The Emperor dictated during part of the day, and he felt himself much better.
At dinner we had literally scarcely any thing to eat. The Governor continued his successive reductions. The Emperor ordered some additional provisions to be purchased and paid for out of the produce of the sale of his plate.
The Governor intimated that the allowance of wine should continue fixed at one bottle for each person, the Emperor included. Will it be credited? One bottle for a mother and her children! these were the words used in the note.
The Emperor retired to his own apartment, and sent for me to attend him. “I am not inclined to sleep,” said he, “and I sent for you to help me to keep my vigil; let us have a little chat together.” The turn of the conversation led us to speak of the Island of Elba, of the Emperor’s occupations, sensations, and opinions while he continued there; finally, his return to France, and the brilliant success which attended him, and which, he said, he never for a moment doubted. Many observations were repeated, which I have already noted down at different times. At one moment he said: “They may explain this as they will: but I assure you, I never entertained any direct or personal hatred of those whose power I subverted. To me it was merely a political contest: I was astonished myself to find my heart free from animosity, and, I may add, animated by good will towards my enemies. You saw how I released the Duke d’Angoulême; and I would have done the same by the King, and even have granted him an asylum of his own choosing. The triumph of the cause in no way depended on his person, and I respected his age and his misfortunes. Perhaps also I felt grateful for a certain degree of consideration which he in particular had observed towards me. It is true that, at the moment to which I am now alluding, he had, I believe, outlawed me and set a price upon my head; but I looked upon all this as belonging to the manifesto style. The same kind of denunciations were also issued by the Austrian government, without, however, giving me much uneasiness; though I must confess that my dear father-in-law was rather too hard with the husband of his beloved daughter.”
Since I have once more had occasion to mention the Emperor’s return from the Island of Elba, this is, perhaps, the proper place to fulfil the promise I have made of giving a narrative of the circumstances connected with that extraordinary event. I here combine together the statements that fell from him at different times.
Napoleon was residing at the Island of Elba, on the faith of treaties, when he learned that at the Congress of Vienna some idea was entertained of transporting him from Europe. None of the articles of the treaty of Fontainebleau were fulfilled. The public papers informed him of the state of feeling in France, and he accordingly formed his determination. He kept the secret until the last moment;[[26]] and, under one pretence or another, means were found for making the requisite preparations. It was not until they were all on board that the troops first conceived a suspicion of the Emperor’s purpose: a thousand or twelve hundred men had set sail to regain possession of an empire containing a population of thirty millions!
There were nearly five or six hundred men on board the brig in which Napoleon embarked; this was, he said, the crew of a seventy-four. They fell in with a French brig of war, which they spoke. It was asserted that the captain of the French brig recognised them, and at parting cried out three times, “A good voyage to you!” At all events, the officer who commanded the Emperor’s vessel, proposed to pursue and capture the brig. The Emperor rejected the idea as absurd; such a proceeding could only have been excusable, had necessity demanded it. “Why,” said he, “should I introduce this new incident into my plan? What advantage should I derive from its success? To what risks would its failure expose me!”
After the check they experienced on landing, by the capture of twenty men who had been sent to summon Antibes, a variety of opinions was advanced, and urged with some warmth. Some proposed that they should make immediately an attack and carry Antibes, in order to obviate the evil consequences which might ensue from the resistance of that place and the imprisonment of the twenty men. The Emperor replied that the taking of Antibes would be no step towards the conquest of France; that, during the brief interval that would be occupied in the execution of that project, a general alarm would be raised throughout the country; and that obstacles would be opposed to them in the only course which it was expedient they should pursue. He added that time was valuable; and that the ill consequences of the affair of Antibes might be effectually obviated by marching forward with sufficient speed to anticipate the news. An officer of the guard indirectly hinted that it was not right thus to abandon the twenty men who had been made prisoners; but the Emperor merely observed that he had formed a poor idea of the magnitude of the enterprise; that, if half of his followers were in the same situation, he would not scruple to abandon them in the same manner; and that if they were all made prisoners, he would march forward alone.[[27]]
A few hours before nightfall he landed at the gulf of Juan, where he bivouacked. Soon after, a postilion in splendid livery was conducted to him. It turned out that this man had formerly been in the Imperial household. He had been a domestic of the Empress Josephine’s, and was now in the service of the Prince of Monaco, who himself had been equerry to the Empress. The postilion, on being questioned by the Emperor, informed him, after expressing his great astonishment at finding him there, that he had just come from Paris, and that he was sure he would every where be joyfully greeted. He affirmed that all along the road, as far as Avignon[Avignon], he had heard nothing but regret for the Emperor’s absence; that his name was publicly in every mouth, and that, when once fairly through Provence, he would find the whole population ready to rally round him. The man added, that his splendid livery had frequently rendered him the object of odium and insult. This was the testimony of one of the common class of society: it was very gratifying to the Emperor, and entirely corresponded with his expectations. The Prince of Monaco himself, on being presented to Napoleon, was less explicit. Napoleon refrained from questioning him on political matters: there were persons present, and he did not wish to incur the risk of eliciting any detail which might create unfavourable impressions on those about him. The conversation therefore assumed a lively character, and turned entirely on the ladies of the Imperial court of the Tuileries, concerning whom Napoleon made the minutest inquiries.
As soon as the moon had risen, which was about one or two o’clock in the morning, the bivouack broke up, and Napoleon gave orders for proceeding to Grasse. There he expected to find a road which he had ordered during the Empire. However, the design had not been executed, and he was reduced to the necessity of passing through narrow defiles filled with snow. He therefore left behind him, in the charge of the municipality of Grasse, his carriage and two pieces of cannon, which had been brought ashore: this was termed a capture in the bulletins of the time.