Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete
but almost as much a captive at Paris as a prisoner of state, I wished
to have to myself in the country the moments of liberty I was permitted
to enjoy. Yet what was this liberty? I had bought a little house at
Ruel, which I kept during two years and a half. When I saw my friends
there, it had to be at midnight, or at five o'clock in the morning;
and the First Consul would often send for me in the night when couriers
arrived. It was for this sort of liberty I refused Josephine's kind
offer. Bonaparte came once to see me in my retreat at Ruel, but
Josephine and Hortense came often. It was a favourite walk with these
ladies.
At Paris I was less frequently absent from Bonaparte than at Malmaison.
We sometimes in the evening walked together in the garden of the
Tuileries after the gates were closed. In these evening walks he always
wore a gray greatcoat, and a round hat. I was directed to answer, "The
First Consul," to the sentinel's challenge of, "Who goes there?" These
promenades, which were of much benefit to Bonaparte, and me also, as a
relaxation from our labours, resembled those which we had at Malmaison.
As to our promenades in the city, they were often very amusing.
At the period of our first inhabiting the Tuileries, when I saw
Bonaparte enter the cabinet at eight o'clock in the evening in his
gray coat, I knew he would say, "Bourrienne, come and take a turn."
Sometimes, then, instead of going out by the garden arcade, we would
take the little gate which leads from the court to the apartments of the
Duc d'Angoulême. He would take my arm, and we would go to buy articles
of trifling value in the shops of the Rue St. Honoré; but we did not
extend our excursions farther than Rue de l'Arbre Sec. Whilst I made the
shopkeeper exhibit before us the articles which I appeared anxious to
buy he played his part in asking questions.
Nothing was more amusing than to see him endeavouring to imitate the
careless and jocular tone of the young men of fashion. How awkward was
he in the attempt to put on dandy airs when pulling up the corners of
his cravat he would say, "Well, Madame, is there anything new to-day?
Citizen, what say they of Bonaparte? Your shop appears to be well
supplied. You surely have a great deal of custom. What do people say of
that buffoon, Bonaparte?" He was made quite happy one day when we were
obliged to retire hastily from a shop to avoid the attacks drawn upon us
by the irreverent tone in which Bonaparte spoke of the First Consul.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
1800.
War and monuments--Influence of the recollections of Egypt--
First improvements in Paris--Malmaison too little--St. Cloud taken
--The Pont des Arts--Business prescribed for me by Bonaparte--
Pecuniary remuneration--The First Consul's visit to the Pritanée--
His examination of the pupils--Consular pensions--Tragical death of
Miackzinski--Introduction of vaccination--Recall of the members of
the Constituent Assembly--The "canary" volunteers--Tronchet and
Target--Liberation of the Austrian prisoners--Longchamps and sacred
music.
The destruction of men and the construction of monuments were two things
perfectly in unison in the mind of Bonaparte. It may be said that his
passion for monuments almost equalled his passion for war;
--[Take pleasure, if you can, in reading your returns. The good
condition of my armies is owing to my devoting to them one or two
hours in every day. When the monthly returns of my armies and of my
fleets, which form twenty thick volumes, are sent to me, I give up
every other occupation in order to read them in detail and to
observe the difference between one monthly return and another.
No young girl enjoys her novel so much as I do these returns!
(Napoleon to Joseph, 20th August 1806--Du Casse, tome iii.
p. 145).]--
but as in all things he disliked what was little and mean, so he liked
vast constructions and great battles. The sight of the colossal ruins
of the monuments of Egypt had not a little contributed to augment his
natural taste for great structures. It was not so much the monuments
themselves that he admired, but the historical recollections they
perpetuate, the great names they consecrate, the important events they
attest. What should he have cared for the column which we beheld on our
arrival in Alexandria had it not been Pompey's pillar? It is for artists
to admire or censure its proportions and ornaments, for men of learning
to explain its inscriptions; but the name of Pompey renders it an object
of interest to all.
When endeavouring to sketch the character of Bonaparte, I ought to have
noticed his taste for monuments, for without this characteristic trait
something essential is wanting to the completion of the portrait.
This taste, or, as it may more properly be called, this passion for
monuments, exercised no small influence on his thoughts and projects
of glory; yet it did not deter him from directing attention to public
improvements of a less ostentatious kind. He wished for great monuments
to perpetuate the recollection of his glory; but at the same time he
knew how to appreciate all that was truly useful. He could very rarely
be reproached for rejecting any plan without examination; and this
examination was a speedy affair, for his natural tact enabled him
immediately to see things in their proper light.
Though most of the monuments and embellishments of Paris are executed
from the plans of men of talent, yet some owe their origin to
circumstances merely accidental. Of this I can mention an example.
I was standing at the window of Bonaparte's' cabinet, which looked into
the garden of the Tuileries. He had gone out, and I took advantage of
his absence to arise from my chair, for I was tired of sitting. He had
scarcely been gone a minute when he unexpectedly returned to ask me for
a paper. "What are you doing there, Bourrienne? I'll wager anything you
are admiring the ladies walking on the terrace."--"Why, I must confess
I do sometimes amuse myself in that way," replied I; "but I assure you,
General, I was now thinking of something else. I was looking at that
villainous left bank of the Seine, which always annoys me with the gaps
in its dirty quay, and the floodings which almost every winter prevent
communication with the Faubourg St. Germain; and I was thinking I would
speak to you on the subject." He approached the window, and, looking
out, said, "You are right, it is very ugly; and very offensive to see
dirty linen washed before our windows. Here, write immediately: 'The
quay of the École de Natation is to be finished during next campaign.'
Send that order to the Minister of the Interior." The quay was finished
the year following.
An instance of the enormous difference which frequently appears between
the original estimates of architects and their subsequent accounts I may
mention what occurred in relation to the Palace of St. Cloud. But I must
first say a word about the manner in which Bonaparte originally refused
and afterwards took possession of the Queen's pleasure-house. Malmaison
was a suitable country residence for Bonaparte as long as he remained
content with his town apartments in the little Luxembourg; but that
Consular 'bagatelle' was too confined in comparison with the spacious
apartments in the Tuileries. The inhabitants of St. Cloud, well-advised,
addressed a petition to the Legislative Body, praying that their
deserted chateau might be made the summer residence of the First Consul.
The petition was referred to the Government; but Bonaparte, who was not
yet Consul for life, proudly declared that so long as he was at the
head of affairs, and, indeed, for a year afterwards, he would accept no
national recompense. Sometime after we went to visit the palace of the
18th Brumaire. Bonaparte liked it exceedingly, but all was in a state
of complete dilapidation. It bore evident marks of the Revolution. The
First Consul did not wish, as yet, to burden the budget of the State
with his personal expenses, and he was alarmed at the enormous sum
required to render St. Cloud habitable. Flattery had not yet arrived at
the degree of proficiency which it subsequently attained; but even then
his flatterers boldly assured him he might take possession of St. Cloud
for 25,000 francs. I told the First Consul that considering the ruinous
state of the place, I could to say that the expense would amount to more
than 1,200,000 francs. Bonaparte determined to have a regular estimate
of the expense, and it amounted to nearly 3,000,000. He thought it a
great sum; but as he had resolved to make St. Cloud his residence
he gave orders for commencing the repairs, the expense of which,
independently of the furniture, amounted to 6,000,000. So much for the
3,000,000 of the architect and the 25,000 francs of the flatterers.
When the First Consul contemplated the building of the Pont des Arts we
had a long conversation on the subject. I observed that it would be much
better to build the bridge of stone. "The first object of monuments
of this kind," said I, "is public utility. They require solidity of
appearance, and their principal merit is duration. I cannot conceive,
General, why, in a country where there is abundance of fine stone of
every quality, the use of iron should be preferred."--"Write," said
Bonaparte, "to Fontaine and Percier, the architects, and ask what they
think of it." I wrote and they stated in their answer that "bridges
were intended for public utility and the embellishment of cities.
The projected bridge between the Louvre and the Quatre-Nations would
unquestionably fulfil the first of these objects, as was proved by the
great number of persons who daily crossed the Seine at that point in
boats; that the site fixed upon between the Pont Neuf and the Tuileries
appeared to be the best that could be chosen for the purpose; and that
on the score of ornament Paris would gain little by the construction of
an iron bridge, which would be very narrow, and which, from its light
form, would not correspond with the grandeur of the two bridges between
which it would be placed."
When we had received the answer of MM. Percier and Fontaine, we again
had a conversation on the subject of the bridge. I told the First Consul
that I perfectly concurred in the opinion of MM. Fontaine and Percier;
however, he would have his own way, and thus was authorised the
construction of the toy which formed a communication between the Louvre
and the Institute. But no sooner was the Pont des Arts finished than
Bonaparte pronounced it to be mean and out of keeping with the other
bridges above and below it. One day when visiting the Louvre he stopped
at one of the windows looking towards the Pont des Arts and said, "There
is no solidity, no grandeur about that bridge. In England, where stone
is scarce, it is very natural that iron should be used for arches
of large dimensions. But the case is different in France, where the
requisite material is abundant."
The infernal machine of the 3d Nivôse, of which I shall presently speak
more at length, was the signal for vast changes in the quarter of the
Tuileries. That horrible attempt was at least so far attended by happy
results that it contributed to the embellishment of Paris. It was
thought more advisable for the Government to buy and pull down the
houses which had been injured by the machine than to let them be put
under repair. As an example of Bonaparte's grand schemes in building I
may mention that, being one day at the Louvre, he pointed towards St.
Germain l'Auxerrois and said to me, "That is where I will build an
imperial street. It shall run from here to the Barrière du Trône. It
shall be a hundred feet broad, and have arcades and plantations. This