Paris and France were at that time in repose; all things seemed to work together for order, and the general state of subjection to be complete. The Emperor went first to Champagne. He passed a day at the fine old château of Brienne, in order that he might visit the scenes of his childhood. Mme. de Brienne professed extreme enthusiasm for him, and, as worship was not displeasing to him, he behaved to her with great amiability. It was amusing just then, to see some of her kinsfolk at Paris receiving the lively letters she wrote to them on this Imperial visit. However, as she described events, these letters produced a good effect in what we call here “good society.” Success is easy to the powerful; they must needs be very ill-natured or very blundering when they fail to please.
A few days after all these grand departures, the following paragraph appeared in the “Moniteur”: “Monsieur Jérôme Bonaparte has arrived at Lisbon, on board an American vessel. Among the passengers are Mr. and Miss Patterson. M. Jérôme immediately, took the post for Madrid. Mr. and Miss Patterson have reëmbarked. It is understood that they have returned to America.” I believe that they crossed to England.
This Mr. Patterson was no other than the father-in-law of Jérôme, who, having fallen in love while in America with the daughter of an American merchant, had made her his wife, persuading himself that, after some displeasure on his brother’s part, he should obtain his forgiveness. But Bonaparte, who was already forming other projects for his family, was highly incensed, annulled the marriage, and forced his brother to an immediate separation. Jérôme traveled to Italy, and joined him at Turin, but was very badly received. He was ordered to join one of our fleets then cruising in the Mediterranean, remained at sea for a considerable time, and was not restored to favor until several months afterward.
Throughout all France the Emperor was welcomed with genuine enthusiasm. He stayed at Lyons, where he secured the good will of the traders by issuing decrees favorable to their interests. He crossed Mont Cenis and remained a few days at Turin.
Meanwhile M. de Rémusat had reached Milan, where he met Prince Eugène, who received him with his characteristic cordiality. The Prince questioned my husband as to what had taken place in Paris since he had left that city, and succeeded in eliciting some details concerning Mme. de X—— which were very grievous to his feelings. M. de Rémusat wrote to me that, pending the arrival of the Court, he was leading a tolerably quiet life. He explored Milan, which seemed to him a dull town, and its palace was dull also. The inhabitants showed little affection for the French. The nobles shut themselves up in their houses, under the pretext that they were not rich enough to do the honors of the place in a fitting style. Prince Eugène endeavored to collect them about him, but succeeded imperfectly. The Italians, still in a state of suspense, did not know whether to rejoice or repine at the novel destiny which we forced upon them.
M. de Rémusat sent me at this period some rather curious details of the life of the Milanese. Their ignorance of all that constitutes agreeable society; the absolute non-existence among them of family life, the husbands, strangers to their wives, leaving them to the care of a cavaliere servente; the dullness of the theatres; the darkness of the house, whither people go in morning-dress, to occupy themselves in the nearly closed boxes with anything rather than listening to the opera; the want of variety in the performances; the difference between the costumes and those of France—all these things gave M. de Rémusat matter for remarks, which were all to the advantage of our beloved country, while they also increased his desire to return to France and to me.
During this time the Emperor was revisiting the scenes of his former victories. He held a grand review on the battle-field of Marengo, and distributed crosses on that occasion. The troops who had been massed together on the pretext of this review, and remained afterward in the neighborhood of the Adige, furnished a reason or pretext on which the Austrian Government strengthened their already very powerful line of defense behind this river; and French policy took offense at these precautions.
On the 9th of May the Emperor reached Milan. His presence caused great excitement in the town, and the circumstances attending the coronation aroused the same ambition as they had caused in Paris. The highest nobles of Milan began to long for the new distinctions and the advantages appertaining to them; independence and unity of government were held out to the Italians, and they gave themselves up to the hopes they were allowed to conceive.
Immediately on the arrival of the Court at Milan, I was struck by the dismal tone of M. de Rémusat’s letters, and soon afterward I learned that he was suffering from his master’s displeasure. The naval officer of whom I have spoken, a satirical spectator of what was going on at Milan, having taken it into his head to write to Paris some lively and rather sarcastic accounts of what was passing before his eyes, his letters had been opened, and M. de Rémusat was ordered to send him back to Paris. He was not at first told the reason for this order, and it was only at a later period that he learned its cause. The displeasure of the Emperor was not confined to the secretary; it fell also on him who had brought him to Italy.
Besides this, Prince Eugène let fall some of the details he had obtained in confidence from my husband; and, finally, it was discovered from our letters, as I have said before, that our thoughts and aspirations were not entirely centered in the interests of our places at Court. These causes were sufficient to anger a master who was by nature irascible; and so, according to his custom of using men for his own advantage when they could be useful to him, whatever might be his feelings toward them, he exacted from my husband a service of the most rigid punctuality, because the length of time M. de Rémusat had passed at Court had given him experience in a ceremonial which daily became more minute, and to which the Emperor attached greater importance. At the same time he treated him with harshness and severity, repeating continually to those who, with good reason, would praise the high and estimable qualities of my husband, “All that you say may be true, but he does not belong to me as I wish him to belong to me.” This reproach was always on his lips during the years we passed in his service, and perhaps there is some merit in our never having ceased to deserve it.