Chapter M: De Talleyrand.7 (3)

The mission of the Legislative Assembly being concluded, the deputy returned to Corsica, and was associated with General Paoli for the direction of the administration of the island. The shocks sustained by the people had added fresh energy to their patriotic character, a public spirit was aroused, a proud independence in accordance with the national feelings of the ancient Corsica. Does not every people long for liberty? The Girondists had dreamed of federalism for France; and Paoli, in his turn, took a pride in forming a republic which should be perfectly independent and detached from the surrounding sovereignties. Paoli was a man of powerful understanding, completely the child of nature, and already old in years, though young in energy. He delighted in the idea of a Corsican republic, as being in some measure a return towards primitive habits; and this motive was strengthened by the horror inspired by the revolutionary events that were taking place in France. So ardent an enthusiasm never was known as that with which he inspired the Corsican families dwelling among the most rugged peaks of that mountainous country, and whose sole passion appeared to be a vehement love of liberty, acquired by the most laborious efforts.

The families of the Arenas and Buonapartes, who were inhabitants of the plains and the cities, had sided warmly with the French party; they were connected with the clubs; and Salicetti was their organ at the National Convention, to denounce Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo as propagators of a system tending to separate Corsica from France; and as that island had been declared an integral part of the French Republic, they were both summoned to the bar of the nation to offer a justification of their conduct. In this lay one of the first germs of the deeply rooted hatred entertained by Salicetti, Arena, and Buonaparte, against Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo; from thence arose the enmity which, in their inflamed minds, overstepped the limits of the island of Corsica, and contributed, more than people suspected, to the marvellous events of the Revolution and the Empire.

When Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo received this terrible summons, they were together at Corte, the capital of the mountainous district. It was not unexpected, and they were both well aware of the consequences of a refusal to obey the commands of the Convention, for the conduct of this inexorable tribunal was that of a victor with whom lenity and forgiveness are unknown. What was to be done? To obey would be to submit at once to the yoke of the territorial unity, which sought to reduce all the various nations comprehended within it to one level. Resistance would, perhaps, be a still more dangerous course, for the French Republic had an army which they would be utterly incapable of withstanding, and it was also supported by a considerable party in Corsica. A few regiments occupied the city of Ajaccio, and a battalion formed the garrison of the fort of Corte and several posts on the sea-coast. Signals announced the arrival of a squadron bearing the tricoloured flag. Under these circumstances, the commissioners of the departments declared themselves a permanent assembly in a meeting of the people of Corte, and the tumultuous _comitia_ of the national party unanimously invited their chief, Paoli, and Pozzo di Borgo, to continue their administration. Finally, they declared _that it was beneath the dignity of the people of Corsica to trouble themselves with the two families of Arena and Buonaparte, and that they should be abandoned to their remorse and to infamy for having deserted the public cause_. I here copy the expressions of the national _consulta_.[17]

[17] I saw all these papers, which were printed in 1793, in the hands of Count Pozzo di Borgo; he took pleasure in shewing the curious decree against Napoleon, afterwards the pride and glory of Corsica. The _consulta_ was composed of 1200 deputies.

The popular energy, which sways in all instances the first movements in favour of liberty, was here very evident. What steps did they propose taking to maintain themselves in this _improvisé_ independence, as well as to uphold the decrees published by the assembly of Corsica? In the meanwhile fearful intelligence arrived among the mountains: Toulon, hitherto in the occupation of the English, had just fallen into the hands of the French Republic, whose orders Corsica had treated with contempt; and, to crown the whole, a young officer of twenty-six years of age, even the Buonaparte devoted to infamy and remorse by the Corsican council, had taken part in that memorable enterprise, and had been the principal cause of its success. The port of Toulon being now in the hands of the Republic, in thirty-six hours a squadron might arrive, and threaten with entire destruction the companions of Paoli.

Just at this difficult juncture the English Mediterranean fleet appeared off Ajaccio, bringing news from Toulon and tidings of the warlike preparations going on there; the admiral also offered his protection to Corsica, agreeing to recognise her independence, under the sovereignty of the king of Great Britain. Paoli went on board the squadron to treat with the admiral regarding his country, and a general assembly was convoked to meet on the 10th of June, 1794, for the purpose of determining upon the form of constitution to be established. Their plan tallied nearly with the ideas of the English Magna Charta, proposing the establishment of a parliament which should consist of two chambers, a council of state, and a viceroy supported by responsible ministers. Paoli proposed Pozzo di Borgo as president of the council. When the latter was presented to Admiral Elliott he gazed upon his swarthy complexion, his sparkling eyes, and meagre and active figure, and asked Paoli whether that was the person he proposed placing at the head of the government. "I can answer for him," said Paoli; "he is a young man as well fitted for the government of a nation as he is capable of leading his countrymen unflinchingly on the field of battle. You may place implicit confidence in him." Upon this testimony the admiral confirmed his choice.

The state-council being the executive portion of the Corsican government, the duty devolved upon Pozzo di Borgo of remodelling the institutions of his country, which was henceforward to be free. I have seen the complete code of this administration: it is a summary of the public rights of the nation, a collection of primitive laws, one of those codes which regulates the most trifling circumstances affecting the interests of the people; among us it is a great historical curiosity, for we are too far advanced in civilisation to be capable of forming an idea of the first requirements of a people of such primitive habits.

The national government in Corsica lasted, however, barely two years; the protection afforded by England was at too great a distance, and a few regiments despatched from Gibraltar did not possess sufficient influence to restrain the population of the cities devoted to France, which was at that time every where victorious, and, by its proximity, constantly held a sword suspended over the government of Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo. The latter embarked on board the English fleet when it became evident the crisis could no longer be averted, and that the standard of the French Republic was about to be planted at Ajaccio. This squadron quitted the shores of Corsica, bearing with it all the sad remains of the ruined government; it touched at the island of Elba, sailed towards Naples, and from thence again to Elba--rather a curious circumstance, which long held a place in the recollection of Pozzo di Borgo, and which may possibly have in some degree influenced the resolution of the Allies, in 1814, to confer upon Napoleon the sovereignty of Porto Ferrajo. The Corsican president completed his voyage to England in the Minerva, which formed part of the squadron of Nelson, who lost an eye in Corsica, and was afterwards so celebrated; but he was then only in the dawn of his fame, and had not attained to the renown which crowned his name at Aboukir and Trafalgar.

Pozzo di Borgo remained eighteen months in London, where he received great attention from the English ministry, who considered him to have displayed great method and ability during his short administration. Having become intimate with some old French families, he then began his career of diplomacy and secret negotiations; which, at a late period, led him into a more extended sphere of action. He was at Vienna in 1798, at the time of the campaign of Suwarof, when foreign courts were agitated by so many various projects. Tremendous shocks had been experienced in France. On emerging from the reign of terror, and the formidable system of unity proclaimed by the Convention, a strong and deeply rooted reaction towards the restoration of the royal family had taken place; the royalist colours were worn in good society, and the most extreme detestation was felt for the revolution, because it had not as yet given birth to any regular system of government. At this time Buonaparte was in Egypt, with the greater part of the brave legions who had conquered Italy and the Rhine; all our foreign conquests were lost to us; on the Alps we were hardly able to retain a few posts, and they were closely pressed; and, as a climax, Suwarof appeared with victory in his train--Suwarof, the hero and saint of the Russian army--Suwarof, around whom rallied all the hopes of the coalition! Pozzo di Borgo was engaged in all the diplomatic arrangements that accompanied the military proceedings.

The antipathy that existed between the Austrians and Russians, far more than the battle of Zurich, put a stop to the progress of the coalition, and Pozzo di Borgo remained some time at Vienna, receiving a pension there as a French emigrant of noble birth. It was at the time when one of that family of Buonapartes, proscribed by the Assembly of Corsica, was elevated to the Consulate, and being now in the position of a powerful dictator, he had established an efficient government in France, and was engaged in repairing the wrecks of the administration by means of his steady energy. The power of the laws once more became manifest; the executive administration was lodged in the hands of a few, and was active and advantageous to the people; and, by a singular chance, which the caprices of fortune can alone explain, the old friends of the Buonapartes, the Arenas of Ajaccio, were proscribed by the young Corsican, and delivered over to military law, or driven into exile. Other destinies, besides those of a city, or a population of about 100,000 souls, claimed the attention of Napoleon Buonaparte, now completely detached from his native country; but, in spite of all these commotions, his thoughts more than once turned upon his old personal enemy, Pozzo di Borgo, then on his journey from London to Vienna, and who must have shed some tears of vexation when he saw the power of the young consul extend so far as to prescribe to Europe the peace of Amiens. The shade of Paoli arose to protest against this immense advancement of the Buonapartes.[18]

[18] This observation appears to indicate some inaccuracy regarding the date of Paoli's demise. It took place in Feb. 1807.--_Editor._

When war again resounded on the earth, Pozzo di Borgo entered the service of Russia, and devoted himself to the diplomatic line. The firmness of character, the quick apprehension of facts, and the knowledge of mankind which he evinced, together with an extreme delicacy of judgment, were certain pledges of his success in the conduct of business between one government and another. He received the title of Conseiller d'Etat at St. Petersburg, and was soon despatched to the court of Vienna, charged with a secret mission. The prince whose service he had entered was that Alexander whose generous and mystical mind was sadly employed in veiling, by the uprightness of his conduct, and the exalted tenor of his life, a mournful recollection which weighed upon his heart and his conscience. The revolution of the palace, that had placed Alexander on the throne, had been directed by England; and consequently must have been inclined to favour the coalition against Buonaparte, who was about to place the imperial crown upon his heroic brow; and Pozzo di Borgo was one of the diplomatic agents charged with special and secret missions to the allied courts, once more united against France.

We now find him at Vienna; but he only remained there a few months, for the Czar was desirous of acting with great vigour, and therefore despatched him, as Russian commissioner, to the Anglo-Russian and Neapolitan army, which was about to commence operations in the south of Europe under the influence of the noble Queen Caroline, so grossly slandered in the pamphlets issued by Napoleon. This army had hardly assembled at Naples, when the artillery of Austerlitz and the shouts of victory filled the air; and, as an immediate consequence, the peace of Presburg was signed. As this treaty separated Austria from the coalition, it occasioned the dissolution of the army of Naples; and Pozzo di Borgo returned to Vienna, and from thence to St. Petersburg, where great military events were in preparation.

During the campaign crowned by the battle of Austerlitz, when Napoleon had advanced so boldly into the interior of Moravia, Prussia had hesitated whether she should join the coalition. It was impossible to deny her public conduct in that respect, and Napoleon had borne it in mind; this indecision, however, ceased after the battle of Austerlitz, and a twelvemonth afterwards the united force of the Russians and Prussians was drawn up together.

Pozzo di Borgo was called upon to accompany the emperor in this campaign, and the Czar offered him rank in the army; such being the custom of Russia, where there is no advancement except by means of military rank: he therefore received the title of Colonel in the suite of the emperor, a post which attached him to the person of the sovereign. Being, for the fourth time, despatched to Vienna, after the battle of Jena, he strove to arouse Austria from the torpor into which the peace of Presburg had plunged her, but in vain; for the Austrian cabinet was then desirous of peace at any price. Colonel Pozzo received a commission to proceed to the Dardanelles, to treat for peace with the Turks, in conjunction with the English envoy; he was received on board the Russian fleet, under the orders of Admiral Siniavim, stationed at the entrance of the Dardanelles, and off the island of Tenedos; he was present in the admiral's ship at the battle of Mount Athos, between the Russian fleet and that of the sultan, and there received his first military decoration.

Napoleon was now approaching the apogée of his glory: the French and Russian armies had bravely measured their strength, and the French emperor had so greatly risen in Alexander's estimation that, at the peace of Tilsit, Napoleon was saluted with the title of Brother, at the very time the old Russian aristocracy were accusing their sovereign of abandoning the cause of his country. In the interchange of projects which took place at Tilsit--in those friendly meetings, when the waters of the Niemen flowed beneath the two emperors, locked in each other's arms, was it possible Colonel Pozzo should not be aware that his services would henceforth be an embarrassment to Russia? Upon his arrival at St. Petersburg he held a conversation with the emperor, full of confidence and unreserve on both sides, when each party took a candid survey of his position. The Emperor Alexander declared to Colonel Pozzo that there was no reason he should leave his service, and that the ties of friendship he had contracted with Napoleon did not oblige him to make such a sacrifice. The colonel replied that he could no longer be useful to his sovereign; on the contrary, he should be a source of embarrassment to him, for Buonaparte had not forgotten the feud of his early days: sooner or later he would demand the banishment of his old enemy, the Czar would be too generous to agree to this, and his refusal would raise difficulties for his government. "Besides," said he, "the alliance between your majesty and Napoleon will not be of long duration; I am well acquainted with the deceitful character and insatiable ambition of Buonaparte. At this moment one of your majesty's hands is held by Persia, the other by Turkey, and Buonaparte presses upon your chest; get your hands free in the first instance, and then you will cast off the weight that now troubles you. Some years hence we shall meet again."

Count Pozzo requested permission to travel; and he was again at Vienna in 1808, when Austria, with her patient resignation, was preparing fresh armaments against Napoleon, and declaring the rupture that had taken place with him. I am not aware if history records a longer or more honourable struggle than that of Austria against the Revolution and the Empire. She submitted to every sacrifice, then prepared for battle; vanquished, she had recourse to negotiation; then again tried the fortune of war, until victory finally decided against her, and she was crushed under the weight of the French eagles. Patient and laborious German nation, never didst thou despair of thy cause!

Pozzo di Borgo remained at Vienna during the whole campaign of 1809, and when peace was again imposed, Buonaparte did not forget him. He had taken an active part in all the diplomatic proceedings of Austria and Russia, and Napoleon was a person who always retained the remembrance of his enemies; accordingly, after the peace of Vienna, his first step was to demand the banishment of Colonel Pozzo di Borgo from the Austrian dominions. Alexander, warmly attached to Napoleon, had the weakness to consent, and this gave occasion to the fine and energetic letter, in which Colonel Pozzo already prophesied the invasion of Russia, and said to the Czar, "Sire, it will not be long before your majesty again summons me to your presence." In order to escape the fate which awaited him if his enemy of Ajaccio should succeed in seizing his person, he took the precaution of retiring to Constantinople, the only spot which still afforded him the power of quitting continental Europe and seeking refuge in England.

He was now a proscribed man, travelling in Syria, visiting Smyrna and Malta, and from Malta proceeding to London, where he arrived in October 1810. He was already an agent of some importance, on account of the missions upon which he had been employed; and the limited intercourse between England and the Continent made her set a value upon the information to be obtained from a man of political talent and experience, who had just arrived from the principal capitals of Europe. In several conferences with Lord Castlereagh, Colonel Pozzo explained to him the hopes he still entertained of a continental rising against the colossal empire of France: in the midst of all his great qualities, Napoleon had still some vulnerable points, and nobody was better aware of them than Pozzo di Borgo, because he had studied them through the medium of his resentment. Who could be so well acquainted as he with that Buonaparte, whom he had had such opportunities of observing in the closest manner, with his infirmities, his fits of anger, his weaknesses, and his ambition?

At last the terrible war of 1812 broke out, and the French armies passed the Niemen. Russia was invaded; the battles of Moscowa and the Mojaisk drove back the armies of Alexander towards the sacred city of Moscow, and the ancient capital was reduced to ashes. During the whole of this campaign Pozzo di Borgo remained in London, and his influence was of service in promoting the union between Alexander and the English cabinet; he did not join the army of the Czar, because a revolution had taken place in the ideas of the cabinet of St. Petersburg. The fact was, that when Alexander found his finest provinces invaded, and the murderous war which was desolating his territory, he summoned to his assistance the old Russian spirit and the ancient traditions of the country; the banner of St. Nicholas was unfurled, the churches resounded with prayers and calls to arms against the invader, and the Czar placed himself at the head of the army: but this popular appeal had precisely the effect of rousing the national spirit against foreigners. Ever since the time of Peter the Great, the ideas of civilisation had favoured in Russia the influence of the Italians, the Germans, and the French, who filled many important military situations, and were raised to the first dignities of the state; and the old Russian families naturally entertained a jealous feeling regarding this influence. This colony of courtiers offended their pride, and interfered with their interests; therefore, when Alexander had occasion to invoke the shades of his country at the foot of the Kremlin, and to rouse the devotion of the Muscovite nobility, who lived among their serfs in the central provinces, he was obliged to sacrifice the strangers to their prejudices. Pozzo di Borgo was not recalled till the close of the campaign, when the impulse had ceased to be entirely Russian, but had become more eccentric and inclined towards Poland and Prussia, and he returned through Sweden just at the time when Bernadotte was becoming more nearly connected with England, and, without however openly committing himself, had begun to lend a favourable ear to the overtures of the court of London. The Russian councillor was commissioned to encourage the inclination of Bernadotte, and to strive to forward a decision which would afford his sovereign a new opportunity of taking vengeance for the invasion of his country by the Emperor of the French. This was the first beginning of his intimacy with the Crown Prince of Sweden.

The Emperor Alexander received Pozzo di Borgo at Kalisch, after a separation of five years. They had parted immediately after the interview of Tilsit, which had so greatly reconciled the Czar to the politics of Napoleon. Now, how different was the situation of affairs! Alexander had seen his empire invaded by his ancient ally, his cities in flames; and, according to the excited ideas of Alexander, it was the sainted spirits of the ancient Russians who had raised the stormy tempests, and engulfed the immense army of Napoleon in the icy floods of the Beresina. The language of Alexander to Pozzo di Borgo reminded him of his sagacious prophecies, and the colonel made great efforts to win him back to simple and positive plans against the power of Napoleon; for having been one of the patriots of 1789, Colonel Pozzo perfectly understood the importance of the conspiracy of Mallet, and of the discontent that was beginning to pervade France. He was opposed to all species of compromise, and his view of the case was to strive to effect a separation between the interests of France and her leader. Whilst Alexander, still prepossessed with the idea of the stupendous power of Napoleon, hesitated to plunge into the perils of a distant campaign, Pozzo di Borgo advised him to induce Prussia to take advantage of the secret societies, which proudly raised their heads at the cry of _Germania_ or _Teutonia_, and to assemble all Buonaparte's rivals in glory under their banners, so as to occasion confusion and disorder in his preparations for war.

A threefold negotiation was now opened; the first with Moreau, whom they were desirous of drawing into France, to rouse the Republican party by the influence of his name; the second with Eugène and Murat, between whom they wanted to divide the kingdom of Italy; the third and last with Bernadotte, who was to join with the Swedish troops and effect a division in the French army. Pozzo di Borgo was charged with this last mission, furnished with full powers from the Emperor Alexander, while the Russians were advancing into Saxony. Without clearly explaining the views of the alliance with regard to France, or on the distinctive and positive results of the war, he was directed to suggest, in his conversations with the crown prince, all the possible events which might encourage the emulation of the old companions of the Emperor Napoleon; and he engaged, in the name of the Czar, to acknowledge Bernadotte as Crown Prince, and eventually, according to the order of succession, as King of Sweden: in the same manner he had promised to Moreau the presidency of a republic, if it should arise from the order of affairs, or from a popular anti-Buonapartist movement in Paris. One ought to have heard the ambassador himself recount all the trouble and anxiety he experienced during this negociation; the vacillations of the Crown Prince, his ill-humours and discontent. Still he hesitated. At last, when the Swedish army was embarking at Karlscrona and landing at Stralsund, the artillery of Lutzen and Bautzen were heard in thunders through the whole of Germany. These brilliant victories had astonished the Crown Prince, and the Russian army was in full retreat through Upper Silesia. Still, though his troops were already assembled, he did not dare to come to a final decision; he could not forget the star of his former master, the remembrance of his victorious eagles, the irresistible influence of his glory; the Swedes, therefore, halted at Stralsund, and awaited the course of events. Bernadotte was a powerful ally; not only did he bring into the field 20,000 brave Swedes, but also his name, like that of Moreau, might be the means of sowing dissension and uneasiness in the French army, if the invasion were to take place; when, therefore, in the interval afforded by the armistice of Neumark, Colonel Pozzo observed the hesitation he still exhibited, he hastened to Stralsund, by the desire of Alexander, to endeavour to persuade him to march at once. He had, however, the greatest difficulty in inducing him to join the military congress of Trachenburg, where the plans were laid for the campaign against Napoleon, and it was necessary he should exhibit, at the same time, firmness with Bernadotte and forbearance towards Sir Charles Stewart, afterwards Lord Londonderry, a young and rather presumptuous officer, who was commissioner from England, and was always ready to give offence to an old soldier like Bernadotte. His efforts were crowned with success; the Crown Prince had already had an interview with Moreau, and Pozzo di Borgo afterwards held a confidential conversation with both those personal enemies of Napoleon, in which they reciprocally exchanged their hopes, their present hatred, and old resentments, Pozzo against the adversary of Paoli, Moreau against the Consul, and Bernadotte against the Emperor. The plan adopted by the allied powers at the military congress of Trachenburg was very simple. Colonel Pozzo di Borgo maintained that they ought to march at once upon Paris, the central point of Napoleon's strength or weakness, where the question would speedily be settled; and this was the opinion entertained by all those military men who mingled any political ideas of the decline of Buonaparte's power and of his personal character with the question of war. Besides, in the opinion of the Russian envoy, Buonaparte and France were not synonymous terms; and it was to save France and her liberty that he so closely pursued the Emperor.

At this time the congress of Prague was assembled, which was in reality nothing more than an armistice required by all the forces. Metternich had assumed for Austria a position of armed mediation, being the commencement of a new political system, a wary and provident plan, which, in her state of relative weakness and isolation, gave her a predominant influence over cabinets far more powerful than her own. All the negotiations of this congress tended to one point only; the endeavour to detach Austria from this mediatorial system, and to induce her to decide in favour of one side or the other,--either for the coalition, or for France. In the army of Napoleon, as well as among the allies, a strong desire for peace existed, with this difference, that the victorious soldiers of the Emperor were thoroughly weary of war; for them the illusions of conquest had no longer any charms, and their generals, in the midst of the wonderful success that had crowned their arms, regretted the life of luxury and enjoyment they had been accustomed to lead in Paris. The sons of Germany, ardent in their desire for liberty, flocked to the ranks of the allied armies, under the command of old Blucher, whose mind was also full of enthusiasm for the German unity; while the general officers of the French army indulged in dreams of their hotels, in the Chaussée d'Antin, or the Rue de Bourbon, or their delightful retreats at Malmaison and Grosbois, while their brothers-in-arms were falling under the enemy's fire,--that fire which no longer respected the marshals. An unanimous cry of bitter accusation was heard among the staff, "That man will make an end of us all!" Exaggerated accounts of disaffection were brought to the Emperor. At one time some thousands of conscripts were said to have mutilated their fingers, in order that they might be sent back to their homes; at another they reported the desertion of the brave fellows who had cried "Vive l'Empereur!" under the grape-shot of Lutzen and Bautzen. The allies were well aware of this decline of military ardour in the French camp, and they knew a feeling of weakness and a disposition to discord were connected with it. The proposals for peace at Prague never were sincere on the part of Russia and Prussia, and the Emperor was thoroughly deceived in imagining them to be so.

The main object was to prevail upon Austria to declare herself openly; and here Napoleon was guilty of many faults. In the situation assumed by the cabinet of Vienna, a good deal was naturally exacted, and with perfect justice, for upon them depended the strength, and we may almost say the success, of the coalition. In offering herself as a mediator, Austria was desirous of regaining the position she had lost during the struggle with Napoleon, and the law was now in her own hands, for she could throw the weight of 300,000 men into either scale. Napoleon committed the great oversight of not acceding to the offers of the cabinet of Vienna: he went farther still; he deeply offended the minister who directed the fates of that cabinet--Prince Metternich, a man of extraordinary ability and consideration, and whose inclinations had previously tended towards France. I have elsewhere related the stormy and imprudent scene which broke up the conference between Buonaparte and the Austrian minister.[19]

[19] _Vide_ the article "Metternich."

The allied sovereigns awaited the decision of the cabinet of Vienna with indescribable anxiety. It was eleven o'clock at night, and they were all assembled in a barn; the ministers, Count Nesselrode, Pozzo di Borgo, and Hardenburg, in the lower apartment; the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia on the first floor: the rain descended in torrents, and it was one of those stormy nights which add even to the horrors of war, when all at once a courier arrived, bearing a letter for Count Nesselrode, which contained merely these words,--"Austria has decided, and four armies will be at the disposal of the Alliance." Imagination may picture the shouts of joy, the transports of the coalition, on thus receiving the support of 300,000 men, who were to join the rest of the army by the mountains of Bohemia. The chances of war were now clearly against Napoleon; and General Pozzo di Borgo, for he had lately been raised to the rank of major-general, was again despatched, in the character of commissioner, from the Emperor Alexander to the Crown Prince of Sweden, who at this time covered Berlin at the head of an army, composed of 40,000 Prussians, 30,000 Russians, and 20,000 Swedes.

The most glorious events recorded in the military history of France have nothing that can bear a comparison with the admirable defence of Dresden by Napoleon, when all the armies of the coalition went successively to try their strength under its walls. They were repulsed with considerable loss, and Moreau was mortally wounded on the field of battle; but this admirable manœuvre of concentration was followed by a very great fault--the division of the main body of his army, one portion being intrusted to General Vandamme, the other to some marshals upon whose deeds the star of Napoleon's fortune did not shine. At Gross Beeren, Bernadotte broke the brilliant line of the French, at the same time that the corps of Vandamme was cut to pieces or taken prisoner by the coalesced enemy, and the Emperor was obliged to retreat beyond the Elbe. I cast a veil over the mournful catastrophe of Leipsic, where so many faults were committed, and so much want of foresight exhibited, both on the part of Napoleon, and also of those who were charged with the execution of his orders; the sad disorder, the horrible confusion that prevailed, when the soldiers were decimated at once by sickness in the hospital, the steel of the enemy, and the hordes of peasants raised by Blucher along his path, and which swallowed up the French army, already perishing with hunger, without guns, and barefooted, in the midst of the cold rains of October.

The coalition was now victorious; its advanced guard had reached the banks of the Rhine. Still they could not refrain from a degree of secret terror as they approached the French territory, which was still pervaded by the presiding genius of Napoleon. The army of Bernadotte was separated from the allies to march against Holstein, invade Denmark, and prepare a rising in Holland; and General Pozzo di Borgo quitted him to proceed on a mission to Frankfort, to concert military operations with the allies. They had there a better opportunity of judging of the state of public feeling in France, and were able to study the progress that had been made by the different opinions and parties against the imperial government. The Emperor's administration had surpassed itself; the Senate had voted troops upon troops, the levies proceeded with extraordinary energy, and they sought by every means, pamphlets, songs, operas--in short, nothing was neglected to re-awaken the cry of national independence in the breasts of the French nation. But though from the powerful organisation of the empire every thing appeared clear on the surface, its stability went no deeper; there was an under-current of murmurs, complete dissatisfaction, and weariness of mind; commerce was annihilated, leaving the unemployed workmen no resource but a musket, and no choice but of seeking bread or death with the army. Secret agitations began to be whispered about every where; the legislative body had separated itself from Napoleon by a protest, executed under the influence of discontent, and of MM. Lainé and Reynouard, and it had in consequence been dissolved; the council of the regency of Maria Louisa was composed of timid, hesitating men; some, like Talleyrand, ready to abandon a falling cause; the people called for a termination of this state of affairs, and gloomy, foreboding clouds hung on the brow of Napoleon.

Existing circumstances certainly offered a favourable opportunity for invading the imperial territory; but were the allies well agreed upon the end they proposed to themselves? Were they all actuated by the same interests? Although Austria had made an effort to shake off the enormous power of Napoleon, would she be willing to ruin the son-in-law of her own emperor, Francis II., especially when the advantages resulting from it would fall principally to the share of Russia and Prussia, whose power had been already excessively augmented by the late events? Having regained the territories of which Napoleon had formerly deprived her, why should she join in the invasion of France, and aim a last blow at a nation so necessary to the balance of power in Europe? Even England, though the determined enemy of Buonaparte, could not fail to entertain some degree of uneasiness in observing the immense increase of the Russian influence, and the ministers were assailed with incessant questions as to the object and probable termination of the war. All these circumstances caused a dread that the coalition was ready to fall to pieces at the very moment its great object had been attained. This state of affairs soon became evident to the diplomatic chiefs assembled at the conference of Frankfort, and Pozzo di Borgo was despatched by the three sovereigns on a mission to the Prince Regent to request the presence of Lord Castlereagh, the English prime minister, at head-quarters, in order to strengthen the bands of the coalition and determine its object. The general lost no time in accomplishing his voyage, and arrived in London in the beginning of January 1814, while parliament was sitting, and just at the time when Lord Castlereagh had been obliged to enter into an explanation in answer to the pressing requisitions of the Whigs. He was the bearer of an autograph letter to the Prince Regent from the allied sovereigns, by which they engaged to follow the most moderate measures, and as far as possible to keep the balance of power in Europe in view, so as to remove any fears on the part of England. It was just six years since Pozzo di Borgo, as a proscribed person, had last visited that country, and under what different auspices he now returned to it! He came as the organ of the triumphant coalition, and his reception was distinguished by all the magnificence and joy inspired by the late victories. With what cordiality Lord Wellesley pressed his hand! "I believe, my dear Pozzo," said the marquess, "you and I are the two men who most earnestly desire the fall of Buonaparte." Lord Castlereagh had already begun to entertain some thoughts of the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, and he communicated his idea to General Pozzo di Borgo, who replied, "You are well aware, my lord, that we must never present any but a perfectly simple idea to the sovereigns; complicated matters do not take hold of their minds. Let us first overturn Buonaparte,--this is a thing we shall easily make the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia understand,--and then afterwards, when the coast is clear, we can return to examine the second difficulty." "Very well," said Lord Castlereagh, "whom do you wish us to send to the Continent?" "If Mr. Pitt were alive," replied the general, "I would tell him to hold himself in readiness; it is sufficient to make you understand that we are most anxious to see you in person on the Rhine, that the question may not get perplexed and confused."

It was with these opinions that Pozzo di Borgo visited the French princes, especially the Comte d'Artois. His royal highness was anxious to appear at head-quarters, and blend the idea of a restoration with the plan of the campaign of the allies, but General Pozzo strongly opposed his design. "Monseigneur," said he, "you are well aware of my devotion to your person and to your interests, but do not come to spoil our game; we still have great difficulties to overcome effecting the fall of Napoleon, when that point is gained it will be necessary to turn to something else, and your turn and your name will naturally occur."

It was a matter of some delicacy to obtain the departure of Lord Castlereagh and the full and entire adhesion of England to the coalition; they were obliged to work at it a long while with the Prince Regent and some influential members of parliament; at last, at a dinner given by Lady Castlereagh, the English minister, on rising from table, said to the emperor's messenger, "Well, my dear Pozzo, it is decided that I am to accompany you; the Prince Regent has given me an autograph letter for the sovereigns, and we shall act in concert and good fellowship with you." The two diplomatists embraced each other with delight, two days afterwards they embarked for the Continent, and in three weeks rejoined the sovereigns at Baden.

Lord Castlereagh's arrival at head-quarters strengthened the unity of the alliance and enabled them to form some resolutions for the general benefit, and also to decide upon the plan of the political campaign about to be commenced against Buonaparte. England had never recognised the Emperor of the French, and in all the acts of parliament, as well as those of the cabinet, he had no other designation than that of _the common enemy_, or _the head of the government_, a circumstance which facilitated Pozzo di Borgo's labours with Lord Castlereagh towards gaining the object he had in view, viz., the complete overthrow of Napoleon. The English minister, who was armed with full powers, laid down as the fundamental principle of all their diplomatic transactions, that France, although necessary to the balance of power in Europe, must be reduced within her ancient territorial limits, a principle which almost inevitably involved the restoration of the ancient dynasty. This, however, was only mentioned in the acts, both public and secret, of the congress, as a _possibility_ reserved for a further consideration of the French question.

One of the most important principles laid down in the political plan of the alliance was the separation of the question concerning Napoleon from those regarding the interests of France. This line of conduct was recommended by Bernadotte, Pozzo di Borgo, and the patriot party, who were the enemies of the emperor, and it was formally announced in the public acts of Frankfort and the proclamations of all the allied troops who crossed the Rhine. Their great object was to weaken the common enemy, at the same time that they promised France that her ancient territory should remain untouched, and hinted at the possibility of establishing a constitution independent of the emperor. By adopting this plan they summoned all disaffected persons to the assistance of the coalition; and, without entering into engagements with any one party, they offered to _all_ the hope of bringing their pretensions and wishes to a favourable issue; they even contrived to conciliate the partisans of a republican form of government as well as the advocates of the regency of Maria Louisa.

Pozzo di Borgo continued attached to the person of the Emperor Alexander during the whole of the operations of 1814, that glorious but melancholy campaign where the military genius of Napoleon shone with so brilliant a lustre--a bright ray emanating from that star which appeared but for a fleeting moment, soon to grow dim and set for ever! During the negotiations at Chatillon, General Pozzo urged the rejection of all the propositions of the French emperor, and also that the time and circumstances granted by the coalition to him whose attempts had so often been crowned with victory, should have a limit defined with the utmost accuracy. "Grant no armistice, but march _en masse_ straight to Paris!" Such was the advice of Pozzo di Borgo, to whom some overtures had already been made by Talleybrand and the disaffected party in the capital. Had the preliminaries of peace been accepted, a treaty might possibly have been entered into at Chatillon with Napoleon and Maria Louisa; but how would it have been possible for the emperor to submit to the ancient limits of France, without exposing himself to inevitable ruin in the interior of his kingdom? M. de Caulaincourt, it is true, received orders to accede to the proposed conditions, but it was then too late. It would, however, have been impossible for Napoleon to have continued peaceably on the throne, even had pacific terms been granted him, under existing circumstances; for his government would have been overturned by an internal revolution. How could the victorious emperor, who had given laws to the world, now in his turn submit to receive laws from the whole of Europe combined against him? And, supposing he had returned to Paris with the humiliating treaties which deprived France of all her conquests and reduced her within the narrow limits she formerly occupied, would not the loss of his throne have been, sooner or later, the inevitable consequence of such a change of circumstances? Would not discontent have reared its head at every step he took? Or would his government still have retained sufficient power and influence to secure him the possession of absolute dominion? As soon as peace had been proclaimed, the adverse parties would have burst forth with violence, and Napoleon have been overcome by a republican insurrection. They would have said to the emperor, "What have you done with the conquests of the republic and with the legions it bequeathed to you?" And, to escape from the tumult of public opinion, the emperor would have been forced again to engage in some military enterprise. "The peace you grant to Napoleon," said Pozzo di Borgo, "will merely be giving him an opportunity of recruiting his strength, and in less than a year you will find him again engaged in an attack upon your territories; with the spirit of a gambler, he will stake his last crown upon his last card."

For the sake of giving a powerful unity to the alliance, the sovereigns signed the famous treaty of Chaumont, which was a general coalition of the whole of Europe against the common enemy; they declared, in the first place, that they would not separate until they had attained the objects they proposed to themselves, which were a general peace and the establishment of independence and of the rights of all the nations of Europe. In addition to this, it was agreed that each power was to keep up a standing army of 150,000 men besides those in garrison; England undertook to furnish immense subsidies; and they engaged mutually to support each other with a formidable armed contingent, in case any of the governments should be threatened. The campaign then proceeded with fresh vigour, and the advance upon Paris produced all the effect anticipated by the sovereigns. I will not describe the sad events that succeeded; they are, alas! but too well known. General Pozzo di Borgo was in the suite of the Emperor Alexander when he entered the city, and from that time forth he assumed the part of a mediator between France and the allies.

We must take a retrospect of that melancholy period of our disasters in order to form a reasonable judgment of the events about to be accomplished. The hearts of the whole nation were filled with weariness to a most painful degree. Some few soldiers might, perhaps, have been ready to range themselves around the emperor and defend his eagles which, though now abased, had so often led them to victory; but the great mass of the population was no longer desirous of war; a feeling of hatred towards Napoleon had gradually arisen among the republican party and the Royalists, who were in a state of commotion; while, on the other hand, the proclamations of Schwartzenburg, and the promises he had made at the time of his entry into Paris, had inspired hopes of repose and reasonable liberty. Pozzo di Borgo exerted all his influence over the mind of Alexander to lead him towards the liberal system, upon which his resolutions appear to have been formed. The whole idea of the constitutional charter, and all the plans breathing a spirit of liberty, were suggested at the meetings in Talleyrand's house, where the patriots used to assemble to give vent to their dissatisfaction with the conduct of Napoleon. I must here mention a curious circumstance relating to the famous proclamation of Schwartzenburg which first made open mention of the Bourbons. It was the work of Count Pozzo, and Schwartzenburg had not signed it when Alexander said to him in a meeting at the head-quarters of Bondy, "My dear prince, you have written an admirable proclamation--it is perfect; sign it, you will get great credit for it." And the prince, partly through self-love, and partly through respect for the Emperor Alexander, affixed his signature to the document.[20]

[20] I have seen the rough copy of this proclamation written in pencil by Count Pozzo and corrected by Alexander himself.

General Pozzo di Borgo had kept up his acquaintance with all the patriots of 1789, whose noble and generous principles of independence met with a sympathetic feeling in the breast of Alexander. Napoleon, the representative of a powerful and united system of government, would only be overcome by the principle of liberty. "Europe," said Talleyrand, "was then on the highroad to emancipation; it was with the name of Fatherland, with the enthusiasm for free institutions, that the people had been excited to rise against him, who was termed by the Germans _the oppressor of mankind_." These ideas prevailed, and Count Pozzo di Borgo was appointed commissioner from the Emperor Alexander to the provisional government.

That government certainly stood in need of the support of the friend of Paoli, who pursued with relentless perseverance the last glimmering ray of Napoleon's fortune. Some of the marshals had just made an attempt to induce the Emperor Alexander to treat with the regency, and, moved by the recollection of his ancient friendship, and by the influence which the noble countenance of Napoleon exercised over his mind, the Czar would, perhaps, have agreed to the proposal, when Pozzo di Borgo was despatched in haste by the provisional government to Alexander, to put a stop to the treaty, and he worked on the mind of the Czar by means of the same considerations he had formerly presented to his view, and of which he had acknowledged the justice. "The regency was still Napoleon, and France no longer desired his rule; to sign a peace with him was merely to expose themselves to a repetition of hostilities; if Europe was desirous of rest, they must have done with the imperial system altogether." The commissioner spent two hours in this conversation, and, by his perseverance, he obtained the important declaration of the allied sovereigns, that they would enter into no treaty with the emperor or his family. Having gained this point, he returned with speed to the provisional government, and gave vent to the picturesque expression of his triumph in his communication to Talleyrand. "My dear prince," said he, "I certainly cannot be said single-handed to have politically killed Buonaparte, but I have cast the last clod of earth upon his head."

Thus was played the drama of life between these two men: Pozzo, formerly proscribed by Buonaparte, now came in his turn to be present at the obsequies of his rival's power! Born within a few months of each other, the one had quitted Ajaccio merely with the rank of a sub-lieutenant, and had ascended the greatest throne under heaven; the other, as an exile, had traversed Europe, to rouse the spirit of war and vengeance against his compatriot, and, after unheard-of efforts, had at last succeeded in realising the plan which had always kept possession of his mind. He had his foot on his enemy's neck, and had him banished to the island of Elba, which he had himself twice sailed past, pursued by the fortune of his rival. General Pozzo never would admit the hypothesis that France and Buonaparte were the same thing; and in this respect he was as good a patriot as Moreau, Lannes, Bernadotte, Massena, Dessoles, and Gouvion St. Cyr.

As soon as the senate had decided upon the restoration of the ancient dynasty, and laid the foundations of the constitution, Pozzo di Borgo was commissioned by the sovereigns to go to London, to meet Louis XVIII. This was not only an honourable mission of congratulation to the new French sovereign; the general's special duty was to explain to Louis the real state of public opinion in France, and the necessity of adopting the constitutional forms and liberal ideas of a charter, to answer the public expectation. He went with all possible speed to London, for the provisional government were well aware that the ardent royalist party would immediately surround the French king, and it was necessary to prevent his being guilty of any imprudence; and this they hoped to effect by means of the salutary intervention of Pozzo di Borgo, especially as his being the confidential servant of the Emperor Alexander would naturally invest him with a considerable degree of influence over the mind of Louis XVIII. When the general arrived at Calais, he engaged a packet-boat for his sole use, and at the moment of his embarkation, an episode occurred, which he often related as a proof of the instability of human opinions. He was standing on the sea-shore, when a stranger accosted him, and requested a passage in his little vessel to enable him to go and meet the king. "Who are you?" asked Pozzo di Borgo. "I am the Duc de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt," replied the stranger; "and I am going to the king to resume my ancient office." One may imagine the amazement of the ambassador; the Duc de Liancourt had not only deeply insulted the Comte de Provence at the Constituent Assembly, but he had afterwards carried his offence still farther, by sending back to him, from the United States, the ribbon of his orders, as a mark of his contempt for what he called the _crotchets_ of the old school: Louis XVIII. could not forget this contemptuous bearing in a man of noble birth.