Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Volume III

For a copy of the Treaty of Tilsit, see Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 720.

289

"This does not appear to me to be correct: according to the terms of the treaty, this country was ceded personally to me, and my first act was to unite it to Holland. I establish this fact merely for the sake of truth." – Louis Buonaparte, p. 53.

290

Now Earl Granville.

291

"In the secret treaty, Alexander and Napoleon shared between them the continental world: all the south was abandoned to Napoleon, already master of Italy and arbiter of Germany, pushing his advanced post as far as the Vistula, and making Dantzic one of the most formidable arsenals." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 310.

292

"It was perhaps a misfortune to me that I had not married a sister of the Emperor Alexander, as proposed to me by Alexander himself at Erfurth. But there were inconveniences in that union arising from her religion. I did not like to allow a Russian priest to be the confessor of my wife, as I considered that he would have been a spy in the Tuileries for Alexander." – Napoleon, Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 150.

293

See the treaty between Prussia and France, Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 714.

294

"De l'Egypte après la Balle d'Héliopolis."

295

For Sir John Stuart's detail of the memorable battle of Maida, see Annual Register, vol. xlviii., p. 590; see also Jomini, tom. ii., p. 238.

296

"The French soldiers had a great contempt for the English troops at the beginning of the war, caused, perhaps, by the failure of the expeditions under the Duke of York, the great want of alertness in the English advanced posts, and the misfortunes which befell your armies. In this they were fools, as the English were well known to be a brave nation. It was probably by a similar error that Reynier was beaten by General Stuart; as the French imagined you would run away and be driven into the sea. Reynier was a man of talent, but more fit to give counsel to an army of twenty or thirty thousand men, than to command one of five or six. It is difficult to conceive how little the French soldiers thought of yours, until they were taught the contrary." – Napoleon, Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 47.

297

Reynier died at Paris in 1814, at the age of forty-four. Besides his work on Egypt, he published "Conjectures sur les anciens habitans de l'Egypte," and "Sur les Sphinx qui accompagnent les Pyramides."

298

See the very extraordinary account of the Pampas, published by Captain Head of the engineers.

299

See Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 223.

300

In the time of Louis XIV., when the French envoy at the court of Constantinople came, in a great hurry, to intimate as important intelligence, some victory of his master over the Prussians, "Can you suppose it of consequence to his Serene Highness," said the Grand Vizier, with infinite contempt, "whether the dog bites the hog, or the hog bites the dog?"

301

See "Particulars from Sir J. Duckworth to Lord Collingwood, relative to the affairs of the Dardanelles," Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 659.

302

See "Papers relating to the Expedition to Copenhagen," Parl. Debates, vol. x., p. 221; and "Proceedings before Copenhagen," Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 681.

303

"Russia felt severely the loss which Denmark had sustained. The Danish fleet was a good third of the guarantee of the neutrality of the Baltic." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 112.

304

"The attack upon Copenhagen by the English was the first blow given to the secret stipulations of Tilsit, in virtue of which the navy of Denmark was to be placed at the disposal of France. Since the catastrophe of Paul the First, I never saw Napoleon abandon himself to more violent transports. What most struck him in this vigorous enterprise, was the promptness of the resolution of the English ministry." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 312.

305

Lord Hutchinson. See Parliamentary Debates, vol. x., p. 602.

306

See Declaration of the Emperor of Russia, dated St. Petersburgh, 20th (31st) October, 1807, Annual Register, vol. xlix., p. 761; and Parl. Debates, vol. x., p. 218.

307

"It is certain that the Tribunate was absolutely useless, while it cost nearly half a million; I therefore suppressed it. I was well aware that an outcry would be raised against the violation of the law; but I was strong; I possessed the full confidence of the people, and I considered myself a reformer." – Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. i., p. 289.

308

"So little was the Council of State understood by the people in general, that it was believed no one dared utter a word in that assembly in opposition to the Emperor's opinion. Thus I very much surprised many persons, when I related the fact, that one day, during a very animated debate, the Emperor, having been interrupted three times in giving his opinion, turned towards the individual who had rather rudely cut him short, and said in a sharp tone: 'I have not yet done, I beg you will allow me to continue; I believe every one here has a right to deliver his opinion.' The smartness of his reply, notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, excited a general laugh, in which the Emperor himself joined." – Las Cases, tom. i., p. 280.

309

Ségur gives example of a case in which Buonaparte deferred his own opinion to that of the Council. A female of Amsterdam, tried for a capital crime, had been twice acquitted by the Imperial Courts, and the Court of Appeal claimed the right to try her a third time. Buonaparte alone contended against the whole Council of State, and claimed for the poor woman the immunity which, in justice, she ought to have obtained, considering the prejudices that must have been excited against her. He yielded, at length, to the majority, but protesting he was silenced, and not convinced. To account for his complaisance, it may be remarked first, that Buonaparte was no way personally interested in the decision of the question; and, secondly, if it concerned him at all, the fate of the female was in his hands, since he had only to grant her a pardon if she was condemned by the Court of Appeal. – S. – See also Las Cases, tom. i., p. 278.

310

Las Cases, tom. i., p. 281.

311

Las Cases, tom. i., p. 282. At St. Helena, Napoleon reproached himself for the expulsion of M. Portalis. "I was," he said, "perhaps too severe; I should have checked myself before I ordered him to be gone. He attempted no justification, and therefore the scene should have ended, merely by my saying, it is well. His punishment should have awaited him at home. Anger is always unbecoming in a sovereign. But, perhaps, I was excusable in my council, where I might consider myself in the bosom of my own family; or perhaps, after all, I may be justly condemned for this act. Every one has his fault; nature will exert her sway over us all." – Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 320.

312

Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 105.

313