The Life of Napoleon I Part 61

[Footnote 72: This was doubtless facilitated by the death of the Czarina, Catherine II., in November, 1796. She had been on the point of entering the Coalition against France. The new Czar Paul was at that time for peace. The Austrian Minister Thugut, on hearing of her death, exclaimed, "This is the climax of our disasters."]

[Footnote 73: Huffer, "Oesterreich und Preussen," p. 263.]

[Footnote 74: "Moniteur," 20 Floreal, Year V.; Sciout, "Le Directoire," vol. ii., ch. vii.]

[Footnote 75: See Landrieux's letter on the subject in Koch's "Memoires de Ma.s.sena," vol. ii.; "Pieces Justif.," _ad fin._; and Bonaparte's "Corresp.," letter of March 24th, 1797. The evidence of this letter, as also of those of April 9th and 19th, is ignored by Thiers, whose account of Venetian affairs is misleading. It is clear that Bonaparte contemplated part.i.tion long before the revolt of Brescia.]

[Footnote 76: Botta, "Storia d'Italia," vol. ii., chs. x., etc.; Daru, "Hist. de Venise," vol. v.; Gaffarel, "Bonaparte et les Republiques Italiennes," pp. 137-139; and Sciout, "Le Directoire," vol ii., chs.

v. and vii.]

[Footnote 77: Sorel, "Bonaparte et Hoche en 1797," p. 65.]

[Footnote 78: Letter of April 30th, 1797.]

[Footnote 79: Letter of May 13th, 1797.]

[Footnote 80: It would even seem, from Bonaparte's letter of July 12th, 1797, that not till then did he deign to send on to Paris the terms of the treaty with Venice. He accompanied it with the cynical suggestion that they could do what they liked with the treaty, and even annul it!]

[Footnote 81: The name _Italian_ was rejected by Bonaparte as too aggressively nationalist; but the prefix _Cis_--applied to a State which stretched southward to the Rubicon--was a concession to Italian nationality. It implied that Florence or Rome was the natural capital of the new State.]

[Footnote 82: See Arnault's "Souvenirs d'un s.e.xagenaire" (vol. iii., p. 31) and Levy's "Napoleon intime," p. 131.]

[Footnote 83: For the subjoined version of the accompanying new letter of Bonaparte (referred to in my Preface) I am indebted to Mr. H.A.L.

Fisher, in the "Eng. Hist. Rev.," July, 1900:

"Milan, 29 Thermidor [l'an IV.]

"a LA CITOYENNE TALLIEN

"Je vous dois des remerciements, belle citoyenne, pour le souvenir que vous me conservez et pour les choses aimables contenues dans votre apostille. Je sais bien qu'en vous disant que je regrette les moments heureux que j'ai pa.s.se dans votre societe je ne vous repete que ce que tout le monde vous dit. Vous connaitre c'est ne plus pouvoir vous...o...b..ier: etre loin de votre aimable personne lorsque l'on a goute les charmes de votre societe c'est desirer vivement de s'en rapprocher; mais l'on dit que vous allez en Espagne. Fi! c'est tres vilain a moins que vous ne soyez de retour avant trois mois, enfin que cet hiver nous ayons le bonheur de vous voir a Paris.

Allez donc en Espagne visiter la caverne de Gil Blas. Moi je crois aussi visiter toutes les antiquites possibles, enfin que dans le cours de novembre jusqu'a fevrier nous puissions raconter sans cesse. Croyez-moi avec toute la consideration, je voulais dire le respect, mais je sais qu'en general les jolies femmes n'aiment pas ce mot-la.

"BONAPARTE.

"Mille e mille chose a Tallien."]

[Footnote 84: Lavalette, "Mems.," ch. xiii.; Barras, "Mems.," vol.

ii., pp. 511-512; and d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes, "Mems.," vol. i., ch.

xxviii.]

[Footnote 85: Barras, "Mems.," vol. ii., ch, x.x.xi.; Madame de Stael, "Directoire," ch. viii.]

[Footnote 86: "Memoires de Gohier"; Roederer, "Oeuvres," tome iii., p.

294.]

[Footnote 87: Brougham, "Sketches of Statesmen"; Ste. Beuve, "Talleyrand"; Lady Blennerha.s.set, "Talleyrand."]

[Footnote 88: Instructions of Talleyrand to the French envoys (September 11th); also Ernouf's "Maret, Duc de Ba.s.sano," chs. xxvii.

and xxviii., for the _bona fides_ of Pitt in these negotiations.

It seems strange that Baron du Ca.s.se, in his generally fair treatment of the English case, in his "Negociations relatives aux Traites de Luneville et d'Amiens," should have prejudiced his readers at the outset by referring to a letter which he attributes to Lord Malmesbury. It bears no date, no name, and purports to be "Une Lettre de Lord Malmesbury, oubliee a Lille." How could the following sentences have been penned by Malmesbury, and written to Lord Grenville?--"Mais enfin, outre les regrets sinceres de Meot et des danseuses de l'Opera, j'eus la consolation de voir en quittant Paris, que des Francais et une mult.i.tude de nouveaux convertis a la religion catholique m'accompagnaient de leurs voeux, de leurs prieres, et presque de leurs larmes.... L'evenement de Fructidor porta la desolation dans le coeur de tous les bons ennemis de la France. Pour ma part, j'en fut consterne: _je ne l'avais point prevu_." It is obviously the clumsy fabrication of a Fructidorian, designed for Parisian consumption: it was translated by a Whig pamphleteer under the t.i.tle "The Voice of Truth!"--a fit sample of that partisan malevolence which distorted a great part of our political literature in that age.]

[Footnote 89: Bonaparte's letters of September 28th and October 7th to Talleyrand.]

[Footnote 90: See too Marsh's "Politicks of Great Britain and France,"

ch. xiii.; "Correspondence of W.A. Miles on the French Revolution,"

letters of January 7th and January 18th, 1793; also Sybel's "Europe during the French Revolution," vol. ii.]

[Footnote 91: Pallain, "Le Ministere de Talleyrand sous le Directoire," p. 42.]

[Footnote 92: Bourrienne, "Memoirs," vol. i., ch. xii. See too the despatch of Sandoz-Rollin to Berlin of February 28th, 1798, in Bailleu's "Preussen und Frankreich," vol. i., No. 150.]

[Footnote 93: The italics are my own. I wish to call attention to the statement in view of the much-debated question whether in 1804-5 Napoleon intended to invade our land, _unless he gained maritime supremacy_. See Desbriere's "Projets de Debarquement aux Iles Britanniques," vol. i., _ad fin_.]

[Footnote 94: Letter of October 10th, 1797; see too those of August 16th and September 13th.]

[Footnote 95: The plan of menacing diverse parts of our coasts was kept up by Bonaparte as late as April 13th, 1798. In his letter of this date he still speaks of the invasion of England and Scotland, and promises to return from Egypt in three or four months, so as to proceed with the invasion of the United Kingdom. Boulay de la Meurthe, in his work, "Le Directoire et l'Expedition d'Egypte," ch. i., seems to take this promise seriously. In any case the Directors' hopes for the invasion of Ireland were dashed by the premature rising of the Irish malcontents in May, 1798. For Poussielgue's mission to Malta, see Lavalette's "Mems.," ch. xiv.]

[Footnote 96: Mallet du Pan states that three thousand Vaudois came to Berne to join in the national defence: "Les cantons democratiques sont les plus fanatises contre les Francais"--a suggestive remark.]

[Footnote 97: Dandliker, "Geschichte der Schweiz," vol. iii., p. 350 (edition of 1895); also Lavisse, "La Rev. Franc.," p. 821.]

[Footnote 98: "Correspondance," No. 2676.]

[Footnote 99: "Foreign Office Records," Malta (No. 1). Mr. Williams states in his despatch of June 30th, 1798, that Bonaparte knew there were four thousand Maltese in his favour, and that most of the French knights were publicly known to be so; but he adds: "I do believe the Maltees [_sic_] have given the island to the French in order to get rid of the knighthood."]

[Footnote 100: I am indebted for this fact to the Librarian of the Priory of the Knights of St. John, Clerkenwell.]

[Footnote 101: See, for a curious instance, Chaptal, "Mes Souvenirs,"

p. 243.]

[Footnote 102: The Arab accounts of these events, drawn up by Nakoula and Abdurrahman, are of much interest. They have been well used by M.

Dufourcq, editor of Desvernois' "Memoirs," for many suggestive footnotes.]

[Footnote 103: Desgenettes, "Histoire medicale de l'Armee d'Orient"

(Paris, 1802); Belliard, "Memoires," vol. i.]

[Footnote 104: I have followed chiefly the account of Savary, Duc de Rovigo, "Mems.," ch. iv. See too Desvernois, "Mems.," ch. iv.]

[Footnote 105: See his orders published in the "Correspondance officielle et confid. de Nap. Bonaparte, Egypte," vol. i. (Paris, 1819, p. 270). They rebut Captain Mahan's statement ("Influence of Sea Power upon the Fr. Rev. and Emp.," vol. i., p. 263) as to Brueys'

"delusion and lethargy" at Aboukir. On the contrary, though enfeebled by dysentery and worried by lack of provisions and the insubordination of his marines, he certainly did what he could under the circ.u.mstances. See his letters in the Appendix of Jurien de la Graviere, "Guerres Maritimes," vol. i.]

[Footnote 106: Desvernois, "Mems.," ch. v.]

[Footnote 107: _Ib._, ch. vi.]

[Footnote 108: Order of July 27th, 1798.]