The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of the life, exile, and conversations of the Emperor Napoleon, by Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Memoirs of the life, exile, and conversations of the Emperor Napoleon. (Vol. III) Author: Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases Release Date: January 17, 2017 [EBook #53969] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS VOLUME 3 OF 4 *** Produced by KD Weeks, Josep Cols Canals and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) Transcriber’s Note: Footnotes have been collected at the end of each chapter, and are linked for ease of reference. Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. This is the third of four volumes, which can be found at Project Gutenberg here: Volume I https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53967 Volume II https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53968 Volume III https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53969 Volume IVhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53970 The cover image has been created, based on title page information, and is added to the public domain. Corrections made to the text will appear as correction, which serve as links to the corresponding entry in the end notes. The original text can be viewed when the cursor is placed over the correction. SIR HUDSON LOWE. Published for Henry Colburn, March 1836. I II MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE, EXILE, AND CONVERSATIONS, OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. BY THE COUNT DE LAS CASES. A NEW EDITION. WITH PORTRAITS AND NUMEROUS OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS. VOL. III. LONDON: PUBLISHED FOR HENRY COLBURN, BY RICHARD BENTLEY; BELL AND BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH; J. CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. DCCCXXXVI. ANDOVER: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY B. BENSLEY. MEMOIRS OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. THE BILL RESPECTING OUR EXILE.—BEAUMARCHAIS.—THE WORKS OF CHERBOURG. July 15, 1816. About ten o’clock, the Emperor entered my apartment: he came unawares, as he wished to take a walk. I followed him, and he walked for some time towards the wood, where we were taken up by the calash. A considerable interval had elapsed since he made use of it. I was the only person with him, and the Bill, which related to him, and with the nature of which we were unacquainted, was, during the whole time, the subject of our conversation. Upon our return, the Emperor, after some hesitation whether he should breakfast under the trees, determined to go in, and remained at home the whole of the day. He dined alone. He sent for me after dinner; I found him engaged in reading some Mercures or old newspapers. He found in them various anecdotes and circumstances respecting Beaumarchais, whom the Emperor, during his Consulate, had, notwithstanding all his wit, uniformly discountenanced, on account of his bad character and his gross immorality. The difference of manners imparted a poignancy to the anecdotes, although the difference of times was so trifling. He found an account of Louis the Sixteenth’s visit to Cherbourg, on which he dwelt for some time. He next adverted to the works of Cherbourg, and took a rapid review of them, with the clearness, precision, and lively manner that characterized every thing he said. Cherbourg is situated at the bottom of a semicircular bay, the two extremities of which are the Pelée Island on the right, and Point Querqueville on the left. The line, by which these two points are connected, forms the chord or the diameter, and runs East and West. Opposite to the North, and at a very small distance, about 20 leagues, is the famous Portsmouth, the grand arsenal of the English. The remainder of their coast runs nearly parallel opposite to ours. Nature has done every thing for our rivals; nothing for us. Their shores are safe and clear themselves daily from obstructions. They abound in deep soundings, in the means of shelter, in harbours and excellent ports; ours are, on the contrary, full of rocks, the water is shallow, and they are 3 4 every day choking up. We have not in these parts a single real port of large dimensions, and it might be said that the English are, at the same moment, both at home and on our coast, since it is not requisite for their squadrons, at anchor in Portsmouth, to put to sea to molest us. A few light vessels are sufficient to convey intelligence of our movements, and, in an instant, without trouble or danger, they are ready to pounce upon their prey. If, on the contrary, our squadrons are daring enough to appear in the British Channel, which ought, in reality, to be called the French Sea, they are exposed to perpetual danger; their total destruction may be effected by the hurricane or the superiority of the enemy, because in both these cases there is no shelter for them. This is what happened at the famous battle of La Hogue, where Tourville might have united the glory of a skilful retreat with that of a hard fought and unequal contest, had there been a port for him to take shelter in. In this state of things, men of great sagacity and anxious for the welfare of their country, prevailed upon government, by dint of projects and memorials, to seek, by the assistance of art, those resources of which we had been deprived by nature; and, after a great deal of hesitation, the bay of Cherbourg was selected, and it was determined to protect it by an immense dike, projecting into the sea. In that way we were to acquire, even close to the enemy, an artificial road, whence our ships might be able, in all times and in all weathers, to attack his, or to escape his pursuit. “It was,” said the Emperor, “a magnificent and glorious undertaking, very difficult with respect to the execution and to the finances of that period. The dike was to be formed by immense cones constructed empty in the port and towed afterwards to the spot, where they were sunk by the weight of the stones with which they were filled.[1] There certainly was great ingenuity in the invention. Louis XVI. honoured these operations with his presence. His departure from Versailles was a great event. In those times, a king never left his residence, his excursions did not extend beyond the limits of a hunting party; they did not hurry about as at present, and I really believe that I contributed not a little to the rapidity of their movements. “However, as it was absolutely necessary that things should be impressed with the character of the age, the eternal rivalry between the land and sea, that question which can never be decided, continued to be carried on. It might have been said in that respect, that there were two kings in France, or that he who reigned had two interests, and ought to have two wills, which proved rather that he had none at all. Here the sea was the only subject for consideration, yet the question was decided in favour of the land, not by superiority of argument, but by priority of right. Where the fate of the empire was at stake, a point of precedence was substituted, and thus the grand object, the magnificent enterprise, failed of success. The land-party established itself at Pelée Island and at fort Querqueville; it was employed there merely to lend an auxiliary hand to the construction of the dike, which was itself the chief object; but instead of that, it began by establishing its own predominance, and afterwards compelled the dike to become the instrument of its convenience, and subservient to its plans and discretion. What was the result? The harbour, which was forming and which was intended to contain the mass of our navy, whether designed to strike at the heart of the enemy’s power, or to take occasional shelter, could only accommodate fifteen sail at most, while we wanted anchorage for more than a hundred, which might have been effected without more labour and with little more expense, had the works been carried more forward into the sea, merely beyond the limits which the land-party had appropriated to itself. “Another blunder highly characteristic, and scarcely conceivable, took place. All the principal measures for completing the harbour were fixed upon; the dike commenced; one of the channels, that to the eastward, finished, and the other to the westward was on the point of being formed, without an exact and precise knowledge of all the soundings. This oversight was so great that the channel already formed, that to the eastward, five hundred fathoms broad, having been carried too close to the fort, did not, without inconvenience, admit vessels at low water, and that the other, which was about to be constructed to the westward, would have been impracticable, or at least very dangerous, but for the individual zeal of one officer (M. de Chavagnac), who made that important discovery in time, and caused the works on the left extremity of the dike to be stopped at the distance of twelve hundred fathoms from fort Querqueville, by which it was to be defended. This seems to me, and is, in fact, too great a distance.[2] “The system adopted in the works of the dike, which is more than a league from the shore, and more than 1900 fathoms long by 90 feet broad, was also subjected to numerous changes, suggested, however, by experience. The cones, which, according to the established principle, ought to have touched each other at their bases, were, in that respect, either separated by accident or with a view to economy. They were damaged by storms, eaten by worms, or rotted with age. They were at length altogether neglected, with the exception of stones thrown at random into the sea; and when it was observed that these were scattered by the rolling of the waves, recourse was had to enormous blocks, which finally answered every expectation. “The works were continued, without interruption, under Louis XVI. An encreased degree of activity was imparted to them by our legislative assemblies; but in consequence of the commotions which soon followed, they were completely abandoned, and at the time of the Consulate, not a trace of that famous dike was to be seen. Every thing had been destroyed for several feet under low water level, by the original imperfection of the plan, by the length of time, and the violence of the waves. “The moment, however, I took the helm of affairs, one of the first things I did was to turn my attention to so important a point. I ordered commissions of inquiry; I had the subject discussed in my presence; I made myself acquainted with the local circumstances; and I decided that the dike should be run up with all possible expedition, and that two solid fortifications should, in the course of time, be constructed at the two extremities; but that measures should be immediately taken for the establishment of a considerable provisional battery. I had then to encounter, on all sides, the inconveniencies, the objections, the particular views, the fondness which attaches itself to individual opinions, &c. Several maintained that the thing certainly could not be done; I continued steady, I insisted, I commanded, and the thing was done. In less than two years, a real island was seen rising as it were, by magic, from the sea, on which was erected a battery of large calibre. Until that moment, our labours had almost constantly been the sport of the English; they had, they said, been convinced, from 5 6 7 8 their origin, that they would prove fruitless; they had foretold that the cones would destroy themselves, that the small stones would be swept away by the waves, and above all, they relied upon our lassitude and our inconstancy. But here things were completely altered, and they made a shew of molesting our operations; they were, however, too late; I was already prepared for them. The western channel naturally continued very wide, and the two extreme fortifications, which defended, each its peculiar passage, being incapable of maintaining a cross-fire, it was probable that an enterprising enemy might be enabled to force the western channel, come to an anchor within the dike, and there renew the disaster of Aboukir. But I had already guarded against this with my central provisional battery. However, as I am for permanent establishments, I ordered within the dike, in the centre, by way of support, and which in its turn might serve as an envelope, an enormous elliptical paté to be constructed, commanding the central battery, and mounted itself in two casemated stories, bomb- proof, with 50 pieces of large calibre and 20 mortars of an extensive range, as well as barracks, powder-magazine, cistern, &c. “I have the satisfaction of having left this noble work in a finished state. “Having provided for the defensive, my only business was to prepare offensive measures, which consisted in the means of collecting the mass of our fleets at Cherbourg. The harbour, however, could contain but fifteen sail. For the purpose of increasing the number, I caused a new port to be dug; the Romans never undertook a more important, a more difficult task, or one which promised a more lasting duration! It was sunk into the granite to the depth of 50 feet, and I caused the opening of it to be celebrated by the presence of Maria Louisa, while I myself was on the fields of battle in Saxony. By this means I procured anchorage for 25 sail more. Still that number was not sufficient, and I therefore relied upon very different means of augmenting my naval strength. I was resolved to renew the wonders of Egypt at Cherbourg. I had already erected my pyramid in the sea; I would also have my lake Mœris. My great object was to be enabled to concentrate all our maritime force, and in time, it would have been immense and adequate to strike a fatal blow against the enemy. I was preparing my scene of action in such a way, that the two nations, in their totality, might have been enabled to grapple with each other, man to man, and the issue could not be doubtful, for we should have been more than 40 millions of French against 15 millions of English. I should have wound up the war, with a battle of Actium, and afterwards what did I want of England? Her destruction? Certainly not. I merely wanted the end of an intolerable usurpation, the enjoyment of imprescriptible and sacred rights, the deliverance, the liberty, of the seas, the independence, the honour, of flags. I was speaking in the name of all and for all, and I should have succeeded by concession or by force. I had, on my side, power, indisputable right, the wishes of nations,” &c. I have reasons for believing that the Emperor, disgusted with the losses occasioned by partial attempts at sea, and enlightened by fatal experience, had adopted a new system of maritime warfare. The war between England and France had insensibly assumed the aspect of a real struggle for life or death. The irritation of all the English against Napoleon was raised to the highest degree. His Berlin and Milan decrees, his continental system, and his offensive expressions, had shocked all minds on the other side of the Channel; while the English ministers, by their libels, fabrications, and all imaginable means, had succeeded, by exciting every passion, in rendering the quarrel altogether national. On this ground, it was declared in full Parliament, that the war was perpetual, or at least for life. The Emperor thought it his duty to shape his plans in conformity to that state of things, and from that instant, as much from calculation as from necessity, he gave up all kind of cruizing, distant enterprizes, and hazardous attempts. He determined upon a strict defensive system, until his continental affairs should be finally settled, and the accumulation of his maritime force should allow him to strike, with certainty, at a later period. He, therefore, retained the whole of his shipping in port, and confined himself to the gradual augmentation of our naval resources, without exposing them to any further risk. Every thing was calculated on the basis of a remote result. Our navy had lost a great number of vessels, the greatest part of our good seamen were prisoners in England, and all our ports were blockaded by the English, who obstructed their communications. The Emperor ordered canals in Britanny, by means of which, and in spite of the enemy, points of communication for providing Brest with all kinds of supplies were established between Bordeaux, Rochefort, Nantes, Holland, Antwerp, Cherbourg, and that port. He was desirous of having wet docks at Flushing or in its neighbourhood, for the purpose of containing the Antwerp squadron, completely equipped and ready to put to sea in four-and-twenty hours, which was necessarily confined in the Scheldt four or five months of the year. Finally, he projected near Boulogne, or on some spot along that coast, the construction of a dike similar to that of Cherbourg, and between Cherbourg and Brest, a suitable harbour at the Ile-à-Bois. All this was planned, for the purpose of securing, at all times and without danger, a full and free communication to our large ships between Antwerp and Brest. To obviate the want of seamen, and the great difficulty of forming them, it was ordered that the young conscripts should be, every day, trained in all our ports. They were, at first, to be put on board small light vessels, and a flotilla of that kind was even to navigate the Zuiderzee; they were afterwards to be turned over to large ships and immediately replaced by others of the same class. The vessels were ordered to get under sail every day, to go through every possible manœuvre and evolution, and even to exchange shots with the enemy, without exposing themselves to the chance of an engagement. The last point was the force and number of our vessels; they were considerable, notwithstanding all our losses, and the Emperor calculated on being enabled to build 20 or 25 yearly. The crews would be ready as fast as they were wanted, and thus, at the expiration of four or six years, he could have relied upon having 200 sail of the line, and perhaps 300, had that number been necessary, in less than 10 years. And what was that period in comparison with the perpetual war, or the war for life, which was declared against us? The affairs of the continent would, in the mean time, be brought to a termination; the whole of it would have embraced our system; the Emperor would have marched back the greatest part of his troops to our coast, and it was in that situation that he looked with confidence to a decisive issue of the contest. All the respective resources of the two nations would have been called into action, and we should then, in his opinion, subdue our enemies by moral energy, or strangle them by our material strength. 8 9 10 11 The Emperor entertained several projects for the improvement of the navy, and adapted to that end part of his military tactics. He intended to establish his offensive and defensive line from Cape Finisterre to the mouth of the Elbe. He was to have had three squadrons with admirals commanding in chief, as he had corps d’armée with their generals in chief. The Admiral of the centre was to establish his head quarters at Cherbourg; of the left, at Brest; and of the right, at Antwerp. Smaller divisions were to be stationed at the extremities, at Rochefort, and at Ferrol, in the Texel, and at the mouth of the Elbe, for the purpose of turning and outflanking the enemy. All these points were to be connected by numerous intermediate stations, and their respective commanders in chief were to be considered as constantly present, by the assistance of telegraphs, which, lining the coast, were to preserve an uninterrupted communication between the parts of the grand system. Let us consider, however, what would have been the conduct of the English during our preparations and the progressive increase of our naval power. Would they have continued the blockade of our ports? We should have had the satisfaction of witnessing the wear and tear of their cruising squadrons; we should have compelled them to maintain 100 or 150 vessels constantly exposed on our coasts to the violence of tempests, to the danger of rocks, to all the hazards of disaster, while we, on the contrary, had every chance of success, should any unforeseen catastrophe occur from natural events, or the faults of their admirals, which could not fail to happen in the course of time. What advantages should we not have derived from the event? We, fresh and in excellent condition; we, waiting only for the opportunity, always ready to set sail and engage! Should the English be tired out? Our vessels would immediately put to sea for the purpose of exercising and training their crews. On the completion of our armaments and at the approach of the decisive moment, were the English alarmed for the safety of their island, to collect their strength in front of their principal arsenals, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and the Thames, our three divisions of Brest, Cherbourg, and Antwerp, would attack them, and our wings would turn then upon Ireland and Scotland. Were they, relying upon their skill and bravery, resolved to oppose us in one great body, then the struggle would be reduced to a decisive issue, of which we should have been at liberty to choose the time, the place, and the opportunity;—and this is what the Emperor called the battle of Actium, in which, if we were defeated, we should experience but simple losses, while, if we proved victorious, the enemy would cease to exist. But our triumph, he maintained, was certain, for the two nations would have to contend man to man, and we were upwards of forty millions against fifteen. This was the favourite position on which he uniformly dwelt. Such was one of his grand ideas, his gigantic conceptions. Napoleon has been the founder of so many establishments, that his works and monuments are injurious to each other by their number, variety, and importance. It was my earnest wish to have given a full relation of his works, which were executed at Cherbourg, as well as of those which he had projected. A person precisely of the profession best qualified to appreciate the subject, and one of its brightest ornaments, has promised me a description of them. Should he keep his word, it shall be given hereafter. LONG AUDIENCE GIVEN TO THE GOVERNOR.—REMARKABLE CONVERSATION. 16th.—About nine o’clock, the Emperor took an airing in the calash. There was a vessel in sight, at which he looked through the glass. He invited the Doctor, whom he found employed in the same way, to accompany him. On our return, we breakfasted under the trees. He conversed at great length with the Doctor respecting the Governor’s conduct to us, his endless vexations, &c. About two o’clock, a person came to enquire if the Emperor would receive the Governor. He gave him an audience that lasted nearly two hours, and ran over, without falling into a passion, he said, all the objects under discussion. He recapitulated all our grievances; enumerated all his wrongs; addressed himself, he observed, by turns to his understanding, his imagination, his feelings, and his heart. He put it in his power to repair all the mischief he had done, to recommence upon a plan altogether new, but in vain, for that man, he declared, was without fibres; nothing was to be expected from him. This Governor, said the Emperor, assured him that, when the detention of M. de Montholon’s servant took place, he did not know he was in our service, and he added that he had not read Madame Bertrand’s sealed letter. The Emperor observed to him that his letter to Count Bertrand was altogether repugnant to our manners and in direct opposition to our prejudices; that if he, the Emperor, were but a mere general and a private individual, and had received such a letter from him, the Governor, he would have called him out; that a man so well known and respected in Europe, as the Grand Marshal, was not to be insulted, under the penalty of social reprobation; that he did not take a correct view of his situation with regard to us; that all his actions here came within the province of history, and that even the conversation which was passing at that moment belonged to history; that he injured every day, by his conduct, his own government and his own nation, and that in time he might feel the consequences of it; that his government would disclaim his conduct in the end, and that a stain would attach itself to his name, which would disgrace his children. “Will you allow me,” said the Emperor, “to tell you what we think of you? We think you capable of every thing; yes, of every thing; and while you retain your hatred, we shall retain our opinion. I shall still wait for some time, because I like to act upon certainties; and I shall then have to complain, not that the worst proceeding of ministers was to send me to St. Helena, but that they gave you the command of it. You are a greater calamity to us than all the wretchedness of this horrible rock.” The Governor’s answer to all this was that he was about to make a report to his government; that he learned at least something from the Emperor, but that he received only provoking treatment from us, and that we made matters worse. With respect to the Commissioners of the powers, whom the Governor wished to present, the Emperor rejected them in their political capacity, but assured the Governor that he would readily receive them as private individuals; that he had no 12 13 14 dislike to any one of them, not even to the French Commissioner, M. de Montchenu, who might be a very worthy man, who had been his subject ten years, and, having been an emigrant, was probably indebted to him, the Emperor, for the happiness of returning to France; that, besides, after all, he was a Frenchman; that title was indelible in his eyes, and no opinion could destroy it in his estimation, &c. With regard to the new buildings at Longwood which were the great object of the Governor’s visit, the Emperor replied to his communication on that topic that he did not wish for them; that he preferred his present inconvenient residence to a better, situated at a great distance, and to be obtained at the expense of a great deal of bustle and the trouble of moving; that the buildings which he had just mentioned to him required years to be completed, and that before that time, either we should not be worth the cost incurred for us, or Providence would have delivered him from us, &c. ON THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF ITALY.—MADAME GRASSINI—MADAME V—— AND BERTHIER. 17th.—The Emperor sent for me about two o’clock; he dressed himself and went out in the calash. Madame de Montholon was of the party. It was her first appearance since her accouchement. The conversation turned particularly on the Italian ladies, their character and beauty. The young General, who effected the conquest of Italy, excited in that country, from the first moment, every feeling of enthusiasm and ambition. This the Emperor was delighted to hear and to repeat. Above all, there was not a beauty who did not aspire to please and touch his heart, but in vain. “My mind,” he said, “was too strong to be caught in the snare; I fancied that there was a precipice under the flowers. My situation was singularly delicate; I had the command of veteran generals; the task I had to execute was immense; all my motions were watched by jealous eyes; my circumspection was extreme. My good fortune consisted in my prudence; I might have forgotten myself for an hour, and how many of my victories,” said he, “depended on no greater length of time!” Several years afterwards, at the time of his coronation at Milan, his attention was attracted by Grassini, the celebrated singer. Circumstances were then more auspicious. He desired to see her, and immediately after her introduction, she reminded him that she had made her début precisely during the early achievements of the General of the army of Italy. “I was then,” said she, “in the full lustre of my beauty and my talent. My performance in the Virgins of the Sun was the topic of universal conversation. I fascinated every eye and inflamed every heart. The young General alone was insensible to my charms, and yet he was the only object of my wishes! What caprice, what singularity! When I possessed some value, when all Italy was at my feet, and I heroically disdained its admiration for a single glance from you, I was unable to obtain it; and now, how strange an alteration! you condescend to notice me—now, when I am not worth the trouble and am no longer worthy of you!” The celebrated Madame V.... was also among the crowd of Armidas; but, tried with losing her time, she lowered her pretensions to Berthier, who, from the first instant, lived but for her. The Commander-in-Chief made him a present one day of a magnificent diamond worth more than 100,000 francs. “Here,” said he, “take that; we often play high, lay it up against a rainy day.”—Scarcely had four-and-twenty hours elapsed, before Madame Bonaparte came to tell her husband of a diamond which was the subject of her admiration. It was the present that was to have been laid up against a rainy day, which had already found its way from Berthier’s hand to Madame ——’s head. He has since, in all the circumstances of his life, been uniformly governed by her. The Emperor, having gradually heaped riches and honours upon Berthier, pressed him often to marry, but he as constantly refused, declaring, that Madame V—— could alone make him happy. The son, however, of Madame V—— having got acquainted with a duchess of Bavaria, who had come to Paris, with the hope of obtaining a husband, through the Emperor’s favour, Madame V—— , thought she was doing wonders and advancing her son’s fortune by the marriage of her lover; and, with this impression, she prevailed upon Berthier to espouse the Bavarian princess. But, said the Emperor, there is no project, however excellent, which does not become the sport of fortune; for scarcely was the marriage concluded, when Madame V——’s husband died and left his wife at liberty. That event proved to her and to Berthier the source of real despair; they were inconsolable. Berthier came with tears in his eyes to communicate his wretched fate to the Emperor, who laughed at his misfortune. To what a miserable condition, he exclaimed, was he reduced; with a little more constancy, Madame V—— might have been his wife! FAUBOURG SAINT GERMAIN.—ARISTOCRACY; DEMOCRACY.—THE EMPEROR’S INTENTION TO MARRY A FRENCH WOMAN. 18th.—About four o’clock, I was sent for by the Emperor, who was in a very weak state. He had, by an absence of mind, remained three hours in a very hot bath and scalded his right thigh with the boiling water. He had read two volumes in the bath. He shaved, but would not dress himself. At half-past seven, the Emperor ordered two covers to be laid in his cabinet, and was very much out of temper, because his papers were thrown into confusion by being removed for the purpose of using the table on which they lay. They were replaced by his direction, and the covers laid upon another small table. We conversed for a long time; he brought me back to topics which often suggested themselves to him when we were together, and upon which I must endeavour not to be guilty of repetitions, the more so, as they possess attractions, which to me are peculiarly interesting. We talked a great deal about our youthful years and the time we passed at the military school. This subject led him again to notice the new schools which he had established at St. Cyr and at St. Germain, and he finally recurred to the emigrants and those he called nos encroûtés. He became gay and lively in consequence of some anecdotes of the Faubourg St. Germain, respecting his person, which I related, and as the slightest things grew into 15 16 17 importance the moment he touched upon them, he said—“I see plainly that my plan with respect to your Faubourg St. Germain was ill-managed. I did too much or too little. I did enough to dissatisfy the opposite party, and not enough to attach it to me altogether. Although some of them were fond of money, the multitude would have been content with the rattles and sound, with which I could have crammed them, without any injury, in the main, to our new principles. My dear Las Cases, I did too much and not enough, and yet I was earnestly occupied with the business. Unfortunately, I was the only one seriously engaged in the undertaking. All who were about me thwarted, instead of promoting it, and yet there were but two grand measures to be taken with regard to you;—that of annihilating, or that of melting you down into the great mass of society. The former could not enter my head, and the latter was not an easy task, but I did not consider it beyond my strength. And, in fact, although I had no support, and was even counteracted in my views, I nearly realized them at length. Had I remained, the thing would have been accomplished. This will appear astonishing to him who knows how to appreciate the heart of man and the state of society. I do not think that history can furnish any case of a similar kind, or that so important a result, obtained in so short a space of time, can be found. I should have carried that fusion into effect, and cemented that union by every sacrifice; it would have rendered us invincible. The opposite conduct has ruined us, and may for a long time protract the misfortunes, perhaps the last gasps of unhappy France. I once more repeat, that I did too much or too little. I ought to have attached the emigrants to me upon their return; I might have easily become an object of adoration with the aristocracy. An establishment of that nature was necessary for me. It is the real, the only, support of monarchy—its guide—its lever—its point of resistance. Without it, the state is but a vessel without a rudder, a real balloon in the air. But, the essence of aristocracy, its talismanic charm, consists in antiquity, in age; and these were the only things I could not create. The intermediate means were wanting. M. de Breteuil, who had insinuated himself into my favour, encouraged me. On the contrary, M. de T——, who certainly was not a favourite with the emigrants, discouraged me by every possible means. Reasonable democracy contents itself with husbanding equality for all, as a fair ground of pretension and possession. The real line of conduct would have been to employ the remains of aristocracy, with the forms and intention of democracy. Above all, it was necessary to collect the ancient names, those celebrated in our history. This is the only mode of giving an instantaneous air of antiquity to the most modern institutions. “I entertained, upon that subject, ideas which were altogether peculiar to myself. Had any difficulties been started by Austria and Russia, I would have married a French woman. I would have selected one of the most illustrious names of the monarchy. That was even my original thought, my real inclination. If my ministers prevented me, it was only by their earnest appeals to political views. Had I been surrounded by the Montmorencies, the Nesles, and the Clissons, I should, by adopting their daughters, have united them with foreign sovereigns. My pride and my delight would have been to extend these noble French stocks, had they taken part with us, or given themselves up to us altogether. They and those belonging to me thought that I was influenced by prejudice alone, when I was acting in conformity with the most profound combinations. Be that as it will, your friends have lost more in me than they are aware of!... They are destitute of soul, of the feeling of true glory. By what unhappy propensity have they preferred wallowing in the mire of the allies to following me to the top of mount Simplon, and commanding, from its summit, the respect and admiration of the rest of Europe. Senseless men!—I had, however,” he continued, “a project in my portfolio; time alone was wanting to mature it, which would have rallied round me a great number of that class of persons, and which, after all, would have been but just. It was that every descendent of ancient marshals, ministers, &c., should be considered at all times capable of getting himself declared a duke, by presenting the requisite endowment. All the sons of generals and governors of provinces were upon the same principle, to be qualified to assume the title of count, and so on in gradation. This would have advanced some, raised the hopes of others, excited the emulation of all, and hurt the pride of none; grand, but altogether harmless rattles, and belonging, besides, to my system and my combinations. “Old and corrupt are not governed like ancient and virtuous nations. For one individual, at present, who would sacrifice himself for the public good, there are thousands and millions who are insensible to every thing but their own interests, enjoyments and vanity. To pretend, therefore, to regenerate a people in an instant or as if one were travelling post, would be an act of madness. The genius of the workman ought to consist in knowing how to employ the materials he has at hand, and that is one of the causes of the resumption of all the monarchical forms, of the re-establishment of titles, of classes, and of the insignia of orders. The secret of the legislator should consist in knowing how to derive advantage even from the caprice and irregularities of those whom he pretends to rule; and, after all, these gewgaws were attended with few inconveniences, and not destitute of benefit. At the point of civilization to which we have now attained, they are calculated to attract the respect of the multitude, provided always that the person decorated with them preserves respect for himself. They may satisfy the vanity of the weak, without scaring, in the slightest degree, strong and powerful minds.” It was very late, and the Emperor said, at parting, “There is another pleasant evening spent.” OUR HOUSE ON FIRE.—-ETIQUETTE AT LONGWOOD. 19th.—The chimney of the saloon took fire in the night, but the flames did not break out until day-light. Two hours sooner, and the building would have been a heap of ashes. The Emperor took a walk; he was attended by several of us, and we went round the park on foot. One of his shoe-buckles fell out, and we all eagerly strove to put it in again; he, who succeeded, considered himself the most fortunate. The Emperor, who would not have permitted this at the Tuileries, seemed here to feel a kind of satisfaction at our conduct; he let us do as we liked, and we were thankful to him for indulging us in an act, that did honour to us, in our own opinion. This leads me to observe that I have not yet spoken of our customary manners when about his person, and I am more peculiarly induced to notice them because we have received several London newspapers, which circulate a thousand idle stories on this subject, and assert that the imperial etiquette was as strictly maintained at Longwood as at the Tuileries. 18 19 20 21 Ground Plan of Longwood. The Emperor behaved to us in the kindest manner, and with a paternal familiarity. We were, on our part, the most attentive and respectful of courtiers. We uniformly endeavoured to anticipate his wishes; we carefully watched all his wants, and he had scarcely time to make a sign with his hand, before we were in motion. None of us entered his apartment without being sent for, and, if any thing of importance was to be communicated to him, it was necessary to apply to be admitted. If he walked separately with any of us, no other presumed to intrude. In the beginning, we constantly remained uncovered near his person, which appeared strange to the English, who had been ordered to put on their hats, after the first salute. This contrast appeared so ridiculous to the Emperor that he commanded us, once for all, to behave like them. Nobody, except the two ladies, took a seat in his presence, unless desired to do so. He was never spoken to till he had spoken first, and always, and in all cases, the conversation was under his control and guidance. Such was the etiquette at Longwood, which was entirely, as it must be evident, that of our recollections and feelings. On our return, the Emperor received and questioned, for a long time, the master of the Newcastle. In consequence of the fire in the saloon, and a billiard-table being placed in the dining-room, we dined in the topographical cabinet. After dinner, there being no other apartment to retire to, we were obliged to remain a long time at table. That circumstance seemed, however, to give an additional interest to the conversation; we became more acquainted, more united with each other; we gave a greater scope to our language, and the evening passed off more rapidly. ESTABLISHMENTS FOR MENDICITY IN FRANCE.—NAPOLEON’S PROJECTS RELATIVE TO ILLYRIA.—HOSPITALS. —THE FOUNDLING.—PRISONERS OF STATE.—IDEAS OF THE EMPEROR. 20th.—The Emperor sent for me in the morning; I found him reading an English work on the poor’s rate, the immense sums raised, and the vast number of individuals maintained at the expense of their parishes; the account embraced millions of men and hundreds of millions of money. The Emperor was apprehensive that he had not read the work correctly, or that he had mistaken the meaning. The thing, he said, seemed altogether impossible. He could not conceive by what vices and defects so many poor could be found in a country so opulent, so industrious, and so abundant in resources for labour as England. He was still less capable of comprehending, by what prodigy the proprietors, overloaded with an oppressive ordinary and extraordinary taxation, were also enabled to provide for the wants of such a multitude. “But we have nothing,” he observed, “in France to be compared to it in the proportion of a hundredth or a thousandth part. Have you not told me that I sent you into the departments on a particular mission with regard to mendicity? Let us see, what is the number of our beggars? What did they cost? How many poor-houses did I establish? What was the number they held? What effect had they in removing mendicity?” To this crowd of questions I was compelled to answer that a considerable period of time had since elapsed, that my mind had been occupied with several other objects, and that it was impossible for me to enter into correct statements from mere recollection; but that I had the official report itself among the few papers I had preserved, and that, the first time he might be pleased to send for me, I should be enabled to satisfy him. “But,” said he, “go instantly and look for it, things are not profitable unless seasonably applied, and I shall soon run it over with my thumb, as Abbé de Pradt ingeniously said; although, to tell the truth, I don’t much like to think of such subjects; they remind me of mustard after dinner.” In two minutes the report was in his hand. “Well!” said the Emperor to me, also, in a very few minutes, for it might be really said that he had not turned over the leaves; “well, this, in fact, is not at all like England. Our organization, however, had failed; I suspected as much, and it was on that account I entrusted you with the mission. Your report would have been in perfect conformity with my views. You took up the consideration frankly and like an honest man, without fear of exciting the displeasure of the minister, by depriving him of a great many appointments. “I am pleased with a great number of your details. Why did you not come and converse with me about them yourself? You would have satisfied me, and I should have known how to value your services.”—“Sire, as things were then situated, it would have been impossible for me to do so; we were then involved in the confusion and embarrassment caused by our misfortunes.”—“Your observation is perfectly correct; you establish an unquestionable position. The fact is that, in the flourishing state to which I had raised the empire, no hands could any where be found destitute of employment. It was idleness and vice alone that could produce mendicants. “You think that their complete annihilation was possible; and, for my part, I am of the same opinion. “Your levy en masse, to build a vast and single prison in each department, was equally adapted to the tranquility of society and to the well-being of those confined in it;—your idea of making them monuments for ages would have attracted my attention. That gigantic undertaking, its utility, its importance, the permanence of its results, were all in my way. “With respect to your university for the people, I am very apprehensive that it would have been but a beautiful chimera of philanthropy, worthy of the unsophisticated Abbé de Saint Pierre. There is, however, some merit in the aggregate of those conceptions; but energy of character, and an unbending perseverance, for which we are not generally distinguished, would be requisite to produce any good result. “For the rest, I every day collect ideas from you in this place, of which I did not imagine you capable; but it was not at all my fault. You were near me; why did you not open your mind to me? I did not possess the gift of divination. Had you been minister, those ideas, however fantastical they might at first have appeared to me, would not have been the less attended to, because there is, in my opinion, no conception altogether unsusceptible of some positive good, and a wrong notion, when properly controlled and regulated, often leads to a right conclusion. I should have handed you over to 22 23 24 commissioners, who would have analyzed your plans; you would have defended them by your arguments, and, after taking cognizance of the subject, I alone should have finally decided according to my own judgment. Such was my way of acting, and my intention; I gave an impulse to industry; I put it into a state of complete activity throughout Europe; I was desirous of doing as much for all the faculties of the mind, but time was not allowed me. I could not bring my plans to maturity at full gallop; and, unfortunately, I but too often wasted them upon a sandy foundation, and consigned them to unproductive hands. “What were the other missions with which I entrusted you?”—“One in Holland, another in Illyria.”—“Have you the reports?”—“Yes, Sire.”—“Go for them.” But I had not got to the door, when he said, “Never mind, come back, spare me the trouble of reading such matters!—They are henceforth, in reality, altogether useless.”—What did not these words unfold to me! The Emperor resumed the subject of Illyria. “In obtaining possession of Illyria, it was never my intention to retain it; I never entertained the idea of destroying Austria. Her existence was, on the contrary, indispensably requisite for the execution of my plans. But Illyria was, in our hands, a vanguard to the heart of Austria, calculated to keep a check upon her; a sentinel at the gates of Vienna, to keep her steady to our interests. Besides, I was desirous of introducing and establishing in that country our doctrines, our system of government, and our codes. It was an additional step to the regeneration of Europe. I had merely taken it as a pledge, and intended, at a later period, to exchange it for Gallicia, at the restoration of Poland, which I hurried on against my own opinion. I had, however, more than one project with regard to Illyria; for I frequently fluctuated in my designs, and had few ideas that were fixed on solid grounds. This arose rather from adapting myself to circumstances than from giving an impulse and direction to them, and I was every instant compelled to shift about. The consequence was that, for the greater part of the time, I came to no absolute decision, and was occupied merely with projects. My predominant idea, however, particularly after my marriage, was to give it up to Austria as an indemnity for Gallicia, on the re-establishment of Poland, at any rate, as a separate and independent kingdom. Not that I cared upon whose head, whether on that of a friend, an enemy, or an ally, the crown was placed, provided the thing was effected. The results were indifferent to me. I have, my dear Las Cases, formed vast and numerous projects, all unquestionably for the advancement of reason and the welfare of the human race. I was dreaded as a thunderbolt; I was accused of having a hand of iron; but the moment that hand had struck the last blow, every thing would have been softened down for the happiness of all. How many millions would have poured their benedictions on me, both then and in future times! But how numerous, it must be confessed, the fatal misfortunes which were accumulated and combined to effect my overthrow, at the end of my career! My unhappy marriage; the perfidies which resulted from it; that villainous affair of Spain; from which I could not disengage myself; that fatal war with Russia, which occurred through a misunderstanding; that horrible rigour of the elements, which devoured a whole army; ... and then, the whole universe against me!... Is it not wonderful that I was still able to make so long a resistance, and that I was more than once on the point of surmounting every danger and emerging from that chaos more powerful than ever!... O destiny of man!—What is human wisdom, human foresight!”—And then abruptly adverting to my report, he said,...