disaster in spain—alexander and napoleon in council—napoleon at madrid
napoleon amazed at this unexpected popular uprising in spain, and angry that the spell of invincibility under which his armies had fought, was broken, resolved to undertake the peninsular war himself. but before a campaign in spain could be entered upon, it was necessary to know that all the inner and outer wheels of the great machine he had devised for dividing the world and crushing england were revolving perfectly.
since the treaty of tilsit he had done much at home for this machine. the finances were in splendid condition. public works of great importance were going on all over the kingdom; the court was luxurious and brilliant, and the money it scattered, encouraged the commercial and manufacturing classes. never had fêtes been more brilliant than those which welcomed napoleon back to paris in 1807; never had the season at fontainebleau been gayer or more magnificent than it was that year.
all of those who had been instrumental in bringing prosperity and order to france were rewarded in 1807 with splendid gifts from the indemnities levied on the enemies. the marshals of the grand army received from eighty thousand to two hundred thousand dollars apiece; twenty-five generals were given forty thousand dollars each; the civil functionaries were not forgotten; thus monsieur de ségur received forty thousand dollars as a sign of the emperor’s 200gratification at the way he had administered etiquette in the young court.
it was at this period that napoleon founded a new nobility as a further means of rewarding those who had rendered brilliant services to france. this institution was designed, too, as a means of reconciling old and new france. it created the title of prince, duke, count, baron, and knight; and those receiving these titles were at the same time given domains in the conquered provinces, sufficient to permit them to establish themselves in good style.
the drawing up of the rules which were to govern this new order occupied the gravest men of the country, cambacérès, saint-martin, hauterive, portalis, pasquier. among other duties they had to prepare the armorial bearings. napoleon refused to allow the crown to go on the new escutcheons. he wished no one but himself to have a right to use that symbol. a substitute was found in the panache, the number of plumes showing the rank.
napoleon used the new favors at his command freely, creating in all, after 1807, forty-eight thousand knights, one thousand and ninety barons, three hundred and eighty-eight counts, thirty-one dukes, and three princes. all members of the old nobility who were supporting his government were given titles, but not those which they formerly held. naturally this often led to great dissatisfaction, the bearers of ancient names preferring a lower rank which had been their family’s for centuries to one higher, but unhallowed by time and tradition. thus madame de montmorency rebelled obstinately against being made a countess,—she had been a baroness under the old régime,—and, as the montmorencys claimed the honor of being called the first christian barons, she felt justly that the old title was a far prouder one than any napoleon could give her. but a countess she had to remain.
201in his efforts to win for himself the services of all those whom blood and fortune had made his natural supporters, the emperor tried again to reconcile lucien. in november, 1807, napoleon visited italy, and at mantua a secret interview took place between the brothers. lucien, in his “memoirs,” gives a dramatic description of the way in which napoleon spread the kingdoms of half a world before him and offered him his choice.
“he struck a great blow with his hand in the middle of the immense map of europe which was extended on the table, by the side of which we were standing. ‘yes, choose,’ he said; ‘you see i am not talking in the air. all this is mine, or will soon belong to me; i can dispose of it already. do you want naples? i will take it from joseph, who, by the by, does not care for it; he prefers mortefontaine, italy—the most beautiful jewel in my imperial crown? eugène is but viceroy, and, far from despising it, he hopes only that i shall give it to him, or, at least, leave it to him if he survives me; he is likely to be disappointed in waiting, for i shall live ninety years. i must, for the perfect consolidation of my empire. besides, eugène will not suit me in italy after his mother is divorced. spain? do you not see it falling into the hollow of my hand, thanks to the blunders of my dear bourbons, and to the follies of your friend, the prince of peace? would you not be well pleased to reign there, where you have been only ambassador? once for all, what do you want? speak! whatever you wish, or can wish, is yours, if your divorce precedes mine.’”
until midnight the two brothers wrestled with the question between them. neither would abandon his position; and when lucien finally went away, his face was wet with tears. to méneval, who conducted him to his inn in the town, he said, in bidding him carry his farewell to the emperor, “it may be forever.” it was not. seven years later the brothers met again, but the map of europe was forever rolled up for napoleon.
the essential point in carrying out the tilsit plan was, the fidelity of alexander; and napoleon resolved, before going into the spanish war, to meet the emperor of russia. this was the more needful, because austria had begun to show signs of hostility.
202
alexander i. of russia. 1805.
203the meeting took place in september, 1807, at erfurt, in saxony, and lasted a month. napoleon acted as host, and prepared a splendid entertainment for his guests. the company he had gathered was most brilliant. beside the russian and french emperors, with ambassadors and suites, were the kings of saxony, bavaria, and würtemberg, the prince primate, the grand duke and grand duchess of baden, the dukes of saxony, and the princes of the confederation of the rhine.
the palaces where the emperors were entertained, were furnished with articles from the garde-meuble of france. the leading actors of the théatre fran?ais gave the best french tragedies to a house where there was, as napoleon had promised talma, a “parterre full of kings.” there was a hare hunt on the battle-field of jena, to which even prince william of prussia was invited, and where the party breakfasted on the spot where napoleon had bivouacked in 1806, the night before the battle. there were balls where alexander danced, “but not i,” wrote the emperor to josephine; “forty years are forty years.” goethe and wieland were both presented to napoleon at erfurt, and the emperor had long conversations with them.
in spite of these gayeties napoleon and alexander found time to renew their tilsit agreement. they were to make war and peace together. alexander was to uphold napoleon in giving joseph the throne of spain, and to keep the continent tranquil during the peninsular war. napoleon was to support alexander in getting possession of finland, moldavia, and wallachia. the two emperors were to write and sign a letter inviting england to join them in peace negotiations.
204
marshal lefebvre. about 1796.
engraved in 1798 by fiesinger, after mengelberg.
205this was done promptly; but when england insisted that representatives of the government which was acting in spain in the name of ferdinand vii. should be admitted to the proposed meeting, the peace negotiations abruptly ended. under the circumstances napoleon could not recognize that government.
the emperor was ready to conduct the spanish war. his first move was to send into the country a large body of veterans from germany. before this time the army had been made up of young recruits upon whom the spanish looked with contempt. the men, inexperienced and demoralized by the kind of guerrilla warfare which was waged against them, had become discouraged. the worst feature of their case was that they did not believe in the war. that brave story-teller marbot relates frankly how he felt:
“as a soldier i was bound to fight any one who attacked the french army, but i could not help recognizing in my inmost conscience that our cause was a bad one, and that the spaniards were quite right in trying to drive out strangers who, after coming among them in the guise of friends, were wishing to dethrone their sovereign and take forcible possession of the kingdom. this war, therefore, seemed to me wicked; but i was a soldier, and i must march or be charged with cowardice. the greater part of the army thought as i did, and, like me, obeyed orders all the same.”
the appearance of the veterans and the presence of the emperor at once put a new face on the war; the morale of the army was raised, and the respect of the spaniards inspired.
the emperor speedily made his way to madrid, though he had to fight three battles to get there, and began at once a work of reorganization. decree followed decree. feudal rights were abolished, the inquisition was ended, the number of convents was reduced, the custom-houses between the various provinces were done away with, a political and military programme was made out for king joseph. many bulletins were sent to the spanish people. in all of them they were told that it was the english who were their enemies, 206not their allies; that they came to the peninsular not to help, but to inspire to false confidence, and to lead them astray. napoleon’s plan and purpose could not be mistaken.
“spaniards [he proclaimed at madrid], your destinies are in my hands. reject the poison which the english have spread among you; let your king be certain of your love and your confidence, and you will be more powerful and happier than ever. i have destroyed all that was opposed to your prosperity and greatness; i have broken the fetters which weighed upon the people; a liberal constitution gives you, instead of an absolute, a tempered and constitutional monarchy. it depends upon you that this constitution shall become law. but if all my efforts prove useless, and if you do not respond to my confidence, it will only remain for me to treat you as conquered provinces, and to find my brother another throne. i shall then place the crown of spain on my own head, and i shall know how to make the wicked tremble; for god has given me the power and the will necessary to surmount all obstacles.”
but a flame had been kindled in spain which no number of napoleonic bulletins could quench—a fanatical frenzy inspired by the priests, a blind passion of patriotism. the spaniards wanted their own, even if it was feudal and oppressive. a constitution which they had been forced to accept, seemed to them odious and shameful, if liberal.
the obstinacy and horror of their resistance was nowhere so tragic and so heroic as at the siege of saragossa, going on at the time napoleon, at madrid, was issuing his decrees and proclamations. saragossa had been fortified when the insurrection against king joseph broke out. the town was surrounded by convents, which were turned into forts. men, women, and children took up arms, and the priests, cross in hand, and dagger at the belt, led them. no word of surrender was tolerated within the walls. at the beginning napoleon regarded the defence of saragossa as a small affair, and wished to try persuasion on the people. there was at paris a well known aragon noble whom he urged to go to saragossa and calm the popular excitement. the man 207accepted the mission. when he arrived in the town the people hurried forth to meet him, supposing he had come to aid in the resistance. at the first word of submission he spoke he was assailed by the mob, and for nearly a year lay in a dungeon.
the peasants of the vicinity of saragossa were quartered in the town, each family being given a house to defend. nothing could drive them from their posts. they took an oath to resist until death, and regarded the probable destruction of themselves and their families with stoical indifference. the priests had so aroused their religious exultation, and were able to sustain it at such a pitch, that they never wavered before the daily horrors they endured.
the french at first tried to drive them from their posts by sallies made into the town, but the inhabitants rained such a murderous fire upon them from towers, roofs, windows, even the cellars, that they were obliged to retire. exasperated by this stubborn resistance they resolved to blow up the town, inch by inch. the siege was begun in the most terrible and destructive manner, but the people were unmoved by the danger. “while a house was being mined, and the dull sound of the rammers warned them that death was at hand, not one left the house which he had sworn to defend, and we could hear them singing litanies. then, at the moment the walls flew into the air and fell back with a crash, crushing the greater part of them, those who had escaped would collect about the ruins, and sheltering themselves behind the slightest cover, would recommence their sharpshooting.”
marshal lannes commanded before saragossa. touched by the devotion and the heroism of the defenders, he proposed an honorable capitulation. the besieged scorned the proposition, and the awful process of undermining went on until the town was practically blown to pieces.
208
bernadotte. about 1798.
engraved by fiesinger, after guérin.
209for such resistance there was no end but extermination. for the first time in his career napoleon had met sublime popular patriotism, a passion before which diplomacy, flattery, love of gain, force, lose their power.
it was for but a short time that the emperor could give his personal attention to the spanish war. certain wheels in his great machine were not revolving smoothly. in his own capital, paris, there was friction among certain influential persons. the peace of the continent, necessary to the peninsular war, and which alexander had guaranteed, was threatened. under these circumstances it was impossible to remain in spain.
210
the eye of the master.
after raffet.
