Complete Project Gutenberg Collection of Memoirs of Napoleon

Voyage to St. Helena--Personal traits of the Emperor--Arrival at James Town--Napoleon's temporary residence at The Briars--Removal to Longwood--The daily routine there-The Campa...

As I have often-had occasion to remark, the Emperor's tastes were extremely simple in everything relating to his person; moreover, he manifested a decided aversion to the usages...

The extraordinary rapidity of events during the Cent fours, or Hundred Days of Napoleon's reign in 1815, and the startling changes in the parts previously filled by the chief pe...

Arrest of Georges--The fruiterer's daughter of the Rue de La Montagne--St. Genevieve--Louis Bonaparte's visit to the Temple-- General Lauriston--Arrest of Villeneuve and Barco--...

The men of the Revolution and the men of the Empire--The Council of Regency--Departure of the Empress from Paris--Marmont and Mortier-- Joseph's flight--Meeting at Marmont's hot...

Bonaparte's wish to negotiate with England and Austria-- An emigrant's letter--Domestic details--The bell--Conspiracy of Ceracchi, Arena, Harrel, and others--Bonaparte's visit t...

Bonaparte's confidence in the army--'Ma belle' France--The convent of Bernadins--Passage of Mont St. Bernard--Arrival at the convent-- Refreshments distributed to the soldiers--...

Proposal to send Bonaparte to La Vendee--He is struck off the list of general officers--Salicetti--Joseph's marriage with Mademoiselle Clary--Bonaparte's wish to go to Turkey--N...

One of the first public men to see Napoleon after his return from Waterloo was Lavallette. "I flew," says he, "to the Elysee to see the Emperor: he summoned me into his closet,...

Disturbed state of Spain--Godoy, Prince of the Peace--Reciprocal accusations between the King of Spain and his son--False promise of Napoleon--Dissatisfaction occasioned by the...

My departure from Hamburg-The King at St. Denis--Fouche appointed Minister of the Police--Delay of the King's entrance into Paris-- Effect of that delay--Fouche's nomination due...

Italy and Eugene--Siege of Dantzic-Capitulation concluded but not ratified-Rapp made prisoner and sent to Kiow--Davoust's refusal to believe the intelligence from Paris--Project...

It was not only by force of arms that the enemies of France endeavored at the end of 1813 to overthrow the power of the Emperor. In spite of our defeats the Emperor's name still...

Bonaparte enters the Military College of Paris--He urges me to embrace the military profession--His report on the state of the Military School of Paris--He obtains a commission-...

Curious disclosures of Fouche--Remarkable words of Bonaparte respecting the protest of Louis XVIII--Secret document inserted in the Moniteur--Announcement from Bonaparte to Regn...

Napoleon at Paris--Political manoeuvres--The meeting of the Champ-de-Mai--Napoleon, the Liberals, and the moderate Constitutionalists--His love of arbitrary power as strong as e...

M. Czernischeff--Dissimulation of Napoleon--Napoleon and Alexander-- Josephine's foresight respecting the affairs of Spain--My visits to Malmaison--Grief of Josephine--Tears and...

Unexpected receipts in the Post-office Department--Arrival of Napoleon's Commissioners at M. de Talleyrand's--Conference of the Marshals with Alexander--Alarming news from Esson...

The Tuileries--Royalty in perspective--Remarkable observation-- Presentations--Assumption of the prerogative of mercy--M. Defeu-- M. de Frotte--Georges Cadondal's audience of Bo...

Great and common men--Portrait of Bonaparte--The varied expression of his countenance--His convulsive shrug--Presentiment of his corpulency--Partiality for bathing--His temperan...

Nothing is too trivial to narrate concerning great men; for posterity shows itself eager to learn even the most insignificant details concerning their manner of life, their tast...

The Republic of Batavia--The crown of Holland offered to Louis-- Offer and refusal of the crown of Spain--Napoleon's attempt to get possession of Brabant--Napoleon before and af...

My return to Hamburg--Government Committee established there-- Anecdote of the Comte de Chaban--Napoleon's misunderstanding with the Pope--Cardinal Fesch--Convention of a Counci...

The most glorious epoch for France--The First Consul's desire of peace--Malta ceded and kept--Bonaparte and the English journals-- Mr. Addington's letter to the First Consul--Bo...

The Spanish troops in Hamburg--Romana's siesta--His departure for Funen--Celebration of Napoleon's birthday--Romana's defection-- English agents and the Dutch troops--Facility o...

General Ordener's mission--Arrest of the Due d'Enghien--Horrible night-scene---Harrel's account of the death of the Prince--Order for digging the grave--The foster-sister of the...

Prince Eugene and the affairs of Italy--The army of Italy on the frontiers of Austria--Eugene's regret at the defection of the Bavarians--Murat's dissimulation and perfidy--His...

Suspension of hostilities--Letter to the Consuls--Second Occupation of Milan--Bonaparte and Massena--Public acclamations and the voice of Josephine--Stray recollections--Organiz...

Clavier and Hemart--Singular Proposal of Corvisart-M. Desmaisons-- Project of influencing the judges--Visit to the Tuileries--Rapp in attendance--Long conversation with the Empe...

The allowance made by his Majesty for the yearly expenses of his dress was twenty thousand francs; and the year of, the coronation he became very angry because that sum had been...

The day after my disgrace--Renewal of my duties--Bonaparte's affected regard for me--Offer of an assistant--M. de Meneval--My second rupture with Bonaparte--The Due de Rovigo's...

The Egyptian Institute--Festival of the birth of Mahomet--Bonapartes prudent respect for the Mahometan religion--His Turkish dress-- Djezzar, the Pasha of Acre--Thoughts of a ca...

New system of war--Winter quarters--The Emperor's Proclamation-- Necessity of marching to meet the Russians--Distress in the Hanse Towns--Order for 50,000 cloaks--Seizure of Rus...

Unalterable determination of the Allies with respect to Napoleon-- Fontainebleau included in the limits to be occupied by the Allies-- Alexander's departure from Paris--Napoleon...

Message from the Tuileries--My interview with the King-- My appointment to the office of Prefect of the Police--Council at the Tuileries--Order for arrests--Fouches escape--Davo...

Bonaparte's laws--Suppression of the festival of the 21st of January--Officials visits--The Temple--Louis XVI. and Sir Sidney Smith--Peculation during the Directory--Loan raised...

The Empress Josephine was of medium height, with an exquisite figure; and in all her movements there was an airiness and grace which gave to her walk something ethereal, without...

General Bernadotte pacifies La vendee and suppresses a mutiny at Tours--Bonaparte's injustice towards him--A premeditated scene-- Advice given to Bernadotte, and Bonaparte disap...

All the world is familiar with the name of the Abbe Geoffroy of satirical memory, who drove the most popular actors and authors of the time to desperation. This pitiless Aristar...

The Temple--The intrigues of Europe--Prelude to the Continental system--Bombardment of Granville--My conversation with the First Consul on the projected invasion of England--Fau...

The day on which the First Consul promulgated the law of public worship, he rose early, and entered the dressing-room to make his toilet. While he was dressing I saw Joseph Bona...

The day preceding the passage of the Beresina was one of terrible solemnity. The Emperor appeared to have made his decision with the cool resolution of a man who commits an act...

The Princess Royal of Denmark--Destruction of the German Empire-- Napoleons visit to the Courts of Bavaria and Wurtemberg--His return to France--First mention of the divorce--In...

Effect of the 18th Fructidor on the peace--The standard of the army of Italy--Honours rendered to the memory of General Hoche and of Virgil at Mantua--Remarkable letter--In pass...

England deceived by Napoleon--Admirals Missiessy and Villeneuve-- Command given to Lauriston--Napoleon's opinion of Madame de Stael-- Her letters to Napoleon--Her enthusiasm con...

On my return to Paris I meet Bonaparte--His interview with Josephine --Bonaparte's marriage, and departure from Paris ten days after-- Portrait and character of Josephine--Bonap...

The appointment of General Junot as ambassador to Portugal recalled to my recollection a laughable anecdote concerning him, which greatly amused the Emperor. While in camp at Bo...

The Russians, being incited to this campaign by the remembrance of the defeat of Austerlitz, and by the fear of seeing Poland snatched from their grasp, were not deterred by the...

Bonaparte's departure for Suez--Crossing the desert--Passage of the Red Sea--The fountain of Moses--The Cenobites of Mount Sinai--Danger in recrossing the Red Sea--Napoleon's re...

Bonaparte and Paul I.--Lord Whitworth--Baron Sprengporten's arrival at Paris--Paul's admiration of Bonaparte--Their close connection and correspondence--The royal challenge--Gen...

During the second day of the battle of Dresden, at the end of which the Emperor had the attack of fever I mentioned in the preceding chapter, the King of Naples, or rather Marsh...

Citizen Fesch created Cardinal Fesch--Arts and industry--Exhibition in the Louvre--Aspect of Paris in 1802--The Medicean Venus and the Velletrian Pallas--Signs of general prospe...

Departure of the squadron--Arrival at Malta--Dolomieu--General Barguay d'Hilliers--Attack on the western part of the island-- Caffarelli's remark--Deliverance of the Turkish pri...

Riots in Hamburg and Lubeck--Attempted suicide of M. Konning-- Evacuation of Hamburg--Dissatisfaction at the conduct of General St. Cyr--The Cabinets of Vienna and the Tuileries...

War and monuments--Influence of the recollections of Egypt-- First improvements in Paris--Malmaison too little--St. Cloud taken --The Pont des Arts--Business prescribed for me b...

About the middle of summer Napoleon was visited by his mother and his sister the Princess Pauline. Both these ladies had very considerable talents for political intrigue, and th...

Unfounded reports--Carnot--Capitulation of Mantua--General Clarke-- The Directory yields to Bonaparte--Berthier--Arrival of Eugene Beauharnais at Milan--Comte Delannay d'Entraig...

Moreau and Bernadotte--Bonaparte's opinion of Bernadotte--False report--The crown of Sweden and the Constitution of the year III.-- Intrigues of Bonaparte's brothers--Angry conv...

Arrival at Jaffa--The siege--Beauharnais and Croisier--Four thousand prisoners--Scarcity of provisions--Councils of war--Dreadful necessity--The massacre--The plague--Lannes and...

It was on Oct. 16, 1799, that Eugene de Beauharnais arrived in Paris on his return from Egypt; and almost immediately thereafter I had the good fortune to be taken into his serv...

Changeableness of Bonaparte's plans and opinions--Articles for the 'Moniteur' dictated by the First Consul--The Protocol of the Congress of Chatillon--Conversations with Davoust...

After the brilliant successes obtained by the Emperor in such a short time, and with forces so exceedingly inferior to the great masses of the enemy, his Majesty, realizing the...

Austria bribed by England--M. de St. Julien in Paris--Duroc's mission--Rupture of the armistice--Surrender of three garrisons-- M. Otto in London--Battle of Hohenlinden--Madame...

Declaration of Louis XVIII.--Dumouriez watched--News of a spy-- Remarkable trait of courage and presence of mind--Necessity of vigilance at Hamburg--The King of Sweden--His bull...

After remaining about a week at the chateau of Saint-Cloud, his Majesty set out, on the 2d of April, at 11 o'clock in the morning, to visit the departments of the South; and as...

We re-entered the Kremlin the morning of the 18th of September. The palace and the hospital for foundlings were almost the only buildings remaining uninjured. On the route our c...

Towards the end of March, 1800, five or six months after my entrance into the service of Madame. Bonaparte, the First Consul while at dinner one day regarded me intently; and ha...

We had now reached the eve of the day on which the Emperor, still deeply affected by the loss he had sustained in the death of the Duke of Istria, was to receive a blow which he...

Bernadotte's departure from Hamburg--The Duke of Holstein- Augustenburg--Arrival of the Crown Prince in Sweden-- Misunderstandings between him and Napoleon--Letter from Bernadot...

The two Councils--Barras' letter--Bonaparte at the Council of the Five Hundred--False reports--Tumultuous sitting--Lucien's speech-- He resigns the Presidency of the Council of...

Rapidity of Napoleon's victories--Murat at Wertingen--Conquest of Ney's duchy--The French army before Ulm--The Prince of Liechtenstein at the Imperial headquarters--His intervie...

Authentic date of Bonaparte's birth--His family ruined by the Jesuits--His taste for military amusements--Sham siege at the College of Brienne--The porter's wife and Napoleon--M...

General approbation of the 18th Brumaire--Distress of the treasury-- M. Collot's generosity--Bonaparte's ingratitude--Gohier set at Liberty--Constitution of the year VIII.--The...

Bonaparte President of the Cisalpine Republic--Meeting of the deputation at Lyons--Malta and the English--My immortality--Fete given by Madame Murat--Erasures from the emigrant...

I became a stranger to all the world after the departure of the Emperor for the Island of Elba, and, filled with a deep sense of gratitude for the kindness with which his Majest...

The intoxication of great men--Unlucky zeal--MM. Maret, Champagny, and Savary--M. de Talleyrand's real services--Postponement of the execution of orders--Fouche and the Revoluti...

My appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary at Hamburg--My interview with Bonaparte at Malmaison--Bonaparte's designs respecting Italy-- His wish to revisit Brienne--Instructions...

The Memorial of St. Helena--Louis XVIII.'s first letter to Bonaparte --Josephine, Hortense, and the Faubourg St. Germain-- Madame Bonaparte and the fortune-teller--Louis XVIII's...

After the Emperor left the army and committed, as we have seen, the command to the King of Naples, his Sicilian Majesty also abandoned the command intrusted to him, and set out...

Depreciation of the Bank paper--Ouvrard--His great discretion-- Bonaparte's opinion of the rich--Ouvrard's imprisonment--His partnership with the King of Spain--His connection w...

I had been only a very short time in the service of Madame Bonaparte when I made the acquaintance of Charvet, the concierge of Malmaison, and in connection with this estimable m...

On the 19th of January the Emperor sent to inform the Empress that he was to hunt in the wood of Grosbois, and would breakfast with the Princess de Neuchatel, and requested that...

In front of Ecole-Militaire a balcony was erected, covered with awnings, and placed on a level with the apartments on the first floor. The middle awning, supported by four colum...

Amount of the Allied forces against Napoleon--Their advance towards the Rhine--Levy of 280,000 men--Dreadful situation of the French at Mayence--Declaration of the Allies at Fra...

We are now about to begin the campaign of miracles; but before relating the events which I witnessed on this campaign, during which I, so to speak, never left the Emperor, it is...

Napoleon and Voltaire--Demands of the Holy See--Coolness between the pope and the Emperor--Napoleon's departure for Italy--Last interview between the Pope and the Emperor at Tur...

Pope Pius VII. had left Rome early in November, 1804; and his Holiness, accompanied by General Menou, administrator of Piedmont, arrived at Mont Cenis, on the morning of Nov. 15...

Bonaparte's departure from Paris--His return--The Egyptian expedition projected--M. de Talleyrand--General Desaix--Expedition against Malta--Money taken at Berne--Bonaparte's id...

Cambaceres and Lebrun--Gohier deceived--My nocturnal visit to Barras --The command of the army given to Bonaparte--The morning of the 18th Brumaire--Meeting of the generals at B...

Bonaparte's principle as to the change of Ministers--Fouche--His influence with the First Consul--Fouche's dismissal--The departments of Police and Justice united under Regnier-...

The marriage of the Emperor to Marie Louise was the first step in a new career. He flattered himself that it would be as glorious as that he had just brought to a close, but it...

In all the fetes given by the First Consul in honor of their Majesties, the King and Queen of Etruria, Mademoiselle Hortense shone with that brilliancy and grace which made her...

Murat and Moarad Bey at the Natron Lakes--Bonapartes departure for the Pyramids--Sudden appearance of an Arab messenger--News of the landing of the Turks at Aboukir--Bonaparte m...

In September, 1811, the Emperor decided to make a journey into Flanders in company with the Empress, that he might personally ascertain if his orders had been carried out in all...

Menaces of Prussia--Offer for restoring Hanover to England--Insolent ultimatum--Commencement of hostilities between France and Prussia-- Battle of Auerstadt--Death of the Duke o...

At the beginning of this year (1803), there arrived at Paris an envoy from Tunis, who presented the First Consul, on the part of the Bey, with ten Arab horses. The Bey at that t...

THE day after the battle of the Moskwa, I was with the Emperor in his tent which was on the field of battle, and the most perfect calm reigned around us. It was a fine spectacle...

Here more than ever I must beg the indulgence of my readers as to the order in which I relate the events I witnessed during the Emperor's stay at Fontainebleau, and those connec...

Their Majesties remained more than a month at Milan, and I had ample leisure to acquaint myself with this beautiful capital of Lombardy. This visit was a continual succession of...

The Emperor had never shown himself so worthy of admiration as during this fatal campaign in France, when, struggling against misfortunes, he performed over again the prodigies...

Demands for contingents from some of the small States of Germany-- M. Metternich--Position of Russia with respect to France--Union of Austria and Russia--Return of the English t...

The royalists of the interior--Bonaparte's intention of marching on Paris with 25,000 men--His animosity against the emigrants and the Clichy Club--His choice between the two pa...

Our departure from Egypt--Nocturnal embarkation--M. Parseval Grandmaison--On course--Adverse winds--Fear of the English-- Favourable weather--Vingt-et-un-Chess--We land at Ajacc...

In speaking of the year 1813, an account of the incredible number of affiliations which took place at this time between secret societies recently formed in Italy and Germany sho...

Napoleon's second visit to Dresden--Battle of Bantzen--The Congress at Prague--Napoleon ill advised--Battle of Vittoria--General Moreau Rupture of the conferences at Prague--Def...

It is not, as has been stated in some Memoirs, because and as a result of the slight disagreement which I have related above, that the first idea of a divorce came to his Majest...

In his headquarters at the Pont des Briques the Emperor worked as regularly as in his cabinet at the Tuileries. After his rides on horseback, his inspections, his visits, his re...

[Jean Victor Moreau, born at Morlaix in Brittany, 1763, son of a prominent lawyer. At one time he rivaled Bonaparte in reputation. He was general-in-chief of the army of the Rhi...

The year 1804, which was so full of glory for the Emperor, was also the year which brought him more care and anxiety than all others, except those of 1814 and 1815. It is not my...

Effect produced at Altona by the Treaty of Tilsit--The Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's departure from Hamburg--English squadron in the Sound--Bombardment of Copenhagen--Perfidy o...

Abuse of military power--Defence of diplomatic rights--Marshal Brune --Army supplies--English cloth and leather--Arrest on a charge of libel--Dispatch from M. Talleyrand--A page...

On his arrival at Fusina the Emperor found the Venetian authorities awaiting him, embarked on the 'peote' or gondola of the village, and advanced towards Venice, accompanied by...

The tour of the First Consul through the wealthiest and most enlightened departments of France had removed from his mind the apprehension of many difficulties which he had feare...

An experiment of royalty--Louis de Bourbon and Maria Louisa, of Spain--Creation of the kingdom of Etruria--The Count of Leghorn in Paris--Entertainments given him--Bonaparte's o...

While the Emperor was giving crowns to his brothers and sisters,--to Prince Louis, the throne of Holland; Naples to Prince Joseph; the Duchy of Berg to Prince Murat; to the Prin...

Treaty of alliance between England and Russia--Certainty of an approaching war--M. Forshmann, the Russian Minister--Duroc's mission to Berlin--New project of the King of Sweden-...

At Schoenbrunn, as elsewhere, his Majesty marked his presence by his benefactions. I still retain vivid recollections of an occurrence which long continued to be the subject of...

After the 12th of April there remained with the Emperor, of all the great personages who usually surrounded him, only the grand marshal of the palace and Count Drouot. The desti...

Visit to the field of Wagram.--Marshal Macdonald--Union of the Papal States with the Empire--The battle of Talavera--Sir Arthur Wellesley--English expedition to Holland--Attempt...

Influence of the 18th Fructidor on the negotiations--Bonaparte's suspicion of Bottot--His complaints respecting the non-erasure of Bourrienne--Bourrienne's conversation with the...

For the last time we celebrated in Paris the anniversary fete of his Majesty's coronation. The gifts to the Emperor on this occasion were innumerable addresses made to him by al...

The Emperor Alexander never tired of showing his regard for actors by presents and compliments; and as for actresses, I have told before how far he would have gone with one of t...

In the month of November of this year, the First Consul returned to Boulogne to visit the fleet, and to review the troops who were already assembled in the camps provided for th...

Changes produced by time--Correspondence between the Provisional Government and Hartwell--Louis XVIII's reception in London-- His arrival at Calais--Berthier's address to the Ki...

His Majesty was accustomed to say that one could always tell an honorable man by his conduct to his wife, his children, and his servants; and I hope it will appear from these me...

Departure for Malmaison--Unexpected question relative to the Bourbons--Distinction between two opposition parties--New intrigues of Lucien--Camille Jordan's pamphlet seized--Vit...

The Emperor arrived at Paris on the 23d of January, and passed the remainder of the winter there, with the exception of a few days spent at Rambouillet and Saint-Cloud.

Successful management of parties--Precautions--Removal from the Luxembourg to the Tuileries--Hackney-coaches and the Consul's white horses--Royal custom and an inscription--The...

Message to Madame de Bourrienne on the 20th of March--Napoleon's nocturnal entrance into Paris--General Becton sent to my family by Caulaincourt--Recollection of old persecution...

Their Majesties' civil marriage was celebrated at Saint-Cloud on Sunday, the 1st of April, at two o'clock in the afternoon. The religious ceremony was solemnized the next day in...

Proverbial falsehood of bulletins--M. Doublet--Creation of the Legion of Honour--Opposition to it in the Council and other authorities of the State--The partisans of an heredita...

As I have announced previously, I shall endeavor to record in this chapter some recollections of events personal to the Emperor which occurred during the journey between the fro...

I digressed considerably, in the preceding chapter, from my recollections of Paris subsequent to our return from Germany after the battle of Leipzig, and the Emperor's short soj...

At Boulogne, as everywhere else, the Emperor well knew how to win all hearts by his moderation, his justice, and the generous grace with which he acknowledged the least service....

Mr. Pitt--Motive of his going out of office--Error of the English Government--Pretended regard for the Bourbons--Violation of the treaty of Amiens--Reciprocal accusations--Malta...

At this time it was learned at Bayonne that M. de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris, had just died of a cold, contracted at the age of more than ninety-eight years. The day after this...

Ukase of the Emperor of Russia--Duroc's mission to Weimar-- Napoleon's views defeated--Triumphs of the French armies--Letters from Murat--False report respecting Murat--Resembla...

It was exceedingly difficult to find an exit from Leipzig, as this town was surrounded on every side by the enemy. It had been proposed to the Emperor to burn the faubourgs whic...

The Concordat and the Legion of Honour--The Council of State and the Tribunate--Discussion on the word 'subjects'--Chenier--Chabot de l'Allier's proposition to the Tribunate--Th...

War recommenced before negotiations were finally broken, for the Duke of Vicenza was still in communication with M. de Metternich. The Emperor, as he mounted his horse, said to...

My functions at Hamburg--The King of Sweden at Stralsund-- My bulletin describing the situation of the Russian armies--Duroc's recall from Berlin--General Dumouriez--Recruiting...

Effect produced by Bonaparte's return--His justification-- Melancholy letter to my wife--Bonaparte's intended dinner at Sens-- Louis Bonaparte and Josephine--He changes his inte...

The Emperor remained only a few days at Paris, after our return from Italy, before setting out again for the camp of Boulogne. The fetes of Milan had not prevented him from matu...

The events of 1804--Death of the Due d'Enghien--Napoleon's arguments at St. Helena--Comparison of dates--Possibility of my having saved the Due d'Enghien's life--Advice given to...

This seemed to be a year of fetes, and I dwell upon it with pleasure because it preceded one filled with misfortunes. The years 1811 and 1812 offered a striking contrast to each...

His Majesty remained only ten days at Saint-Cloud, passed two or three of these in Paris at the opening of the session of the Corps Legislatif, and at noon on the 29th set out a...

On the 22d of May, ten days after the triumphant entry of the Emperor into the Austrian capital, the battle of Essling took place, a bloody combat lasting from four in the morni...

Napoleon's correspondence--Release of French prisoners at Olmutz-- Negotiations with Austria--Bonaparte's dissatisfaction--Letter of complaint from Bonaparte to the Executive Di...

MY LORD:--Notwithstanding the ties of consanguinity, honour, duty, interest, and gratitude, which bound the Spanish Bourbons to the cause of the Bourbons of France, no monarch h...

Towards the end of September the Emperor made a journey to Raab; and, as he was mounting his horse to return to his residence at Schoenbrunn, he saw the bishop a few steps from...

The Emperor having left Stuttgard, stopped only twenty-four hours at Carlsruhe, and forty-eight hours at Strasburg, and between that place and Paris made only short halts, witho...

[Under the Republican regime the years were counted from the proclamation of the Republic, Sept. 22, 1792. The year was divided into twelve months of thirty days each, re-named...

The flag of the army of Italy and the eagles of 1813--Entrance of the Allies into Switzerland--Summons to the Minister of Police-- My refusal to accept a mission to Switzerland-...

The victory of Marengo had rendered the conquest of Italy certain. Therefore the First Consul, thinking his presence more necessary at Paris than at the head of his army, gave t...

My LORD:--Madame de C------n is now one of our most fashionable ladies. Once in the week she has a grand tea-party; once in a fortnight a grand dinner; and once in the month a g...

Marie Louis was a very handsome woman. She had a majestic figure and noble bearing, fresh complexion, blond hair, and blue eyes full of expression; her hands and feet were the a...

MY LORD:--Bonaparte did not at first intend to take his wife with him when he set out for Strasburg; but her tears, the effect of her tenderness and apprehension for his person,...

His Majesty the Emperor passed the month of January, 1806, at Munich and Stuttgard, during which, in the first of these two capitals, the marriage of the vice-king and the Princ...

Bonaparte's joy at the result of the 18th Fructidor.--His letter to Augerean--His correspondence with the Directory and proposed resignation--Explanation of the Directory--Botto...

The only too famous twenty-ninth bulletin of the grand army was not published in Paris, where the consternation it spread through all classes is well known, until the 16th of De...

We arrived at Saint-Cloud on the 27th of July; and the Emperor passed the summer partly in this residence, and partly at Fontainebleau, returning to Paris only on special occasi...

Curious conversation between General Reynier and the Emperor Alexander--Napoleon repulses the Prussians--The Russians at Fontainebleau--Battle of Brienne--Sketch of the campaign...

I shall refer to myself very little in these memoirs, for I am aware the public will examine them only for details concerning the great man to whom fortune attached me for sixte...

It is not in the presence of the enemy that differences in the manner and bearing of soldiers can be remarked, for the requirements of the service completely engross both the id...

The mirage--Skirmishes with the Arabs--Mistake of General Desaix's division--Wretchedness of a rich sheik--Combat beneath the General's window--The flotilla on the Nile--Its dis...

Napoleon was accustomed to compare Marie Louise with Josephine, attributing to the latter all the advantages of art and grace, and to the former all the charms of simplicity, mo...

The day preceding the Emperor's fete, or the day following, the colossal bronze statue which was to be placed on the monument in the Place Vendome was removed from the studio of...

MY LORD:--I can truly defy the world to produce a corps of such a heterogeneous composition as our Conservative Senate, when I except the members composing Bonaparte's Legion of...

MY LORD:--The household troops of Napoleon the First are by thousands more numerous than those even of Louis XIV. were. Grenadiers on foot and on horseback, riflemen on foot and...

The pregnancy of Marie Louise had been free from accident, and promised a happy deliverance, which was awaited by the Emperor with an impatience in which France had joined for a...

The entire duration of the armistice was employed in negotiations tending to a treaty of peace, which the Emperor ardently desired, especially since he had seen the honor of his...

up with the greatest pleasure; but I confess that I directed my servant to do all he could to prevent an infected person from getting my horse. It was returned to me in a very s...

Pichegru betrayed--His arrest--His conduct to his old aide de camp-- Account of Pichegru's family, and his education at Brienne-- Permission to visit M. Carbonnet--The prisoners...

In the latter part of July large crowds visited the Church of the Hotel des Invalides, in which were placed the remains of General Saint-Hilaire and the Duke de Montebello, the...

Promulgation of the Code of Commerce--Conquests by Status-consulte-- Three events in one day--Recollections--Application of a line of Voltaire--Creation of the Imperial nobility...

The last of January, Mademoiselle de Tascher, niece of her Majesty the Empress, was married to the Duke of Aremberg. The Emperor on this occasion raised Mademoiselle de Tascher...

My LORD:--I was lately invited to a tea-party by one of our rich upstarts, who, from a scavenger, is, by the Revolution and by Bonaparte, transformed into a Legislator, Commande...

Arrest of La Sahla--My visit to him--His confinement at Vincennes-- Subsequent history of La Sahla--His second journey to France-- Detonating powder--Plot hatched against me by...

What a time was this! How sad the period and events of which I have now to recall the sad memory! I have now arrived at the fatal day when the combined armies of Europe were to...

During the whole Russian campaign, the Emperor was nearly always badly lodged. It was necessary, however, to accommodate himself to circumstances; though this was a somewhat dif...

Affairs had reached a point where the great question of triumph or defeat could not long remain undecided. According to one of the habitual expressions of the Emperor, the pear...

Before taking up his quarters in the Tuileries the First Consul organised his secret police, which was intended, at the same time, to be the rival or check upon Fouche's police....

MY LORD:--Had the citizens of the United States been as submissive to the taxation of your Government as to the vexations of our ruler, America would, perhaps, have been less fr...

MY LORD:--I will add in this letter, to the communication of the gentlemen mentioned in my last, what I remember myself of the letter which was circulated among our diplomatists...

MY LORD:--Three months before Brune set out on his embassy to Constantinople, Talleyrand and Fouche were collecting together all the desperadoes of our Revolution, and all the I...

Many of the brave soldiers who composed the army of Boulogne had earned the cross (of the Legion of Honor) in these last campaigns, and his Majesty desired that this distributio...

MY LORD:--I have read a copy of a letter from Madrid, circulated among the members of our foreign diplomatic corps, which draws a most deplorable picture of the Court and Kingdo...

Abolition of the Republican calendar--Warlike preparations in Austria--Plan for re-organizing the National Guard--Napoleon in Strasburg--General Mack--Proclamation--Captain Bern...

The castle of Diernstein--Richard Coeur de Lion and Marshal Lannes, --The Emperor at the gates of Vienna--The Archduchess Maria Louisa-- Facility of correspondence with England-...

MY LORD:--I believe that I have mentioned to you, when in England, that I was an old acquaintance of Madame Napoleon, and a visitor at the house of her first husband. When intro...

The Continental system--General indignation excited by it--Sale of licences by the French Government--Custom-house system at Hamburg-- My letter to the Emperor--Cause of the rup...

MY LORD:--Regarding me as a connoisseur, though I have no pretensions but that of being an amateur, Lucien Bonaparte, shortly before his disgrace, invited me to pass some days w...

MY LORD:--Bonaparte is now the knight of more Royal Orders than any other Sovereign in Europe, and were he to put them on all at once, their ribands would form stuff enough for...

The battle of Essling was disastrous in every respect. Twelve thousand Frenchmen were slain; and the source of all this trouble was the destruction of the bridges, which could h...

On their Majesties' arrival at Compiegne, the Emperor presented his hand to the Empress, and conducted her to her apartment. He wished that no one should approach or touch his y...

Capitulation of Sublingen--Preparations for war--Utility of commercial information--My instructions--Inspection of the emigrants and the journals--A pamphlet by Kotzebue--Offers...

In the month of November of this year I followed their Majesties to Italy. We knew a few days in advance that the Emperor would make this journey; but as happened on all other o...

The siege of Acre raised--Attention to names is bulletins--Gigantic project--The Druses--Mount Caramel--The wounded and infected-- Order to march on foot--Loss of our cannon--A...

MY LORD:--Not to give umbrage to the Cabinet of Berlin, Bonaparte communicated to it the necessity he was under of altering the form of Government in Holland, and, if report be...

MY LORD:--You have with some reason in England complained of the conduct of the members of the foreign diplomatic corps in France, when the pretended correspondence between Mr....

We arrived in Paris on the 1st of January at nine o'clock in the evening; and as the theater of the palace of the Tuileries was now completed, on the Sunday following his Majest...

My LORD:--I am told that it was the want of pecuniary resources that made Bonaparte so ill-tempered on his last levee day. He would not have come here at all, but preceded his a...

MY LORD:--Many wise people are of the opinion that the revolution of another great Empire is necessary to combat or oppose the great impulse occasioned by the Revolution of Fran...

MY LORD:--Since my return here, I have never neglected to present myself before our Sovereign, on his days of grand reviews and grand diplomatic audiences. I never saw him more...

Difficulties of a new Government--State of Europe--Bonaparte's wish for peace--M. de Talleyrand Minister for Foreign Affairs-- Negotiations with England and Austria--Their failu...

After his divorce from the Empress Josephine, the Emperor appeared much preoccupied; and as it was known that he thought of marrying again, all persons at the chateau and in his...

Establishment of a divan in each Egyptian province--Desaix in Upper Egypt--Ibrahim Bey beaten by Bonaparte at Balehye'h--Sulkowsky wounded--Disaster at Abonkir--Dissatisfaction...

Presentation of Prince Borghese to Bonaparte--Departure for Belgium Revival of a royal custom--The swans of Amiens--Change of formula in the acts of Government--Company of perfo...

MY LORD:--The reciprocal jealousy and even interest of Austria, France, and Russia have hitherto prevented the tottering Turkish Empire from being partitioned, like Poland, or s...

MY LORD:--The provocations of our Government must have been extraordinary indeed, when they were able to awaken the Cabinet of Berlin from its long and incomprehensible infatuat...

MY LORD:--"I would give my brother, the Emperor of Germany, one further piece of advice. Let him hasten to make peace. This is the crisis when, he must recollect, all States mus...

The First Consul left Boulogne to return to Paris, in order to be present at the marriage of one of his sisters. Prince Camille Borghese, descendant of the noblest family of Rom...

MY LORD:--Portugal has suffered more from the degraded state of Spain, under the administration of the Prince of Peace, than we have yet gained by it in France. Engaged by her,...

In the month of May, 1801, there came to Paris, on his way to take possession of his new kingdom, the Prince of Tuscany, Don Louis the First, whom the First Consul had just made...

It was the 2d of January, 1805, exactly a month after the coronation, that I formed with the eldest daughter of M. Charvet a union which has been, and will I trust ever be, the...

MY LORD:--I promised you not to pronounce in haste on persons and events passing under my eyes; thirty-one months have quickly passed away since I became an attentive spectator...

Last chapter on Egypt--Admiral Gantheaume--Way to please Bonaparte-- General Menou's flattery and his reward--Davoust--Bonaparte regrets giving the command to Menou, who is defe...

MY LORD:--The sensation that the arrival of the Pope in this country caused among the lower classes of people cannot be expressed, and if expressed, would not be believed. I am...

Vast works undertaken--The French and the Roman soldiers--Itinerary of Bonaparte's journeys to the coast--Twelve hours on horseback-- Discussions in Council--Opposition of Trugu...

MY LORD:--Although the seizure of Sir George Rumbold might in your country, as well as everywhere else, inspire indignation, it could nowhere justly excite surprise. We had cros...

MY LORD:--As long as Austria ranks among independent nations, Bonaparte will take care not to offend or alarm the ambition and interest of Prussia by incorporating the Batavian...

Signature of the preliminaries of peace--Fall of Venice--My arrival and reception at Leoben--Bonaparte wishes to pursue his success-- The Directory opposes him--He wishes to adv...

MY LORD:--Bonaparte has taken advantage of the remark of Voltaire, in his "Life of Louis XIV.," that this Prince owed much of his celebrity to the well--distributed pensions amo...

MY LORD:--Hanover has been a mine of gold to our Government, to its generals, to its commissaries, and to its favourites. According to the boasts of Talleyrand, and the avowal o...

MY LORD:--Though Government suffer a religious, or, rather, anti-religious liberty of the Press, the authors who libel or ridicule the Christian, particularly the Roman Catholic...

MY LORD:--That Bonaparte had, as far back as February, 1803 (when the King of Prussia proposed to Louis XVIII. the formal renunciation of his hereditary rights in favour of the...

MY LORD:--Joseph Bonaparte leads a much more retired life, and sees less company, than any of his brothers or sisters. Except the members of his own family, he but seldom invite...

I left the Emperor at Berlin, where each day, and each hour of the day, he received news of some victory gained, or some success obtained by his generals. General Beaumont prese...

MY LORD:--That the population of this capital has, since the Revolution, decreased near two hundred thousand souls, is not to be lamented. This focus of corruption and profligac...

MY LORD:--A general officer, who has just arrived from Italy, has assured me that, so far from Bonaparte's subjects on the other side of the Alps being contented and attached to...

MY LORD:--No Sovereign Prince has more incurred the hatred of Bonaparte than the present King of Sweden; and I have heard from good authority that our Government spares neither...

It was during the glorious campaign of Prussia and Poland that the imperial family was plunged in the deepest sorrow by the death of the young Napoleon, eldest son of King Louis...

MY LORD:--The Legion of Honour, though only proclaimed upon Bonaparte's assumption of the Imperial rank, dates from the first year of his consulate. To prepare the public mind f...

The Emperor did not remain in Vienna, but established his headquarters at the chateau of Schoenbrunn, an imperial residence situated about half a league from the town; and the g...

MY LORD:--Though loudly complained of by the Cabinet of St. Cloud, the Cabinet of St. Petersburg has conducted itself in these critical times with prudence without weakness, and...

MY LORD:--Though all the Bonapartes were great favourites with Pius VII., Madame Letitia, their mother, had a visible preference. In her apartments he seemed most pleased to mee...

The First Consul's presentiments respecting the duration of peace-- England's uneasiness at the prosperity of France--Bonaparte's real wish for war--Concourse of foreigners in P...

MY LORD:--Upwards of two months after my visit to General Murat, I was surprised at the appearance of M. Darjuson, the chamberlain of Princesse Louis Bonaparte. He told me that...

MY LORD:--After the discovery of Charlotte Encore's attempt, Bonaparte, who hitherto had flattered himself that he possessed the good wishes, if not the affection, of his female...

MY LORD:--No act of Bonaparte's government has occasioned so many, so opposite, and so violent debates, among the remnants of revolutionary factions comprising his Senate and Co...

MY LORD:--I believe I have before remarked that, under the Government of Bonaparte, causes relatively the most insignificant have frequently produced effects of the greatest con...

MY LORD:--The amiable and accomplished Amelia Frederique, Princess Dowager of the late Electoral Prince, Charles Louis of Baden, born a Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, has procured...

MY LORD:--I suppose your Government too vigilant and too patriotic not to be informed of the great and uninterrupted activity which reigns in our arsenals, dockyards, and seapor...

MY LORD:--The day on which Madame Napoleon Bonaparte was elected an Empress of the French, by the constitutional authorities of her husband's Empire, was, contradictory as it ma...

Alarm of the city of Hamburg--The French at Bergdorf--Favourable orders issued by Bernadotte--Extortions in Prussia--False endorsements--Exactions of the Dutch--Napoleon's conce...

MY LORD:--Notwithstanding what was inserted in our public prints to the contrary, the reception Bonaparte experienced from his army of England in June last year, the first time...

My LORD:--Should Bonaparte again return here victorious, and a pacificator, great changes in our internal Government and constitution are expected, and will certainly occur. Sin...

MY LORD:--You must often have been surprised at the immense wealth which, from the best and often authentic information, I have informed you our generals and public functionarie...

MY LORD:--Before Bonaparte set out for the Rhine, the Pope's Nuncio was for the first time publicly rebuked by him in Madame Bonaparte's drawing-room, and ordered loudly to writ...

MY LORD:--When preparations were made for the departure of our army of England for Germany, it excited both laughter and murmuring among the troops. Those who had always regarde...

MY LORD:--Those who only are informed of the pageantry of our Court, of the expenses of our courtiers, of the profusion of our Emperor, and of the immense wealth of his family a...

MY LORD:--The plan of the campaign of the Austrians is incomprehensible to all our military men--not on account of its profundity, but on account of its absurdity or incoherency...

MY LORD:--It cannot have escaped the observation of the most superficial traveller of rank, that, at the Court of St. Cloud, want of morals is not atoned for by good breeding or...

MY LORD:--The Italian subjects of Napoleon the First were far from displaying the same zeal and the same gratitude for his paternal care and kindness in taking upon himself the...

MY LORD:--Thanks to Talleyrand's political emigration, our Government has never been in ignorance of the characters and foibles of the leading members among the emigrants in Eng...

My LORD:--The arrival of the Pope in this country was certainly a grand epoch, not only in the history of the Revolution, but in the annals of Europe. The debates in the Sacred...

MY LORD:--The unexampled cruelty of our Government to your countryman, Captain Wright, I have heard reprobated, even by some of our generals and public functionaries, as unjust...

MY LORD:--Since Bonaparte's departure for Germany, fifteen individuals have been brought here, chained, from La Vendee and the--Western Departments, and are imprisoned in the Te...

MY LORD:--On the arrival of her husband at Aix-la-Chapelle, Madame Napoleon had lost her money by gambling, without recovering her health by using the baths and drinking the wat...

MY LORD:--Bonaparte has been as profuse in his disposal of the Imperial diadem of Germany, as in his promises of the papal tiara of Rome. The Houses of Austria and Brandenburgh,...

MY LORD:--In a military empire, ruled by a military despot, it is a necessary policy that the education of youth should also be military. In all our public schools or prytanees,...

MY LORD:--Believe me, Bonaparte dreads more the liberty of the Press than all other engines, military or political, used by his rivals or foes for his destruction. He is aware o...

MY LORD:--The insatiable avarice of all the members of the Bonaparte family has already and frequently been mentioned; some of our philosophers, however, pretend that ambition a...

MY LORD:--The defeat of the Austrians has excited great satisfaction among our courtiers and public functionaries; but the mass of the inhabitants here are too miserable to feel...

MY LORD:--The Prince Borghese has lately been appointed a captain of the Imperial Guard of his Imperial brother-in-law, Napoleon the First, and is now in Germany, making his fir...

MY LORD:--In some of the ancient Republics, all citizens who, in time of danger and trouble, remained neutral, were punished as traitors or treated as enemies. When, by our Revo...

MY LORD:--Though the Treaty of Luneville will probably soon be buried in the rubbish of the Treaty of Amiens, the influence of their parents in the Cabinet of St. Cloud is as gr...

MY LORD:--Since Bonaparte's departure for Germany, the vigilance of the police has much increased: our patrols are doubled during the night, and our spies more numerous and more...

At one of the reviews which I have just described, and which usually attracted a crowd of curious people from Vienna and its suburbs, the Emperor came near being assassinated. I...

MY LORD:--A ridiculous affair lately occasioned a great deal of bustle among the members of our foreign diplomatic corps. When Bonaparte demanded for himself and for his wife th...

MY LORD:--According to a general belief in our diplomatic circles, it was the Austrian Ambassador in France, Count von Cobenzl, who principally influenced the determination of F...

MY LORD:--Nobody here, except his courtiers, denies that Bonaparte is vain, cruel, and ambitious; but as to his private, personal, or domestic vices, opinions are various, and e...

MY LORD:--No Sovereigns have, since the Revolution, displayed more grandeur of soul, and evinced more firmness of character, than the present King and Queen of Naples. Encompass...

MY LORD:--The Pope, during his stay here, rose regularly every morning at five o'clock, and went to bed every night before ten. The first hours of the day he passed in prayers,...

MY LORD:--You have perhaps heard that Napoleon Bonaparte, with all his brothers and sisters, was last Christmas married by the Pope according to the Roman Catholic rite, being p...

MY LORD:--No Queen of France ever saw so many foreign Princes and Princesses in her drawing-rooms as the first Empress of the French did last year at Mentz; and no Sovereign was...

MY LORD:--The short journey of Count von Haugwitz to Vienna, and the long stay of our Imperial Grand Marshal, Duroc, at Berlin, had already caused here many speculations, not qu...

MY LORD:--I was particularly attentive in observing the countenances and demeanour of the company at the last levee which Madame Napoleon Bonaparte held, previous to her departu...

One of the most important struggles of modern times was now about to commence--a struggle which for many years was to decide the fate of Europe. Napoleon and Wellington at lengt...

MY LORD:--The Counsellor of State and intendant of the Imperial civil list, Daru, paid for the place of a commissary-general of our army in Germany the immense sum of six millio...

During his stay at Schoenbrunn the Emperor was constantly engaged in gallant adventures. He was one day promenading on the Prater in Vienna, with a very numerous suite (the Prat...

The moment for striking a decisive blow had now come, and accordingly, early on the morning of the 15th, the whole of the French army was in motion. The 2d corps proceeded to Ma...

I have received your letter, my dear Minister: it forcibly conveys the expression of your right feeling, which revolts against oppression, severity, and the abase of power. I en...

received the Prince's letter he should have lived? This is irreconcilable. But if we compare all that Napoleon said at St. Helena, and which has been transmitted to us by his fa...

The brief detail I have given in the two or three preceding chapters of the events which occurred previously to and during the campaign of Austerlitz, with the letters of Duroc...