Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Volume III

161

"The Russians fled and dispersed: Alexander and the Emperor of Austria witnessed the defeat. Stationed on a height at a little distance from the field of battle, they beheld the guard, which had been expected to decide the victory, cut to pieces by a handful of brave men. Their guns and baggage had fallen into our possession, and Prince Repnin was our prisoner; unfortunately, however, we had a great number of men killed and wounded. I had myself received a sabre wound in the head; in which situation I galloped off to give an account of the affair to the Emperor. My sabre broken, my wound, the blood with which I was covered, the decided advantage we had gained with so small a force over the enemy's chosen troops, inspired Napoleon with the idea of the picture that was painted by Girard." —Mémoires du Général Rapp, p. 62.

162

Jomini, tom. ii., p. 180-191; Savary, tom. ii., p. 133. Thirtieth Bulletin of the Grand Army. On the field of battle, Napoleon issued the following proclamation: —

"Headquarters, Dec. 2, 10 o'clock at night.

"Soldiers of the Grand Army! Even at this hour, before this great day shall pass away and be lost in the ocean of eternity, your Emperor must address you, and express how much he is satisfied with the conduct of all those who have had the good fortune to combat in this memorable battle. Soldiers! you are the first warriors in the world! The recollection of this exploit and of your deeds, will be eternal! thousands of ages hereafter, so long as the events of the universe continue to be related, will record, that a Russian army, of seventy-six thousand men, hired by the gold of England, was annihilated by you on the plains of Olmutz. – The miserable remains of that army, upon which the commercial spirit of a despicable nation had placed its expiring hope, are in flight, hastening to make known to the savage inhabitants of the north what the French are capable of performing; they will, likewise, tell them, that, after having destroyed the Austrian army, at Ulm, you told Vienna – 'That army is no more!' To Petersburgh you shall also say – 'The Emperor Alexander has no longer an army.'"

163

Thirty-Fourth Bulletin of the Grand Army; Savary, tom. ii., p. 148.

164

"The battle of Austerlitz took place on the 2d December, and on the 15th, Prussia, by the convention of Vienna, renounced the treaty of Potsdam and the oath of the tomb; she yielded Wesel, Bareuth, and Neuchatel to France; who, in return, consented to Frederic William's taking possession of Hanover, and uniting that country to his dominions." – Napoleon, Montholon, tom. ii., p. 242.

165

Thirty-First Bulletin of the Grand Army.

166

"The Emperors seemed to be both in excellent humour; they laughed, which seemed to us all to be a good omen: accordingly, in an hour or two, the sovereigns parted with a mutual embrace. We followed Napoleon, who rode his horse at a foot-pace, musing on what he meant to do. He called me, and said, 'Run after the Emperor of Austria: tell him that I have desired you to go and wait at his headquarters for the adhesion of the Emperor of Russia to what has just been concluded between us. When you are in possession of this adhesion, proceed to the corps d'armée of Marshal Davoust, stop his movement, and tell him what has passed.'" – Savary, tom. ii., p. 140.

167

"I could not help feeling a certain timidity on finding myself in Alexander's presence; he awed me by the majesty and nobleness of his look. Nature had done much for him; and it would have been difficult to find a model so perfect and so graceful; he was then twenty-six years old. He was already somewhat hard of hearing with the left ear, and he turned the right to hear what was said to him. He spoke in broken sentences; he laid great stress upon his finals, so that the discourse was never long. For the rest, he spoke the French language in all its purity, and always used its elegant academic expression. As there was no affectation in his language, it was easy to judge that this was one of the results of an excellent education." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 115.

168

See Annual Register, vol. xlvii., p. 666.

169

For a copy of the treaty, see Annual Register, vol. xlvii., p. 668.

170

"After leaving Vienna, Napoleon, on his way to Munich, passed through Passau, where he met General Lauriston, who was returning from Cadiz; he sent him as governor to Venice." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 155.

171

"The Emperor arrived at Munich, a few hours before New Year's-day, 1806. The Empress had come thither by his order a fortnight before. There was, as may be supposed, great rejoicing at the court of Bavaria: not only was the country saved, but almost doubled in extent. The greatest delight was therefore expressed at seeing us. It was at Munich that we began to perceive something which we had as yet only heard vaguely talked of. A courier was sent by the Tyrol with orders to the Viceroy of Italy to come immediately to Munich: accordingly, five days afterwards, he arrived. No secret was any longer made of his marriage with the Princess Augusta of Bavaria. The viceroy was much beloved, and the greatest pleasure was expressed to see him unite his destiny with that of a princess so virtuous and so lovely. The nuptials were celebrated at Munich; after which Napoleon returned to Paris." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 156.

172

Jomini, tom. ii., p. 196; Las Cases, tom. v., p. 168; Montgaillard, tom. vi., p. 280.

173

"Before his departure from Vienna, Napoleon received intelligence of the entry of the Russians, jointly with some English, into Naples. He immediately made dispositions for marching troops thither. He had an old grudge against the Queen of Naples, and on receiving this news, he said, 'Ah! as for her, I am not surprised at it; but woe betide her if I enter Naples; never shall she set foot there again!' He sent from the staff of his own army officers to compose that which was about to assemble on the frontiers of Naples, and ordered Prince Joseph, his brother, whom he had left at Paris, to go and put himself at the head of it." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 152.

174

"General St. Cyr is advancing by forced marches towards Naples, to punish the treason of the Queen, and to precipitate from the throne this culpable woman, who has violated, in so shameless a manner, all that is held sacred among men. It was endeavoured to intercede for her with the Emperor. He replied, 'Were hostilities to recommence, and the nation to support a thirty years' war, so atrocious an act of perfidy cannot be pardoned.' The Queen of Naples has ceased to reign." —Thirty-seventh Bulletin of the Grand Army, Dec. 26.

175

Jomini, tom. ii., p. 237; Annual Register, vol. xlviii., p. 144.

176

These implements of destruction were afterwards used against the British cruizers in America, and were judged formidable. But such desperate courage is necessary to attach the machine to the destined vessel, and the fate of the engineer, if discovered, is so certainly fatal, that, like fire-ships, petards, and similar inventions, liable to the same inconvenience, they do not appear likely to get into general use. – S. See in the Annual Register, vol. xlvi., p. 553, Lord Keith's account of the failure of the catamaran expedition against the French flotilla outside the pier of Boulogne.

177

See declaration of war made by Spain against England, dated Madrid, Dec. 12, 1804, and also declaration of war with Spain on the part of the King of England, Annual Register, vol. xlvi., p. 699, and vol. xlvii., p. 608.

178

Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 264; O'Meara, vol. i., p. 351.

179

Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 248.

180

See Commodore Dance's account of the defeat of Admiral Linois' squadron in the Indian seas, Annual Register, vol. xlvi., p. 551.

181

The late John Clerk of Eldin; a name never to be mentioned by Britons without respect and veneration, since, until his systematic Essay upon Naval Tactics appeared, the breaking of the line (whatever professional jealousy may allege to the contrary) was never practised on decided and defined principle. His suavity, nay, simplicity of manner, equalled the originality of his genius. This trifling tribute is due from one, who, honoured with his regard from boyhood, has stood by his side, while he was detailing and illustrating the system which taught British seamen to understand and use their own force, at an age so early, that he can remember having been guilty of abstracting from the table some of the little cork models by which Mr. Clerk exemplified his manœuvres; unchecked but by his good-humoured raillery, when he missed a supposed line-of-battle ship, and complained that the demonstration was crippled by its absence. – S

182

"If it were permitted to a man whose only campaign at sea was that of Egypt in the vessel of Brueyes, to speak of naval tactics, I could easily refute all that Sir Walter Scott has here said. I shall limit myself to the relation of the observations made with General Kleber, when, from the neighbouring coast, we witnessed the battle of Aboukir. The greater part of our squadron remained inactive, while the English turned the left; there was not a single spectator who was not irritated at seeing the six vessels on the right of the squadron, commanded by Brueyes, keep their line, when, if they had hoisted sail, and fallen back on the left, they would have put the English between two fires, and would certainly have gained the victory." – Louis Buonaparte, p. 46.

183

"Had Villeneuve manifested more vigour at Cape Finistère, the attack on England might have been rendered practicable. I had made arrangements for his arrival, with considerable art and calculation, and in defiance of the opinions and the routine of the naval officers by whom I was surrounded. Every thing happened as I had foreseen; when the inactivity of Villeneuve ruined all." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 247.

184

"The court are of opinion that such conduct on the part of Admiral Sir Robert Calder was not the result of cowardice or disaffection, but of error in judgment, for which he deserves to be severely reprimanded – and he is hereby severely reprimanded accordingly." – See Annual Register, vol. xlvii., p. 436. And for the Defence of Sir Robert Calder, see p. 564 of the same volume.

185

"In 1805, M. Daru was at Boulogne, intendant general of the army. One morning, Napoleon sent for him into his cabinet: Daru there found him transported with rage, striding rapidly up and down the apartment, and breaking a sullen silence only by abrupt and short exclamations – 'What a navy! – What an admiral! – What sacrifices thrown away! – My hope is destroyed! – This Villeneuve! instead of being in the Channel, he is gone into Ferrol! It is all over! he will be blockaded. Daru, sit down, listen, and write!' Napoleon had received early in the morning the news of Villeneuve's arrival in a Spanish port; he saw instantly that the conquest of England was abortive, the immense expense of the fleet and the flotilla lost for a long time, perhaps for ever. At that moment, in the transport of rage, which permits not other men to preserve their judgment, he had taken one of those bold resolutions, and traced out one of the most admirable plans of a campaign, that any other conqueror could have conceived at leisure and with coolness, without hesitation, without stopping: he then dictated the whole plan of the campaign of Austerlitz, the departure of the several corps of the army, from Hanover and Holland, even to the confines of the west and south of France." – Dupin, Force Naval, tom. i., p. 244.

186

Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 263.

187

Nelson had not been a month in England when Captain Blackwood, on his way to the Admiralty with despatches, called on him at Merton, at five in the morning, and found him already dressed. Upon seeing him, he exclaimed "I am sure you bring me news of the French and Spanish fleets! I think I shall have yet to beat them!" It was as he had supposed; they had liberated the squadron from Ferrol, and being now thirty-four sail of the line, got safely into Cadiz. "Depend on it, Blackwood," he repeatedly said, "I shall yet give M. Villeneuve a drubbing!" – Southey.

188

"Napoleon had, no doubt, ordered the minister of the marine to take from Admiral Villeneuve the command of his fleets; for the latter sent Admiral Rosilly to supersede him. He apprised Villeneuve of this by a courier: whether he added any reproaches I know not; but something of the kind must have passed, since Villeneuve quitted Cadiz without occasion, with the French and Spanish fleet, to attack the English squadron commanded by Nelson." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 112.

189

"Villeneuve had called a council of war on hearing that Nelson had taken the command; and their determination was not to leave Cadiz unless they had reason to believe themselves one-third stronger than the British force. Many circumstances tended to deceive them into such an opinion, and an American contributed unintentionally to mislead them, by declaring that Nelson could not possibly be with the fleet, for he himself had seen him only a few days before in London." – Southey.

190

See, for these and other particulars of the battle of Trafalgar, Southey's Life of Nelson, a work already repeatedly quoted. It is the history of a hero, in the narrative of which are evinced at once the judgment and fidelity of the historian, with the imagination of the poet. It well deserves to be, what already it is, the text-book of the British navy. – S.

191

"The disaster of Trafalgar, by the ruin of our navy, completed the security of Great Britain. It was a few days after the capitulation of Ulm, and upon the Vienna road, that Napoleon received the despatch containing the first intelligence of this misfortune. Berthier has since related to me, that while seated at the same table with Napoleon, he read the fatal paper, but not daring to present it to him, he pushed it gradually with his elbows under his eyes. Scarcely had Napoleon glanced through its contents, than he started up, full of rage, exclaiming, 'I cannot be every where!' His agitation was extreme, and Berthier despaired of tranquillizing him." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 293.

192

"It used to be remarked in the saloon of the household, that I was never accessible to any one after I had an audience with the minister of the marine. The reason was, because he never had any but bad news to communicate to me. For my part, I gave up every thing after the disaster of Trafalgar; I could not be every where, and I had enough to occupy my attention with the armies of the continent." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 248.

193

"At Rennes, 26th April, 1806, on his way from England to Paris. – Villeneuve, when taken prisoner and conveyed to England, was so much grieved at his defeat, that he studied anatomy on purpose to destroy himself. For this purpose he bought some anatomical plates of the heart, and compared them with his own body, in order to ascertain the exact situation of that organ. On his arrival in France, I ordered that he should remain at Rennes, and not proceed to Paris. Villeneuve, afraid of being tried by a court-martial, determined to destroy himself, and accordingly took his plates of the heart, and compared them with his breast. Exactly in the shape of the plate, he made a mark with a large pin, then fixed the pin as near as he could judge in the same spot in his own breast, shoved it in to the head, penetrated his heart, and expired. He need not have done it, as he was a brave man, though possessed of no talent." – Napoleon, Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 57.

194

This admiral commanded at Toulon in 1804, and having stolen out of harbour with a strong squadron, when the main body of the English fleet was out of sight, had the satisfaction to see three vessels, under Rear-admiral Campbell, retreat before his superior force. This unusual circumstance so elated Monsieur Latouche Tréville, that he converted the affair into a general pursuit of the whole British fleet, and of Nelson himself, who, he pretended, fled before him. Nelson was so much nettled at his effrontery, that he wrote to his brother, "You will have seen Latouche's letter, how he chased me and how I run. I keep it, and if I take him, by God, he shall eat it." Latouche escaped this punishment by dying [19th August, 1804] of the fatigue incurred by walking so often up to the signal-post at Sepet, to watch for the momentary absence of the blockading squadron, which he pretended dared not face him. This man Buonaparte considered as the boast of the French navy. – S. – "Napoleon said, he much regretted Latouche Tréville, whom he regarded as a man of real talent. He was of opinion that that admiral would have given a different impulse to affairs. The attack on India, and the invasion of England, would by him have been at least attempted." – Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 247.

195

Moniteur, 3d March, 1806.

196

The Exposé also states – "The calendar of the Revolution has been abolished, because its object was found to be unattainable, and it was necessary to sacrifice it to commercial and political convenience, which requires a common system. – Indeed," it adds, "the people of fair Europe are already divided by too many varieties; they ought only to form one great family."

197

"This embarrassment Napoleon had himself caused by carrying off from the vaults of the bank above fifty millions. Placed upon the backs of King Philip's mules, these millions had powerfully contributed to the prodigious success of this unexpected campaign." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 295.

198

"A ridiculous story," says the Prince de Ligne, who accompanied the Empress Catherine during her tour through her southern provinces, in 1787, "has been spread, which affirms that villages of pasteboard, and paintings representing distant fleets and arsenals, and bodies of cavalry, have been so disposed as to cheat our eyes during our rapid journey. I believe, however, that some little contrivance is occasionally employed: that, for instance, the Empress, who cannot rove about on foot as we do, is persuaded that some towns, for the building of which she has paid considerable sums, are really finished; whereas there are, in fact, many towns without streets, streets without houses, and houses without roofs, doors, or windows." —Lettres et Pensées.

199

"How does Sir Walter make these different assertions agree? The truth is, Napoleon never wished or pretended to give appanages, but to act as he thought right towards France, and this design was as great as it was noble and generous; exaggeration only deforms it." – Louis Buonaparte, p. 48.

200

"One day, after a warm despute between the two brothers, Lucien, taking out his watch, and flinging it violently on the floor, addressed Napoleon in these remarkable words: 'You will one day be smashed to pieces as I have smashed that watch; and a time will come, when your family and friends will not have a resting-place for their heads.'" —Mémoires de Rapp, p. 11.

201

De Bourrienne, tom. vi., p. 80.

202

In 1805 he settled at Rome, where the Pope, calling to mind the active part he had taken in the negotiation relative to the Concordat, treated him with marked attention and kindness.

203

Towards the close of 1803, Jerome married Miss Paterson, the daughter of a rich merchant of Baltimore. In the spring of 1805, he embarked in a neutral vessel, and landed at Lisbon, whence he set off, by land, for Paris, directing the ship to proceed to Amsterdam; from which city he intended his wife should follow him, as soon as he had obtained the requisite permission from his imperial brother. On the arrival, however, of the vessel in the Texel, Madame Jerome, not being permitted to go on shore, landed at Dover, took up her residence during the summer at Camberwell, and in the autumn returned to America.

204

"The marriage took place on the 4th January, 1802. Louis became a husband – never was there a more gloomy ceremony – never had husband and wife a stronger presentiment of all the horrors of a forced and ill-assorted union! From this he dates the commencement of his unhappiness. It stamped on his whole existence a profound melancholy." – Louis Buonaparte, Documens Historiques, tom. i., p. 126.

205

Louis pleaded the delicacy of his constitution, and the unfavourableness of the climate. "Better to die a king than to live a prince," was Napoleon's reply; and in a day or two after Talleyrand waited on him at St. Leu, and read aloud to him and Hortensia, the treaty and constitution. This took place on the 3d of June, 1806; on the 5th Louis was proclaimed King of Holland. – De Bourrienne, tom. viii., p. 126.

206

Murat's father was the keeper of an humble country inn, and, having once been a steward of the Talleyrands, enjoyed the protection of that ancient and wealthy family.

207

They were married in January, 1800, at the Palace of the Luxembourg.

208

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 357.

209

M. de Talleyrand said of her, that "she had Cromwell's head on the shoulders of a pretty woman."

210

Ferdinand having embarked for Sicily, Joseph Buonaparte, in February, 1806, made his public entry into Naples, alighting at the palace which the unfortunate monarch had just quitted. He was proclaimed King of Naples and the two Sicilies on the 30th of March. The city was illuminated on the occasion, "amidst every demonstration of joy, even more on the part of the nobles than of the lower orders." – Botta, Storia d'Italia, tom. iv., p. 264.

211

"She was haughty, nervous, passionate, dissolute, and devoured by the two passions of love and ambition – influenced, as has been said, by the poet Fontanes, in whom she was wrapped up." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 240.

212

It is said, that being asked by a lady how she could submit to such an exposure of her person, she conceived that the question only related to physical inconvenience, and answered it by assuring her friend that the apartment was properly aired. – S.

213

Fouché, tom. ii., p. 33. The most ridiculous reports were also circulated, respecting an improper intercourse between Napoleon and his step-daughter Hortensia: – "Such a connexion," said he, "would have been wholly repugnant to my ideas; and those who knew any thing of the morality of the Tuileries, must be aware that I need not have been reduced to so unnatural and revolting a choice." – Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 307.

214

"Stephanie Beauharnais lost her mother in childhood. She was left in the care of an English lady, who confided her protegée to some old nuns in the south of France. During the consulship, I had her placed in the establishment of Madame Campan, at St. Germain; all sorts of masters were appointed to superintend her education, and on her introduction into the world, her beauty, wit, accomplishments, and virtues, rendered her an object of universal admiration. I adopted her as my daughter, and gave her in marriage to the hereditary Prince of Baden. This union was, for several years, far from being happy. In course of time, however, they became attached to each other, and from that moment they had only to regret the happiness of which they had deprived themselves during the early years of their marriage." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 317.