Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete
one day. He set out on the 8th of March; he was expected to arrive
at Copenhagen on the 14th, but did not reach there till the 15th. He
arrived precisely two hours before the death of Christian, King of
Denmark, an event with which he made me acquainted by letter written two
days after his arrival.
On the 6th of April following I received a second letter from
Bernadotte, in which he desired me to order the Grand Ducal postmaster
to keep back all letters addressed to the Spanish troops, who had been
placed under his command, and of which the corps of Romana formed part.
The postmaster was ordered to keep the letters until he received orders
to forward them to their destinations. Bernadotte considered this step
indispensable, to prevent the intrigues which he feared might be set on
foot in order to shake the fidelity of the Spaniards he commanded. I
saw from his despatch that he feared the plotting of Romanillos, who,
however, was not a person to cause much apprehension. Romanillos was as
commonplace a man as could well be conceived; and his speeches, as well
as his writings, were too innocent to create any influence on public
opinion.
In addition to the functions with which the Emperor at first invested
me, I had to discharge the duties of French Consul-General at Hamburg,
and in that character I was obliged to present to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs a very singular request, viz. that the judicial
notifications, which as Consul-General I had to make known to the people
of Hamburg, might be written in a more legible hand. Many of these
notifications had been disregarded on account of the impossibility of
reading them: With respect to one of them it was declared that it
was impossible to discover whether the writing was German, French, or
Chinese.
I shall not record all the acts of spoliation committed by second-rate
ambitious aspirants who hoped to come in for their share in the division
of the Continent: The Emperor's lieutenants regarded Europe as a
twelfthcake, but none of them ventured to dispute the best bit with
Napoleon. Long would be the litany were I to enregister all the fraud
and treachery which they committed, either to augment their fortunes
or to win the favour of the chief who wished to have kings for his
subjects. The fact is, that all the Princes of Germany displayed the
greatest eagerness to range themselves under the protection of Napoleon,
by, joining the Confederation of the Rhine. I received from those
Princes several letters which served to prove at once the influence of
Napoleon in Germany and the facility with which men bend beneath the
yoke of a new power. I must say that among the emigrants who remained
faithful to their cause there were some who evinced more firmness of
character than the foreign Princes. I may mention, for example, M. Hue,
the 'valet de chambre' of Louis XVI. I do not intend to deny the high
regard I entertained for that faithful servant of the martyred King;
but the attentions which I congratulate myself on having shown to an
excellent man should not have subjected me to false imputations.
I have read the following statement in a publication:
"M. Hue retired to Hamburg, where he passed nine, months in perfect
obscurity. He afterwards went to Holland, provided with a passport
from Bourrienne, who was Napoleon's Minister, though in disgrace,
and who, foreseeing what was to happen, sought to ingratiate himself
in the favour of the Bourbons."
The above passage contains a falsehood in almost every line. M. Hue
wished to reside in Hamburg, but he did not wish to conceal himself. I
invited him to visit me, and assured him that he might remain in Hamburg
without apprehension, provided he acted prudently. He wished to go to
Holland, and I took upon myself to give him a passport. I left M. Hue
in the free management of his business, the nature of which I knew very
well, and which was very honourable; he was deputed to pay the pensions
which Louis XVIII. granted to the emigrants. As for myself, I had
tendered my resignation of private secretary to Bonaparte; and even
admitting I was in disgrace in that character, I was not so as Minister
and Consul-General at Hamburg. My situation, which was of little
consequence at the time I was appointed to it, was later on rendered
exceedingly important by circumstances. It was, in fact, a sort of
watch-tower of the Government, whence all the movements of northern
Germany were observed; and during my residence in the Hanse Towns I
continually experienced the truth of what Bonaparte said to me at my
farewell audience--"Yours is a place independent and apart."
It is absurd to say that the kindness I showed to M. Hue was an attempt
to ingratiate myself with the Bourbons. My attentions to him were
dictated solely by humanity, unaccompanied by any afterthought. Napoleon
had given me his confidence, and by mitigating the verity of his orders
I served him better than they who executed them in a way which could
not fail to render the French Government odious. If I am accused of
extending every possible indulgence to the unfortunate emigrants, I
plead guilty; and, far from wishing to defend myself against the charge,
I consider it honourable to me. But I defy any one of them to say that I
betrayed in their favour the interests with which I was entrusted. They
who urged Bonaparte to usurp the crown of France served, though perhaps
unconsciously, the cause of the Bourbons. I, on the contrary, used all
my endeavours to dissuade him from that measure, which I clearly saw
must, in the end, lead to the restoration, though I do not pretend that
I was sufficiently clear-sighted to guess that Napoleon's fall was so
near at hand. The kindness I showed to M. Hue and his companions in
misfortune was prompted by humanity, and not by mean speculation. As
well might it be said that Bernadotte, who, like myself, neglected no
opportunity of softening the rigour of the orders he was deputed to
execute, was by this means working his way to the throne of Sweden.
Bernadotte had proceeded to Denmark to take the command of the Spanish
and French troops who had been removed from the Hanse Towns to occupy
that kingdom, which was then threatened by the English. His departure
was a great loss to me, for we had always agreed respecting the measures
to be adopted, and I felt his absence the more sensibly when I was
enabled to make a comparison between him and his successor. It is
painful to me to detail the misconduct of those who injured the French
name in Germany, but in fulfilment of the task I have undertaken, I am
bound to tell the truth.
In April 1808 General Dupas came to take the command of Hamburg, but
only under the orders of Bernadotte, who retained the supreme command
of the French troops in the Hanse Towns. By the appointment of
General Dupas the Emperor cruelly thwarted the wishes and hopes of the
inhabitants of Lower Saxony. That General said of the people of Hamburg,
"As long as I see those . . . driving in their carriages I can get
money from them." It is, however, only just to add, that his dreadful
exactions were not made on his own account, but for the benefit of
another man to whom he owed his all, and to whom he had in some measure
devoted his existence.
I will state some particulars respecting the way in which the generals
who commanded the French troops at Hamburg were maintained. The Senate
of Hamburg granted to the Marshals thirty friederichs a day for the
expenses of their table exclusive of the hotel in which they were lodged
by the city. The generals of division had only twenty friederichs.
General Dupas wished to be provided for on the same footing as the
Marshals. The Senate having, with reason, rejected this demand, Dupas
required that he should be daily served with a breakfast and a dinner of
thirty covers. This was an inconceivable burden, and Dupas cost the city
more than any of his predecessors.
I saw an account of his expenses, which during the twenty-one weeks he
remained at Hamburg amounted to 122,000 marks, or about 183,000 francs.
None but the most exquisite wines were drunk at the table of Dupas. Even
his servants were treated with champagne, and the choicest fruits
were brought from the fine hothouses of Berlin. The inhabitants were
irritated at this extravagance, and Dupas accordingly experienced the
resistance of the Senate.
Among other vexations there was one to which the people could not
readily submit. In Hamburg, which had formerly been a fortified town,
the custom was preserved of closing the gates at nightfall. On Sundays
they were closed three-quarters of an hour later, to avoid interrupting
the amusements of the people.
While General Dupas was Governor of Hamburg an event occurred which
occasioned considerable irritation in the public mind, and might have
been attended by fatal consequences. From some whim or other the General
ordered the gates to be closed at seven in the evening, and consequently
while it was broad daylight, for it was in the middle of spring; no
exception was made in favour of Sunday, and on that day a great number
of the inhabitants who had been walking in the outskirts of the city
presented themselves at the gate of Altona for admittance. To
their surprise they found the gate closed, though it was a greater
thoroughfare than any other gate in Hamburg. The number of persons,
requiring admittance increased, and a considerable crowd soon collected.
After useless entreaties had been addressed to the chief officer of the
post the people were determined to send to the Commandant for the keys.
The Commandant arrived, accompanied by the General. When they appeared
it was supposed they had come for the purpose of opening the gates, and
they were accordingly saluted with a general hurrah! which throughout
almost all the north is the usual cry for expressing popular
satisfaction. General Dupas not understanding the meaning of this
hurrah! supposed it to be a signal for sedition, and instead of ordering
the gates to be opened he commanded the military to fire upon the
peaceful citizens, who only wanted to return to their homes. Several
persons were killed, and others more or less seriously wounded.
Fortunately, after this first discharge the fury of Dupas was appeased;
but still he persisted in keeping the gates closed at night. Next day
an order was posted about the city prohibiting the cry of hurrah! under
pain of a severe punishment. It was also forbidden that more than three
persona should collect together in the streets. Thus it was that certain
persons imposed the French yoke upon towns and provinces which were
previously happy.
Dupas was as much execrated in the Hanse Towns as Clarke had been in
Berlin when he was governor of that capital during the campaign of 1807.
Clarke had burdened the people of Berlin with every kind of oppression
and exaction. He, as well as many others, manifested a ready obedience
in executing the Imperial orders, however tyrannical they might be; and
Heaven knows what epithets invariably accompanied the name of Clarke
when pronounced by the lips of a Prussian.
Dupas seemed to have taken Clarke as his model. An artillery officer,
who was in Hamburg at the time of the disturbance I have just mentioned,
told me that it was he who was directed to place two pieces of
light-artillery before the gate of Altona. Having executed this order,
he went to General Dupas, whom he found in a furious fit of passion,
breaking and destroying everything within his reach. In the presence of
the officer he broke more than two dozen plates which were on the table
before him: these plates, of course, had cost him very little!
On the day after the disturbance which had so fatal a termination I