Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete
The fear of falling into the hands of the English never forsook him.
That was what he dreaded most of all, and yet, at a subsequent period,
he trusted to the generosity of his enemies.
However, in spite of our well-founded alarm, there were some moments in
which we sought to amuse ourselves, or, to use a common expression,
to kill time. Cards afforded us a source of recreation, and even this
frivolous amusement served to develop the character of Bonaparte. In
general he was not fond of cards; but if he did play, vingt-et-un was
his favourite game, because it is more rapid than many others, and
because, in short, it afforded him an opportunity of cheating. For
example, he would ask for a card; if it proved a bad one he would say
nothing, but lay it down on the table and wait till the dealer had drawn
his. If the dealer produced a good card, then Bonaparte would throw
aside his hand, without showing it, and give up his stake. If, on the
contrary, the dealer's card made him exceed twenty-one, Bonaparte also
threw his cards aside without showing them, and asked for the payment of
his stake. He was much diverted by these little tricks, especially when
they were played off undetected; and I confess that even then we were
courtiers enough to humour him, and wink at his cheating. I must,
however, mention that he never appropriated to himself the fruit of
these little dishonesties, for at the end of the game he gave up all
his winnings, and they were equally divided. Gain, as may readily be
supposed, was not his object; but he always expected that fortune would
grant him an ace or a ten at the right moment with the same confidence
with which he looked for fine weather on the day of battle. If he were
disappointed he wished nobody to know it.
Bonaparte also played at chess, but very seldom, because he was only a
third-rate player, and he did not like to be beaten at that game, which,
I know not why, is said to bear a resemblance to the grand game of
war. At this latter game Bonaparte certainly feared no adversary.
This reminds me that when we were leaving Passeriano he announced his
intention of passing through Mantua. He was told that the commandant of
that town, I believe General Beauvoir, was a great chess-player, and he
expressed a wish to play a game with him. General Beauvoir asked him to
point out any particular pawn with which he would be checkmated; adding,
that if the pawn were taken, he, Bonaparte, should be declared
the winner. Bonaparte pointed out the last pawn on the left of his
adversary. A mark was put upon it, and it turned out that he actually
was checkmated with that very pawn. Bonaparte was not very well pleased
at this. He liked to play with me because, though rather a better player
than himself, I was not always able to beat him. As soon as a game was
decided in his favour he declined playing any longer, preferring to rest
on his laurels.
The favourable wind which had constantly prevailed after the first
twenty days of our voyage still continued while we kept along the coast
of Sardinia; but after we had passed that island the wind again blew
violently from the west, and on the 1st of October we were forced to
enter the Gulf of Ajaccio. We sailed again next day but we found it
impossible to work our way out of the gulf. We were therefore obliged
to put into the port and land at Ajaccio. Adverse winds obliged us to
remain there until the 7th of October. It may readily be imagined
how much this delay annoyed Bonaparte. He sometimes expressed his
impatience, as if he could enforce the obedience of the elements as well
as of men. He was losing time, and time was everything to him.
There was one circumstance which seemed to annoy him as much as any of
his more serious vexations. "What will become of me," said he, "if the
English, who are cruising hereabout, should learn that I have landed in
Corsica? I shall be forced to stay here. That I could never endure. I
have a torrent of relations pouring upon me." His great reputation
had certainly prodigiously augmented the number of his family. He was
overwhelmed with visits, congratulations, and requests. The whole town
was in a commotion. Every one of its inhabitants wished to claim him as
their cousin; and from the prodigious number of his pretended godsons
and goddaughters, it might have been supposed that he had held
one-fourth of the children of Ajaccio at the baptismal font.
Bonaparte frequently walked with us in the neighbourhood of Ajaccio; and
when in all the plenitude of his power he did not count his crowns
with greater pleasure than he evinced in pointing out to us the little
domains of his ancestors.
While we were at Ajaccio M. Fesch gave Bonaparte French money in
exchange for a number of Turkish sequins, amounting in value to 17,000
francs. This sum was all that the General brought with him from Egypt. I
mention this fact because he was unjustly calumniated in letters written
after his departure, and which were intercepted and published by the
English. I ought also to add, that as he would never for his own private
use resort to the money-chest of the army, the contents of which were,
indeed, never half sufficient to defray the necessary expenses, he
several times drew on Genoa, through M. James, and on the funds he
possessed in the house of Clary, 16,000, 25,000, and up to 33,000
francs. I can bear witness that in Egypt I never saw him touch any money
beyond his pay; and that he left the country poorer than he had entered
it is a fact that cannot be denied. In his notes on Egypt it appears
that in one year 12,600,000 francs were received. In this sum were
included at least 2,000,000 of contributions, which were levied at the
expense of many decapitations. Bonaparte was fourteen months in Egypt,
and he is said to have brought away with him 20,000,000. Calumny may be
very gratifying to certain persons, but they should at least give it
a colouring of probability. The fact is, that Bonaparte had scarcely
enough to maintain himself at Ajaccio and to defray our posting expenses
to Paris.
On our arrival at Ajaccio we learnt the death of Joubert, and the loss
of the battle of Novi, which was fought on the 15th of August. Bonaparte
was tormented by anxiety; he was in a state of utter uncertainty as to
the future. From the time we left Alexandria till our arrival in Corsica
he had frequently talked of what he should do during the quarantine,
which he supposed he would be required to observe on reaching Toulon,
the port at which he had determined to land.
Even then he cherished some illusions respecting the state of affairs;
and he often said to me, "But for that confounded quarantine, I would
hasten ashore, and place myself at the head of the army of Italy. All is
not over; and I am sure that there is not a general who would refuse
me the command. The news of a victory gained by me would reach Paris as
soon as the battle of Aboukir; that, indeed, would be excellent."
In Corsica his language was very different. When he was informed of
our reverses, and saw the full extent of the evil, he was for a moment
overwhelmed. His grand projects then gave way to the consideration
of matters of minor import, and he thought about his detention in the
Lazaretto of Toulon. He spoke of the Directory, of intrigues, and of
what would be said of him. He accounted his enemies those who envied
him, and those who could not be reconciled to his glory and the
influence of his name. Amidst all these anxieties Bonaparte was
outwardly calm, though he was moody and reflective.
Providing against every chance of danger, he had purchased at Ajaccio a
large launch which was intended to be towed by the 'Muiron', and it
was manned by twelve of the best sailors the island could furnish. His
resolution was, in case of inevitable danger, to jump into this boat and
get ashore. This precaution had well-nigh proved useful.
--[Sir Walter Scott, at the commencement of his Life of Napoleon,
says that Bonaparte did not see his native City after 1793.
Probably to avoid contradicting himself, the Scottish historian
observes that Bonaparte was near Ajaccio on his return from Egypt.
He spent eight days there.--Bourrienne.]--
After leaving the Gulf of Ajaccio the voyage was prosperous and
undisturbed for one day; but on the second day, just at sunset, an
English squadron of fourteen sail hove in sight. The English, having
advantage of the lights which we had in our faces, saw us better than we
could see them. They recognised our two frigates as Venetian built; but
luckily for us, night came on, for we were not far apart. We saw the
signals of the English for a long time, and heard the report of the guns
more and more to our left, and we thought it was the intention of the
cruisers to intercept us on the south-east. Under these circumstances
Bonaparte had reason to thank fortune; for it is very evident that had
the English suspected our two frigates of coming from the East and going
to France, they would have shut us out from land by running between us
and it, which to them was very easy. Probably they took us for a convoy
of provisions going from Toulon to Genoa; and it was to this error
and the darkness that we were indebted for escaping with no worse
consequence than a fright.
--[Here Bourrienne says in a note "Where did Sir Walter Scott learn
that we were neither seen nor recognised? We were not recognised,
but certainly seen," This is corroborated by the testimony of the
Duc de Rovigo, who, in his Memoirs, says, "I have met officers of
the English navy who assured me that the two frigates had been seen
but were considered by the Admiral to belong to his squadron, as
they steered their course towards him; and as he knew we had only
one frigate in the Mediterranean, and one in Toulon harbour, he was
far from supposing that the frigates which he had descried could
have General Bonaparte on board." (Savary, tome i. p. 226).]--
During the remainder of the night the utmost agitation prevailed on
board the Muiron. Gantheaume especially was in a state of anxiety which
it is impossible to describe, and which it was painful to witness:
he was quite beside himself, for a disaster appeared inevitable. He
proposed to return to Corsica. "No, no!" replied Bonaparte imperiously.
"No! Spread all sail! Every man at his post! To the north-west! To the
north-west!" This order saved us; and I am enabled to affirm that in the
midst of almost general alarm Bonaparte was solely occupied in giving
orders. The rapidity of his judgment seemed to grow in the face of
danger. The remembrance of that night will never be effaced from my
mind. The hours lingered on; and none of us could guess upon what new
dangers the morrow's sun would shine.
However, Bonaparte's resolution was taken: his orders were given, his
arrangements made. During the evening he had resolved upon throwing
himself into the long boat; he had already fixed on the persons who
were to share his fate, and had already named to me the papers which he
thought it most important to save. Happily our terrors were vain and
our arrangements useless. By the first rays of the sun we discovered the
English fleet sailing to the north-east, and we stood for the wished-for
coast of France.
The 8th of October, at eight in the morning, we entered the roads of
Fréjus. The sailors not having recognised the coast during the night, we
did not know where we were. There was, at first, some hesitation whether
we should advance. We were by no means expected, and did not know how to
answer the signals, which has been changed during our absence. Some
guns were even fired upon us by the batteries on the coast; but our bold
entry into the roads, the crowd upon the decks of the two frigates, and