Part 31

Every body, in fact, knows, that the statue of Napoleon, by which this monument was formerly surmounted, had been pulled down in the early days of the restoration; and it was not for individual and unauthorized citizens to repair this affront.

A few royalists, at the head of whom figured M. de Maubreuil and M. Sostene de la Rochefoucault, were guilty of this profanation. M. de Rochefoucault, whose family had shared so largely in the gifts and favours of Napoleon, himself put a rope about the neck of his benefactor, with intention to have it dragged through the mud by some vagabonds, whom he had hired: but the statue mocked his endeavours; and the only fruit he reaped from them was the reprobation of honest men, and the contempt of foreigners.

The column itself was long offensive to the jealous eyes of the enemies of our glory. They conspired its destruction; and would have accomplished it, had they dared. History, which leaves nothing unpunished, will brand, I trust, these unworthy Frenchmen, these new Vandals, with eternal disgrace. It will inscribe their names, and their sacrilegious wishes, on the foot of the immortal column, which they wanted to overturn. No doubt it will also tell, that the federates, the half-pay officers, and all the partisans of Napoleon, whom some have been pleased to represent as madmen, as robbers, respected during the hundred days the statue of Henry IV.; though this statue, placed within reach of their blows, and constructed of frail materials, would have fallen with the slightest shock.

Napoleon had said to the national guard of Paris, "We yet know of none that are enemies:" and these words were true. It had been remarked, that the foreign troops concentrated themselves on our frontiers, but none of their dispositions appeared hostile, and Napoleon might still reasonably hope, that his care to maintain peace would not be fruitless.

On the very day of his entry into Lyons, he had hastened to commission Prince Joseph, to declare to the Austrian and Russian ministers at the Helvetic diet, that he was ready to ratify the treaty of Paris.

When he arrived in the capital, he found that the foreign ministers, particularly Baron de Vincent, the Austrian minister, and M. Boudiakeen, Russian charge d'affaire, had not yet quitted it, for want of passports.

He caused the departure of M. de Vincent and M. de Boudiakeen to be delayed; and directed the Duke of Vicenza to see them, and assure them anew of his pacific disposition.

Baron de Vincent at first refused all kind of communication or conferences; but at length he consented to meet M. de Vicenza at the house of a third person. They had a conference together at Madame de Souza's. M. de Vincent did not conceal the resolution of the allies, to oppose Napoleon's retaining the throne: but he hinted, that in his opinion there might not be the same repugnance to his son. He engaged, however, to make known the sentiments of Napoleon to the Emperor of Austria; and consented to take charge of a letter for the Empress Marie Louise.

M. de Boudiakeen, after having equally refused the conference proposed by the Duke of Vicenza, finished also with accepting it. It was agreed, that they should meet at the house of Mademoiselle Cauchelet, lady of the bedchamber to the Princess Hortense.

M. de Jaucourt had forgotten to take out of the port-folio of foreign affairs a secret treaty, by which England, Austria, and France, had mutually engaged to oppose, peaceably or by force, the dismemberment of Saxony, which Russia and Prussia openly conspired.

The Emperor thought, that this treaty might perhaps alienate these two powers from the Bourbon interest, and generate distrust and discord between the allies. He directed the Duke of Vicenza, to show it to the Russian minister; and represent it to him as a fresh proof of the ingratitude, with which the court of the Tuileries repaid the numerous benefits of Alexander. The existence of this triple alliance was wholly unknown to M. de Boudiakeen, and appeared to cause him as much surprise as dissatisfaction. But he declared, that he was too well acquainted with the principles of his sovereign, to venture to flatter himself, that the circumstance of this treaty, or any other, could produce a favourable change in his disposition. He promised, however, to make a faithful report to him of the conference he had had with M. de Vicenza; and to express to him the desire, manifested by the Emperor Napoleon, of becoming again the ally and friend of Russia.

The Emperor, in order to give more efficacy to his proposals, directed the Princess Hortense, to confirm them in person to the Emperor Alexander. He also caused letters to be written to Prince Eugene, and to the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden, to request them, to renew the same assurances to that sovereign, and to neglect no means of detaching him from the coalition.

In fine, the Emperor directed overtures to be made to the cabinet of London, by means of a person pointed out by the Duke of Otranto; and in order to gain the suffrage of the parliament, and give the English ministry a pledge of his good intentions beforehand, he abolished the slave trade by a spontaneous decree.

After having taken these indirect steps, Napoleon thought his duty as well as his dignity required him, to give a solemn and authentic character to the manifestation of his pacific intentions.

Accordingly he wrote to the foreign sovereigns a letter couched in the following terms:

"Sire, my brother,

"You will have heard in the course of last month of my return to the French coast, my entering Paris, and the departure of the Bourbon family. The true nature of these events must now be known to your Majesty: they are the work of an irresistible power, the work and the unanimous will of a great nation, who knows its duties and its rights. The dynasty, which force had bestowed on the French people, was not formed for them: the Bourbons would not accommodate themselves either to their sentiments, or to their manners. France could not but separate itself from them. Her voice called for a deliverer: the expectations, that had induced me, to make the greatest of all sacrifices, had been frustrated. I came, and from the spot where I touched the shore I was conducted by the love of my people to the bosom of my capital. The first wish of my heart is, to repay such great affection by the maintenance of an honourable tranquillity. The re-establishment of the imperial throne being necessary to the happiness of the French, nothing can be more pleasing to my thoughts, than to render it at the same time advantageous to the consolidation of the tranquillity of Europe. Sufficient glory had crowned the standards of the different nations by turns; the vicissitudes of fate have occasioned a sufficient succession of great successes and great defeats: a nobler career now opens itself to sovereigns, and I am the first to enter it. After having exhibited to the world the spectacle of great battles, it will be more pleasing, henceforth to know no rivalry but that of the advantages of peace, no strife but the sacred striving after the happiness of nations. France takes a pleasure in frankly proclaiming this noble end of all her wishes. Jealous of her own independence, the invariable principle of her politics will be the most absolute respect for the independence of other nations. If such be the personal sentiments of your Majesty, as I am happy to persuade myself, the general tranquillity is ensured for a long time to come; and justice, sitting on the confines of states, will be sufficient alone to guard their frontiers.

"Paris, the 4th of April."

The Duke of Vicenza received orders, personally to express to the foreign ministers the sentiments, with which the Emperor was animated: but the couriers, who carried his despatches, could not reach the places of their destination; one was arrested at Kehl, another at Mayence; a third, sent off for Italy, could not get beyond Turin; the communications were interrupted. The arrangements of the declaration of the congress of Vienna of the 13th of March were acted upon already.

This declaration, transmitted directly by the emissaries of the King to the prefects of the frontier cities, and distributed by the royalists, was in circulation at Paris. The inferior papers had announced its appearance, and united in asserting, that such an act was unworthy of the allied sovereigns, and could only be the work of calumny and malevolence.

However, when it became impossible to question its legitimacy, it was necessary to come to the resolution of no longer making a mystery of it to the French people; and accordingly the following account was given of it in the Moniteur on the 13th of April.

"Council of Ministers.

"Sitting of the 29th of March.

"The Duke of Otranto, minister of the general police, states, that he is about to read to the council a declaration, dated Vienna the 13th, which is supposed to have been issued by the congress:

"That this declaration, as it contains an incentive to the assassination of the Emperor, appears to him apocryphal: that, if it should prove genuine, it would be unexampled in the history of the world: that the libellous style, in which it is written, gives room to suppose, it ought to be classed among the papers fabricated by party-spirit, and by those pamphleteers, who of late years have foisted themselves uncommissioned into all state affairs: that it pretends to be signed by the English ministers; but it is impossible to suppose, that the ministers of a free nation, and particularly Lord Wellington, could have taken a step inconsistent with the legislation of their country, and with their own characters: that it pretends to be signed by the ministers of Austria; but it is impossible to conceive, whatever political dissensions may subsist between them, that a father could call for the assassination of his son: that, contrary to every principle of religion and morality, it is derogatory to the honourable character of the sovereigns, whose mandates are thus compromised by the libellists: that this declaration has been known several days, but, from the considerations abovementioned, it could not be considered otherwise than as deserving the profoundest contempt: that it was not deemed fit to engage the attention of the ministry, till official reports from Metz and Strasburg made known, that it had been brought into France by couriers from the Prince of Benevento; a fact confirmed by the result of the investigation that took place, and the interrogatories put: in fine, that it is proved, that this paper, which could not have been signed by the ministers of Austria, Russia, and England, was issued by the legation of the Count of Lille at Vienna; which legation had added to the crime of provoking assassination that of falsifying the signature of the members of the congress.

"The pretended declaration of the congress, the reports from Metz and Strasburg, as well as the investigation and interrogatories conducted by order of the minister of the general police, which ascertain, that the said declaration proceeded from the plenipotentiaries of the Count of Lille at Vienna, will be sent to the presidents of the sections of the council.

"DECLARATION.

"The powers, who signed the treaty of Paris, assembled in Congress at Vienna, being informed of the escape of Napoleon Bonaparte, and of his entering France by force of arms, owe to their own dignity, and to the interests of society, a solemn declaration of the sentiments, with which this event has inspired them.