The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete

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The city of Paris did homage to her Majesty the Empress by presenting her
with a toilet set even more magnificent than that formerly presented to
the Empress Josephine. Everything was in silver gilt, even the arm chair
and the cheval glass. The paintings on the exquisite furniture had been
made by the first artists, and the elegance and finish of the ornaments
surpassed even the rich ness of the materials.

About the end of April their Majesties set out together to visit the
departments of the North; and the journey was an almost exact repetition
of the one I made in 1804 with the Emperor, only the Empress was no
longer the good, kind Josephine. While passing again through all these
towns, where I had seen her welcomed with so much enthusiasm, and who now
addressed the same adoration and homage to a new sovereign, and while
seeing again the chateaux of Lacken, Brussels, Antwerp, Boulogne, and
many other places where I had seen Josephine pass in triumph, as at
present Marie Louise passed, I thought with chagrin of the isolation of
the first wife from her husband, and the suffering which must penetrate
even into her retreat, as she was told of the honors rendered to the one
who had succeeded her in the Emperor's heart and on the Imperial throne.

The King and Queen of Westphalia and Prince Eugene accompanied their
Majesties. We saw a vessel with eighty cannon launched at Antwerp, which
received, before leaving the docks, the benediction of M. de Pradt,
Archbishop of Malines. The King of Holland, who joined the Emperor at
Antwerp, felt most unkindly towards his Majesty, who had recently
required of him the cession of a part of his states, and soon after
seized the remainder. He was, however, present in Paris at the marriage
fetes of the Emperor, who had even sent him to meet Marie Louise; but the
two brothers had not ceased their mutual distrust of each other, and it
must be admitted that that of King Louis had only too good foundation.
What struck me as very singular in their altercations was that the
Emperor, in the absence of his brother, gave vent to the most terrible
bursts of rage, and to violent threats against him, while if they had an
interview they treated each other in the most amicable and familiar and
brotherly manner. Apart they were, the one, Emperor of the French, the
other, King of Holland, with opposite interests and views; together they
were no more than, if I may be permitted to so express myself, Napoleon
and Louis, companions and friends from childhood.

Prince Louis was habitually sad and melancholy. The annoyances he
experienced on the throne, where he had been placed against his will,
added to his domestic troubles, made him evidently very unhappy, and all
who knew him pitied him sincerely; for King Louis was an excellent
master, and an honest man of much merit. It has been said that when the
Emperor had decided on the union of Holland and France, King Louis
resolved to defend himself in the town of Amsterdam to the last
extremity, and to break the dikes and inundate the whole country if
necessary, in order to arrest the invasion of the French troops. I do
not know whether this is true; but from what I have seen of this prince's
character, I am very sure that, while having enough personal courage to
expose his own person to all the chances of this desperate alternative,
his naturally kind heart and his humanity would have prevented the
execution of this project.

At Middleburg the Emperor embarked on board the Charlemagne to visit the
mouth of the Scheldt and the port and island of Flushing. During this
excursion we were assailed by a terrible tempest, three anchors were
broken in succession; we met with other accidents, and encountered great
dangers.

The Emperor was made very sick, and every few moments threw himself on
his bed, making violent but unsuccessful efforts to vomit, which rendered
his sickness more distressing. I was fortunate enough not to be at all
inconvenienced, and was thus in a position to give him all the attention
he required; though all the persons of his suite were sick, and my uncle,
who was usher on duty, and obliged to remain standing at the door of his
Majesty's cabin, fell over continually, and suffered agony. During this
time of torment, which lasted for three days, the Emperor was bursting
with impatience. "I think," said he, "that I would have made a pretty
admiral."

A short time after our return from this voyage, the Emperor wished her
Majesty the Empress to learn to ride on horseback; and for this purpose
she went to the riding-hall of Saint-Cloud. Several persons of the
household were in the gallery to see her take her first lesson, I among
the number; and I noticed the tender solicitude of the Emperor for his
young wife, who was mounted on a gentle, well-broken horse, while the
Emperor held her hand and walked by her side, M. Jardin, Sr., holding the
horse's bridle. At the first step the horse made, the Empress screamed
with fright, whereupon the Emperor said to her, "Come, Louise, be brave.
What have you to fear? Am I not here?" And thus the lesson passed, in
encouragement on one side and fright on the other. The next day the
Emperor ordered the persons in the gallery to leave, as they embarrassed
the Empress; but she soon overcame her timidity, and ended by becoming a
very good horsewoman, often racing in the park with her ladies of honor
and Madame the Duchess of Montebello, who also rode with much grace. A
coach with some ladies followed the Empress, and Prince Aldobrandini, her
equerry, never left her in her rides.

The Empress was at an age in which one enjoys balls and fetes; but the
Emperor feared above all things her becoming tired, and consequently
rejoicings and amusements were given up at the court and in the city.
A fete given in honor of their Majesties by the Prince of Schwartzenberg,
ambassador from Austria, ended in a frightful accident.

The prince occupied the former Hotel de la Montesson in the rue de la
Chaussee d'Antin; and in order to give this ball had added to this
residence a broad hall and wooden gallery, decorated with quantities of
flowers, banners, candelabra, etc. Just as the Emperor, who had been
present at the fete for two or three hours, was about to retire, one of
the curtains, blown by the breeze, took fire from the lights, which had
been placed too near the windows, and was instantly in flames. Some
persons made ineffectual efforts to extinguish the fire by tearing down
the drapery and smothering the flames with their hands; but in the
twinkling of an eye the curtains, papers, and garlands caught, and the
wood-work began to burn.

The Emperor was one of the first to perceive the rapid progress of the
fire, and foresee the results. He approached the Empress, who had
already risen to join him, and got out with her, not without some
difficulty, on account of the crowd which rushed towards the doors; the
Queens of Holland, Naples, Westphalia, the Princess Borghese, etc.,
following their Majesties, while the Vice-queen of Italy, who was
pregnant, remained in the hall, on the platform containing the Imperial
boxes. The vice-king, fearing the crowd as much as the fire for his
wife, took her out through a little door that had been cut in the
platform in order to serve refreshments to their Majesties. No one had
thought of this opening before Prince Eugene, and only a few persons went
out with him. Her Majesty the Queen of Westphalia did not think herself
safe, even when she had reached the terrace, and in her fright rushed
into the rue Taitbout, where she was found by a passer-by.

The Emperor accompanied the Empress as far as the entrance of the
Champs-Elysees, where he left her to return to the fire, and did not
re-enter Saint-Cloud until four o'clock in the morning. From the time
of the arrival of the Empress we were in a state of terrible
apprehension, and every one in the chateau was a prey to the greatest
anxiety in regard to the Emperor. At last he arrived unharmed, but very
tired, his clothing all in disorder, and his face blackened with smoke,
his shoes and stockings scorched and burned by the fire. He went
directly to the chamber of the Empress to assure himself if she had
recovered from the fright she had experienced; and then returned to his
room, and throwing his hat on the bed, dropped on a sofa, exclaiming,
"Mon Dieu! What a fete!" I remarked that the Emperor's hands were all
blackened, and he had lost his gloves at the fire. He was much
dejected, and while I was undressing him, asked if I had attended the
prince's fete, and when I replied in the negative, deigned to give me
some details of this deplorable event. The Emperor spoke with an
emotion which I saw him manifest only two or three times in his life,
and which he never showed in regard to his own misfortunes. "The fire,"
said his Majesty, "has to-night devoured a heroic woman. The
sister-in-law of the Prince of Schwartzenberg, hearing from the burning
hall cries which she thought were uttered by her eldest daughter, threw
herself into the midst of the flames, and the floor, already nearly
burned through, broke under her feet, and she disappeared. After all
the poor mother was mistaken, and all her children were out of danger.
Incredible efforts were made, and at last she was recovered from the
flames; but she was entirely dead, and all the attentions of the
physicians have been unsuccessful in restoring her to life." The
emotion of the Emperor increased at the end of this recital. I had
taken care to have his bath in readiness, foreseeing he would need it on
his return; and his Majesty now took it, and after his customary
rubbing, found himself in much better condition. Nevertheless, I
remember his expressing fear that the terrible accident of this night
was the precursor of some fatal event, and he long retained these
apprehensions. Three years after, during the deplorable campaign of
Russia, it was announced to the Emperor one day, that the army-corps
commanded by the Prince of Schwartzenberg had been destroyed, and that
the prince himself had perished; afterwards he found fortunately that
these tidings were false, but when they were brought to his Majesty, he
exclaimed as if replying to an idea that had long preoccupied him, "Then
it was he whom the bad omen threatened."

Towards morning the Emperor sent pages to the houses of all those who had
suffered from the catastrophe with his compliments, and inquiries as to
their condition. Sad answers were brought to his Majesty. Madame the
Princess de la Layen, niece of the Prince Primate, had died from her
wounds; and the lives of General Touzart, his wife, and daughter were
despaired of,--in fact, they died that same day. There were other
victims of this disaster; and among a number of persons who recovered
after long-continued sufferings were Prince Kourakin and Madame Durosnel,
wife of the general of that name.

Prince Kourakin, always remarkable for the magnificence as well as the
singular taste of his toilet, wore at the ball a coat of gold cloth, and
it was this which saved his life, as sparks and cinders slipped off his
coat and the decorations with which he was covered like a helmet; yet,
notwithstanding this, the prince was confined to his bed for several
months. In the confusion he fell on his back, was for some time,
trampled under foot and much injured, and owed his life only to the
presence of mind and strength of a musician, who raised him in his arms
and carried him out of the crowd.

General Durosnel, whose wife fainted in the ball-room, threw himself in
the midst of the flames, and reappeared immediately, bearing in his arms
his precious burden. He bore Madame Durosnel into a house on the
boulevard, where he placed her until he could find a carriage in which to
convey her to his hotel. The Countess Durosnel was painfully burned, and
was ill more than two years. In going from the ambassador's hotel to the
boulevard he saw by the light of the fire a robber steal the comb from
the head of his wife who had fainted in his arms. This comb was set with
diamonds, and very valuable.

Madame Durosnel's affection for her husband was equal to that he felt for
her; and when at the end of a bloody combat, in the second campaign of
Poland, General Durosnel was lost for several days, and news was sent to
France that he was thought to be dead, the countess in despair fell ill
of grief, and was at the point of death. A short time after it was
learned that the general was badly but not mortally wounded, and that he
had been found, and his wounds would quickly heal. When Madame Durosnel
received this happy news her joy amounted almost to delirium; and in the
court of her hotel she made a pile of her mourning clothes and those of
her people, set fire to them, and saw this gloomy pile turn to ashes amid
wild transports of joy and delight.

Two days after the burning of the hotel of the Prince of Schwartzenberg,
the Emperor received the news of the abdication of his brother Louis, by
which event his Majesty seemed at first much chagrined, and said to some
one who entered his room just as he had been informed of it, "I foresaw
this madness of Louis, but I did not think he would be in such haste."
Nevertheless, the Emperor soon decided what course to take; and a few
days afterwards his Majesty, who during the toilet had not opened his
mouth, came suddenly out of his preoccupation just as I handed him his
coat, and gave me two or three of his familiar taps. "Monsieur
Constant," said he, "do you know what are the three capitals of the
French Empire?" and without giving me time to answer, the Emperor
continued, "Paris, Rome, and Amsterdam. That sounds well, does it not?"




CHAPTER XXVIII.

In the latter part of July large crowds visited the Church of the Hotel
des Invalides, in which were placed the remains of General Saint-Hilaire
and the Duke de Montebello, the remains of the marshal being placed near
the tomb of Turenne. The mornings were spent in the celebration of
several masses, at a double altar which was raised between the nave and
the dome; and for four days there floated from the spire of the dome a
long black banner or flag edged with white.

The day the remains of the marshal were removed from the Invalides to the
Pantheon, I was sent from Saint-Cloud to Paris with a special message for
the Emperor. After this duty was attended to, I still had a short time
of leisure, of which I availed myself to witness the sad ceremony and bid
a last adieu to the brave warrior whose death I had witnessed. At noon
all the civil and military authorities assembled at the Invalides; and
the body was transferred from the dome into the church, and placed on a
catafalque in the shape of a great Egyptian pyramid, raised on an
elevated platform, and approached through four large arches, the posts of
which were entwined with garlands of laurels interlaced with cypress.
At the corners were statues in the attitude of grief, representing Force,
Justice, Prudence, and Temperance, virtues characteristic of the hero.
This pyramid ended in a funeral urn surmounted by a crown of fire. On
the front of the pyramid were placed the arms of the duke, and medallions
commemorating the most remarkable events of his life borne by genii.
Under the obelisk was placed the sarcophagus containing the remains of
the marshal, at the corners of which were trophies composed of banners
taken from his enemies, and innumerable silver candelabra were placed on
the steps by which the platform was reached. The oaken altar, in the
position it occupied before the Revolution, was double, and had a double
tabernacle, on the doors of which were the commandments, the whole
surmounted by a large cross, from the intersection of which was suspended
a shroud. At the corners of the altar were the statues of St. Louis and
St. Napoleon. Four large candelabra were placed on pedestals at the
corners of the steps, and the pavement of the choir and that of the nave
were covered with a black carpet. The pulpit, also draped in black and
decorated with the Imperial eagle, and from which was pronounced the
funeral oration over the marshal, was situated on the left in front of
the bier; on the right was a seat of ebony decorated with Imperial arms,
bees, stars, lace, fringes, and other ornaments in silver, which was
intended for the prince arch-chancellor of the Empire, who presided at
the ceremony. Steps were erected in the arches of the aisles, and
corresponded to the tribunes which were above; and in front of these
steps were seats and benches for the civil and military authorities, the
cardinals, archbishops, bishops, etc. The arms, decorations, baton, and
laurel crown of the marshal were placed on the bier.

All the nave and the bottom of the aisles were covered with black with a
white bordering, as were the windows also, and the draperies displayed
the marshal's arms, baton, and cipher.

The organ was entirely concealed by voluminous hangings which in no wise
lessened the effect of its mournful tones. Eighteen sepulchral silver
lamps were suspended by chains from lances, bearing on their points flags
taken from the enemy. On the pilasters of the nave were fastened
trophies of arms, composed of banners captured in the numerous
engagements which had made the marshal's life illustrious. The railing
of the altar on the side of the esplanade was draped in black, and above
this were the arms of the duke borne by two figures of Fame holding palms
of victory; above was written: "Napoleon to the Memory of the Duke of
Montebello, who died gloriously on the field of Essling, 22d. May, 1809."

The conservatory of music executed a mass composed of selections from the
best of Mozart's sacred pieces. After the ceremony the body was carried
as far as the door of the church and placed on the funeral car, which was
ornamented with laurel and four groups of the banners captured from the
enemy by his army-corps in the numerous battles in which the marshal had
taken part, and was preceded by a military and religious procession,
followed by one of mourning and honor. The military cortege was composed
of detachments from all branches of the army, cavalry, and light
infantry, and the line, and artillery both horse and foot; followed by
cannon, caissons, sappers, and miners, all preceded by drums, trumpets,
bands, etc.; and the general staff, with the marshal, Prince of Wagram,
at its head, formed of all the general officers, with the staff of the
division and of the place.

The religious procession was composed of children and old men from the
hospitals, clergy from all the parishes and from the metropolitan church
of Paris, bearing crosses and banners, with singers and sacred music, and
his Majesty's chaplain with his assistants. The car on which was placed
the marshal's body followed immediately after. The marshals, Duke of
Conegliano, Count Serrurier, Duke of Istria, and Prince of Eckmuhl, bore
the corners of the pall. On each side of the car two of the marshal's
aides-de-camp bore a standard, and on the bier were fastened the baton of
the marshal and the decorations of the Duke of Montebello.

After the car came the cortege of mourning and of honor; the marshal's
empty carriage, with two of his aides-de-camp on horseback at the door,
four mourning carriages for the marshal's family, the carriages of the
princes, grand dignitaries, marshals, ministers, colonel-generals, and
chief inspectors. Then came a detachment of cavalry preceded by
trumpets, and bands on horseback followed the carriages and ended the
procession. Music accompanied the chants, all the bells of the churches
tolled, and thirteen cannon thundered at intervals.

On arriving at the subterranean entrance of the church of
Saint-Genevieve, the body was removed from the car by grenadiers who had
been decorated and wounded in the same battles as the marshal. His
Majesty's chaplain delivered the body to the arch-priest. The Prince of
Eckmuhl addressed to the new Duke of Montebello the condolences of the
army, and the prince arch-chancellor deposited on the bier the medal
destined to perpetuate the memory of these funeral honors of the warrior
to whom they were paid, and of the services which so well merited them.
Then all the crowd passed away, and there remained in the church only a
few old servants of the marshal, who honored his memory as much and even
more by the tears which they shed in silence than did all this public
mourning and imposing ceremony. They recognized me, for we had been
together on the campaign. I remained some time with them, and we left
the Pantheon together.

During my short excursion to Paris, their Majesties had left Saint-Cloud
for Rambouillet, so I set out to rejoin them with the equipages of the
marshal, Prince de Neuchatel, who had left court temporarily to be
present at the obsequies of the brave Duke of Montebello.

It was, if I am not mistaken, on arriving at Rambouillet that I learned
the particulars of a duel which had taken place that day between two
gentlemen, pages of his Majesty. I do not recall the subject of the
quarrel; but, though very trivial in its origin, it became very serious
from the course of conduct to which it led. It was a dispute between
schoolboys; but these school-boys wore swords, and regarded each other,
not without reason, as more than three-fourths soldiers, so they had
decided to fight. But for this fight, two things were necessary,--time
and secrecy; as to their time, it was employed from four or five in the
morning till nine in the evening, almost constantly, and secrecy was not
maintained.

M. d'Assigny, a man of rare merit and fine character, was then
sub-governor of the pages, by whom his faithfulness, kindness, and
justice had caused him to be much beloved. Wishing to prevent a
calamity, he called before him the two adversaries; but these young men,
destined for army service, would hear of no other reparation than the
duel. M. d'Assigny had too much tact to attempt to argue with them,
knowing that he would not have been obeyed; but he offered himself as
second, was accepted by the young men, and being given the selection of
arms, chose the pistol, and appointed as the time of meeting an early
hour next morning, and everything was conducted in the order usual to
such affairs. One of the pages shot first, and missed his adversary; the
other discharged his weapon in the air, upon which they immediately
rushed into each other's arms, and M. d'Assigny took this opportunity of
giving them a truly paternal lecture. Moreover, the worthy sub-governor
not only kept their secret, but he kept his own also; for the pistols
loaded by M. d'Assigny contained only cork balls; a fact of which the
young men are still ignorant.

Some persons saw the 25th of August, which was the fete day of the
Empress, arrive with feelings of curiosity. They thought that from a
fear of exciting the memories of the royalists, the Emperor would
postpone this solemnity to another period of the year, which he could
easily have done by feting his august spouse under the name of Marie.
But the Emperor was not deterred by such fears, and it is also very
probable that he was the only one in the chateau to whom no such idea
occurred. Secure in his power, and the hopes that the French nation then
built upon him, he knew well that he had nothing to dread from exiled
princes, or from a party which appeared dead without the least chance of
resurrection. I have heard it asserted since, and very seriously too,
that his Majesty was wrong to fete Saint Louis, which had brought him
misfortune, etc.; but these prognostications, made afterwards, did not
then occupy the thoughts of any one, and Saint Louis was celebrated in
honor of the Empress Marie Louise with almost unparalleled pomp and
brilliancy.

A few days after these rejoicings, their Majesties held in the Bois de
Boulogne a review of the regiments of the Imperial Guard of Holland,
which the Emperor had recently ordered to Paris. In honor of their
arrival his Majesty had placed here and there in the walks of the Bois
casks of wine with the heads knocked in, so that each soldier could drink
at will; but this imperial munificence had serious results which might
have become fatal. The Holland soldiery more accustomed to strong beer
than to wine, nevertheless found the latter much to their taste, and
imbibed it in such great quantities, that in consequence their heads were
turned to an alarming extent. They began at first with some encounters,
either among themselves or with the curious crowd who observed them too
closely. Just then a storm arose suddenly, and the promenaders of
Saint-Cloud and its environs hastened to return to Paris, passing
hurriedly through the Bois de Boulogne; and these Hollanders, now in an
almost complete state of intoxication, began fighting with each other in
the woods, stopping all the women who passed, and threatening very,
rudely the men by whom, most of them were accompanied. In a flash the
Bois resounded with cries of terror, shouts, oaths, and innumerable
combats. Some frightened persons ran as far as Saint-Cloud, where the
Emperor then was; and he was no sooner informed of this commotion, than
he ordered squad after squad of police to march on the Hollanders and
bring them to reason. His Majesty was very angry, and said, "Has any
one ever seen anything equal to these big heads? See them turned
topsy-turvy by two glasses of wine!" but in spite of this jesting, the
Emperor was not without some anxiety and placed himself at the grating
of the park, opposite the bridge, and in person gave directions to the
officers and soldiers sent to restore order. Unfortunately the darkness
was too far advanced for the soldiers to see in what direction to march;
and there is no knowing how it would have ended if an officer of one of
the patrol guards had not conceived the happy idea of calling out, "The
Emperor! there is the Emperor!" And the sentinels repeated after him,
"There is the Emperor," while charging the most mutinous Hollanders. And
such was the terror inspired in these soldiers by the simple name of his
Majesty, that thousands of armed men, drunken and furious, dispersed
before this name alone, and regained their quarters as quickly and
secretly as they could. A few were arrested and severely punished.