CHAPTER XXXVII. THE AMBASSADOR
We have seen that Roland, on returning to the Luxembourg, asked for theFirst Consul and was told that he was engaged with Fouche, the ministerof police.
Roland was a privileged person; no matter what functionary was withBonaparte, he was in the habit, on his return from a journey, or merelyfrom an errand, of half opening the door and putting in his head. TheFirst Consul was often so busy that he paid no attention to this head.When that was the case, Roland would say "General!" which meant, inthe close intimacy which still existed between the two schoolmates:"General, I am here; do you need me? I'm at your orders." If the FirstConsul did not need him, he replied: "Very good." If on the contrary hedid need him, he said, simply: "Come in." Then Roland would enter,and wait in the recess of a window until the general told him what hewanted.
On this occasion, Roland put his head in as usual, saying: "General!"
"Come in," replied the First Consul, with visible satisfaction; "comein, come in!"
Roland entered. Bonaparte was, as he had been told, busy with theminister of police. The affair on which the First Consul was engaged,and which seemed to absorb him a great deal, had also its interest forRoland.
It concerned the recent stoppages of diligences by the Companions ofJehu.
On the table lay three _proces-verbaux_ relating the stoppage of onediligence and two mail-coaches. Tribier, the paymaster of the Army ofItaly, was in one of the latter. The stoppages had occurred, one on thehighroad between Meximieux and Montluel, on that part of the road whichcrosses the commune of Bellignieux; the second, at the extremity of thelake of Silans, in the direction of Nantua; the third, on the highroadbetween Saint-Etienne and Bourg, at a spot called Les Carronnieres.
A curious fact was connected with these stoppages. A sum of fourthousand francs and a case of jewelry had been mixed up by mistake withthe money-bags belonging to the government. The owners of the money hadthought them lost, when the justice of the peace at Nantua receivedan unsigned letter telling him the place where these objects had beenburied, and requesting him to return them to their rightful owners,as the Companions of Jehu made war upon the government and not againstprivate individuals.
In another case; that of the Carronnieres--where the robbers, in orderto stop the mail-coach, which had continued on its way with increasedspeed in spite of the order to stop, were forced to fire at a horse--theCompanions of Jehu had felt themselves obliged to make good this loss tothe postmaster, who had received five hundred francs for the dead horse.That was exactly what the animal had cost eight days before; and thisvaluation proved that they were dealing with men who understood horses.
The _proces-verbaux_ sent by the local authorities were accompanied bythe affidavits of the travellers.
Bonaparte was singing that mysterious tune of which we have spoken;which showed that he was furious. So, as Roland might be expected tobring him fresh information, he had called him three times to come in.
"Well," said he, "your part of the country is certainly in revoltagainst me; just look at that."
Roland glanced at the papers and understood at once.
"Exactly what I came to speak to you about, general," said he.
"Then begin at once; but first go ask Bourrienne for my departmentatlas."
Roland fetched the atlas, and, guessing what Bonaparte desired to lookat, opened it at the department of the Ain.
"That's it," said Bonaparte; "show me where these affairs happened."
Roland laid his finger on the edge of the map, in the neighborhood ofLyons.
"There, general, that's the exact place of the first attack, near thevillage of Bellignieux."
"And the second?"
"Here," said Roland, pointing to the other side of the department,toward Geneva; "there's the lake of Nantua, and here's that of Silans."
"Now the third?"
Roland laid his finger on the centre of the map.
"General, there's the exact spot. Les Carronnieres are not marked on themap because of their slight importance."
"What are Les Carronnieres?" asked the First Consul.
"General, in our part of the country the manufactories of tiles arecalled _carronnieres_; they belong to citizen Terrier. That's the placethey ought to be on the map."
And Roland made a pencil mark on the paper to show the exact spot wherethe stoppage occurred.
"What!" exclaimed Bonaparte; "why, it happened less than a mile and ahalf from Bourg!"
"Scarcely that, general; that explains why the wounded horse was takenback to Bourg and died in the stables of the Belle-Alliance."
"Do you hear all these details, sir!" said Bonaparte, addressing theminister of police.
"Yes, citizen First Consul," answered the latter.
"You know I want this brigandage to stop?"
"I shall use every effort--"
"It's not a question of your efforts, but of its being done."
The minister bowed.
"It is only on that condition," said Bonaparte, "that I shall admit youare the able man you claim to be."
"I'll help you, citizen," said Roland.
"I did not venture to ask for your assistance," said the minister.
"Yes, but I offer it; don't do anything that we have not plannedtogether."
The minister looked at Bonaparte.
"Quite right," said Bonaparte; "you can go. Roland will follow you tothe ministry."
Fouche bowed and left the room.
"Now," continued the First Consul, "your honor depends upon yourexterminating these bandits, Roland. In the first place, the thing isbeing carried on in your department; and next, they seem to have someparticular grudge against you and your family."
"On the contrary," said Roland, "that's what makes me so furious; theyspare me and my family."
"Let's go over it again, Roland. Every detail is of importance; it's awar of Bedouins over again."
"Just notice this, general. I spend a night in the Chartreuse ofSeillon, because I have been told that it was haunted by ghosts. Sureenough, a ghost appears, but a perfectly inoffensive one. I fire at ittwice, and it doesn't even turn around. My mother is in a diligencethat is stopped, and faints away. One of the robbers pays her the mostdelicate attentions, bathes her temples with vinegar, and gives hersmelling-salts. My brother Edouard fights them as best he can; they takehim in their arms, kiss him, and make him all sorts of compliments onhis courage; a little more and they would have given him sugar-plums asa reward for his gallant conduct. Now, just the reverse; my friend SirJohn follows my example, goes where I have been; he is treated as a spyand stabbed, as they thought, to death."
"But he didn't die."
"No. On the contrary, he is so well that he wants to marry my sister."
"Ah ha! Has he asked for her?"
"Officially."
"And you answered?"
"I answered that the matter depended on two persons."
"Your mother and you; that's true."
"No; my sister herself--and you."
"Your sister I understand; but I?"
"Didn't you tell me general, that you would take charge of marryingher?"
Bonaparte walked up and down the room with his arms crossed; then,suddenly stopping before Roland, he said: "What is your Englishmanlike?"
"You have seen him, general."
"I don't mean physically; all Englishmen are alike--blue eyes, red hair,white skin, long jaws."
"That's their _th_," said Roland, gravely.
"Their _th_?"
"Yes. Did you ever learn English, general?"
"Faith! I tried to learn it."
"Your teacher must have told you that the _th_ was sounded by pressingthe tongue against the teeth. Well, by dint of punching their teeth withtheir tongues the English have ended by getting those elongated jaws,which, as you said just now, is one of the distinctive characteristicsof their physiognomy."
Bonaparte looked at Roland to see if that incorrigible jester
werelaughing or speaking seriously. Roland was imperturbable.
"Is that your opinion?" said Bonaparte.
"Yes, general, and I think that physiologically it is as good as anyother. I have a lot of opinions like it, which I bring to light as theoccasion offers."
"Come back to your Englishman."
"Certainly, general."
"I asked you what he was like."
"Well, he is a gentleman; very brave, very calm, very impassible, verynoble, very rich, and, moreover--which may not be a recommendationto you--a nephew of Lord Grenville, prime minister to his BritannicMajesty."
"What's that?"
"I said, prime minister to his Britannic Majesty."
Bonaparte resumed his walk; then, presently returning to Roland, hesaid: "Can I see your Englishman?"
"You know, general, that you can do anything."
"Where is he?"
"In Paris."
"Go find him and bring him here."
Roland was in the habit of obeying without reply; he took his hat andwent toward the door.
"Send Bourrienne to me," said the First Consul, just as Roland passedinto the secretary's room.
Five minutes later Bourrienne appeared.
"Sit down there, Bourrienne," said the First Consul, "and write."
Bourrienne sat down, arranged his paper, dipped his pen in the ink, andwaited.
"Ready?" asked the First Consul, sitting down upon the writing table,which was another of his habits; a habit that reduced his secretary todespair, for Bonaparte never ceased swinging himself back and forth allthe time he dictated--a motion that shook the table as much as if it hadbeen in the middle of the ocean with a heaving sea.
"I'm ready," replied Bourrienne, who had ended by forcing himself toendure, with more or less patience, all Bonaparte's eccentricities.
"Then write." And he dictated:
Bonaparte, First Consul of the Republic, to his Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland.
Called by the will of the French nation to the chief magistracy of the Republic, I think it proper to inform your Majesty personally of this fact.
Must the war, which for two years has ravaged the four quarters of the globe, be perpetuated? Is there no means of staying it?
How is it that two nations, the most enlightened of Europe, more powerful and strong than their own safety and independence require; how is it that they sacrifice to their ideas of empty grandeur or bigoted antipathies the welfare of commerce, eternal prosperity, the happiness of families? How is it that they do not recognize that peace is the first of needs and the first of a nation's glories?
These sentiments cannot be foreign to the heart of a king who governs a free nation with the sole object of rendering it happy.
Your Majesty will see in this overture my sincere desire to contribute efficaciously, for the second time, to a general pacification, by an advance frankly made and free of those formalities which, necessary perhaps to disguise the dependence of feeble states, only disclose in powerful nations a mutual desire to deceive.
France and England can, for a long time yet, by the abuse of their powers, and to the misery of their people, carry on the struggle without exhaustion; but, and I dare say it, the fate of all the civilized nations depends on the conclusion of a war which involves the universe.
Bonaparte paused. "I think that will do," said he. "Read it over,Bourrienne."
Bourrienne read the letter he had just written. After each paragraph theFirst Consul nodded approvingly; and said: "Go on."
Before the last words were fairly uttered, he took the letter fromBourrienne's hands and signed it with a new pen. It was a habit of hisnever to use the same pen twice. Nothing could be more disagreeable tohim than a spot of ink on his fingers.
"That's good," said he. "Seal it and put on the address: 'To LordGrenville.'"
Bourrienne did as he was told. At the same moment the noise of acarriage was heard entering the courtyard of the Luxembourg. A momentlater the door opened and Roland appeared.
"Well?" asked Bonaparte.
"Didn't I tell you you could have anything you wanted, general?"
"Have you brought your Englishman?"
"I met him in the Place de Buci; and, knowing that you don't like towait, I caught him just as he was, and made him get into the carriage.Faith! I thought I should have to drive round to the Rue Mazarine, andget a guard to bring him. He's in boots and a frock-coat."
"Let him come in," said Bonaparte.
"Come in, Sir John," cried Roland, turning round.
Lord Tanlay appeared on the threshold. Bonaparte had only to glance athim to recognize a perfect gentleman. A trifling emaciation, a slightpallor, gave Sir John the characteristics of great distinction. Hebowed, awaiting the formal introduction, like the true Englishman hewas.
"General," said Roland, "I have the honor to present to you Sir JohnTanlay, who proposed to go to the third cataract for the purpose ofseeing you, but who has, to-day, obliged me to drag him by the ear tothe Luxembourg."
"Come in, my lord; come in," said Bonaparte. "This is not the first timewe have seen each other, nor the first that I have expressed the wish toknow you; there was therefore positive ingratitude in trying to evade mydesire."
"If I hesitated," said Sir John, in excellent French, as usual, "it wasbecause I could scarcely believe in the honor you do me."
"And besides, very naturally, from national feeling, you detest me,don't you, like the rest of your countrymen?"
"I must confess, general," answered Sir John, smiling, "that they havenot got beyond admiration."
"And do you share the absurd prejudice that claims that national honorrequires you to hate to-day the enemy who may be a friend to-morrow?"
"France has been almost a second mother country to me, and my friendRoland will tell you that I long for the moment when, of my twocountries, the one to which I shall owe the most will be France."
"Then you ought to see France and England shaking hands for the good ofthe world, without repugnance."
"The day when I see that will be a happy day for me."
"If you could contribute to bring it about would you do so?"
"I would risk my life to do it."
"Roland tells me you are a relative of Lord Grenville."
"His nephew."
"Are you on good terms with him?"
"He was very fond of my mother, his eldest sister."
"Have you inherited the fondness he bore your mother?"
"Yes; only I think he holds it in reserve till I return to England."
"Will you deliver a letter for me?"
"To whom?"
"King George III."
"I shall be greatly honored."
"Will you undertake to say to your uncle that which cannot be written ina letter?"
"Without changing a syllable; the words of General Bonaparte arehistory."
"Well, tell him--" but, interrupting himself, he turned to Bourrienne,saying: "Bourrienne, find me the last letter from the Emperor ofRussia."
Bourrienne opened a box, and, without searching, laid his hand on aletter that he handed to Bonaparte.
The First Consul cast his eye over the paper and then gave it to LordTanlay.
"Tell him," said he, "first and before all, that you have read thisletter."
Sir John bowed and read as follows:
CITIZEN FIRST CONSUL--I have received, each armed and newly clothed in the uniform of his regiment, the nine thousand Russians, made prisoners in Holland, whom you have returned to me without ransom, exchange, or condition of any kind.
This is pure chivalry, and I boast of being chivalrous.
I think that which I can best offer you in exchange for this magnificent present, citizen First Consul, is my friendship. Will you accept it?
As an earnest of that friendship, I am sending his passports to Lord Whitworth, the British Ambassador to Saint Petersburg.
Fur
thermore, if you will be, I do not say my second, but my witness, I will challenge personally every king who will not take part against England and close his ports to her.
I begin with my neighbor the King of Denmark, and you will find in the "Gazette de la Cour" the ultimatum I have sent him.
What more can I say to you? Nothing, unless it be that you and I together can give laws to the world.
I am your admirer and sincere friend, PAUL.
Lord Tanlay turned to the First Consul. "Of course you know," said he,"that the Emperor of Russia is mad."
"Is it that letter that makes you think so, my lord?" asked Bonaparte.
"No; but it confirms my opinion."
"It was a madman who gave Henry VI. of Lancaster the crown ofSaint-Louis, and the blazon of England still bears--until I scratch themout with my sword--the fleur-de-lis of France."
Sir John smiled; his national pride revolted at this assumption in theconqueror of the Pyramids.
"But," said Bonaparte, "that is not the question to-day; everything inits own time."
"Yes," murmured Sir John, "we are too near Aboukir."
"Oh, I shall never defeat you at sea," said Bonaparte; "it would takefifty years to make France a maritime nation; but over there," and hemotioned with his hand to the East, "at the present moment, I repeat,that the question is not war but peace. I must have peace to accomplishmy dream, and, above all, peace with England. You see, I playaboveboard; I am strong enough to speak frankly. If the day ever comeswhen a diplomatist tells the truth, he will be the first diplomatist inthe world; for no one will believe him, and he will attain, unopposed,his ends."
"Then I am to tell my uncle that you desire peace."
"At the same time letting him know that I do not fear war. If I can'tally myself with King George, I can, as you see, do so with the EmperorPaul; but Russia has not reached that point of civilization that Idesire in an ally."
"A tool is sometimes more useful than an ally."
"Yes; but, as you said, the Emperor is mad, and it is better to disarmthan to arm a madman. I tell you that two nations like France andEngland ought to be inseparable friends or relentless enemies; friends,they are the poles of the world, balancing its movements with perfectequilibrium; enemies, one must destroy the other and become the world'ssole axis."
"But suppose Lord Grenville, not doubting your genius, still doubts yourpower; if he holds the opinion of our poet Coleridge, that our islandneeds no rampart, no bulwark, other than the raucous murmur of theocean, what shall I tell him?"
"Unroll the map of the world, Bourrienne," said Bonaparte.
Bourrienne unrolled a map; Bonaparte stepped over to it.
"Do you see those two rivers?" said he, pointing to the Volga and theDanube. "That's the road to India," he added.
"I thought Egypt was, general," said Sir John.
"So did I for a time; or, rather, I took it because I had no other. Butthe Czar opens this one; your government can force me to take it. Do youfollow me?"
"Yes; citizen; go on."
"Well, if England forces me to fight her, if I am obliged to accept thisalliance with Catherine's successor, this is what I shall do: I shallembark forty thousand Russians on the Volga; I shall send them downthe river to Astrakhan; they will cross the Caspian and await me atAsterabad."
Sir John bowed in sign of deep attention. Bonaparte continued: "I shallembark forty thousand Frenchmen on the Danube."
"Excuse me, citizen First Consul, but the Danube is an Austrian river."
"I shall have taken Vienna."
Sir John stared at Bonaparte.
"I shall have taken Vienna," continued the latter. "I shall then embarkforty thousand Frenchmen on the Danube; I find Russian vessels at itsmouth ready to transport them to Taganrog; I march them by land alongthe course of the Don to Pratisbianskaia, whence they move to Tzaritsin;there they descend the Volga in the same vessels that have transportedthe forty thousand Russians to Asterabad; fifteen days later I haveeighty thousand men in western Persia. From Asterabad, these unitedcorps will march to the Indus; Persia, the enemy of England, is ournatural ally."
"Yes; but once in the Punjab, the Persian alliance will do you no good;and an army of eighty thousand men cannot drag its provisions along withit."
"You forget one thing," said Bonaparte, as if the expedition werealready under way, "I have left bankers at Teheran and Caboul. Now,remember what happened nine years ago in Lord Cornwallis' war with TippoSaib. The commander-in-chief fell short of provisions, and a simplecaptain--I forget his name."
"Captain Malcolm," said Lord Tanlay.
"That's it!" cried Bonaparte. "You know the story! Captain Malcolm hadrecourse to the Brinjaries, those Bohemians of India, who cover thewhole Hindostan peninsula with their encampments, and control the grainsupplies. Well, those Bohemians are faithful to the last penny to thosewho pay them; they will feed me."
"You must cross the Indus."
"What of that!" exclaimed Bonaparte, "I have a hundred and eighty milesof bank between Dera-Ismael-Khan and Attok to choose from. I know theIndus as well as I do the Seine. It is a slow current flowing aboutthree miles an hour; its medium depth is, I should say, at the point Imentioned, from twelve to fifteen feet, and there are ten or more fordson the line of my operations."
"Then your line is already traced out?" asked Sir John smiling.
"Yes, in so far as it follows a broad uninterrupted stretch of fertile,well-watered provinces; that I avoid the sandy deserts which separatethe lower valley of the Indus from Rajputana; and also that I follow thegeneral bases of all invasions of India that have had any success, fromMahmoud of Ghazni, in the year 1000, to Nadir Shah, in 1739. And howmany have taken the route I mean to take between the two epochs! Let uscount them. After Mahmoud of Ghazni came Mohammed Ghori, in 1184, withone hundred and twenty thousand men; after him, Timur Tang, or Timur theLame, whom we call Tamerlane, with sixty thousand men; after Tamerlane,Babar; after Babar, Humajan, and how many more I can't remember. Why,India is there for whoever will go and take it!"
"You forget, citizen First Consul, that all the conquerors you havenamed had only the aboriginal populations to deal with, whereas you havethe English. We hold India--"
"With from twenty to twenty-two thousand men."
"And a hundred thousand Sepoys."
"I have counted them all, and I regard England and India, the one withthe respect, the other with the contempt, they merit. Wherever I meetEuropean infantry, I prepare a second, a third, and if necessary, afourth line of reserves, believing that the first three might give waybefore the British bayonets; but wherever I find the Sepoys, I need onlythe postilion's whip to scatter the rabble. Have you any other questionsto put to me, my lord?"
"One, citizen First Consul: are you sincerely desirous of peace?"
"Here is the letter in which I ask it of your king, my lord, and it isto be quite sure that it reaches his Britannic Majesty that I ask LordGrenville's nephew to be my messenger."
"It shall be done as you desire, citizen; and were I the uncle, insteadof the nephew, I should promise more."
"When can you start?"
"In an hour I shall be gone."
"You have no wish to express to me before leaving?"
"None. In any case, if I have any, I leave my affairs to my friend,Roland."
"Shake hands with me, my lord; it will be a good omen, as you representEngland and I France."
Sir John accepted the honor done him by Bonaparte, with the exactmeasure of cordiality that indicated both his sympathy for France, andhis mental reserves for the honor of his own nation.
Then, having pressed Roland's hand with fraternal effusion, hebowed again to the First Consul and went out. Bonaparte followed himreflectively with his eyes; then he said suddenly: "Roland, I not onlyconsent to your sister's marriage with Lord Tanlay, but I wish it. Doyou understand? _I wish it_."
He laid such emphasis upon those three words, that to any one who knewhim th
ey signified plainly, not "I wish," but "I will."
The tyranny was sweet to Roland, and he accepted it with gratefulthanks.