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lculation. As Napoleon has
said himself, his position was delicate in the extreme; he commanded
old generals; every one of his movements was jealously watched; his
circumspection was extreme. His fortune lay in his wisdom. He would
have to forget himself for one hour, and how many of his victories
depended upon no more! The celebrated singer, La Grassini, who had all
Italy at her feet, cared only for the young general who would not at
that time vouchsafe her a glance.

FOOTNOTES

 [45] Murat, says Marmont, who hated him, was the culprit here.

 [46] J. H. Rose in _Eng. Hist. Review_, January 1899.

 [47] See Essay by J. H. Rose in _Eng. Hist. Review_, January 1899.

 [48] With fevers caught in the rice-swamps of Lombardy.

 [49] With aqua tofana, says Marmont.

SERIES C

_THE CAMPAIGN OF MARENGO_, 1800

Elected to the joint consulate by the events of the 18th _Brumaire_
(November 9), 1799, Napoleon spent the first Christmas Day after his
return from Egypt in writing personal letters to the King of England
and Emperor of Austria, with a view to peace. He asks King George how
it is that the two most enlightened nations of Europe do not realise
that peace is the chief need as well as the chief glory ... and
concludes by asserting that the fate of all civilised nations is bound
up in the conclusion of a war "which embraces the entire world." His
efforts fail in both cases. On December 27th he makes the _Moniteur_
the sole official journal. On February 7th, 1800, he orders ten days'
military mourning for the death of Washington--that "great man who,
like the French, had fought for equality and liberty." On April 22nd
he urges Moreau to begin his campaign with the army of the Rhine, an
order reiterated on April 24th through Carnot, again made Minister of
War. A diversion to save the army of Italy was now imperative. On May
5th he congratulated Moreau on the battle of Stockach, but informs him
that Massena's position is critical, shut up in Genoa, and with food
only till May 25th. He advises Massena the same day that he leaves
Paris that night to join the Army of Reserve, that the cherished
child of victory must hold out as long as possible, at least until May
30th. At Geneva he met M. Necker. On May 14th he writes General
Mortier, commandant of Paris, to keep that city quiet, as he will have
still to be away a few days longer, which he trusts "will not be
indifferent to M. de Melas."

No. 3.

This letter was written from Ivrea, May 29th, 1800. On the 30th
Napoleon is at Vercelli, on June 1st at Novara, and on June 2nd in
Milan. Eugene served under Murat at the passage of the Ticino, May
31st.

_M.'s_; probably "Maman," _i.e._ his mother.

_Cherries._--This fruit had already tender associations. Las Cases
tells us that when Napoleon was only sixteen he met at Valence
Mademoiselle du Colombier, who was not insensible to his merits. It
was the first love of both.... "We were the most innocent creatures
imaginable," the Emperor used to say; "we contrived little meetings
together. I well remember one which took place on a midsummer morning,
just as daylight began to dawn. It will scarcely be believed that all
our happiness consisted in eating cherries together" (vol. i. 81,
1836).

No. 4.

_Milan._--He arrived here on June 2nd, and met with a great reception.
In his bulletin of June 5th we find him assisting at an improvised
concert. It ends, somewhat quaintly for a bulletin, as follows:
"Italian music has a charm ever new. The celebrated singers,
Billington,[50] La Grassini, and Marchesi are expected at Milan. They
say they are about to start for Paris to give concerts there."
According to M. Frederic Masson, this Paris visit masked ulterior
motives, and was arranged at a _dejeuner_ on the same day, where La
Grassini, Napoleon, and Berthier breakfasted together. Henceforward to
Marengo Napoleon spends every spare day listening to the marvellous
songstress, and as at Eylau, seven years later, runs great risks by
admitting Venus into the camp of Mars. At St. Helena he declares that
from June 3rd to 8th he was busy "receiving deputations, and showing
himself to people assembled from all parts of Lombardy to see their
liberator." The Austrians had declared that he had died in Egypt. The
date of No. 4 should probably be June 9th, on which day the rain was
very heavy. He reached Stradella the next day.

FOOTNOTES

 [50] On reaching London a few months later Mistress Billington was
 engaged simultaneously by Drury Lane and Covent Garden, and
 during the following year harvested L10,000 from these two
 engagements.

SERIES D

No. 1.

The date is doubtless 27 _Messidor_ (July 16), and the fete alluded to
that of July 14. The following day Napoleon signed the Concordat with
the Pope, which paved the way for the restoration of the Roman
Catholic religion in France (September 11).

_The blister._--On July 7 he quaintly writes Talleyrand: "They have
put a second blister on my arm, which prevented me giving audience
yesterday. Time of sickness is an opportune moment for coming to terms
with the priests."

_Some plants._--No trait in Josephine's character is more characteristic
than her love of flowers--not the selfish love of a mere collector,[51]
but the bountiful joy of one who wishes to share her treasures.
Malmaison had become the "veritable Jardin des Plantes" of the
epoch,[52] far better than its Paris namesake in those days. The
splendid hothouses, constructed by M. Thibaut, had been modelled on
those of Kew, and enabled Josephine to collect exotics from every
clime, and especially from her beloved Martinique. No jewel was so
precious to her as a rare and beautiful flower. The Minister of
Marine never forgot to instruct the deep-sea captains to bring back
floral tributes from the far-off tropics. These often fell, together
with the ships, into the hands of the British sea-dogs, but the
Prince Regent always had them sent on from London, and thus
rendered, says Aubenas, "the gallant homage of a courtly enemy to the
charming tastes and to the popularity already acquired by this
universally beloved woman." Her curator, M. Aime Bonpland, was an
accomplished naturalist, who had been with Humboldt in America, and
brought thence 6000 new plants. On his return in 1804 he was nominated
by Josephine manager of the gardens of Malmaison and Navarre.

In the splendid work, _Le Jardin de la Malmaison_, in three volumes,
are plates, with descriptions of 184 plants, mostly new, collected
there from Egypt, Arabia, the United States, the Antilles, Mexico,
Madeira, the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, the East Indies, New
Caledonia, Australia, and China. To Josephine we owe the Camellia, and
the Catalpa, from the flora of Peru, whilst her maiden name (La
Pagerie) was perpetuated by Messrs. Pavon and Ruiz in the Lapageria.

_If the weather is as bad._--As we shall see later, Bourrienne was
invaluable to Josephine's court for his histrionic powers, and he
seems to have been a prime favourite. On the present o

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