Joseph Bonaparte Part 8

--Attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate Salicetti.--Napoleon complains of Roederer.

--Queen Julie and her Children repair to Naples.--Treachery of Spain.

--Plan of Napoleon.--Testimony in Favor of Joseph.--Joseph's Journey to Bayonne.--Forebodings of Joseph.--The Brigands.--Queen Julie leaving Naples.--Summary of Joseph's Benefactions to Naples.--Hostility of the British Government.--Condition of Europe.--Measures of the Bourbons of Spain.--Character of the Royal Family of Spain.--The Spanish Princes.

Toward the close of the year 1807 brigandage was entirely suppressed, all traces of insurrection had disappeared, and tranquillity and prosperity reigned throughout the kingdom of Naples. In July Joseph wrote from Capo di Monte to Queen Julie, who was then at Mortfontaine, as follows:

"MY DEAR JULIE,--I have received your letter of the 15th from Mortfontaine. The sentiment which you have experienced in returning to that beautiful place, where we have been so happy for so long a time, and at so little expense, needs not the explanation of any supernatural causes. You perceive that there you have been happier than you are now, than you will be for a long time. The happiness which you have there enjoyed is sure as the past; that which is destined for you here is as uncertain as the future. Life at Mortfontaine is that of innocence and peace; it is that of the patriarchs. The life at Naples is that of kings. It is a voyage over a sea, often calm, but sometimes stormy. The life at Mortfontaine was a promenade as placid as its waters. It flowed noiselessly like the light skiff which a slight effort of the oars of Zenade[N] sufficed to push forward around the isle of Molton.[O]

[Footnote N: Daughter of the king.]

[Footnote O: An island in the lake of Mortfontaine.]

"But after all these regrets of a good heart, gentle and reasonable, there come the results of the reflections of a strong mind and an elevated soul which owes itself entirely to the will of Providence, manifested by the spontaneous coming, and not desired by us, of grandeurs which point us to other duties. I console myself, in this new career, by seeing it traversed by my wife and my children. The most unpleasant part of the voyage is over, that which I have taken without them. Now peace will reunite us. And if you do not find here your own country, our reunion will give us the illusion of it. As we shall be the same to each other, I believe that, come what may, you will find Mortfontaine, where you see me happy in the love of my family, and in the happiness which I shall be able to confer, and in that still greater happiness of which I shall dream. Adieu, my dear Julie. I embrace you tenderly."

The victories of the Emperor, the peace of Tilsit, the Russian alliance, had greatly diminished the influence of the British Cabinet upon the Continent, and, in the same proportion, had increased that of France.

Still the Cabinet of St. James was unrelenting in opposition to Napoleon. The British cruisers ran along the coast of Italy, landing here and there Sicilian or Calabrian brigands, who were under the pay of Ferdinand and Caroline. It was also proved that a.s.sa.s.sins were in the employ of Ferdinand and his queen.

Toward the end of November Napoleon visited Venice, and, by appointment, met his brother Joseph there. It has generally been affirmed that there was a _secret_ article in the treaty of Tilsit authorizing Napoleon to dethrone the Bourbons of Spain, who had treacherously endeavored to strike him in the back when, in the campaigns of Jena, Auerstadt, and Austerlitz, he was contending against England, France, and Russia. But that secret article, if there were such, has been kept so secret, that no sufficient evidence has yet been adduced that it existed. Joseph, however, wrote, when an exile in America:

"At the time of my interview with the Emperor at Venice, he spoke to me of troubles in the royal family of Spain as probably leading to events which he dreaded. 'I have enough work marked out,' he said. 'The troubles in Spain will only aid the English to impair the resources, which I find in this alliance, to continue the war against them.'"

On the 16th of December Joseph returned to Naples, and the next day presided at the council of ministers. He did not make any communication of importance. "It is only known," writes the Count of Melito, "that he sent one of his aides on a mission to the Emperor Alexander. It was hence concluded that arrangements of some nature had been entered into at Venice in harmony with the views of the Emperor of Russia." Joseph, however, writes, in reference to this mission, "General Marie took letters to Russia and congratulations, and brought me back letters, affectionate even, from the Emperor Alexander, and his compliments; that was all."

Lucien Bonaparte, a very independent and impulsive young man, was not disposed to submit to the dictation of his elder brother Napoleon. He had entered into a second marriage, which displeased Napoleon, as it very seriously interfered with his plans of forming a dynasty. Joseph was sent to meet the refractory brother at Modena, and to endeavor to promote reconciliation. The following letter from Eliza, written to her brother Lucien upon this subject will be read with interest. It was dated Marlia, June 20th, 1807:

"MY DEAR LUCIEN,--I have received your letter. Permit, to my friendship, a few reflections upon the present state of things. I hope that you will not be annoyed by my observations.

"Propositions were made to you, a year ago, which you should have found seasonable, and which you should immediately have accepted, for the happiness of your family and of your wife. You now refuse them. Do you not see, my dear friend, that the only means of placing obstacles in the way of adoption is, that his Majesty should have a family of which he can dispose? In remaining near Napoleon, or in receiving from him a throne, you will be useful to him. He will marry your daughters; and so long as he can find, in the members of his family, the instruments for executing his projects and his policy, he will not choose strangers. We must not treat with the master of the world as with an equal. Nature made us the children of the same father, and his prodigies have rendered us his subjects. Although sovereigns, we hold every thing from him. It is a n.o.ble pride to acknowledge this; and it seems to me that our only glory should be to prove by our manner of governing that we are worthy of him and of our family.

"Reflect then anew upon the propositions which are made to you. Mamma and we all should be so happy to be re-united, and to make only one political family. Dear Lucien, do that for us, who love you, for the people whom my brother has given for you to govern, and to whom you will bring happiness.

"Adieu. I embrace you. Do not feel unkindly to me for this; and believe that my tenderness will always be the same for you. Embrace your wife and your amiable family. Chevalier Angelino, who has come to see me, has often spoken to me of you and of your wife. My little one is charming. I have weaned her. I shall be very happy if she is soon able to play with all the family. Adieu.

"Your sister and friend, ELIZA."

The letters of the Emperor were sometimes severe in reproof of the policy of his brother. It is evident that Joseph was, at times, quite wounded by these reproaches. At the conclusion of a long letter, written on the 19th of October, 1807, Joseph says:

"I am far from complaining of any one. The people and the enemy are what they must be. But it would be pleasant to me, could your Majesty truly know my position, and render some justice to the efforts and to the privations of every kind which I impose upon myself to do the best I can. Although the present state of affairs may not be good, still I hope for better times. No person desires it more than I do. When I have a thousand ducats I give them; and I can a.s.sure your Majesty that I have never in my life, which has been composed of so many different shades, found less opportunity to gratify my private inclinations. I have no expenses but for the public wants. I occupy myself day and night in the administration. I think the administration as good as possible; but it has no more the power than have I to correct the times, and to create that which does not exist and can not exist, except where there is interior tranquillity and external peace."

On the 13th of August, 1806, Joseph wrote to his brother, "I remain here till your Majesty's birthday, on which I wish you joy. I hope that you may receive with some little pleasure this expression of my affection.

The glorious Emperor will never replace to me the Napoleon whom I so much loved, and whom I hope to find again, as I knew him twenty years ago, if we are to meet in the Elysian Fields."

Napoleon replied from Rambouillet, on the 23d of August,

"MY BROTHER,--I have received your letter of the 13th of August. I am sorry that you think that you will find your brother again only in the Elysian Fields. It is natural that at forty he should not feel toward you as he did at twelve. But his feelings toward you are more true and strong. His friendship has the features of his mind."

In December Napoleon had a personal interview with Lucien, and he gives the following account of it, in a letter to Joseph, dated Mantua, 17th December, 1807:

"MY BROTHER,--I have seen Lucien at Mantua. I talked with him several hours. He undoubtedly will inform you of the disposition in which he left. His thoughts and his language are so different from mine that I found it difficult to get an idea of what he wished. I think that he told me that he wished to send his eldest daughter to Paris, to be near her grandmother. If he continue in that disposition, I desire to be immediately informed of it. And it is necessary that that young person should be in Paris in the course of January, either accompanied by Lucien, or intrusted by him to the charge of a governess, who will convey her to Madame.[P] Lucien seems to be agitated by contrary sentiments, and not to have sufficient strength to come to a decision.

[Footnote P: Madame Let.i.tia, Napoleon's mother.]

"I have exhausted all the means in my power to recall Lucien, who is still in his early youth, to the employment of his talents for me and for the country. If he wish to send his daughter, she should leave without delay, and he should send a declaration by which he places her entirely at my disposal, for there is not a moment to be lost; events hurry onward, and I must accomplish my destiny. If he has changed his opinion, let me immediately be informed of it, for then I must make other arrangements.

"Say to Lucien that his grief and the parting sentiments which he manifested moved me; that I regret the more that he will not be reasonable, and contribute to his own repose and to mine. I await with impatience a reply clear and decisive, particularly in that which relates to Charlotte."

On the 31st of January, 1808, a fiend-like attempt was made to blow up the palace of Salicetti, Joseph's minister of police. About one o'clock in the morning, just as the minister was entering his chamber, there was a terrific explosion. An infernal machine had been placed in the cellar.

The whole palace was shattered and rent, while large portions were thrown into utter ruin. Salicetti, severely wounded, heard the shrieks of his daughter, the d.u.c.h.ess of Lavello, and rushed to her aid. He found her buried five or six feet deep in the debris which had been thrown upon her. It was more than a quarter of an hour before her agonized father, aided by the domestics, could succeed in extricating her.

Though alive, she was sadly maimed. Two of the inmates of the palace were killed, and others were severely injured.

Napoleon, when informed of the event, wrote to Joseph, under date of February 11th, 1808: "The terrible misfortune which has happened to Salicetti seems to me to have been the result of over-indulgence. When were traitors ever before allowed to live free in a capital--wretches who had plotted against the State? Their lives ought not to be spared; but if that is done, at least you ought to send them sixty leagues from the capital or shut them up in a fortress. Any other conduct is madness."

Napoleon, having gained a glorious peace upon the plains of Poland, which disarmed the nations of the north, now turned his special attention to the south--to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Rome, and Naples. The possession of the kingdom of Naples, instead of being a source of profit to the Emperor, occasioned him continued and heavy expense. Joseph was ever calling for money to meet the innumerable demands involved in carrying on war with the English, and in urging forward those reforms which were essential to the regeneration of a realm which former misgovernment had plunged to a very low abyss of poverty and ruin.

The Emperor, bearing the burden of the exhaustive wars ever waged against him, while continually aiding Joseph, still often and severely reproached him with the manner in which his finances were conducted. On the 11th of February, 1808, he wrote:

"MY BROTHER,--The administration of the realm of Naples is very bad.

Roederer makes brilliant projects, ruins the country, and pays no money into your treasury. This is the opinion of all the French who come from Naples. Roederer is upright, and has good intentions, but he has no experience."

Again, on the 26th of February, he wrote: "Roederer is of the race of men who always ruin those to whom they are attached. Is it want of tact, is it misfortune? No matter which; there is not one of your friends who does not detest Roederer. He is at Naples as at Paris, without credit with any party; a man of no sagacity, of no tact, whom, however, I esteem for many good qualities, but whom, as a statesman, I can make nothing of."

Joseph, however, earnestly defended his financial agent as an able and an honest man, who made enemies only of those who wished to plunder the treasury. This led Joseph, whose constant effort it was to promote the happiness of his people, to whose interests he was entirely devoted, to order a minute statement to be drawn up of the condition of the realm in all respects. This remarkable doc.u.ment was written by Count Melito, the Minister of the Interior. It gave an accurate narrative of all the ameliorations which had been introduced by Joseph, and will ever remain a monument of his goodness and tireless energies as a sovereign. As none of the statements could be doubted, the doc.u.ment at the time produced a profound impression throughout Europe.

Queen Julie now came to Naples with her children to join her husband.

She was received with great enthusiasm. There has seldom been found, in the history of the world, a worse woman than Caroline, the wife of Ferdinand, the former King of Naples. And history records the name perhaps of no better woman than Julie, the wife of Joseph. The King met the Queen on the 4th of April at Saint Lucie, and conducted her, greeted by the acclamations of their rejoicing subjects, into their beautiful capital.

The treachery of the Court of Spain, which, like an a.s.sa.s.sin, endeavored to strike the Empire of France stealthily, with a poisoned dagger, in the back, was known throughout Europe. These proud dynasties regarded Napoleon, because he was an _elected_, not a _legitimate_ sovereign, as an outlaw, with whom no treaties were binding, and whom they could betray, entrap, and shoot at pleasure.

When Napoleon was far away, in his winter campaign, bivouacking upon the cold summit of the Landgrafenberg, the evening before the battle of Jena he received information that the Bourbons of Spain, then professing friendship, and bound to him by a treaty of alliance, were secretly entering into a contract with England to a.s.sail him in the rear.

Napoleon had neither done nor meditated aught to injure Spain. His crime was that he had accepted the crown from the people, and was ruling in behalf of their interests, and not in the interests of the n.o.bles alone.

"A convention," says Alison, "was secretly concluded at Madrid between the Spanish Government and the Russian amba.s.sador, to which the Court of Lisbon was also a party, by which it was agreed that, as soon as the favorable opportunity was arrived, by the French armies being far advanced on their road to Berlin, the Spanish Government should commence hostilities in the Pyrenees, and invite the English to co-operate."

Napoleon, by his camp-fire, upon the eve of a terrible battle, read the account of this perfidy. As he folded the dispatches, he said calmly, but firmly, "The Bourbons of Spain shall be replaced by princes of my own family."

"The Spanish Bourbons," says Napier, "could never have been sincere friends to France while Bonaparte held the sceptre; and the moment that the fear of his power ceased to operate, it was quite certain that their apparent friendship would change to active hostility."

"When I made peace on the Niemen," said Napoleon, "I stipulated that if England did not accept the mediation of Alexander, Russia should unite her arms with ours, and compel that power to peace. I should be indeed weak if, having obtained that single advantage from those whom I have vanquished, I should permit the Spaniards to embroil me afresh on my weak side. Should I permit Spain to form an alliance with England, it would give that hostile power greater advantages than it has lost by the rupture with Russia. I wish, above all things, to avoid war with Spain.

Such a contest would be a species of sacrilege. If I can not arrange with either the father or the son, I will make a clean sweep of them both."

Rumor was busy throughout Europe in discussing the plans of Napoleon.

The report soon became general that the crown of Spain was to be offered to Joseph. His kindness of heart, his n.o.bleness of character, and the immense benefits which he had conferred upon the Neapolitan realm, had secured for him almost universal respect and affection. The Neapolitans were greatly alarmed from fears that he would be transferred to Spain.

"The King," writes his very able biographer, A. du Ca.s.se, "was universally beloved, because he began to be appreciated at his true value. His good qualities, the love with which he cherished his subjects, had won all hearts. His departure was dreaded. Joseph, however, did not slacken the reins of government. The Councils of State and the ministers, presided over by him, continued their labors to ameliorate the administration of the realm, to embellish Naples, to encourage discoveries, to unite the learned in a literary corps. The King wished that, even after his departure, the impulse which he had given should continue uninterrupted."

It was at Naples, under the encouragement of Joseph, that the art of lithography was discovered. On the 23d of May, 1808, the King, by the request of Napoleon, left Naples for France. He left his family behind him, and hastened through Turin and Lyons to meet his brother at Bayonne. His departure caused great anxiety and sadness throughout the kingdom of Naples. Who would wear the crown about to be vacated? Would the Two Sicilies be annexed to the kingdom of Italy under Eugene? Would Louis, Lucien, or one of Napoleon's marshals succeed Joseph?

On the journey Joseph met the Bishop of Gren.o.ble, formerly the abbe Simon, his ancient professor of mathematics and philosophy in the College of Autun. Joseph had ever cherished the memory of his teacher with great affection, and, upon meeting, threw his arms around him in a tender embrace. As the bishop complimented him upon his high destiny, and congratulated him upon the probability of his immediate elevation to the throne of Spain, Joseph replied sadly,[Q]

[Footnote Q: We are indebted, for the report of this conversation, to M.