Part 30

On one hand he was informed of the defection of the regular troops under General Ernouf, and his forced retreat to Sisteron.

On another he heard, that General Grouchy was advancing to meet him with a formidable force.

From a third source of intelligence he learned, that the royal party at Nismes, and at Toulouse, had dispersed without resistance: that M. Vitrolles, the head of the committee of insurrection, had been arrested; and that the patriots, and the troops of the 9th division, united under the orders of General Gilly, having marched to take him in the rear, had retaken the bridge of St. Esprit by assault, and passed the Rhone.

In fine, despatches from Turin announced to him, that he must no longer reckon upon any assistance from the Swiss, or upon the promises of the King of Sardinia.

The Prince in consequence ordered a retreat to be sounded, and retired to Valence.

The Emperor, who, according to custom, took the trouble to compose himself the articles in the Moniteur relative to this little war, gave the following account of the evacuation of Valence.

"Valence, the 7th of April. The Duke of Angouleme has made a sad figure here. The alarm bell sounded throughout Dauphiny, and numerous battalions of the national guards departed for Lyons. The Duke of Angouleme, informed of their arrival, set off helter skelter with the four thousand insurgents, who are under his orders. The troops of the line, informed by our citizens, that we were engaged in the cause of the nation against a few privileged families, of the people against the nobility, and in short of the revolution against the counter-revolution, suddenly changed sides. The army however reckons three traitors, who appear to have taken the part of the enemies of their country: they are Generals Ernouf, Monnier, and D'Aultannie." He forgot General Loverdo.

The Emperor was equally careful, to make public the correspondence, that was intercepted: and as some announced the intention of separating the chaff from the wheat, and throwing it into the fire; others, of hanging all the rebels, without exception, and without mercy; and, in fine, others, invited Spain, Switzerland, and the King of Piedmont, to come and reduce France to reason; they contributed not less powerfully than the success of the imperial army, to detach from the cause of the Bourbons every Frenchman, who was an enemy to treachery, hanging, and foreigners.

General Grouchy, informed of the retreat of the Duke of Angouleme, sent some light troops in pursuit of him. Most of the chasseurs of the 14th, and of the artillerymen, joined the imperialists. The volunteers of the south, who had hitherto set no bounds to their presumptuous hopes, now found none to their fears. As cowardly in adversity, as they were arrogant in prosperity, they abandoned their general at the approach of danger; and all, with the exception of a few hundreds of brave fellows, sought safety in flight.

The Duke of Angouleme, surrounded by the feeble remnants of their battalions, and by the 10th of the line, which still remained faithful, continued his retrograde march night and day; and traversed in silence the places, which his army had made ring with the shouts of victory but a few days before. The mountaineers, who had suffered so much from the exactions and ill treatment of the royal volunteers, now repeated in their turn "Wo to the vanquished!" and did not allow a moment's rest to the Duke of Angouleme and his followers. Pressed on one side by the columns of Grouchy, on the other by the troops of General Gilly; shut in, without hope of succour, between the Drome, the Rhone, the Durance, and the mountains, the Duke of Angouleme had only two resources: one was, to abandon his army, and get over the mountains to Marseilles or Piedmont; the other, to submit, with his companions in misfortune, to the law of the conqueror.

The Prince would not separate his fate from that of his army. He consented to surrender. Baron de Damas and General Gilly regulated the conditions of the capitulation. It was agreed, that the Prince should disband his army, and have liberty to embark at Cette. As soon as this intelligence was announced by a telegraphic despatch, it was immediately made known to the Emperor by the Duke of Bassano, who prevailed on him, though opposed by several distinguished persons, to return an answer, by the same mode of conveyance, approving of the capitulation. At the same instant a second despatch announced, that General Grouchy refused to sign the treaty, unless he had the consent of the Emperor, and the Duke of Angouleme was deemed a prisoner. Upon this the Duke of Bassano hastened to transmit the first orders of Napoleon, and delayed informing him of the impediment to the ratification, till night rendered any new orders by telegraph impracticable. Being made acquainted with this noble daring of his minister, instead of reprimanding him, the Emperor dictated to him the following letter:

"M. le Count Grouchy, the ordinance of the king, dated on the 6th of March, and the declaration signed at Vienne on the 13th by his ministers, would authorize me to treat the Duke of Angouleme, as that ordinance, and that declaration, would have had me and my family treated: but, persevering in that disposition, which induced me to ordain, that the members of the Bourbon family might have free egress from France, my intention is, that you give orders for the Duke of Angouleme to be conducted to Cette, where he shall be embarked, and that you watch over his safety, and prevent him from receiving any ill treatment. You will only take care to recover the money that has been taken from the public offices, and to require the Duke of Angouleme to engage to restore the diamonds of the crown, which are the property of the nation. You will at the same time make known to him the provisions of the laws of the national assemblies, which have been renewed, and which apply to those members of the Bourbon family, who shall re-enter the French territories," &c.

While awaiting the decision of Napoleon, the Duke of Angouleme was strictly watched. He supported this fresh disgrace with firmness and tranquillity. The Marquis de Riviere, informed of his detention, threatened Count Grouchy, if he did not restore him to liberty, to surrender Marseilles to the English, and raise up all Provence. These empty threats had no effect. The fate of the duke did not depend on Count de Grouchy: it was in opposition to his own feelings, that he had ventured to lay a sacrilegious hand on this prince; and he prayed sincerely, that the decision of the Emperor would allow him to break his chains.

As soon as the decision reached him, the general hastened to insure the Duke of Angouleme the means of embarking speedily; and with religious zeal took the necessary measures, for his being treated on the passage with due respect.

The prince, on his arrival at Cette, embarked immediately, and sailed for Cadiz.

His capitulation and departure soon led to the submission of Marseilles: and, thanks to the prudence and firmness of the Prince of Essling, governor of that division, the royal standard was hauled down, and the tricoloured flag hoisted in its stead, without any disturbance or effusion of blood.

The Emperor named General Grouchy marshal of the empire; not because he entertained any great admiration of his conduct, for he was aware, that he had but faintly pressed the Duke of Angouleme; but in order to give some splendor to the disgrace of the prince, and discourage the royalists in other parts of France. Resolving at the same time to punish the treason committed by the 10th at the passage of the Drome, he decreed, that this regiment should wear a piece of crape on its colours, till it had washed in the blood of the enemy those arms, which it had stained with the blood of Frenchmen.

By the telegraph the Emperor was informed of the submission of Marseilles, and the entire pacification of the south, just as he was going to review the national guard of Paris. It was always in similar circumstances, that great news reached the Emperor: it seemed as if fortune, attentive to please him, sought to enhance her gifts by bestowing them apropos. Ever since his arrival he had been intending to have this review, but the successive inspections of the troops of the line had prevented him. Some persons did not fail to ascribe this delay, so easily to be accounted for, to his fear of the sentiments and bayonets of the legions of Paris. Meantime some grenadiers of the royal ex-volunteers indulged in threats and imprecations against him. This was enough to terrify some of the alarmists of the court; and they requested Napoleon to mix a few battalions of his guards in the review, by way of precaution. The Emperor rejected their entreaties, and was angry at their fears: nevertheless, they caused him to be attended, without his knowledge, by ten or a dozen grenadiers, who were directed not to lose sight of him for a moment.

While the Emperor was walking his horse along the ranks, his escort had followed him without his paying any attention to it: but when he set off at a gallop, he perceived, that his grenadiers were galloping after him, and stopped. "What do you do there?" said he to one of them: "Go about your business!" The old grumbler, who knew that apprehensions were entertained for the life of his general, appeared disposed not to obey. The Emperor then took hold of him by his hairy cap, and, giving it a hearty shake, repeated with a smile his order to him to retire: "Go all of you away: I am surrounded by none but good Frenchmen; I am as safe with them as with you." The national guards, who heard these words, cried out spontaneously, "Yes, yes, Sire, you are right; we would all defend your life at the expense of our own." Encouraged by the familiarity which the Emperor displayed towards them, they quitted their ranks, and crowded round him: some pressed his hands, others kissed theirs to him; all expressed their satisfaction and attachment by continued shouts of "Long live the nation! Long live the Emperor!"

After this unexpected scene, the Emperor proceeded with his review: he then caused a circle of officers to be formed, alighted, and addressed them nearly in the following terms:

"Soldiers of the national guard of Paris, I am well pleased to see you. Fifteen months ago I formed you for the preservation of tranquillity in the capital, and for its security. You have fulfilled my expectations. You have shed your blood in defence of Paris; and if hostile troops entered your walls, the blame falls not on you, but on treason, and above all on that fatality, which attaches itself to our affairs under adverse circumstances.

"The royal throne was not adapted to France: it gave the people no security for its most valuable interests; it was imposed upon us by foreigners. I am arrived, equipped with all the strength of the people and of the army, to obliterate this stain, and restore the honour and glory of France to all their lustre.

"Soldiers of the national guard, this very morning the telegraph of Lyons has informed me, that the tricoloured flag is waving at Antibes and at Marseilles. The discharge of a hundred cannon on our frontiers will proclaim to foreign nations, that our civil discords are at an end: I say foreign nations, because we yet know of none that are enemies. If they assemble their troops, we will assemble ours. All our armies are composed of brave men, who have distinguished themselves in various battles, and who will display to foreigners a barrier of iron; while numerous battalions of grenadiers and chasseurs of the national guards will secure our frontiers. I shall not interfere with the affairs of foreign nations: wo to those governments, that shall interfere with ours! Misfortunes have tempered anew the character of the French people: it has resumed that youth, that vigour, which astonished Europe twenty years ago.

"Soldiers, you have been obliged to wear colours proscribed by the nation. But the national colours remained in your hearts: you now swear, to take them always for your rallying signal, and to defend the imperial throne, the only and natural guarantie of our rights; you swear never to suffer foreigners, in whose country we have appeared repeatedly as masters, to interfere with our constitution or government. In fine, you swear, to sacrifice every thing to the honour and independence of France."

This oath was pronounced with enthusiasm. The national guard showed, that it was not afraid of being taken at its word.

Apprehensions had been entertained, that the guards, who had long borne the Parisians a grudge for having surrendered so promptly in 1814, would indulge in some offensive reproaches: but Napoleon had enjoined his grenadiers to maintain silence; and, in order to complete the reconciliation, he caused it to be cemented by a dinner, to which the imperial guards invited the national guard and the garrison of Paris.

Fifteen thousand soldiers of every description assembled at the Champ de Mars under the eyes of the people of Paris: the joyous songs of the soldiers and citizens answered each other by turns, and gave a truly national character to this festival.

When the repast was over, a numerous crowd of soldiers, officers, and national guards, set off for the Tuileries, carrying the bust of Napoleon crowned with laurels. When they arrived before his Majesty's windows, they saluted him with thousands and thousands of acclamations; and then they repaired to la Place Vendome, where they devoutly deposited at the foot of the monument raised to the glory of our armies the image of the hero, who had led them to victory. The Emperor, as soon as he was informed of it, ordered me to write to the minister of the police, to have the bust removed in the night. "It is not after bacchanalian orgies," said he, proudly, "that my image should be placed on the column."