Napoleon again went on: “You, Soldiers of the National Guard of Paris, swear never to permit the foreigner to desecrate again the capital of the Great Nation! To your courage I commit it!” Cries of “We swear!” repeated continuously amidst a tumult of clamour, once more burst forth.
Napoleon continued and concluded, turning to his favourite Pretorians: “Soldiers of the Imperial Guard, swear to surpass yourselves in the campaign which is now about to open, to die round your Eagles rather than permit foreigners to dictate terms to your country!” He ceased after that, and once again the air vibrated with shouts of “We swear! We swear!” and ejaculations of “Vive l’Empereur!” from the soldiers and the throng of onlookers cramming the stands around.[40]
The military finale of the day was the march past of the assembled troops before the Emperor, in slow time, headed by the Eagles. “Nothing could have been more imposing,” says one of the spectators, “than this concluding display in the magnificent pageant. Amid the crash of military music, the blaze of martial decoration, the glitter of innumerable arms, 50,000 men passed by. The immense concourse of beholders, their prolonged shouts and cheers, the occasion, the Man, the mighty events which hung in suspense, all concurred to excite feelings and reflections which only such a scene could have produced.” On the other hand, we have this from a colder critic of the scene: “The display was without heart, and theatrical; the vows of the soldiers were made without warmth. There was but little real enthusiasm: the shouts were not those of future victors of another Austerlitz and Wagram, and the Emperor knew it!” Which are we to believe?
According to Savary, who was close beside him, Napoleon, for his part, was satisfied with the enthusiasm of the soldiers. “The Emperor left the Field of Mars confident that he might rely on the sentiments then manifested towards him, and from that moment his only care was to meet the storm that was forming in Belgium.”
ON THE REGIMENTAL PARADES
The new Eagles left Paris that night with their escorts. Each, on its arrival where its regiment was stationed, was received with elaborate ceremony, and formally presented on parade to the assembled officers and men; a religious service being held in addition in some cases, at which all were sworn individually to give their lives in its defence. This, for instance, is what took place with one regiment, the 22nd of the Line, stationed with the advanced division of Grouchy’s Army Corps on the Belgian frontier at Couvins, near Rocroy, in the Ardennes. “The new Eagle,” describes one of the officers, “all fresh from the gilder’s shop, was solemnly blessed in the church of Couvins; then each soldier, touching it with his hand, swore individually to defend it to the death. After the religious service the regiment formed in square, and the colonel delivered an address, in which he recalled the old glories of the 22nd of the Line, and expressed his conviction that the regiment would worthily uphold the old-time fame of the corps in the coming campaign. The glowing language was received with great emotion, and as of happy augury for the future.”[41]
CHAPTER XIII
AT WATERLOO
“Ave Caesar! Morituri te Salutant!”
The Eagles figure in four episodes in the story of Waterloo.
They had their part at the outset in that intensely dramatic display on the morning of the battle, when, before the eyes of Wellington’s soldiers, drawn up with muskets loaded and bayonets fixed, and guns in position ready to open fire, Napoleon passed his army in review; the last parade of the Last Army on the day of its last battle. Said Napoleon himself afterwards, in words that are in keeping with the resplendent spectacle: “The earth seemed proud to bear so many brave men!” (“La terre paraissait orgueilleuse de porter tant de braves!”)