made by Bonaparte to the court of Austria, proposing to abdicate the throne in favor of his son, and that the empress should be appointed regent in the name of the young Napoleon; at the same time, Bonaparte solemnly pledged himself that he would not interfere in the affairs of France. These overtures were regarded as a proof of weak-' ness, and no notice was taken of them. Bonaparte was certainly in a most awkward and delicate situation. He could not avail himself, in the approaching war, of those services of his marshals to which he had been accustomed. Some of them had left France with the king of those who remained in France, some kept aloof from Paris; and in the others, who did offer their services, he could place little or no confidence. But this was not the only difficulty to which Bonaparte was now exposed. It is highly probable that the constitutionalists, as they called themselves, were privy to the return of Bonaparte; and that they intended to make use of him as an instrument in their hands to drive out the Bourbons, and to defend France against the allies; but did not intend that he should resume the despotic power which he had before possessed. Bonaparte willingly promised that he would adhere to their plans; he even professed that his principles were changed, that he no longer was desirous of conquest or of despotic power. The former profession was made in order to blind the allies, and to induce them to permit him to remain quietly on the throne of France: the latter profession was made in order that he might keep well with the constitutionalists as long as they could be of service to him; and that, if possible, he might substitute in the minds of the people at large an attachment towards himself, as the champion of liberty, instead of that attachment which, in the days of his prosperity, they had felt towards him as the hero of France. We shall afterwards have occasion to point out the instances of perplexity and difficulty in which he was involved, in consequence of the constitutionalists acting in opposition to his measures and views, as well as the attempts which those persons made, during this short second reign of Bonaparte, to instil the principles of freedom into the constitution of France. At present it may be proper to say a few words with respect to the alleged change in the sentiments and feelings of Bonaparte. It is alleged, that on his return from Elba he was quite a new man ;-that the love of conquest and of military glory, that all schemes and wishes of ambition were completely banished from his mind, and that he was sincerely desirous of ruling over France on principles of liberty, and of keeping himself clear from all wars of offence. Now it is evident that, before we can be called upon to believe in this change, we must have most 1815. clear and indubitable proof: for let us reflect on BOOK XV. what we are called upon to believe ;-that Bonaparte, a man who from his very youth was bred CHAP. III. up in the midst of military life, should all at once lose his love for that kind of life, and the habits which it occasioned; that Bonaparte, who for fifteen years had been at the head of the French nation, during all which period he had been endeavouring to extend his power, and had displayed most certain proofs that his ambitious and tyrannical appetite only grew with what it fed upon that this man should all at once cease to be ambitious; that Bonaparte, who, even during his disasters in 1812, 1813, and 1814, could not bring himself to be either moderate in his desires or sincere in his professions, should now become moderate and sincere. And all this we are called upon to believe, merely because he had spent a few months in the isle of Elba, during which he was constantly receiving accounts from France calculated to cherish his hopes and keep alive his former feelings and habits; while those hopes, feelings, and habits must have been stimulated into most active life by his wonderful march from Cannes to Paris. But why are we called upon to believe in this extraordinary change? why are we called upon to set aside all our experience in human nature, and to believe Bonaparte an exception to the general rule-that long formed habits are not quickly or easily changed? Simply because he professed that he was changed; because he expressed a wish to live at peace, and his determination to govern the French according to a free constitution. But did he never before declare that peace was his darling object, at the very time that he was meditating war? And with respect to his love of freedom, which, according to his professions, was superadded to his love of peace, was he not constrained to profess that in consequence of the circumstances in which he was placed. The struggle between him and the constitutionalists we shall now proceed to state. Where he yielded to them we may conclude he was influenced by the hope that they would assist him in rousing the people to resist the allies; and they also hoped, by giving the nation a free constitution, they would hold out to them an object for which they would fight. It was the object of all parties in France, except the royalists, at first to misrepresent the intentions of the allies. For this purpose England had been held out as favorable to the escape of Bonaparte, and Austria as about to sanction and approve it, by permitting the return of the Empress Maria Louisa. In conformity with the same plan, the declaration of the allies, of the 13th of March, was concealed as long as possible from the French people. At length, however, as there were no hopes of peace, it became necessary to rouse and prepare the French for war; and this BOOK XV. was to be done by persuading them, in the first place, that Bonaparte was sincere in his profesCHAP. III. sions of a peaceable and unambitious disposition; and, secondly, by giving them reason to believe that, though the allies professed to be about to make war only against him, yet their object and wish was to dismember France, and to impose on her a sovereign against the wishes of her people. 1815. To accomplish these purposes, every measure was adopted that was likely to have any favorable effect on the French nation. In the beginning of May, the minister-of-war sent the following address to the prefects, subprefects, and mayors of the empire : "Sir, If we are obliged to take up arms in order to defend our independence and our homes, what juster or more sacred cause can ever inspire efforts more unanimous or more energetic? "It is the cause of a great people, who resolve to be free and masters of their own affairs, against a passionate league which pretende to dictate to them dishonorable laws. "On the success of this contest depends the very existence of France. France, therefore, must display all the resources which may be offered by nature and art, by the genius and the courage of her inhabitants. "The emperor is in the midst of us. The happy revolution which has restored him to us, has doubled our forces, has filled our ranks, has reanimated all our hopes. "At the first violation of our frontiers, the emperor will be at the head of his victorious battalions, and Europe will recognise in us the race of the brave; but while he combats for the honor and integrity of the empire, he ought to reckon on the co-operation of all the French. "It is for every authority, it is for every citizen, to second, in every direction, and by all kinds of partial resistance, the grand movement which the emperor's genius will impress on the masses, whose success will then become infallible, and will assure our safety. "Let every one, then, be' ready, and contribute all his means to repels all attacks on the national honor, all attempts at invasion. "No one among you is now ignorant that if France had been loyally defended on all the points of her territory, she would have been in 1814 the tomb of her ravagers. "They are only formidable to those who suffer themselves to be alarmed by menaces which, in general, cannot be put into execution. "If more effective forces should penetrate into some of our departments, let obstacles of all kinds be multiplied on their passage. Let their convoys, their detachments, be cut off or arrested on their march; let an active correspondence be every where kept up; let the military chiefs promptly receive information of the slightest oc currence. Let the inhabitants of the country. places themselves dispute the defiles, the woods, the marshes, the mountain-passes, the hollow ways. This kind of warfare, without danger to him who knows the localities, and no less ho norable than useful to the citizen who defends his property, is always disastrous to the foreigner, who knows neither the country nor the language. "Let the least village, let every insulated house, every mill, every inclosure, become, by the bravery, the industry, the intelligence of their de fenders, posts capable of stopping the enemy. Let the gates and walls of all the towns be repaired, the bridges be fortified and defended. Let the example of Tornus, of Chalons, of St. Jean de l'Osne, of Langres, of Compeigne, &c. &c. inflame the emulation of all cities: let all be disposed to merit, in case of need, the same praises from their sovereign, the same gratitude from their country. "When the country is in danger, every ma gistrate is a chief and a captain, every citizen is a soldier, every Frenchman knows the laws of honor and duty; no one will expose himself to the names, equally disgraceful in his eyes, of coward or traitor. "The emperor, after having secured that peace for which he will combat, will only have to decree to the deserving civic crowns and marks of honor." All the fortresses on the frontiers were declared in a state of siege. Twenty ships of the line were dismantled; and the cannon, which amounted to 1,500, were sent to fortify the heights of Paris. It was the general opinion in Germany and Prussia, that, notwithstanding the professions of the French government, it was their declared object to recover Belgium and the Rhine as a boundary. This was the wish also of the majority of the French nation. A number of pamphlets were published in Paris, at this time, which tended to encourage the public opinion in this idea, In one of them, entitled 'De l'Empereur Napole et du Compte de Lille, is the following passage:"What have we seen, great God! After twenty years of combats, of fatigues, and glory,-all the fruits of our labours passing into foreign hands; and if any act of our government displease, in two days they can reach the walls of our capital, and impose laws upon us at their pleasure! What! Belgium, our first conquest, passes under other masters! What! all the country extending from the Meuse and the Moselle to the Rhine is the prey of a sovereign whom we have twice driven from his states.' The same pamphleteer also talks of the "treason" of Prussia, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg; of the" clemency and pity of Napoleon" towards Austria in 1809, and of the total oblivion of the benefits which the magnani mous Napoleon had conferred on the whole of the allies, &c. Another pamphleteer, of the name of SenanCour, talking of the Congress of Vienna, says: "There is reason to believe, that this Congress will remain as useless as many others of a similar kind. Two years hence its only record will be in the gazettes." Again, "What, is France to be styled glorious and strong, though without the Rhine for a barrier, after having the Tiber and the Elbe under its laws? Who can believe the good faith of such a sophism? Who can fail to recognise in it the most bitter irony?" One Gaillard, in a pamphlet entitled Du Retour des Bourbons en France, speaking of the treaty of Paris, says: "We well recollect the bitter vexation which this high-minded people felt, when this humiliating treaty was published. An indescribable astonishment seized all French hearts: thus were destroyed, in one day, the labours of five-and-twenty years: the fruits of so many battles, so many sacrifices fell into foreign hands." Another pamphlet, entitled L'Homme du Siecle et de la Patrie, contains the following:-"We were told, that with the return of the Bourbons we obtained peace with foreign powers. What a peace! the peace of disgrace and of death! our military renown was impaired; the natural boundaries of France, those glorious fruits of twentyfive years labour, were surrendered." Soon after the return of Bonaparte to France from Elba, one of the commissioners of the allied powers, who accompanied him to that island, published a journal of his journey from Fontainebleau to Frejus, in April, 1814. Some parts of this journal are extremely interesting. When the commissioners were presented to him by General Bertrand, he received them very coldly, and with visible embarrassment. He was much displeased at seeing the Prussian commissioner among them, telling him plainly, that as he found no Prussian = troops were to attend him, the commissioner (Count Truchsess) might spare himself the trouble. The count answering, that it was no trouble but an honor, he still persisted in his opinion; and the count saying, he could not give up this honor to which the king had destined him, Napoleon was obliged to yield to the count's attending him, but dismissed him with a look of vexation. He was much more polite to Colonel Campbell, asking about his wounds, about the battles in which he gained his orders, about the Duke of Wellington, with whose characteristic qualities he wished to be acquainted; and learning that the colonel was a Scotchman, he began to talk of Ossian, and to praise the warlike spirit of his poetry. He made several proposals and demands, whose chief tendency seemed to be to gain time; and being satisfied on every point, he fixed on the 20th for his departure. Meantime, bronzes, paintings, statues, and books, had been BOOK XV. forwarded to the coast; he seemed very anxious that they should reach their destination. On the 19th, he sent. for the Duke of Bassano, and addressed him in these terms:-" You are reproached with having always hindered me from making peace; what do you say to it?" He seemed to seek to quarrel; but when the duke answered, "Your majesty knows very well that you never asked my advice, and always acted according to your own judgment and wisdom;" he immediately replied, "I know it very well; I said it merely to make you observe the opinion which the public entertains of you." On the 20th, in the forenoon, all the carriages were in the court-yard of Fontainebleau, ready to depart, when Bonaparte desired to speak to Geral Koller, and addressed him in the following terms: "I have reflected upon what I have to do, and I am firmly resolved not to depart. The allies do not faithfully observe the engagements they have entered into with me; I may, therefore, revoke my abdication, which was only conditional. Above 1,000 addresses, in which I am invited to resume the reigns of government, have been received by me this night. me this night. It is solely to spare France the horrors of a civil war that I have renounced my rights to the French throne, for I have never had any other object than the glory and happiness of France. Now that I am acquainted with the whole extent of the discontent which the measures taken by the new government inspire; now that I see how the promises made to me are kept,-now I can declare to my guards the motives that have made me resolve to revoke my abdication, and it will appear whether it is possible to alienate from me the hearts of my old soldiers. The number of the troops upon whom I can reckon amounts indeed to only 30,000 men, but it will be easy for me to increase them, in a few days, to 150,000; and, without the slightest violation of my honor, I might say to my guards, that I have indeed renounced my rights to promote the peace and hap piness of the country, but that I now felt myself called upon to follow the wishes of the nation." Bonaparte here making a little pause, General Koller took the opportunity to say to him," that his magnanimous resignation was the finest of all his actions; that he had thereby given a proof of patriotism which few monarchs had done; that he (the general) was besides ignorant that the allies had, in any respect, violated their engagements to him." Bonaparte was silent a moment, and then said, "Well, I will this time be faithful to my engagements; but as soon as fresh cause of complaint shall be given me, I shall consider myself as released from all my engagements." About the same time, a German paper pub CRA III. 1815. 1815. BOOK XV. interesting details respecting the means which were employed for procuring the return of BonaCHAP. III. parte: "Three months had scarcely elapsed from the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne of France, when the jacobins began to manifest their discontent, and form conspiracies against the government. Carnot, Fouché, and Thibaudeau, were the first who conceived the idea of overturning it. They usually met at the house of Tallien, who kept his room from the gout. Though these men had been employed by Bonaparte, they loved neither him nor his system, still less his former ministers and favorites, therefore did not wish his return. However, they could, at all events, do nothing without the army, in which it was believed he had still a great many partisans: to ascertain this fact, some republican generals were sought out, and Generals Fressinet and Excelmans were employed to sound the soldiery. The latter sighed only after the return of Bonaparte. This discovery induced them to relinquish the plan they had formed of making direct or indirect proposals to the Duke of Orleans, or of establishing a republican government. They then made overtures to the friends of Bonaparte: Thibaudeau was charged with this task; he began with reconciling Fouché to Roederer and Savary, who had quarrelled with the former. The friends of Bonaparte were then gradually admitted into the secret, and, in September last, the first communication of the plan was made to Bonaparte. A young man, named Havel, who, under Bonaparte's government, had been an auditor in the council of state, and since the new revolution appointed a prefect in one of the departments, was entrusted with this mission. He naturally found Bonaparte disposed to return. When his friends were informed of this, their joy was so great that they gave a dinner of 150 covers at Very's, a restaurateur in the palace royal. The next point they set about was to procure money. Cambaceres, Fouché, and Savary, who are immensely rich, immediately made considerable advances, which were placed in the hands of Carnot, who was appointed treasurer. The inclinations of the marshals were sounded. Massena, Soult, Suchet, and Ney, not only joined the conspirators, but even furnished considerable sums. Thibaudeau was sent abroad, and travelled through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Low Countries. He had conferences with General Bertrand at Naples and Florence. Murat was then in the secret. Lucien and Joseph Bonaparte had also furnished considerable sums: twenty millions of francs were collected in Italy. "In the month of December, the dispositions of the soldiers were sounded throughout the whole extent of France. When they were ascertained, the conspirators became more bold. What is very astonishing is, that the_director-general, M. D'André, often visited at Tallien's and was very intimate with him. Thus he was, without suspecting it, in the very focus of the conspiracy, and there often met some of the most hot-headed Bonapartists and jacobins who were there met. They often jestingly said to M. D'André, “So, your king will not permit the emperor to come to France to visit his friends?" To which the latter would reply-" Ob, he will come to France with or without permission, if he thinks it necessary to the recovery of his health.” the recovery of his health." It was thus D'André was cheated and deceived. A short time before the return of Bonaparte, D'André asked of Tallien, whether it was true, as he had learned, that Bertrand was then in Paris. It was true that Bertrand. had been there, but Tallien did not choose to tell him of it. "It is difficult to say whether the Bourbons were or were not acquainted with what was passing during this period; but their great condescen sion towards the military, latterly, proves that they felt considerable alarm. Not long before the Duke of Berry observed to an officer of the jacobin party,-"Very well; at all events you can enjoy the wealth you have acquired, now we are at peace with all the world."—" No, my lord," replied the jacobin, "we have made a halt in the mud." On another occasion, when the duke, at a review, said to some of the old troops, "Well, comrades, are you regularly paid? they replied in a careless tone. On which the duke added, "the former government did not pay you at all, or, at least, was in arrears."—" It is of little consequence to you," replied an old grenadier, "supposing we did give it credit for six months, that was only our concern." The rest burst out a laughing. Before the return of Bonaparte, the king offered places to jacobins, but the bait did not take. "Yes," CHAPTER IV. Meeting of the Champ de Mai.-Address of the Electors to Napoleon.-Acceptance of the Constitution.-Speech of Napoleon on the Occasion.—His Address to the Soldiers, &c.—Meeting of the two Chambers.-Character of the Chamber of Representatives.-Their Proceedings. Biographical Notice of Count Lanjuinais.-Speech of Napoleon on opening the Session.-Exposée, or the State of France. THE deputations from the electoral colleges arrived very slowly, and the lists of votes from several departments had not yet been recieved; but, in consequence of the impatience of the public, the assembly of the Champ de Mai, which had been postponed from time to time, was, at length, appointed to be held on the 1st of June. Great preparations were made for this assembly, and great expectations were entertained, not only regarding its splendor, but also from the indication it would afford of the public spirit and attachment to Bonaparte. On the day appointed, every thing was done that could render the spectacle solemn and imposing; and though all the deputies from the departments had not arrived, yet the tout ensemble was grand, and such as must have answered, in some degree, the real object which Bonaparte had in view. "Every thing that could interest and elevate the soul;-the prayers of religion ;the compact of a great people with their sovereign-France represented by the flower of her citizens, agriculturists, merchants, magistrates, and warriors, collected around the throne ;-an immense population covering the Champ de Mars, and joining in vows for the great object of that magnificent ceremony ;-all excited the most ardent enthusiasm, of which the most memorable epochs have left us the recollection." Such is the language in which this spectacle was described in the official papers of the French government. But even granting that this were a fair and unexaggerated description, what could be inferred from it respecting the views or feelings of the French people? How often had they before, during the revolution, displayed an enthusiasm at least equal to that which they were now represented to feel! The emperor's throne was erected in front of the military school, and in the centre of a vast semi-circular inclosure, two-thirds of which formed on the right and left grand amphitheatres, in which 15,000 persons were seated. The other third, in front of the throne, was open. An altar was erected in the middle: further on, and about 100 toises distant, was another throne, which overlooked the Champ de Mars. Eighty-seven CHAP. IV. 1815. banuers decorated the inclosure, bearing the BOOK XV. names of the eighty seven departments. The national colours mingled with these banners, and every vacant space was occupied by the imperial eagles, surrounded with garlands of flowers em. blematic of peace. The sloping banks which arise round the Champ de Mars, were crowded with people, and its immense plain was filled with cavalry. On the preceding evening, a deputation of the colleges met to collect and cast-up the votes. Eleven departments and several regiments bad not made any returns. The general result of the votes received, gave 1,288,357 for the additional act, and 4,207 against it. One-fourth of the negative votes proceeded from the department of the Cotes du Nord. Napoleon left the Thuilleries soon after eleven o'clock, in a carriage drawn by eight horses, amid discharges of artillery. He was accompanied by his brothers Joseph, Lucien, and Jerome, who were dressed in Roman costume. The emperor was preceded by the commandant of Paris, heralds, ministers of state, grand officers, &c. On ariving at the Champ de Mars, the troops, which amounted to about 50,000 men, were drawn up in order of battle, and the procession passed be tween the lines. Bonaparte took his place on the throne about one o'clock, when he was saluted by prolonged shouts from the multitude which occupied the vast inclosure of the Champ de Mars. The electors sat under the rotunda, and the grand national authorities occupied some tribunes in front of it. The officers of the crown were behind Napoleon, his ministers surrounded him, and the generals were on either side. Mass was then celebrated by the Archbishop of Tours, assisted by Cardinal Bayanne, and four other bishops. Mass being concluded, the members of the central deputation of the electoral colleges advanced to the foot of the throne, the steps of which they ascended, in order to have a nearer view of the emperor, and to be better seen by him. They were about 500 in number. They were presented to his majesty by the arch-chaneellor. One of the members of the deputation (M. Duboys d'Angers, elector and representative for |