XIII. CHAP. had executed his odious office, that he had no influence whatever; and Talleyrand, the remaining member of the 1814. Empress's council, kept aloof, and, without himself suggesting anything, contented himself with cutting and disdainful remarks upon anything suggested by others. The distress of the Empress was much enhanced by a dream of the King of Rome, of a melancholy cast, of which, with infantine simplicity, he told his mother, but without informing her of its details.* Not an additional soldier, or gun, or horse could be got to defend, in its last extremity, the Palladium of the empire and at this moment 100,000 veteran soldiers were shut up in useless inactivity in Dantzic, Hamburg, Flushing, Palma Nuova, Venice, 1 Lond. 297; Alessandria, Antwerp, and the fortresses on the Rhine. A memorable example of the way in which ambition, as Shakespeare says, "overleaps itself, and falls on the other Lab. ii. 349; side," and of the provision made by Providence for the destruction of all attempts to attain universal dominion in the efforts which it makes for its own extension.1 1 Thiers, xvii. 572 334330 Beauch. ii. 194. 48. mined that and King of Rome should go The near approach of the Allied armies, however, and It is deter the evident danger of the Empress and King of Rome the Empress falling into the enemy's hands, rendered it absolutely necessary to come to some decision as to their disposal beyond the during the perils evidently about to arrive. A council, Lire 28. accordingly, was called to take the matter into consideration on the evening of the 28th, which was attended by all the members of her Privy Council and the principal dignitaries of the empire. In it opinions, as might have been expected in such a crisis, were very much divided as to the course which should be pursued. The Minister at March * "A very interesting intercepted letter has been shown to me from the Empress to Buonaparte, in which, after expressing great affection, she states the effect which his late victories had produced at Paris, and ending by an anecdote of the King of Rome having had a dream, in which he cried bitterly, calling frequently on his papa. When he awoke, and was questioned as to the cause, no entreaty or threat could induce him to give the smallest explanation or reveal the nature of his dream. This made the child very melancholy, and the Empress partook of it, though she rode daily to the Bois de Boulogne."— SIR CHARLES STEWART to LORD Castlereagh, March 27, 1814, MS. XIII. 1814. War began the discussion by unfolding the forces on which CHAP. they could rely for their defence, and those of the Allies; these last he estimated at 150,000 men, while their own did not exceed 25,000. In these circumstances he with reason concluded that he could not answer for the safety of the Empress and her son if they remained in Paris, and that the only question was, whither they should be conveyed? Upon this a strong debate arose in the Council. Boulay de la Meurthe, an old republican, proposed that they should convey the Empress to the Hôtel de Ville, sound the tocsin in all the churches, arm and call forth the inhabitants of the faubourg, show the infant to them at the windows of the building, and electrify the citizens by exhibiting the heroism of Maria Theresa. Count Molé strongly combated the removal of the Empress, alleging, what the event proved was true, that "the greatest of all errors, if resistance was determined on, would be to leave Paris without a government; for, if left to themselves, its inhabitants would speedily abandon the Emperor." In this opinion Talleyrand concurred. Clarke, on the other hand, supported the removal of the Empress, insisting "that it was a mistake to consider Paris as the centre of the imperial power; that the authority of the Emperor would follow him everywhere; and as long as a village remained in France unoccupied by the enemy, that would be his capital." Upon the vote being taken, twenty-three declared for making the contest a popular one, and removing the Empress and her infant son to the Hôtel de Ville. Upon this, Joseph produced a letter from the Emperor, dated from Rheims not a fortnight before, to the effect that in no event should they permit the Empress and the King of Rome to fall into the hands of the enemy; that if the Allies approached Paris Ther with forces plainly irresistible, they should remove them, 582; Sav along with the chief dignitaries of the empire, to the 345; Thib. south of the Loire ; in fine, that he would rather see his 618. son in the Seine than in the hands of the Allies.1 This 1 Thiers, xvii. 578, ary, vi. 344, ix. 617, at once terminated the discussion, and it was determined that Joseph should remain to provide, as long as possible, for the defence of the capital, and that the Empress and King of Rome should be removed next day in the direction of the Loire.* Departure being thus resolved on, the Empress, though with undisguised reluctance, prepared to obey it; and early next morning the Place of the Carrousel was filled with carriages to convey the august fugitives to a place of safety. In addition to the Imperial family and their suite and the dignitaries of the empire, designed by Napoleon to accompany her, there were put in the conveyance the most secret and precious papers of the Emperor, and the remains of his private treasure, amounting to 1,800,000 francs (£720,000), with the whole crown diamonds. The Empress was in tears all the forenoon, and her grief was much aggravated by the King of Rome, who, though only three years of age, evinced the utmost reluctance to quit the palace, clung with such energy to the curtains of his apartment that he had to be torn away by force, and repeatedly asked, as they were carrying him down the great stair, why they were taking him away, whither he was going? An anxious and agitated crowd, from an early hour, filled the Carrousel, and opinions were much and painfully divided as to what was going forward. Some, seeing the Imperial family about to depart and the chief officers of Government with them, gave over the cause as lost, and openly expressed their * "You are in no event to permit the Empress and the King of Rome to fall into the enemy's hands; and I am about to manoeuvre in such a manner that you may possibly be several days without hearing from me. Should the enemy advance upon Paris with such forces as to render resistance plainly impossible, send off in the direction of the Loire the Empress and the King of Rome, the great dignitaries, the ministers, the president of the council of state, the officers of the senate, the great officers of the crown, and the treaNever quit my son; and keep in mind, I would rather see him in the Seine than in the hands of the enemies of France. The fate of Astyanax, a prisoner in the hands of the Greeks, has always appeared to me the most deplorable in history."-NAPOLEON to JOSEPH, Rheims, March 16, 1814; CAPEFIGUE, X. 443, 444. sure. CHAP. XIII. joy that at least the Empress and her son would be extricated from the dangers which were impending over them. Others, and they were the more numerous, loudly 1814. blamed the departure as an act of pusillanimity which would ruin the cause of France, and insisted that they should have remained, and thrown themselves on the people, who would have defended them with their lives. In the midst of these anxieties and fears, the Empress and her august infant appeared at the foot of the stair, and entered the carriages. Every head was uncovered, and hardly an eye was dry in the immense assemblage; 1 Thiers, but not a cheer was given and not a sound was heard, 55; Sav. as on days of festivity, as they took their departure. Silently they slowly moved away, followed by tearful 618, 619; eyes, as if led out to execution. They were taking their 443. last farewell. Neither was ever seen in Paris again.1 But that xvii. 583 vii. 1-3; Cap. x. 442, conduct of One high dignitary and arch-traitor was sadly per- 50. plexed how to act on this occasion. As arch-chancellor Treacherous and one of the chief officers of state, it was the obvious Talleyrand. duty of Talleyrand to have obeyed the Emperor's orders and accompanied the Empress in her retreat. by no means suited the views of the hoary diplomatist, who, having come to despair of the Emperor's cause, was meditating a desertion to the other side, and was already in secret communication with the Emperor Alexander, whom he expected as his guest in Paris on his arrival, looked for on the following day. But how was he to avoid going off with the Empress, and then being honourably dragged down the gulf by her? The device, eminently characteristic of the man, which he fell upon was this: Pretending to have much to carry away and arrange, he contrived to delay his departure till the Imperial cortège was already off, and then set out, as if to follow them, in great pomp, attended by a numerous train. Meanwhile he had arranged with the police that he should be stopped at the barrier for want of a passport, which he took care not to have with him. After much XIII. 1814. CHAP. seeming altercation and many expressions of regret, he returned to his hotel late in the evening, and made no attempt to set out again. Two days after he received the Russian Emperor as his guest in his magnificent hotel in the Rue Florentin, where the dethronement of Napoleon was arranged.1* 1 Thiers, xvii. 611, 612. 51. the French fence of Paris. Left in this manner to their own resources, Joseph, Forces of Marmont, and Mortier made the best dispositions that for the de- circumstances would admit to maintain their ground against the overwhelming superiority of force by which they were assailed. The defence of the important heights of Belleville and Romainville, the true bulwark of the capital, and from thence to Charenton, on the Marne, was intrusted to Marmont; that from those heights to the Seine, including Montmartre, was devolved upon Mortier. The line was by nature extremely strong, and if it had been either strengthened by adequate fieldworks or defended by a sufficient force, it might have been rendered altogether impregnable. But it had no intrenchments, and the force by which it was guarded was altogether inadequate to the defence of so extensive a position. Marmont's corps, which was placed during the night at Saint Maude and Charenton, even when it was all assembled, amounted only to 7500 infantry and 1500 horse, the remains of seventy battalions of which it had 3 Marm. vi. been composed. The wreck of fifteen divisions, which in former days would have mustered 90,000 combatants, 241. "Ne sachant comment faire pour couvrir d'un prétexte spécieux sa présence prolongée à Paris, M. de Talleyrand prit le parti de monter en voiture pour feindre au moins la bonne volonté de suivre la Régente. Vers la chute du jour, à l'heure où finissait le combat, il se présenta, sans passe-port et en grand appareil de voyage, à la barrière qui donnait sur la route d'Orléans. Elle était occupée par des gardes nationaux fort irrités contre ceux qui depuis deux jours désertaient la capitale. Il se fit autour de sa voiture une sorte de tumulte, naturel selon quelques contemporains, et selon d'autres préparé à dessein. On lui demanda son passe-port qu'il ne put montrer; on murmura contre ce défaut d'une formalité essentielle, et alors, avec une déférence affectée pour la consigne des braves défenseurs de Paris, il rebrossa chemin et rentra dans san hôtel. La plupart de ceux qui avaient contribué à le retenir, et qui ne désiraient pas de revolution, ne se doutaient pas qu'ils avaient retenu l'homme qui allait en faire une."-THIERS, Xvii. 612. |