The Diplomatists of Europe

by M. Capefigue

The coalition was now victorious; its advanced guard had reached the banks of the Rhine. Still they could not refrain from a degree of secret terror as they approached the French territory, which was still pervaded by the presiding genius of Napoleon. The army of Bernadotte was separated from the allies to march against Holstein, invade Denmark, and prepare a rising in Holland; and General Pozzo di Borgo quitted him to proceed on a mission to Frankfort, to concert military operations with the allies. They had there a better opportunity of judging of the state of public feeling in France, and were able to study the progress that had been made by the different opinions and parties against the imperial government. The Emperor's administration had surpassed itself; the Senate had voted troops upon troops, the levies proceeded with extraordinary energy, and they sought by every means, pamphlets, songs, operas—in short, nothing was neglected to re-awaken the cry of national independence in the breasts of the French nation. But though from the powerful organisation of the empire every thing appeared clear on the surface, its stability went no deeper; there was an under-current of murmurs, complete dissatisfaction, and weariness of mind; commerce was annihilated, leaving the unemployed workmen no resource but a musket, and no choice but of seeking bread or death with the army. Secret agitations began to be whispered about every where; the legislative body had separated itself from Napoleon by a protest, executed under the influence of discontent, and of MM. Lainé and Reynouard, and it had in consequence been dissolved; the council of the regency of Maria Louisa was composed of timid, hesitating men; some, like Talleyrand, ready to abandon a falling cause; the people called for a termination of this state of affairs, and gloomy, foreboding clouds hung on the brow of Napoleon.

Existing circumstances certainly offered a favourable opportunity for invading the imperial territory; but were the allies well agreed upon the end they proposed to themselves? Were they all actuated by the same interests? Although Austria had made an effort to shake off the enormous power of Napoleon, would she be willing to ruin the son-in-law of her own emperor, Francis II., especially when the advantages resulting from it would fall principally to the share of Russia and Prussia, whose power had been already excessively augmented by the late events? Having regained the territories of which Napoleon had formerly deprived her, why should she join in the invasion of France, and aim a last blow at a nation so necessary to the balance of power in Europe? Even England, though the determined enemy of Buonaparte, could not fail to entertain some degree of uneasiness in observing the immense increase of the Russian influence, and the ministers were assailed with incessant questions as to the object and probable termination of the war. All these circumstances caused a dread that the coalition was ready to fall to pieces at the very moment its great object had been attained. This state of affairs soon became evident to the diplomatic chiefs assembled at the conference of Frankfort, and Pozzo di Borgo was despatched by the three sovereigns on a mission to the Prince Regent to request the presence of Lord Castlereagh, the English prime minister, at head-quarters, in order to strengthen the bands of the coalition and determine its object. The general lost no time in accomplishing his voyage, and arrived in London in the beginning of January 1814, while parliament was sitting, and just at the time when Lord Castlereagh had been obliged to enter into an explanation in answer to the pressing requisitions of the Whigs. He was the bearer of an autograph letter to the Prince Regent from the allied sovereigns, by which they engaged to follow the most moderate measures, and as far as possible to keep the balance of power in Europe in view, so as to remove any fears on the part of England. It was just six years since Pozzo di Borgo, as a proscribed person, had last visited that country, and under what different auspices he now returned to it! He came as the organ of the triumphant coalition, and his reception was distinguished by all the magnificence and joy inspired by the late victories. With what cordiality Lord Wellesley pressed his hand! "I believe, my dear Pozzo," said the marquess, "you and I are the two men who most earnestly desire the fall of Buonaparte." Lord Castlereagh had already begun to entertain some thoughts of the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, and he communicated his idea to General Pozzo di Borgo, who replied, "You are well aware, my lord, that we must never present any but a perfectly simple idea to the sovereigns; complicated matters do not take hold of their minds. Let us first overturn Buonaparte,—this is a thing we shall easily make the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia understand,—and then afterwards, when the coast is clear, we can return to examine the second difficulty." "Very well," said Lord Castlereagh, "whom do you wish us to send to the Continent?" "If Mr. Pitt were alive," replied the general, "I would tell him to hold himself in readiness; it is sufficient to make you understand that we are most anxious to see you in person on the Rhine, that the question may not get perplexed and confused."

It was with these opinions that Pozzo di Borgo visited the French princes, especially the Comte d'Artois. His royal highness was anxious to appear at head-quarters, and blend the idea of a restoration with the plan of the campaign of the allies, but General Pozzo strongly opposed his design. "Monseigneur," said he, "you are well aware of my devotion to your person and to your interests, but do not come to spoil our game; we still have great difficulties to overcome effecting the fall of Napoleon, when that point is gained it will be necessary to turn to something else, and your turn and your name will naturally occur."

It was a matter of some delicacy to obtain the departure of Lord Castlereagh and the full and entire adhesion of England to the coalition; they were obliged to work at it a long while with the Prince Regent and some influential members of parliament; at last, at a dinner given by Lady Castlereagh, the English minister, on rising from table, said to the emperor's messenger, "Well, my dear Pozzo, it is decided that I am to accompany you; the Prince Regent has given me an autograph letter for the sovereigns, and we shall act in concert and good fellowship with you." The two diplomatists embraced each other with delight, two days afterwards they embarked for the Continent, and in three weeks rejoined the sovereigns at Baden.

Lord Castlereagh's arrival at head-quarters strengthened the unity of the alliance and enabled them to form some resolutions for the general benefit, and also to decide upon the plan of the political campaign about to be commenced against Buonaparte. England had never recognised the Emperor of the French, and in all the acts of parliament, as well as those of the cabinet, he had no other designation than that of the common enemy, or the head of the government, a circumstance which facilitated Pozzo di Borgo's labours with Lord Castlereagh towards gaining the object he had in view, viz., the complete overthrow of Napoleon. The English minister, who was armed with full powers, laid down as the fundamental principle of all their diplomatic transactions, that France, although necessary to the balance of power in Europe, must be reduced within her ancient territorial limits, a principle which almost inevitably involved the restoration of the ancient dynasty. This, however, was only mentioned in the acts, both public and secret, of the congress, as a possibility reserved for a further consideration of the French question.

One of the most important principles laid down in the political plan of the alliance was the separation of the question concerning Napoleon from those regarding the interests of France. This line of conduct was recommended by Bernadotte, Pozzo di Borgo, and the patriot party, who were the enemies of the emperor, and it was formally announced in the public acts of Frankfort and the proclamations of all the allied troops who crossed the Rhine. Their great object was to weaken the common enemy, at the same time that they promised France that her ancient territory should remain untouched, and hinted at the possibility of establishing a constitution independent of the emperor. By adopting this plan they summoned all disaffected persons to the assistance of the coalition; and, without entering into engagements with any one party, they offered to all the hope of bringing their pretensions and wishes to a favourable issue; they even contrived to conciliate the partisans of a republican form of government as well as the advocates of the regency of Maria Louisa.

Pozzo di Borgo continued attached to the person of the Emperor Alexander during the whole of the operations of 1814, that glorious but melancholy campaign where the military genius of Napoleon shone with so brilliant a lustre—a bright ray emanating from that star which appeared but for a fleeting moment, soon to grow dim and set for ever! During the negotiations at Chatillon, General Pozzo urged the rejection of all the propositions of the French emperor, and also that the time and circumstances granted by the coalition to him whose attempts had so often been crowned with victory, should have a limit defined with the utmost accuracy. "Grant no armistice, but march en masse straight to Paris!" Such was the advice of Pozzo di Borgo, to whom some overtures had already been made by Talleybrand and the disaffected party in the capital. Had the preliminaries of peace been accepted, a treaty might possibly have been entered into at Chatillon with Napoleon and Maria Louisa; but how would it have been possible for the emperor to submit to the ancient limits of France, without exposing himself to inevitable ruin in the interior of his kingdom? M. de Caulaincourt, it is true, received orders to accede to the proposed conditions, but it was then too late. It would, however, have been impossible for Napoleon to have continued peaceably on the throne, even had pacific terms been granted him, under existing circumstances; for his government would have been overturned by an internal revolution. How could the victorious emperor, who had given laws to the world, now in his turn submit to receive laws from the whole of Europe combined against him? And, supposing he had returned to Paris with the humiliating treaties which deprived France of all her conquests and reduced her within the narrow limits she formerly occupied, would not the loss of his throne have been, sooner or later, the inevitable consequence of such a change of circumstances? Would not discontent have reared its head at every step he took? Or would his government still have retained sufficient power and influence to secure him the possession of absolute dominion? As soon as peace had been proclaimed, the adverse parties would have burst forth with violence, and Napoleon have been overcome by a republican insurrection. They would have said to the emperor, "What have you done with the conquests of the republic and with the legions it bequeathed to you?" And, to escape from the tumult of public opinion, the emperor would have been forced again to engage in some military enterprise. "The peace you grant to Napoleon," said Pozzo di Borgo, "will merely be giving him an opportunity of recruiting his strength, and in less than a year you will find him again engaged in an attack upon your territories; with the spirit of a gambler, he will stake his last crown upon his last card."

For the sake of giving a powerful unity to the alliance, the sovereigns signed the famous treaty of Chaumont, which was a general coalition of the whole of Europe against the common enemy; they declared, in the first place, that they would not separate until they had attained the objects they proposed to themselves, which were a general peace and the establishment of independence and of the rights of all the nations of Europe. In addition to this, it was agreed that each power was to keep up a standing army of 150,000 men besides those in garrison; England undertook to furnish immense subsidies; and they engaged mutually to support each other with a formidable armed contingent, in case any of the governments should be threatened. The campaign then proceeded with fresh vigour, and the advance upon Paris produced all the effect anticipated by the sovereigns. I will not describe the sad events that succeeded; they are, alas! but too well known. General Pozzo di Borgo was in the suite of the Emperor Alexander when he entered the city, and from that time forth he assumed the part of a mediator between France and the allies.