hile we were in Frankfurt, a very distressing event affecting an
officer of 7th Corps, landed me with a double mission, the first part
of which was very unpleasant and the second most agreeable, indeed
brilliantly so.
As a result of a brain fever, Lieutenant N... of the 7th Chasseurs
became completely childish. Marshal Augereau detailed me to take him
to Paris, first to Marshal Murat, who had an interest in the matter,
and then, if I was asked to do so, to the Quercy. As I had not seen
my mother since leaving for the campaign of Austerlitz, and I knew
that she was not far from St. Céré, in the Château de Bras, which my
father had bought shortly before his death, I welcomed with pleasure
a mission which would allow me not only to be of service to Marshal
Murat but also to go and spend several days with my mother. Marshal
Augereau lent me a fine carriage and I set off on the road to Paris.
But the heat and insomnia so excited my poor companion that he went
from a state of idiocy to one of mania and nearly killed me with a
blow from a coach spanner. I have never made a more disagreeable
journey. I arrived at last in Paris, and I took Lieutenant N... to
Murat, who was staying for the summer at the Chateau de Neuilly. The
marshal asked me to take the lieutenant to Quercy. I agreed to do so,
in the hope of being able to see my mother again, but I pointed out
that I could not leave for twenty-four hours, because Marshal
Augereau had given me some despatches for the Emperor, whom I was
going to meet at Rambouillet, to where I reported officially the same
day.
I do not know what was in the despatches which I was carrying, but
they made the Emperor very thoughtful. He sent for M. de Tallyrand and
left with him for Paris to where he ordered me to follow him and
present myself to Marshal Duroc that evening.
I waited for a long time in one of the salons of the Tuileries,
until Marshal Duroc, coming out of the Emperor's study, the door of
which was left half open, called for an orderly officer to get
ready set off on a long mission. But Napoleon called out, "Duroc,
that will not be necessary; we have Marbot here, who is going to
rejoin Augereau; he can push on to Berlin. Frankfurt is half way
there." So Marshal Duroc told me to prepare to go to Berlin with the
Emperor's despatches. This was disappointing as it meant that I had
to give up all hope of seeing my mother; but I had to resign myself.
I hurried to Neuilly to tell Murat what had happened and as I
believed that my new mission was very urgent, I returned to the
Tuileries; but Marshal Duroc dismissed me until the next day. I was
there at dawn: I was dismissed until evening; then the evening of the
next day, and so on for more than a week. However, I remained
patient, because each time I presented myself, Marshal Duroc kept me
for only a minute, which allowed me time to get around Paris. I had
been given quite a large sum of money for the purpose of buying
myself new uniform, so as to appear well turned out before the king
of Prussia, into whose hands I was personally to deliver a letter
from the Emperor. You will understand that Napoleon neglected no
detail when it came to enhancing the standing of the French army in
the eyes of foreigners.
I left at last, after taking the despatches from the Emperor, who
advised me that I should make sure that I carefully examined the
Prussian troops, their bearing, their arms, their horses, etc. M. de
Tallyrand gave me a packet for M. Laforest, the French ambassador in
Berlin, to whose embassy I was to go. On my arrival at Maintz, which
at that time was still part of French territory, I was told that
Marshal Augereau was at Wiesbaden. I reported to him there and
greatly surprised him by telling him that I was going to Berlin on
the Emperor's orders. He congratulated me and told me to continue my
journey. I travelled night and day, in superb July weather, and
arrived in Berlin somewhat weary. At this period the Prussian roads
were not yet metalled, one went almost always at walking pace over
loose soil into which the coaches sank deeply, raising clouds of
unbearable dust.
I was given a warm welcome by M. Laforest, at whose embassy I
stayed. I was presented to the king and queen, and also to the
princes and princesses. When the king received the letter from
Napoleon, he seemed much affected. He was a fine figure of a man,
with a benevolent expression, but lacking that animation which
suggests a decisive character. The queen was really very pretty; she
had only one blemish, she always wore a large scarf, in order, it was
said, to conceal an ulcerated swelling on her neck. For the rest,
she was graceful and her expression, calm and spiritual, was evidence
of a firm personality.
I was very well received, and since the reply which I was to take
back to the Emperor seemed so difficult to draft that it took more
than a month, the queen was pleased to invite me to the balls and
fêtes which she gave during my stay.
Of all the members of the royal family, the one who treated me in
the most friendly manner, or so it seemed, was Prince Louis, the
king's nephew.
I had been warned that he hated the French, and in particular,
their Emperor, but as he was passionately interested in military
matters, he questioned me endlessly about the siege of Genoa, the
battles of Marengo and Austerlitz and also about the organisation of
our army. Prince Louis was a most handsome man, and in respect of
spirit, ability and character, the only one of the royal family who
bore any resemblance to Frederick the Great. I made the acquaintance
of several members of the court, mainly with the officers whom I
followed daily to parades and manoeuvres. I spent my time in Berlin
very pleasantly. The ambassador showed me much attention; but in the
end I discovered that he wanted me to play, in a delicate affair, a
role for which I was unsuited, so I became very reserved.
Now, let us examine the position of Prussia vis-à-vis France. The
despatches which I had brought concerned this matter, as I later
found out.
In accepting from Napoleon the gift of the electorate of
Hanover, the patrimony of the English royal family, the cabinet in
Berlin had alienated not only the anti-French party but almost all of
the Prussian nation. Germanic pride was wounded by the victories won
by the French over the Austrians, and Prussia feared that its
commerce would be ruined by the war which had just been declared
against it by the cabinet in London. The queen and Prince Louis made
use of these turbulent emotions to persuade the king to make war on
France by allying himself with Russia who, though abandoned by
Austria, still hoped to take revenge for its defeat at Austerlitz.
The Emperor of Russia was further encouraged in his plans by a Pole,
his favourite aide-de-camp, Prince Czartoryski.
The anti-French party, which was growing daily, was not yet able
to persuade the king to break with Napoleon; but aware that it was
supported by Russia, this party redoubled its efforts, and profited
adroitly from the mistakes made by Napoleon in placing his brother
Louis on the throne of Holland, and nominating himself as protector
of the confederacy of the Rhine: acts which were represented to the
Prussian king as being steps on the path to the re-establishment of
the empire of Charlemagne. Napoleon, it was said, wanted finally to
reduce all the sovereigns of Germany to the status of vassals.
These assertions, though greatly exaggerated, had had a
considerable influence on the king's thinking. His conduct toward
France became from this time, more and more equivocal, and it was
this that decided Napoleon to write to him personally, without going
through the usual diplomatic channels, to ask "Are you for me or
against me?" This was the tenor of the letter which I had given the
king. His councillors who wished to gain time for the completion of
their re-armament, delayed the reply, which was the reason for my
long stay in Berlin.
At last, in August, there was a general explosion of ill-feeling
towards France, and one saw the queen, Prince Louis, the nobility,
the army and the general populace, noisily demanding war. The king
allowed himself to become involved but, although determined to end
the peace he still hoped to avoid hostilities, and it seems that in
his reply to the Emperor he undertook to disarm if the latter would
take back to France all the troops he had in Germany, which Napoleon
was unwilling to do until Prussia had disarmed. So we were in a
vicious circle which could be broken only by a war.
Before I left Berlin, I witnessed the frenzy to which hatred of
Napoleon raised this normally placid people. The officers whom I
knew no longer dared to speak to me or even to greet me. Several
French people were insulted by the populace, and finally soldiers of
the Royal Guard came boastfully to sharpen their sabres on the stone
steps of the French embassy. I left hurriedly for Paris, taking with
me much information on what was going on in Prussia. Passing through
Frankfurt, I found Marshal Augereau very sad at having heard of the
death of his wife, a good, excellent woman whose loss he felt deeply,
and who was mourned by all the general staff, for she had been very
kind to us.
On my arrival in Paris, I delivered to the Emperor the
hand-written reply from the King of Prussia. After reading it, he
questioned me on what I had seen in Berlin. When I told him that the
soldiers of the guard had come to sharpen their sabres on the steps
of the French embassy, he clapped his hand firmly on the hilt of his
sword, exclaiming indignantly, "The insolent braggarts will soon
learn that our arms are in good order!"
My mission now being over, I returned to Marshal Augereau, and
spent all of September in Frankfurt where, while preparing ourselves
for war, we entertained ourselves as best we could, for we thought
that as nothing could be more uncertain than the life of a soldier,
one should enjoy it as much as is possible.