Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete
to Paris with him. After some conversation with the First Consul they
set out next day for Luneville, of which place Bonaparte appointed
General Clarke governor. This appeared to satisfy Clarke, who was very
anxious to be something, and had long been importuning Bonaparte for an
appointment.
A day or two after the news of the battle of Hohenlinden M. Maret came
to present for Bonaparte's signature some, decrees made in Council.
While affixing the signatures, and without looking up, the First Consul
said to M. Maret, who was a favourite with him, and who was standing
at his right hand, "Are you rich, Maret?"--"No, General."--"So much
the worse: a man should be independent."--"General, I will never be
dependent on any one but you." The First Consul then raised his eyes to
Maret and said, "Hem! that is not bad!" and when the secretary-general
was gone he said to me, "Maret is not deficient in cleverness: he made
me a very good answer."
On the 9th of February 1801, six weeks after the opening of the
Congress of Luneville, peace was signed between Austria and France. This
peace--the fruit of Marengo and Hohenlinden--restored France to that
honourable position which had been put in jeopardy by the feeble and
incapable government of the pentarchy and the reverses of 1799. This
peace, which in the treaty, according to custom, was called perpetual,
lasted four years.
Joseph Bonaparte, while treating for France at Luneville, was
speculating on the rise of the funds which he thought the peace would
produce. Persons more wise, who were like him in the secret, sold out
their stock at the moment when the certainty of the peace became known.
But Joseph purchased to a great extent, in the hope of selling to
advantage on the signature of peace. However, the news had been
discounted, and a fall took place. Joseph's loss was considerable,
and he could not satisfy the engagements in which his greedy and silly
speculations had involved him. He applied to his brother, who neither
wished nor was able to advance him the necessary sum. Bonaparte
was, however, exceedingly sorry to see his elder brother in this
embarrassment. He asked me what was to be done. I told him I did not
know; but I advised him to consult M. de Talleyrand, from whom he had
often received good advice. He did so, and M. de Talleyrand replied,
with that air of coolness which is so peculiar to him, "What! is that
all? Oh! that is nothing. It is easily settled. You have only to raise
the price of the funds."--"But the money?"-- "Oh, the money may be
easily obtained. Make some deposits in the Mont-de-Piste, or the sinking
fund. That will give you the necessary money to raise the funds; and
then Joseph may sell out, and recover his losses." M. de Talleyrand's
advice was adopted, and all succeeded as he had foretold. None but those
who have heard M. de Talleyrand converse can form an accurate idea of
his easy manner of expressing himself, his imperturbable coolness, the
fixed unvarying expression of his countenance, and his vast fund of wit.
--[Talleyrand had a large experience in all sorts of speculation.
When old he gave this counsel to one of his proteges: "Do not
speculate. I have always speculated on assured information, and
that has cost me so many millions;" and he named his losses. We may
believe that in this reckoning he rather forgot the amount of his
gains (Sainte-Beuve, Talleyrand, 93).]--
During the sitting of the Congress the First Consul learnt that the
Government couriers conveyed to favoured individuals in Paris various
things, but especially the delicacies of the table, and he ordered that
this practice should be discontinued. On the very evening on which this
order was issued Cambacérès entered the salon, where I was alone with
the First Consul, who had already been laughing at the mortification
which he knew this regulation would occasion to his colleague: "Well,
Cambacérès, what brings you here at this time of night?"--"I come to
solicit an exception to the order which you have just given to the
Director of the Posts. How do you think a man can make friends unless he
keeps a good table? You know very well how much good dinners assist
the business of Government." The First Consul laughed, called him a
gourmand, and, patting him on the shoulder, said, "Do not distress
yourself, my dear Cambacérès; the couriers shall continue to bring you
your 'dindes aux truffes', your Strasburg 'pates', your Mayence hams,
and your other titbits."
Those who recollect the magnificent dinners given by Cambacérès and
others, which were a general topic of conversation at the time, and who
knew the ingenious calculation which was observed in the invitation of
the guests, must be convinced of the vast influence of a good dinner
in political affairs. As to Cambacérès, he did not believe that a good
government could exist without good dinners; and his glory (for every
man has his own particular glory) was to know that the luxuries of his
table were the subject of eulogy throughout Paris, and even Europe.
A banquet which commanded general suffrage was to him a Marengo or a
Friedland.
--[Bourrienne does not exaggerate this excellent quality of the
worthy Cambacérès. When Beugnot was sent to administer the Grand
Duchy of Berg, Cambacérès said to him, "My dear Beugnot, the Emperor
arranges crowns as he chooses; here is the Grand Duke of Berg
(Murat) going to Naples; he is welcome, I have no objection, but
every year the Grand Duke sent me a couple of dozen hams from his
Grand Duchy, and I warn you I do not intend to lose them, so you
must make your preparations.". . . . I never once omitted to
acquit myself of the obligation, and if there were any delay, . . .
his Highness never failed to cause one of his secretaries to write a
good scolding to my house steward; but when the hams arrived
exactly, his highness never failed to write to my wife himself to
thank her.
This was not all; the hams were to come carriage free. This petty
jobbery occasioned discontent, . . . and it would not have cost
me more to pay the carriage. The Prince would not allow it. There
was an agreement between him and Lavalette (the head of the Posts),
. . . And my Lord appeared to lay as much stress on the
performance of this treaty as on the procuring of the ham, (Beugnot,
tome i. p. 262).
Cambacérès never suffered the cares of Government to distract his
attention from the great object of life. On one occasion, for
example, being detained in consultation with Napoleon beyond the
appointed hour of dinner--it is said that the fate of the Duc
d'Enghien was the topic under discussion--he was observed, when the
hour became very late, to show great symptoms of impatience and
restlessness. He at last wrote a note which he called a gentleman
usher in waiting to carry. Napoleon, suspecting the contents,
nodded to an aide de camp to intercept the despatch. As he took it
into his hands Cambacérès begged earnestly that he would not read a
trifling note upon domestic matters. Napoleon persisted, and found
it to be a note to the cook containing only the following words,
"Gardez les entremetes--les rotis sont perdue." When Napoleon was
in good humor at the result of a diplomatic conference he was
accustomed to take leave of the plenipotentiaries with, "Go and dine
Cambacérès." His table was in fact an important state engine, as
appears from the anecdote of the trout sent to him by the
municipality of Geneva, and charged 300 francs in their accounts.
The Imperial 'Cour des Comptes' having disallowed the item, was
interdicted from meddling with similar municipal affairs in future
(Hayward's Art of Dining, p. 20).]
At the commencement of 1801 Fulton presented to Bonaparte his memorial
on steamboats. I urged a serious examination of the subject. "Bah!" said
he, "these projectors are all either intriguers or visionaries. Don't
trouble me about the business." I observed that the man whom he called
an intriguer was only reviving an invention already known, and that it
was wrong to reject the scheme without examination. He would not listen
to me; and thus was adjourned, for some time, the practical application
of a discovery which has given such an important impulse to trade and
navigation.
Paul I. fell by the hands of assassins on the night of the 24th of March
1801. The First Consul was much shocked on receiving the intelligence.
In the excitement caused by this unexpected event, which had so
important an influence on his policy, he directed me to send the
following note to the Moniteur:--
Paul I. died on the night of the 24th of March, and the English
squadron passed the Sound on the 30th. History will reveal the
connection which probably exists between these two events.
Thus were announced the crime of the 24th of March and the not
ill-founded suspicions of its authors.
--[We do not attempt to rescue the fair name of our country. This
is one among many instances in which Bourrienne was misled.--Editor
of 1886 edition.]--
The amicable relations of Paul and Bonaparte had been daily
strengthened. "In concert with the Czar," said Bonaparte, "I was sure
of striking a mortal blow at the English power in India. A palace
revolution has overthrown all my projects." This resolution, and
the admiration of the Autocrat of Russia for the head of the French
Republic, may certainly be numbered among the causes of Paul's death.
The individuals generally accused at the time were those who were
violently and perseveringly threatened, and who had the strongest
interest in the succession of a new Emperor. I have seen a letter from a
northern sovereign which in my mind leaves no doubt on this subject, and
which specified the reward of the crime, and the part to be performed by
each actor. But it must also be confessed that the conduct and character
of Paul I., his tyrannical acts, his violent caprices, and his frequent
excesses of despotism, had rendered him the object of accumulated
hatred, for patience has its limit. These circumstances did not probably
create the conspiracy, but they considerably facilitated the execution
of the plot which deprived the Czar of his throne and his life.
As soon as Alexander ascended the throne the ideas of the First Consul
respecting the dismemberment of Poland were revived, and almost wholly
engrossed his mind. During his first campaign in Italy, and several
times when in Egypt, he told Sulkowsky that it was his ardent wish to
reestablish Poland, to avenge the iniquity of her dismemberment, and by
that grand repertory act to restore the former equilibrium of Europe.
He often dictated to me for the 'Moniteur' articles tending to prove,
by various arguments, that Europe would never enjoy repose until those
great spoilations were avenged and repaired; but he frequently destroyed
these articles instead of sending them to press. His system of policy
towards Russia changed shortly after the death of Paul. The thought of a
war against that empire unceasingly occupied his mind, and gave birth
to the idea of that fatal campaign which took place eleven years
afterwards, and which had other causes than the re-establishment of
Poland. That object was merely set forward as a pretext.
Duroc was sent to St. Petersburg to congratulate the Emperor Alexander
on his accession to the throne. He arrived in the Russian capital on
the 24th of May. Duroc, who was at this time very young, was a great
favourite of the First Consul. He never importuned Bonaparte by his
solicitations, and was never troublesome in recommending any one or
busying himself as an agent for favour; yet he warmly advocated