Oudinot,
general Nansoutty, some of the ancient nobility,
the due dc Montemart, the due de Luxembourg,
M. Prosj)er de Crillon, M. Fcrnand de Chabot,
M. de la Bourdonnaye, M. de TEspinay, in the
uniform of Buonaparte's army ; several officers of
rank in the allied army, and some English ; Mr.
Henry Seymour, in uniform : another body of
cavalry of the national guard followed, and a
party of Cossacks closed the procession ; the
papers of the day declared that no foreign troops
appeared in the cavalcade. The count was re-
ceived with more enthusiasm than I had ever seen
the French evince on any occasion ; yet it was but
feeble, and would have been still more so but for
the cavalry of the national guard, who waved their
swords, and urged by their example the cry of
** Vive le roi !" However, I had never before
witnessed any thing like the emotions of sensi-
bility which were now displayed. Many persons
shed tears.

Monsieur was thus conducted to the metropo-
litan church of Notre Dame, and there received
at the great porch by the canons in their copes,
who conducted him to his seat under a canopy
supported by four priests : a Te Dcum w^as then
performed.

After the procession had passed I met Mr. L.,

176 EVENTS AT PAltIS, APRIL 1814.

and we were both of opinion, from the manner
Monsieur had been received, that the Bourbons
could not remain in France six months after the
departure of the allied armies.

I went to the Boulevard des ItaUens ; the road
was lined on each side with national guards. At
a quarter past five I saw the procession return, in
the same order in which it had set out ; but from
the situation I now occupied, it appeared more
splendid, and the acclamations were louder and
more general. The windows were crowded with
elegantly dressed women, waving their handker-
chiefs as it passed along.

Monsieur is a very handsome man ; and no
one ever gave me a higher idea of a dignified and
accomplished cavalier. It is impossible to have
saluted a mixed multitude in a manner more
flattering to them or to himself; his animated
looks were directed to all, and all seemed to
sympathise with the delight which radiated from
his countenance. Proceeding down the Rue Na-
poleon, across the Place Vendome, he arrived by
the Rue de I'Echelle at the Chateau des Tuilleries
at ten minutes before six o'clock. At the same
instant a white flag was hoisted on the centre
pavilion, from whence the tricoloured standard had
been so many years displayed. About half an
hour afterwards. Monsieur appeared at a window
of those apartments of the ground floor lately
occupied by the empress Marie-Louise, and re-

KNTiH'siASM or THK rurssiANs. 17;

ceivcd tlie greeting of the multitude. By those
persons wlio were of an age to know his person,
the exclamation was general, " C'est hii ! cest
hien lui !'* Hut many expressed great astonish-
ment that he should appear older than when they
last saw him, (twenty-five years before) !

In the evening a few houses in Paris were
ilhuninated.

This day the emperor of Russia removed from
M. de Talleyrand's to the Elysec Bourbon, in
the Fauxbourg St. Ilonort', where he continued
to reside during his stay at Paris. The inscrip-
tion, in bronze letters, " Elys^e Napoleon," which
was over the entrance, was not erased until four
days afterwards.

13th. — I entered into conversation with a
black hussar, (death husar,) whom I saw amusing
himself with a view of Paris from the brow of
Montmartre : he had galloped several leagues
that day to feast his eyes with the sight of this
detested capital, but had not permission to enter
it. This war, he said, was an absolute crusade
on the part of the Prussians : men of every class
of society, and of the highest rank, even the most
learned professors of their universities, had en-
rolled themselves voluntarily as common soldiers,
and determined to die rather than to return home
without having secured the liberty of their coun-
try, and revenged the insults it had received, by
subduing a people whose highest enjoyment they

178 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

believed consisted in destroying all that was
morally beautiful or desirable. One sentiment
alone seemed to animate all the Prussians I con-
versed with : no individual, whatever his rank in
the army, appeared to feel he did, or was more,
than another : they told me that those who, from
imperious circumstances, were obliged to remain
in Prussia, considered it as the greatest misfortune.
Of 160,000 men, of which the Prussian army was
composed at the battle of Lutzen, in 1813, only
one half was alive at the taking of Paris.

During the whole of the campaign, the king of
Prussia exposed himself like a common soldier,
and remained the last on the field of battle.

About the middle of April, the king of Prussia
received the French marshals and generals at
his residence in the Hotel of Eugene Beauharnois.
He is habitually stiff, and, though a good man,
unamiable in his manner ; but on this occasion
he behaved with great haughtiness, reproaching
Clark, duke ofFeltre, minister of war to Napo-
leon, with having put a man to death in Prussia in
a most arbitrary manner. To Berthier, prince of
Neufchatel, he expressed the hope that he had
administered his government of Neufchatel with
moderation. He gave his hand to marshal
Oudinot, saying he was very happy in having
the opportunity of so doing to a man who had
always conducted himself with honour and mo-
deration in Prussia.

TIIK KMPKKORS, ike. AT TIIK OPKKA. 170

14tli. — The count d'Artois visited the opera
in the Kue I^ichelieii for the first time : the j)er-
formance was (Kdipe a Colonne, witli the ballet of
Nina. The stage-box had been j^rejiared for him,
and richly hung- with blue velvet, embroidered with
fieurs-de-lis, and surmounted with the ancient arms
of France. He was dressed in the uniform of the
national guard, and was most flatteringly received,
and on his entrance the curtain immediately drew
uj). Ten minutes after, the em[)erors of Russia
and Austria, and the king of Prussia, entered, and
seated themselves in the centre box, the emperor
of Austria in the middle, having the emperor
Alexander on his right, and the king of Prussia
on the left : they were received with a greater
affectation of enthusiasm than the count. In the
boxes to their right were count de Schwartzen-
berg, baron Stein, count Nesselrode, and baron
Sacken, with lord Burghersh, in the full Windsor
uniform. The latter was accompanied by lady
Burghersh, who had been with the army the whole
campaign, and some English, but she was the only
female in the box. In that to the left of the sove-
reigns were count Metternich and lord Castle-
reagh. After the conclusion of the first act, the
count d'Artois came into the box of the sovereians,
and received general applause : he remained there
during the whole of the second act. At the close
of the opera, some complimentary couplets were
sung, when the count d'Artois and the few

180 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

English who were present stood up : this being
perceived by a native in the pit, he roared out,
** Parterre debout, puisque le roi y est." The
whole house rose, and there seemed a general
competition who should be most vociferous in
their applause. When the curtain fell, the em-
perors Alexander and Francis, followed by the
king of Prussia, went to the stage-box, to return
the count d'Artois' visit, and a greater burst of
applause followed this scene than ever I had
witnessed in Paris on any occasion. Among the
most vociferous were many persons who had for the
last twenty years been seen in the anti-chamber
of every minister, at the door of all their clerks,
dazzling and flattering la grande nation with pic-
tures, poems, and dramatic pieces, in adulation of
every demagogue and every revolutionary society,
and holding up the fallen emperor to the admira-
tion of the universe and the adoration of their
country. Those despicable sycophants having
gained, by this trade, pensions, ribands, snuff-
boxes, and portraits surrounded with diamonds,
were now basely and cowardly giving the dying
lion a kick, in the hope of having additions to
their pensions and new orders, to render their
baseness more conspicuous.

Notwithstanding this pubhc display of atten-
tion on the part of Alexander to the count d'Artois,
he had just inflicted on him a most humiliating
insult.

ANKCDOTK Ol' TIIK K.Ml'KUoU UV KI'SSIA. 181

Oji the count's arrival from exile at Paris,
M. de Caulincourt, duke of Vicenza, anioni;; other
sycophants, presented himself at the Tuilleries to
pay his court. On being perceived by the count
d'Artois, he addressed him : ** M. de Caulincourt,
you lay under the imputation of being accessory
to a most horrid crime, (meaning the death of the
duke d'Enghien) : I hope you M'ill be able to
justify yourself; but luitil then I must decline
receiving you." Caulincourt immediately repaired
to the emperor of Russia, with whom he had long
been in great favour, and related to him what had
passed. The czar replied, " What ridiculous
susceptibility ! 1 am daily surrounded by those
who murdered my father, and have not more
zealous servants than they are : but make your-
self easy ; I will arrange this for you." He invited
the count d'Artois to dinner, and seated him on
his right, placing Caulincourt to the right of the
count. This fact I had from several Bourbonists,
one of whom \Nas present, and two others said they
heard it related by the count d'Artois, himself.

15th. — The north side of the boulevards, from
the Place de la Bastille to the Fauxbourg St.
Ilonor^^ was lined with the troops of the allies,
and the south side, in the same interval, with
national gnards, for the military ceremony of the
entry of the emperor of Austria into Paris from
Dijon. The sovereigns, the crown prince of
vSwedcn, and the count d'Artois, went to the

182 EVENTS AT TAKIS, Al'llIL 1814.

Barri^re de Marengo (now Charenton) to receive
him, which he entered between nine and ten in
the morning. I saw him pass on the Boulevard
de Montmartre at a quarter before eleven. He
was in a white uniform, having on his right the
count d'Artois, in the uniform ofthe national guard ;
on his left rode Bernadotte, crown prince of Swe-
den, in a blue uniform ; the emperor of Russia, in
green and gold ; and the king of Prussia, in blue
and silver. They were followed by a numerous
staff, among whom was the archduke Constantine
of Russia. The emperor Francis proceeded to the
ancient Hotel, Charost, Fauxbourg St. Honor6,
where he took up his quarters.

16th. — I was in the picture-gallery at Mal-
maison this morning, in conversation with the
empress Josephine, who had just returned from
Navarre. The last time I had the honour of con-
versing with her, in March, she expressed herself
much dissatisfied with Napoleon, saying, " this
man has left me without any money ; my income
is in arrear." But now all her affection seemed
to have returned ; she expressed the deepest com-
miseration at his fate. She appeared very much
affected at a paragraph she had just read in this
morning's Journal des Debats ; it was, " La m^re
de prince Eugene est de retour a la Malmaison."
" What does this mean? I have a name," said
she ; *' I was crowned, sat upon the throne ; I am
honoured, protected by the emperor of Russia;

EMi'UKss josKriiiNE AND e:mim:u()K oi- iirssiA. 183

for as soon as lie was master of the bridge of
Neuilly, he sent a safe-<^uard to Malmaison." She
had scarcely uttered tiicse words, when, to her
apparunt astonishment, the emperor of Russia was
announced : he came immediately into the gallery.
With her usual self-command and elegance of
manner, she expressed herself much flattered by
his visit, lie replied, that it was a homage grati-
fying to his feelings ; for that, in entering every
house, and in every cottage, he heard the praise
of lier goodness. I retired into a further part of
the gallery, and heard no more of their conversa-
tion, which at first appeared serious. A few mi-
nutes after, they went into the grounds. During
their walk, Queen Hortensia arrived in haste from
Paris. She joined her mother and the emperor,
and 1 saw them walking in the gardens, each
holding his arm.

Lord Beverley breakfasted with her at Mal-
maison a few days after, with his sons, the hon.
Algernon and the hon. colonel Henry Percy : the
two first had been d^'tenus, and the latter a prisoner
of war. She then said, that since the fall of Napo-
leon, the English were the only persons who had
the generosity to speak of him as he deserved.

The emperor of Russia dined with her at Mal-
maison on Friday the 2*2d of April, and on Tuesday
the loth of May.

On ihc 24th of May, the empress was indis-
posed with a sore throat. The king of Prussia

184 EVENTS AT PARIS, APllIL 1814.

dined at Malmaison on this day, and advised her
to keep her room ; but she persisted in doing the
honours of her table, and retired late, as there
was an evening party. She became worse. On
the 26th the emperor of Russia paid her a visit,
and finding her dangerously ill, sent his physician.
On the 27th a blister was applied ; but it was too
late. On this day, R6doiite, the celebrated flower-
painter, being at Malmaison, she insisted on seeing
him, but told him not to approach her bed, as he
might catch her sore throat. She spoke of two
plants which were then in flower, and desired
him to make drawings of them, expressing a hope
that she should soon be well enough to visit her
plants.

In the night between the 28 Ih and the 29th,
she fell into a lethar gic slumber, which lasted five
hours.

On the 29th, at ten in the morning, she said to
Bourdois, the physician who attended her, ** As
my daughter is a devotee, it will please her if I
have a priest ; and as it is a matter of perfect
indifference, it can do me no harm." Between
this and the arrival of the confessor, Mrs. Edat,
her English housekeeper, who had lived with her
many years, came into the room with the em-
press's little dog, which she put upon the bed.
The empress caressed it, and desired Mrs. Edat
to take care of it.

A few minutes before twelve at noon, this ex-

I'KDKJKEK AND DEATH OF K.Ml'KKSS JOSErillNK. 185

ccllcnt and accomplished woman* expired, of what
the French term an " csquimiudc gangreficuse.'' On
Tluirsday tlie 2d of June, her funeral took place
with great pomj), in the parish church of Ruelle,
at twelve at noon. Her two grandsons walked as
chief mourners, they alone wearing mantles. In
the procession were generals Sacken, Czernichef,
Nesselrode, several other generals of the allied
army, some French marshals and generals, and
all those who had formerly been in her service,
or who considered themselves under personal
obligations to her. There were some Russian
cavalry and the national guards of Ruelle. This
sad procession moved down the avenue from the
house to the St. Germain's road, then turned up

• Marie Josephine Rose, daughter of Joseph Gaspard deTas-
cher, by Rose Claire des Verges de Sanois, his wife, was born in
the island of Martinique, on the 23d of June, 1763, (as appears
from the register of her marriage, now at Pontoise, in the depart-
ment of Seine ct Oise.) She married viscomte Beauharnois, at
Noisy le Grand, in the department of Seine et Oise, on the 13th
of December, 1779. By the viscomte, who was guillotined
during the reign of terror, she had two children, Eugene and
Horlense. She married Napoleon Buonaparte at Paris on the
ntli of March, 1796; but in the register of this marriage it was
inserted, that she was born the 23d of June, 1767, and also that
he was born on the 5th of February, 1768 ; but this also is an
error. Napoleon, at the epoch of his divorce, sent an aide-de-
camp to M. Duclos, chief keeper of the archives of the ttat-
civile at Paris, for ihis part of the register, which never was
rtturucd.

186 EVENTS AT TAKIS, APIUL 1814.

that which led to the church of Ruelle, where the
funeral discourse was delivered by M. de Baral,
archbishop of Tours. The bishops of Evreux and
Versailles were present.

21st. — Went to a public meeting of the second
class of the Institute, or, as it is now called,
TAcademie Fran(faise, in the great hall of the
palace of the Institute, for the purpose of award-
ing the prize for the French essay. On this occa-
sion the large stove, which was in the centre of the
floor under the dome, was removed, and its place
occupied by crimson and gold arm-chairs, intended
for the sovereigns. At about ten minutes before
three, a roll of drums announced the arrival of the
allied monarchs and the emperor of Russia, con-
ducted by the president Lairetelle, and Sicard,
perpetual secretary to this class. The king of
Prussia and his three sons were immediately after-
wards ushered in ; and being seated opposite the
president, the latter began a discourse by saying —
that when, nearly a century ago, Peter the Great
came to seek civilisation in France, the French
were far from imagining it would ever be repaid
with such usurious interest by his magnanimous
successor: he then prated about their " adorable"
language having spread its conquests to the bor-
ders of the Danube, the Oder, and the Neva.

The prize medal was then presented to M.
Villemaine, for his essay on the proposed ques-
tion, " Dcs avantages et des inconv^iiens de la

c(;M 1-ici's ui:i\Vi;i;N iiii': ikkm ii and ai.j.iks. 1S7

criliquo litt/rairc," who prefaced the reading- of
it by a cijiiiplinientary address to the sovercignis,
whicli was very superior to that by the president.
TFaving concluded his essay, which was a heavy
tax on the i)atience of his auditors, the emperor
Alexander paid him some comjilimcnts ; and the
meeting terminated as it began, by shouting and
clapj)ing of hands.

The same day the duke of Berri arrived at
Paris, by the Barri^re de Clichy, from Rouen.

23d. — Price of stocks: — 5 per cents, G3
francs, 50 centimes ; bank actions, 950 francs.

29th. — I heard " God save the King" played
on a barrel organ in the streets of Paris.

Towards the middle of April, the number of
French officers and soldiers who had successively
arrived at Paris having become considerable,
and seeing the quiet behaviour of the allied
troops, their natural impertinence broke out, and
they became very insolent, particularly to the
well-disciplined and patient Russians: this in-
duced governor Sacken to order all the officers of
the allied army, who were not called to Paris on
business, to join their respective corps. Similar
measures were taken by the French government,
and the national guard received orders to take up
all j)ersons who broke the peace, and the in-
habitants of Paris were forbidden to interfere ;
but this was disregarded, and the French con-

188 EVENTS AT PARIS, APRIL 1814.

tinned their aggressions, and attempted to tear
out the branches of trees which the allies always
Avore in their caps. The quarrels continued to
increase, the inhabitants taking part with the sol-
diers. On Friday, 29th April, there was much
fighting in the garden of the Palais Royal, and
several persons were wounded on both sides :
in consequence of this, on Sunday, the 1st of
May, there was a patrole of thirty Russian sol-
diers, and as many national guards, stationed in
those gardens, who walked about in files of
fifteen ; and the guard-house in the Rue des Bons
Enfans was occupied conjointly with national
guards and Russians.

When, after the 4th of May, the allies were so
foolish as to suffer Louis XVIII to review the
French troops in the court-yard of the Tuilleries,
and thus permitted a great number of French
soldiers to assemble in Paris, they not only tore
the branches of verdure from the caps of the
allies, but tried to tear the silver medals, of the
Moscow campaign, from the breasts of the Russian
military.

LOUIS XVm. AT ST. OT'KN. 189

EVENTS OF MAY 1814.

il/c/j/ 2d. — Louis XVIII arrived at the chiitcau of
St. Ouen,* near the village of that name, on the
right bank of the Seine, about three miles from
Paris, at a quarter-past six in the evening. lie
immediately sat down to dinner, during which a
crowd of all ranks was admitted to see him. In
the evening he received deputations from the
senate and other bodies. Here he slept.

3d. — I joined a crowd in the Fauxbourg St.
Denis, who were eagerly pressing forward to see
the king's entry into Paris, whose declaration had
just been stuck up, dated St. Ouen, May 2, 1814,
the nineteenth year of his reign, in which,
.styling himself king of France and Navarre, he
refused to accept the constitution of the senate of
the Gth ultimo, though the 29th article says, that
when he has .signed and accepted it, he is to be
proclaimed king of the French. This consti-
tution Talleyrand sent to the crafty, proud exile
in England by his brother, count Bozun de Peri-
gord, an easy simpleton, and who was as deaf as

• Since pulled down, and a villa built near the site by
Louis XVI II for his mistress, madunie du Cayla, formerly
Zoe Talon.

190 EVENTS AT PAKIS, MAY 1814.

a post. The choice of such a person for the em-
bassy shewed the intentions of the uni)rincipled
pohtician. The declaration was glanced at en
passant by the herd ; few^ stopped to read it,
still fewer seemed to comprehend how com-
pletely they had been duped, or that they and
their country had become the legitimate property
of a family whom, until within the last month,
few had ever heard spoken of but with contempt.
I continued my walk through La Chapelle to
the plain St. Denis, the whole way being crowded
with spectators, exposed to a cloudless sky and
the temperature of the dog-days, the effect of
which on a large, long tumulus by the side of
the road, containing the putrescent bodies of
some hundreds of those who fell on the 30th of
March, was most horrible. At between eleven
and twelve, a barouche, drawn by eight horses,
and containing the king and the duchess of Angou-
leme, entered the St. Denis road from that of
St. Ouen ; but the clouds of dust raised by the
numerous cavalry, carriages, and people, were
such as to render a sight of the objects of cu-
riosity impossible. I then struck across the
fields, entered Paris by the Fauxbourg St. Mar-
tin, and from thence gained the Fauxbourg St.
Denis, near the barrier, where I obtained a very
good view of them. There was but little de-
monstration of joy on the occasion, either on the
part of the royal personages, or on that of the

TIIK KINd'S KNTUV INTO I'AIIIS. l!)l

people : tlie astonishment at the littU English
bonnet worn by tiie duehess, which |)rcscnted a
remarkable contrast with the very large ones
tlien tlie fashion at Paris, seemed to overpower
every other feeling.

The procession proceeded down the Rue St.
Denis to Notre Dame. The houses being all
hung with drapery, composed of sheets, window
and bed-curtains, with scraps of coloured paper,
flowers. See. stuck upon them, produced a most
whimsical and ridiculous appearance. After the
I'e Deufu, the ])rocession proceeded to the Tuil-
leries, where it arrived at twenty minutes after
four o'clock.

Gth. — Price of stocks : 5 per cents, 62 francs
20 centimes; bank actions, 962, 50.

Two caricatures were made on this occasion,
and clandestinely sold. One representing the
fat old monarch returning to France on horse-
back, behind a Cossack, to whom he was cling-
ing, galloping over slain national guards, with
burning villages seen in the distance. The other
represented the chateau of the Tuillerics, with
two old eagles and a young one flying away,
while a flock of five geese were seen waddling in
at the entrance.

8th. — There was another review by the king
• tf the ci-dci'dut garde nnphialc and the national
guard, in the court-yard of the Tuillerics. This
was followed, in the evening, by a very serious

192 EVENTS AT PAKTS, MAY 1814.

affray at the Courfeille, near the gates of Paris,
at a public-house, where a party of the French
attacked some Austrians. Several were killed on
both sides ; among them were some girls who had
been dancing with the allies. In consequence of
this, the greater number of the French soldiers
were marched out of Paris.

10th. — There was a patrol of thirty Russian
grenadiers in the garden of the Palais Royal, to
keep the peace ; but this did not put a stop to
the quarrels : the insolence of the French daily
increased, and the tearing of the sprigs of ver-
dure (mostly consisting of box or elm) out of the
caps of the allied soldiers, continued. General
orders to put a stop to it were stuck up : the
following are extracts, and the fifth article is a
severe commentary on the boasted humanity and
gallantry of the French : —

[The Order commands the national guard,
in case any quarrel takes place in the streets of
Paris, to arrest both parties, allies as well as
French ; and informs the public, that these
branches had been worn by the Austrians when
in the field, for time immemorial.]

" GARDE NATIONALE DE PARIS,
" iTAT-MAJOR-oiNERAL.

*' Ordre dii Jour, Paris, Mai 19, 1814.
*' En effet, il n'y a qu'une vanitc puerile, ou una

ALLIKD C()M>rANl)AN'l'S OF PAHIS. 193

ausccptihilitr ridicule, qui ))uissc s'oftenccr de
cette verdure.

" Article V. Les vicillards, les f'eninies, les
entans, out droit aux cgards dus au sexe et a
Va^v. C'est un prcjug^ de croire qu'un ton dur
et sec, ou des actes de violence, donnent un air
plus militaire.

" Le General Commandant-en-Chef, Des-

SOLES.

'* Sac KEN, Gouverneur de Paris, pour les
Puissances AUiees.

" General Comte de Rochechouakt, Com-
mandant de Paris, pour TEmpereur des
Russies.

" G^^^neral Baron Herzogenbourg, Com-
mandant de Paris, pour TEmpereur
d'Autriche.

" G^n^ral Comte Goltz, Commandant de
Paris, pour le Roi de Prusse.

*' Comte PiCART, Commandant de Paris,
pour la France."

27th. — The duchess of Angoulc^me, accom-
panied by the countess de B^'arn, madame de
Uanias, and mademoiselle de Choissy, went this
morning, at half-past seven o'clock, to visit the
grave of her royal parents in the no-longer-used
Cimitiere de la Madeline, situated behind the
house of an old advocate named Ducloseau,

194 EVENTS AT PARIS, JUNE 1814.

in the Rue d'Anjou St. Honor6, No. 48, and who
had planted a weeping willow on the grave.*

The duchess, on arriving, threw herself pros-
trate on the grave, and remained in silence for
some minutes ; then, rising on her knees, she
pronounced an extempore prayer.

In this burial-ground were interred the bodies
of one hundred and thirty-three persons, who
were crushed to death in the Rue Rovale, return-
ing from the fire-works let off on occasion of the
marriage of the dauphin and dauphiness, after-
wards Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The duke of Angouleme made his entry into
Paris by the Barriere du Maine, and arrived at
the Tuilleries by the Rue du Bac at six in the
evening.

30th. — Peace signed.

31st. — ^ Cannon announced the peace: this
produced no sensation among the people ; there
was not a house illuminated in the evening.

EVENTS OF JUNE 1814.

June 1st. — Peace proclaimed.

2d. — 'The gates of Paris, which till this day
had been held by the allied troops, were delivered

* A chapel has since been erected on the spot.

TUE KMl'tllOKS uni I'AKIS. 195

u\) to tjir national guards ; and the functions of
general Sacken, as governor of Paris for the allies,
ceased.

The enij)eror of Russia quitted Paris.

3d. — The emperor of Austria left Paris.

The baijira<re-waotrons of the Austrian army
left Paris ; an uninterrupted line of these immense
wicker vehicles went along the boulevards from
seven in the morning until ten.

Price of stocks, — 5 per cents, Gl francs 65
centimes; bank actions, 1027 francs 50 cents.

4th. — The king of Prussia left Paris.

Shortly after the return of the king, Hamlet
was performed at the Th^itre Francais. The fol-
lowing line was received with great applause : —

" L'Angleterre en forlaits trop souvent fiU feconde."

This was the first time that hatred was publicly
shewn to the English, as the same line had been
often repeated before without notice. But every
description of people now began to feel dissatis-
faction ; the young men, who, during Buonaparte's
reii^ni, fearing the conscription, were violent against
him, no sooner found their ])ersonal danger over,
than national vanity prevailed ; they detested the
Bourbons for having peaceable dispositions, and
the allies for having conquered them; though
this they never would allow, but always ex-
claimed that they were betrayed and sold. Those

196 KVENTS AT PARIS, JUNE 1814.

who vvere inclined to a military life complained,
because they saw that they must work, instead of
enjoying occasional indolence as officers ; the old
military, because the prospect of living by plunder
was over ; clerks in the public offices, who were
dismissed in consequence of the diminution of
territory ; the emigrants and Bourbonists because
they were not instantly put into power, and the
mass of the people lest they should ; the court
tabbies, because that hoops, lappets, and the old
court dresses, were not already commanded to be
worn, and the youthful beauties for fear they
should ; but the serious apprehension of the in-
fluence of the priests pervaded every class.

11th. — On this day appeared the first official,
but full demonstration of Talleyrand's celebrated
observation, that the Bourbons, during their
twenty-five years' exile, '' n'avoient rien appris,
comme ils n'avoient rien oublie ;" on being
suddenly and unexpectedly placed at the head
of the French nation, they would be totally
ignorant that, during their absence, its manners,
customs, and prejudices, had totally changed.
The directeur-general of the police, comte Beug-
not, published an ordonnance, dated the 7th, for
the strict observance of Sundays and holydays,
which was drawn up upon the model of that of
the 8th of November, 1782. It consisted of thir-
teen articles : the fifth forbids coflfee-houses to be

OKDONNANC'E I'OK SUNDAYS. 197

Opened on those days between tlie hours of eight
in tlie nioiniui;- and twelve at noon, under the
penalty of three liundred francs.

Book-stalls are forbidden on Sundays. Shops
are ordered to be shut, under penalty of two hun-
dred francs, with the exception of apothecaries',
which are allowed to be half open.

The article relative to coffee-houses excited
the greatest dissatisfaction, as in Paris the num-
ber of persons, and even families, who breakfast
in those houses, from necessity as well as ])lea-
sure, particularly on Sundays, is incalculable.
The whole proceeding produced universal detesta-
tion and contempt ; several caricatures were pub-
lished ; one in particular, called " Un dejeune
selon lordonnance," represented a person at the
half-open door of an apothecary's shop, through
which he was in the act of having a glyster
administered, and several others waiting their
turn for the injection. Ordomicnice in French
also means a })hysician"s prescription.

12th, Sundaij. — The procession of the Fete
Dieu (Corpus Christi) appeared in the streets of
Paris Ibr the first time since the revolution ! This,
which is the most splendid pantomime of Catho-
licism, was, like all other religious ceremonies,
forbidden to appear in the streets of any town
where there were churches for both catholic and
))rotestant religions, it being expected that every
person should kneel when the host passes; this part

198 EVENTS AT PARIS, JUNE 1814.

of worship was on the first Sunday attempted to
be enforced by some of the most zealous national
guards, with the butt ends of their muskets : it so
incensed the people, that on the second Sunday,
the 19th, when the procession descended the steps
of the church of St. Roche, in the Rue St. Honor6,
it was received by the crowd with hooting, and
such a shower of mud and other missiles, that
the priests and the faithful were obliged to take
refuge in the church. In some other parishes it
met with nearly a similar reception, and was
discontinued in consequence.

26th, Sunday. — The shops continued open in
defiance of the ordonnance of the director-general
of the police.

Thus began a series of follies on the part of
the Bourbons, the ancient noblesse, and the
priests, which brought on a state of feeling in the
whole nation, that produced the most extraordi-
nary event in ancient or modern history, viz. the

Journey of Napoleon from the coast
OF THE Mediterranean to Paris, on his
return from the Island of Elba, — an
event as honourable to the French nation as his
repression of the spirit of liberty which thus placed
him a second time on the throne was disgraceful,
and which met with its merited reward.

END OF THE IIK.ST PART.

SECOND PART

MEMORABLE EVENTS.

JOURNEY OF THE E.MPEROR NAPOLEON
FROM TROVES TO ELBA.

Having concluded the portion of this journal
which detailed the events in the French metro-
polis, and the diplomatic manoeuvres of the allied
powers, during the first six months of 1814, I
proceed to narrate the two most important con-
current events of the same period — viz. Napo-
leon's Journey from Troyes to Elba, and
THE Regency at Blois. The following nar-
rative will embrace the most complete account
of the extraordinary '* affair" of De Maubreuil
that has been made public ; the chief facts of
which mysterious history transpired in the
French tribunals : the implications against cer-
tain crowned heads do not originate with the
present narrator.

The ensuing pages contain an industrious and
faithful collection of historical facts, which have
been derived from peculiar sources, and not from
the personal observation of the Journalist, as was
the case in the preceding part of this Journal.

200 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON FROM TROYES TO ELBA.

On the 29th of March, at night, the emperor
Napoleon arrived at Troyes from Doulevent, which
he quitted early in the morning. On the 30th, at
ten in the morning, he left Troyes, on horseback,
attended by general Bertrand, grand mar^chal du
palais; Caulincourt, duke of Vicenza, grand 6cuyer;
monsieur St. Aignan, two aides-de-camp, and two
orderly officers, (officiers d'ordonnance,) one of
whom, captain Lamezan, gave me (June 29,
1814) the following details of the journey. They
went the first ten leagues on the same horses,
in little more than two hours. The emperor did
not mention whither he was going. They arrived
at Sens at one o'clock, where, having rested half
an hour, they continued the journey in a wretched
carriole,* and arrived, at one in the morning, at
the village of Fromanteau, generally called the
Cour de France, the second post on the road from
Paris to Fontainebleau, and distant from the
former four and a half post leagues : it is between
the ninth and tenth borne. Here they met the
artillery, at the head of the column of troops
which was evacuating the capital. General
Belliard accompanied it, and announced the fate
of the day to the emperor, who received the news
with the most perfect calmness, walked on the

* A sort of carriage without fepriags.

NAPOLEON'S ARMY AT ESSOiNNES, &c. 201

road in conversation with the general for about
twenty minutes, sent Caulincourt to the head-
ijuarters of the allied sovereigns, then, entering
the post-house, he called for his maps, and de-
voted himself in marking positions on them, by
means of pins with variously coloured heads,
(which he habitually made use of, to represent
ditlerent armies,) until near three o'clock in the
morning of the 31st, when he set off in a carriage
for Fontainebleau, and on arriving there, shut
himself up in his closet for the remainder of the
day. The duke of Basano was the only one of
his ministers wlio was with him.

In the evening the emperor sent for marshal
Alarmont, duke of Ragusa, who, on evacuating
Paris, had stationed himself at Essonnes, where
his army began to arrive on the 31st, at eight in the
morning, and continued to march in until eleven :
they ascended the hill to the south of the town,
and took up their positions on its brow, extending
up the valley of the Essonne, from Plessis-chenet
westward to Mennecy. The duke arrived at
Fontainebleau at between two and three in the
morning of the 1st of April, and gave the emperor
a detailed account of what passed at Paris on the
30th. Napoleon asked him if his army was in a
good position, and was answered in the affirmative.
Notwitlistanding this, he directed the marshal to
entrencli iiis caniji. The duke told me he ap-
peared undetermined wiiether to retire on the

202 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

banks of the Loire, or give battle to the allies near
Paris. In the afternoon he went to inspect the
position of Marmont's army at Essonnes, with
which the marshal said he appeared to be satis-
fied, and determined to remain there and ma-
noeuvre, with a view to disengage Paris and give
battle. With the greatest coolness he formed
plans for the execution of these objects -^ but
while thus employed, the officers, whom the mar-
shal had left at Paris to deliver up that city to
the allies, arrived, and informed them of the events
of the day. The emperor, on hearing this, be-
came furious : the plan he had just been forming,
and all prudent measures, were instantly at an
end. He raved about punishing the rebellious
city, taking it by storm, putting all the inha-
bitants to the sword, and giving it up to pillage
by his soldiers. With this resolution he sepa-
rated from Marmont, and returned to Fontaine-
bleau.

During the time Napoleon was at Essonnes,
Caulincourt, apparently much dejected, arrived at
Fontainebleau from Paris.

Marshal Marmont told me, that receiving at
this time a communication of what was going
forward in the senate, he began seriously to
reflect, that should Buonaparte, by gaining a
battle, obtain the means of exercising his fury on
Paris, the allies would not by that be destroyed ;
and as their ultimate success, I'rom numerical

NAPOLEON'S IlEVIEWAL: FONTAINEIJLEAU. 203

force, was certain, that by his declaring for the
senate, there would be a standard of military
defection raised, and thus the imperial army so
much diminished, that resistance would be deemed
useless. He therefore made arrangements to de-
sert the cause of Napoleon, who, even with Mar-
mont's army, had not more than 30,000 men.

The head of the advanced column of the army,,
which Napoleon had left at Troyes, arrived at
Fontainebleau at eight oclock on the morning of
the 1st of April : the rest followed in the course of
a few hours, having, as general Letort informed
me, marched sixty leagues in two days and a half.

On Saturday, the 2d, the emperor assembled
his marshals and generals, to whom he commu-
nicated what had taken place at Paris on the
entrance of the allies, at the same time enjoining
them not to disclose these events to the army.
Ife then reviewed, in the great court of the cha-
teau, the second and seventh corps of the army,
and after passing through the ranks, finding
them lull of enthusiasm, ordered the officers to
make known the capitulation of Paris ; and
desiring the officers and under-officers of his
guard to form a circle round him, and addressing
them in a very energetic manner, he said, that " the
enemy had stolen three days' march upon them,
and had arrived at Paris. I have offered the
emperor Alexander peace, purchased by great sa-
crifices — France, with its ancient limits, and to

204 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

renounce all the conquests made since the revo-
lution. Not only has he refused, but he has
listened to the suggestions of a faction, composed
of emigrants whom I have pardoned, and persons
whom I have enriched, who, on his entrance,
encircled the emperor of Russia, and by their
perfidious insinuations obtained his permission
to assume the white cockade. But," continued
Napoleon, " we will preserve our own : in a few
days I will march upon Paris, and prove to them
we will be masters on our own territory, and
capable of defending our cockade and our inde-
pendence. Je compte sur vous. Ai-je tort?"
" Paris ! Paris ! Paris ! was the yell which burst
from all the ranks ; and the most savage zeal was
expressed to march, with the avowed purpose
of storming the metropolis, and slaughtering all
the inhabitants who should not declare for their
emperor.

During the night, the superior officers, instead
of retiring to rest, deliberated among themselves
on the probable effects of this determination of
Napoleon. The city, doomed to destruction,
contained the habitations of the parents, wives,
families, and friends of many of them ; its mag-
nificence was the pride of their country ; and even
should he succeed in retaking, and wreaking his
fury on it, no other result would be obtained than
the gratification of his personal vengeance ; and
that, so far from terminating the war, it would

THE SOLDlEllS WISH TO STORM PARIS. 205

only be the means of removing its horrors into
other parts of France whicli had not yet expe-
rienced them. The ardent desire the soldiers had
shewn to rush on to the plunder of the capital
contributed not a little to increase their alarm.
These considerations determined them not to
march against Paris ; and in the morning- of the
3d, some of them intimated this to the emperor,
who saw that indecision had supplanted the
ardour of the preceding day in nearly the whole

army.

Comte Letort, general of division of the dra-
goons of the imperial guard, assured me, it was
the general opinion at Fontainebleau, that if
Buonaparte, instead of announcing his intention
to the army, and giving them time for deli-
beration, had, on forming his determination,
marched them to within three or four leagues of
Paris, and there informed them what had taken
place, and proposed instantly storming the city,
they would have rushed on and perished in the
ruins. This attack of Paris was to have been
made on the 5th.

4th. — Orders were given to transfer the im-
perial head-quarters to a place nearer Paris, be-
tween Ponthierry and Essonnes.

The Monitcur of the preceding day, con-
taining the decision of the senate, and the
formation of a government, ;;r6» tempore, was re-
ceived this morning at Fontainebleau ; when the

206 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

marshals Ney, Macdonald, and Oudinot agreed,
that after the parade, which took place daily at
noon in the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the emperor
should be made acquainted with these events.
Ney, accordingly, undertook the task, and, ac-
companied by the other two marshals, followed
the emperor to his closet, where he made known
to him the decree of the senate, which proclaimed
the forfeiture (decheance) of the throne ; and, at
the same time, declared it was their determina-
tion to adhere to the decision of the govern-
ment at Paris. Napoleon, though he had during
the night received the papers by express from
marshal Marmont, affected to disbelieve the
news. " C'est faux!" was his immediate reply.
Ney then produced the paper, and advised him
to acquiesce and abdicate. Napoleon took the
Moniteur, feigned to read, turned pale, and ap-
peared much agitated, (but did not shed tears as
the newspapers reported.) He seemed not to
know in what manner to act; alternately ca-
joling, and haughtily threatening them for re-
belling against him. Ney told him he might be
certain they had not proceeded so far without
being determined not to recede. Napoleon said,
the army would remain faithful to him ; but Ney
replied, they would follow their generals. He
then asked: " Que voulez-vous ?" Ney an-
swered, " II n'y a que I'abdication qui puisse
vous tirer de la." The emperor proposed a

NAPOLEON'S ABDICATION. 207

regency, securing to his son, when of age, suc-
cession to the throne. During this conference,
marshal Letevrc came in ; and upon tlie em-
peror's expressing astonishment at what had
been announced to him, said, in a rough manner,
" you see what has resulted from not listening to
the advice of your friends to make peace ; you
remember the communication I made to you
lately, therefore you may think yourself well off
that atiairs have terminated as they have." After
a discussion, which lasted till late in the after-
noon, Napoleon drew up the following act : —

*' Les puissances alli^es, ayant proclam6 que
Tempereur Napoleon 6toit le seul obstacle au
rctablissement de la paix en Europe, Tempereur
Napoleon, fiddle a son serment, declare qu'il est
])rct a descendre du trone, j\ quitter la France,
et meme la vie, pour le bien de la patrie, inse-
])arable des droits de son fils, de ceux de la
rc'-gence de I'imperatrice, et du maintien des lois
de remj)ire.

" Fait en notre palais de Fontainebleau, le
4 Avril, 1814. " Napoleon."

This declaration having been transcribed by a
secretary, marshals Macdonald and Ney, with
Caulincourt, were deputed to convey it to Paris.
The marshals even })romised, that if they could
not obtain this by treaty, to return to him and try
to procure it by force of arms.

208 MEMORABI.E EVENTS OF 1814.

At this time, there were four corps d'arm^e at
Fontainebleau. The corps of marshal Oudinot,
duke of Reggio, composed of six thousand men ;
those of marshals Ney and Macdonald, and ge-
neral Girard, forming together six thousand
more; and the old imperial guard, amounting to
between six and seven thousand. That these
troops formed the total force that remained with
Napoleon, was confirmed to me by many persons
who were at Fontainebleau.

Late in the evening, some officers of Oudinot's
corps observed gens-d'armes lurking about the
duke's quarters. They communicated this cir-
cumstance to him, and their suspicions that these
fellows were watching an opportunity for exe-
cuting some secret order against him. Oudinot
went immediately to Buonaparte, declaring to
him what had been observed, and boldly advised
him to desist from such pra\:tices, as the evil
might be retorted upon himself. Napoleon flew
into a passion, and called Oudinot un miserable;
who replied, that, as he was no longer his sove-
reign, he would not put up with such language.
*' Vous etes un ingrat," exclaimed Napoleon.
The duke spurned at the accusation, at the same
time declaring that he had served him faithfully
as long as it was his duty so to act.

In the night, colonel Gourgaud, who had been
sent to Essonnes with orders from Napoleon,
arrived in haste with the intelligence that Mar-

NAl'OLEON'S PERSONAL DANGER. 209

mont had ([uitted his post, and that his troops
were then marching through the Russian army
without molestation. In consequence of this
movement, the road to Fontainel)leau was left
o))en to the allies. The convention with Mar-
mont was signed by him and prince Schwart-
zenberg, at the village of Chevilly, to the east of
Bourg la Rcino, on the 4th.

5th. — The emperor Napoleon appeared on
the parade ; but finding a marked indifference on
the part not only of the officers but even the
troops, he retired in about ten minutes to the
palace, and appeared no more before the army as
their master.

Oudinot, from motives of personal safety, as
well as from apprehension that the imperial
guard might attempt to seduce the rest of the
army, marched the latter towards Essonnes.

Cth. — The deputation returned from Paris at
between twelve and one in the morning, when
marshal Ney informed the emperor, that in con-
sequence of Marmont's defection, the allies w^ould
not listen to the proposed terms ; that an uncon-
ditional abdication of the throne was required of
him; and that his persojial safety depended on this
measure.* This, for some time. Napoleon per-

* Napoleon's personal danger was far greater than a brave
soldier like Ney coidd possibly liave contemplated, as Dc Mau-
brcuil's mission will shew. I qnestioned, in 1819, RI. lloux

210 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

sisted in refusing to accede to ; at length he
inquired whither he was expected to go? " To
the Isle of Elba, and with a pension of two mil-

Laborie, secretary to the gouvernement provisoire, relative to
this mysterious affair, with which I became acquainted from
being present at the pleadings in the courts of justice at Paris
in 1817. He admitted the intention of having Napoleon and
his S071 viurdered ; and that De Maubreuil, from his extra-
vagant conduct on the day of the entrance of the allied army
into Paris, was deemed a very likely person to undertake and
execute the mission. He was, therefore, sent for by Talleyrand,
and M. Roux Laborie was present at the interview between
them ; at which it was proposed, by authority of the provisional
government, that Maubreuil should form a gang of fifty men
for the accomplishment of the scheme ; five hundred thousand
francs were offered as the recompense ; the whole of which sum
was to be paid to the survivors, even should but one remain
after perpetrating the deed. To this proposition, he said, De
Maubreuil acceded, and returned on the 13th of April to
inform him that he had completed his troop, and was ready to
set out; but he stated, that as Buonaparte had signed his
abdication, his murder was no longer necessary. This is La-
borie's account ; a man who, at the same time, vaunted the
excellence of his memory, which he said was so tenacious that
he never forgot the date of any action of his life, nor the most
minute circumstances of the event, even to the furniture of the
room and colour of the waistcoats of the persons present.

Now for the other statement, which is the result of what I
heard at the trials, and which proves, from the dates of the
orders given by the different ministers, &c., that Napoleon's
abdication did not put an end to the plots for his assassination.
Jaques Marie Armand Guerry de Maubreuil, marquis d'Orvalt,
is of an ancient and noble family of Brittany, twenty-two of
whom had been killed fighting in the Bourbon cause. His

CHARACTER OF MAUBRIXIL. 211

lions of francs." This, he said, was too mucli ;
for, since I am to become a simple soldier, a
Louis dor ))er diem is sufficient. Finding also

father, who also was killed, had for his second wife the sister of
the celebrated Mcssrs.de la Rochejaquellin ; he is now thirty
years old, and was in the army of La Vendee when he was only
fifteen and a half. He was in Napoleon's army in the penin-
sular war, wliere, for having saved the life of the colonel of his
regiment, he received the decoration of the legion of honour.
In consequence of being sent for by Talleyrand, De Maubreuil
waited on him at seven in the evening, and was received with
great politeness; Laborie also was in the room. Talleyrand
stated to him, that there could be no safety for those who had
espoused the cause of the Bourbons, or tranquillity for France
or Europe, while Napoleon was suftered to exist; that although
he was allowed the island of Elba and the title of emperor, in
order to pacify Austria, yet the gouvernemcnt provisoire and the
emperor of Russia had determined on the destruction of him and
of all his family ; and that the king of Rome was to be carried
to a place which should be named. For the execution of this
plan he offered him the title of duke, the rank of lieutenant-
general in the army, the governorship of a province, and two
hundred thousand francs a year for life. Maubreuil replied, he
would consider on the means he could find for executing the
project, and give him an answer the next day ; he immediately
went to his relations, M. de St. Aignan and M. de Caulincourt,
to whom he divulged the whole conversation. They advised
him to feign acquiescence, lest on his refusal some one should
be found to execute it. He therefore waited on Talleyrand
according to appointment,' and said he accepted the mission.
Talleyrand then introduced him to the emperor of Russia, by
whom he was most graciously received ; and the manner of exe-
cuting their project being discussed, it was agreed that Napoleon
should be murdered as he crossed the Fontainebleau forest, on his

212 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

that the army would not listen to his proposals
of uniting all the forces, and going either to the
banks of the Loire or to Italy, he wrote his second

way to Elba ; and that the king of Rome was to be carried off
on his way from Rambouillet, which offered greater difficulties,
as there was a probability that he and his mother would have a
considerable Austrian escort. On quitting Talleyrand, he went to
a royalist club, held at M. Vantaux's, a man of a good family,
but necessitous and unprincipled. He there announced, that he
was charged by the gouvernement provisoire with a mission of
such importance, that he was authorised to confer the rank of
colonel on those persons he employed and with whose conduct
he was satisfied. On being questioned as to the nature of the
enterprise, he replied he was not at liberty to divulge it.
M. Dasies, a gentleman about twenty- eight years old, at once
offered to join him. Having completed his troop, he waited on
Talleyrand; and on the 17th of April received his full instruc-
tions, and permission to distribute as much of the treasure the
imperial family was carrying off with them as he thought proper
among his associates. Maubreuil mentioned, that the queen of
Westphalia had among her trinkets a miniature of a lady with
whom he had formerly been connected, and which he was
desirous of possessing. " Take it," said Talleyrand, " and any
thing else you think proper, so that you do but execute the
grand object of your mission !" The orders, signed by the
different authorities, were then delivered to him — one signed
by the minister of police, Angles ; a second by the minister of
war, count Dupont; a third by the director of post-horses, Bou-
rienne; a fourth by the Russian baron, Sacken ; and a fifth by
the Prussian baron, de Brokenhausen. Maubreuil had official
duplicates of these orders, to be provided against accident; and
Dasies had other copies, in case they were obliged to separate in
the execution of their project.

Ol riCIAL ORDERS TO MAUBREUIL. 213

act of abdication in the following words, which was
agreed to, and finally signed on the 11th : —

Les puissances alli^es ayant proclamfe que

Copij of the Orders that were read at Dc MauhreuiVs Trial.

*' Minist^re de la Police-generale. — II est ordonn^ ^ toutes
les autorites chargces de la police generale de France, aux com-
niissaircs generaux, speciaux, et autres, d'obeir aux ordres que
M. de Maubieuil leur donnera, de faire et d'executer k I'instant
niC-me tout ce qu'il prescrira, M. de Maubreuil etant charge d'une
miision secrete de la plus haute importance.

" Le Commissaire-Provisoire au Dtpartement de la
" Police-generale,

" L. S. (Signe) Angles.
" Paris, 16 Avril, 1814.
" Commissariat de la Police-generale."

II.

*• Minist^re de la Guerre. — 11 est ordonne a toutes les autorites
militaircs, d'obeir aux ordres qui leur seront donnes par M. de
Maubreuil, lequel est autorise ciles requerir, et en disposer selon
qu'il jugera convenable, etant charge d'une mission secrete.
M.M. les commandants des corps veilleront e\ ce que les troupes
soient mises sur le champ a sa disposition, et qu'il n'eprouve
aucun retard pour I'execution des ordres dont il est charge pour
le service de sa majeste Louis XVIII.

" Le Ministre de la Guerre,
" L. S. (Signe) Le General Comtc Dupont.

" Pans, \6Avril, 1814."

III.

" Direction-generale des Postcs et Relais de France. — Le
djrecteur-general des postes ordonne aux maiires de postes de

214 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

rempereur Napoleon ^toit le seul obstacle au
r^tablissement de la paix en Europe, I'em-
pereur Napoleon, fiddle a son serment, declare

fournir a I'instant a M. de Maubreuil, charge d'une importanfe
viission, la quantite de chevaux qui lui sera necessaire, et de
veiller a ce qu'il n'eprouve aucun retard pour I'execution des
ordres dont il est charge pour le service des postes.

** Le Directeur-general des Postes et Relais de France,

" L. S. (Signe) Bourienne,

" Hotel des Postes, Paris, 17 Avril, 1814."

" P. S. — Le directeur-general ordonne aux inspecteurs et
maitres de postes, de veiller avec le plus grand soin a ce que le
nombre des chevaux demande par M. de Maubreuil lui soit fourni
avant et de preference a qui que ce soit, et qu'il n'eprouve aucune
espece de retard.

"L. S. (Signe) Le Directeur-general, Bourienne.

"Paris, 17 Avril.''

IV.

RUSSIAN ORDER. — FRENCH LITERAL TRANSLATION.

♦' M. le general de Maubreuil etant charge d'une haute mis-
sion, d'une tr^s grande importance, pour laquelle il est autorise
a requerir les troupes de sa majeste imperiale Russe, M. le
general-en-chef de I'infanterie Russe, baron Sacken, ordonne
aux commandants des troupes de les lui mettre a sa disposition,
pour I'execution de sa mission, des qu'il les demandera.

" Le General-en-chef de I'infanterie Russe, Gouverneur

" de Paris,
" L. S. (Signe) Baron Sacken.
" Paris, 17 Avril, 1814."

PRUSSIAN ORDER. FRENCH LITERAL TRANSLATION.

'^ M. le general Maubreuil etant autorise a parcourir la
France pour des affaires d'une trcs grande importance, et pour

OFFICIAL ORDERS TO MAURIIEUIL. 215

qu'll rcnuncc, pour lui ct ses li^iticrs, aux
tioncs de France et tritalic ; ct qifil n'est
aucun sacrifice ]»ersonnel, mcme celui de la

Texecution de tr6s hautes missions ; que dans son besoin, il pent
avoir occasion de requcrir les troupes des hautes puissances, en
consequence, et suivant I'ordre de M. le general-en-chef de I'in-
fanterie Russe, baron Sacken, il est ordonne a M.M. les com-
mandants des troupes alliees, de lui en fournir, sur ses demandes,
pour I'execution de ces hautes missions.

** Le General d'Etat-major,
" L. S. (Signe) Baron de Bkokeniiausen.
" Paris, \7 Avril, 1814."

Furnished with these orders, (the object of which those who
gave them dared not mention,) which placed at their disposal
the pohce of France, the French troops, those of the allies,
and all the post-horses, Maubreuil and Basics (the latter with
the title of commissaire du gouvernement) quitted Paris on
the 18lh. They joined their troops on the road, and waited in
Fontainebleau forest until they saw the emperor Napoleon pass
in safety. They then entered the Montereau road ; and on the
2lst, about a furlong from the village of Fossard, which is the
post between Montereau and Ville-ncuve-la-Guiard, stopped
the princess Catherine, daughter of the king of Wurtemberg,
and wife of Jerome Buonaparte, king of Westphalia ; she was
travelling from Biois, with a numerous train of servants, car-
riages, and camp equipages. De Maubreuil, dressed as a
colonel of hussars, at the head of his troop, composed of
mamelukes of the late imperial guard, and soldiers of the
imperial guard, in all about one hundred and twenty, rode up
to the queen, to whom he was previously known, and told her
he had orders to seize the cases containing the treasure she was
carrying away. They took eleven cases: in one of which were
eighty-four thousand francs, in gold ; another contained her

216 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

vie, qu'il ne soit pret a faire h. I'int^r^t de la
France.

" Fait au palais de Fontainebleau, le 11 Avril,
1814.

(Sign^) ** Napoleon."

husband's dressing-case, in which were jewels, according to the
evidence of Bapts, the jeweller of whom they were bought, to
the value of one hundred and sixty thousand francs. The
queen, the Westphalian minister, Maubreuil, and Dasies, after-
wards dined together at the inn at Fossard. She continued her
journey ; he went to Chailly, the first post on the Paris side of
Fontainebleau, from whence the cases, except that containing
the jewels, were sent, under a military escort, to M. deVantaux,
at Paris, where they arrived at nine in the morning of the 22d.
Maubreuil and Dasies, having slept at Chailly on the 21st,
went, the next day, to V^ersailles, to obtain information relative
to the king of Rome : while there, Maubreuil sent for a lock-
smith to open Jerome's dressing-case. Maubreuil and Dasies
went to Paris, and arrived late at night at Vantaux's, where
they found Semalle, and saw the cases in a closet, behind
Vantaux's bed, Maubreuil delivered them the dressing-case,
Vantaux was, at that time, called " inspecteur des tresors de la
couronne ;" and count de Semalle, a creature of Blacas', and an
intriguing adventurer, without the means of existence, was
employed by the Bourbons at this critical moment with the
title of " commissaire du roi," The next day Dasies went to
Semalle's, who asked to see the orders he had received.
These he attempted to keep ; but was prevented by the superior
strength of Dasies, who, however, permitted him to take copies.
This ill-timed act of Semalle gave the alarm to Maubreuil and
Dasies to deposit these orders in a place of safety. On the 25th,
at night, the cases, which had remained concealed, were officially
examined, and as the grand object of the mission had been

MAUBREUIL'S AIUILST. 217

The above is a verbatim copy of the act of
abdication, as pul)lished. Napoleon wrote " pour
liii et ses enfans," and " au bien de la nation."
This he first altered to " aux int(^rtits de la
France," and finally to " a I'intert^t de la France."

frustrated, it was now pretended that the only end of it was to
recover the treasure which the Buonaparte family was taking
out of France, and that Maubreuil had kept some of it for
himself; as, in the case which De Maubreuil said contained
eighty-four thousand francs in gold, only four thousand were
found, in silver. De Maubreuil and Dasies were taken to the
prefecture of police. A few days afterwards, four of their
agents and servants were arrested.

On arriving at the prefecture of police, he was commanded

to deliver up the difterent orders which had been given to him :

on replying that he had them not, he was instantly stripped

naked to search for them ! He was then placed au secret ; and

from that hour began a system of atrocious cruelty, mockery of

justice, violation of every established form of legal procedure,

unequalled at any period even of French history. Fifteen days

after he had been au secret, his lodgings, in the Hotel de

Virginie, Rue St. Honore, were searched without (as the law

expressly requires) either himself or his servant being present;

and in the room in which the servant slept, an ear-ring, a

diamond, a ruby, and an emerald, were found wrapped in a bit

of writing paper, on which were some words that a servant of

the queen of Westphalia declared to be in her hand-writing.

After Maubreuil had been au secret seven weeks, a spy of the

police, named Huet, offered a gold comb, set with diamonds,

for sale; — it was bought. A few days after, this same Huet

offered a second : this excited the shopkeeper's suspicion ; he

sent for the commissary of police, and Huet, in reply to his

interrogation, said that he was angling in the Seine, near the

218 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

The emperor signed his abdication on a small
circular mahogany spring table, having a pillar-
leg, painted green, like bronze, in a room on the

steam-engine at Chaillot, and brought up the comb ; that three
days after he went again to the same place, and brought up
a second. The river was then dragged at this spot, and the
jewels of the queen of Westphalia were found wrapped in a
cloth : they were examined by the jewellers who set them, and
others of the same trade, who declared, from their appearance,
that they could have been under water only a few days, and
De Maubreuil had been au secret for seven weeks. Huet, the
police spy, was committed to the prison of La Force, where,
after he had remained some time, he began to grow tired of the
confinement which the part he had been made to play had
brought upon him, and said to some fellow-prisoners, that if he
was not set at liberty soon, he would take the gag out of his
mouth. On the 10th of October, Dasies was taken from the
prison of La Force, and put into a carriage, as it was said, to
take him to M. Dufour, the judge of instruction, appointed to
examine him previous to trial. On crossing the Place de
I'Hotel de Ville, the carriage stopped ; the door was opened by
three persons, who informed him he was at liberty : he got out,
went to his counsel, M. Couture, and from thence wrote to the
chancellor and the judge of instruction what had taken place,
adding, that if they had any charge against him he would
surrender ; but no notice was taken of him, or his letter. On
the 3d of December, 1814, De Maubreuil was brought before
the tribunal of the premier instance of Paris, which declared
that the imputation against him did not come within their
jurisdiction, as it appeared to be the abuse or negligence of
an order emanating from superior and military authorities;
upon this he was sent to the military prison of the Abbaye^
where he remained an secret one hundred and six days ; but in
the month of March, 1815, when Napoleon, having arrived

COURT-MARTIAL ON MAUBREUII., &c. 219

first floor, of white and gold, and hung- with
rich crimson and gold silk, with two windows
opening to the private garden.

from Elba, was rapidly approaching Paris, the government,
dreading lest Maubreuil should get into Napoleon's power,
sent an order on the 18th of March to set him at liberty.
Colville and the others, not being in the secret of the proposed
mnrder, were suffered to remain. Maubreuil, on the 19th,
went to St. Germain en Laye, to the house of his friend
count Danes, mayor of St. Germain; but on the 20th, the
day of Napoleon's arrival, returned to Paris, and slept at his
lodgings in the Rue Cerutti, but was advised to return to
St. Germain, which he did, but was taken up in count Dane's
house, on the 23d, by the police of Napoleon's gouvemement,
and again conducted to the Abbaye. Dasies was also arrested
and put into the same prison. On the 24th, the minister of war
gent an order to convoke a court-martial to try De Maubreuil,
Dasies, Colville, Barbier, Muller, Fraitur, Mouton, and Huet.
On the 28th the court-martial assembled and declared itself
incompetent, none of the persons being military men. On the
2d of April, 1815, the affair was brought before the council of
state, and a report was published of the sitting. The third article
says : —

" La silrete de Napoleon, de la famille imperiale, etait ga-
rantie (art. 14 du traite de Fontainebleau) par toutes les puis-
sances ; et des bandes d'assassins ont et6 organisees en France,
sous les yeux du gouvemement Fran^ais, et meme par ses ordres,
commc le prouvcra bientot la procedure solennelle contra le sicur
de Maubreuil, pour attacjuer I'empereur, ses freres, et leurs
epouses, etc."

Every means was taken to get the secret out of de Mau-
breuil ; every offer, every threat was made, but he would not
make any disclosure, or answer any questions : as for the others,
they knew nothing of the plot. Notwithstanding the 6rmncss of

220 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

At the audience which the deputation had
with the emperor of Russia, marshal Ney ex-
pressed some dissatisfaction that the sentiments

de Maubreuil, Fouche was apprehensive that at last they might
obtain information which it would not suit the part he was
playing that they should possess : he therefore facilitated his
escape. His friend, the marquis Debrosse, conveyed a file and
rope to Maubreuil : he sawed through the bars of his prison at the
prefecture de police, and let himself down at night into the court-
yard, from whence he walked out, and immediately set off for
Ghent with the marquis Debrosse, but was arrested on the 4th
May, at Brussels, by order of Semalle, and sent to prison at
Ghent, where he attempted suicide, by opening four of his veins.
Thence he was transferred to Liege. Semalle denouncing him to
the government of the Netherlands as an assassin, sent by Buona-
parte to kill the king of France ; but baron Eckstein, chief of
the police, soon found he had been the dupe of Semalle, and set
de Maubreuil at liberty, who returned to France about the same
time that Louis XVIII arrived at Paris. While he was absent,
the court of cassation, on the 28th of June, sent the business,
as far as related to Maubreuil, Dasies, and Barbier, before the
procureur du roi, and ordered Colville and the others to be set at
liberty, as were Dasies and Barbier at the end of 1816. The
procureur du roi sent it to the police correctionelle : the avocat
du roi of that establishment declared that their tribunal was not
competent to try the affair.

De Maubreuil, on his return to France, determined to make
the whole plot known, but refrained, at the solicitation of M. de
la Rochejaquellin, and he retired into the country, near St.
Germain, where he remained unmolested until the 11th of June,
1816, when he was taken up, conveyed to Paris, and thrown into
a dungeon in the prison of La Force, where he remained, au
secret, except the hours he was taken out to be tormented by
interrogatories. On the 12th of January, 1817, his friend; the

MAUBRF.UIL'S WRETCHED ArPEARANCE. 221 ,

of the army had not been consulted. Alexander
replied. " Je ne traite qu'avec des rois ou des
peuples : ici je traite avec le peuple." It was

marquis Debrosse, petitioned the chamber of deputies that he
mij^ht be tried, as the procurcur du roi had decreed that the
police correctionelle was incompetent. The chamber of deputies
sent this petition to a committee, and the result was, that on the
10th of April, de Maubreuil was brought before the police cor-
rectionelle at Paris, after a confinement in a dungeon of five
hundred and fiftv-two days, an secret, without communica-
tion with any human being, until the last fifteen days, when his
counsel and the marquis Debrosse were allowed to see him,
in the presence of four witnesses. I was present at this trial.
De Maubreuil presented a most ghastly appearance, with a
frii2;htful wildness in his eyes, his skin of the unnatural white-
ness of the lower part of celery or endive, and from the same
cause — seclusion from light: the contrast between what he
was now and when I last saw him galloping about the streets
of Paris, on the 31st of March, 1814, was most awful. The
court consisted of ihe president and two judges. The former,
M. Maugis, behaved in a more mild, gentlemanly manner than
judges usually do in Paris ; but far otherwise was the demeanour
of M. Vatismenil, avocat du roi, a young coxcomb, who wore
mustachios, that, when not in his advocate's dress, he might be
mistaken for a military man. This king's advocate gave an
account of the whole aftair; but said, that though the charges
were '^prodigious," and the mass of information vast, as might
be judged from the quantity of papers now before him, (and
there most certainly was a ream of paper,) yet M. de IMaubreuil
need not deny these charges ; " car nous n'en affirmons aucune."
He concluded by requiring of the court to declare its incom-
petency. The president asked M. de Maubreuil what he had to
say as to the competency. He was going to speak as to the facts :
but tlie president told him it was useles?. He said that he had

222 MEMORABLE EA^ENTS OF 1814.

Macdonald who defended the interests of Napo-
leon the most warmly and earnestly, trying to
obtain a regency for the young Napoleon.

the most important communication to make, but that he feared
he should be murdered in prison, and that his counsel would be
persecuted by the police. He required that his friend Debrosse,
who yesterday had resigned his rank in the army to defend him,
should not be sent out of Paris during his trial. The court said,
that "la justice" should protect him and his counsel. "But,"
replied de Maubreuil, " la police n'est pas la justice :" I have to
complain of a system of espionage sans exemple, on the part of
M. le comte d'Artois, over all who would defend me ; and that
the prefect of police yesterday seized all my papers. The court
then named M. Couture as his counsel, and adjourned to that
day se'nnight. On the sitting of the 17th of April, he divulged,
what he had not yet done, the real object for which he had
received the orders ; and such was the interest and consternation
it excited in court, that though the gens d'armes, between whom
he was placed, received orders to make him sit down, yet they
did it so mildly and reluctantly, that he had time to finish his
declaration. He now said, " Let them thank themselves for
wishing to destroy my reputation, and making rae pass for a
robber." He also said, that his friend, the marquis Debrosse,
had been sent out of Paris. The president very mildly told him
to be silent. M. Couture then made a most interesting and
eloquent statement of the whole affair, and spoke for two hours
and twenty minutes. He said, " Why do not those who signed
the orders come forward, and say what their object was? Why,
if his orders were not of a most uncommon nature, was he set at
liberty before the return of Napoleon, while the inferior agents
were suffered to remain in prison V

The avocat du roi, M. Vatismenil, in reply, commenced
by saying, " he was very wrong last sitting, in treating De
Maubreuil as a robber;" and admitted that the setting hira

TRIAL OF MAUBREUIL. 223

Michaud, the member of the Institute, told me
that at this time he never quitted Talleyrand,
and that at this interview the emperor of Russia,

at liberty, on the 18th of March, was from " une raison de
haute pohtique ! ! !" but now that De Maubreuil has divulged
what the object of his mission was, he has shewn himself doubly
culpable; first by accepting such a commission, and then in
i)eing so perfidious as not to execute it. Maubreuil again spoke ;
his counsel, Couture, also. The court adjourned to the 22d of
April, on which day the place was still more crowded than on
the former occasion. Marshal Oudinot was present. The court
then pronounced its incompetency. On the 21st of May, the
" cour royale de Paris, chambre des appels de police cor-
rectionnelle," heard the cause. Dc Maubreuil was brought in,
surrounded by eight gens-d'armes, instead of the usual number,
two. This was the appeal of De Maubreuil against the decision
of the police correctionelle, which had declared itself incom-
petent. M. Couture pleaded for Maubreuil. The prisoner him-
self was very calm, and did not speak. The cause was
adjourned until the 23d, to hear M. Hua, the advocate-
general. On this day De Maubreuil was seated between two
gens-d'armes, and guarded by six others; the court, which is
very large, was crowded with ladies and persons of distinction.
Tlie court was composed of a president and ten judges. M. Hua
began by saying, that it was not the guiltofM.de Maubreuil
the court was to decide upon, but whether what he was accused
of came under the cognizance of the criminal or the correctional
tribunal : he required that the court should declare its incom-
petence ; for as a robbery had been committed, it came under
the cognizance of the criminal court, Maubreuil replied, it was
very true that there had been a robbery, but that the rol^bers
were M. de Semalle, M. Vantaux, et M. de Vitrolles. The
president, in a very mild, conciliatory tone, said he was not
called a robber, but only that he was prevenu d'un vol. The

224 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

notwithstanding his flourish of treating with the
people, was so completely persuaded by the
marshals and Caulincourt, and at the same time

advocate-general said the same, and that he mistook the meaning
of legal terms. Couture, his counsel, then replied, that if the
object of the mission had been the recovery of the treasure which
was then carrying away by the imperial family, a commissary of
police, and a few guards, were sufficient ; as, at the same period,
twenty-eight millions had been taken from Joseph Buonaparte, near
Orleans. Couture concluded bysaying, thathis client was only kept
in prison, and thus treated, as a scarecrow to government agents.
The court retired, and remained out an hour and a quarter, and
on re-entering declared its competence. The 28th of May, the
procureur-general appealed to the court of cassation to destroy
the decree of competency. In June, the court of cassation sent
de Maubreuil to Rouen to be tried. The court of that city sent
him, on the 20th of September, to Douai to be tried, which
court condemned him, on the evidence of Semalle and Vantaux,
for a breach of trust, without determining the nature of the trust
reposed in him, and for taking the 84,000 francs in gold, but
never mentioned the diamonds, &c. His innocence with regard
to taking them was acknowledged. It said he only had them
in his possession, but admitted that others took them ; and with
regard to the 85,000 francs, it was proved they were delivered to
M. de Vitrolles, From the prison of the tower of Notre Dame,
at Douai, he escaped and fled to England, where he deposited
a protest before the lord mayor of London, dated 16th May,
1818, and lodged his papers in the archives of the city, and sent
a copy of his protest to different English peers. In England he
was reduced to the greatest pecuniary distress, sleeping on the
floor, and eating only once in forty-eight hours. While here, the
emperor Alexander of Russia, who, in 1814, wanted to have him
shot at Paris, applied to lord Castlereagh, through his ambassador,
to have him sent out of England under the alien act. Lord

IIKPEATED ARRESTS OV DE MAUBREUIL. 225

influenced hi/ fear of the result of a battle, that he
determined to abandon the cause of the 13our-
bons, and retreat from Paris with his army.

Castlercagh refused, saying, if he had cause of complaint, he
must sue de Maubreuil in the English courts of justice. He
returned to Paris in 1823, with a view of redeeming the wreck
of his paternal property, which had been sequestered to pay the
costs of his trial; but new persecutions awaited him. On the
23d of May, in the above year, he was arrested by the police,
and whilst in confinement, was offered a pension if he would leave
France. He refused the bribe, but agreed to quit the kingdom,
and proceeded to Brussels. In 1 825 he again visited Paris, and
was again arrested by the police on the 1st of April, but was once
more liberated, " par ordre superieur," on the 5th, when he imme-
diately proceeded to Brittany, to seek protection and subsistence
among his friends. In this retirement he was harassed and
persecuted by the lower agents of the local police, to avoid whom
he once more ventured to Paris in November 1826. Here he
had several interviews with the different ministers, who advised
him to remain quiet; but his temper would not submit to this,
and he presented himself at the church of St. Denis, on the 20th
of January, 1827, when the court was present at a grand re-
ligious ceremony commemorating the death of Louis XVI.
Talleyrand was also in attendance, and on quitting the church
was slapped in the face by dc Maubreuil, who was instantly
taken up, without the least resistance on his part ; on the con-
trary, he said he did it in the hope of being brought to trial, and
that by citing Talleyrand into a court of justice as a witness, he
might expose him, and hold him up to the execration of all
Europe. For this he was tried before the police correctionelle
on the 24th of February, 1827, and condemned to five years'
imprisonment, five hundred francs fine, and ten years of surveil-
lance of the haute police. He appealed against this harsh sen-
tence ; and on the 29th of August, 1827, the cour royale of Paris

226 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

Dessoles was the person who persuaded the em-
peror to remain, saying, that if he retreated, he
hoped his majesty would grant passports to all
the Bourbonists to follow him. On the Cth, the
emperor of Russia went alone to consult the king
of Prussia on this subject.

From the 1st of April to the 5th, the emperor
appeared in public, and on the parade, to review
his troops in the accustomed manner. During
this period, petitions, in greater numbers than
usual, were presented to him by his officers.
Instead of giving these to an officer in attendance,
his ordinary practice on former occasions, he kept
them himself, and carried them to his own apart-
ment.

I have been told, by several officers who were
with the emperor during this campaign, that
though he sometimes evinced great energy, yet
he generally was in a state of stupor.

During the period of residence at Fontaine-
bleau, after his abdication, Buonaparte confined
himself almost entirely to the library, alternately
reading, or conversing with Maret, duke of Bas-

mitigated it to two hundred francs fine, and two years' imprison-
ment, which he is now enduring. Thus, for a time, ends the
active persecution of this unfortunate nobleman, and also of the
solemn mockery oi competence, incompetence, pouvoir, ^nA arrets,
which, to the number of forty-seven, have been instituted against
him during the last fourteen years, on account of this shameful
affair.

NAPOLEON'S iiE:srARKS. 227

sano, who was constantly with him. Sometimes
he would conic into the gallery of Francis the
First, and enter into conversation with the officers
who were in attendance there, on the events of
the day, and what the public prints said of him,
admitting the truth of certain observations, and
denying others. One day he arrived with a
newspaper in his hand, and holding it out, ex-
claimed, with great indignation, " They say that
I am a coward !" At other times he would discuss
the politics of the day as a person having no more
than a common interest in them ; and the restored
king was a frequent subject of his discourse.
With an air of candour, he asked M. Lamezan
what was meant by insinuations which appeared
in the newspapers, relative to the death of
Pichcgru, declaring that he had never heard of
tliem before. In one of the papers were some
details of the ill-treatment which the pope had
experienced. He said, " C est vrai, le pape a
H6 maltrait6 : plus mal que je ne voulais." To
general Sebastiani, he said, *' Ce n'est pas les
Russes ni les allies qui m'ont conquis ; c'est
les id(^es liberales, que j'ai trop opprim6es en
AUemagne."* Speaking of the Bourbons to the

* Had he said in France also, he would have solved the
problem. The tliraldom of the French press, and the artificial
moulding of public opinion to the imperial despotism, will appear
from the following curious document, with which I was fur-

228 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

same general, he said, " The French will be en-
thusiastic for them for six months ; then cold for
three; and at the end of the year, bid adieu."

nished by M. JManget, a literary gentleman, editor of the
Publicist, a daily newspaper, which, in consequence of being
conducted on rather more liberal principles than the others, was
suppressed, par orrfre superieur, in October 1810, the sale being
then about three thousand. Messrs. Suard, member of the
Academie Fran^aise, and Guizot, and mademoiselle Pauline de
Meulan, now madame Guizot, were among the habitual writers
for it. During the fifteen months which preceded the suppres-
sion of this paper, the editor never could obtain the sight of a
single English newspaper, nor even of a Spanish one, and yet
the latter were manufactured under the direction of king Joseph's
police. The English articles which appeared in the Publicist
were sent from the secretary of state's office, and were so badly
and literally translated, that the interpretations there inserted
were glaringly evident. Private letters directed to them were
stopped at the post-office, and the articles of news they con-
tained sent to papers in greater favour with government. M.
Manget was obliged to attend daily at the office of Charles La-
cretelle, jun., member of the Institute, the censor of the Publicist,
to receive orders from the minister of police in what manner to
direct the public opinion, and what feelings he was to manifest.
When Holland was united to France, Lacretelle said to Manget
that it was a most atrocious act, and a severe blow at civilisa-
tion, but at the same time ordered him to write an article, in
form of a letter from Rotterdam, saying that this union w'as of
the greatest advantage to the Dutch, as they were too poor to
keep up their dykes ; that their commerce would now flourish,
as Holland would be attached to Europe, and her canals con-
ducted to the centre of France

TYUAXNY OVER THE PUBLIC TRESS. 229

A few days after his abdication, he walked in
the garden of the palace for two hours with
marshal Macdonald, conversing on the new con-

♦• Prohibitions to the 'Publicist^ from the Minister of Police."

To announce any nomination before it appeared in the
Moniteur. Ever to mention the ancient name of the French
provinces, such as Normandy, Languedoc, Touraine, Bur-
gundy, &c.

To announce the launching of any ship of war.

To mention any accident which might be attributed to
neglect on the part of the police, such as murders, robberies,
fires, persons run over, tiles or flower-pots falling on the heads
of persons in the streets, or suicides ; as the common people
very frequently destroy themselves, and this evinces the misery
of the times.

Want of rain, or too much, inundations, hail-storms, &c.
There was a very considerable inundation in the department of
the Ain in the spring of 1810; they received special orders not
to mention this, as no distress must be supposed to exist in the
empire.

The motions of the army, or even of any military officer of
liigh rank.

To criticise the public monuments erected by the govern-
ment, some of which were begun in time of war; but were first
exhibited, cleared of the scaffolding, and in a finished state when
peace existed with the power over which they were intended as
monuments of triumph. In 1810, when the triumphal arch on
the Place Carousel was opened, France was at peace with Austria,
and all the bas-reliefs represented the degradation of that power:
they were ordered only to speak of it as a work of art, and not to
mention the subjects of the sculpture or the inscriptions.

Forbidden to use the word Poland; but always to term it
the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

230 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

stitiition, and on what he considered its advan-
tages and defects. He said, that during the last
twelve years he had been furnished with a daily

Forbidden to notice the Swedish navy. Ordered to say that
the Swedes would not trade with England; and that whenever
the Danes attacked the English, they were always victorious.

Forbidden to mention Spain, or to copy any article from the
French provincial papers of the departments adjoining Spain :
this prohibition came in consequence of the Journal des Landes
giving an account of some success obtained by the national
guards over the Spaniards, in the valley of Aran, as this shewed
that the Spaniards were in force on the frontiers of France.

P'orbidden to mention the state of the Russian colonies in
the south of Europe ; and ordered to say that the workmen who
had gone there had been misled and deceived, that they were in
the greatest misery, and seeking every means of returning to their
native country : many were seen begging their way back ; that
this would not have been noticed but to expose the wickedness
of the German newspapers, who, from hatred of the French,
try, by delusive statements, to lure others to similar ruin.

Forbidden to mention the successes of the Russians over the
Turks, because it must not be known that Russia was powerful;
or, on the other hand, any advantages gained by the Turks, as at
that time (1810) the Porte was disposed to quarrel with France.
Ordered to insult Mr. Adair, the English ambassador at Constan-
tinople, and to treat him as a " vil intrigant.^'

They received a private letter from professor Rehfues, of
Stutgardt, a man of considerable merit, containing an accurate
statement of the Russian forces, shewing them to amount to
thirteen hundred thousand men ; on this being inserted, came a
violent threatening letter from the police, and orders to contra-
dict it in the manner thai would produce the greatest effect:
upon this they fabricated a letter from Riga, saying, that this
statement was false, and the production of one of those German

mOIIIBITIONS OF THE 'PUBLICIST." 231

bulletin of the actions of Louis XVII 1 ; and
allowed that the opportunities which his resi-
dence in England had given him of becoming
acquainted with her institutions, would be ex-

newspaper visionary scribblers, who were ever indulging their
fondness for peopling Europe by strokes of the pen, in a manner
best suited to their rigmarole speculations.

Forbidden to copy from the German papers, that in a journey
made by the imperial family of Austria, they would not allow
any fetes on their account, and that they lived with the greatest
simplicity.

Most positive prohibition to mention the empress Josephine,
madanie de Stael, or the king of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus,
unless it was to treat him as a madman, which they were ordered
to do. Never to bestow the smallest eulogium on the queen of
Prussia, of which the German papers were full.

Ordered to manufacture an article, dated Berlin, saying, that
the marriage of Napoleon with the archduchess Marie Louise
produced the best effect there, as it proved that the Germans
had come to their senses and saw their real interests : a short
time since the news of this marriage would have been badly
received.

Forbidden to give the account from the German papers of
Marie Louise's quitting her family, as they said she wept.

Forbidden to copy from the Strasburgh paper the address
which the mayor of that city presented to Marie Louise on her
arrival there, because it terms the Germans moitic compatriots,
and says, that by this marriage they will be rendered doublement
compatriots.

Encouraged to insult and ridicule the second class (Academic
Fran<jaise) of the Institute, Full liberty was given to ridicule
the decimal prizes, with the intention of rendering literature
contemptible.

232 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

tremely useful to him ; adding, that possibly he
should not remain long in Elba, but visit England,
and study the great and liberal establishments of
that country.

General sir Edward Paget and lord Louvain,
who were at Paris, both informed me that lord
Castlereagh, also then in Paris, told them, that
Buonaparte had written to him for permission to
retire to England, " it being the only country
possessing great and liberal ideas."

To some of his officers, on their taking leave
of him, Napoleon gave letters of commendation,
with injunctions to serve the king with the same
zeal and fidelity they had manifested towards
himself. In the letter he gave to monsieur de
Caraman, one of his officiers d'ordonnance, were
these passages: — " J'autorise M. de Caraman a
me quitter. Je n'ai point de doute que son nou-
veau souverain n'auroit que d'utiies services k tirer
de lui, et k se louer de son z^le, de ses talens, et
de son devouement."

He gave a similar letter to monsieur Lamezan,
another of his orderly officers.

For general Kosokouski he wrote : " Je de-
clare avec plaisir, mon cher g^n^ral, que vous
m'ete rest6 attach^ et fiddle jusqu'au dernier
moment."

He told M. de Caraman that he had never
had time to study ; but that he now should, and
meant to write his own memoirs.

ISABEY AND BUONArAIlTE. 233

On learning- tliat the emperor of Russia had
visited the empress Josephine, Buonai)artc ob-
served, it was doubtless with a view to insult
her.

Isabey had made a portrait in water-colours
of the empress Marie Louise and her son, which
she presented to the emperor on new-year's day,
1814. The drawing was at this time in Isabey's
possession, who hearing from Caulincourt that
Napoleon had expressed a desire to have it, re-
paired to Fontainebleau, and arrived there on the
19th at noon. On being introduced, he found
Bassano and general Bertrand in the apartment,
the latter reading aloud the description of some
place, but ceased on Isabey's approach. Buona-
parte exclaimed: "Ha! Isabey! what news?"
He replied, that he was come to thank him for
all the favours he had conferred upon him, and to
take leave of him ; and that having heard the
duke of Vicenza mention his wish to have the
l)ortrait, he had brought it with him. Napoleon
received it with an air of indiiference, merely
saying, " C'est bien."

Isabey being in the uniform of lieutenant of
grenadiers of the national guard, Buonaparte, in
his habitual rough manner, said, " What, are you
in the national guard ?" He replied, that although
he had a son in the army, who had fought in the
plains of Champagne, and of whose fate he was

234 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

ignorant,* yet he thought it his duty to serve
his country in Paris. Napoleon making no answer,
Isabey retired.

On the 16th, the commissioners, who, at the
desire of Napoleon, were appointed by the allied
powers to accompany the emperor (as they were
ordered by their respective courts to style him)
to the place of embarkation, arrived at Fontaine-
bleau. General KoUer, who was sent by Austria,
and, like all those who are attached to the staff
of the continental armies, had the habitual facility
of arranging business of police, or other espionage,
soon, by his spies, became perfectly acquainted
with all that passed in the interior of the palace
of Fontainebleau. By this means it was known
that Napoleon had contracted a syphilitic com-
plaint since his residence there. This piece of
scandal was instantly communicated to the other
commissioners.

When these were presented to the emperor on
the 17th, he received them separately. To count
Schuwaloff, the Russian, and to general Roller,
the Austrian commissioners, he gave an audience
to each of five minutes ; while to count Wald-
bourg-Truchess, the Prussian, of not more than
one. Colonel sir Neil Campbell told colonel
Pelley, that his audience lasted a quarter of an

* He was killed.

NAPOLEON'S OPINION OF THE ENGIJSII. 235

hour, and that this was believed by the commis-
sioners to have been a matter of previous arrange-
ment. The same distinction towards tlie Enjj:lish
conmiissioner was kept up durini»- the journey.
Sir Neil Campbell told me, that in the course of
conversation with him, Napoleon remarked — ■
though many considered he ought to commit
suicide, yet he thought it was more magnanimous
to live ; that the emperor of Russia had conferred
the order of St. Anne on Lescourt, one of the
greatest jacobins in France ; but he made no
mention of the mandate which Lescourt pre-
tended was brought to him to blow up the
powder-magazine at Grenelle, on the 30th of
March, though it was his boasted disobedience
on this occasion which had procured him the
Russian distinction. He expressed some surprise
that Marie Louise did not join him before his
departure. He acknowledged that he had cor-
dially hated the English ; but that he was now
convinced they possessed more magnanimity
and bberality than any other government. He
was very desirous of taking his passage to Elba in
an English frigate. Colonel Campbell wrote to
lord Castlereagh on the subject, and received a
favourable answer. Napoleon seemed to rely
upon England for the fulfilment of the treaty of
the 11th of April.

The emperor's departure was fixed for the
20th of April, and expected to be at eight in the

236 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

morning : the carriages were in waiting at that
hour. The imperial guard was drawn up in the
great court-yard called Le Cheval Blanc, before
the palace, and a multitude of people were assem-
bled. Colonel Campbell said, he saw the emperor
at eight in the morning, in deshabille, unshared,
and covered with snufF. He continued in his
room, in conversation with those officers who
remained with him.* At length general Bertrand
observed, that it w^as eleven o'clock, and that
every thing was ready for their departure. He
replied haughtily, " Am I to regulate my actions
by your watch? I shall set off when I please —
perhaps not at all."

Colonel Campbell and the other commissioners
were waiting in the ante-room of Napoleon's ca-
binet, in which he was in conversation with M. de
Flahautf and general Ornano. At last Bertrand
announced the emperor. Those present ranged
themselves on each side of his passage, according
to the usual etiquette, which was kept up to the
last. The door opened. Napoleon was coming

* The faithful few were, the duke of Basano, general Bel-
liard, colonel Bussy, colonel Anatole de Montesquiou, comte de
Turrene, general Fouler, baron Misgrigny, colonel Gourgaud,
lieutenant-colonel Athalin, baron de la Place, baron Lelorgne
d'Ideville, le chevalier Jouanne, general Kosokouski, colonel
Vensowitch. The two last were Poles.

t Colonel Campbell's memory must have failed him, as M.
de Flahaut was at that time on a mission for the emperor.

NAPOLKON'S FAUEWKLL ADDRESS. 237

forward, but suddenly returned. Colonel Camp-
bell, notwithstanding what the emperor had said,
told me that he expected every instant to hear
the report of a pistol ; but in a short time he came
out, passed along the gallery of Francis the First,
and, at twelve o'clock, descended the great central
steps into the court-j^ard. The drums rolled as
soon as he appeared on the steps : he caused
them to cease, by a commanding, dignified mo-
tion with his hand ; then advancing into the court,
the commissaries attending him, he called the
officers around him, and took leave of his troops
in the following words : —

** Officiers, sous-officiers, et soldats de la vieille
garde, je vous fais mes adieux !

** Depuis vingt ans je suis content de vous: je
vous ai toujours trouv6 sur le chemin de la gloire.

" Les puissances alli^'es ont arm6 toute I'Eu-
rope centre moi : une partie de I'arnK^^e a trahi ses
devoirs, et la France elle-mcme a cM6 a des
intercts particuliers.

" Avec vous, et les autres braves qui me sent
restcs fideles, j'aurais pu entretenir la guerre
civile pendant trois ans ; mais la France eut h6
malheureuse, et ce n'etait point le but que je
m'^tais propose. Je devais done sacrifier mon
interet personnel a sun bonheur — c'est ce que
j'ai fait.

" Soyez fideles au nouveau souverain que la

238 MElSrOEABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

France s'est choisie : n'abandonnez pas cette
ch^re patrie, trop long-temps malheureuse. Ne'
plaignez point mon sort : je serai toujours heureux
dhs que j'apprendrai que vous Fetes. J'aurais
pu mourir — rien n'ctait plus facile: mais non ;
je vivrai pour vous aimer encore, et j'ecrirai ce
que nous avons fait.

" Je ne puis vous embrasser tons ; mais j'em-
brasserai votre chef. Venez, general ! [General
Petit, whom he then embraced.] Qu'on m'ap-
porte I'aigle ! [He took the eagle, pressed it to
him, and kissed it with emotion.] Cher aigle,
que ces baisers retentissent dans le coeur de tons
les braves !

" Adieu, mes enfans ! Adieu, mes braves !"

Buonaparte shed tears, and the whole army
also wept. Colonel Campbell acknowledged to
colonel Pelley and to myself, that he and every
one who heard it melted into tears.

The emperor immediately ascended his car-
riage, accompanied by Bertrand, and was preceded
by one in which general Drouet was seated, and
followed by the four carriages of the commis-
sioners; eight of the emperor's carriages, with
his people, closed the train, which employed
sixty post-horses.

Five carriages had gone forward on the 19th ;
these crossed Mont Cenis, went by Carmagna,
and embarked at Savona.

NAPOLEON AND WELLINGTON. 239

At five in the afternoon they all arrived at ]\Ion-
targis, and passed, without stopping, through the
town, at the farther end of which post-horses
were in waiting, the emperor's own horses having
brought him from Fontainebleau. About two
hundred cavalry were here drawn out to receive
him : these he addressed from his carriage,
thanked them for their services, which he assured
them he should always remember, though he no
longer had the power to recompense. TJiey shed
tears at this speech, especially the officers, some
of whom broke their swords as they re-entered the
town. The effect of this scene, the hon. Algernon
Percy, who witnessed it, told me, was heightened
by Napoleon's own emotion, who, the instant he
ceased to address the troops, ordered the pos-
tilions to drive on.

The emperor arrived at eight o'clock in the
evening at Briare, where he slept at the inn of
the post. In the evening he received some
officers who were in the town. The next morn-
ing, Thursday the 21st, he invited colonel Camp-
bell to breakfast, during which he was very in-
quisitive relative to lord Wellington's private
character, often saying to the colonel's answers,
*' C'est comme moi," and said, he should like very
much to be in company with him. He asked, if
he possessed great talent in haranguing his troops;
and upon the answer that he never did harangue
them, expressed great surprise, and still greater

240 MEMOllABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

when he told him, tliat if an English officer was
to attempt to harangue his troops, they would
laugh at him. After breakfast he again received
the officers of the troops that were quartered in
the town and neighbourhood, and was with diffi-
culty dissuaded from reviewing them. All this
delayed his departure until between one and two
in the afternoon, when he proceeded to Nevers,
where they dined and slept at the inn of the
post.* A hussar of his own guard was placed as
sentry at the door of the emperor's apartment, in
which he slept alone. He set off the next morn-
ing, between six and seven o'clock : in this ar-
rangement he was left perfectly to his own will.
The commissioners waited upon him down stairs.
General Bertrand went in the carriage with him.
At the foot of the stairs, some persons belonging
to the inn saluted him with " Vive I'empereur !"
but of this he took no notice. About two hundred
and fifty persons were assembled in the street,
and the cry of " Vive I'empereur!" was reiterated,
without appearing to excite his attention. The
white cockades, which the inhabitants had worn
when he arrived on the preceding day, they now
displaced. Hence he was escorted to Villeneuve-
sur-Allier by fifty hussars of the imperial guard ;
and some infantry, who were quartered at Nevers,

* A large inn just before entering the town on the side next
Paris.

COLONKL PELLEY AND LESCOUIIT. 241

turned out and presented arms as he passed, but
there were no aUied troops either in the town or
in the escort.

After his departure, tlie commissioners returned
to their a]iartments, having tlieir despatches to
finish. Colonel Pelley, who was at Nevers, on
his return fiom Moulins, where he had resided as
prisoner of war, took charge of these for lord
Castlereagh and the other plenipotentiaries at
Paris. The colonel, who is an intimate friend of
colonel Campbell, with whom and the Prussian
commissioners he supped at Nevers, told mo*

* At lord Beverley's table, at Paris, on the 25th of April,
(therefore only three days after the conversation) ; and at the
same time, among other circumstances, mentioned that the
emperor of Russia had conferred the order of St. Anne on
Lescourt, who was one of the greatest jacobins in France. It
was not understood either by colonel Pelley, by myself, or by
any one at table, that Pelley meant to insinuate that the order
was the reward of his jacobinism, or that Alexander knew those
had been his principles ; but only that the Czar either was, or
thought proper to be, the dupe of one of the numerous intrigans
tliat fluttered into notice at this period ; for scarcely any one
believed, at the time, that any order had ever been brought to
nmjor Lescourt to blow up the powder-magazine, and which was
afterwards proved to be an invention of Lescourt, by an inquiry
which was otlicially made. Being in company with colonel sir
Neil Campbell, at Paris, the 9th of February, 1819, I mentioned
to him the conversation I had heard from colonel Pelley ; he did
not deny any part of it, and favoured me with se\eral other
curious anecdotes relating to the journey to Elba, which I wrote
down the same evening, and have inserted them in the course of
this narrative.

242 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

that the commissioners did not appear to act
as if they considered themselves responsible for
Napoleon's person, or as guards upon him ; his
escape, if he had intended it, being extremely
practicable, the sentry being placed at his cham-
ber-door as a military honour, only. On the
commissioners quitting Nevers, they were hooted
by the inhabitants.

On entering Moulins, the emperor was escorted
by some cuirassiers of the allied army. They
were met by a carriage, in which was the mayor
and another gentleman. Two of the cuirassiers
rode up to the carriage, and announced to them
the approach of the emperor ; telling them, at
the same time, to take the white cockades from
their hats. He passed through Moulins without
even stopping to change horses. Some of the
populace vociferated " Vive Tempereur!" as he
went along.

They slept that night at Roanne, and set off
the next day at ten in the morning.

On Saturday the 23d, monsieur and madame
Guizot saw him at Tarrare, during the change of
horses. He spoke to the people who were assem-
bled round the carriage quite en souvei^aiii, asking
them if they had work — if they had suffered by
the war. Some cried, " Vive I'empereur!" There
was no escort.

At Dardilly, the last post on the road to
Lyons, they supped. The emperor having finished

NAI»()Lt:(X\"S CONVKUSATION Wl'lll A c iju:. 24:1

before the commissioners, walked forward on the
road, and there accosted the cur6, M. Tillon ;
he asked him if his parish liad sutt'ered from the
war; and then, pointing to the stars, said, that
formerly he knew the names of all the constella-
tions, but that he had forgotten them. Directing-
the cure's notice to one of them, he asked if he
knew its name ? The cure replying in the nega-
tive, their conversation ended.

The same night, about eleven o'clock, he ar-
rived at Lyons. They did not stop at the post-
house in the city, but, as a matter of precaution,
crossed the Rhone by the Pont de la Guilloti^re,
and changed horses in the fauxbourg of that
name, at a place called Madelene. Some car-
riages belonging to the emperor had passed
through Lyons in the morning. The people were
waiting Na])oleon's arrival during the whole day.
On his passing the bridge, some few called out
** Vive Tempereur !"

From Lyons colonel Campbell went forward to
see if there was an English ship-of-war either at
Marseilles or at Toulon. Finding the Undaunted
frigate, of 38 ginis, commanded by captain Usher,
at the former, he shewed his authority from lord
Castlereagh to order it to St. Tropes, the port fixed
upon for Napoleon's embarkation, whither cap-
tain Usher sailed, whilst the colonel. Sec. pro-
ceeded by land.

On Sunday the 24th, about twelve o'clock,

244 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

meeting an avant-coiirier near Valence, Napoleon
stopped bim, and asked to whom he belonged.
On replying, to marshal Augereau, he ordered him
to return, and tell the marshal that the emperor
wished to speak to him. When the carriages met,
they both alighted. Napoleon saluted the mar-
shal by taking off his hat, then, taking him by the
arm, they walked for nearly a quarter of an hour
towards Valence. Buonaparte began by, " Ou vas-
tu comme cela? a Paris? a la cour?" Augereau
replied, " Sire, pour le moment je vais a Lyons."
Buonaparte : " Ne te gene pas ; je ne suis plus
sire pour toi : j'ai lu ta proclamation; elle est
platte : Louis XVIII t'en jugera d'apr^s cela."*
He then continued reproaching him ; upon which
the marshal began to thee and thou the emperor,
justified himself, and reproached him with having
sacrificed every thing to his insatiable ambition,
adding, " There is one great truth in my pro-
clamation, wdiich is, that thou didst not know
how to die like a soldier." Notwithstanding this
altercation, Buonaparte, on quitting him, said,
" Vas, je ne t'en veux pas." I am indebted for
this anecdote to the wife of general Letort, and
to the chief of the post-office at Lyons, who saw
Augereau on his arrival at that city.

* This proclamation, dated April 16th, was manufactured by
the government authorities at Lyons, who sent it to Augereau to
sign ; for, silly as it is, he, poor man, was not capable of writing
it, or any thing else.

NAPOLEON'S DANGER rilOM THE I'Ol'fEACE. 'J45

At Donzy, which they passed Kite in tlie
evening-, the outcry against Najioleon l)egan.
*' A bas Nicholas ! a has le tyran ! a bas le Corse!
le coquin ! le mauvais gueux !" were the only salu-
tations he received during the rest of his journey.

He arrived at Avignon on the 25th, at l)etween
five and six in the morning, where the civil au-
thorities had done every thing in their power to
prevent tumult, as it was known to be the inten-
tion of the people to sacrifice him to tlieir ven-
geance ; yet, when the carriages stopped without
the city-walls to change horses, about a hundred
persons had assembled in a tumultuous manner :
sabres were brandished, and positive violence to
the person of Napoleon was only prevented by
the exertions of the urban guards, one of whose
officers harangued them with great firmness,
which somewhat a[)peased their fury. In the
interval the horses were put to ; the guard tore
the people from the wheels ; the officers ordered
the postilions to drive ofi", which they did at lull
gallop. The other carriages, on account of the
allied commissioners, were respected.

Sir Neil Campbell told me, that he arrived at
Avisfnon at four in the morning, and notwith-
standing it was very dark, found the peoj^le
assembled in considerable numbers. They cpics-
tioned him relative to the emperor's passage,
saying, that several thousand persons had waited
the whole of the preceding day with the intention

246 MEMOllABI.E EVENTS OF 1814.

of sacrificing him.* The colonel remonstrated
with them, urging that he was no longer dan-
gerous ; that he was quitting France by a treaty ;
and, above all, that he was under the protection
of the allies.

On arriving at the post-house, which stands
before the entrance to Orgon, a small town, round
whose ancient walls the road winds, they found
the people assembled in the most outrageous
manner, and a figure in French uniform, covered
with blood, suspended to a tree. The rabble, who,
in this country of barbarians, are famed for their
ruffian manners, surrounded the emperor's car-
riage, and loaded him with every kind of abuse,
in which the women were particularly violent.
When the horses were put to, the figure was
dragged to another tree, where it was again sus-
pended, and shot at. The mob prevented his
carriage from proceeding, climbed up on both
sides of it, tore off Napoleon's decoration of the
legion of honour, and spat in his face : one fellow
insisted on his crying out " Vive le roi !" with
which he complied. " Encore ' Vive le roi !' " The
emperor again acquiesced. Some stones were
thrown, the marks of which, on the carriage,
Bertrand pointed out to colonel Campbell on
their way to Elba. Count SchuwalofF harangued

* What an assemblage of the bigoted ruffian inhabitants of
Avignon is capable of perpetrating, the subsequent unpunished
murder of marshal Brune has fully evinced.

NAPOLEON FORCED TO CRY "VIVE LE ROl !" 247

the mob, asking- them if they were not ashamed
to insult an unfortunate and undefended person,
who, after dictatinu,' laws to the universe, was now
at their mercy and their generosity! — " Leave
him to himself; contempt is the only arms you
should employ against him." This produced the
desired effect, and prevented further violence.
An ancient chevalier of St. Louis, named Lambert,
contributed also, by addressing them, in some
degree to calm their rage.*

M. de St. Perest and major John Vivian were
at Orgon a few days after, and spoke to the man
who boasted of having forced the emperor to cry
" Vive le roi !"

This affair so alarmed Napoleon, that when he
had proceeded about a quarter of a league from
Orgon, he changed his dress to an old blue great-
coat and a round hat with a white cockade, quitted
his carriage, mounted on horseback, and galloped
forward as a courier.

At St. Canat his carriage was surrounded by
a turbulent rabble, and Bertrand, who alone was
in it, was protected from their rage by the ener-
getic conduct of the mayor of that place.

* So completely are the people of Orgon ashamed of their
conduct, that on my questioning them in April, 1825, on the
spot where the outrage was committed, they denied it, and said,
that it had been the fashion to calumniate their town. On
Napoleon's return from Elba, many of the inhabitants of Orgon
fled, conscious of having merited the vengeance of his soldiers.

248 ME.M()R.VBLE F,VKNTS OF 1814.

Having preceded his carriage^ the emperor, in
company with the courier, entered a large but
bad muleteers inn, called La Calade, situated on
the right side of the road, about four miles before
arriving at Aix. The courier led the horses to the
stable; Napoleon entered the inn, and asked for
a room, announcing himself as colonel Campbell.
The landlady shewed him one, having, as is usual
in the south of France with those on the ground-
floor, windows protected by iron bars, apologising
for its being low and dark, saying, that it was the
only one she had. He replied, it would do. While
she was putting it in order, she asked him if he
had seen Buonaparte on the road. On his reply-
ing, No, (as she told major John Vivian, a few
days after this conversation, from whom I received
the information,) she poured forth a torrent of
abuse against him ; saying, she hoped, that if he
escaped being massacred on the road, that he
would be thrown into the sea in going to his
island. To this abuse he replied, that many
things were said of him which were not true.
This conversation had such effect upon him, that
when the commissioners arrived at the inn, they
found him leaning on the table, with his face on
his hands, and on raising his head they perceived
his eyes were full of tears. Here they all dined.
Sir Neil Campbell told me that the commissioners
assured him, that after dinner, they being in the
room and at table, the emperor took a tumbler

NAPOLKON IN DISGUISE. 249

of water to the fire-place, and there made use of
it as a local application for the inconvenience he
had contracted at Fontaineblcau. In consequence
of the fears of Napoleon, they did not leave La
Calade until near midnight, and he then persuaded
the aide-de-camp of general Schuwaloff to put on
the old great-coat and round hat in which he had
arrived, Napoleon determining to pass for an
Austrian colonel ; he put on general Roller's uni-
form, and his order of St. Theresa, with count
Waldbourg-Truchess' travelling-cap, and general
Schuwalotf's cloak. When he was thus accoutred,
the whole party went out huddled together, and
the assembled spectators who surrounded the door
could not discover the object of their solicitude.
Some gens d'armes, whom the mayor of Aix had
sent to preserve order, drove the crowd from the
carriages, and all went off peaceably. Napoleon
was fully of opinion, that the French government
had arranged the plan to assassinate him at
Orgon.* After Napoleon's return from Elba, in
March 1815, the inn was repeatedly pillaged by
the soldiery. The landlady quitted the country
for safety.

The next day they dined at the chateau of
Bouillidou, near the village of Luc, belonging to
M. Charles, a member of the chamber of deputies.
Here he met his favourite sister Pauline, princess

• The former plot huviiig been frustrated by Dc Maubrcuil.

250 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

Borghese, who resided there for her health, to
whom he recounted all his dangers and disguises.
27th. — They all arrived at Frejus, at which
place Napoleon made up his mind to embark, in-
stead of St. Tropes, which is within sight. Colonel
Campbell, having been informed of the change,
had already arrived, and captain Usher, in the
Undaunted, shortly after came into St. Rapheau,
which is the port of Frejus. Colonel Campbell
introduced captain Usher to Napoleon, who was
at an inn, the sign of the Chapeau-rouge. The
emperor invited him to dinner, and asked him
which way the wind was ? How far it was to Elba ?
How long he should be going? To the latter
question captain Usher replied, that as there was
a light wdnd, probably about thirty-six hours, but
this was very uncertain. Napoleon then told him
he was determined to embark on board his ship.
A more happy rencontre could not have occurred
in order to give the emperor a favourable idea of
a British naval officer, captain Usher being a
gentleman of most unaffected, correct, engaging,
unassuming manners, — serious, firm, mild, cou-
rageous, and of the greatest veracity. During
dinner Napoleon was in excellent spirits ; he said
to captain Usher that he had intended to have built
three hundred ships of the line, and with them to
invade England. " But where could you have
obtained seamen?" said Usher. " I had provided
for all — I should have formed them in the Zuyder-

NAPOLEON'S NAUTICAL KNOWLEDC;!:. 251

Zee, where there is a heavy swell rollin<^ in. They
should particularly have been exercised in anchor-
ing in a tide-way." The Austrian commissioner,
supposing this to be a flourish of Napoleon's, and
that he could not know any thing of naval aft'airs,
asked him to explain what was meant by anchoring
in a tide-way, as he, who now saw salt water for
the first time in his life, was ignorant of every
thing relative to nautical business. Napoleon
immediately explained what was meant, and cap-
tain Usher told me that the most experienced
seaman could not have done it better. Napoleon
said, that when he granted licenses, it was not for
the purpose of indulging the French with sugar
and coffee, but by means of these voyages to form
sailors; and a correct register of them was kept,
so that he knew where to find them the moment
they were wanted. He appointed his captains,
no matter what their seniority, to command the
schooners of the Mediterranean, that they might
be accustomed to be tost about, which they would
be in small vessels more than others ; and that
when by all these means he had formed a con-
siderable number of sailors, he would send them
to make East and West India voyages ; some
would be taken, but those who got back would
be good seamen. He spoke contemj)tuously of
the Dutch sailors. He asked captain Usher what
lie thousiht of the manauvres of the Toulon fleet?
who replied, they were excellent; but he had only

252 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

seen them in smooth water ; if they were to en-
connter a gale it would be very different. Captain
Usher slept on shore.

28th. — At four in the morning, two of the civil
authorities of Frejus came to captain Usher in
great consternation, entreating him to get the
emperor on board, as they had received intelli-
gence that some thousands of the army of Italy
were arriving by forced marches to join him, and
that the consequence would be dreadful. The
captain replied, that he had nothing to do with
the embarkation — the commissioners alone could
regulate that. As soon as he saw Napoleon he
pressed him to go on board, for if the wind was
to shift round to the southward and freshen, he
could not remain in the bay. The emperor was
not inclined to sail, and insisted that a royal salute
should be fired on his embarkation, making this a
sine qua noil of his acquiescence to leave the shore.
Captain Usher urged that it was contrary to rule
ever to fire a salute after sunset, and that the
noise of twenty-four pounders would frighten the
horses.* " C'est 6gal," was his reply. The sa-
lute, therefore, was consented to by the captain,
and Napoleon fixed on eight in the evening to
embark, f

There were but two, one of which the emperor bought on
the road.

t In an account of the journey to St. Tropes by the Prussian
commissary, count Waldbourg-Truchess, he says there was a

NAPOLKON'S EIMBAllKATION l-OIl ELBA. 253

He dined with his own suite at his inn. The
two horses and two carriages in wliicli Najjoleon
came were put on board in the course of the day.
At the appointed hour captain Usher waited on
the emperor ; his sword and pistols were on the
table before him. A few minutes after, a noise of
a number of persons assembled in the street was
heard ; Usher, to hear what Napoleon would say,
observed, that he had seen the mobs of several
different nations, but that a French mob was the
worst. They are a fickle people, was the reply.

The emperor, having buckled on his sword,
put his pistols in his pocket ; the room door was
opened, and a number of the inhabitants were
seen on the landing-place and on the stairs:
among the ladies was one both young and beauti-
ful ; he asked her if she was married, and if she
had children, but did not wait for an answer to
either question. As he passed, the people bowed
down their heads as when the host is elevated.

salute fired, not for Buonaparte, but with twelve guns, in honour
of field-marshal lieutenant baron KoUer, and twelve for count
Schuwaloff. (Why not twelve in honour of the Prussian ?) That
they left Buonaparte in his own error that they were intended
for him, lest he should start any new difficulties or objections to
embark, as he was aware it was the intention of captain Usher
to receive him as a simple individual, and not as an emperor.

It is unfortunate for the Prussian's account he did not count
the number of guns fired, or that he was ignorant that captain
Usher's instructions were to consider him as emperor.

254 me:\iorablk events of 1814.

apparently not daring to raise them. There was
no shouting or cry of " Vive Tempereur!"' They
all went in carriages to the shore, which is three
miles from the town ; it was a beautiful moon-
light evening. They quitted the carriages at the
edge of a small wood, which having walked
through, the emperor taking hold of captain
Usher's arm, they suddenly found themselves on
the beach, where the Undaunted's boat was in
waiting, and some Austrian cavalry were drawn
up. Here the Russian and Prussian commissaries
quitted them, and returned to Paris. On enter-
ing the boat, captain Usher introduced lieutenant
Smith, who commanded it, to Napoleon, as the
nephew of sir Sidney Smith. The emperor said
he remembered his uncle in Syria.

When they came alongside of the Undaunted,
Napoleon desired the captain to ascend, and then
followed ; the officers were on deck to receive
him ; they mutually bowed, and the emperor in-
stantly went forward alone among the men, most
of whom spoke French, having been on this sta-
tion for some years. They all kept their hats on,
but he so fascinated them by his manner, that in
a few minutes they, of their own accord, took
them off. Captain Usher was very glad of this,
as he was apprehensive the sailors might have
thrown him overboard. Napoleon was particu-
larly pleased with the boatswain, who was an
uncommonly fine fellow, and also took a great

CAPTAIN USIIKU'S CONDUCT. 255

fancy to the Serjeant of marines, an Irisliman,
who, with Usher's consent, was liis only guard
at Elba until the imperial guard arrived, sleeping
in the anti-room of Napoleon's bed-chamber.

The Undaunted sailed a little before eleven,
P.M. Captain Usher, the next day, was very
silent at table ; this Bertrand noticed to Camp-
bell, at that time a great admirer of the emperor,
who remonstrated with the captain on his taci-
turnity.

During the voyage the emperor often went
forward among the sailors ; they always took off
their hats to him, but never did to Bertrand or
to the other passengers. He complimented the
captain on the excellent discipline he kept up,
observing, that he had in vain attempted to intro-
duce it in the French navy ; " where," continued
he, " the commander will laugh and joke wath all
the crew, even to the cabin-boy, and the sailors
are suffered to sprawl about the quarter-deck, and
play at cards, backgammon, dominos, or what
they please."

Captain Usher was astonished at the extent
and correctness of nautical information which
Napoleon evinced during the voyage. One day
he asked him whether ail the sails were set that
the frigate could carry ; and on being answered
in the affirmative, " yet," said the emperor, " if
you were in chase of an enemy, would you not
hoist one more?" " Yes, the sky-sail." " Qui,

256 :\rE.A[ORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

oui, do let us have it up." His desire was com-
plied with.

The emperor being in want of a flag for his
new dominions, captain Usher told me that they
overhauled all the colours in the frigate, and
Napoleon fixed on the Tuscan flag, which is
white with a red bend ; this bend he had charged
with three gold bees. Two such flags were im-
mediately made by captain Usher's orders ; one
for the boat in which the emperor was to land,
the other for the fort at Porto-Ferrajo.

Sir Neil Campbell assured me that no flag was
made on board the Undaunted.

Captain Usher told me that Napoleon pos-
sessed great playfulness of character, of which he
witnessed repeated instances both on board and
at Elba.

Sir Neil Campbell said that Napoleon was in
very good spirits during the voyage ; that he spoke
with the greatest bitterness of the French in
general ; but the individuals he was most inve-
terate against were Marmont, Talleyrand, and
Bernadotte. ** The French," said he, " now
abuse me in pamphlets and in the newspapers,
without ever admitting how willingly they se-
conded my wishes in every thing, and went be-
yond them in every act of rigour."* He said,

* A few examples of this zeal, from one class only, will shew

■what those persons who are put in authority will do when they can.

M. La Viefville des Essassarts was prefect of the department

TYRANNY OF PREFECTS. 257

more than once during the voyage, " Ces pauvres
Bourbons, ils ne resteront pas dix mois, ils ne
sauront pas gouverner les Fran^ais." He often
expressed the same idea to colonel Campbell
while at Elba.

The Undaunted arrived off Elba in the after-
noon of the 3d of May. General Drouet was
sent on shore that evening to the governor-ge-
neral, Dalesme, and the next day, at two in the
afternoon, was fixed for the disembarking and en-
trance of the emperor. Early in the morning of
the 4th, the latter looking through a telescope
saw a pretty country-house on the opposite side
of the bay from Porto Ferrajo, and expressed a

de la Mayenne, of which the principal town is Laval. A
conscript presented himself, having six toes, to the examining
ofiicier de sante, who declared he ought to be exempted, as he
was incapable of long marches. The prefect ordered that the
sixth toe should be amputated, when the lad said he would re-
linquish his plea of exemption. The prefect decided that this
he could not do, as it had been declared to incapacitate hiui.
It was instantly amputated, and the conscript died,

M. de Girardin, prefect of the department of the Seine
Interieur, seul^four young men belonging to the first families in
Rouen, one of whom was son of the president of the tribunal of
commerce, to the army, for hissing a bad actor.

M. de Miramont, a noble of the ancien rigiync, prefect of
the department of the Eure, sent some gentlemen to the arn)y,
as gardes d'honneur, who were thirty-four years of age, which
was ten years above the age that exempted them.

The government required the prefect of the department of the
Arriege to supply five hundred men: and he sent fifteen hundred.

258 MEMORABLE EVEXTS OF 1814.

wish to visit it; the ship's boat took him there,
accompanied by captain Usher, colonel Camp-
bell, and general Bertrand. On arriving at the
house, they found it shut up. A messenger was
despatched to Porto Ferrajo for the key ; and
while waiting for it. Napoleon evinced the most
childish impatience at this trifling delay of the
gratification of his whim. Colonel Campbell and
captain Usher left the emperor, and strolled
to a vineyard behind the house, where they en-
tered into conversation with a man who was at
work. He was aware the vessel had brought the
emperor, but did not know that he was then so
near. Campbell sounded him on the subject of
Napoleon. He worked himself into a most violent
passion, and with true Italian pantomime, seized
his own throat, and made a motion of cutting it
with his pruning-knife, signifying that thus he
wished to serve the emperor. The Englishmen
had the greatest difficulty in pacifying him.

Napoleon returned on board ; and between
two and three o'clock in the afternoon he quitted
the ship, and landed at Porto Ferrajo. His entry
was made with as much ceremony as the place
and circumstances would permit. His flag was
hoisted at the fort ; a royal salute was fired by
the Undaunted. From the water-side he was
conducted under a canopy to the church. Cap-
tain Usher walked on one side of the emperor
and the Austrian commissioner, Roller, on the

NAPOLEON'S SEARCH FOR WATER. 259

Other, who was ia great tribulation lest the
inhabitants should shoot at Napoleon, and they
also beeome victims. After leaving the church
the emperor went to the town-hall, where he was
received by the civil authorities. There was no
public dinner, however, that day, as has been said.

One of Napoleon's first cares was to obtain a
supply of water for the town of Porto Ferrajo.
Captain Usher accompanied him in a boat round
the bay ; they visited every creek, and tasted the
different rills. Seeing the English sailors wa-
tering, he said, ** Let us go to them, I am sure
they will choose the best." Napoleon made a
sailor dip his hat into the water, and hold it
for him to drink. '* It is excellent! I knew they
would find it out."

Alay 25th. — The French frigate, the Dryade,
captain count Montcabri6, and the Inconstant
brig, came into the bay ; the former to take the
French garrison of Elba to France, the second,
according to treaty, was to be given to Na-
poleon.

26th.' — Early in the morning, the four hun-
dred olficers and soldiers who were allowed to
the emperor as his guard, by the treaty of April
11th, and who set out from Petiviers two days
before he quitted Fontainebleau, pjoceeded by
Lyons, where the officers were invited to a hand-
some dinner, given at a Restaurateur's in ihe
Broteaux, by some young gentlemen of that city,

260 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

crossed Mont Cenis, and instead of entering
Turin, went to Carmagnole, &c., from thence to
Savona. On their arrival at that port, general
Cambrone sent off" a small vessel to Elba, which
arrived there in two days with the news. Four
days were occupied in getting the five British
vessels ready that were to carry those troops
to Elba. The wind proving unfavourable, nine
more days were consumed in the voyage ; and
Napoleon declared, that the interval between the
arrival of Aviso and that of the transports was
passed by him in a state of greater anxiety and
misery than he had ever before experienced.

Napoleon's carriages, and also his horses,
which, including those of the cavalry, amounted
to ninety- two, were all disembarked in the
course of the morning by the English sailors,
without the smallest accident. The emperor was
present the whole time, and expressed his ad-
miration and astonishment at the style in which
this was done. " Had they been French sailors,"
said he, " they would have been at least four days
about it ; every carriage would have been broken,
and half the horses lamed."

The arrival of the French vessels at Elba
disclosed a feeling that ought to have been a
useful lesson to the Bourbonists. On the 2Gth,
Napoleon put off in a boat at four in the morning,
and went on board the Dryade : the sailors were
employed in washing the decks, but on seeing

SIR NEIL CAMPBEIJ- AND MR. WIIlTRUEAl). 2G1

him, they all instantly ran up the shrouds and
shouted ** Vive Tempereur!" Napoleon walked
about the vessel, spoke a few words to the
sailors, and returned to his boat before Mont-
cabri^, who was dressing, was ready to receive
him. He next visited the English transports,
and then went on shore. Montcabri6 rushed upon
deck, foaming with rage at his sailors for cheer-
ing, yet not daring to punish them, for fear of
a general mutiny. The emperor gave a grand
dinner that day, and all the officers of both
nations, as well as two Elbese ladies, were invited.
During the dinner, the still-enraged Montcabri^
told the whole affair to captain Usher, liberally
bestowing the epithets of rascals on his crew.*

On the 27th of May, the day before that on
which captain Usher had fixed to quit Elba,
general Bertrand waited upon him, and presented
him, in the name of the emperor, with an oval
gold snuff-box, on the lid of which was his
portrait, painted by Isabey, surrounded by
twenty-two brilliants, each of the value of one

* Captain Usher related this circumstance to the late
Samuel Whitbread, esq. who afterwards mentioned it to sir
Neil Campbell, who, to his astonishment, denied the whole
transaction. Mr. Whitbread wrote to captain Usher, informing
him of this denial; he replied, that sir Neil Campbell sat next
to captain Montcabrie at the dinner, during which the whole
conversation took place. It appears that conversations arc
liable to escape sir Neil Campbell's memory.

262 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

hundred pounds. The emperor is represented in
a green uniform, with the riband of the legion of
honour. I think it is a very excellent likeness.
Wergman, the king's jeweller, offered captain
Usher three thousand guineas for it : he has
since refused five thousand ; and declared to me
that nothing would tempt him to part with it.
He waited on the emperor to take leave, and to
thank him for this valuable memorial of his satis-
faction. The emperor treated the present as a
trifle.

Jiuie 4th. — The Dryade sailed with the
French garrison.

The emperor's mother arrived at Elba on the
2d of August, and occupied a large house on the
quay at Porto Ferrajo.

Sir Neil Campbell resided at the house of the
parish priest at Porto Ferrajo, and dined at the
inn. During the first three months. Napoleon
was on very friendly terms with this officer ; but
afterwards, conceiving he acted as a spy on his
conduct, he treated him with great coolness.

Lord Ebrington, Mr. Fazaskorly, Mr. Frederic
Douglas, and another gentleman, visited Elba,
and were admitted to pay their court to the
emperor. The first dined with him, and was re-
ceived in the most polite and unreserved manner.
Napoleon said, the Bourbons were fools for al-
lowing such a number of abusive pamphlets to
be published against him : they had better do

PRINCESS KORGIIKSK AT EIM\. 263

as I have done, ■ — never to allow them to be
mentioned. Speaking of Berthier, prince of
Neufchaters ingratitude, he said, " C'est un bon
diable," and would be one of the first to come
with tears in his eyes and ask pardon ; but the
connexions of his wife are the cause : he was
obliiied to act as he did for his own interest.
He has but little understanding-, but has been
very useful to me, particularly with his pen ; and
ended by saying, " C'est un bon diable, et je
laime."

General Montague Mathew visited Elba, and
dined daily with general Bertrand.

October 3\st. — The emperor's sister, Pauline,
princess Borghese, landed in Elba : she sailed in
the emperor's brig the Inconstant, which had
been sent to Naples for her. Napoleon went
out in his barge to receive her. The next day
two merchant - brigs arrived, laden with her
luggage.

The princess lived in the palace with her bro-
ther : she was accompanied by three young and
beautiful maids of honour, one a Spaniard, the
other two French. Napoleon had a room built
for her in the garden, in which she gave balls
every Sunday evening.

Numerous workmen visited Elba, and were
employed in fitting up and enlarging tiie house
formerly belonging to the artillery, at which Na-
poleon resided. He also began to build a vi'

264 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

in the valley of St. Martin, to which a good
carriage-road wa§ made by his direction ; and
accompanied by Bertrand, Druot, and a secretary,
and surrounded by guards, he drove thither every
day in a barouche and four, to inspect the progress
of the work. Before his arrival, no carriage had
been seen on the island. Another road, from
Porto Ferrajo round the bay, was also under-
taken by his direction, and he converted the hos-
pital church, which had been used for barracks,
into a theatre, in which masked balls were given.
All this causing much money to circulate, soon
rendered him very popular among the working
classes ; but the higher orders, sir Neil Campbell
told me, always held him in great aversion.

The English gun-brig Grasshopper, captain sir
Charles Burrard, touched at Elba at the end of
October.

The Partridge, of 16 guns, captain John Miller
Adye, was constantly cruising from Civita-Vecchia
to Genoa ; but his instructions were, never to re-
main more than forty-eight hours at Elba.

Sir Neil Campbell told me, that he had no
instructions to prevent Napoleon leaving Elba,
had he chosen to do so.

Lord Castlereagh said, in the House of Com-
mons, 7th April, 1815, that Napoleon was not
considered as a prisoner at Elba, and that if he
should leave it, the allies had no right to arrest
him.

A MYSTERIOUS LADY AT ELBA. 2G5

1815.

At the beginning of January, a lady arrived at
Elba, and proceeded to the imperial residence.
After a stay of three days, Napoleon conducted
her, at night, to the shore ; and on some persons
approaching with torches, the emperor halloed to
them to keep back. None of the Elbese knew
who she was, and the few in the palace who had
seen her, preserved a mysterious silence ; but one
who spoke to her there informed me that it was
the beautiful Polish countess Valeska, by whom
Napoleon had a son a few years before. This
lady, who afterwards married general Ornano, is
now no more.

Major John H. Vivian told me he arrived at
Elba about the 25th of January, in the Partridge.
Captain Adye introduced him to general Bertrand,
by whom he was received in a very friendly man-
ner, lie dined with him once ; but this appeared
to put them to some inconvenience, as they were
living in an indifferent house, with scarcely any
furniture. Madame Bertrand, formerly miss
Dillon, had a few English books. Major Vivian
asked if Napoleon had written any thing since his
residence at Elba, and Bertrand assured him that
the only time he had taken a pen in hand was
to write a letter of mere compliment to the em-
peror of Austria. On requesting Bertrand to

266 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1815.

introduce him to Napoleon, he informed him the
etiquette was, to write to the emperor and re-
quest an audience. He did so, and eight o'clock
that evening was appointed. Bertrand having
introduced him, left the room. Vivian remained
with the emperor until half-past nine, during which
neither of them were seated. Being in regimentals.
Napoleon began the conversation by asking him
what uniform he wore. " The militia." *' What
militia?" "Cornish." *' Are you the colonel ?"
" No ; major." He then questioned him about the
tour of Europe he was making ; the places he had
visited ; state of the roads, bridges, &c. He
observed, the English ought to respect the me-
mory of Henry VIH., as he succeeded in over-
throwing ecclesiastical power. The interview
ended by Napoleon asking him which route he
intended to return by. On his saying Mount
Cenis, he wished him a pleasant journey and
retired. Major Vivian said he made no complaint
of poverty, and not a word escaped him of a hope
of returning to France. Bertrand, at Vivian's
request, introduced him to the princess Pauline,
by whom he was received in the most flattering
manner. She told him that Napoleon never suf-
fered a word of regret to escape him on their
change of fortune — *' Mon fr^re est si philo-
sophe." Madame Bertrand also vaunted the
emperor's philosophy; but '' Jlladame M^re" com-
plained that they had received no money from

MR. FLASKET AND NAPOLEOX. 2G7

France, though it should have been received ac-
cording to the treaty. IMadame Bertrand said,
that the money the emperor brought with him
was nearly expended. Major Vivian remained
ten days at Elba, in consequence of bad weather :
this enabled him to repeat his visits to the prin-
cess, but he had no further interview with Napo-
leon. He quitted Elba about the 4th of February.

Richard Flasket, esq., secretary to general
Maitland, arrived at Elba with captain Adye, on
the 27th of January. He had a letter of intro-
duction to general Bertrand from sir Neil Camp-
bell, who was then at Florence. He dined three
times with Bertrand, who presented his request
to the emperor for an audience, which was
granted. IMr. Flasket told me that Napoleon
questioned him about his travels, and as he was
only twenty-eight years of age, expressed much
surprise at their great extent, considering his
youth. Having resided in the Ionian Islands as
treasurer. Napoleon asked him many questions
relative to them ; what precautions general Mait-
land took at Malta to prevent the plague spread-
ing, observing, that a strict police was the only
means. The emperor was polite and affable during
the whole conversation.

Durins: the time Mr. Flasket was at Elba, the
emperor's brig the Inconstant, on coming into
Porto Fcrrajo from a cruise, run aground through
the negligence of the captain. Napoleon re-

268 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1815.

quested captain Adye to examine her, and give
the necessary directions for her repair. In this
brig he returned to France.

Madame Bertrand praised the English to
Mr. Flasket, but complained that lord Castle-
reagh had proposed to the congress of Vienna to
send the emperor to St. Helena. She also com-
plained that the money which was stipulated to
be paid him, by the treaty of Fontainebleau of the
11th of April, had not been sent, and that they
were very much straitened.

In consequence of a report, which was very
prevalent at Elba, that, in conformity with a de-
termination of the congress at Vienna, the em-
peror was to be seized and taken to St. Helena,
he gave orders to provision Porto Ferrajo for
three years. Even sir Neil Campbell said to
Napoleon, " The newspapers say you are to be
sent to St. Helena." '' Nous verrons cela," was
the reply.

Sir Neil Campbell informed me, that at the
beginning of February, the waiter at the inn
where he dined told him a man had arrived in
an open boat that morning from the continent,
dressed like a sailor ; he came to the inn, where,
having thrown aside his disguise, he waited on
Bertrand at the palace, dressed as a person of
distinction, wearing the decoration of the legion
of honour, and where he remained for some time ;
adding, that since his return the gens d'armes had

BARON FLEURY AND THE EMPEROR. '2G9

shewn him great respect. The next day this per-
son went away. Campbell could nut discover
who he was.

This mysterious visitor was the baron Fleury
de Chaboulon, who, at the return of Napoleon,
was appointed his private secretary. The object
of his visit was a verbal communication from the

due de B ; but not risking the carrying of

any letter, he mentioned to the emperor some

circumstances only known to B and himself.

The caution and reserve with which he was re-
ceived ceased. Napoleon was so agitated at first,
that he could not enter into conversation. When
the faithful messenger detailed the follies of the
Bourbons and the atrocities of their party, he
burst into paroxysms of rage against the emi-
grants, and Marmont for his defection. On be-
coming calm, he asked the situation of the dif-
ferent corps of the army, particularly the eighth ;
of which F — • — • was ignorant. ** But why did
not B inform you ?" F replied, " Nei-
ther of us thought you would instantly determine
to set off for France, and we were of opinion that
you would know what was passing through your
agents." " I have no agents, though the news-
papers assert the contrary. I have sent persons
to France, but they learned nothing. — lis out
vol6 mon argent, et ne m'ont entretenu cjue
des propos de la canaille. — -You are the first
person who has brought me any information sous

270 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1815.

des grand rapports of the position of France and
the Bourbons : the others would have allowed me
to remain here, a remuer la terre de mon jardin.'

Return, and tell B 1 will quit this place,

with my guard, before the 1st of April at the
latest ; tell him I renounce all project of aggran-
disement, and will repair, by a stable peace, the
ills this war has done us ; tell him to commu-
nicate with the people and the army ; and should
the Bourbons be driven out before my arrival,
I will have no regency, but a gouvernement pro-
visoire, composed of * * *. Go ! we shall
shortly meet !" The emperor sent for him again
in the evening, and directed him to transmit tri-
plicate letters, one by Genoa, one by Leghorn, and
the third by Civita Vecchia, to inform him what
corps were in the eighth and tenth military divi-
sions. He also imparted to him the name of an
inhabitant of Elba to whom these letters were to
be addressed, and desired that they might be
written in such a style as to appear, in case of
discovery, a mere commercial communication ;
adding, that he had often tried to outwit persons
who wrote under the disguise of merchants, but
never succeeded. He then gave him his cipher,
charging him, however, only to use it in case of
the utmost urgency, and to destroy it on the least

suspicion of danger. M, F returned by way

of Naples and Milan ; at Turin he heard that
Napoleon had disembarked in France. When

NArOI.KON LEAVES ELBA. 271

they met, the emperor said to hiin, that after his
departure from Elba he thought he liad been im-
prudent in requiring information to ])c sent lo
that island, as, if intercepted, cruisers would be
stationed round the island, and this consideration
induced him to set off with the least possible
delay. At this time there was a very pretty
cunning little French actress at Elba. Napoleon
pretended to be very angry with her, saying she
was a spy of the Bourbons and an agent of the
English spy, and ordered her out of the island in
twenty-four hours. Captain Adye took her in his
vessel to Leghorn : sir Neil Campbell went at the
same time ; and during this absence, on Sunday,
the 26th of February, a signal gun was fired at
four o'clock in the afternoon, the drums beat to
arms, the officers tumbled what they could of
their effects into flour sacks, the men arranged
their knapsacks, the embarkation began, and at
eight in the evening they were under-weigh. The
expedition consisted of the Inconstant brig, of 20
gims, captain Chantard, and five little vessels.
The breeze fell at midnight, and a calm ensued,
so that at day-break they were between Elba and
the Isle of Capraia. At six, a.m., they were
hailed by the French brig the Zephyr, captain
Andrieu, who was acquainted with Napoleon's
captain ; he asked how the emperor did. Napo-
leon replied through the speaking trumpet, " il

272 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1815.

se portait k merveille." In the night of the
27th the wind freshened. On the 1st of March,
the expedition entered the Gulf of Juan at three
in the afternoon, and at five the emperor disem-
barked in France.

Sir Neil Campbell quitted Leghorn on Sunday-
night, and being shortly afterwards becalmed, did
not arrive at Elba until Tuesday morning. On
landing, he was met by Mr. Grattan, son of the
Irish member, who informed him, that on Sunday
afternoon, at four o'clock, hearing the drums beat
to arms, he went out, and found the gates of
Porto Ferrajo shut ; that the whole of Monday
he saw the expedition to the northward becalmed
until sun-set ; it was his opinion they were gone
to France. Sir Neil found madame Bertrand in
very great agitation, who, as well as the princess
Pauline, protested ignorance of the emperor's
destination. It struck Campbell he was gone to
Murat at Naples; to discover this, he instantly
told the princess and madame Bertrand that the
whole expedition had been taken by the cruisers
off Sicily. Pauline's countenance instantly bright-
ened, as this convinced her the colonel knew
nothing?. Sir Neil did not see Madame M^re, and
remained only two hours at Elba, from whence
he went to Nice. He was of opinion that ge-
neral Druot was the only person who knew of
Napoleon s project, and that the others were in-

REGENCY AT BLOIS. 273

formed of it but a few lioiirs before ; and that even
Napoleon himself had no such intention a fort-
night previous.

THE REGENCY AT BLOIS.

The last recorded acts of the regency before quit-
ting Paris are inserted in the Bulletin des Lois,
vol. xix. fourth series, No. 56G, and No. 10,253 of
the Imperial Acts.

" D6cret imperial qui present des mesures
d'ex6cution pour la ]ev6e des conscrits de 1815,
dans les d^partemens occup^s, en totalite ou en
partie, par Tennemi."

" Au Palais des Tuilleries, le 26 Mars, 1814."

By this decree, which consists of twenty-two
articles, the young men born between the 1st of
January 1795 and the 31st of December of the
same year, are to be taken for the army, and the
mayors for this year are invested with the full
powers of prefects and councils of recruitment.
If the lists of conscripts or registers of their births,
or the rules and instructions how to act, are lost,
the mayor is to replace them by oral communica-
tion and former experience. But this will give
him very little trouble or responsibility, as the
eighth article says, that all conscripts hitherto
exempted, from not being of the requisite height,
from illness or infirmities, or who, from weakness

274 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

of constitution, had been declared incapable of

supporting the fatigue of war, and also those who,

by former laws, had been placed at the end of the

roll, should now march. That the decisions of

the mayors should be definitive, and that they

should be subject to the visits of the conseil de

recrutement when circumstances would permit;

and that no substitute should be received by the

mayors.

*' Pour I'empereur,

** En vertu des pouvoirs qu'il nous a confies.

(Sign^) ** Marie Louise.

" Par rimperatrice Regente,

(Signe) '* Le Dug de Cadore,

" Le Ministre d'Etat, Secretaire de la Regence.'*

The act which terminates the collection of
laws and decrees of the imperial government,
and forms part of the laws of France, is of the
same date. No. 10,254. It gives a man permission
to change his name.

On the 29th of March, as stated in page 48-49,
the empress Marie Louise, and her son, the king
of Rome, quitted the palace of the Tuilleries, and
slept that night at the royal castle of Rambouillet.
Near Blois the road had been recently made, and
was not then finished.

The carriages were obliged, for the space of
half a league, to be dragged through the mud up
to their axle-trees. It was, therefore, necessary

THE EMniESS, KINGS, &c. AT BLOIS. 275

to unite the strength of all the horses to a small
number of carriages, and, when these were njoved
onwards, to return for others which had been lel't
behind ; and thus the tiight of the imperial court
was conducted.

The baggage, principally fourgons, began to
arrive at Blois in the morning of the '2d of April.
The empress reached that town at five in the
afternoon. The prefect, M. Christiani, went a
league from the town to receive and attend her
to the residence of the prefecture. Napoleon's
brothers — Joseph, king of Spain ; Louis, king of
Holland ; and Jerome, king of Westphalia, were
lodged in the same town. The ministers and
court obtained lodgings for themselves, with great
difficulty, on account of the smallness of the
place ; and the accommodations for the whole
party were not of the most splendid kind :
the greater part of the fugitives here assembled
had the precaution to provide themselves with
necessaries of every description, but the prince
arch-chancellor, Cambaceres, had only a single
change of linen. Blois, the chief town of the
department of Loire et Cher, is situated on the
right bank of the Loire, which is so steep that
carriages cannot be used in most of the streets ;
there are no houses for carriages ; those of the
fugitive government were therefore left in the
open space before the hotel of the i)refecture.
The number was considerable, as the train of the

276 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

empress alone consisted of two hundred horses.
The appearance of the carriages thus exposed,
and covered with dirt and mud collected on the
journey, was curious. The rain performed what
the servants, in the present fluctuating state of
things, did not think proper to attend to. Even
the ponderous state-carriage was treated with
equal disrespect and neglect.

The diligences which quitted Paris on the
31st of March, at six in the morning, arrived at
Blois at eleven the following morning, two hours
later than usual : from the passengers the event
of the battle was learnt, and that though the
gates of Paris were occupied by the national
guards when they passed out of them, yet, in a
few hours, they were to be replaced by the allies.
Shortly after, a courier arrived at the prefecture ;
in consequence of this the prefect began to re-
move, and preparations were made to receive the
empress and king of Rome in the hotel of the
prefecture, formerly the bishop's palace : the
principal inhabitants received orders to prepare
their houses for the reception of the kings, Joseph,
Louis, and Jerome, for the arch-chancellor, and
for the ministers and chiefs of the different govern-
ment offices.

On Sunday the 3d, mass was said at the pre-
fecture by the cur6 of the parish of St. Louis at
Blois, as none of the priests of the imperial chapel
at Paris arrived with the court. After mass, the

THE ARMY REFUSE TO OBEY NAPOLEON. 277

empress received the different civil oflicers and
the clergy of Blois, but there were no addresses
or speeches on either side.

During the first days of her residence, Marie
Louise was very desirous of joining her husband,
and following him and the army.

Buonaparte WTote to the council of regency
from Fontainebleau, announcing his intention to
march against Paris with the force he had with
him, and his determination not to survive the
battle if he should lose it. When this was com-
municated to the empress, she was so much
affected as to be obliged to retire from the coun-
cil. However, on the next day, to the great
astonishment of every one, she appeared perfectly
calm. It afterwards transpired, that she had re-
ceived a private letter from the emperor, of a date
subsequent to that addressed to the council, in
which the important fact was disclosed that the
army refused to march against Paris. In the
personal safety of her husband thus assured to
her, she lost sight of his glory.

M. D'Hausonville, the chamberlain, told me
that there was a constant communication between
the emperor and empress, and that she daily sent
him from three to four hundred thousand francs
in specie: this was done with great secrecy.

Of wdiat was going forward at Paris, every
one at Blois, except the imperial family *nd the
ministers, was in a state of absolute ignorance ;

278 MK:vrORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

as neither letter, newspaper, nor traveller, was
permitted to arrive. It was not until the Gth
that the newspapers from Paris were communi-
cated generally to the court at Blois ; they were
then read aloud by M. M0I6, the grand judge. It
had, however, been suspected, from the growing
politeness of the ministers to the rest of the court,
that their power had received a severe check.

On the Gth, two Paris mails arrived, that had
been detained at Orleans by the prefect of that
department (the Loiret), formerly a hosier at
Nismes, as contemptible a fellow as any the
French revolution had produced. The mails were
stopped by order of the duke of Rovigo ; but
M. Villeveque, a spirited inhabitant of Orleans,
had forced the prefect to deliver up the letters
and newspapers for that town, which were the
first regular communications received from Paris
since the 31st of March.

The duke of Rovigo, during the whole time of
the residence of the imperial court at Blois, acted
with a degree of relentless rigour, which formed
a remarkable contrast to his conduct during the
three preceding months. He despatched couriers
to all the prefects, commanding them to deny all
news that should arrive in their departments
disadvantageous to the imperial government; to
arrest every one who propagated such reports, or
who made any stir in favour of the Bourbons,
and to bring them immediately before a military

DECHEANX'E OF NAPOLEON. 279

commission, and, if convicted, to have thcin in-
stantly shot. It was owini^ to his dctaininj^ the
English colonel, Cooke, and the French colonel,
St. Simon, that the battle of Tonlouse took
])lace ; lord Cathcart and the gouvernement pro-
visoire despatched these officers to marshals Soult
and Suchet, and lord Wellington, with advice of
what had taken place at Paris, and the dccliauicc
of Napoleon. They arrived at Orleans in the
morning, and were at breakfast at the inn, having
been joined by Mr. Thompson, formerly member
of parliament for Evesham, and then a detenu in
Orleans. A gen-d'arme entered the room with
a message from general Chassereau, commandant
of the military division of France in which this
town is situated, desiring to see them. Colonel
St. Simon said, that himself and colonel Cooke
were respectively bearers of despatches to mar^
shal Soult and lord Wellington, announcing the
dccJmince of Napoleon ; and not having any
despatches for the general, they would wait upon
him and give him the newspapers as soon as
they had breakfasted. The gen - d'arme re-
turned in a few minutes with a mission, de-
manding their immediate presence : they went,
and returned under an escort, in about twenty
minutes, to finish their breakfast ; after which
they proceeded in their carriage, accompanied by
an aide-de-camp of general Chassereau's, and

280 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

guarded by a dragoon, to Blois, where they were
detained so long under arrest that they could not
arrive at Toulouse until after the battle had taken
place.

Early in the morning of the 7th, the following
proclamation was seen stuck up about the streets
of Blois : —

" Frani^ais!

*' Les ^v6nemens de la guerre ont mis la
capitale au pouvoir de T^tranger.

*' L'empereur, accouru pour la d6fendre, est a
la tete de ses armies si souvent victorieuses.

*' Elles sont en presence de Tennemi, sous les
murs de Paris.

" C'est de la residence que j'ai choisie, et des
ministres de l'empereur, qu'emaneront les seuls
ordres que vous puissiez reconnoitre.

" Toute ville au pouvoir de I'ennemi cesse
d'etre libre ; toute direction qui en 6mane est le
langage de I'^tranger, ou celui qu'il convient a ses
vues hostiles de propager.

" Vous serez fiddles a vos sermens, vous ecou-
terez la voix d'une princesse qui fut remise a
votre foi, qui fait toute sa gloire d'etre Franjfaise,
d'etre associ6e aux destinies du souverain que
vous avez hbrement choisi.

'* Mon fils ^toit moins sur de vos coeurs au
terns de nos prosp^rit^s.

rnOCLAINlATION OF THE hegency. 281

** Ses droits ct sa personnc sont sous votrc

sauve-garde.

** Marie Louise,

'* Par rimpcratricc R^gcntc.

** Le Ministre de rintcricur faisant fonctions
** de Secretaire de la R^gence.

" MONTALIVET.
«' Blois, 3 Avril, 1814."

Notwithstanding its date of the 3d, this pro-
clamation never was heard of until the 7th ; nor
could it have been known much earlier, as it was
only drawn up at the council of the Gth.

It was sent to the constituted authorities in
every department where the council of regency
had the power or the means left them to get it
admitted. It arrived at the prefecture at Nismes,
in the department of the Gard, on the 10th ; the
prefect ordered it to be stuck up. No further
news arrived at Nismes until the 15th, when a
merchant of Lyons sent, by way of the Rhone,
an extract from the Munitcur of the 7th ; which
produced a great sensation. The same day a man
arrived at Nismes from Avignon, having a white
cockade, which he hung to the balcony of the
inn. This was received with great joy by the
people, by whom it was taken as a symbol of
peace, as the Bourbons were never even dreamt
of by them ; they ran about the streets, shouting

282 ME:\roiiARLE events of 1814.

" Peace! peace! peace!"* On the 17th, early
in the morning, the regular post arrived, being
the first which had been received since the
6th of April, which had quitted Paris on the 30th
of March, and contained news up to half-past
twelve o'clock at noon of that day. But by the
post of the 17th they obtained the newspapers
of the 10th.

Good Friday, April 8th. — Between eight and
nine in the morning, Joseph and Jerome Buo-
naparte, having ordered two carriages to the gate
of the prefecture, entered the empress's apart-
ment, and addressed her in these terms : " Ma-
dame, il faut que vous veniez avec nous." Upon

* Few thought that fifteen months afterwards this would be
the signal for massacre and pillage ; that under it a thousand
of the most respectable and wealthy Protestants would be
murdered ; that forty of their wives and daughters Avould be
stripped in the public market-place, and there whipped with
battledores stuck with nails, nine of whom died in conse-
quence ; that one hundred and fifty of their houses would be
pillaged and demolished in the town, and ninety in its neigh-
bourhood, all belonging to Protestants. Nor could it be be-
lieved that Jaques Dupont, alias Tres-taillons, the chief as-
sassin, would, from an agricultural labourer, become the owner
of a house on the boulevards of Nismes, and be allowed to
walk about the town, as I saw him in 1825, or to die in his
bed, which he did in 1827, and be borne to his grave in a
grand procession, composed of priests and all the different
religious fraternities, with their banners, crosses, &c.

Till-: k:mpress skizki). 283

this, the empress inquired where and \vliy; for,
added she, " Je suis trtis bien ici." Jerome re-
plied, " C'est ce que nous ne pouvons ))as vous
dire." The empress then askid if it was by
order of the emperor that they acted ; and on
their answering in the negative, she said, " Dans
ce cas, je n'irai pas." *' Nous vous forccrons,"
replied Jerome. She then burst into tears,
which, however, did not prevent their seizing her
person, and dragging her roughly towards the
door. She cried out, and M. d'llausonville, the
chamberlain, general Cafferelli, M. de Bausset,
pretet du palais, and some officers of the house-
hold, came to her assistance. Cafferelli sternly
desired the brothers to desist from offering vio-
lence to the empress. One of them asked him :
** Do you know to whom you are speaking ?"
" Yes !" contemptuously replied the general.
The empress requested it might be ascertained
whether the officers of the guard would counte-
nance violence to her person. iNIonsieur dTIau-
sonville flew to the court-yard with such preci-
pitation that he fell down stairs, and, addressing
himself to the officers, asked if it was their in-
tention to obey the brothers or the empress
regent ? They said they would obey the regent ;
and on his proposal, they swore to this declara-
tion. M. d'Hausonville then returned to the
empress, announcing that ** the troops were at
the orders of her majesty." The royal brothers

284 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

then retired. It was their intention to carry her
to Romorantin or Bourges, and from thence into
Auvergne or the Limousin, there to keep her as a
hostage. From the moment of this outrage she
expressed no further desire of joining her hus-
band.

Napoleon's opinion of his brother Jerome,
whom he had placed on the throne of West-
phalia, may be inferred from the following pri-
vate conversation between them.

After the battle of Leipsig, Jerome, accom-
panied by all his court, fled from his newly made
kingdom to Paris. At the latter end of De-
cember, 1813, the emperor sent for him into his
closet, and thus addressed him : —

Napoleon. — '' Je vous ai envoye chercher afin
de vous parler k cceur ouvert. Avez-vous achet^
une terre comme je vous I'ai dit?"

Jerome. — " Oui, pres de Montrichard."

Napoleon. — '' Allez demeurer 1^."

Jerome. — " C'est un exil."

Napoleon. — '' Vous pouvez I'appeller ce qui
vous fait plaisir, mais je ne veux pas que vous
soyez pr^s de moi ; vous m'etes odieux ; votre
conduite me d^plait; je ne connois personne aussi
vil, aussi plat, aussi poltron ; vous etes sans
vertu, sans talens, sans moyens. Je vous d^teste
autant que je d^teste Lucien. Vous etes entoure
de vos AUemands."

Jerome. — ** Mais ils m'ont suivi."

CHARACTER OF .TERO:\rE BUONAPARTE. 285

Napoleon. — ** lis ont raison pcut-^trc, ct vous
aussi ; mais ccla ne me dcplait i)as moins. Jc no
vcux pas avoir prcs de moi ceux qui m'oat vu
dans ma prosp^riti^. J'ai iinc fuiblesse pour
Joseph — que j'ai toujours eu depuis mon enfance.
Va-t'en !"

On leaving the emperor, Jerome immediately
sent for his private secretary, M. Bruguicre, to
whom, for reasons best known to himself, he
dictated this singular conversation, and ke])t the
record.

After he had quitted France, he wrote to M.
Bruguiere, '* Je ne puis vous d^lier de vos sermens
de fid^lit^, car ce seroit une renonciation formellc
de mon royaumc de Westphalie, et au droit cven-
tuel a la couronne de France."

A few years after, Jerome's throne was pur-
chased by the keepers of the Cafe des Mille
Colonnes, in the Palais Royal, and the cele-
brated belle limonadicire was nightly seen seated
on it, exhibiting her charms, as in the early part
of her life she had done at the corners of the
streets of Paris.

It was to Jerome that Napoleon said: ** If the
majesty of kings is imprinted on their counte-
nance, you may safely travel incognito."

The same day, at two o'clock in the after-
noon, count Schuwaloff, without escort, arrived at
Blois, and went to the inn La Galere.

From this period the government of the re-

286 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

gency may be said to have been dissolved; for
the count came to escort the empress from
Blois.

Before the ministers and other members of
this body dispersed, they had the precaution to
require of the minister of the treasury a dis-
tribution of the forty-five millions of francs in
specie which had been brought from Paris, after
payment of what they considered their own
arrears. They issued three months' pay to the
troops.* Joseph and Jerome modestly took a
million each, as their own shares, and six hun-
dred thousand francs were assigned to the absent
empress Josephine, but she never received
them. The two brothers wished a complete di-
vision of the booty, and especially of the dia-
monds of the crown ; but the baron de la
Bouillerie, tr^sorier de la couronne, resolutely
refused to deliver them up.

Louis Buonaparte, who, since his abdication
of the crown of Holland, in July 1810, took the
name of M. de St. Leu, from his estate in the
valley of Montmorency, near Paris, did not parti-
cipate in this disgraceful scene. Indeed, during
the whole time of the residence at Blois, he

* Of which they were in great want, as general Letort, of
the dragoons of the imperial guards, told me he had not re-
ceived any pay, except two hundred and fifteen francs, since
August 1813; and that several of his officers were obliged to
sell their horses to pay for their dinners.

KKCiENCY or BLOIS IJKOKF.N Ul\ 287

always appeared with that tranquillity which his
irood conscience secured to him. He was seen at
mass in the church of St. Louis, at Blois, on
Sundays and on the holidays.

When the spoil was divided, the next step
taken by the ministers was to secure the safety of
their own persons, by returning to Paris to offer
their adherence to the new government.

They and the imperial court accordingly ap-
plied to M. Bru^re, mayor of Blois, for passports,
which were granted, to the number of four hun-
dred. These being signed by count Schuwalott",
enabled them to pass with safety through that
part of the allied army which was between Blois
and Paris. When the duke of Rovigo placed his
passport before Schuwaloff, he coolly put his pen
through the title, and inserted the name of Sa-
vary in the margin. Besides the ministers, there
were at Blois, the president and vice-president of
the senate ; the chancellor of the senate, count de la
Place, the celebrated mathematician, with the seals ;
(these were carried from Paris in the vain hope that
no act of the senate would be availing, unless they
were affixed to it;) the president of the corps 16-
gislatif; the president of the court of cassation; and
several ladies of the court, among whom were the
wives of marshals Ney and Augereau.

It was intended that the empress should leave
Blois the next day; but when M. dllausonvillc
waited upon her to receive orders respecting the

288 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

carriages, she said " that the horses could not be
put to, as, of all the servants, one only would 72010
obey her." The others, on hearing the news from
Paris, had abandoned her. However, by means
of the authority of Schuwaloff, the empress, the
king of Rome, and the court attendants, with the
French troops that came with them, set out on
Saturday, the 9th, between ten and eleven
o'clock, for Orleans, where they arrived at six in
the evening; the empress in the same brown
riding-habit in which she quitted Paris, and
which she had worn the whole time.

Mass was said on Easter Sunday before the
empress Marie Louise, at the bishop's palace,
and before Madame M^re at her lodgings ; but
the prayer for the emperor was omitted.

Although Madame Mare's share of the plunder
was three hundred and seventy -five thousand
francs, yet the abb6 Mirault obtained a piece of
twenty francs, in the collection for the poor, with
difficulty from her.

Joseph and Jerome arrived at Orleans with
Marie Louise. Jer6me staid there four days, and
then went to the chateau de la Motte Beuvron.
Louis went from Blois to Lausanne, where he
arrived on the 15th of April. Joseph remained
at Orleans until the 18th of April, Madame
M^re quitted Orleans for Rome with cardinal
Fesch.

On Tuesday the 12th, prince Esterhazy ar-

PRESENTS BY rMATllE LOUISE TO ISAliEY, &c. 289

rived at Orleans from the emperor of Austria,
and the empress set off with him tlie same day
for the ch;\teau of Rambouillet, having six car-
riages for herself, her son, and their attendants,
but no military escort. Here, on the lUth, she
received a visit from the emperor of Russia ; and
during the few days of her residence at Orleans,
before her return to Austria, she sent several small
tokens of remembrance to different persons at
Paris. To Gerard, the painter, she presented
her mahogany easel ; to Isabey, the celebrated
miniature-painter, who was her drawing-master,
she gave a little memorandum-book which she
carried in her pocket, drawling a pencil through
her notes, and then wrote, with ink, in the first
page, '* Donn6 a Isabey, le 20 d'Avril, 1814, par
un de ses ^l^ves, qui aura toujours de la recon-
noissance pour les peines il s'est donn^ pour elle.

*' Louise."

This, my friend Isabey shewed me a few days
afterwards. I have seen very pretty comi)ositions
of figures by her, that were far better than young
ladies' drawings generally are.

Unprejudiced persons who approached her,
agreed that she was good-natured and kind,
but bashful and very timid, never interfering with
her husband on any subject. She certainly
never was cited in the salons of Paris, either for
word or deed, except her attachment to the

290 MEMOllABI^E EVENTS OF 1814.

young duchess of Montebello, widow of marshal
Lasnes. Napoleon always conducted himself
towards her with the most marked politeness ;
very diiFerent from his free manner with the
empress Josephine. She was very fond of the
emperor : and in speaking of him she always
termed him mon ange. It was very generally re-
ported that she had an aversion for her son; I
certainly never could learn she evinced any af-
fection for him ; and Napoleon, who was a most
fond and indulgent father, would sometimes joke
with her on this subject in company.

During her pregnancy, it was insinuated by a
certain party, that in case of the birth of a female
child, it would be changed ; and from the day of
the birth of young Napoleon until the overthrow
of the emperor, reports were very currently cir-
culated that he was not the son of Marie Louise ;
and some surmised that even her pregnancy was
feigned. The real circumstances were, that on
her being taken in labour, the great officers of
state and persons belonging to the court were
assembled, and after waiting nearly all night.
Napoleon said to them, that Dubois, the ac-
coucheur, asserted that the labour - pains had
gone off, and it might be some hours before the
delivery would take place ; and, as the ladies
(who were teasing the accoucheur with their af-
fected importunities and impertinent advice) must
be fatigued, they had better all retire, and they

BIRTH OF THE KING OF RO.MK. 291

should be sent for as soon as any symptcjms of
approachin*]^ delivery occurred. All withdrew, ex-
cepting- the duchess of Montebello, who remained
during the whole time of the delivery. Napoleon
was sitting by the bed-side, holding his wife's
hands. Dubois, being apprehensive it would be
a difficult and dangerous birth, begged him to
retire, saying he should prefer his being absent ;
but the emperor said he would remain to en-
courage him. Shortly after, the pains suddenly
returned, the child presented the right hip, and
after it was turned, forceps were obliged to be
used. The infant was black when born, and for
five minutes gave no signs of life. The emperor,
during that time, was in the greatest agony, and
pale as ashes. The event was made known to
the capital, and to those who had retired, by the
firing of one hundred cannon from the terrace of
the Invalids. It had previously been announced,
that should the empress be delivered of a girl,
only twenty-one guns would be fired ; but if of a
boy, one hundred.

I witnessed the anxiety of the people as soon
as the cannon began, and the joyous shout with
which the twenty-second report was hailed. I
never saw more joy on the faces of the common
people ; and there were few others on the boule-
vards at the hour it took place.

But what establishes the whole circumstance
beyond doubt, is the evidence of the empress's

292 MEMORABLE EVENTS OF 1814.

nurse, madame Blaise, who had the greatest re-
putation for skill as a midwife. She said to ma-
dame , a Bourbonist, whom she was at-
tending in May 1814, and who told it to me,
** That though it was her interest to confirm the
report of the king of Rome not being the child of
Marie Louise, yet she would tell the truth ; which
was, that she was present when M. Dubois deli-
vered the empress ; and that, in his agitation, he
had mislaid the scissors intended to cut the um-
bilical cord, when she held the child while he
sought for them." There can be no doubt of the
nature of this evidence, from the way in which
women in France are delivered. Dubois, having
represented to Napoleon at the beginning that the
labour would be a difficult one, was ordered by
him to treat the empress exactly as he would a
bourgeoise of the Rue St. Denis. Dubois then
said, that from the nature of the case, it might be
necessary to sacrifice the life of one ; " Save the
mother — it is her right !" was instantly the reply.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

BY THE EDITOR.

Those who have but even cursorily watched the
progress of political events for the last forty years,
must be fully aware of the unparalleled im[)ort-
anceofthat period, when compared with any other
of the same extent, in the annals of the world.
Not only France, but all the civilised countries
of the globe, have been either partakers of, or
participators in, the moral and political revolu-
tions which have recently occurred. The human
mind, which had been for ages trammelled by the
most galling shackles of bigotry and superstition,
having, by these convulsions, binst its confines,
wandered and wantoned in the boundless expanse
of liberty ; and although evincing its godlike
origin and attributes, it likewise displayed mani-
fold follies and extravagancies. That these led
to crimes, and consequent miseries, is a natural
result, but good has preponderated, and is likely
to increase ; for human amelioration and improve-
ment have sprung out of the conflict, and nothing

294 CONCLUDING REMAKKS.

less than another great revolution can counteract
their influence and eflects. Genius and talent of
every kind, and of all degrees, have been called
into full action, and have triumphed in their
conflicts with purse-proud ignorance, bigotry, and
tyranny.

Extraordinary times produce extraordinary
personages; — the wars of states, and the warfare
of political and moral opposition, call into action,
and advance to eminence, the master spirits of
a country. It is these, like the planets in the
starry firmament, that attract the chief,, and al-
most the exclusive, attention of observers. They
stand out from the multitude ; and every form,
feature, and attribute, are marked and scrutinised.
They become Jand-marks in the ocean of history,
and are to be respected or shunned in proportion
as they make either good or bad use of their
talents. It is the duty of the historian and
biographer to investigate fastidiously and im-
partially the characteristics of every person who
claims a niche in the Temple of Fame, before
he assigns to him his appropriate and permanent
station. Were this to be more generally the
case, — were writers more circumspect and jea-
lous of their own responsibility, there would be
fewer books, less controversy, and more truth
disseminated. Respecting the extraordinary man
whose personal character and influence have

CONCI.UDING HF.MATIKS. 295

produced such prodigious effects on the politicul
and moral world, we seek with avidity for every
fact and every incident that may tend to develop
his individuality of mind and governing principles.
It is from accumulated evidence, — from numerous
incidents, in public and private life, both on the
great theatre of action and enterprise, and witliin
the recesses of domestic intercourse, that a faith-
ful portraiture can be drawn of a man like Buona-
parte, who not only domineered over a large
empire, but subdued and controlled other states,
— who created and dethroned kings, — and who
called around him, and put into action, all the
talents of the country. A vaunted terrestrial
demigod, who caused more human slaughter than
any other man on earth, we are anxious to trace his
history in all the intricacies and varieties of life.
The preceding narrative furnishes many remark-
able anecdotes of this boasted ** invincible em-
peror," and of the people whom he governed and
played with as puppets.

Although the pens of many eloquent writers,
whose situations and talents seemed eminently qua-
lified to treat the subject fairly and fully, have ap-
propriated much time and many volumes to discuss
his merits and demerits — to write histories of the
man and of his times, it is generally admitted that
they have been too much influenced by personal
and political partialities, to do themselves and

2y6 CONCLUDING REMARKS.

their hero justice. Napoleon Buonaparte has been
panegyrised as a monarch, a general, and a hero ;
has been stigmatised as a ruffian, a tyrant, and
a coward. That the actions recorded of him may
justify each and all of these epithets, at different
times and under different circumstances, is readily
admitted : but it is not insulated acts and par-
ticular traits that constitute character ; it is the
general, prevailing, and predominating passion
that designates the man, that detaches him from
his fellows, and, like his personal features, con-
tradistinguishes him from all approximations of
similitude. The philosophical biographer should
earnestly and fearlessly endeavour to attain a
perfect knowledge of this ; and having discovered
it, should describe it with all the minuteness, all
the force, and all the verity of nature. We still
want such a portrait of Buonaparte : for his per-
sonal character, and the national events emanating
from them, are objects not of French history
merely, but constitute a great feature in that of
the civilised world. With mental powers adequate
to such a task, the public expected to see it ac-
complished by sir Walter Scott ; but his early
prepossessions, his political connexions, his habits
of writing from fancy instead of fact, were ob-
stacles not to be surmounted. The character of
sir Walter's work is finely discriminated by
the Rev. Dr. Channing, of America, who has

CONCI.l.'DlNCi UKMAKKS. 21)7

also entered into an analytical view of Buonaparte's
mental and moral attributes, with great power
of language, and great philosophical acuteness.
In this essay, however, wc sec the sentiments
of the American and the priest creeping into and
deteriorating the principles of the profound critic
and the historian. Mr. Hazlitt, an acute, philoso-
phical thinker, has commenced the arduous task of
giving a faithful, discriminating portrait of Buona-
parte, by publishing two out of four volumes of a
work devoted to the subject. To qualify him-
self for this task, he has resided for some time in
Paris, and has thereby had opportunities of col-
lecting facts and opinions which qualify him to
impart to the English reader much original, as
well as novel information.

" The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte," in 4 vols.
8vo, 1828, by W. H. Ireland, contains a mass
of historical and biographical information, with
numerous embellishments. Another work, by
the same author, entitled, " The Hundred Days
of Napoleon Buonaparte," embraces many other
facts and details respecting the same individual.

" The proper study of mankind is man," and
this can only be properly and effectively pursued
by reading the book of the world — by watching
and analysing man as he really is, not as he
seems, nor as he is portrayed by the novelist,
the historian, or the poet. Of the powers of
the latter, wc cannot easily adduce a stronger

29S COXCLUDINC; IIEMAIIKS.

instance than in the lb] lowino: lines iVoni one
of the most imaginative and eloquent bards of
the present age : —

ON THE CHARACTER OF BUONAPARTE.

" Then Napoleon came
AVith his embattled hosts. That wondrous man !
AVhose daring spirit, with volcanic rage,
Breathed flame and ruin on the aftrighted world.
His eye could span the Universe ! His soul
Had fire enough to vanquish all ! In vain
Wild Nature barr'd his progress with her piles
Tiared by the clouds; — in vain the rocks
Uprear'd their ice-hair'd heads to block his path,
Or hurl'd their torrents at him ! With a irlance,
Fierce as the eagle's, when his piercing eye
Gleams through the darkening air, he look'd beyond
Them all ! Nature and he were giants twin,
And her impediments but forced the flames
Of genius from his soul ; as thunder-clouds,
Together clash 'd, dart forth their lightning gleams."

R. M0NT(;0M£RV'S P0C//IS.

THE E i\ D.

L o N D O i\ :

J. .MOYESj IOOK's COI'RT, < HAXCBRV LA.NE.

THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Santa Barbara

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW.

Series 9482

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