"Will your majesty promise him Constantinople?" asked Champagny.
"Yes," said Napoleon, smiling, "promise! But I do not intend to perform. Never will I consent to give Constantinople to the Emperor of Russia, for I would thereby surrender the key of a universal monarchy into his hands—he would be at once master of Europe and Asia. He often instructed Caulaincourt to assure me he did not want the whole of Turkey; he did not claim any territory south of the Balkan, nor any part of Roumelia—not even Adrianople—only Constantinople with its neighborhood. He calls it the 'Cat's Tongue,' from its shape, and is more anxious to obtain it than the ancient Romans ever were to indulge in the delicacy of the tongues of nightingales. But if Russia possessed this cat's tongue, it would be transformed into a wolf's, armed with formidable teeth against all commerce and national intercourse. Never shall I permit Russia to annex Constantinople, for that would be destroying the equilibrium of Europe."
"But, sire, you yourself said just now that the Emperor Alexander was most anxious to seize that city, and that the object of his journey to Erfurt was principally to obtain the consent of your majesty to its conquest."
"And I told you also that my object was to dupe and intoxicate him gradually by delusive friendship and promises, by festivities and false homage, until it is indifferent to him whether, as a compensation for the acquisition of Spain by my brother, I give him Constantinople and the Balkan, or something else, provided it is palatable. He has an awful appetite for territory, and it is important to satisfy it in one way or another. It is easy to persuade a hungry man that a very common dish is good roast meat. It is our business, therefore, to suggest to the emperor and his minister another conquest instead of Constantinople, and so to dress up the idea that they may relish it, and ask for nothing else."
"Ah, sire," exclaimed Champagny, sighing, "it will be easy for your majesty to fascinate the emperor. But my efforts with his old minister Romanzoff are likely to be utterly unavailing. I am not well versed in that art of which you are a master, and he is too old and shrewd to be fascinated by any one. He is not easily deluded, and his eyes are steadfastly fixed on Constantinople. It is his most fervent hope to be hailed in heaven by Peter the Great, after assisting Alexander in accomplishing the will of his illustrious ancestor."
"And yet we must succeed," exclaimed Napoleon, stamping on the floor. "I tell you, Champagny, I will and must succeed! No objections! I told you that I have made up my mind, and nothing can shake my determination. You will commence by encouraging Romanzoff in his hopes, and throw out only, now and then, a vague hint that there are countries, the annexation of which would be more important and advantageous to Russia. After having prepared his mind in this manner for our plan, you will gradually, and as soon as I have gained over the emperor, point out to him the conquest which Russia ought previously to make, and prove to him that Moldavia and Wallachia would be the very best territorial aggrandizement which he could desire."
"Your majesty intends, then, to permit the Emperor of Russia to annex Moldavia and Wallachia?" asked the minister.
"Yes. I must satisfy him with some compensation for Constantinople. And, it seems to me, the fertile provinces of the Danube, if I grant them to him immediately and unreservedly, are an acquisition which ought to content any ambition. I cannot do without the friendship of Alexander at this moment. Spain is in a state of insurrection, and, owing to Joseph's timidity, will not be soon reduced to submission. Austria is trying to get up a quarrel with us; she is secretly and perfidiously preparing for an attack, and is only waiting for fresh defeats of my army in Spain to declare war against me. Prussia, it is true, is not able to injure me, for I am keeping her under my heel; but if I were compelled to withdraw my foot for an instant, she would slip away and unite with my enemies. Nor do I trust my other allies in Germany. They are faithful and devoted only so long as they are afraid of me; they would forsake me as soon as they see my position endangered. They submitted reluctantly to my orders to furnish me with auxiliaries for my army in Spain. If I were to insist on another levy, all these petty princes of the Confederation of the Rhine would flatly refuse, provided there was a prospect of their succeeding in their opposition. I must keep them down by the terror with which I inspire them. I must prove to all those revolutionary elements fermenting in Germany—to insurgents, from the throne to the cottage—to all those miserable conspirators and demagogues—that I stand as firm as a rock, from which their fury will recoil. United with Russia, I will make all Europe tremble. The echoes of the festivities of Erfurt shall penetrate everywhere, from London to Constantinople; the whole world looks upon us and sees the Emperors of Russia and France side by side. Amid these enchantments I believe I shall succeed in persuading my friend Alexander to accept temporarily Moldavia and Wallachia as a sufficient indemnity for Constantinople. You know your duty now, Champagny; lay your mines skilfully, and you will succeed in blowing up the old granite fortress of Romanzoff."
"Sire, I assure you I will assist you to the best of my ability," said the minister. "Your majesty, however, will permit me to ask a question. The promise of the annexation of Moldavia and Wallachia is not to be a mere sham, and your majesty will really permit Russia to seize these two provinces?"
Napoleon smiled, and, violently pulling the minister's ear in his usual jocular way, said, "What a rash and indiscreet question! Of course, we shall promise the annexation. When it is to be fulfilled we must delay it as long as possible, and the rest will depend on events. In order that I may know exactly how far you have progressed with Romanzoff, you will write down your conversations with him every day, and also your plans, hopes, and fears; I desire to have every night a letter from you on the table at my bedside. Adieu!" He nodded pleasantly, and while Champagny withdrew, the emperor called in a loud voice for Constant, his valet de chambre.