Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History BookOpen Original Text r he played a game. Constant
gives a highly-coloured picture of the sequel: "The automaton was
seated before a chess-board, and the Emperor, taking a chair opposite
the figure, said laughingly, 'Now, my friend, we'll have a game.' The
automaton, bowing, made signs for the Emperor to begin. After two or
three moves the Emperor made a wrong one on purpose; the automaton
bowed and replaced the piece on the board. His Majesty cheated again,
when the automaton bowed again, but this time took the pawn. 'Quite
right,' said his Majesty, as he promptly cheated for the third time.
The automaton then shook its head, and with one sweep of its hand
knocked all the chessmen down."
_Women ... not having been presented._--One woman, however, the
mistress of Lord Paget, was quite willing to be presented at a late
hour and to murder him at the same time--at least so says Constant.
No. 19.
_All this is very suspicious._--For perfectly natural reasons Caesar's
wife was now above suspicion, but Caesar himself was not so. Madame
Walewski had been more than a month at Schoenbrunn, and on May 4th,
1810, Napoleon has a second son born, who fifty years later helped to
edit his father's _Correspondence_.
No. 20.
_Krems._--He left here to review Davoust's corps on the field of
Austerlitz. Afterwards all the generals dined with him, and the
Emperor said, "This is the second time I come upon the field of
Austerlitz; shall I come to it a third time?" "Sire," replied one,
"from what we see every day none dare wager that you will not!" It was
this suppressed hatred that probably determined the Emperor to
dismantle the fortifications of Vienna, an act that intensified the
hatred of the Viennese more than his allowing the poor people to help
themselves to wood for the winter in the imperial forests had
mollified them.
_My health has never been better._--His reason for this remark is
found in his letter to Cambaceres of the same date, "They have spread
in Paris the rumour that I was ill, I know not why; I was never
better." The reason of the rumour was that Corvisart had been sent for
to Vienna, as there had been an outbreak of dysentery among the
troops. This was kept a profound secret from France, and Napoleon even
allowed Josephine to think that Corvisart had attended him (see Letter
22).
No. 23.
_October 14th._--Two days before, Stabs, the young Tugendbundist and
an admirer of Joan of Arc, had attempted to assassinate Napoleon on
parade with a carving-knife. The Emperor's letter to Fouche of the
12th October gives the most succinct account:--
"A youth of seventeen, son of a Lutheran minister of Erfurt, sought to
approach me on parade to-day. He was arrested by the officers, and as
the little man's agitation had been noticed, suspicion was aroused; he
was searched, and a dagger found upon him. I had him brought before
me, and the little wretch, who seemed to me fairly well educated, told
me that he wished to assassinate me to deliver Austria from the
presence of the French. I could distinguish in him neither religious
nor political fanaticism. He did not appear to know exactly who or
what Brutus was. The fever of excitement he was in prevented our
knowing more. He will be examined when he has cooled down and fasted.
It is possible that it will come to nothing. He will be arraigned
before a military commission.
"I wished to inform you of this circumstance in order that it may not
be made out more important than it appears to be. I hope it will not
leak out; if it does, we shall have to represent the fellow as a
madman. If it is not spoken of at all, keep it to yourself. The whole
affair made no disturbance at the parade; I myself saw nothing of it.
"_P.S._--I repeat once more, and you understand clearly, that there is
to be no discussion of this occurrence."
Count Rapp saved the Emperor's life on this occasion, and he, Savary,
and Constant, all give detailed accounts. Their narratives are a
remarkable object-lesson of the carelessness of the average
contemporary spectator in recording dates. Savary gives vaguely the
end of September, Constant October 13th, and Count Rapp October 23rd.
In the present case the date of this otherwise trivial incident is
important, for careless historians assert that it influenced Napoleon
in concluding peace. In any case it would have taken twenty such
occurrences to affect Napoleon one hairbreadth, and in the present
instance his letter of October 10th to the Russian Emperor proves that
the Peace was already settled--all but the signing.
No. 24.
_Stuttgard._--General Rapp describes this journey as follows: "Peace
was ratified. We left Nymphenburg and arrived at Stuttgard. Napoleon
was received in a style of magnificence, and was lodged in the palace
together with his suite. The King was laying out a spacious garden,
and men who had been condemned to the galleys were employed to labour
in it. The Emperor asked the King who the men were who worked in
chains; he replied that they were for the most part rebels who had
been taken in his new possessions. We set out on the following day. On
the way Napoleon alluded to the unfortunate wretches whom he had seen
at Stuttgard. 'The King of Wuertemberg,' said he, 'is a very harsh man;
but he is very faithful. Of all the sovereigns in Europe he possesses
the greatest share of understanding.'
"We stopped for an hour at Rastadt, where the Princess of Baden and
Princess Stephanie had arrived for the purpose of paying their
respects to the Emperor. The Grand Duke and Duchess accompanied him as
far as Strasburg. On his arrival in that city he received despatches
which again excited his displeasure against the Faubourg St. Germain.
We proceeded to Fontainebleau; no preparations had been made for the
Emperor's reception; there was not even a guard on duty."
This was on October 26th, at 10 A.M. Meneval asserts that Napoleon's
subsequent bad temper was feigned. In any case, the meeting--that
moment so impatiently awaited--was a very bad _quart d'heure_ for
Josephine, accentuated doubtless by Fouche's report of bad conduct on
the part of the ladies of St. Germain.
FOOTNOTES
[70] This Archduke was the "international man" at this juncture. Louis
Bonaparte speaks of a society at Saragossa, of which the object
was to make the Archduke Charles king of Spain.
[71] These Adelphes or Philadelphes were the socialists or educated
anarchists of that day. They wished for the _statu quo_ before
Napoleon became supreme ruler. They had members in his army,
and it seems quite probable that Bernadotte gave them passive
support. General Oudet was their recognised head, and he died
under suspicious circumstances after Wagram. The society was,
unlike the Carbonari, anti-Catholic.
[72] Pelet, vol. i. 127.
[73] Pelet, vol. i. 282.
[74] "Gaily asking his staff to breakfast with him" (Pelet).
[75] Lejeune says "some hours afterwards."
[76] Eugene's.
[77] "What a loss for France and for me," groaned Napoleon, as he left
his d Previous Next |