The sun rose, and put an end to my musings. My joy was inexpressible when I recognized on the ramparts those old grenadiers whom I had so often admired and honoured on the field of battle.
I jumped on shore, and I rushed into the nearest inn for the purpose of putting off my sailor's dress, and then flying to the palace of Napoleon. But I had been watched and followed: and the functionaries despatched by general Cambronne, the Commandant of the town, immediately appeared to secure me. I tranquillized them, and they accompanied me to the town-house, where General Bertrand then lodged. I sent in my name, and the General came out. "Sir, do you come from France?"—"Yes, Monsieur le Maréchal."—"What do you want here?"—"I wish to see the Emperor, and to solicit employment."—"Does the Emperor know you?"—"Yes, Sir, and M. X*** has also given me the means of proving to the Emperor that I am not unworthy of his goodness."—"Do you bring us any news from France?"—"I do, Monsieur le Maréchal; and I think that the intelligence which I bring is good."—"Well, Heaven hears you; as for us, we are so wretched—I am dying with impatience to have a talk with you about France; but I must inform the Emperor of your arrival. Perhaps he may not be able to see you immediately. To-day the English corvette[35] is here, and those people are suspicious of every thing: is it publicly known who you are?"—"It is known that I am a French officer."—"So much the worse; hide your decorations, hold your tongue, and remain within doors and rest yourself at your inn. I will send for you."—Half an hour afterwards the Marshal desired me to proceed as quickly as possible to the Emperor's garden-gate: the Emperor, would come there, and speak to me without appearing to know me. I went accordingly: the Emperor, according to his custom, was walking with his hands behind his back. He passed several times before me without lifting up his eyes; at last he looked at me: he stopped, and asked me in Italian what countryman I was. I answered in French that I was a Parisian; that business had called me to Italy; and that I could not resist the desire of seeing my old sovereign.—"Well, Sir, talk to me about Paris and France;"—and as he finished these words he began to walk again. I accompanied him; and after he had put several indifferent questions to me aloud, he desired me to enter his apartments: he then ordered Bertrand and Drouot to retire, and forced me to sit down by his side. Napoleon began in a reserved and absent manner: "The grand Marshal tells me that you have just arrived from France."—"Yes, Sire."—"What do you want here?"—"Sire, I wish to offer my services to you; my conduct in 1814—" Napoleon interrupting me,—"Sir, I do not question but that you are a very good officer, however I have so many officers with me already, that it will be very difficult for me to assist you; yet we will see: it appears that you know M. X***."—"Yes, Sire."—"Has he sent a letter for me by you?"—"No, Sire."—Napoleon, interrupting me, "I see he forgets me just like the rest; since I have been here, I have not heard a word of him or of any body."—I interrupted the Emperor in my turn, "Sire, he has never ceased to entertain those sentiments of devotion and attachment towards your Majesty which are still cherished by all true Frenchmen; and—" Napoleon, with disdain; "What, do they still think of me in France?"—"Never will they forget you."—"Never! that is a strong expression; the French have another Sovereign, and they are commanded both by their duty and their tranquillity to think on him alone." This answer did not please me: the Emperor, thought I to myself, is out of humour because I have not brought him any letters; he mistrusts me: it was not worth while to come so far for the sake of such an ungracious reception.—Napoleon, continuing, "What do they think about me in France?"—"There, your Majesty is universally deplored and regretted."—"Yes, and there, also, they manufacture all sorts of lies concerning me. Sometimes they say that I am mad, sometimes that I am ill, and you may see (here the Emperor looked at his embonpoint), if I look like an ailing man. It is also given out that they intend to transport me either to St. Helena or to Malta. I would not advise them to try. I have provisions for six months, and brave followers to defend me: but I cannot think that Europe will be so dishonourable as to rise in arms against a single man, who has neither the power nor the inclination of hurting others. The emperor Alexander has too much love for posterity to lend himself to such a crime. They have guaranteed the sovereignty of the isle of Elba to me by a solemn treaty. Here I am in my own home; and as long as I do not go out to pick a quarrel with my neighbours, they have no right to come and disturb me ... have you served in the grand army?"—"Yes, Sire, I had the felicity of distinguishing myself under your Majesty's eyes in the plains of Champagne; your Majesty appeared to take such particular notice of me, that I had dared to hope that your Majesty would recollect me."—"Why, yes; I thought, somehow, that I knew your face when I saw you, but I have only a confused recollection of you."—Poor mortals! thought I to myself, go and expose your lives for the sake of Kings, go and sacrifice your youth, your repose, your happiness for their sake!—"In what affairs have you distinguished yourself?"—"Sire, at *****, and at ***** Marshal Ney there presented me to your majesty, saying, 'Sire, here is the intrepid S.... P..... of whom I have spoken to your Majesty.'"—"Ah! ah! I really do recollect—yes, I was very well pleased indeed, with your behaviour at **** and at ****; you showed much resolution, much strength of character. Did I not 'decorate' you on the field of battle?"—"Yes, Sire."—Napoleon, with greater warmth and confidence, "Eh bien! how are they all treated in France by the Bourbons?"—"Sire, the Bourbons have not realized the expectations of the French, and the number of malcontents increases every day."—Napoleon, sharply; "So much the worse, so much the worse: but how, has not X. sent me any letters?"—"No, Sire; he was afraid lest they might be taken from me; and as he thought that your Majesty, being now compelled to be vigilant, and to distrust all the world, might distrust me also, he has revealed several circumstances to me, which are only known to your Majesty and to himself; thus enabling me to give a proof that I am worthy of your Majesty's confidence."—"Let us hear them." I began my detail, but he exclaimed, without allowing me to finish, "that's enough; why did you not begin by telling me all that? there is half an hour that we have lost." This storm[36] disconcerted me. He perceived my confusion, and resumed his discourse with mildness.—"Come, make yourself easy, and repeat to me, with the greatest minuteness, all that has passed between you and X****." I then related the circumstances which had induced me to have an interview with Monsieur X****. I repeated our conversation word for word. I gave him a complete account of all the faults and excesses of the royal government; and I was going to draw the inferences which had occurred to Monsieur X**** and me. But the Emperor, who, when he was affected, was incapable of listening to any recital without interrupting it, and making his comments at every moment, stopped my mouth. "I thought so, too," said he, "when I abdicated, that the Bourbons, instructed and disciplined by adversity, would not fall again into the errors which ruined them in 1789. I thought that the King would govern you 'en bon homme.' This was the only way by which he could obtain a pardon from you, for having been put upon you by foreigners. But since they have stepped into France, they have done nothing but acts of madness. Their treaty of the twenty-third of April," (raising his voice,) "has made me deeply indignant: with one stroke of the pen they have robbed France of Belgium, and of all the territory acquired since the revolution. They have deprived the nation of its docks, its arsenals, its fleets, its artillery, and the immense materiel which I had collected in the fortresses and the ports which they have ceded. Talleyrand has led them into this infamous business: he must have been bribed. Peace is easy upon such terms. If, like them, I had consented to the ruin of France, they would not now be on my throne:" (with energy,) "I would sooner have cut off my right hand. I preferred renouncing my throne rather than to retain it by staining my glory, and the honour of the French nation.... A degraded crown is an intolerable burthen. My enemies have published everywhere, that I obstinately refused to make peace. They have represented me as a wretched madman, eager only for blood and carnage: this language answered their turn. When you wish to hang your dog, you give out that he is mad: Quand on veut tuer son chien, il faut bien faire accroire qu'il est enragé. But Europe shall know the truth: I will let the world know all that was said and done at Chatillon. I will unmask the Austrians, the Russians, and the English with a powerful hand. Europe shall judge: Europe shall say who was the rogue, and who was wishing to shed human blood. If I had been mad for war, I might have retired with my army beyond the Loire, and I might have enjoyed mountain warfare to my heart's content. I would not; I was tired of carnage ... my name, and the brave fellows who remained faithful to me, yet made the allies tremble, even in my capital. They offered Italy to me as the price of my abdication: I refused it. After once reigning over France, one ought not to reign anywhere else. I chose the isle of Elba. They were too happy to give Elba to me. This position suited me. I can watch France and the Bourbons. All that I have done has been only for France. It is for her sake and not for mine that I wished to render her the first nation in the universe. My glory is made for myself[37] *******. If I had only thought of myself, I would have returned to a private station, but it was my duty to retain the imperial title for my family and my son.... Next to France, my son is the dearest object in the world to me."
During the whole of this discourse, the Emperor continued striding up and down, and appeared violently agitated. He paused a little while, and then he began again. "They (i.e. the emigrants) know too well that I am here, and they would like to assassinate me. I discover new plots, new snares every day. They have sent to Corsica one of the assassins of Georges, a wretch whom the English journals themselves have pointed out to Europe as a blood-thirsty assassin; but let us be on the alert. If he misses me, I won't miss him. I shall send my grenadiers after him, and he shall be shot as an example to others."
After a few moments of silence, he said, "Do my generals go to court? they must cut a sad figure there." I waited for the end of this digression, in order to resume the thread of my discourse. As I was convinced that I could not possibly lead the conversation, I resolved to let the Emperor have it according to his own way, and I answered, "Yes, Sire, and they are furious to see themselves superseded in favour by emigrants who have never heard the sound of a cannon."—"The emigrants will never alter. As long as they were only required to dance attendance in my anti-chamber, I had more than enough of them. When it was necessary to show any heart, they slunk away like.... I committed a great error, when I recalled that anti-national race into France. If it had not been for me, they would have died of starvation abroad; but then I had great motives. I wanted to reconcile Europe to us, and to close the revolution.... What do my soldiers say about me?"—"The soldiers, Sire, talk constantly about your immortal victories. They never pronounce your name but with respect, admiration, and grief. When the Princes give money to the soldiers, they drink it out to your health, and when they are forced to cry Vive le Roi! they add in a whisper, de Rome."—"And so they still love me?" (smiling.)—"Yes, Sire, and I may even venture to say, more than ever."—"What do they say about our misfortunes?"—"They consider them as the effect of treachery; and they constantly repeat, that they never would have been conquered, if they had not been sold to their enemies. They are particularly indignant with respect to the capitulation of Paris."—"They are right: had it not been for the infamous defection of the Duke of Ragusa, the allies would have been lost. I was master of their rear, and of all their resources; not a man would have escaped. They too would have had their twenty-ninth bulletin. Marmont is a wretch; he has ruined his country, and delivered up his sovereign. His convention with Schwartzenburg would alone suffice to dishonour him. If he had not known when he surrendered, that he compromised my person and my army, he would not have found it necessary to make stipulations in favour of my liberty and life. This piece of treachery is not the only one. He has intrigued with Talleyrand to take the regency from the Empress, and the crown from my son. Caulincourt, Macdonald, and the rest of the marshals, have been cheated and gulled by him in the most shameful manner. All his blood would not be sufficient to expiate the harm which he has done to France.... I will devote his name to the execration of posterity. I am glad to learn that my soldiers retain the feeling of their superiority, and that they attribute our great misfortunes to the right authors. I collect with great pleasure, from the intelligence which you have brought, that the opinion which I had formed respecting the situation of France, is correct. The family of the Bourbons is not fit to reign. Their government may be good for priests, nobles, and old fashioned countesses: it is good for nothing for the present generation. The revolution has taught the people to know their rank in the state. They will never consent to fall back into their former nullity, and to be tied up by the nobility and the clergy. The army can never belong to the Bourbons. Our victories and our misfortunes have established an indissoluble tie between the army and myself. It is only through me that the soldiers can earn vengeance, power, and glory. From the Bourbons they can get nothing but insults and blows. Kings can only retain their power by the love of their subjects or by fear. The Bourbons are neither loved nor feared. At last they will throw themselves off their throne; but they may yet retain their position for a long time. Frenchmen do not know how to conspire."
In pronouncing these words, the Emperor continued walking hastily, and using many gestures. He rather appeared to be soliloquizing than addressing any one else; he then continued, looking at me aside, "Does M. X*** think that those people can stand much longer?"—"His opinion on this point is exactly conformable to the general opinion; that is to say, it is now the general impression and conviction, that the government is hastening to its fall. The priests and the emigrants are its only partisans; every man of patriotism or soul is its enemy."—Napoleon (with energy), "Yes, all men in whose veins any national blood is flowing must be its enemies; but how will all this end? Is it thought that there will be a new revolution?"—"Sire, discontent and irritation prevail to such an extent, that the slightest partial effervescence would inevitably cause a general insurrection, and nobody would be surprised if it were to take place to-morrow."—"But what would you do were you to expel the Bourbons: would you re-establish the republic?"—"The republic, Sire! nobody thinks about it; perhaps they would create a regency."—Napoleon (with vehemence and surprise), "A regency! And wherefore? am I dead?"—"But your absence...."—"My absence makes no difference. In a couple of days I would be back again in France, if the nation were to recal me. Do you think it would be well, if I were to return?" The Emperor turned away his eyes, and I could easily remark, that to this question he attached more importance than he cared to manifest, and that he expected my answer with anxiety. "Sire, I dare not personally attempt to answer such a question, but...."—Napoleon (abruptly), "That's not what I am asking you; answer yes or no."—"Why then, Sire,—yes."—Napoleon (with tenderness), "You really think so?"—"Yes, Sire, I am convinced, and so is M. X****, that the people and the army would receive you as their deliverer, and that your cause would be embraced with enthusiasm."—Napoleon (appearing agitated and impatient), "Then X*** advises me to return?"—"We had foreseen that your Majesty would make inquiries on this point, and the following is literally his answer. You will tell his Majesty that I would not dare to decide so important a question, but that he may consider it as a positive and incontrovertible fact, that our present government has wholly lost the confidence of the people and of the army; that discontent has increased to the highest pitch, and that it is impossible to believe that the government can stand much longer against the universal dislike. You will add, that the Emperor is the only object of the regret and hope of the nation. He, in his wisdom, will decide what he ought to do."
The Emperor became silent and pensive; and, after a long meditation, he said, "I will reflect upon it; I will keep you with me. Come here to-morrow at eleven o'clock."
On leaving the Emperor, I met the Grand Marshal, who said, "the Emperor has detained you a long time. I am in terror lest this interview should have been noticed. We are surrounded by English spies. The slightest indiscretion might cost us dear. I do not ask you to relate to me any thing which was reserved for the Emperor; but if, without violating your duty, you could give me any details relating to France, you would be doing me a great favour. We hear nothing of what is going forward, except from the journals and a few commercial travellers; and the intelligence which we thus obtain is so trifling and so contradictory, that we do not know what to make of it."—"I can satisfy you, Monsieur le Maréchal, and without acting indiscreetly: what I have told to the Emperor is known to all France. Discontent is at its greatest height, and the royal government is on its last legs."—"I cannot tell what futurity promises to us; but whatever our fate may be, we cannot be worse off than we are at present. Our resources are dwindling away daily; we are becoming home-sick. If we were not a little upheld by hope, I really do not know what would become of us. Has the Emperor allowed you to remain with us?"—"Yes, Monsieur le Maréchal."—"I give you joy, but I pity you. There is no happiness out of one's own country. I do not regret having followed the Emperor—this step was dictated to me by my duty and my gratitude; but I regret France, like an infant who has lost its mother; like a lover who has lost his mistress." The Grand Marshal's eyes were filled with tears; he pressed my hand affectionately, and then said, "Come and breakfast with us to-morrow morning. I will introduce you to my wife; it will be as good as a fête to her when she has an opportunity of receiving a Frenchman, and above all, a true Frenchman."
It was soon known all over the town, that a Frenchman had arrived from the continent. My inn was besieged by a crowd of officers and grenadiers, who overwhelmed me with inquiries after their friends and relations. They seemed to think that I must be acquainted with every living creature in France. Many inquired respecting the state of public affairs. I evaded their interrogatories, by declaring that I had quitted France five months since.
I waited on the Grand Marshal according to his invitation. He resided in one wing of the building occupied by the municipality. In his apartment, there was hardly any thing to be seen except the four walls. He took notice that I was surveying its appearance.—"You are contemplating our misery," said he: "Perhaps it contrasts itself with the opinion which you may have formed respecting our situation. It is supposed throughout Europe, that the Emperor carried off immense treasures; but his camp-plate, his camp bed, and a few broken down horses, are the only objects which he has preserved, or which he wished to preserve. Like Saladin, he could cause an outcry to be made at his door, whilst he exposes our tatters,—behold all that Napoleon the Great, the conqueror of the universe, has retained from his conquests!"
The General was as good as his word: he introduced me to Madame la Maréchale. I was enchanted by her manners and her amiability. Our conversation turned upon France and the Isle of Elba, the present and the future; and on quitting Madame Bertrand, I did not know what I ought most to admire—the lively graces of her mind, or the dignity and energy of her character.