Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Volume III

267

Sir Robert Wilson's Sketches of the Campaigns in Poland, in 1806 and 1807, p. 94. – S.

268

Jomini, tom. ii., p. 359, states the Russian army to have been 80,000 strong.

269

"When the French cuirassiers made their desperate charge on the Russian centre, and passed through an interval, the Cossacks bore down on them, speared them, unhorsed them, and in a few moments 53 °Cossacks reappeared on the field, equipped with the spoil of the slain." – Sir R. Wilson, p. 27.

270

Fifty-eighth Bulletin of the Grand Army; Savary, tom. ii., p. 30; Jomini, tom. ii., p. 357.

271

"One day, during dinner, the conversation turned on various deeds of arms. The grand marshal said, that what had most struck him in the life of Napoleon happened at Eylau, when, attended only by some officers of his staff, a column of four or five thousand Russians came almost in contact with him. The Emperor was on foot; Berthier instantly ordered up the horses: the Emperor gave him a reproachful look; then sent orders to a battalion of his guard to advance, which was a good way behind, and standing still. As the Russians advanced, he repeated several times, 'What audacity! what audacity!' At the sight of the grenadiers of the guard, the Russians stopped short. It was high time for them to do so, as Bertrand said. The Emperor had never stirred; all who surrounded him had been much alarmed." – Las Cases, tom. i., p. 143.

272

Sir Robert Wilson's Sketch of the Campaigns in Poland, p. 29.

273

Seventy-seventh Bulletin of the Grand Army; Jomini, tom. ii., p. 396; Savary, tom. ii., p. 48. Dantzic surrendered on the 24th of May, and, four days after, Napoleon conferred on Marshal Lefebvre the title of Duke of Dantzic.

274

Sir Robert Wilson's Campaigns in Poland, p. 30.

275

Seventy-eighth Bulletin of the Grand Army; Jomini, tom. ii., p. 408; Savary, tom. ii., p. 52.

276

"Next day, June 11, the Russians stopped all day in front of Heilsberg: both parties removed their wounded; and we had as many as though we had fought a great battle. The Emperor was very dissatisfied." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 53.

277

"The Emperor ordered me to advance alone, along the wood on our right, to seek a point whence the bridge of Friedland was visible; and after observing whether the Russians were crossing over to our bank or recrossing to the right, I returned to inform him, that the Russians, instead of retiring, were all crossing to our bank of the river, and that their masses were sensibly augmenting. 'Well,' said the Emperor, 'I am ready now. I have an hour's advantage of them, and will give them battle since they wish it: this is the anniversary of Marengo, and to-day fortune is with me.'" – Savary, tom. ii., p. 56.

278

Seventy-ninth Bulletin of the Grand Army; Savary, tom. ii., p. 56; Jomini, tom. ii., p. 411.

279

Eightieth Bulletin of the Grand Army.

280

Three days after the battle, the unfortunate Queen of Prussia wrote thus to her father, the elector of Baden: – "By the unfortunate battle of Friedland, Königsberg fell into the hands of the French. We are closely pressed by the enemy, and if the danger should become in any degree more imminent, I shall be compelled to leave Memel with my children. I shall go to Riga, should the aspect of affairs become more alarming. God will give me the power to survive the moment when I shall cross the borders: all my firmness will then be required, but I look to Heaven for support, from whence comes all good and evil; and it is my firm belief, that no more is imposed upon us than we are able to bear."

281

"I saw in the hands of M. de Talleyrand, who had just arrived at Königsberg, the letter in which the Emperor directed him to come to Tilsit, and which contained this observation, 'If peace be not concluded in a fortnight, I cross the Niemen.' At the same time, I received orders to prepare the bridge-equipage. I mentioned this circumstance to M. de Talleyrand. 'Do not hurry yourself,' replied he: 'where is the utility of going beyond the Niemen? What are we to find beyond that river? the Emperor must renounce his views respecting Poland: that country is good for nothing: we can only organize disorder there: we have now a favourable opportunity of making an end of this business, and we must not let it escape.' At first I was at a loss to comprehend all this; and it was not until our diplomatist unfolded his projects with respect to Spain, that I understood the hints he had thrown out." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 74.

282

Eighty-sixth Bulletin of the Grand Army; Savary, tom. ii., p. 75; Jomini, tom. ii., p. 423.

283

The impression which Buonaparte's presence and conversation, aided by the preconceived ideas of his talents, made on all who approached his person, was of the most striking kind. The captain of a British man-of-war, who was present at his occupying the island of Elba, disturbed on that occasion the solemnity and gravity of a levee, at which several British functionaries attended, by bearing a homely, but certainly a striking testimony to his powers of attraction, while he exclaimed, that "Boney was a d – d good fellow, after all!" – S.

284

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 218.

285

"The Queen often called to her recollection that part of English history which states that Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII., after the taking of Calais, which had so long been an appanage to the English crown, and which had often been attempted in vain by the Duke of Guise, during her reign, and its subsequent cession to France, – was accustomed to say, 'That if her heart could be opened, the name of Calais would be found traced there in letters of blood.' The same might be said of the Queen of Prussia in regard to Magdeburg." – Mad. de Berg.

286

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 213.

287

The Queen of Prussia died on the 19th July, 1810. The following letter was written by her a few days after the signing of the treaty of Tilsit: – "Peace is concluded; but at how painful a price! Our frontiers will not henceforth extend beyond the Elbe: the King, however, after all, has proved himself a greater man than his adversary. He has been compelled by necessity to negotiate with his enemy, but no alliance has taken place between them. This will one day or other bring a blessing upon Prussia. Again, I say, the King's just dealing will bring good fortune to Prussia; this is my firm belief."

288

For a copy of the Treaty of Tilsit, see Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 720.

289

"This does not appear to me to be correct: according to the terms of the treaty, this country was ceded personally to me, and my first act was to unite it to Holland. I establish this fact merely for the sake of truth." – Louis Buonaparte, p. 53.

290

Now Earl Granville.

291

"In the secret treaty, Alexander and Napoleon shared between them the continental world: all the south was abandoned to Napoleon, already master of Italy and arbiter of Germany, pushing his advanced post as far as the Vistula, and making Dantzic one of the most formidable arsenals." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 310.

292

"It was perhaps a misfortune to me that I had not married a sister of the Emperor Alexander, as proposed to me by Alexander himself at Erfurth. But there were inconveniences in that union arising from her religion. I did not like to allow a Russian priest to be the confessor of my wife, as I considered that he would have been a spy in the Tuileries for Alexander." – Napoleon, Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 150.

293

See the treaty between Prussia and France, Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 714.

294

"De l'Egypte après la Balle d'Héliopolis."

295

For Sir John Stuart's detail of the memorable battle of Maida, see Annual Register, vol. xlviii., p. 590; see also Jomini, tom. ii., p. 238.

296

"The French soldiers had a great contempt for the English troops at the beginning of the war, caused, perhaps, by the failure of the expeditions under the Duke of York, the great want of alertness in the English advanced posts, and the misfortunes which befell your armies. In this they were fools, as the English were well known to be a brave nation. It was probably by a similar error that Reynier was beaten by General Stuart; as the French imagined you would run away and be driven into the sea. Reynier was a man of talent, but more fit to give counsel to an army of twenty or thirty thousand men, than to command one of five or six. It is difficult to conceive how little the French soldiers thought of yours, until they were taught the contrary." – Napoleon, Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 47.

297

Reynier died at Paris in 1814, at the age of forty-four. Besides his work on Egypt, he published "Conjectures sur les anciens habitans de l'Egypte," and "Sur les Sphinx qui accompagnent les Pyramides."

298

See the very extraordinary account of the Pampas, published by Captain Head of the engineers.

299

See Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 223.

300

In the time of Louis XIV., when the French envoy at the court of Constantinople came, in a great hurry, to intimate as important intelligence, some victory of his master over the Prussians, "Can you suppose it of consequence to his Serene Highness," said the Grand Vizier, with infinite contempt, "whether the dog bites the hog, or the hog bites the dog?"

301

See "Particulars from Sir J. Duckworth to Lord Collingwood, relative to the affairs of the Dardanelles," Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 659.

302

See "Papers relating to the Expedition to Copenhagen," Parl. Debates, vol. x., p. 221; and "Proceedings before Copenhagen," Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 681.

303

"Russia felt severely the loss which Denmark had sustained. The Danish fleet was a good third of the guarantee of the neutrality of the Baltic." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 112.

304

"The attack upon Copenhagen by the English was the first blow given to the secret stipulations of Tilsit, in virtue of which the navy of Denmark was to be placed at the disposal of France. Since the catastrophe of Paul the First, I never saw Napoleon abandon himself to more violent transports. What most struck him in this vigorous enterprise, was the promptness of the resolution of the English ministry." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 312.

305

Lord Hutchinson. See Parliamentary Debates, vol. x., p. 602.

306

See Declaration of the Emperor of Russia, dated St. Petersburgh, 20th (31st) October, 1807, Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 761; and Parl. Debates, vol. x., p. 218.

307

"It is certain that the Tribunate was absolutely useless, while it cost nearly half a million; I therefore suppressed it. I was well aware that an outcry would be raised against the violation of the law; but I was strong; I possessed the full confidence of the people, and I considered myself a reformer." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. i., p. 289.

308

"So little was the Council of State understood by the people in general, that it was believed no one dared utter a word in that assembly in opposition to the Emperor's opinion. Thus I very much surprised many persons, when I related the fact, that one day, during a very animated debate, the Emperor, having been interrupted three times in giving his opinion, turned towards the individual who had rather rudely cut him short, and said in a sharp tone: 'I have not yet done, I beg you will allow me to continue; I believe every one here has a right to deliver his opinion.' The smartness of his reply, notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, excited a general laugh, in which the Emperor himself joined." – Las Cases, tom. i., p. 280.

309

Ségur gives example of a case in which Buonaparte deferred his own opinion to that of the Council. A female of Amsterdam, tried for a capital crime, had been twice acquitted by the Imperial Courts, and the Court of Appeal claimed the right to try her a third time. Buonaparte alone contended against the whole Council of State, and claimed for the poor woman the immunity which, in justice, she ought to have obtained, considering the prejudices that must have been excited against her. He yielded, at length, to the majority, but protesting he was silenced, and not convinced. To account for his complaisance, it may be remarked first, that Buonaparte was no way personally interested in the decision of the question; and, secondly, if it concerned him at all, the fate of the female was in his hands, since he had only to grant her a pardon if she was condemned by the Court of Appeal. – S. – See also Las Cases, tom. i., p. 278.

310

Las Cases, tom. i., p. 281.

311

Las Cases, tom. i., p. 282. At St. Helena, Napoleon reproached himself for the expulsion of M. Portalis. "I was," he said, "perhaps too severe; I should have checked myself before I ordered him to be gone. He attempted no justification, and therefore the scene should have ended, merely by my saying, it is well. His punishment should have awaited him at home. Anger is always unbecoming in a sovereign. But, perhaps, I was excusable in my council, where I might consider myself in the bosom of my own family; or perhaps, after all, I may be justly condemned for this act. Every one has his fault; nature will exert her sway over us all." – Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 320.

312

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 105.

313

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 105.

314

"Your Emperor," is the usual conclusion, "relies upon the zeal which you will display on this business, in order to prove your devotion to his person, and your attachment to the interests of the throne." Each of the prefects amplifies the circular. The warmest expressions and the strongest colours are employed; no figure of rhetoric is forgotten, and the circular is transmitted to the sub-prefects of the department. The sub-prefects in their turn season it with still stronger language, and the mayors improve upon that of the sub-prefects. – Faber, Notices sur l'Intérieur de la France, p. 13.

315

Faber, Notices, p. 31.

316

"What litigations would thus have been prevented! On the first examination of a cause, a lawyer would have rejected it, had it been at all doubtful. There would have been little fear that a man, living by his labour, would have undertaken to conduct a lawsuit, from mere motives of vanity; and if he had, he would himself have been the only sufferer in case of failure. But my idea was opposed by a multitude of objections, and as I had no time to lose, I postponed the further consideration of the subject. Yet I am still convinced that the scheme might, with certain modifications, have been turned to the best account." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. vii., p. 199.

317

The intelligent reader will easily be aware, that we mean not to say that every decision of their predecessors is necessarily binding on the judges of the day. Laws themselves become obsolete, and so do the decisions which have maintained and enforced them. – S.

318

"In the Code Napoleon, and even in the Criminal Code, some good principles remain, derived from the Constituent Assembly; the institution of juries, for instance, the anchor of French hope: but of what value were legal institutions, when extraordinary tribunals, named by the Emperor, special courts, and military commissions, judged all political offences – the very offences on which the unchangeable ægis of the law is most required." – Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 364.

319

"Agriculture was continually improving during the whole course of the Revolution. Foreigners thought it ruined in France. In 1814, however, the English were compelled to admit, that we had little or nothing to learn from them." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 280.

320

"Foreign trade, which in its results is infinitely inferior to agriculture, was an object of subordinate importance in my mind. Foreign trade is made for agriculture and home industry, and not the two latter for the former. The interests of these three fundamental cases are diverging, and frequently conflicting. I always promoted them in their natural gradation; but I could not and ought not to have ranked them all on an equality. The difficulties, and even the total stagnation of foreign trade during my reign, arose out of the force of circumstances, and the accidents of the time. One brief interval of peace would immediately have restored it to its natural level." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 280.

321

Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 230.

322

Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 256.

323

"The system of commercial licenses was no doubt mischievous. Heaven forbid that I should have laid it down as a principle. It was the invention of the English; with me it was only a momentary resource. Even the continental system, in its extent and rigour, was by me regarded as a measure occasioned by the war and temporary circumstances." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., pp. 280, 283.

324

"Industry or manufactures, and internal trade, made immense progress during my reign. The application of chemistry to the manufactures, caused them to advance with giant strides. I gave an impulse, the effects of which extended throughout Europe." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 280.

325

Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 297.

326

The watch, half completed, remained in the hands of the artist, and is now the property of the Duke of Wellington. – S.

327

Las Cases, tom. vii., p. 120.

328

We again repeat, that we totally disbelieve the gross infamies imputed to Napoleon within his own family, although sanctioned by the evidence of the Memoirs of Fouché. Neither Buonaparte's propensities nor his faults were those of a voluptuary. – S.

329

"The triumph, and the vanity,The rapture of the strife —The earthquake voice of victory,To thee the breath of life."Byron, vol. x., p. 7.

330

By General Jourdan.

331

Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 139. See also Mounteney's Historical Enquiry relative to Napoleon, p. 20.

332

"The Emperor constantly insisted on subjecting the whole nation to the laws of the conscription. 'I am inexorable on the subject of exemption,' said he, one day in the Council of State, 'it would be criminal. How could I acquit my conscience with having exposed the life of one man, for the advantage of another? I do not even think I would exempt my own son.'" – Las Cases, tom. vii., p. 197.

333

Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 351.

334

"This is not correct. Activity of movement and rapidity of attack are as conducive to the well-being of mankind, as they are favourable to victory. Where did Sir Walter Scott learn that the system of forced marches pursued by the Emperor Napoleon was always without magazines? On the contrary, his administrative system was admirable, and his calculations on this head worthy of his plans: without the one, the other could not have succeeded." – Louis Buonaparte, p. 54.

335

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 163.

336

The marriage took place on the 12th of August, and, a few days after, Jerome was proclaimed king of Westphalia. The constitution of the kingdom was issued on the 15th December, the new monarch's birth-day, who had then completed his twenty-second year; and, on the 21st, Jerome made his public entry into Cassel.

337

Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 779.

338

For copies of the several Orders in Council, see Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, vol. x., p. 126, and Annual Register, vol. xlix., pp. 745, 746, 754.

339

Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 220.

340

From the rank of a simple gentleman of the royal guards, Godoy had, through the Queen's influence, been raised to the highest dignities. "There was no jealousy in the Queen's attachment to this minion; she gave him one of the royal family in marriage, but the private life of the favourite continued to be as infamous as the means whereby he had risen. It is said, that there was no way so certain to obtain promotion, as by pandering to his vices; and that wives, sisters, and daughters were offered him as the price of preferment, in a manner more shameful than had ever before been witnessed in a Christian country." – Southey, History of the Peninsular War, vol. i., p. 79.

341

De Pradt, Mémoires sur la Révolution d'Espagne, p. 15.

342

Southey, vol. i., p. 87.

343

This treaty, together with a convention dependent on it, was signed the 27th, and ratified by Napoleon on the 29th of October.

344

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 347.

345

Proclamation from Alcantara, Nov. 17.

346

"As if they had been desirous of provoking the Portuguese to some act of violence which might serve as a pretext for carrying into effect the threats which Junot had denounced, they burnt or mutilated the images in the churches, and threw the wafer to be trodden under foot." – Neves, Historia de la Guerra contra Nap., tom. i., p. 196.

347

"Not a regiment, not a battalion, not even a company, arrived entire; many of them were beardless boys, and they came in so pitiable a condition, as literally to excite compassion; foot-sored, bemired and wet, ragged, and hungered, and diseased." – Neves, tom. i., p. 213.

348

"Her family was from Corsica, and resided in the neighbourhood of mine; they were under great obligations to my mother, not merely for her benevolence towards them, but for services of a more positive nature." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 349.

349

"The House of Braganza has ceased to reign in Portugal, and the Emperor Napoleon wills that this fine country shall be governed entirely in his name, by the general-in-chief of his army."

350

The edict imposing this contribution was dated from Milan, Dec. 23.

351

Southey, vol. i., p. 155.

352

"Fallen from his dreams of royalty, and trembling for his life, he was ready to make any sacrifice which might procure him the protection of France." – Neves, tom. i., p. 313.

353

And author of an heroic poem on the Conquest of Mexico.

354

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 198; Southey, vol. i., p. 188; Savary, tom. ii., p. 144.

355

"So far from being opposed to it, M. de Talleyrand even advised it. It was he who dictated all the preliminary steps, and it was with the view of promptly carrying the measure into effect, that he so urgently pressed the conclusion of peace at Tilsit. He was the first who thought of the Spanish expedition; he laid the springs which it was necessary to bring into play to complete the work." —Mémoires de Savary, tom. ii., p. 139.

356

Mémoires de Fouché, tom. i., p. 313.