Chapter 21

[223]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 416.[224]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 417; Jomini, tom. ix., p. 293.[225]"The trophies acquired in the course of January were 25,000 prisoners, twenty-four colours and standards, and sixty pieces of cannon; on the whole, the enemy's loss was at least 35,000 men. Bessières carried the colours to Paris. The prisoners were so numerous that they created some difficulty."—Montholon, tom. iii., p. 419.[226]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 420.[227]Buonaparte to the Directory, 15 Pluviose, 3d February.[228]Louis Buonaparte, tom. ii., p. 60.[229]Letter to the Directory, June 1; Moniteur, No. 264.[230]Letter from Napoleon to General Clarke, 25 Brumaire, 15th Nov. 1796.—"Your nephew has been slain on the field of battle at Arcola. The young man had been familiar with arms—had led on columns, and would have been one day an excellent officer. He has died with glory in the face of the enemy. He did not suffer for an instant. What man would not envy such a death? Who is he that would not accept as a favourable condition the choice of thus escaping from the vicissitudes of a contemptible world? Who is there among us who has not a hundred times regretted that he has not been thus withdrawn from the powerful effects of calumny, of envy, and of all the odious passions which seem the almost exclusive directors of the conduct of mankind?"—This letter, remarkable in many respects, will remind the English reader of Cato's exclamation over the body of his son—"Who would not be this youth!"—S.[231]"Decrès has often told me, that he was at Toulon when he first heard of Napoleon's appointment to the command of the army of Italy. He had known him well at Paris, and thought himself on terms of perfect familiarity with him. 'Thus,' said he, 'when we learned that the new general was about to pass through the city, I hastened to him full of eagerness and joy; the door of the apartment was thrown open, and I was on the point of rushing towards him with my wonted familiarity, but his attitude, his look, the tone of his voice, suddenly deterred me. Not that there was any thing offensive either in his appearance or manner; but the impression he produced was sufficient to prevent me from ever again attempting to encroach upon the distance that separated us."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 164.[232]Even when before Toulon, he was not held by clear-sighted persons to be a very orthodox Jacobin. General Cartaux, the stupid Sans-Culotte under whom he first served, was talking of the young commandant of artillery with applause, when his wife, who was somewhat first in command at home, advised him not to reckon too much on that young man, "who had too much sense to be long a Sans-Culotte."—"Sense! Female-citizen Cartaux," said her offended husband, "do you take us for fools?"—"By no means," answered the lady; "but his sense is not of the same kind with yours."—S.—Las Cases, vol. i., p. 144.[233]Second Part of King Henry VI., Act 4., Scene 2.[234]"At St. Helena Napoleon had preserved a distinct recollection of this celebrated man. He described his timidity and embarrassment at the sight of the stately retinue of the staff, which quite dazzled him: 'You are here with your friends; we honour learning, and only wish to show the respect we entertain for it!'—'Ah! general, excuse me, but this splendour quite overpowers me!' He, however, recovered his self-possession, and held with Napoleon a long conversation, which produced in his mind a feeling of surprise, such as he could not for a long time overcome. He was unable to conceive how it was possible to have acquired, at the age of twenty-six, so much glory and science."—Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 368.[235]Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 367.[236]Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 135.[237]Las Cases says, that afterwards the Pope himself touched on the same topic, and was disposed to see the immediate guidance and protection afforded by the consanguinean Saint Bonaventura in the great deeds wrought by his relation. It was said of the church-endowing saint, David King of Scotland, that he was a sore saint for the Crown; certainly, Saint Bonaventura must have been a sore saint for the Papal See. The old abbé left Napoleon his fortune, which he conferred on some public institution.—S.[238]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 382; tom. iv., p. 179.[239]Montholon, tom. v., p. 179.[240]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 384.[241]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 386.[242]Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 55; Letter de Cacault à Buonaparte, Correspondence Inédite, tom. ii., pp. 114-125; Montholon, tom. iii., p. 387.[243]Voltaire, in one of his romances, terms the Pope an old gentleman, having a guard of one hundred men, who mount guard with umbrellas, and who make war on nobody.—S.[244]"Arma diu sênior desueta trementibus ævoCircumdat nequicquam humeris, et inutile ferrumCingitur"——Æneid, Lib. II."He—when he saw his regal town on fire,His ruin'd palace, and his entering foes,On every side inevitable woes;In arms disused invests his limbs, decay'd,Like them, with age; a late and useless aid."Dryden.[245]Cacault was born at Nantes in 1742. During the Consulate, he was chosen a member of the Senate. He published a translation of Lessing's Historical Sketch of the Drama. He died in 1805.[246]"La cour de Rome, au desespoir, saisirait un fer rouge: elle s'abandonne à l'impulsion bruyante des Napolitains."—Correspondence Inédite, tom. ii., p. 119.[247]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 387.[248]"This is the same thing as happened at Pavia," said the soldiers, by way of demanding the pillage of the place. "No," answered Napoleon; "at Pavia they had revolted after taking an oath, and they wanted to massacre our soldiers who were their guests. These are only senseless people, who must be conquered by clemency."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 18.[249]Napoleon addressed them thus in Italian—"I am the friend of all the nations of Italy, and particularly of the people of Rome. You are free; return to your families, and tell them that the French are the friends of religion, order, and the poor."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 19.[250]Jomini, tom. ix., p. 307; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 7; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 220.[251]"Monge was sent to the spot. He reported that the Madonna actually wept. The chapter received orders to bring her to headquarters. It was an optical illusion, ingeniously managed by means of a glass."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 12.[252]"It is a wooden statue clumsily carved; a proof of its antiquity. It was to be seen for some years at the National Library."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 13.[253]Jomini, tom. ix., p. 311; Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 228.[254]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 16.[255]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 25.[256]For a copy of the Treaty of Tolentino, see Annual Register, vol. xxxix., p. 328, and Montholon, tom. iv., p. 18.[257]"One of the negotiators of the Pope observed to Buonaparte that he was the only Frenchman who had marched against Rome since the Constable Bourbon; but what rendered this circumstance still more singular was, that the history of the first expedition, under the title of 'The Sacking of Rome' was written by Jacopo Buonaparte, an ancestor of him who executed the second."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 98.[258]"The Directory adopted the most insulting forms in communicating with the Pope; the general wrote to him with respect. The Directory endeavoured to overthrow the authority of the Pope; Napoleon preserved it. The Directory banished and proscribed priests; Napoleon commanded his soldiers, wherever they might fall in with them, to remember that they were Frenchmen and their brothers."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 170.[259]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 25; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 287.[260]Botta, tom. ii., p. 199; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 239.[261]For an interesting sketch of the republic of San Marino, see Seward'sAnecdotes of Distinguished Persons, vol. iii., p. 276.[262]Botta, tom. ii., p. 252; Daru, Hist. de Venise, tom. v., p. 544.[263]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 130.[264]"The Aulic Council at Vienna, that pernicious tribunal which, in the Seven Years' War, called Laudon to account for taking Schweidnitz without orders, has destroyed the schemes of many an Austrian general, for though plans of offensive operations may succeed when concerted at home, it is impossible to frame orders for every possible contingency."—Gentz,on the Fall of Prussia.[265]At Bassano, on the 9th of March, Buonaparte thus addressed the troops—"Soldiers! the taking of Mantua has put an end to the war of Italy. You have been victorious in fourteen pitched battles and seventy actions; you have taken 100,000 prisoners, 500 field-pieces, 2000 heavy cannon, and four pontoon trains. The contributions laid on the countries you have conquered have fed, maintained, and paid the army; besides which you have sent thirty millions to the minister of finance for the use of the public treasury. You have enriched the Museum of Paris with 300 masterpieces of the arts of ancient and modern Italy, which it had required thirty centuries to produce. You have conquered for the Republic the finest countries in Europe. The Kings of Sardinia and Naples, the Pope, and the Duke of Parma, are separated from the coalition. You have expelled the English from Leghorn, Genoa, and Corsica. Yet higher destinies await you! You will prove yourselves worthy of them! Of all the foes who combined to stifle the Republic in its birth, the Emperor alone remains before you," &c.[266]"The river is pretty deep, and a bridge would have been desirable; but the good-will of the soldiers supplied that deficiency. A drummer was the only person in danger, and he was saved by a woman who swam after him."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 73.[267]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 72; Jomini, tom. x., p. 33.[268]Jomini, tom. x., p, 38; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 77.[269]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 81.[270]"No extraordinary contribution was levied, and the inhabitants gave no occasion for complaint of any kind. The English merchandise at Trieste was confiscated. Quicksilver, to the value of several millions, from the mine of Idria, was found in the imperial warehouses."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 82.[271]Jomini, tom. x., p. 56; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 83.[272]See the report of the agents of the Venetian government.—Daru, tom. v., p. 584. Napoleon says, "the fury of the people carried them so far as to murderfour hundred sick in the hospitals."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 133.[273]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 91.[274]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 101.[275]Buonaparte first mentions this circumstance as having taken place at Leoben, afterwards at the definitive treaty of Campo Formio. The effect is the same, wherever the words were spoken.—S.[276]"On the 27th of April, the Marquis de Gallo presented the preliminaries, ratified by the Emperor, to Napoleon at Gratz. It was in one of these conferences, that one of the plenipotentiaries, authorised by an autograph letter of the Emperor, offered Napoleon to procure him, on the conclusion of a peace, a sovereignty of 250,000 souls in Germany, for himself and his family, in order to place him beyond the reach of republican ingratitude. The general smiled, he desired the plenipotentiary to thank the Emperor for this proof of the interest he took in his welfare, and said, that he wished for no greatness or riches, unless conferred on him by the French people."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 103.[277]Correspondence Inédite tom. ii., p. 564. See also Jomini, tom. ix., Pièces Justificatives, Nos. 1 and 2.[278]Daru, tom. v., p. 568; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 135.[279]See, in Daru, tom. v., p. 605, the report of the two envoys, Dona and Justiniani.[280]"Non, non, quand vous couvriez cette plage d'or, tous vos tresors, tout l'or du Pérou, ne peuvent payer le sang Français."—Daru, tom. v., p. 619.[281]For a copy of this manifesto against Venice, seeMoniteur, No. 239, May 16, andAnnual Register, vol. xxxiv., p. 337. "As soon as it was made public, the whole Terra Firma revolted against the capital. Every town proclaimed its independence, and constituted a government for itself. Bergamo, Brescia, Padua, Vicenza, Bassano, and Udine, formed so many separate republics."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 143.[282]Daru, tom. vi., p. 9.[283]Daru, tom. vi., p. 10.[284]Daru, tom. vi., p. 13.[285]Daru, tom. vi., p. 32.[286]Daru, tom. vi., p. 36.[287]Daru, tom. vi., p. 40.[288]"The French troops entered Venice on the 16th of May. The partisans of liberty immediately met in a popular assembly. The aristocracy was destroyed for ever; the democratic constitution of twelve hundred was proclaimed. Dandolo was placed at the head of all the city. The Lion of St. Mark and the Corinthian horses were carried to Paris."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 142.[289]"General Bernadotte carried the colours taken from the Venetian troops to Paris. These frequent presentations of colours were, at this period, very useful to the government; for the disaffected were silenced and overawed by this display of the spirit of the armies."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 145.[290]For some curious extracts from this Correspondence, see Appendix,No. IV.[291]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 147.[292]The club held their meetings at the house of an apothecary, namedMorando. Botta describes him as "un uomo precipitoso, e di estremi pensieri, e che credeva, che ogni cosa fosse licita per arrivare a quella libertà, ch'ei si figurava in mente."—Storia, tom. ii., p. 364.[293]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 152.[294]"On the 6th of June, the deputies from the Senate signed a convention at Montebello, which put an end to Doria's constitution, and established the democratical government of Genoa. The people burned the Golden Book, and broke the statue of Doria to pieces. This outrage on the memory of that great man displeased Napoleon, who required the provisional government to restore it."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 157.[295]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 155; Jomini, tom. x., p. 169; Botta, tom. ii., p. 371.[296]"The Council of Five Hundred at Paris was at this time debating on a motion made by Siêyes, tending to expel all the nobles from France, on giving them the value of their property. This advice, given by Napoleon to the Republic of Genoa, appeared to be addressed, in fact, to the French Republic, which at all events profited by it; for this terrific plan was abandoned."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 164.[297]Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 121; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 179; Jomini, tom. x., p. 364.[298]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 187.[299]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 185; Botta, tom. ii., p. 461.[300]"Instead of passing their time at the feet of women, the young Italians now frequented the riding and fencing schools, and fields of exercise. In the comedies and street farces, there had always been an Italian, represented as a very cowardly though witty fellow, and a kind of bullying captain,—sometimes a Frenchman, but more frequently a German—a very powerful, brave, and brutal character, who never failed to conclude with caning the Italian to the great satisfaction of the applauding spectators. But such allusions were now no longer endured by the populace; authors now brought brave Italians on the stage, putting foreigners to flight, and defending their honour and their rights."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 185.[301]"Count Cobentzel was a native of Brussels; a very agreeable man in company, and distinguished by studied politeness; but positive and intractable in business. There was a want of propriety and precision in his mode of expressing himself, of which he was sensible; and he endeavoured to compensate for this by talking loud and using imperious gestures."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 239.[302]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 251.[303]Spiegò quel crudo il seno, e'l manto scosse,Ed a guerra mortal, disse, vi sfido:E'l disse in atto si feroce ed empioChe parve aprir di Giano il chiuso tempio.La Gerusalemme Liberata, Canto II.—S.His lap he open'd and spread forth his cloke,To mortal wars, he saies, I you defie—And this he uttered with fell rage and hateAnd seem'd of Janus' church t' undoe the gate.Fairfax.[304]See this remonstrance in Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 393.[305]The language of injustice is alike in similar instances. When Edward I., in the course of over-running Scotland, was reminded of the claims of the candidate for the throne, in whose cause he had pretended to take arms, he answered in the very words of Buonaparte,—"Have we nothing else to do but to conquer kingdoms for other people?"—S.[306]Daru, tom. vi., p. 60; Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 394.[307]"Soldiers! I set out to-morrow for Rastadt. Separated from the army, I shall sigh for the moment of my rejoining it, and braving fresh dangers. Whatever post government may assign to the soldiers of the army of Italy, they will always be the worthy supporters of liberty, and of the glory of the French name. Soldiers! when you talk of the princes you have conquered, of the nations you have set free, and the battles you have fought in two campaigns, say, 'in the next two campaigns we shall do still more!'"[308]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 258.[309]An Italian, by name Buonarotti, and of the same family with the great Michael Angelo, has recently published a full account of the conspiracy of Babœuf,—to this writer the curious reader is referred. "Les fruits sont à tous, la terre à personne," was his favourite text and that of his fellow-levellers, and the burden of their songs, which were to take place of Ca Ira, and La Carmagnole, was "Le Soleil luit pour tout le monde." On being arrested, Babœuf wrote to the Directory—"Whatever may be my fate, my name will be placed with those of Barnevet and Sidney; whether conducted to death or to banishment, I am certain of arriving at immortality!" He was condemned to the guillotine in May, 1797, but stabbed himself in his prison.[310]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 195.[311]A decree of the Directory, of the 25th January, 1797, fixed the current value of assignats at twenty sous for a hundred francs.—Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 4.[312]"When Barras went out of the Directory, he had still a large fortune, and he did not attempt to conceal it. It was not, indeed, large enough to have contributed to the derangement of the finances, but the manner in which it had been acquired, by favouring the contractors, impaired the morality of the nation."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 135.[313]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 200.[314]"La Reveillere-Lepaux was short, and his exterior was as unprepossessing as can well be imagined; in his person he was a true Esop. He wrote tolerably well, but his intelligence was confined, and he had neither habits of business, nor knowledge of mankind. The Jardin des Plantes and the Theophilanthropy, a new sect of which he had the folly to become the founder, occupied all his time. He was an honest man—poor when he became a member of the Directory, and poor when he left it."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 136.[315]"The new system of weights and measures will be a source of embarrassment and difficulties for several generations; and it is probable that the first learned commission employed to verify the measure of the meridian, will find it necessary to make some corrections. Thus are nations tormented about trifles!"—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 203.[316]"Letourneur de la Manche was born in Normandy. It is difficult to explain how he came to be appointed to the Directory; it can only be from one of those unaccountable caprices of which large assemblies so often give an example. He was a man of narrow capacity, little learning, and of a weak mind. He was, however, a man of strict probity, and left the Directory without any fortune."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 142.[317]"Rewbel, born in Alsace, was one of the best lawyers in the town of Colmar. He possessed that kind of intelligence which denotes a man skilled in the practice of the law,—his influence was always felt in deliberations—he was easily inspired with prejudices, and had little faith in the existence of virtue. It is problematical whether he did or did not amass a fortune, during the time he was in the Directory."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 138.[318]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 210.[319]"This singular answer was in exact conformity with the ideas of the moment. The sincere Republicans would have regarded it as a degradation for a man, however distinguished he might be, to wish to turn the revolution to his personal advantage."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 175.[320]Moniteur, No. 224, May 3, 1797.—S.[321]Le Rédacteur, May 1, 1797.[322]"All the journals were full of harangues against the General of the Army of Italy: They depreciated his successes, vilified his character, calumniated his administration, threw out suspicions respecting his fidelity to the Republic, and accused him of ambitious designs."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 212.[323]See especially his Letter to the Directory, 17th July.—Correspondence Inédite, tom. iv., p. 14.[324]Montholon, tom. iv., pp. 148, 211.[325]This gentleman was one of the second emigration, who left France during Robespierre's ascendency. He was employed as a political agent by the Court of Russia, after the affair of Venice, which proves that he was not at least convicted of treachery to the Bourbon princes. In July, 1812, he was assassinated at his villa at Hackney, near London, by an Italian domestic, who, having murdered both the Count and Countess, shot himself through the head, leaving no clew to discover the motive of his villany. It was remarked that the villain used Count d'Entraigues' own pistols and dagger, which, apprehensive of danger as a political intriguer, he had always ready prepared in his apartment.—S.[326]Moniteur, No. 305, July 23.[327]"The Directory requested General Buonaparte to send one of his generals of brigade to Paris, to await their orders. He chose General Augereau, a man very decided in action, and not very capable of reasoning—two qualities which rendered him an excellent instrument of despotism, provided the despotism assumed the name of revolution."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 180.[328]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 216.[329]"I spent the night of the 17th in beholding the preparations for the awful scene which was to take place in a few hours. None but soldiers appeared in the streets. The cannon, brought to surround the palace where the Legislative Body assembled, were rolling along the pavements; but, except their noise, all was silence. No hostile assemblage was seen any where; nor was it known against whom all this apparatus was directed. Liberty was the only power vanquished in that fatal struggle. It might have been said, that she was seen to fly, like a wandering spirit, at the approach of the day which was to shine upon her destruction."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 182.

[223]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 416.

[224]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 417; Jomini, tom. ix., p. 293.

[225]"The trophies acquired in the course of January were 25,000 prisoners, twenty-four colours and standards, and sixty pieces of cannon; on the whole, the enemy's loss was at least 35,000 men. Bessières carried the colours to Paris. The prisoners were so numerous that they created some difficulty."—Montholon, tom. iii., p. 419.

[226]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 420.

[227]Buonaparte to the Directory, 15 Pluviose, 3d February.

[228]Louis Buonaparte, tom. ii., p. 60.

[229]Letter to the Directory, June 1; Moniteur, No. 264.

[230]Letter from Napoleon to General Clarke, 25 Brumaire, 15th Nov. 1796.—"Your nephew has been slain on the field of battle at Arcola. The young man had been familiar with arms—had led on columns, and would have been one day an excellent officer. He has died with glory in the face of the enemy. He did not suffer for an instant. What man would not envy such a death? Who is he that would not accept as a favourable condition the choice of thus escaping from the vicissitudes of a contemptible world? Who is there among us who has not a hundred times regretted that he has not been thus withdrawn from the powerful effects of calumny, of envy, and of all the odious passions which seem the almost exclusive directors of the conduct of mankind?"—This letter, remarkable in many respects, will remind the English reader of Cato's exclamation over the body of his son—"Who would not be this youth!"—S.

[231]"Decrès has often told me, that he was at Toulon when he first heard of Napoleon's appointment to the command of the army of Italy. He had known him well at Paris, and thought himself on terms of perfect familiarity with him. 'Thus,' said he, 'when we learned that the new general was about to pass through the city, I hastened to him full of eagerness and joy; the door of the apartment was thrown open, and I was on the point of rushing towards him with my wonted familiarity, but his attitude, his look, the tone of his voice, suddenly deterred me. Not that there was any thing offensive either in his appearance or manner; but the impression he produced was sufficient to prevent me from ever again attempting to encroach upon the distance that separated us."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 164.

[232]Even when before Toulon, he was not held by clear-sighted persons to be a very orthodox Jacobin. General Cartaux, the stupid Sans-Culotte under whom he first served, was talking of the young commandant of artillery with applause, when his wife, who was somewhat first in command at home, advised him not to reckon too much on that young man, "who had too much sense to be long a Sans-Culotte."—"Sense! Female-citizen Cartaux," said her offended husband, "do you take us for fools?"—"By no means," answered the lady; "but his sense is not of the same kind with yours."—S.—Las Cases, vol. i., p. 144.

[233]Second Part of King Henry VI., Act 4., Scene 2.

[234]"At St. Helena Napoleon had preserved a distinct recollection of this celebrated man. He described his timidity and embarrassment at the sight of the stately retinue of the staff, which quite dazzled him: 'You are here with your friends; we honour learning, and only wish to show the respect we entertain for it!'—'Ah! general, excuse me, but this splendour quite overpowers me!' He, however, recovered his self-possession, and held with Napoleon a long conversation, which produced in his mind a feeling of surprise, such as he could not for a long time overcome. He was unable to conceive how it was possible to have acquired, at the age of twenty-six, so much glory and science."—Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 368.

[235]Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 367.

[236]Antommarchi, tom. i., p. 135.

[237]Las Cases says, that afterwards the Pope himself touched on the same topic, and was disposed to see the immediate guidance and protection afforded by the consanguinean Saint Bonaventura in the great deeds wrought by his relation. It was said of the church-endowing saint, David King of Scotland, that he was a sore saint for the Crown; certainly, Saint Bonaventura must have been a sore saint for the Papal See. The old abbé left Napoleon his fortune, which he conferred on some public institution.—S.

[238]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 382; tom. iv., p. 179.

[239]Montholon, tom. v., p. 179.

[240]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 384.

[241]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 386.

[242]Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 55; Letter de Cacault à Buonaparte, Correspondence Inédite, tom. ii., pp. 114-125; Montholon, tom. iii., p. 387.

[243]Voltaire, in one of his romances, terms the Pope an old gentleman, having a guard of one hundred men, who mount guard with umbrellas, and who make war on nobody.—S.

[244]"Arma diu sênior desueta trementibus ævoCircumdat nequicquam humeris, et inutile ferrumCingitur"——Æneid, Lib. II."He—when he saw his regal town on fire,His ruin'd palace, and his entering foes,On every side inevitable woes;In arms disused invests his limbs, decay'd,Like them, with age; a late and useless aid."Dryden.

[244]

"Arma diu sênior desueta trementibus ævoCircumdat nequicquam humeris, et inutile ferrumCingitur"——

Æneid, Lib. II.

"He—when he saw his regal town on fire,His ruin'd palace, and his entering foes,On every side inevitable woes;In arms disused invests his limbs, decay'd,Like them, with age; a late and useless aid."

Dryden.

[245]Cacault was born at Nantes in 1742. During the Consulate, he was chosen a member of the Senate. He published a translation of Lessing's Historical Sketch of the Drama. He died in 1805.

[246]"La cour de Rome, au desespoir, saisirait un fer rouge: elle s'abandonne à l'impulsion bruyante des Napolitains."—Correspondence Inédite, tom. ii., p. 119.

[247]Montholon, tom. iii., p. 387.

[248]"This is the same thing as happened at Pavia," said the soldiers, by way of demanding the pillage of the place. "No," answered Napoleon; "at Pavia they had revolted after taking an oath, and they wanted to massacre our soldiers who were their guests. These are only senseless people, who must be conquered by clemency."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 18.

[249]Napoleon addressed them thus in Italian—"I am the friend of all the nations of Italy, and particularly of the people of Rome. You are free; return to your families, and tell them that the French are the friends of religion, order, and the poor."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 19.

[250]Jomini, tom. ix., p. 307; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 7; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 220.

[251]"Monge was sent to the spot. He reported that the Madonna actually wept. The chapter received orders to bring her to headquarters. It was an optical illusion, ingeniously managed by means of a glass."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 12.

[252]"It is a wooden statue clumsily carved; a proof of its antiquity. It was to be seen for some years at the National Library."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 13.

[253]Jomini, tom. ix., p. 311; Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 228.

[254]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 16.

[255]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 25.

[256]For a copy of the Treaty of Tolentino, see Annual Register, vol. xxxix., p. 328, and Montholon, tom. iv., p. 18.

[257]"One of the negotiators of the Pope observed to Buonaparte that he was the only Frenchman who had marched against Rome since the Constable Bourbon; but what rendered this circumstance still more singular was, that the history of the first expedition, under the title of 'The Sacking of Rome' was written by Jacopo Buonaparte, an ancestor of him who executed the second."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 98.

[258]"The Directory adopted the most insulting forms in communicating with the Pope; the general wrote to him with respect. The Directory endeavoured to overthrow the authority of the Pope; Napoleon preserved it. The Directory banished and proscribed priests; Napoleon commanded his soldiers, wherever they might fall in with them, to remember that they were Frenchmen and their brothers."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 170.

[259]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 25; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 287.

[260]Botta, tom. ii., p. 199; Thibaudeau, tom. ii., p. 239.

[261]For an interesting sketch of the republic of San Marino, see Seward'sAnecdotes of Distinguished Persons, vol. iii., p. 276.

[262]Botta, tom. ii., p. 252; Daru, Hist. de Venise, tom. v., p. 544.

[263]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 130.

[264]"The Aulic Council at Vienna, that pernicious tribunal which, in the Seven Years' War, called Laudon to account for taking Schweidnitz without orders, has destroyed the schemes of many an Austrian general, for though plans of offensive operations may succeed when concerted at home, it is impossible to frame orders for every possible contingency."—Gentz,on the Fall of Prussia.

[265]At Bassano, on the 9th of March, Buonaparte thus addressed the troops—"Soldiers! the taking of Mantua has put an end to the war of Italy. You have been victorious in fourteen pitched battles and seventy actions; you have taken 100,000 prisoners, 500 field-pieces, 2000 heavy cannon, and four pontoon trains. The contributions laid on the countries you have conquered have fed, maintained, and paid the army; besides which you have sent thirty millions to the minister of finance for the use of the public treasury. You have enriched the Museum of Paris with 300 masterpieces of the arts of ancient and modern Italy, which it had required thirty centuries to produce. You have conquered for the Republic the finest countries in Europe. The Kings of Sardinia and Naples, the Pope, and the Duke of Parma, are separated from the coalition. You have expelled the English from Leghorn, Genoa, and Corsica. Yet higher destinies await you! You will prove yourselves worthy of them! Of all the foes who combined to stifle the Republic in its birth, the Emperor alone remains before you," &c.

[266]"The river is pretty deep, and a bridge would have been desirable; but the good-will of the soldiers supplied that deficiency. A drummer was the only person in danger, and he was saved by a woman who swam after him."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 73.

[267]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 72; Jomini, tom. x., p. 33.

[268]Jomini, tom. x., p, 38; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 77.

[269]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 81.

[270]"No extraordinary contribution was levied, and the inhabitants gave no occasion for complaint of any kind. The English merchandise at Trieste was confiscated. Quicksilver, to the value of several millions, from the mine of Idria, was found in the imperial warehouses."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 82.

[271]Jomini, tom. x., p. 56; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 83.

[272]See the report of the agents of the Venetian government.—Daru, tom. v., p. 584. Napoleon says, "the fury of the people carried them so far as to murderfour hundred sick in the hospitals."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 133.

[273]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 91.

[274]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 101.

[275]Buonaparte first mentions this circumstance as having taken place at Leoben, afterwards at the definitive treaty of Campo Formio. The effect is the same, wherever the words were spoken.—S.

[276]"On the 27th of April, the Marquis de Gallo presented the preliminaries, ratified by the Emperor, to Napoleon at Gratz. It was in one of these conferences, that one of the plenipotentiaries, authorised by an autograph letter of the Emperor, offered Napoleon to procure him, on the conclusion of a peace, a sovereignty of 250,000 souls in Germany, for himself and his family, in order to place him beyond the reach of republican ingratitude. The general smiled, he desired the plenipotentiary to thank the Emperor for this proof of the interest he took in his welfare, and said, that he wished for no greatness or riches, unless conferred on him by the French people."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 103.

[277]Correspondence Inédite tom. ii., p. 564. See also Jomini, tom. ix., Pièces Justificatives, Nos. 1 and 2.

[278]Daru, tom. v., p. 568; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 135.

[279]See, in Daru, tom. v., p. 605, the report of the two envoys, Dona and Justiniani.

[280]"Non, non, quand vous couvriez cette plage d'or, tous vos tresors, tout l'or du Pérou, ne peuvent payer le sang Français."—Daru, tom. v., p. 619.

[281]For a copy of this manifesto against Venice, seeMoniteur, No. 239, May 16, andAnnual Register, vol. xxxiv., p. 337. "As soon as it was made public, the whole Terra Firma revolted against the capital. Every town proclaimed its independence, and constituted a government for itself. Bergamo, Brescia, Padua, Vicenza, Bassano, and Udine, formed so many separate republics."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 143.

[282]Daru, tom. vi., p. 9.

[283]Daru, tom. vi., p. 10.

[284]Daru, tom. vi., p. 13.

[285]Daru, tom. vi., p. 32.

[286]Daru, tom. vi., p. 36.

[287]Daru, tom. vi., p. 40.

[288]"The French troops entered Venice on the 16th of May. The partisans of liberty immediately met in a popular assembly. The aristocracy was destroyed for ever; the democratic constitution of twelve hundred was proclaimed. Dandolo was placed at the head of all the city. The Lion of St. Mark and the Corinthian horses were carried to Paris."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 142.

[289]"General Bernadotte carried the colours taken from the Venetian troops to Paris. These frequent presentations of colours were, at this period, very useful to the government; for the disaffected were silenced and overawed by this display of the spirit of the armies."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 145.

[290]For some curious extracts from this Correspondence, see Appendix,No. IV.

[291]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 147.

[292]The club held their meetings at the house of an apothecary, namedMorando. Botta describes him as "un uomo precipitoso, e di estremi pensieri, e che credeva, che ogni cosa fosse licita per arrivare a quella libertà, ch'ei si figurava in mente."—Storia, tom. ii., p. 364.

[293]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 152.

[294]"On the 6th of June, the deputies from the Senate signed a convention at Montebello, which put an end to Doria's constitution, and established the democratical government of Genoa. The people burned the Golden Book, and broke the statue of Doria to pieces. This outrage on the memory of that great man displeased Napoleon, who required the provisional government to restore it."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 157.

[295]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 155; Jomini, tom. x., p. 169; Botta, tom. ii., p. 371.

[296]"The Council of Five Hundred at Paris was at this time debating on a motion made by Siêyes, tending to expel all the nobles from France, on giving them the value of their property. This advice, given by Napoleon to the Republic of Genoa, appeared to be addressed, in fact, to the French Republic, which at all events profited by it; for this terrific plan was abandoned."—Montholon, tom. iv., p. 164.

[297]Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 121; Montholon, tom. iv., p. 179; Jomini, tom. x., p. 364.

[298]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 187.

[299]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 185; Botta, tom. ii., p. 461.

[300]"Instead of passing their time at the feet of women, the young Italians now frequented the riding and fencing schools, and fields of exercise. In the comedies and street farces, there had always been an Italian, represented as a very cowardly though witty fellow, and a kind of bullying captain,—sometimes a Frenchman, but more frequently a German—a very powerful, brave, and brutal character, who never failed to conclude with caning the Italian to the great satisfaction of the applauding spectators. But such allusions were now no longer endured by the populace; authors now brought brave Italians on the stage, putting foreigners to flight, and defending their honour and their rights."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 185.

[301]"Count Cobentzel was a native of Brussels; a very agreeable man in company, and distinguished by studied politeness; but positive and intractable in business. There was a want of propriety and precision in his mode of expressing himself, of which he was sensible; and he endeavoured to compensate for this by talking loud and using imperious gestures."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 239.

[302]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 251.

[303]Spiegò quel crudo il seno, e'l manto scosse,Ed a guerra mortal, disse, vi sfido:E'l disse in atto si feroce ed empioChe parve aprir di Giano il chiuso tempio.La Gerusalemme Liberata, Canto II.—S.His lap he open'd and spread forth his cloke,To mortal wars, he saies, I you defie—And this he uttered with fell rage and hateAnd seem'd of Janus' church t' undoe the gate.Fairfax.

[303]

Spiegò quel crudo il seno, e'l manto scosse,Ed a guerra mortal, disse, vi sfido:E'l disse in atto si feroce ed empioChe parve aprir di Giano il chiuso tempio.

La Gerusalemme Liberata, Canto II.—S.

His lap he open'd and spread forth his cloke,To mortal wars, he saies, I you defie—And this he uttered with fell rage and hateAnd seem'd of Janus' church t' undoe the gate.

Fairfax.

[304]See this remonstrance in Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 393.

[305]The language of injustice is alike in similar instances. When Edward I., in the course of over-running Scotland, was reminded of the claims of the candidate for the throne, in whose cause he had pretended to take arms, he answered in the very words of Buonaparte,—"Have we nothing else to do but to conquer kingdoms for other people?"—S.

[306]Daru, tom. vi., p. 60; Thibaudeau, tom. iii., p. 394.

[307]"Soldiers! I set out to-morrow for Rastadt. Separated from the army, I shall sigh for the moment of my rejoining it, and braving fresh dangers. Whatever post government may assign to the soldiers of the army of Italy, they will always be the worthy supporters of liberty, and of the glory of the French name. Soldiers! when you talk of the princes you have conquered, of the nations you have set free, and the battles you have fought in two campaigns, say, 'in the next two campaigns we shall do still more!'"

[308]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 258.

[309]An Italian, by name Buonarotti, and of the same family with the great Michael Angelo, has recently published a full account of the conspiracy of Babœuf,—to this writer the curious reader is referred. "Les fruits sont à tous, la terre à personne," was his favourite text and that of his fellow-levellers, and the burden of their songs, which were to take place of Ca Ira, and La Carmagnole, was "Le Soleil luit pour tout le monde." On being arrested, Babœuf wrote to the Directory—"Whatever may be my fate, my name will be placed with those of Barnevet and Sidney; whether conducted to death or to banishment, I am certain of arriving at immortality!" He was condemned to the guillotine in May, 1797, but stabbed himself in his prison.

[310]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 195.

[311]A decree of the Directory, of the 25th January, 1797, fixed the current value of assignats at twenty sous for a hundred francs.—Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 4.

[312]"When Barras went out of the Directory, he had still a large fortune, and he did not attempt to conceal it. It was not, indeed, large enough to have contributed to the derangement of the finances, but the manner in which it had been acquired, by favouring the contractors, impaired the morality of the nation."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 135.

[313]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 200.

[314]"La Reveillere-Lepaux was short, and his exterior was as unprepossessing as can well be imagined; in his person he was a true Esop. He wrote tolerably well, but his intelligence was confined, and he had neither habits of business, nor knowledge of mankind. The Jardin des Plantes and the Theophilanthropy, a new sect of which he had the folly to become the founder, occupied all his time. He was an honest man—poor when he became a member of the Directory, and poor when he left it."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 136.

[315]"The new system of weights and measures will be a source of embarrassment and difficulties for several generations; and it is probable that the first learned commission employed to verify the measure of the meridian, will find it necessary to make some corrections. Thus are nations tormented about trifles!"—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 203.

[316]"Letourneur de la Manche was born in Normandy. It is difficult to explain how he came to be appointed to the Directory; it can only be from one of those unaccountable caprices of which large assemblies so often give an example. He was a man of narrow capacity, little learning, and of a weak mind. He was, however, a man of strict probity, and left the Directory without any fortune."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 142.

[317]"Rewbel, born in Alsace, was one of the best lawyers in the town of Colmar. He possessed that kind of intelligence which denotes a man skilled in the practice of the law,—his influence was always felt in deliberations—he was easily inspired with prejudices, and had little faith in the existence of virtue. It is problematical whether he did or did not amass a fortune, during the time he was in the Directory."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 138.

[318]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 210.

[319]"This singular answer was in exact conformity with the ideas of the moment. The sincere Republicans would have regarded it as a degradation for a man, however distinguished he might be, to wish to turn the revolution to his personal advantage."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 175.

[320]Moniteur, No. 224, May 3, 1797.—S.

[321]Le Rédacteur, May 1, 1797.

[322]"All the journals were full of harangues against the General of the Army of Italy: They depreciated his successes, vilified his character, calumniated his administration, threw out suspicions respecting his fidelity to the Republic, and accused him of ambitious designs."—Napoleon,Montholon, tom. iv., p. 212.

[323]See especially his Letter to the Directory, 17th July.—Correspondence Inédite, tom. iv., p. 14.

[324]Montholon, tom. iv., pp. 148, 211.

[325]This gentleman was one of the second emigration, who left France during Robespierre's ascendency. He was employed as a political agent by the Court of Russia, after the affair of Venice, which proves that he was not at least convicted of treachery to the Bourbon princes. In July, 1812, he was assassinated at his villa at Hackney, near London, by an Italian domestic, who, having murdered both the Count and Countess, shot himself through the head, leaving no clew to discover the motive of his villany. It was remarked that the villain used Count d'Entraigues' own pistols and dagger, which, apprehensive of danger as a political intriguer, he had always ready prepared in his apartment.—S.

[326]Moniteur, No. 305, July 23.

[327]"The Directory requested General Buonaparte to send one of his generals of brigade to Paris, to await their orders. He chose General Augereau, a man very decided in action, and not very capable of reasoning—two qualities which rendered him an excellent instrument of despotism, provided the despotism assumed the name of revolution."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 180.

[328]Montholon, tom. iv., p. 216.

[329]"I spent the night of the 17th in beholding the preparations for the awful scene which was to take place in a few hours. None but soldiers appeared in the streets. The cannon, brought to surround the palace where the Legislative Body assembled, were rolling along the pavements; but, except their noise, all was silence. No hostile assemblage was seen any where; nor was it known against whom all this apparatus was directed. Liberty was the only power vanquished in that fatal struggle. It might have been said, that she was seen to fly, like a wandering spirit, at the approach of the day which was to shine upon her destruction."—Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 182.

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