CHAPTER XLIII. LORD GRENVILLE'S REPLY
While the events we have just recorded were transpiring, and occupyingthe minds and newspapers of the provinces, other events, of verydifferent import, were maturing in Paris, which were destined to occupythe minds and newspapers of the whole world.
Lord Tanlay had returned, bringing the reply of his uncle, LordGrenville. This reply consisted of a letter addressed to M. deTalleyrand, inclosing a memorandum for the First Consul. The letter wascouched in the following terms:
DOWNING STREET, February 14, 1800
Sir--I have received and placed before the King the letter which you transmitted to me through my nephew, Lord Tanlay. His Majesty, seeing no reason to depart from the long-established customs of Europe in treating with foreign states, directs me to forward you in his name the official reply which is herewith inclosed.
I have the honor to be, with the highest esteem, your very humble and obedient servant, GRENVILLE.
The letter was dry; the memorandum curt. Moreover, the First Consul'sletter to King George was autographic, and King George, not "departingfrom the long-established customs of Europe in treating with foreignStates," replied by a simple memorandum written by a secretary.
True, the memorandum was signed "Grenville." It was a long recriminationagainst France; against the spirit of disorder, which disturbed thenation; against the fears which that spirit of disorder inspired in allEurope; and on the necessity imposed on the sovereigns of Europe, forthe sake of their own safety, to repress it. In short, the memorandumwas virtually a continuation of the war.
The reading of such a dictum made Bonaparte's eyes flash with the flamewhich, in him, preceded his great decisions, as lightning precedesthunder.
"So, sir," said he, turning to Lord Tanlay, "this is all you haveobtained?"
"Yes, citizen First Consul."
"Then you did not repeat verbally to your uncle all that I charged youto say to him?"
"I did not omit a syllable."
"Did you tell him that you had lived in France three years, that you hadseen her, had studied her; that she was strong, powerful, prosperous anddesirous of peace while prepared for war?"
"I told him all that."
"Did you add that the war which England is making against France isa senseless war; that the spirit of disorder of which they speak, andwhich, at the worst, is only the effervescence of freedom too longrestrained, which it were wiser to confine to France by means of ageneral peace; that that peace is the sole _cordon sanitaire_ which canprevent it from crossing our frontiers; and that if the volcano of waris lighted in France, France will spread like lava over foreign lands.Italy is delivered, says the King of England; but from whom? From herliberators. Italy is delivered, but why? Because I conquered Egypt fromthe Delta to the third Cataract; Italy is delivered because I was nolonger in Italy. But--I am here: in a month I can be in Italy. What do Ineed to win her back from the Alps to the Adriatic? A single battle. Doyou know what Massena is doing in defending Genoa? Waiting for me. Ha!the sovereigns of Europe need war to protect their crowns? Well, mylord, I tell you that I will shake Europe until their crowns tremble ontheir heads. Want war, do they? Just wait--Bourrienne! Bourrienne!"
The door between the First Consul's study and the secretary's officeopened precipitately, and Bourrienne rushed in, his face terrified, asthough he thought Bonaparte were calling for help. But when he saw himhighly excited, crumpling the diplomatic memorandum in one hand andstriking with the other on his desk, while Lord Tanlay was standingcalm, erect and silent near him, he understood immediately thatEngland's answer had irritated the First Consul.
"Did you call me, general?" he asked.
"Yes," said the First Consul, "sit down there and write."
Then in a harsh, jerky voice, without seeking his words, which, on thecontrary, seemed to crowd through the portal of his brain, he dictatedthe following proclamation:
SOLDIERS!--In promising peace to the French people, I was your mouthpiece; I know your power.
You are the same men who conquered the Rhine, Holland and Italy, and granted peace beneath the walls of astounded Vienna.
Soldiers, it is no longer our own frontiers that you have to defend; it is the enemy's country you must now invade.
Soldiers, when the time comes, I shall be among you, and astounded Europe shall remember that you belong to the race of heroes!
Bourrienne raised his head, expectant, after writing the last words.
"Well, that's all," said Bonaparte.
"Shall I add the sacramental words: 'Vive la Republique!'?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because we have issued no proclamation during the last four months, andsomething may be changed in the ordinary formulas."
"The proclamation will do as it is," said Bonaparte, "add nothing toit."
Taking a pen, he dashed rather than wrote his signature at the bottom ofthe paper, then handing it to Bourrienne, he said: "See that it appearsin the 'Moniteur' to-morrow."
Bourrienne left the room, carrying the proclamation with him.
Bonaparte, left alone with Lord Tanlay, walked up and down the room fora moment, as though he had forgotten the Englishman's presence; then hestopped suddenly before him.
"My lord," he asked, "do you think you obtained from your uncle all thatanother man might have obtained in your place?"
"More, citizen First Consul."
"More! more! Pray, what have you obtained?"
"I think that the citizen First Consul did not read the royal memorandumwith all the attention it deserves."
"Heavens!" exclaimed Bonaparte, "I know it by heart."
"Then the citizen First Consul cannot have weighed the meaning and thewording of a certain paragraph."
"You think so?"
"I am sure of it; and if the citizen First Consul will permit me to readhim the paragraph to which I allude--"
Bonaparte relaxed his hold upon the crumpled note, and handed it to LordTanlay, saying: "Read it."
Sir John cast his eyes over the document, with which he seemed to befamiliar, paused at the tenth paragraph, and read:
The best and surest means for peace and security, and for their continuance, would be the restoration of that line of princes who for so many centuries have preserved to the French nation its internal prosperity and the respect and consideration of foreign countries. Such an event would have removed, and at any time will remove, the obstacles which are now in the way of negotiations and peace; it would guarantee to France the tranquil possession of her former territory, and procure for all the other nations of Europe, through a like tranquillity and peace, that security which they are now obliged to seek by other means.
"Well," said Bonaparte, impatiently, "I have read all that, andperfectly understood it. Be Monk, labor for another man, and yourvictories, your renown, your genius will be forgiven you; humbleyourself, and you shall be allowed to remain great!"
"Citizen First Consul," said Lord Tanlay, "no one knows better thanI the difference between you and Monk, and how far you surpass him ingenius and renown."
"Then why do you read me that?"
"I only read that paragraph," replied Sir John, "to lead you to give tothe one following its due significance."
"Let's hear it," said Bonaparte, with repressed impatience.
Sir John continued:
But, however desirable such an event may be for France and for the world, it is not to this means alone that his Majesty restricts the possibility of a safe and sure pacification.
Sir John emphasized the last words.
"Ah! ah!" exclaimed Bonaparte, stepping hastily to Sir John's side.
The Englishman continued:
His Majesty does not presume to prescribe to France her form of government, nor the hands into which she may place the necessary authority to conduct the affairs of a great and powerful nation.
"Read that again, sir," said Bonaparte, eagerl
y.
"Read it yourself," replied Sir John.
He handed him the note, and Bonaparte re-read it.
"Was it you, sir," he asked, "who added that paragraph?"
"I certainly insisted on it."
Bonaparte reflected.
"You are right," he said; "a great step has been taken; the return ofthe Bourbons is no longer a condition _sine qua non_. I am accepted, notonly as a military, but also as a political power." Then, holding outhis hand to Sir John, he added: "Have you anything to ask of me, sir?"
"The only thing I seek has been asked of you by my friend Roland."
"And I answered, sir, that I shall be pleased to see you the husband ofhis sister. If I were richer, or if you were less so, I would offer todower her"--Sir John made a motion--"but as I know your fortune willsuffice for two," added Bonaparte, smiling, "or even more, I leave youthe joy of giving not only happiness, but also wealth to the woman youlove. Bourrienne!" he called.
Bourrienne appeared.
"I have sent it, general," he said.
"Very good," replied the First Consul; "but that is not what I calledyou for."
"I await your orders."
"At whatever hour of the day or night Lord Tanlay presents himself,I shall be happy to receive him without delay; you hear me, my dearBourrienne? You hear me, my lord?"
Lord Tanlay bowed his thanks.
"And now," said Bonaparte, "I presume you are in a hurry to be off tothe Chateau des Noires-Fontaines. I won't detain you, but there is onecondition I impose."
"And that is, general?"
"If I need you for another mission--"
"That is not a condition, citizen First Consul; it is a favor."
Lord Tanlay bowed and withdrew.
Bourrienne prepared to follow him, but Bonaparte called him back. "Isthere a carriage below?" he asked.
Bourrienne looked into the courtyard. "Yes, general."
"Then get ready and come with me."
"I am ready, general; I have only my hat and overcoat to get, and theyare in the office."
"Then let us go," said Bonaparte.
He took up his hat and coat, went down the private staircase, and signedto the carriage to come up. Notwithstanding Bourrienne's haste, he gotdown after him. A footman opened the door; Bonaparte sprang in.
"Where are we going, general?" asked Bourrienne.
"To the Tuileries," replied Bonaparte.
Bourrienne, amazed, repeated the order, and looked at the First Consulas if to seek an explanation; but the latter was plunged in thought, andthe secretary, who at this time was still the friend, thought it bestnot to disturb him.
The horses started at gallop--Bonaparte's usual mode of progression--andtook the way to the Tuileries.
The Tuileries, inhabited by Louis XVI. after the days of the 5th and 6thof October, and occupied successively by the Convention and the Councilof Five Hundred, had remained empty and devastated since the 18thBrumaire. Since that day Bonaparte had more than once cast his eyeson that ancient palace of royalty; but he knew the importance of notarousing any suspicion that a future king might dwell in the palace ofthe abolished monarchy.
Bonaparte had brought back from Italy a magnificent bust of JuniusBrutus; there was no suitable place for it at the Luxembourg, and towardthe end of November, Bonaparte had sent for the Republican, David, andordered him to place the bust in the gallery of the Tuileries. Who couldsuppose that David, the friend of Marat, was preparing the dwelling of afuture emperor by placing the bust of Caesar's murderer in the gallery ofthe Tuileries? No one did suppose, nor even suspect it.
When Bonaparte went to see if the bust were properly placed, he noticedthe havoc committed in the palace of Catherine of Medicis. The Tuilerieswere no longer the abode of kings, it is true, but they were a nationalpalace, and the nation could not allow one of its palaces to becomedilapidated. Bonaparte sent for citizen Lecomte, the architect, andordered him to _clean_ the Tuileries. The word might be taken in bothsenses--moral and physical.
The architect was requested to send in an estimate of the cost of thecleaning. It amounted to five hundred thousand francs. Bonaparte askedif for that sum, the Tuileries could be converted into a suitable"palace for the government." The architect replied that the sumnamed would suffice not only to restore the Tuileries to their formercondition, but to make them habitable.
A habitable palace, that was all Bonaparte wanted. How should he, aRepublican, need regal luxury? The "palace of the government" ought tobe severely plain, decorated with marbles and statues only. But whatought those statues to be? It was the First Consul's duty to selectthem.
Accordingly, Bonaparte chose them from the three great ages and thethree great nations: from the Greeks, from the Romans, from France andher rivals. From the Greeks he chose Alexander and Demosthenes; thegenius of conquest and the genius of eloquence. From the Romans he choseScipio, Cicero, Cato, Brutus and Caesar, placing the great victim sideby side with the murderer, as great almost as himself. From themodern world he chose Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, the great Conde,Duguay-Trouin, Marlborough, Prince Eugene, and the Marechal deSaxe; and, finally, the great Frederick and George Washington--falsephilosophy upon a throne, and true wisdom founding a free state.
To these he added warlike heroes--Dampierre, Dugommier, Joubert--toprove that, while he did not fear the memory of a Bourbon in the greatConde, neither was he jealous of his brothers-in-arms, the victims of acause already no longer his.
Matters were in this state at the period of which we are now speaking;that is, the last of February, 1800. The Tuileries had been cleaned,the busts were in their niches, the statues were on their pedestals; andonly a favorable occasion was wanting.
That occasion came when the news of Washington's death was received. Thefounder of the liberty of the United States had ceased to breathe on the14th of December, 1799.
It was that event of which Bonaparte was thinking, when Bourriennesaw by the expression of his face that he must be left entirely to thereflections which absorbed him.
The carriage stopped before the Tuileries. Bonaparte sprang out with thesame haste with which he had entered it; went rapidly up the stairs, andthrough the apartments, examining more particularly those which had beeninhabited by Louis XVI. and Marie-Antoinette. In the private study ofLouis XVI. he stopped short.
"Here's where we will live, Bourrienne," he said, suddenly, as ifthe latter had followed him through the mental labyrinth in which hewandered, following the thread of Ariadne which we call thought. "Yes,we will lodge here; the Third Consul can have the Pavilion of Flora, andCambaceres will remain at the Chancellerie."
"In that way," said Bourrienne, "when the time comes, you will have onlyone to turn out."
"Come, come," said Bonaparte, catching Bourrienne by the ear, "that'snot bad."
"When shall we move in, general?" asked Bourrienne.
"Oh, not to-morrow; it will take at least a week to prepare theParisians to see me leave the Luxembourg for the Tuileries."
"Eight days," exclaimed Bourrienne; "that will do."
"Especially if we begin at once. Come, Bourrienne, to the Luxembourg."
With the rapidity that characterized all his movements when seriousmatters were in question, he passed through the suites of apartments hehad already visited, ran down the stairs, and sprang into the carriage,calling out: "To the Luxembourg!"
"Wait, wait," cried Bourrienne, still in the vestibule; "general, won'tyou wait for me?"
"Laggard!" exclaimed Bonaparte. And the carriage started, as it hadcome, at a gallop.
When Bonaparte re-entered his study he found the minister of policeawaiting him.
"Well, what now, citizen Fouche? You look upset. Have I, perchance, beenassassinated?"
"Citizen First Consul," said the minister, "you seemed to attach theutmost importance to the destruction of those bands who call themselvesthe Companions of Jehu."
"Evidently, since I sent Roland himself to pursue them. Have you an
ynews of them?"
"We have."
"From whom?"
"Their leader himself."
"Their leader?"
"He has had the audacity to send me a report of their last exploit."
"Against whom?"
"The fifty thousand francs you sent to the Saint-Bernard fathers."
"What became of them?"
"The fifty thousand francs?"
"Yes."
"They are in the possession of those brigands, and their leader informsme he will transfer them shortly to Cadoudal."
"Then Roland is killed?"
"No."
"How do you mean, no?"
"My agent is killed; Colonel Maurice is killed; but your aide-de-camp issafe and sound."
"Then he will hang himself," said Bonaparte.
"What good would that do? The rope would break; you know his luck."
"Or his misfortune, yes--Where is the report?"
"You mean the letter?"
"Letter, report, thing--whatever it was that told you this news."
The minister handed the First Consul a paper inclosed in a perfumedenvelope.
"What's this?"
"The thing you asked for."
Bonaparte read the address: "To the citizen Fouche, minister of police.Paris." Then he opened the letter, which contained the following.
CITIZEN MINISTER--I have the honor to inform you that the fifty thousand francs intended for the monks of Saint-Bernard came into our hands on the night of February 25, 1800 (old style), and that they will reach those of citizen Cadoudal within the week.
The affair was well-managed, save for the deaths of your agent and Colonel Saint-Maurice. As for M. Roland de Montrevel, I have the satisfaction of informing you that nothing distressing has befallen him. I did not forget that he was good enough to receive me at the Luxembourg.
I write you, citizen minister, because I presume that M. Roland de Montrevel is just now too much occupied in pursuing us to write you himself. But I am sure that at his first leisure moment you will receive from him a report containing all the details into which I cannot enter for lack of time and facilities for writing.
In exchange for the service I render you, citizen minister, I will ask you to do one for me; namely, inform Madame de Montrevel, without delay, that her son is in safety. MORGAN.
Maison-Blanche, on the road from Macon to Lyons, Saturday, 9 P.M.
"Ha, the devil!" said Bonaparte; "a bold scamp!" Then he added, with asigh: "What colonels and captains those men would make me!"
"What are your orders, citizen First Consul?" asked the minister ofpolice.
"None; that concerns Roland. His honor is at stake; and, as he is notkilled, he will take his revenge."
"Then the First Consul will take no further notice of the affair?"
"Not for the present, at any rate." Then, turning to his secretary, headded, "We have other fish to fry, haven't we, Bourrienne?"
Bourrienne nodded affirmatively.
"When does the First Consul wish to see me again?" asked the minister.
"To-night, at ten o'clock. We move out in eight days."
"Where are you going?"
"To the Tuileries."
Fouche gave a start of amazement.
"Against your opinion, I know," said the First Consul; "but I'll takethe whole business on myself; you have only to obey."
Fouche bowed, and prepared to leave the room.
"By the way!" exclaimed Bonaparte.
Fouche turned round.
"Don't forget to notify Madame de Montrevel that her son is safe andsound; that's the least you can do for citizen Morgan after the servicehe has rendered you."
And he turned his back on the minister of police, who retired, bitinghis lips till the blood came.