| The Emperor was born | Aug. 15, 1769 |
| Entered the military school of Brienne | 1779 |
| Transferred to the school of Paris | 1783 |
| Lieutenant in the 1st Artillery regiment of | |
| la Fère | Sept. 1, 1785 |
| Captain | Feb. 6, 1792 |
| Chief of Battalion | Oct. 19, 1793 |
| General of Brigade | Feb. 6, 1794 |
| General of Division | Oct. 16, 1795 |
| General-in-Chief of the army of the Interior | Oct. 26, 1795 |
| General-in-Chief of the army of Italy | Feb. 23, 1796 |
| First Consul | Dec. 13, 1799 |
| Consul for life | Aug. 2, 1802 |
| Emperor | May 18, 1804 |
| Crowned | Dec. 2, 1804 |
| First abdication at Fontainbleau | April 11, 1814 |
| Resumed the reins of government | Mar. 20, 1815 |
| Second abdication at l’Elysée | June 21, 1815 |
[18]. The deposit at the house of Lafitte.
On the Emperor’s second abdication, somebody who loved him for his own sake, and who knew his improvident disposition, eagerly enquired whether any measures had been taken for his future support. Finding that no provision had been made, and that Napoleon remained absolutely destitute, a contribution was made, and four or five millions were raised for him, of which M. Lafitte became the depositary.
At the moment of his departure from Malmaison, the solicitude of Napoleon’s real friends was not less serviceable to him.—An individual, aware of the disorder and confusion of our situation, wished to ascertain whether the little treasure had been forwarded to its destination. What was his astonishment on learning that the carriage in which it had been placed was left in a coach-house at Malmaison. A new difficulty arose: the key of the coach-house was not to be found; and the embarrassment occasioned by this unexpected circumstance delayed our departure for some moments. M. Lafitte wished immediately to give the Emperor a receipt for the sum; but Napoleon would not accept it—saying, “I know you, M. Lafitte—I know that you did not approve of my government: but I consider you as an honest man.”
M. Lafitte seems to have been doomed to be the depositary of the funds of unfortunate Monarchs. Louis XVIII., on his departure for Ghent, also placed a considerable sum of money in his hands. On Napoleon’s arrival, on the 20th of March, M. Lafitte was sent for by the Emperor, and questioned respecting the deposit, which he did not deny. On his expressing his apprehension lest a reproach should be intended to be conveyed in the questions which had been put to him;—“None,” said the Emperor: “that money belonged personally to the King, and private affairs are totally distinct from political matters.”
[19]. After my removal from Longwood, Sir Hudson Lowe, who had seized my papers, looked over this Journal, with my permission. He, of course, met with parts which were very displeasing to him; and he said to me: “What a pretty legacy you are preparing for my children, Count!”—“That is not my fault,” replied I; “it depends only on yourself to render it otherwise; I shall be happy to have reason to strike out any thing respecting you, as I did the other day with regard to Sir Robert Wilson.” Upon which he asked me what I had written about Sir Robert, and I pointed out the place. After reading all that had been written, and my reasons for cancelling it, he said, with a thoughtful and mortified air: “Yes, I see; but I can’t tell what to make of it; for I know Wilson well, and he has proved himself a warm friend of the Bourbons.”
We leaped for joy when we heard of the deliverance of Lavalette. Some one observed, that his deliverer, Wilson, could not be the same individual who had written so many offensive things concerning the Emperor. “And why not?” said Napoleon. “You[“You] know but little of men, and the passions that actuate them. What leads you to suppose that Sir Robert Wilson is not a man of enthusiasm and violent passions, who wrote what he then believed to be true? And while we were enemies we contended with each other; but in our present adversity he knows better: he may have been abused, and deceived, and may be sorry for it; and he is perhaps now as sincere in wishing us well as he formerly was in seeking to injure us.”
Either sagacity or chance so happily led the Emperor to this conclusion that it may be said he was enabled to read character at a distance. Sir R. Wilson was indeed the man who wrote against Napoleon. Vexed to see a great people deprived of their natural rights, he reproached the allies as bitterly as though they had imposed chains on himself, and no one has manifested stronger indignation at the treatment of Napoleon, or testified a more ardent wish to see it end.
[20]. The most valuable information respecting these two immortal campaigns will doubtless be furnished by the collection of the orders of the day, and the daily correspondence of the General-in-chief with the Generals and Commissaries of his army. Several volumes of them have been published by Pankouke, under the title of “Correspondance inédite, officielle et confidentielle de Napoléon Bonaparte, &c.” They will altogether furnish the most excellent and useful lessons to the students of the military art.
[21]. A cameo of Augustus, a mere sketch, but admirably designed. Napoleon gave it to General Andreossi, who was a great collector of antiquities; but M. Denon, who was at that time absent, having afterwards seen this cameo, was struck with its resemblance to Napoleon, who then had the stone returned to him and kept it. It afterwards fell into the possession of Josephine, and M. Denon does not know what has since become of it. (This information was furnished to me by M. Denon since my return to France.)